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Small supernumerary marker chromosome

A small supernumerary marker chromosome (sSMC) is an abnormal extra chromosome. It contains copies of parts of one or more normal chromosomes and like normal chromosomes is located in the cell's nucleus, is replicated and distributed into each daughter cell during cell division, and typically has genes which may be expressed. However, it may also be active in causing birth defects and neoplasms (e.g. tumors and cancers). The sSMC's small size makes it virtually undetectable using classical cytogenetic methods: the far larger DNA and gene content of the cell's normal chromosomes obscures those of the sSMC. Newer molecular techniques such as fluorescence in situ hybridization, next generation sequencing, comparative genomic hybridization, and highly specialized cytogenetic G banding analyses are required to study it. Using these methods, the DNA sequences and genes in sSMCs are identified and help define as well as explain any effect(s) it may have on individuals.

Human cells typically have 22 pairs of autosomal chromosomes and one pair of sex chromosomes. Each member of the paired autosomal chromosomes is identified as chromosome 1 up to 22; the pair of sex chromosomes are identified as the X and Y chromosomes with women's cells bearing two X chromosomes and men's cells bearing one X and one (male sex-determining) Y chromosome. sSMC are, by definition, smaller in size than one of the smaller human chromosomes, chromosome 20. They originate as copies of relatively small parts of one or more of the 46 chromosomes. Not all chromosomes are equally represented in sSMCs: ~65% of all sSMCs are copies of parts of chromosome 15 while only 7% are copies of parts of one of the five acrocentric chromosomes viz., chromosomes 13, 14, 15, 21, and 22. G banding analyses of sSMCs are commonly used to identify the chromosomes from which they were derived, the arms of these chromosomes ("p" for short arm, "q" for long arm) they contain, and the parts of these chromosomes' arms they have as defined by their G band contents. A sSMC containing part of chromosome 15's q arm between G bands 11.2 and 13.1 is described as 15q11.2–q13.1. sSMC's occur in ring or centric minute (linear with a central centromere) shapes, may contain inverted repeats of its genetic material, and may be an isochromosome. Isochromosomes have either two duplicate p or two duplicate q arms rather than the one p and one q arm of normal chromosomes. Thus, cells carrying a sSMC consisting of an isochromosome fragment have 2 extra copies of the genetic material in the sSMC and are termed tetrasomic. Cells carrying sSMCs that contain a non-duplicated fragment of a chromosome have one extra copy of the genetic material and are termed trisomic.

sSMCs' genes are clearly part of a cell's genotype, i.e. gene profile, but may not be activatable and therefore not alter an individual. In many cases, however, the genes in a sSMCs are active, over-expressed, and considered causes of the associated sSMC's disorder. sSMCs may form as a result of one or more of the following chromosomal events: incomplete trisomic rescue, chromothripsis-mediated partial trisomy rescue, U-type strand exchange, and/or rare types of genetic recombination. These events typically from an sSMC de novo during the meiosis divisions that form the sperm or egg cell or subsequently the zygote (i.e. fertilized egg) which develops into a fetus. Less commonly, however, parents may carry the sSMC and pass it to their descendants through their sperms or eggs. In either case, the sSMCs may acquire further changes in their genetic material at any time during development of the zygote or thereafter. World-wide, small supernumerary marker chromosomes occur in ~4.2 per 10,000 individuals. Among sSMC-carrying individuals, ~70% acquired the sSMC as a result of a mutation(s) occurring during formation of their parent's sperm, egg, or zygoete while 30% inherited it directly from a parent carrying the intact sSMC (20% from a mother, 10% from a father). Rare cases of sSMCs' associated with neoplasms  develop in individuals as a result of acquired mutations in their genome. Some 70% of individuals with a sSMC have no abnormalities and are unaware of it or learn of it by chance; the remaining ~30% acquire abnormalities during prenatal development that may be manifest in utero, at birth, or later in life. About 74% of acquired and >98% of inherited parentally transmitted sSMC-carrying individuals are developmentally normal. The sSMC-associated abnormalities include: mild to serious syndromes recognized congenitally (i.e. at birth) or in the fetus; infertility which is commonly detected in or near adulthood; and benign or malignant tumors that develop at virtually any age. There is a wide range of characteristics and traits among individuals with the same or similar sSMC. This is due to at least three mechanisms: 1) differences in the genomic contents of the sSMCs and/or individuals' genomes; 2) variable changes in the genetic material of sSMCs that develop over time; and 3) genetic mosaicism, i.e. variations in the distribution of the sSMC to different tissues and organs that occur during embryonic development or thereafter.

