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Talk:Rational function

Irrational function
I presume an irrational function is one that is algabraic but not rational. Is this correct? Brianjd

 * I don't think irrational function is a standard term. Charles Matthews 09:13, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)

There is a problem here (and in several other places). This article confuses a rational function and a rational expression. This is similar to the common confusion between a polynomial function and a polynomial. I propose moving this article to "rational expression", with links to and from rational function, and fixing other articles that fail to make this distinction. Comments? Rick Norwood 00:19, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

 * No one says 'rational expression'. Rational function is the standard term, and should be the article name. We should not mess with traditional terminology, even though there is the point you make, and also the lack of definition at values for which the denominator vanishes. Charles Matthews 08:30, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

Many people say "rational expression". It depends on the setting. In ring theory, the rational expressions are the quotient field of the integral domain of polynomials. They are not in any sense "functions" since they are not mappings -- no input or output. They are formal expressions, analogous to the rational numbers, which are the quotient field of the integers.

This is a distinction that was driven home to me in Freshman calculus at M.I.T. The expression x2 - 4 is a polynomial, x2 - 4 = 0 is an equation, and f(x) = x2 - 4 is a function. If the polynomial x - a is a factor of the polynomial, then a is a root of the corresponding polynomial equation, and a is an x-intercept of the corresponding polynomial function.

It still bugs me when people jumble all of these words together.

If you don't like the idea of a name change for this article, can we at least write f(x) = P(x)/Q(x), instead of just the bare expression? Rick Norwood 15:55, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

 * No disagreement from me that 'function' here is a misnomer. Policy is to use the common name. "Rational function" has five times the Google hits. I'm quiter happy for the article to have a full discussion of all those points. But in a sense the functional notation runs counter to the argument that this is not a function ... Charles Matthews 16:10, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

I appreciate the changes you've made. I'm going to look into how this works with various links to this page, especially from the page fraction. Rick Norwood 17:24, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

I note that the title of the article on polynomial functions is "polynomial", though the article begins by identifying polynomials and polynomial functions. (It makes a distinction a few sentences later.) I would like to see the distinction between the various kinds of mathematical objects consistant throughout wikipedia, but it would be a big job and also apt to ruffle feathers. I'm going to make a tentative start, and see what happens. Rick Norwood 23:35, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

To return to the subject after that a bit off topic conversation: Even if irrational function may not be a standard term, some people seem to know rather well what it should be, for example in wikipedia: List of integrals of irrational functions. I think that irrational function deserves to be defined here or maybe in it's on article. Currently irrational function redirects here, but the article doesn't even mention it.85.156.185.105 21:53, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm not seeing any examples of functions which are not rational. All the examples suggest that all functions are rational - which is clearly not the case. 121.45.172.38 (talk) 05:02, 19 January 2010 (UTC)

 * All functions that cannot be written in the form f(x) = P(x)/Q(x) are not rational. If this isn't clear, maybe we need to say it explicitly.  Rick Norwood (talk) 14:50, 19 January 2010 (UTC)

Form and function.
polynomial function redirects to polynomial. But Rational expression redirects to rational function. I don't care which way the redirects go, but it should be consistent. My personal preference is for the object to be the title of the article and the function to be a major subtopic, but I can go either way. I'm placing this comment in the talk pages of both polynomial and rational function in hopes of finding a consensus. Rick Norwood 16:14, 24 December 2005 (UTC)

 * I did a more refined Google search: "rational expression"+"partial fractions", versus "rational function"+"partial fractions". This time 'function' predominated by a factor of 20. This supports my hunch that, important as the distinction may be pedagogically, 'expression' gets dropped as soon as the level of the material becomes more technical.

 * I then replaced "Partial fractions" by "computer algebra": also more than 10:1 in favour of 'function'. "Computer algebra system" was somewhat less conclusive. One could go on; but in no context have I yet found 'expression' preferred.

 * Charles Matthews 19:17, 24 December 2005 (UTC)

The point is that "rational expression" and "rational function" mean different things, not that one is a more popular and the other a less popular way of referring to the same thing. Am I just being pedantic when I say that 2x + 3, y = 2x + 3, and 2x + 3 = 0 are three different though similar mathematical objects? The first is a polynomial, the second a function, and the third an equation. Is it really ok to say that they are all functions, or that they are all equations, or that they are all polynomials?

If so, then it is the article "Polynomial" that should be retitled "Polynomial function", but we should be consistent. Rick Norwood 01:39, 25 December 2005 (UTC)

 * Disagree with any renaming. Polynomial and polynomial function are of course different things, but to see that you need to go to finite rings or rings of finite characteristic, and most people don't get there. Yes, I think it is being pedantic to ask for consistency where most people don't see a problem. This is an encyclopedia directed at the general public, if we were arguing about writing a book for PhD students, then I may be inclined to agree with you. Oleg Alexandrov (talk) 16:08, 30 December 2005 (UTC)

 * I did more research at Google. It turns out that RE+"College algebra" gets more hits than RF+"College algebra". This explains something to me: since 'college algebra' doesn't exist as a subject in the UK, we are talking here about a US-centric usage, of mainly pedagogic value. Charles Matthews 17:01, 30 December 2005 (UTC)

 * Try "algebraic fraction". That may be the UK term.  But, again, this is not a question of two different names for the same thing, but two different things.  x/y is something, and that something isn't a function.  I've heard these things called algebraic fractions; I've heard them called rational expressions.  They may have other names -- but rational function isn't one of them.  I run into them when I have to teach "college algebra" (now almost always called "precalculus"), and again when I teach the graduate course in ring theory. Rick Norwood 00:47, 31 December 2005 (UTC)

 * Algebraic fraction redirects here. The term is not used at all in the article, but in the section Definitions, $$\frac{P(x)}{Q(x)}$$ is referred to as a fraction. In view of the intense discussion on Talk:Fraction (mathematics), a clarification would be appreciated. Isheden (talk) 22:03, 2 October 2011 (UTC)

I have allowed some time to pass since editing polynomial. I am now going to begin editing this article. Rick Norwood 23:01, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

I feel it is hard to understand how one comes from the equations separated by: "Since this holds true for all x in the radius of convergence of the original Taylor series, it follows that". I feel this should be explained a bit further. Anze Vodovnik 23:48, 1 June 2006 (GMT+1)

 * I'll see what I can do. Rick Norwood 17:09, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

New Images
I've just created these three images for this article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:RationalDegree2byXedi.gif

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:RationalDegree3byXedi.gif

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:RationalDegree4byXedi.gif

Feel free to add them, as I do not know how to.

Xedi 17:30, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

 * Just added two of them, don't really know where to fit the third so didn't put it in. Xedi 18:08, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

Application
Just moved the paragraph beginning "These objects are first encountered in school algebra" to this section where it more properly belongs. I am also removing the reference to an alternative construction for hyperreal numbers, a reflection of my own original research that does not belong in Wikipedia, Alan R. Fisher 01:01, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

Shouldn't the sections on Taylor series, Complex analysis, and Abstract algebra be subsecions of this section? I will leave that for more experienced editors to decide. Alan R. Fisher 01:01, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

Examples
The examples section states that the limit of a certain function as x goes to infinity is... another function. Instead of limit, it should say asymptote, I guess. Also, there was something about the "negation" of the imaginary unit. I took the liberty of changing "negation" to "negative". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.232.19.210 (talk) 12:39, 21 August 2008 (UTC)

Algebraic geometry
This article doesn't address rational functions as defined in algebraic geometry, as elements of the function field of a variety... anyone care to aa —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.231.110.182 (talk) 01:05, 15 November 2009 (UTC)

 * I've added a brief paragraph, based on the Springer reference. Charles Matthews (talk) 09:43, 15 November 2009 (UTC)

 * Rational functions are not morphisms to the projective line, since the numerator and the denominator can vanish simultaneously. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.119.109.101 (talk) 16:38, 21 June 2010 (UTC)

Clarification sought
I don't understand the meaning of the sentence below (which appears under "Definitions"). Can someone explain?

"... where one assumes that the fraction is written in its lower degree terms, that is, \textstyle P and \textstyle Q have several factors of the positive degree."

Thanks

Lead
The recent edits have clarified the distinction between rational function, rational fraction, and rational expression. This is very welcome, but I'd prefer the lead sentence to define rational function rather than rational fraction:
 * In mathematics, a rational function is any function which can be defined by a rational fraction, i.e. an algebraic fraction such that both the numerator and the denominator are polynomials.

Note that "rational fraction" is not written in bold here since rational fraction does not redirect to this article. Moreover, I'm not sure whether "rational expression" should redirect to this article. Wouldn't algebraic expression be a more straightforward target in analogy with rational fraction redirecting to algebraic fraction? Isheden (talk) 21:24, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

 * I can accept these modifications. My only concern is that the reader that arrive to any of these pages would be provided with definitions that are accurately correct. D.Lazard (talk) 21:42, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

total order
A section is needed on ordering and total orders, since I believe that, for example, the Levi-Civita field is a totally ordered subfield of the rational functions, but I'm not entirely clear on the details. Clearly, the power series $$F^G$$ can be totally ordered whenever F is a field, and G is an abelian group, and the coefficients of the power series are totally ordered. That is, when the series $$\sum_g a_g X^g$$ has the property that the set of non-zero coefficients $$\{a_g\}$$ can be totally ordered; one can then impose a lexicographic order on such series (that is, X behaves as if it were infinitessimal). However, how to extend this to a rational series is not obvious: am I supposed to "divide things out", to get an ordinary series, and then order things?? Is there some other ordering?