sSMC-associated disorders
There are numerous sSMC-associated disorders, most of which have been reported to occur in just a few individuals. The following sections detail some sSMC-associated disorders that are found in larger numbers of individuals, are genetically well-characterized, and/or exemplify novel aspects or impacts of particular sSMCs. Overall, these disorders are classified as: sSMC-associated syndromes that cause serious birth defects diagnosed at an early age, at birth or in a developing fetus; sSMC-associated infertility which is usually diagnosed in adults; and sSMC-related neoplasms (i.e. abnormal and excessive growth of tissues) such as benign, premalignant, and malignant neoplasms which may be diagnosed at any age.

Cat eye syndrome
The Cat eye syndrome (CES), also termed the Schmid–Fraccaro syndrome, is a severe disorder in which individuals have multiple birth defects such as congenital heart abnormalities, renal malformations, craniofacial anormalies, male genital anomalies, skeleton defects, borderline to moderately severe mental retardation, and cat-like downward-slanted openings between the upper and lower eyelids. CES is commonly associated with a tetrasomy (i.e. four gene copies, one from each normal chromosome, two from the sSMC) or, less commonly, trisomy (three gene copies, one from each normal chromosome and one from the sSMC) of the entire p arm of chromosome 22 plus a small part (i.e. G bands 1 through 11) of this chromosome's q arm. A chromosomal rearrangement mutation between the paired chromosomes 22 occurring during the miosis cell divisions that produce a parent's sperm or egg forms a CES-associated sSMCs that is passed to the parent's offspring. Rarely, CES results from a balanced translocation between a parent's paired chromosome 22. A balanced translocation is an even exchange between two chromosomes that results in no change in genetic information and generally has no detrimental effects on its carriers. However, a parent with a balanced translocation in chromosomes 22 has an increased risk of having a child with CES; this is due to a chromosomal rearrangement mutation between the balanced chromosomes 22 that forms a sSMC-associated sSMC in the parent's sperm or egg and is passed to the parent's offspring. Finally, in extremely rare cases a parent may carry a CES-associated sSMC in only some of their cells due to mosaicism, have little of no CES defects, and directly transmit this sSMC through their sperm or eggs to their  offspring. A CES-associated sSMC may be small, large, or ring-shaped and typically includes 2 Mb, i.e. 2 million DNA base pairs, termed the CES critical region, located on its q arm at bands 11.1 through ll.23. This area contains the CECR1, SLC22A18, and ATP6V1E1 genes which are strong candidate genes for causing or promoting at least some of the birth defects in CES.

Marker chromosome 15 syndrome
Marker chromosome 15 syndrome, also called Isodicentric 15, idic(15), partial tetrasomy 15q, or inverted duplication 15 (inv dup 15), is a moderate to severe congenital disorder that includes early-life weakness and hypotonia of the central (but not limb) muscles, delays in normal development, intellectual disability, autistic behavior, epilepsy, stomach/intestinal disorders, and/or brain abnormalities. The syndrome is associated with a sSMC that contains either: a) an inverted duplication of the Prader–Willi Syndrome/Angelman Syndrome critical region (PWS/ASCR) located between bands 11 and 13 on the q arm of chromosome 15 (notated as 15q,q11,q13); or b) an area on the p arm of chromosome 15 around band 11 (notated as 15q11) outside of the PWS/ASCR (the cytogenic description of this sSMC is dic (15)(q11)). Individuals with 15q,q11,q13 and 15q11 sSMC's have sometimes been diagnosed as having the isodicentric (15) syndrome or inv dup (15) syndrome, respectively. Currently, the two syndromes are regarded as types of marker chromosome 15 syndromes that appear to have somewhat different clinical manifestations. Certain duplicated genes in the PWS/ACR viz., NDN, SNRPN, UBE3A, and GABRB3, are suspected of contributing to one or more of the disorders in this syndrome. The chromosome 15q11-q13 duplication syndrome (also termed Dup15q) is associated with birth defects similar to those of marker chromosome 15 syndrome. It is caused by a duplication of bands q11 through q13 on chromosome 15 which, like the sSMC in most cases of the marker chromosome 15 syndrome, includes PWS/ASCR and the genes just cited. Further studies are needed to define the roles of the cited genes, if any, in the birth defects associated with the Marker 15 chromosome and/or chromosome 15q11-q13 duplication syndromes. Future studies may also determine that isodicentric (15) syndrome and inv dup (15) syndrome are different disorders.

Tetrasomy 15qter syndrome
Tetrasome 15qter syndrome is an extremely rare congenital syndrome which is associated with mental retardation, overgrowth of the body or body part, skull bossing, short palpebral fissures, long philtrum, low-set ears, high-arched palate, retrognathia (i.e., abnormal posterior positioning of the maxilla or mandible), joint contractions, arachnodactyly, and/or, less commonly, kidney, genitourinary and various vascular and cardiac anomalies. The syndrome is caused by an sSMC bearing two copies (that are inverted duplications) of the genetic material on the q arm of chromosome 15 beginning at various sites between bands 23 and 26 and running to this arms terminus; this area is notated as (15) q24–qter. Individuals with this syndrome therefore have 4 copies of the genetic material that is in the sSMC, i.e. 2 from each normal chromosome and 2 from the sSMC. Centromeres are specialized DNA sequences of a chromosome that are required to link each sister chromatid of paired chromosomes and thereby to distribute each member of the paired chromosome to different daughter cells during mitosis and meiosis cell divisions. The sSMCs in tetraseome 15qter do not have a normal centromere; rather, they have a neocentromere, i.e. a new centromere that forms at a place on the chromosome that is usually not the site where the centromere of the copied chromosome (in this case chromosome 15) is located. Neocentromeric sSMCs of any type are associated with adverse outcomes in 90% of cases. The exact genetic material in this sSMC that contributes to the development of the cited birth defects has not been determined.

Emanual syndrome
Emanuel syndrome (ES), also known as supernumerary der(22)t(11;22) syndrome, is characterized by multiple birth defects including craniofacial dysmorphic features, delayed development, mental retardation, ear anomalies, cleft or high-arched palate, micrognathia (i.e. undersized jaw), microcephaly (i.e. shorter-than-normal head), kidney abnormalities, heart defects, and, in males, genital abnormalities. ES is associated with a sSMC containing genetic material from a derivative chromosome carried by one parent. A derivative chromosome contains a balanced translocation, i.e. an even exchange between two chromosomes that results in no increase or decrease in genetic information and generally has no detrimental effects on its carriers. This derivative chromosome contains an exchange, termed t(11;22), or der22 (22) t (11;22), between the q arm of chromosome 22 around band 11.2 and the q arm of chromosome 11 around band 21. In ~10% of cases, carriers of this chromosome have a child with ES, with male and female carriers having 0.7% and 3.4%, respectively, chances of parenting such a child. The afflicted children of these parents have an ES-producing sSMC containing only part of their parents derivative chromosome. This sSMC is termed derivative 22, der(22) or der(22)t(11;22); the afflicted individuals' karyotypes (i.e. chromosome tallies) are 47,XX,+der(22)t(11;22) for females and 47,XY,+der(22)t(11;22) for males. The sSMC in ES forms as a result of a nondisjunction, i.e. failure, of the parent's derivative chromosome to separate from its homolog, i.e. paired, chromosome properly during the meiotic cell divisions that form their sperms or eggs. The genetic material in sSMC der(22)t(11;22) that produces the defects in ES has not been established.

Der(22)t(8;22)(q24.1;q11.1) syndrome
Der(22)t(8;22)(q24.1;q11.1) syndrome, also termed the supernumerary der(22)t(8;22) syndrome, is a syndrome in which individuals are born with normal birth weight and growth but have moderate mental retardation; dysmorphic features in the face and head areas; prominent, low-set, underdeveloped ear canals, and/or preauricular pits (small holes or cysts in front and above the ear canal); clinodactyly (abnormal curvature of one or more fingers and/or toes); and ectopic testis (testes in unusual locations) or cryptorchidism (undescended testes). This syndrome is associated with a sSMC derived from an abnormal chromosome carried by a parent. This chromosome contains a balanced translocation between the q arm around band 24.13 of chromosome 8 and the q arm around band 11.1 of chromosome 22. Carriers of it are at risk of having progeny with the Der(22)t(8;22)(q24.1;q11.1) syndrome because they acquired a sSMC that has alteration(s) in the parent's abnormal chromosome. This alteration occurs in the parent's egg or sperm as a result of an nondisjunction of the parent's paired t(8;22)chromosomes during the meiosis cell divisions that form the sperm or egg. The genetic material in this sSMC that causes this syndrome's defects has not been established.