Also, the lead to the article surreal number suggests that rational functions can be totally ordered; clicking through to here provides no such discussion.67.198.37.16 (talk) 17:29, 5 July 2016 (UTC)

Ring
I believe there's a mistake in the first paragraph: a rational function can be a fractional of polynomials defined over rings and not only fields. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.179.6.85 (talk) 19:32, 8 August 2016 (UTC)
 * No, there is no mistake. Probably some authors generalize the definition for coefficients in a ring, but this is too marginal to be mentioned in the lead. In fact, if the ring of coefficients is an integral domain R, then the field of fractions of the polynomials over R (see the new second paragraph of the lead) is the field of the rational fractions over the field of fractions of R. So, in this case, there is no need for a definition of rational functions over R. For other rings of coefficients, there is no definition, which is widely accepted in the literature. D.Lazard (talk) 08:10, 9 August 2016 (UTC)

Requirement on the denominator?
If
 * $$f(x)=\frac{a_m x^m+a_{m-1} x^{m-1}+\dotsb +a_1x+a_0}{b_n x^n+b_{n-1} x^{n-1}+\dotsb +b_1x+b_0}$$

then, isn't it a requirement that bn is != 0 and n > 0? Svjo (talk) 15:30, 17 November 2016 (UTC)

 * The requirement is that the denominator should not be the zero polynomial. The conditions you mentioned will guarantee that, but they are not necessary since just having $b_{0} ≠ 0$ will also work. --Bill Cherowitzo (talk) 17:39, 17 November 2016 (UTC)
 * If bn = 0, this means that the degree of the denominator is less than n. This is not a requirement, although many reasonings are easier is one supposes that n is the degree of the denominator, that is if one removes the zero terms.
 * If the degree of the denominator is zero, that is if n = 0 and bn = b0 ≠ 0, this means that the denominator is a constant, and that the fraction is a polynomial. Thus, and this is the usual convention, a polynomial is a rational function; similarly, integers are rational numbers. This convention is necessary for the rational functions forming a field. D.Lazard (talk) 17:45, 17 November 2016 (UTC)

Proper rational function
User:D.Lazard you may think that this term has a more common meaning (and I doubted myself at first because I got it from a control systems source, not a maths source) but the first page of gbooks results agree with my definition, and many of those are books on some field of mathematics. So it is for you to provide a source. SpinningSpark 21:11, 24 December 2016 (UTC) ...and it is a bit rich demanding a source for a minor addition that a WP:BEFORE would easily have showm to be correct in an article that is entirely uncited. SpinningSpark 10:57, 25 December 2016 (UTC)

Biquadratic function
The use of biquadratic function in the network theory sense may have first been used by mathematician Ronald M. Foster who did some of the early work in the fied in the 1920s. See this 1963 paper for instance. SpinningSpark 23:07, 9 April 2020 (UTC)

title: Talk:Rational function


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DNB ASA

DNB ASA (formerly DnB NOR ASA) is Norway's largest financial services group, with total combined assets of more than NOK 1.9 trillion and a market capitalisation NOK 164 billion as of 20 May 2016. DNB's head office is located in Oslo.

The two largest owners of DNB are the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry (34.0%) and Sparebankstiftelsen DnB NOR (10.0%). The latter was created as a foundation with the sole purpose of owning a part of the company. It was created when Gjensidige NOR was made a public limited company to ensure that the company's customers retained partial ownership of the company. The foundation can also give up to 25% of its received dividend as gifts to charity.

Operations

The DNB Bank Group is the largest entity in the DNB Group and Norway's largest bank, offering services to the corporate, retail, and securities markets and the public sector. Domestically, the group has an investment bank, DNB Markets, the finance company Cresco, the real estate agency DNB Eiendom and DNB Asset Management, which operates as a fund manager for institutional clients in Norway and Sweden. DNB has the largest customer base in the Norwegian financial market. In Norway, DNB has more than 2.3 million retail customers and more than 200,000 corporate clients, with 61 branch offices.

The group's activities are primarily focused on Norway; however, it is one of the world's foremost shipping banks and a major international player in the energy sector. It has an international network of 27 branches and representative offices, including Helsinki (Finland), Copenhagen (Denmark), Hamburg (Germany), Luxembourg, London (United Kingdom), New York (United States), Houston (United States), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Santiago (Chile), Shanghai (China) and Singapore. The company also has multiple offices in Sweden.

In Denmark, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania DNB used to market itself as DnB NORD in what was initially a joint venture with the German bank Norddeutsche Landesbank with DNB owning a full stake since December 23, 2010. On November 11, 2011, the bank was rebranded and adopted the common DNB brand throughout these countries. In these countries, DNB has 930,000 customers and 163 branch offices.

History
The history of the group goes back to 1822, with the establishment of Christiania Sparebank. The present corporation consists of mergers between Christiania Sparebank (1822), Gjensidige (1847), Bergens Privatbank (1855), Den norske Creditbank (1857), Fellesbanken (1920), Bergens Kreditbank (1928), Postbanken, Vital and Nordlandsbanken. The name DnB NOR was adopted in 2003, when the two banks Den norske Bank (DnB) and Gjensidige NOR were merged. The company changed its legal name and brand to DNB in November 2011.

In August 2017, DNB and Nordea combined their operations in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to create Luminor Bank.

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

title: DNB ASA


text:
Phantom 2040

Phantom 2040 is an animated series that is loosely based on the comic strip superhero The Phantom, created by Lee Falk. The central character of the series is said to be the 24th Phantom. It was aired from September 18, 1994 to March 3, 1996 in syndication.

Story
It is the year 2040, all environmental disasters and the economic Resource Wars from the early 21st century have decimated the fragile ecosystem balance of an Earth once teeming with life. Everywhere, the privileged and wealthy continue to thrive in expensive real estate developments that tower above the suffering masses. The victims of Earth's misfortune have been forced to subsist on scavenged refuse from the past on the mangled streets of forlorn city-states.

In Metropia (once known as New York City), the largest and most powerful of the city-states, the powerful robotics manufacturing corporation Maximum Inc. has slowly shaped a cold, steely urban center, consisting of huge, residential towers intertwined with TubeTrain tunnels. Maximum's robotic "biots" (Biological Optical Transputer System) have replaced enormous amounts of human labor, and the corporation is illegally producing prohibited combat biots to form Maximum's private underground army. Under this guise of efficient progress, Maximum has its own plans for the future, which it refers to as the Maximum Era. Through the construction of the fortress of Cyberville, an immense survival shelter where only the wealthiest and most elite humans will retreat, and the take over of Metropia by means of its biot armies, its plans ultimately involve the dark path of decline and extinction as the culminating result of man's prior errors and efforts, once Earth finally succumbs to its slowly deteriorating state.

The only hope for the survival of humanity is the Ghost Jungle — thousands of square miles of mutated vegetation that may be the planet's salvation. This secret source of life is submerged beneath Metropia, unseen by most. College student Kit Walker Jr. is chosen by fate to save the world, donning the black mask and purple suit of his people's savior, the 24th Phantom.

The role of the Phantom has been passed on from father to son since the 16th century, leading the world to believe that the Phantom is a single immortal individual. Kit, the 24th in the line, is young, unsure, and inexperienced, but he finds within him the courage and might to battle the evil that threatens to destroy the Earth.

Cast and characters
Phantom 2040's voice cast included Scott Valentine, Margot Kidder, Ron Perlman, Leah Remini, J.D. Hall, Alan Oppenheimer, Richard Lynch and Jeff Bennett - while Mark Hamill, Debbie Harry, Rob Paulsen and Paul Williams had recurring roles.