Tetrasomy 9p
Tetrasomy 9p (also termed 9p isochromosome ) is associated with a wide range of birth defects including intrauterine growth retardation; facial dysmorphism; cleft lip and/or palate; malformations of the limbs and skeleton; and/or abnormalities of the central nervous system, heart, and/or genitourinary tract. The sSMC in tetrasomy 9 cases is an isochromosome of one of 3 compositions: a) two p arms of chromosome 9 which are mirror images of each other; b) this chromosome's two p arms plus a small part of its q arm from bands 12 to 13; or c) this chromosomes two p arms plus a part of its q arm from bands 21 to 22. All three of these sSMC variant types contain two copies of the p arm genetic material that they contain and therefore render cells tetrasomeic, i.e. possessing 4 copies, of some of this arm's genetic material. However, there is a trisomy 9p-related congenital disorder which has only 3 copies of this genetic material due an abnormal chromosome 12 containing duplicate copies rather than a single copy of some genetic material. These individuals have trisomy 9p; they have birth defects similar to, but less severe than, those in tetrasomy 9p. The genetic material in tetrasomy 9 and trisomy 9p that causes the birth defects is not known. Findings that a) 7 adult cases of tetrasomy 9p were essentially normal and b) many of the genetically detailed cases of tetrasomy 9p have other chromosome abnormalities suggest that the role of the cited sSMCs in tetrasomy 9p requires further study.

Isochromosome i (5p)
Isochromosome i (5p) (also termed tetrasomy 5p ) is a congenital disorder associated with a wide range of birth defects the most common of which are: developmental delay, hypotonia, short stature, seizures, congenital heart defects, ventriculomegaly (enlargement of the brain's lateral ventricles), shortened survival in the uterus or after birth, psychomotor retardation, facial disfigurements, and/or feeding and/or breathing difficulties. Most cases of isochomosome i 5p are diagnosed in individuals aged 0 to 5 years or, in a few cases, in the uterus. A 2018 review of 15 postnatal cases that had genetic analyses found 4 were associated with amplifications due to mutations in chromosome 5's p arm and 8 were associated with sSMCs consisting of two partial copies of this arm. All 12 individuals had 2 extra copies of large areas in the p arm. However, the exact genetic material on the p arm contributing to the disorder were not established. Individuals with only one extra partial copy of th 5p arm, i.e. who were trisomic, have similar but perhaps less severe defects than those with tetrasomy i (5p). There are large variations in the types of defects shown in individuals with isochromosome i (5P) sSMC due, at least in part, to genetic mosaicism, i.e. differences in the tissue and organ distribution of this sSMC.

Isochromosome 18p syndrome
Isochromosome 18p syndrome, also termed tetrasomy 18p, is a birth disorder associated with microcephaly (shorter than normal head), small kidneys, cryptorchidism, micropenis, hypospadias (i.e. the penis's urethral opening is mis-located), strabismus, feeding difficulties, neonatal jaundice, kyphosis (excessive convex curvature of the spine), scoliosis (sideways curve of the spine), recurrent otitis media, hearing loss, constipation, feeding problems, dysmorphic features, and/or moderately severe mental retardation. The sSMc in this syndrome is composed of two extra copies of the short arm of chromosome 18 developed in most cases during formation of a parent's egg or sperm or in the fertilized zygote although rare inherited cases of the intact sSMC have been reported. The specific genetic material on isochromosome 18p sSMC contributing to the development of the syndrome has generally not been assigned. However, a recent report on one individual with the syndrome revealed a sSMC of at least 15 Mb extending from band 11.21 to ll.32 on the p arm of chromosome 18.

Recently, identical female twins, i.e. twins with essentially identical copies of their parent's chromosomes, were studied because one twin clearly had the isochromosome 18p syndrome while the other appeared completely normal. Genetic analysis found evidence for the presence of isochromosome 18p's sSMC in almost all or all the cells isolated from the inner cheek, hair follicles, and skin fibroblasts of the afflicted twin while the normal twin had ≤5% of the cells in these samples positive for this sSMC. Neither parent showed evidence of having the sSMC. Thus, the normal twin appeared to have an extreme form of mosaicism in which the sSMC was present in too few tissue cells to cause the birth defects associated with the isochromosome 15p syndrome. Extreme levels of sSMC mosaicism in this and possibly other sSMC-associated disorders can be well tolerated, not associated with birth defects, and more common than currently considered.