 * Kit Walker, Jr. – The 24th Phantom, Kit was not trained for the role like his ancestors were. His father died under mysterious circumstances when he was only a baby, and he grew up not knowing about his heritage. When Guran tells him about the Phantom on his eighteenth birthday, he is initially disbelieving but takes on the role with increasing conviction. His equipment includes optical camouflage for invisibility, a wristband that contains a powerful computer ("analytical"), and another that contains a smart inductance rope. He has several vehicles, including a nimble airborne Hypercycle, a cloaking multi-passenger cruiser, and an upgraded 1999 Mustang named "Hero", after the 21st Phantom's horse. After defeating Maximum Inc, he looks towards a long vacation, until the day the Phantom is needed again. Voiced by Scott Valentine.
 * Guran – Kit's mentor, whose family have been aiding the Phantom for generations. Together with Jack Archer, Guran instructs the Phantom in combat, morality, and life itself, and is frequently seen reciting insightful "old jungle sayings" to Kit and others. After the 23rd Phantom's death, Guran blamed himself, and consumed in his sadness and self-hatred he became the legendary Shadow Panther until he was freed from his mourning forever by Kit Walker Jr. Voiced by J. D. Hall.
 * Jack Archer – A scientist and professor in biology at Kit's university. After Kit dons the identity of the Phantom, Archer takes only a short time to deduce that they are the same and becomes one of the few who know the Phantom's true identity. Together with Guran, Archer takes on the role of Kit's mentor, particularly in scientific and contemporary parts of his education. Later on, (due to his wishes to work for the greater good like Kit), opens a small Detective agency like his family before him. Voiced by Alan Oppenheimer.
 * "Sparks" (Daniel Aguilar) – A young, orphaned cyber-surfer who is rescued by Kit after Maximum mistakes Sparks as the Phantom. Sparks is unofficially adopted into the Phantom's lair, and assists in the technological parts of their endeavors. When he was three, his parents, Esteban and María, were kidnapped by Maximum and cruelly used as the mental tissue for the biomechanical "living building" Project Gauntlet, Cyberville's security system. Voiced by Pamela Adlon.
 * Sagan Cruz – A Metropian policewoman or "Enforcer", who is attracted to Kit but was initially unaware of his dual identity, and was skeptical about the Phantom's motives. She later figures out his secret and eventually becomes Kit's love interest and partner. She has a genetically engineered police dog named D.V.L. (a reference to the 21st Phantom's wolf, Devil) and in combat dons a well-armored Enforcer suit. Voiced by Leah Remini.
 * Heloise Walker – Kit's only living relative, Heloise is the daughter of the 21st Phantom, the sister of the 22nd Phantom, the aunt of the 23rd Phantom, and the great-aunt of Kit Walker, Jr. – The 24th Phantom. She kept the truth from Kit, hoping he could lead a normal life, but accepts Kit's choice to become the 24th Phantom and assists him in his plans to stop Maximum Inc. Voiced by Carrie Snodgress.
 * Rebecca Madison – The series villain, chairperson of Maximum Inc. and widow of Maxwell Madison Sr., the 23rd Phantom's killer. Rebecca plans to construct Cyberville, an impenetrable technological fortress where the select wealthy and elite may seek refuge when the Earth begins to deteriorate (something Rebecca's underground biot army will ensure takes place relatively soon), but her plans of domination are frequently being foiled by the Phantom. Despite her evil ways, she does have some redeeming qualities, such as wishing to know that her son is safe before evacuating from an attack, as well as Kit suggesting she is a very lonely woman. Other than Graft and her son, Maxwell Madison Jr., no other humans are employed by Maximum, which has its own biots perform all labor. In the end, with all of her crimes revealed to the world, she is quickly arrested and sent to prison. Voiced by Margot Kidder.
 * Maxwell Madison Jr. – Rebecca's psychopathic son, whose intelligence is belied by his laziness and outward disinterest in almost everything. When he does have an opinion on something, he presents it as coming from his cat, Charles Baudelaire. He is psychologically disturbed with the disorders being rooted in the loss of his father at such an early age.  His cat, perhaps the last remaining symbol of his father's love for him, is his only and most trusted friend. In the end, after Rebecca is arrested both he and his cat, are sent to a mental asylum, or as Cruz put it, a "padded prison". Voiced by Jeff Bennett.
 * Hubert Graft – Rebecca Madison's Chief of Security and main enforcer, a cyborg. He was formerly an environmentalist who turned and fought against Maximum to protect the Amazon rainforest, before losing his whole body below the shoulders in combat. Maximum rebuilt Graft's body using biot parts, giving Rebecca Madison complete control over Graft's life. Graft's biot torso can be disconnected (a painful process) at the hip and integrated into other robotic systems over which Graft has complete control, most commonly the Urban Combat Biot Walker, a ten-foot steel exoskeleton armed with lasers and claws. Despite this, he still has a desire to protect nature and will work with the Phantom if a bigger threat hits it. Several times the Phantom asks if he would want to escape Maximum's clutches, but he always turns this offer down. He also is against harming children, even if that child trespassed and destroyed invaluable company technology. In the end, after Maximum Inc is defeated, he is mentioned to have been sent to a halfway house. Voiced by Ron Perlman in the first season, and Richard Lynch in the second.
 * Doctor Jak – A cynical sensationalist TV yellow journalist who reports the Phantom's activities with a negative spin. His arrogance and vanity bring him to believe that rather than being merely a reporter of news, he "is the news", and therefore anything he does not see (such as purposely covering his eye when it is revealed the Phantom was being framed) is not the news. In "Matter Over Mind", it is discovered that after Jak's wife perished in the Grand Central Station crash, he attempted an illegal operation to integrate an analytical computer into his mind, but the operation was interrupted and the analytical program thought lost. Dr. Jak was left part-biot, with sensory implants on his head and a multi-purpose eyepiece which he uses to film his news program, The Dr. Jak Show. His character and how he criminalizes the Phantom are comparable to J. Jonah Jameson of Spider-Man. Voiced by Mark Hamill.
 * Mr. Cairo – A mysterious information broker who only appears in holographic transmissions and who deals with both the Phantom and Maximum Inc. Early on, he discovers the Phantom's true identity but chooses to withhold the information from Rebecca Madison despite the enormous reward being offered. He is later revealed to actually be the sentient analytical program separated from Dr. Jak's consciousness, but he decides not to rejoin Dr. Jak's mind and instead stays on to loyally assist the Phantom, though meets his end when Max Jr. shuts down the power with him still in it, deleting him. Voiced by Paul Williams.
 * Sean One – The first human born in outer space and founder and leader of the Free Orbital Movement, Sean One seeks independence for his Orbital colonies. An arrogant and abnormally tall man, he resorts to espionage and terrorist attacks to achieve his ends and is unable to walk by himself while in the presence of gravity. He is revered among the Orbitals' inhabitants in an almost god-like way and is extremely apathetic towards whom he calls the "gravity-slaves" of Earth. He is defeated when he publicly announced his plan to rig the votes to make the Orbital Colonies independent, as well as attempting to kill Vaingloria. Voiced by Rob Paulsen.
 * Gorda – A morbidly obese crime lord and smuggler from Australia who is unable to move by herself and has an army of strong, red-tinted biots under her command. She refers to herself in virtual camera system and has a well-armed robotic kangaroo as her sole companion. In the end, she is arrested and transported back to Australia to await trial. Voiced by Paddi Edwards.
 * Heisenberg – A shape-shifting fractal biot built by Max Madison Jr. using nanites grown in space by Sean One, named by Maxwell after the German physicist Werner Heisenberg. Heisenberg is the first stable fractal biot created by Maximum and is controlled by Maxwell using a separate remote brain which must be carried around in a case. Heisenberg is forced to impersonate the Phantom and succeeds in criminalizing him with the help of Dr. Jak, but after a confrontation with the Phantom, Maxwell loses the remote brain and hence control of Heisenberg. Afterward, the fractal biot gains independence and a form of sentience, dons a wide-brimmed hat and trench coat, and seeks answers for his past, remembering nothing of his creation other than his name. He meets a wise street saxophonist named Betty, and after deciding to take his own path, becomes a "teacher" to biots everywhere, helping them to be free from their human owners and become self-aware. Heisenberg eventually joins the Phantom and becomes a close companion to Pavlova, Dr. Jak's assistant. Voiced by Rob Paulsen.
 * Pavlova - Dr. Jak's personal biot assistant, distinguishable by red symbols on her face. Pavlova sometimes questions the honesty and morality of Jak's news uploads, but always has her memory wiped by Jak afterward (a task he does somewhat reluctantly). Nicknamed "Pav" by Jak, the reporter treats her as his friend and sometimes even in a joking, romantic way, because Pavlova was named after Jak's late wife. Pavlova also befriends Heisenberg, who takes an interest in her. She ultimately tells Jak "I will program myself from now on", at which later Jak laments, "You just had to be your own person, just like her", referring to Pav's namesake. Voiced by Liz Georges.
 * Vaingloria – A popular starlet singer trained by Maximum Inc. to brainwash the public. It is known that Rebecca Madison found her as a street urchin and offered her food, shelter, and fame in exchange for her services for Maximum. Rebecca had her fitted with retractable mirrors which can focus light to such a strength that looking at the mirrors can overload the mind's senses, effectively hypnotizing the public into adoring her and on Maximum's orders using them to completely brainwash certain people (it can be assumed that the mirrors are difficult to control with precision, as Vaingloria once accidentally sent a victim into a coma). Vaingloria reluctantly takes part in several of Maximum's plots and becomes particularly close to Graft, who (somewhat) reciprocates. He ultimately hardwires her mirrors she can use them on her own. Voiced by Deborah Harry.
 * Betty – A wise street saxophonist who becomes Heisenberg's best friend and companion. She is seen to be aware of everything around her and frequently relating life to the blues. She carries a saxophone that was the property of former U.S. president Bill Clinton. Voiced by Iona Morris.
 * Maxwell Madison Sr. – Rebecca's deceased husband, who was killed along with the 23rd Phantom in a toxic train wreck. Rebecca captures his brainwaves and stores them in an enormous computer, and is constantly seeking a stable way to transfer them into a biot or preferably a living body to effectively resurrect Maxwell Madison Sr. He was regarded as a very dangerous and power-hungry man when he was alive and in control of Maximum, Inc, but it is discovered that his plans for the world were very ecologically beneficial and that his ambitious wife Rebecca sabotaged his plans in favor of greedy, selfish world domination. Voiced by Jeff Bennett.

Development
The show was developed for television by executive producer David J. Corbett and executive story editors Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. In addition to story-editing both seasons, the Reeves-Stevens devised the show's writers' bible, and scripted numerous episodes, including the two-part pilot (Generation Unto Generation). Other key writers on the show included Brynne Chandler and Michael Reaves.

The unusual character designs were the distinctive work of Peter Chung, creator of Æon Flux.

The art director/conceptual designer on the show was Thom Schillinger, who created all of the background designs and technical concept designs to complement Peter Chung's distinctively elongated character design.

The show debuted in 1994 to rave reviews, though it survived only 35 episodes before it was relegated to weekend repeats in 1996. Along with action sequences, stories focused on intelligent plotting and character development, winning the series praise for its subtle teaching of such values as individuality, freedom and the volatility of humanity.

Along with Andrea Romano's equally pioneering work on Batman: The Animated Series, Stu Rosen's voice direction on Phantom 2040 had a lasting impact on animated adventure television. Romano and Rosen cast accomplished dramatic actors and introduced a new level of maturity and complexity to their show's vocal performances that set the standard for all TV animation that followed.

Video game
A Phantom 2040 video game was produced for Sega Genesis, Game Gear and Super NES, and like the animated series, it received very positive reviews despite its obscurity. It is possible to play as both the Phantom and, in the Game Gear version, his alter-ego, Kit Walker. The game has over 20 different endings, depending on the choices the player makes while progressing through the story, and revolves around Rebecca Madison's attempts to create a biot army, revive her dead husband and seize control of both Metropia and the world.

Comic books
Phantom 2040 was adapted into a comic book series by Marvel Comics in 1995 (cover dated May–August 1995). Only four issues were published, released as a mini-series. The stories were only loosely based on the TV series, and was notably different in tone from the dark, complex animated show. The comic book was written by Peter Quinones, pencilled by Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko and inked by Bill Reinhold. Each issue featured a free poster drawn by such artists as John Romita Sr.

VHS
Family Home Entertainment VHS Releases 1994/1995 (USA)

A straight-to-video compilation titled Phantom 2040: The Ghost Who Walks was released in the USA on VHS by Family Home Entertainment in 1994 (and re-released on May 21, 1996). It is made up of the first five episodes of season 1 edited into a single movie.

Family Home Entertainment subsequently released eight first-season episodes across four commercially available VHS tapes (in the USA) on August 22, 1995:

1) Generation Unto Generation Parts 1 and 2

2) Fire and I.C.E. / The Sum of the Parts

3) Dark Orbit Parts 1 and 2

4) The Ghost in the Machine / The Biot in Red

DVD
Lions Gate DVD Release 2004 (USA)

Phantom 2040: The Ghost Who Walks was re-released on DVD by Lions Gate on September 21, 2004 and remains available for purchase in most counties as a US import.

Via Vision Entertainment DVD Release 2013 (Australia) In Australia (where the popularity of Lee Falk's original Phantom comic strip has never waned), Season One was released as a four-disc DVD collection (containing the first twenty episodes of the show) by Via Vision Entertainment on 6 November 2013.

YouTube
The Complete Phantom 2040 on YouTube All 35 episodes of Phantom 2040 (33 original episodes plus the first and second season "bridging" compilation episodes Rite of Passage and The World is My Jungle) are officially available for viewing on YouTube via the Comics Kingdom channel. Comics Kingdom is the official YouTube channel of King Features Syndicate, who hold all rights to The Phantom. The Comics Kingdom channel also features all episodes of the Phantom 2040 production team's later Flash Gordon show and all episodes of Defenders of the Earth (starring Flash Gordon, The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician).

title: Phantom 2040


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Putter Smith

Patrick Verne "Putter" Smith (born January 19, 1941) is an American jazz bassist, music teacher, author, and actor.