Pallister–Killian syndrome
Pallister–Killian syndrome (PKS) is a congenital disorder that includes an extremely wide range of birth defects. The most common of these are facial dysmorphism, pigmentary skin anomalies, profound intellectual disability, hypotonia, and/or seizures; some of its less common defects include deafness, extra breast nipples, congenital diaphragmatic hernias, and/or focal areas of absent skin. PKS is commonly caused by an sSMC that is an isochromosome consisting of two p arms of chromosome 12 but in less common cases four p arms of this chromosome. Recent studies in two individuals with PKS found the sSMC consisted of two small duplications from band 11 to the terminus of the p arm on chromosome 12. This area, termed the PKS critical region, contains three genes, ING4, CHD4, and MFAP5 (also termed the MAGP2 gene), one or more of which is a candidate causer of the syndrome.

Turner syndrome
Turner syndrome is a condition in which females typically have only one X chromosome and either no Y or only part of a Y chromosome. These individuals exhibit a wide range of relatively mild to moderately severe birth defects including in all cases short stature; in most cases ovarian failure and infertility; and in less common cases bone anomalies, lymphoedema, deafness, and/or cardiovascular, thyroid and gastrointestinal disorders. A small percentage of Turner syndrome individuals have sSMCs that contain parts of the genetic material from an X or, much less frequently, Y chromosome. These sSMCs may or may not contain an XIST gene. In normal females, the XIST gene occurs on the X chromosome inherited from her mother but not on the X chromosome inherited from her father. The gene is not present on Y chromosomes and in normal females resides on and functions to inactivate many of the genes located on its own maternal but not the father's X chromosome. Turner syndrome females with an sSMC consisting of a partial X chromosome that does not contain the XIST gene express at least some of this sSMC's genetic material and therefore contain excesses of this material. In consequence, they have a more serious form of the Turner syndrome that ranges form moderately severe to extremely severe. The extremely severe cases have anencephaly (absence of a major portion of the brain, skull, and scalp), agenesis of the corpus callosum (lack of the thick tract of nerve fibers that connect the left and right cerebral hemispheres), and complex heart deformities. Individuals with Turner syndrome that have partial X chromosome containing-sSMCs that have the XIST gene do not express this sSMC's genetic material and do not suffer the cited severer manifestations of the syndrome.

sSMC-associated infertility
Infertility as used here occurs in individuals who have no other overt birth defects. As such, it is diagnosed three times more often in individuals possessing sSMCs and occurs in 0.125% of all infertility cases. Infertile men cannot impregnate, have abnormally low rates of impregnation, and/or impregnate their partner but their impregnations have abnormally high rates of spontaneous abortion. A review published in 2015 reported that the sSMC's in infertile men contain parts of any chromosome except chromosomes 10, 19, and X, with chromosomes 15, 14, 22, and 13/21 (i.e. a complex sSMC consisting of parts of chromosomes 13 and 21) being the most common. Clinically, these men have either azoospermia (i.e. absence of sperm), oligozoospermia (i.e. abnormally low sperm counts), or aoligoasthenoteratozoospermia (i.e. all three of the following, oligozoospermia, teratozoospermia [i.e. presence of sperm with abnormal shapes], and asthenozoospermia [i.e. sperm with reduced motility]). Infertility associated with a sSMC in women is ~7.5-fold less common than in men but, like men, their sSMC's consist of almost any chromosome but particularly chromosomes 15, 14, 22, and 13/21. Clinically, women with sSMC-associated infertility have a history of amenorrhea and/or primary ovarian insufficiency, i.e. premature menopause or symptoms related to premenopausal events such as partial or total losses of estrogens, progesterone, androstenedione, activin, and/or inhibin production by the ovaries before age 40. While only a small percentage of the chromosome areas involved in infertility due to sSMC's have been defined, those that have include: (15)q11.1, associated with premature ovarian failure; (13)q11.2, associated with oligoasthenoteratozoospermia; (14)q11.1, associated with infertility; and (22)q11, associated with repeated abortions. The specific genetic material producing infertility in these sSMCs has, in general, not been clearly defined.