Early life
Smith was born in Bell, California, near Los Angeles, and began playing the bass at the age of eight, inspired by his older brother, jazz musician Carson Smith. He made his performing debut aged 13 at the Compton Community Center.

Career
He went on to perform with Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Duke Ellington, Billy Eckstine, Diane Schuur, Lee Konitz, Bruce Forman, Jackie and Roy, Carmen McRae, Gary Foster, Art Farmer, Blue Mitchell, Erroll Garner, Gerry Mulligan, Art Pepper, Alan Broadbent, Bob Brookmeyer, Warne Marsh, Ray Charles, Patrice Rushen, Jorge Rossy, Jimmy Wormworth, Mason Williams, Percy Faith, Burt Bacharach, The Manhattan Transfer, and Johnny Mathis. He works as a session musician, and has played on recordings by Beck, Smokey Hormel, Sonny and Cher, The Beach Boys, and The Righteous Brothers, among many others.

Smith taught at the Musician's Institute, and at the California Institute of the Arts.

Smith was playing with Monk at the Los Angeles jazz club Shelly's Manne-Hole when he was spotted by director Guy Hamilton, who cast him as the assassin Mr. Kidd (alongside Bruce Glover as Mr. Wint) in the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. He went on to have several other minor acting roles on film and television.

Filmography

 * Diamonds Are Forever (1971) – Mr. Kidd
 * Win, Place or Steal (1974) – Kangaroo
 * In the Mood (1987) – Minister

title: Putter Smith


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Perrault

Perrault may refer to:

 * Perrault (surname), people with the surname
 * Perrault (horse), a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse
 * Perrault, Ontario, Canada

title: Perrault


text: User talk:67.125.193.111

title: User talk:67.125.193.111


text: Wikipedia:POTD/December 9, 2004

title: Wikipedia:POTD/December 9, 2004


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Stretch Armstrong

Stretch Armstrong is a large, gel-filled action figure that was first introduced in 1976 by Kenner. In 2016, at the New York Toy Fair, Hasbro announced the return of the Stretch Armstrong toy in its original 1976 design.

Stretch Armstrong is made of latex rubber filled with a proprietary gelled substance similar to corn syrup, which allows it to retain shape for a short time before shrinking to its original shape.

Stretch Armstrong is an action figure shaped as a short muscular man with blond hair wearing black trunks. The doll's most notable feature is that it can be stretched from its normal size of about 15 in to 4 to 5 ft. If a tear does develop, it can be fixed with an adhesive bandage. Information on how to repair Stretch is provided in the toy's instruction booklet, which is included in the original box.

History
The Stretch Armstrong toy concept was created by Jesse D. Horowitz, the industrial designer for Kenner's R&D group. The idea was approved for development by the head of R&D, Jeep (James) Kuhn, vice president of Kenner.

The "stretch man" idea as it was called was pursued with two different bodies in mind. One was a sumo wrestler and the other was an All-American blond hunk. Horowitz sculpted the models himself instead of hiring a freelancer. The sumo man was too bulky and large, so the All-American body was cast by Kenner's model maker Richard Dobek, and the resultant resin model was taken to a latex doll manufacturer in New Jersey, where the first bodies were dipped.

Originally, springs were thought of as the way to stretch the man. However, they were thought to be too awkward and stiff, too difficult to insert and would likely pierce the skin. Kuhn, a chemical engineer, pursued a liquid sugar idea which eventually proved successful. Tremendous quantities of Karo corn syrup were purchased from an A&P supermarket. The syrup was boiled down to get the proper viscosity. Kuhn and Horowitz flew to Kenner's headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, and presented the concept to Bernie Loomis, Kenner's president. He loved it and a toy icon was born.

The original Stretch Armstrong figure was conceived and developed by Bill Armasmith, and was in production from 1976 until 1980. Denys Fisher manufactured and released the figure in Europe, under license from Kenner. The original 1970s toy commands high prices on the secondary collectors' market, selling for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of US dollars. Through storage and play, the figure could become damaged and rendered useless. There are still original Stretch Armstrongs that have survived the passing of time and are remarkably preserved through sheer luck or being stored at the correct temperature. The figure keeps best at room temperature.

Stretch Armstrong is made of latex rubber filled with gelled corn syrup, which allows it to retain shape for a short time before shrinking to its original shape.

Similar releases
An estimated 67 different versions from Japan, Germany, Italy, France, Australia, and other countries released Stretch Armstrong variations between 1976 and the 1990s.

 * Stretch X-Ray (1977), had an oversized exposed brain and an alien-looking face with a transparent form that showed its internal organs which were lungs, an intestinal system and what appears to be a heart. This version was re-released.
 * Harbert Sport Mister Muscolo, 1977 Italian version of Stretch Armstrong
 * Lili Ledy El Hombre Elastico, Mexican version of Stretch Armstrong
 * Tsukuda Mr. X, Japanese version of Stretch Armstrong
 * Stretch Monster, a reptilian green nemesis released by Kenner in 1978
 * Harbert Sport Mister Mostro, Italian version of Stretch Monster
 * Tsukuda Stretch Monster, Japanese version
 * Stretch Ollie and Stretch Olivia, male and female octopuses (colored blue and pink, respectively) which had the same face shape but the only difference was their color. Kenner issued both weeks apart but Ollie was more popular. The Denys Fisher UK toy company issued Ollie and Olivia in smaller boxes than their American counterparts, saving on shelf space. The figures are rare to come by now.
 * Denys Fisher Stretch Incredible Hulk (1979) This figure used the original Stretch Armstrong molds and graphics without permission, and was discontinued due to a lawsuit from Kenner in 1980.
 * Mego Elastic Donald Duck (1980)
 * Mego Elastic Mickey Mouse (1980)
 * Mego Elastic Batman
 * Mego Elastic Incredible Hulk (1979)
 * Mego Elastic Plastic Man (1979)
 * Kenner Stretch Serpent
 * Cap Toys Fetch Armstrong, Stretch Armstrong's pliable canine counterpart, released in the early 1990s
 * Kenner/Hasbro Super Stretch Mask
 * Cap Toys Stretch Vac-Man
 * ToyQuest Super Morphman
 * Super Impulse Gumby and Pokey Stretch

The last two were filled with a granular solid in place of the viscous liquid found in the other figures. A vacuum pump, which attached to the heads of these figures, removed the air from within, which "froze" the toy in its stretched position.

Stretch Armstrong was reissued in the 1990s by Cap Toys, with a canine sidekick, "Fetch Armstrong". The reissue stretch Armstrong had a more comical exaggerated face (a huge genial smile) and had on a vanity T-shirt and shorts. This new reissue figure was introduced in 1993 and 1994 version exist with slightly different art work. He also has an evil brother named Evil X-ray Wretch Armstrong who has a skull face, sports a mohawk, and also stretches. Wretch Armstrong seems to be a redesigned, smaller remake of Stretch X-Ray but in reality looks nothing like the 1970s version. Evil X-ray Wretch Armstrong is only 7 inches tall whereas Stretch X-ray was over 12 inches tall.

Cancelled film
In 1994, Walt Disney Studios obtained the film rights to the character. Several scripts were written, including an early version family comedy written by Greg Erb, a co-writer at Disney. The script which cast Tim Allen in the role of Stretch Armstrong as a "kind of single dad who is a research scientist" and is "stretched too thin" trying to balance his work and family life before he inadvertently accidentally takes one of his experimental serums giving himself "stretchy powers". A later version from screenwriter Michael Kalesniko was created and it was set in San Francisco. It was about a somewhat socially awkward nobody beset with troubles trying to venture out his failing personal life and is genetically modified with stretching abilities after a failed nuclear fusion experiment and must use his newfound abilities to solve the tragedy that has befallen his family. Among the actors who were considered for the role was Danny DeVito, who refused to do the film if the script made any jokes about his height. Several other writers, such as Mike Werb and Michael Colleary, provided rewrites, and Peter Care was attached to direct, but due to lack of time on the rights, both ideas from Disney were scrapped and the rights were bought up by Hasbro.

In 2008, Universal Studios signed a deal with Hasbro to create another film based on Stretch Armstrong from a screenplay written by Nicholas Stoller.

It was announced from the studios co-chairman Donna Langley that Taylor Lautner would star as Armstrong and that the film would be in 3-D. She stated that "with Lautner's success energy and athleticism he is a perfect fit to a unlikely hero." Producer Brian Grazer stated "Stretch Armstrong is a character I have wanted to see on screen for a long time ... It’s a story about a guy stretching ... the limits of what is possible to become all that he can be." Another script was being made by writer Steve Oedekerk introducing the character in the form of an uptight spy who stumbles across a stretching formula, which he takes and now must adjust to his newfound abilities when fighting crime and in his everyday life.

Two years later, after the excitement drummed up by the Studios ideas for the character, Relativity Media announced that they had picked up the film after it was dropped by Universal and set a new release date of April 11, 2014. Planning to make the film more serious than originally intended by Universal, Relativity hired The Manchurian Candidate writer Dean Georgaris to write a new script, dropped Lautner, and hired Breck Eisner to direct. The film origin story was going to introduce an overwhelmed high schooler and the life-or-death consequences he was going to face after undergoing a transformation granting him superhuman abilities. Production was scheduled to start filming on May 15, 2013, in Montreal but by October 2013, both the studio and Hasbro had abandoned the film to work on other projects.

Television
After four attempted films for Stretch Armstrong, Hasbro Studios made a deal with the video streaming service website Netflix where the property was picked up for a full 26-episode animated series, making it the first deal between the company and the streaming service. This superhero action/comedy animated series followed a teenager named Jake Armstrong and his two best friends as they go into action after being exposed to an experimental chemical making them Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters—a team of stretchable superheroes who must work together and embark on a series of adventures. The series debuted on Netflix on November 17, 2017.

The series was developed by Kevin Burke, Victor Cook, and Chris "Doc" Wyatt. Burke and Wyatt also wrote a tie-in comic book for IDW Publishing. The first 13 episodes of the 26-episode first season were released on Netflix on November 17, 2017.

Comics
A similar concept with Stretch as a superhero was also shown in a one-off comic produced by Hasbro in 2011 dubbed Unit:E; there, the descendant of Acroyear and a Biotron (both from Micronauts) and Synergy (from Jem; here an alien artificial intelligence) conducted reconnaissance on heroes from Earth and beyond (including characters from G.I. Joe, Transformers, MASK, Battleship Galaxies, Action Man, and even Candy Land) to help fight against Baron Karza (the enemy of the Micronauts).

In September 2017, IDW Publishing announced a new comic book based on the Netflix series Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters for January 2018.

Video game
In 2018, a video game called Stretch Armstrong: The Breakout was released on Netflix. The game involves Jake Armstrong, Ricardo and Nathan stopping villains from rampaging through Charter City.

title: Stretch Armstrong


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Margot Kidder

Margaret Ruth Kidder (October 17, 1948 – May 13, 2018), known professionally as Margot Kidder, was a Canadian-American actress and activist. She amassed several film and television credits in her career spanning five decades, including her best known portrayal of Lois Lane in the original Superman films (1978–1987). Her accolades included two Canadian Film Awards, an Emmy Award, a Genie Award and a Saturn Award.

Born in Yellowknife to a Canadian mother and an American father, Kidder was raised in the Northwest Territories as well as several Canadian provinces. She began her acting career in the 1960s, appearing in low-budget Canadian productions and winning the Canadian Film Special Award in 1969. She first received attention for appearing in the comedy film Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx (1970), the horror films Sisters (1972), Black Christmas (1974) and The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975), and the drama films A Quiet Day in Belfast (1974) and The Great Waldo Pepper (1975).

Kidder's international breakthrough came with playing Lois Lane in Superman (1978) and Kathy Lutz in The Amityville Horror (1979), which were blockbuster films. For these roles, she was twice nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Actress, winning in 1978 for Superman. She reprised the role of Lois in three Superman sequels (1980–1987), and also played Rita Harris in the comedy film Heartaches (1981) and made her stage debut with the play Bus Stop (1982). After a stint of films and projects that were ambivalently received, Kidder sustained serious injuries in a car accident that left her temporarily paralyzed in 1990, and suffered from a highly publicized manic episode and nervous breakdown in 1996 stemming from bipolar disorder.

Kidder thereafter maintained steady work in independent films and television, notably appearing in the hockey film Chicks with Sticks (2004) and the horror film Halloween II (2009), and playing a guest role on R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour (2015). She maintained dual citizenship and was an outspoken political, environmental and anti-war activist. Kidder died on May 13, 2018, of an alcohol and drug overdose, which was ruled a suicide.

Early life
Margaret Ruth Kidder, one of five children, was born on October 17, 1948, in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, the daughter of Jocelyn Mary "Jill" (née Wilson), a history teacher from British Columbia, and Kendall Kidder, an American explosives expert and engineer originally from New Mexico. She was of Welsh and English descent.

Kidder was born in Yellowknife because of her father's employment, which required the family to live in remote locations. Her father subsequently served as the manager of the Yellowknife Telephone Company from 1948 to 1951. She had one sister, Annie, who is an actress and executive director of the People for Education charity, and three brothers: John, Michael and Peter. Two of her siblings married notable Canadians: Annie married actor Eric Peterson and John married politician Elizabeth May. Kidder's niece Janet Kidder is also an actress. Recalling her childhood in northern Canada, Kidder said: "We didn't have movies in this little mining town. When I was 12 my mom took me to New York and I saw Bye Bye Birdie, with people singing and dancing, and that was it. I knew I had to go far away. I was clueless, but I [have done] okay." In addition to Yellowknife, she also spent some time growing up in Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador. Kidder became interested in politics from a young age, which she credited to debates her parents would have over the dinner table; her mother had socialist leanings, while her father was a conservative Republican.

Kidder had mental health issues from a young age, which stemmed from undiagnosed bipolar disorder. "I knew I was different, had these mind flights that other people didn't seem to have," she recalled. At age 14, she attempted suicide. Kidder found an outlet in acting as she felt she could "let my real self out... and no one would know it was me." "Nobody ever encouraged me to be an actress," she recalled. "It was taken as a joke ... As a teenager, I envisioned myself in every book I read. I wanted to be Henry Miller and Thomas Wolfe. I wanted to eat everything on the world's platter, but my eyes were bigger than my stomach." She attended multiple schools during her youth through her family's relocations, eventually graduating from Havergal College, a boarding school in Toronto, in 1966. In 1966, she found herself pregnant by her boyfriend, who arranged for an illegal abortion. The abortionist was located in a hotel room and filled Kidder's uterus with Lysol to terminate the pregnancy. After graduating from Havergal, Kidder relocated to Vancouver to attend the University of British Columbia, but dropped out after one year. She returned to Toronto, where she found work as a model.

1960s
Kidder's television debut was in an episode of Wojeck aired January 16, 1968. She made her film debut in a 49-minute film titled The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar (1968), a drama set in a Canadian logging community, which was produced by the Challenge for Change. Kidder's 1969 appearance in the episode "Does Anybody Here Know Denny?" on the Canadian drama series Corwin earned her a Canadian Film Award for "outstanding new talent."

Kidder's first major feature was the 1969 American film Gaily, Gaily, a period comedy starring Beau Bridges, in which she portrayed a prostitute. She subsequently appeared in a number of TV drama series for the CBC, including guest appearances on Adventures in Rainbow Country, and a semi-regular role as a young reporter on McQueen, and as a panelist on Mantrap which featured discussions centered on a feminist perspective.

1970s
During the 1971–72 season, she co-starred as barmaid Ruth in Nichols, a James Garner–led Western, which aired 22 episodes on NBC. During an August 3, 1970, interview on The Dick Cavett Show, Kidder stated that she was ambivalent toward having a film career, and was considering working as a film editor in the future. At this time, she had become an acquaintance of director Robert Altman, and served as an apprentice assisting him in editing Brewster McCloud (1970). She subsequently appeared in "Such Dust As Dreams Are Made On", the first pilot for Harry O which aired in March 1973. She was a guest star in a 1972 episode of the George Peppard detective series Banacek.

After moving to Los Angeles, Kidder was cast opposite Gene Wilder in Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx (1970) as an exchange student in Ireland who becomes the love interest of a poor horse manure collector in Dublin whom she almost runs over with her car. After filming in Ireland, Kidder relocated to New York City to further study acting. A year later, she returned to California, and was cast in the Brian De Palma film Sisters (1972), which gained notoriety for both director and Kidder, who as leading lady, portrayed conjoined twins, one of whom is a suspect in a brutal murder. Kidder had been in a relationship with De Palma at the time, and had been roommates with co-star Jennifer Salt in Los Angeles. Sisters went on to achieve critical recognition, being considered among the best American films of the decade by critic Robin Wood, as well as one of the most important films in Kidder's career by film critic G. Allen Johnson.

She then starred in the slasher film Black Christmas (1974), for which she won a Canadian Film Award for Best Actress; followed by a role as a prostitute in the Terrence Malick–scripted The Gravy Train (1974). She received another Canadian Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the war drama A Quiet Day in Belfast (1974). Also in 1974, Kidder made her directorial debut with a 50-minute short film produced for the American Film Institute, titled Again. The film follows a woman who pastes photographs of her former lovers on her wall, continuously searching for "Mr. Right." Kidder had a central supporting role in the airplane-themed drama The Great Waldo Pepper (1975) opposite Robert Redford and Susan Sarandon, followed by a lead role in the psychological horror film The Reincarnation of Peter Proud, directed by J. Lee Thompson, in which she portrayed a woman about whom a college professor has recurring nightmares. Variety praised her performance in the latter film as "outstandingly rich." In the summer of 1975, Kidder was hired to direct a documentary short chronicling the making of The Missouri Breaks (1976), a Western film starring Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson. "I was such a jerk," she recalled. "I mean, I thought they wanted a real documentary. So I filmed all the behind-the-scenes rows and arguments and shot footage of the vet shooting up the horses with tranquilizers so the actors would look as if they rode well. What an idiot I was. Then when they fired me, I realized what they'd wanted was a publicity film."

She subsequently co-starred with Peter Fonda in 92 in the Shade (also 1975), a drama directed by novelist Thomas McGuane, based on his own book. Kidder then took a hiatus from acting, though she appeared in the March 9, 1975, edition of The American Sportsman, learning how to hang glide, and providing the narration, with a remote microphone recording her reactions in flight; the segment concluded with Kidder doing solos soaring amid the Wyoming Rockies. She was also photographed by Douglas Kirkland for the March 1975 issue of Playboy, accompanied by an article written by Kidder herself. Eager to return to acting, in 1977 Kidder read for the character of Lois Lane in Superman: The Movie, only one month before principal photography was scheduled to begin. Kidder was subsequently flown to England for screen-tests. Upon meeting with director Richard Donner, Kidder tripped while walking into the room. Donner recalled: "I just fell in love with her. It was perfect, this clumsy [behavior]." She was ultimately cast in the role, which would become her most iconic. Filming lasted approximately eighteen months. Superman was released during Christmas 1978 and was a major commercial success, grossing $300 million worldwide. Kidder won a Saturn Award for Best Actress for her performance, which was deemed "most charming" by Vincent Canby in The New York Times.

After completing filming for Superman, Kidder starred as Kathy Lutz in the supernatural horror film The Amityville Horror (1979), which further cemented her status as one of Hollywood's leading ladies. The Amityville Horror was a major commercial success, grossing over $86 million in the United States, but it received mixed reviews from critics. Janet Maslin of The New York Times, though giving the film a mixed review, said Kidder "stubbornly remains the bright-eyed life of the party [in the film]." In retrospect, Kidder called the film "a piece of shit." The same year, Kidder hosted an episode of the American sketch comedy TV show Saturday Night Live.

1980s
Kidder reprised her role as Lois Lane in Superman II (1980), though she publicly disagreed with the decision of producers Alexander Salkind and Ilya Salkind to replace Richard Donner as director. Superman II was also a box-office hit, grossing $108 million in the United States. Through her appearances in the Superman films, Kidder maintained a close friendship with her co-star Christopher Reeve, which lasted from 1978 until his death in 2004: "When you're strapped to someone hanging from the ceiling for months and months, you get pretty darned close," Kidder told CBS. "He was such a huge part of my life... He was complicated, very smart, really smart, and he knew he'd done something meaningful. He was very aware of that and very happy with that role." Also in 1980, she appeared in Paul Mazursky's romantic comedy Willie & Phil, playing one-third of a love triangle opposite Michael Ontkean and Ray Sharkey.