Atypical lipomatous tumors
Atypical lipomatous tumors (ALTs) are a type of well-differentiated liposarcoma. The term ALT is often applied to tumors located in surgically accessible locations such as the skin, oral cavity, or eye socket whereas the term well-differentiated liposarcomas is applied to tumors in less surgically accessible, deep, and centrally-located, soft tissues such as the retroperitoneum. Here, the two terms are used interchangeably. Unlike less well-differentiated liposarcomas which are malignant, ALTs, while sometimes locally invasive and recurring after surgical removal, do not metastasize and rarely progress to less differentiated and potentially metastasizing forms. They are therefore commonly regarded as benign or premalignant tumors. The neoplastic cells in ALT contain one or more ring-shaped sSMCs or one giant marker chromosome (i.e. a chromosome enlarged by having a duplication of parts of its own or one or more other chromosomes) that contain extra copies of chromosome 12's q arm at bands 13 through 15. This stretch of chromosome 12 includes the MDM2 proto-oncogene (a potentially tumor-causing gene) located at band 15 and CDK4 (a gene associated with the development of various tumors) located at band 14.1. The presence of these two genes is a highly sensitive and specific indicator that a lipomatous tumor is an ALT rather than another type of lipomatous tumor. The sSMCs and giant marker chromosomes involved in ALT may contain sequences from other chromosomes; furthermore, the ring sSMCs frequently break, reseal, transform into a rod-shape, and develop gains and/or losses in their genetic material. These factors may help promote the survival and growth of the sSMC-bearing neoplastic cells in ATMs. As a result of these complicating factors, the specific genetic material in the sSCMs and giant marker chromosomes responsible for the development of ALTs have not been established.

Osteosarcomas
Low grade osteosarcomas (LGO), including low grade central and parosteal osteosarcomas, are far less malignant than most other types of osteosarcoma bone tumors. The tumor cells in LGO contain either supernumerary ring sSMCs or giant rod-shaped marker  chromosomes (also termed giant rod chromosomes or RGMs). RGMs are supernumerary (i.e. extra) chromosomes that are larger than chromosome 20 and therefore here regarded too large to be classified as sSMCs. The sSMCs and RGMs in LGO contain a part of the q arm of chromosome 12 that includes its band 13 through band 15 (notated as 12q13–15). Several genes amplified in the neoplastic cells of various other types of cancer are in and thereby may be amplified in the LGO-associated sSMC and giant rod chromosomes. These genes include MDM2, CDK4, FRS2, HMGA2, YEATS4 (YEATS4 is YEATS domain containing 4 ), and CPM. The MDM2, CDK4, and FRS2 genes are amplified in 67% to 100% of all LGO cases and are suspected of contributing to the development and/or progression of LGOs. However, both the sSMCs and RGMs in LGO commonly contain parts of various other chromosomes, may be multiple, and often undergo changes in there genetic material during cell divisions. Consequently, the specific genetic material responsible for the formation and development of LGO has been difficult to define.

Gonadal tumors in the Tuner syndrome
Most individuals with Turner syndrome have one X and no Y chromosome. However, about 5.5% of Turner syndrome individuals have an sSMC containing part of a Y chromosome. This partial Y chromosome-bearing sSMC may include the SRY gene located on the p arm of the Y chromosome at band 11.2 (notated as Yp11.2). This gene encodes the testis-determining factor protein (also known as sex-determining region Y protein). Turner syndrome individuals with this SRY gene-containing sSMC have an increased incidence of developing gonadal tissue neoplasms such as gonadoblastomas and in situ seminomas (also termed dysgerminoma to indicate that this tumor has the pathology of the testicular tumor, seminoma, but develops in ovaries ). Otherwise, these individual have typical features of the Turner syndrome except for a minority who also have hirsutism and/or clitoral enlargement. Surgical removal of the gonads has been recommended to remove the threat of developing these sSMC-associated neoplasms. Tuner syndrome individuals with sSMCs that lacks the SRY gene are not at an increased risk of developing these cancers.

Isochromosome i (5p)(p10)-associated cancers
A sSMC containing isochromosome i (5p)(p10) (see above section on the isochcromosome 18p syndrome) has been documented to be present in the malignant cells of certain types of cancer. Its presence in these cells is not due to inheritance but rather to cancer-related mutations in the bearer's genome. sSMC i(5)(p10) is the single most common recurrent structural chromosomal abnormality in transitional cell carcinomas of the urinary bladder, being present in the malignant cells of most cases of this disease. Transitional cell bladder carcinomas associated with this sSMS are more aggressive and invasive than those not associated with it. sSMC i(5)(p10), often in two or more copies, is also found in the malignant cervical cancer cells of individuals as well as in the oldest and most commonly studied immortalised cell line, HeLa cells. These cells were isolated from the cervix tumor of Henrietta Lacks, a 31-year-old African-American who died of her cancer in 1951. sSMC i (5)(p10) is also detected in rare cases of ovarian cancer and very rare cases of breast cancers. The mechanism(s) by which these sSMCs promote the development and/or progression of these cancer types is unclear.