Kidder starred in the Canadian comedic road movie Heartaches (1981), portraying a free-spirited woman who helps an acquaintance raise her child. Vincent Canby of The New York Times noted: "Nothing happens in Heartaches that isn't telegraphed 15 minutes ahead of time, but Miss Kidder and Miss [Annie] Potts are good fun to watch, not because they convince you of the reality of their characters but because they handle their assignments with such unbridled, comic, actressy enthusiasm." She then starred opposite Richard Pryor in the comedy Some Kind of Hero (1982), about a Vietnam War veteran who attempts to re-assimilate into civilian life. While filming the picture, Kidder stated she "fell in love with Pryor in two seconds flat," and the two carried on a relationship during the production. In 1982, she appeared in a stage performance of Bus Stop, playing Cherie opposite Tim Matheson as Bo, which was broadcast on HBO.

It was reported that, as a result of Kidder's previous objection to Donner's directorial replacement for Superman II, her role in 1983's Superman III was notably small, consisting of 12 lines and less than five minutes of footage, though the producers have denied this in DVD commentaries. The same year Superman III was released, Kidder also starred as a court stenographer-cum-private eye named Mickey Raymond in the comedy Trenchcoat (1983). Critic Roger Ebert disliked the film, deeming it "one of the most tired, predictable, uninteresting movies in a long time." Also in 1983, Kidder produced and starred as Eliza Doolittle in a version of Pygmalion with Peter O'Toole for Showtime.

Kidder subsequently produced and starred in the French-Canadian period television film Louisiana as a plantation owner in the American South who returns from Paris to find her estate and holdings have been lost. In 1984, she reunited with her former Nichols co-star, James Garner, in the Hollywood crime drama The Glitter Dome, and appeared in the drama Little Treasure for Columbia Tri-Star, with co-stars Ted Danson and Burt Lancaster, in which she played a distraught stripper looking for her bank robber-father's buried fortune.

In 1985, Kidder expressed ambivalence toward continuing her career, and was quoted as saying: "I don't feel comfortable as a performer and I'm a big turkey as a movie star." She would subsequently state that the quote was reported out of context, but conceded: "I am in a weird frame of mind at the moment. I know acting is not going to be enough for me for the rest of my life. This business is very hard on women at a certain age, and I never want to end up just having to accept what's offered me. So I am anxious to direct, to have options."

In 1986, she was selected as the English narrator for the Japanese animated series The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Kidder subsequently reprised her Lois Lane role in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), which she filmed in 1986. Body of Evidence (1988), a CBS Movie of the Week, cast Kidder as a nurse who suspects that her medical pathologist husband is a serial killer.

1990s
In the fall of 1990, Kidder appeared as a singer who becomes a murder victim in the Canadian television film White Room (1990). After her car accident, Kidder returned to the screen with an uncredited cameo appearance in the comedy film Delirious (1991), appearing as a woman in a washroom. This was followed by a role as a psychic in To Catch a Killer (1992), a Canadian television thriller film based on the crimes of John Wayne Gacy. She had several small roles in 1994, including in the Disney Channel film Windrunner, as well as another uncredited appearance in Maverick. She also played a bartender at the Broken Skull Tavern in Under a Killing Moon, a PC FMV adventure game.

Kidder returned to film with a lead role in the independent comedy-drama Never Met Picasso (1997), portraying an actress living with her gay adult son (portrayed by Alexis Arquette) who is attempting to sort his life out. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "Arquette and Kidder [were] given the chance to come across as quite appealing" in their roles. She next appeared in the slasher film The Clown at Midnight (1998), opposite Christopher Plummer, and alongside Lynn Redgrave and James Earl Jones in the romance film The Annihilation of Fish (1999), playing the landlady of an interracial couple. Critic Todd McCarthy in Variety referred to the film as a "would-be charmer" and "a drear moment in the careers of all concerned."

2000s and 2010s
In 2000, Kidder played Eileen Canboro in Apocalypse III: Tribulation, a Christian film dealing with Christian eschatology and the rapture. Kidder stated afterwards that she did not realize until she was on the set that the movie was serious. Also that year she appeared in three episodes of Peter Benchley's Amazon, playing a striking role as an insane Canadian woman bent on domination of all the local tribes. In 2001, she played the abusive mother of a serial killer in "Pique", an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In 2002, she appeared alongside Crispin Glover and Vanessa Redgrave in the film adaptation of Crime and Punishment.

Kidder appeared off-Broadway in The Vagina Monologues in December 2002, and toured with the show for two years. After this, she appeared on Robson Arms, a Canadian sitcom set in an apartment block in Vancouver's west end. She played a quirky neighbor of the main cast members. She also had a cameo in Rich Hall's Election Special on BBC Four. In 2006, Kidder played Jenny Schecter's mother Sandy Ziskin on The L Word; her character was a repressed Jewish woman coming to terms with her daughter's sexuality. In 2007, Kidder began appearing on the television series Brothers and Sisters, playing Emily Craft. In 2004, Kidder briefly returned to the Superman franchise in two episodes of the television series Smallville, as Bridgette Crosby, an emissary of Dr. Swann (played by her Superman co-star, Christopher Reeve).

In 2008, she portrayed an embattled guidance counselor in the gay-themed mystery film On the Other Hand, Death, as well as a supporting role as Laurie Strode's therapist, in Rob Zombie's Halloween II (2009). In an interview with the LGBT publication The Advocate, Kidder discussed her later career choices: "I'm not choosy at all! I'll do practically anything. I'm the biggest whore on the block. I live in a little town in Montana, and you have to drag me out of here to get to L.A., so I'm not readily available. But unless it's something sexist or cruel, I just love to work. I've done all sorts of things, but you just haven't seen them because they're often very bad and shown at 4 in the morning."

In 2015, Kidder won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming for her performance in R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour.

Politics
Kidder was a longtime supporter of the U.S. Democratic party and voiced her support for liberal causes throughout her career. She actively supported Jesse Jackson's bid for the Democratic nomination in the 1984 United States presidential election. In the early 1990s, during the first Gulf War, Kidder was branded a "Baghdad Betty" and subjected to abuse for her remarks questioning the war. In a piece called "Confessions of 'Baghdad Betty'", styled as a letter to her mother and printed in The Nation, Kidder responded by explaining and defending her statements. In 2008, Kidder was a volunteer at the Barack Obama campaign headquarters in Livingston, Montana. As of November 2009, Kidder was the Montana State Coordinator for Progressive Democrats of America. The organization's website carried her article "Ax Max", in which she criticized Max Baucus, Montana's Democratic senator. She also contributed articles to CounterPunch, a left-wing magazine, beginning in 2009. On August 22, 2015, she was named the host of a dinner event by the Yellowstone County Democrats in Billings, Montana, called "Billings for Bernie" in support of Bernie Sanders' presidential primary bid. In a CounterPunch article expressing her reaction to the 2016 Democratic National Convention, she wrote, "I am not an American tonight... I reject the words I voiced at my citizenship ceremony."

In addition to her campaigning in the United States, Kidder expressed support for liberal causes in Canada. In 2011, she supported her brother, John Kidder, in British Columbia, who was running to be a member of Canada's Parliament for the Liberal Party: "I'm here not only because John is a dream candidate, but because I'm living in the end game in the United States and it's not funny. Canada is starting the same sort of right-wing, corporate ownership of government, corporate tradeoffs with government, smear campaigns, "let's lower the corporate tax rate without mentioning it's going to up the private tax rates." It's happening in Canada. God forbid if anyone should bring up privatizing health care."

Activism
Throughout her life, Kidder was also invested in efforts protesting for environmental and anti-nuclear causes. On August 23, 2011, Kidder, Tantoo Cardinal, and dozens of others were arrested while protesting in Washington, D.C., against the proposed extension of the Keystone Pipeline. In 2012, she appeared in a video for Stop the Frack Attack, an environmental organization working toward regulating hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") practices. When discussing sustainable energy, Kidder said: "The first thing people have to start facing, contrary to the advertising fed to us by oil and gas companies, is that environmentalism and economic stability go hand-in-hand on any long term basis." Kidder spent the winter of 2016–2017 residing in a tent at the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota, protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline.

In addition to environmental causes, Kidder was a vocal supporter of LGBT rights, and in 2003 hosted benefits at a gay and lesbian health center in Boston, Massachusetts. Following her publicized nervous breakdown in 1996, she also spoke outwardly about her struggles with mental health and her bipolar disorder diagnosis. In 2001, she was awarded the Courage in Mental Health Award from the California Women's Mental Health Policy Council for her public dialogue on mental illness.

Personal life
Kidder became a United States citizen on August 17, 2005, in Butte, Montana, and settled in Livingston. She said that she decided to become an American citizen to participate in the voting process, to continue her protests against U.S. intervention in Iraq, and to be free of worries about being deported.

Relationships and marriages
While filming, Kidder became romantically involved with McGuane, and in March 1975 relocated with him to Livingston, Montana. She subsequently became pregnant, and gave birth to their only child, daughter Maggie McGuane, on October 28, 1975. Kidder and McGuane married on August 2, 1976, but the marriage ended in divorce on July 21, 1977. During the marriage, Kidder stated that her self-esteem had faltered significantly, and she found it difficult to maintain a career in film while residing in Montana.

On August 25, 1979, she married actor John Heard, but the couple separated only six days into their marriage. Their divorce was finalized on December 26, 1980.

Kidder was romantically linked to Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau in the early-1980s.

Kidder married Philippe de Broca in 1983. Her marriage to de Broca lasted one year, ending in divorce in 1984. Kidder later characterized the marriage as "impulsive, I'm afraid. Not a little irresponsible. We just weren't meant to be married to each other."

Personal struggles
Kidder received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder in 1988, which she rejected at the time, and refused the recommended lithium treatment.

In December 1990, Kidder was seriously injured in a car accident during the filming of the pilot of a proposed television series Nancy Drew and Daughter which left her partially paralyzed as a result of spinal injury. She was unable to work for two years, causing her financial difficulties, resulting in debts of over $800,000. Kidder attempted to sue the Canadian producer, Nelvana, for $1 million in damages but did not receive a settlement, and her launching of the suit rendered her ineligible for Canadian workers' compensation. While convalescing from her injuries, Kidder said she finally "was able to accept the diagnosis" (of bipolar disorder). She would later speak openly about treatment of her bipolar disorder via orthomolecular medicine (which treatment was rejected by evidence-based medicine).

In April 1996, she experienced a widely publicized manic episode in Los Angeles. At the time, Kidder had been working on an autobiography when her laptop computer became infected with a virus, which caused it to crash and her to lose three years' worth of drafts. Kidder flew to California to have the computer examined by a data retrieval company that was unable to retrieve the lost files. This prompted her to enter a manic state and she disappeared for four days. She was later found by a homeowner in the backyard of a Glendale residence, and was taken by the Los Angeles Police Department to Olive View–UCLA Medical Center in a distressed state, the caps on her teeth having been knocked out during a rape attempt. She was subsequently placed in psychiatric care. A computer expert was ultimately able to retrieve much of the data that Kidder had lost on her laptop.

In a 2000 interview, Kidder stated that, in addition to suffering emotional distress, her manic episodes had led her to experiencing significant financial woes: "I went through millions of dollars—I have no idea how much. I'd buy things for friends, take people to Paris. Once I stayed up for three weeks in a row because I felt like I was called upon to write a new religion for women. I was reading all these books, including the Bible—and I'm an atheist."

Death
Kidder died on May 13, 2018, at her home in Livingston, Montana, at the age of 69. Kidder's death was ruled a suicide by "self-inflicted drug and alcohol overdose". Kidder had been scheduled to appear at the Motor City Comic Con event in Novi, Michigan, later that week.

Kidder's friends related that she had poor health in later years, particularly following her lengthy stay at the Standing Rock protest camp in 2016, often enduring frigid temperatures. DC Comics stated on its Twitter feed: "Thank you for being the Lois Lane so many of us grew up with. RIP, Margot Kidder." After her death, director Ted Geoghegan, who knew the actress, stated:

"Margot lived at the foot of Canyon Mountain, right outside of Livingston. Like much of Montana, the mountain was filled with wolves. But instead of fearing them, Margot loved them. She left meat out for the wolves so she could watch them come down the mountain and eat from the safety of her home ... She'd asked her closest friends—if they stopped by her place and found her dead—to tell no one, place her naked body in a bedsheet, drag it up Canyon Mountain, and leave her for her other friends, the wolves."

Kidder was cremated, and her ashes were scattered by her brother John in childhood-favorite locations in Canada, as well as in Montana, amongst lilies often eaten by grizzly bears, partially fulfilling Kidder's wish to "have her body just left out there for the bears."

Filmography
Kidder's most acclaimed films, according to the review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, include:

 * Sisters (1972)
 * Black Christmas (1974)
 * A Quiet Day in Belfast (1974)
 * The Great Waldo Pepper (1975)
 * Superman (1978)
 * Superman II (1980)
 * Some Kind of Hero (1982)
 * The Annihilation of Fish (1999)
 * The Hi-Line (1999)

title: Margot Kidder


text: Wikipedia:Picture of the day/December 9, 2004


text:
File:DottyRenderingofEthaneMolecule.png

Snapshot of a rendering by dotty tool of the ethane molecule taken by self. -- Sundar 08:48, Dec 8, 2004 (UTC)

title: File:DottyRenderingofEthaneMolecule.png


text:
Uvular stop

In phonetics and phonology, a uvular stop is a type of consonantal sound, made with the back of the tongue in contact with the uvula, which hangs down in front of the throat (hence uvular), held tightly enough to block the passage of air (hence a stop consonant).

Uvular stops are acoustically similar to but less common than the velar stops (e.g. and ), and do not occur in English. Uvular stops are common in certain parts of the world, e.g. the Caucasian languages and the Pacific Northwest languages of North America. However, they are unattested in the European languages (outside of a few peripheral areas such as the Caucasus).

The most common sound is the voiceless stop. This sound is well known in Arabic, and occurs (at least in Standard Arabic) in words such as Quran (Koran), Qatar, and Al-Qahira (Arabic for Cairo). More generally, several kinds are distinguished:

 * , voiceless uvular plosive
 * , voiced uvular plosive
 * , uvular nasal
 * , uvular ejective
 * , voiced uvular implosive (very rare)
 * or voiceless uvular implosive (claimed to exist in Kaqchikel)

title: Uvular stop


text: Wikipedia:POTD/December 10, 2004

title: Wikipedia:POTD/December 10, 2004


text:
Takayasu's arteritis

Takayasu's arteritis (TA), also known as aortic arch syndrome, nonspecific aortoarteritis, and pulseless disease, is a form of large vessel granulomatous vasculitis with massive intimal fibrosis and vascular narrowing, most commonly affecting young or middle-aged women of Asian descent, though anyone can be affected. It mainly affects the aorta (the main blood vessel leaving the heart) and its branches, as well as the pulmonary arteries. Females are about 8–9 times more likely to be affected than males.

Those with the disease often notice symptoms between 15 and 30 years of age. In the Western world, atherosclerosis is a more frequent cause of obstruction of the aortic arch vessels than Takayasu's arteritis. Takayasu's arteritis is similar to other forms of vasculitis, including giant cell arteritis which typically affects older individuals. Due to obstruction of the main branches of the aorta, including the left common carotid artery, the brachiocephalic artery, and the left subclavian artery, Takayasu's arteritis can present as pulseless upper extremities (arms, hands, and wrists with weak or absent pulses on the physical examination) which may be why it is also commonly referred to as the "pulseless disease." Involvement of renal arteries may lead to a presentation of renovascular hypertension.

Sign and symptoms
Some people develop an initial "inflammatory phase" characterized by systemic illness with signs and symptoms of malaise, fever, night sweats, weight loss, joint pain, fatigue, and fainting. Fainting may result from subclavian steal syndrome or carotid sinus hypersensitivity. There is also often anemia and marked elevation of the ESR or C-reactive protein (nonspecific markers of inflammation). The initial "inflammatory phase" is often followed by a secondary "pulseless phase". The "pulseless phase" is characterized by vascular insufficiency from intimal narrowing of the vessels manifesting as arm or leg claudication, renal artery stenosis causing hypertension, and neurological manifestations due to decreased blood flow to the brain.

Of note is the function of renal artery stenosis in the causation of high blood pressure: Normally perfused kidneys produce a proportionate amount of a substance called renin. Stenosis of the renal arteries causes hypoperfusion (decreased blood flow) of the juxtaglomerular apparatus, resulting in exaggerated secretion of renin, and high blood levels of aldosterone, eventually leading to water and salt retention and high blood pressure. The neurological symptoms of the disease vary depending on the degree; the nature of the blood vessel obstruction; and can range from lightheadedness to seizures (in severe cases). One rare, important feature of the Takayasu's arteritis is ocular involvement in form of visual field defects, vision loss, or retinal hemorrhage. Some individuals with Takayasu's arteritis may present with only late vascular changes, without a preceding systemic illness. In the late stage, weakness of the arterial walls may give rise to localized aneurysms. As with all aneurysms, the possibility of rupture and vascular bleeding is existent and requires monitoring. In view of the chronic process and good collateral development, Raynaud's phenomenon or digital gangrene are very rare in Takayasu arteritis. A rare complication of this condition are coronary artery aneurysms.

Laser Doppler imaging by near-infrared digital holography can reveal characteristic blood flow waveforms in the central artery and vein of the retina in patients with vascular insufficiency who may exhibit a smooth systo-diastolic pulse in the central retinal artery. This technique enables non invasive functional microangiography by high-contrast measurement of endoluminal blood flow profiles in vessels in the posterior segment of the eye with a spatial resolution comparable to state-of-the-art indocyanine green angiography.

Causes
Although the cause of Takayasu arteritis is unknown, the condition is characterized by segmental and patchy granulomatous inflammation of the aorta and its major derivative branches. This inflammation leads to arterial stenosis, thrombosis, and aneurysms. There is irregular fibrosis of the blood vessels due to chronic vasculitis, leading to sometimes massive intimal fibrosis (fibrosis of the inner section of the blood vessels). Prominent narrowing due to inflammation, granuloma, and fibrosis is often seen in arterial studies such as magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), computed tomography angiography (CTA), or arterial angiography (DSA).

Genetics
The genetic contribution to the pathogenesis of Takayasu's arteritis is supported by the genetic association with HLA-B∗52. A 2013 large collaborative study uncovered multiple additional susceptibility loci for this disease, increasing its number of genetic loci to five risk loci across the genome. About 200,000 genetic variants were genotyped in two ethnically divergent Takayasu's arteritis cohorts from Turkey and North America by using a custom-designed genotyping platform (Immunochip). Additional genetic variants and the classical HLA alleles were imputed and analyzed. The study identified and confirmed two independent susceptibility loci within the HLA region (r2 < 0.2): HLA-B/MICA (rs12524487, OR = 3.29, p = 5.57 × 10-16) and HLA-DQB1/HLA-DRB1 (rs113452171, OR = 2.34, p = 3.74 × 10-9; and rs189754752, OR = 2.47, p = 4.22 × 10-9). In addition, a genetic association was identified and confirmed between Takayasu's arteritis and the FCGR2A/FCGR3A locus on chromosome 1 (rs10919543, OR = 1.81, p = 5.89 × 10-12). The risk allele at this locus results in increased mRNA expression of FCGR2A. In addition, a genetic association between IL12B and Takayasu arteritis was established (rs56167332, OR = 1.54, p = 2.18 × 10-8). A fifth genetic locus for the disease in an intergenic region on chromosome 21q22 downstream of PSMG1 was revealed (P=4.39X10-7). A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified genetic susceptibility loci for Takayasu arteritis with a genome-wide level of significance in IL6 (rs2069837) (odds ratio [OR] 2.07, P = 6.70 × 10(-9)), RPS9/LILRB3 (rs11666543) (OR 1.65, P = 2.34 × 10(-8)), and the intergenic locus on chromosome 21q22 (rs2836878) (OR 1.79, P = 3.62 × 10(-10)). The genetic susceptibility locus in RPS9/LILRB3 lies within the leukocyte receptor complex gene cluster on chromosome 19q13.4, and the disease risk variant in this locus correlates with reduced expression of multiple genes including the inhibitory leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor gene LILRB3 (P = 2.29 × 10(-8)). In addition, this study identified additional candidate susceptibility genes with suggestive levels of association (P < 1 × 10(-5)) including PCSK5, LILRA3, PPM1G/NRBP1, and PTK2B.

Another gene associated with this condition is MLX (Max-like protein X)

Diagnosis
Diagnosis is based on the demonstration of vascular lesions in large and middle-sized vessels on angiography, CT scan, magnetic resonance angiography or FDG PET. Seeing abnormal diffuse arterial wall thickening, the 'macaroni sign', with ultrasound is highly suggestive of the condition. FDG PET can help in diagnosis of active inflammation not just in patients with active Takayasu arteritis prior to treatment but also in addition in relapsing patients receiving immunosuppressive agents.