title: Small supernumerary marker chromosome


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Wake Up America Foundation
630 Google hits do not an encyclopedic political organization make. FCYTravis 07:49, 10 Jun 2005 (UTC)
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Fauziah Latiff

Siti Fauziah Sheikh Abdul Latiff, better known as Fauziah Latiff, is a Malaysian singer and actress. One of Latiff's first public performance was at a charity concert at Stadium Merdeka in 1987. Talent scouts from Happy Records spotted her and offered her her first recording contract. She is referred to as "Jee" by her fans.

Fauziah Latiff started making public performances for charity concerts at Stadium Merdeka in 1987. Her talent was spotted by a talent scout from recording company Happy Records and she was offered her first recording contract.

In 2004, she became one of the professional judges on 8TV's reality TV show Malaysian Idol alongside Roslan Aziz and Paul Moss for two consecutive seasons.

Discography
Fauziah Latiff has released more than seventeen albums. Her first single was Digamit Memori.
 * Digamit Memori (1988)
 * Kau Merubah Segalanya (1989)
 * Kini (1990)
 * Tiada Noktah Cinta (1991)
 * Gubahan Rindu Puisi Syahdu (1992)
 * Epilog Memori Gelita (1993)
 * Apa Sebenarnya (1994)
 * Petikan Syahdu Fauziah Latiff (1995)
 * Sahabat (1995)
 * Petikan Syahdu Fauziah Latiff Vol. II (1996)
 * Fauziah Latiff Dia (1997)
 * Jee '98 (1998)
 * Fauziah Latiff No. 1 (1999)
 * Yang Lebih Kau Cinta... Jee (2001)
 * Di Sebalik (compilation – 2004)
 * Pesona (2006) with collaborated Jim Brickman
 * Keunggulan (2010)

Fauziah Latiff has also released the following singles and soundtracks;

 * Ku di Sini, which was the soundtrack to a drama series, Gelora Di Hati Sara 2 (2010)
 * Takdir Cinta, which was the soundtrack to a drama series, Seindah Takdir Cinta (2016)
 * Tanpa Noktah, which was a duet with Roy Sta Maria (2021)
 * Suka-suka, which was a duet with Roy Sta Maria (2021) and both is soundtrack for drama Kerana Dia Aku Suka 2022

Unfortunately, these singles are not available for streaming on popular platforms such as Spotify. They are only available on YouTube.

Vocal Profile

 * Voice Type: Lyrical High Soprano
 * High Notes: Gubahan Rindu Puisi Syahdu (F5). In falsetto, she relies on D6.
 * Low Notes: Yang Lebih Kau Cinta (C#3)
 * Vocal Range: 2.8 octave (C#3-D6)

Malaysian Idol judge
Fauziah is one of the three judges of Malaysian Idol, a series of reality singing competition.

Acting career
Drama Theatre
 * Lontong as Sabariah (1995)
 * Gelora Di Hati Sara Season 1-2, as Sara (2008/2010)
 * Roda-Roda Kuala Lumpur Season 7 (finale), as Inspector Fauziah (2013)
 * Tahyul as Qaseh Syuhada (2021)
 * Kalung as Hasnah (2020)
 * Muzikal Tun Abdul Razak as Rahah Noah (2009)
 * Rubiah as Rubiah (1999)

Telemovie
 * Kudrat Iman as Mahani (2008)
 * Ke Pintu Bahagia as Raudhah (2013)
 * Korban Penunggu Hospital as Kesuma (2017)
 * Kerana ku Mencintai mu as Maryam (2019)
 * Jangan Malu Menangis as Haryati (2022)

Program TV Show
 * Malaysian Idol Season 1-2,2004/2005 as judge
 * Akademi Fantasia Season 5 as Judge
 * Sepahtu Reunion Live,Season 2017 & 2019 as guest
 * Mikrofon Impian Season 1-2,2019/2021 as judge
 * Immortal Song Malaysia,2020 as judge
 * I Can See Your Voice Malaysia,2021 as guest
 * Masak Itu Senang as host, 2021
 * Keringat Selebriti Season 2,2021 as guest
 * Roda Panas 2,2022 as guest (rider)

Films
 * Pak Tam Duda (1988) as herself cameo
 * Nadia (1992) as herself cameo
 * Mahathir The Journey (2022 or 2023) as Tun Dr Siti Hasmah

title: Fauziah Latiff


text:
Nzérékoré Region

The Nzérékoré Region is a region in the southern part of Guinea. Its capital and largest city is Nzérékoré. It is one of the eight regions of Guinea. It is bordered by the countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ivory Coast, and the Guinean regions of Kankan and Faranah.