Contrast angiography has been the gold standard. The earliest detectable lesion is a local narrowing or irregularity of the lumen. This may develop into stenosis and occlusion. The characteristic finding is the presence of "skip lesions," where stenosis or aneurysms alternate with normal vessels. Angiography provides information on vessel anatomy and patency but does not provide information on the degree of inflammation in the wall.

The age at onset helps to differentiate Takayasu's arteritis from other types of large vessel vasculitis. For example, Takaysu's arteritis has an age of onset of <40 years, while giant cell arteritis has an age of onset >60 years.

Takayasu arteritis is not associated with ANCA, rheumatoid factor, ANA, and anticardiolipin antibodies.

Treatments
Most people with Takayasu’s arteritis respond to steroids such as prednisone. The usual starting dose is approximately 1 milligram per kilogram of body weight per day (for most people, this is approximately 60 milligrams a day). Because of the significant side effects of long-term high-dose prednisone use, the starting dose is tapered over several weeks to a dose that controls symptoms while limiting the side effects of steroids.

Promising results are achieved with mycophenolate and tocilizumab. If treatment is not kept to a high standard, long-term damage or death can occur.

Patients who do not respond to steroids may require revascularization, either via vascular bypass or angioplasty and stenting. Outcomes following revascularization vary depending on the severity of the underlying disease.

History
The first case of Takayasu’s arteritis was described in 1908 by Japanese ophthalmologist Mikito Takayasu at the Annual Meeting of the Japan Ophthalmology Society. Takayasu described a peculiar "wreathlike" appearance of the blood vessels in the back of the eye (retina). Two Japanese physicians at the same meeting (Drs. Onishi and Kagoshima) reported similar eye findings in individuals whose wrist pulses were absent.

It is now known that the blood vessel malformations that occur in the retina are an angiogenic response to the arterial narrowings in the neck and that the absence of pulses noted in some people occurs because of narrowings of the blood vessels to the arms. The eye findings described by Takayasu are rarely seen in patients from North America and British Columbia.

title: Takayasu's arteritis


text: Wikipedia:Picture of the day/December 10, 2004


text:
Talk:7th Sea (collectible card game)

Format
Netoholic, do you think this formatting is better? You could also take a look at the Doomtown article I finished recently DB0 08:53, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I'm not sure that a rundown of the rules and gameplay is necessary for this page (especially for a "defunct" game). Still, I'm loath to remove an entire section of text just for my own tastes. I'm also adding a copyedit tag. Reediewes 23:45, May 7, 2005 (UTC)

I did copyediting down to about half way through the article. I ran out of steam around "Strategies," so someone should pick up from there (after checking my work for mistakes, of course.) Voxexmachina 18:58, 17 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I have finished copy editing this article and will remove the copyediting header in 24 hours unless there are objections. Bigbadbyte July 2, 2005 07:08 (UTC)

Consistent usage (Seventh Sea vs. 7th Sea)
In the current article, 7th Sea is used 18 times to describe the game while Seventh Sea (and sometimes seventh Sea) is used only 9 times. Is one representation preferred over the other? --klazuka 18:58, 24 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I believe it is considered poor grammer to start a sentance with a number, thus any time the setance started "7th sea" i changed it. i think i have copy edited the entire article but i am still nerouse about removing the copyediting header. Someone else be bold for me, or check it over again. Bigbadbyte July 1, 2005 21:05 (UTC)

Good Work
Thanks for the copyediting. I've been a away for a while and I couldn't build up the courage to copyedit it after writing it. It has turned out rather well. --DB0 15:10, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

The name of the sorcerous captain of the corsairs faction is Espera ( no espero) In spanish it means "he who waits"

Espera could be "he waits" the imperative "wait!", nut it doesn't makes much sense in Spanish —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.130.252.50 (talk) 11:21, 13 May 2009 (UTC)

Dead link
During several automated bot runs the following external link was found to be unavailable. Please check if the link is in fact down and fix or remove it in that case!

 * http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/1999/list-of-winners
 * In GURPS on 2011-03-19 16:52:55, 404 Not Found
 * In Great War at Sea series on 2011-03-22 12:41:28, 404 Not Found
 * In 7th Sea (collectible card game) on 2011-06-19 21:20:01, 404 Not Found

--JeffGBot (talk) 21:20, 19 June 2011 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on 7th Sea (collectible card game). Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090505171407/http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/1999/list-of-winners to http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/1999/list-of-winners

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Reviews

 * Pyramid
 * Inquest Gamer, February 2000

title: Talk:7th Sea (collectible card game)


text:
Kharota Syedan

Kharota Syedan is a village on the northern outskirts of Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan. The town has community services such as Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary education,Private Hospitals,NGOs and Clinics, Marriage Morque, a post office, mosques,Churches and banks. The town has utilities including gas, electricity, water, and telephone communications. Fasyal Bank & MCB both are having ATM machines But bank cards aren't accepted on shops.

Name

Kharota name is derived from Gharota which dreived from Ghar. It was common name for a village in ancient Jammu-Punjab region (There are at least 10 villages with Gharota name in the region, Most famous of them is where Dev Anand was born). Suffix "Syedan" was added recently to present majority of syed population in the village.

HISTORY

Jayram Pur is sub village situated in west of Kharota Syedan.

Kharota Syedan takes its name from the islamic honorific, Syed. Prior to the arrival of Islamic teachers in the 1100s AD, the holder of the village lands was Jay Ram Choudhry, a Hindu in the Lodhra family of the Jat clan. At that time, the village was called Jayrampur.

Over time, the Syed family as well as people of varied ethnic origins and religions have settled in the village. These include the Choudhry family descendants, Gujjar, Arain, the Lohar family of the Rajput clan and the Pashtun people.

The principle Islamic teacher in the Jhelum region, now revered as a saint, was a man called Salah ad-Din from Hindustan. He converted the ruler of Jhelum, Jaadha Paswal of the Gujjar clan to Islam. When Salah was called to move on to Sialkot, the Jaadha Paswal sent his son, Khair with him.

When Salah ad-Din and Khair Paswal arrived in Kharota Syedan, they lived at the site of the present village khanqah (place of religious gathering or spiritual retreat.) Salah ad-Din married Jay Ram Choudhry's daughter and took the village as dowry. Salah ad-Din's cousins came to live in the village.

Salah ad-Din's wife died without issue and was buried in the family hujrah (mausoleum). When he was dying, Salah left his estate, including the village and surrounding fertile lands, to Khair Paswal. However, Khair Paswal refused the inheritance, saying, "Sarkar, I am not hungry for lands. My elders are still ruling Upper Jehlem. I was ordered to serve you, being the son of the Prophet Muhammad (S.W.S.) and so I did. If, at all, you want to gift me something, please allow me and my kin to be buried near your feet."

Hearing this, Salah ad-Din raised his hands in supplication and prayed for the prosperity Khair Paswal and his descendants. He made Khair paswal and his family his mutawallies and mujawars (burial caretakers). The village itself was distributed among Salah ad-Din's relatives. The surrounding lands were returned to the Lodhra family.

The first khanqah in Kharota Syedan (Darbar Chitti Khanghah) was founded by Fateh, son of Fazal, descendant of Khair Paswal. An annual festival to pay homage to Salah ad-Din takes place in May and June.

Refugees of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 settled in Kharota Syedan, contributing to the diversity of the population.

GOVERNANCE

Kharota Syedan is a part of Sialkot township. The village is governed by a Union Council. The First Chairman of Kharota syedan is Mr. Ch Muhammad Din who build the union Council in kharota syedan and Mr Syed illyas shah was twicely elected as chairman of kharota Then Mr. Nasir waheed Advocate elected First Nazim of Kharota syedan in 2001.

SOCIAL WORK

Kharota Syedan Sialkot have a registered Non-Government Organization name as The Helpers Welfare Foundation working under supervision of Syed Baseer Zafar (Founder President) here since 2010 in different dimensions such as health, environment, education, social uplift, natural disasters, etc.

Geography
Kharota Syedan lies on the outskirts of Sialkot township. It is about 250 km southwest of Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. To the west is the Chenab river. To the east are the mountains of the Himalayas.

title: Kharota Syedan


text:
Talk:2004 Romanian general election

Untitled
May I ask what is the source for the figures given here for the numbers of Deputies and Senators won by each party? It isn't the BEC, because they haven't given any figures. Adam 08:54, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)

 * They have the list of the elected senators and deputies  on the site. Bogdan | Talk 18:12, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Thanks for that. Those pages weren't at the BCE site the last time I looked. Adam 00:22, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Next question: the Romanian Parliament website says that the Chamber has 341 members and the Senate has 143 members. Your figures give a Chamber of 332 and a Senate of 137. Who is right? Adam 02:39, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I think that the figures on the Parliament website are the figures of the old parliament. The number of Parliamentarians is changed according to the population. (ie. for each 'x' people there is a Senator and for each 'y' people there is a Deputy). Romania has currently a negative trend on population. Bogdan | Talk 08:41, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I see. Thanks very much. Adam 08:54, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Another question: How did the UDMR contrive to elect a Deputy (Szekely E Levente Csaba) in the Circumscription of Galati with only 413 votes, or 0.14% of the total? Adam 06:58, 13 Dec 2004 (UTC)

 * It's because of the redistribution of votes, which is done in order to keep the proportionality of members in the Chamber with the number of votes.
 * For example, it can be:
 * County 1: (2 deputies - you need 50% for each)
 * Party A: 30%
 * Party B: 70% - 1 deputy
 * County 2: (5 deputies - you need 20% for each)
 * Party A: 50% - 2 deputies
 * Party B: 50% - 2 deputies
 * Now, Party A and B can negotiate the two Deputies left (which takes which), so party A could get a Deputy in County 2, while party B could get one in County 1.
 * Probably UDMR got that Deputy by adding fractions of votes from all over the country (outside Transylvania). Bogdan | Talk 09:31, 13 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Hmm, I suppose that makes sense. But the UDMR won plenty of seats in its own right in the Hungarian areas, why does it need to be compensated?

Anyway - are we surprised that Basescu appears to have won? Adam 10:44, 13 Dec 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:2004 Romanian general election


text:
Cedars

Cedars may refer to:

 * Cedar (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as cedar
 * Cedars (album), an album released in 2003 by English band Clearlake
 * Cedars (immigration detention), facility in the UK
 * Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California
 * Cedars, Pennsylvania
 * Cedars, Dallas, Texas, a neighborhood
 * Cedars Hospital, on the soap opera Guiding Light
 * The Cedars, nickname of the Lebanon national rugby league team
 * The Cedars, a mansion in Washington, D.C.

title: Cedars