Administrative divisions
Nzérékoré Region is divided into six prefectures; which are further sub-divided into 66 sub-prefectures:

 * Beyla Prefecture
 * Guéckédou Prefecture
 * Lola Prefecture
 * Macenta Prefecture
 * Nzérékoré Prefecture
 * Yomou Prefecture

Geography
Nzérékoré Region is traversed by the northwesterly line of equal latitude and longitude.

The region includes several forested highlands, including the Nimba Range, Simandou Massif, and Ziama Massif.

The region contains the headwaters of several rivers. The Milo, Sankarani, and Dion rivers flow northward to become tributaries the Niger River. The Moa, Lofa, St. Paul, St. John, Cavalla, and Sassandra rivers flow southwards through Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ivory Coast to empty into the Atlantic Ocean.

title: Nzérékoré Region


text:
The First Wives Club

The First Wives Club is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Hugh Wilson, based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Olivia Goldsmith. The film stars Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton as three divorcées who seek retribution on their ex-husbands for having left them for younger women. The supporting cast comprises Stockard Channing as Cynthia; Dan Hedaya, Victor Garber, and Stephen Collins as the three leads' ex-husbands; and Sarah Jessica Parker, Elizabeth Berkley, and Marcia Gay Harden as their respective lovers. Supporting roles are played by Maggie Smith, Bronson Pinchot, Rob Reiner, Eileen Heckart, Philip Bosco, and Timothy Olyphant in his feature film debut; cameo appearances include Gloria Steinem, Ed Koch, Kathie Lee Gifford, and Ivana Trump.

The film became a surprise box-office success following its North American release, eventually grossing $181 million worldwide, mostly from its domestic run, despite receiving mixed reviews. It developed a cult following particularly among middle-aged women, and as the actresses' highest-grossing project of the decade, it helped revitalize their careers in film and television. Composer Marc Shaiman was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Music Score, while Hawn was awarded a Blockbuster Entertainment Award and both Midler and Parker received Satellite Award nominations for their portrayals.

Plot
In 1969, four friends, Annie, Brenda, Elise, and Cynthia, graduate from Middlebury College. Cynthia gives each of them matching pearl necklaces and during a celebratory champagne toast, she has them promise always to be there for each other before they take a group photo.

In the present day, the four women have lost touch, and Cynthia's ex-husband, who was made wealthy by her family connections, has just married a much younger woman. She mails letters to her three former friends, gives her housekeeper her pearls, and dies by suicide.

Annie, Brenda, and Elise are reunited at Cynthia's funeral. They discover that, like Cynthia, they all have similar marital problems. Annie is separated from her advertising executive husband, Aaron, and is in therapy for self-esteem issues. Elise is an alcoholic Oscar-winning actress in the process of divorcing her film producer husband, Bill, and relies on plastic surgery to keep hold of her fading career. Brenda is struggling financially after divorcing her husband, Morty, who runs a successful chain of electronics stores.

Annie remains hopeful that she and Aaron will reconcile, especially after he takes her to dinner and they make love in a hotel room, but Aaron stuns her by asking for a divorce, revealing that he has been seeing her therapist. Elise, meanwhile, meets with an up-and-coming director about a role, only to discover that he had actually wanted her to play the character's unattractive mother. While shopping, Brenda runs into Morty and his beautiful, much younger girlfriend, Shelly, who cruelly insults Brenda's weight.

The three women come together to commiserate, but decide that getting "justice" is preferable to revenge, noting that they all have supported their husbands and are largely responsible for their success. They form the "First Wives Club" and plan to destroy their ex-husbands.

Annie enlists her daughter to get a job at Aaron's advertising agency so that she can act as a spy. She discovers that Aaron's partners want to sell their share of the agency. Elise begins confronting Bill at his office and at home to repossess the several pieces of artwork and furniture that she bought him and sells them to Annie for one dollar. Annie in turn auctions them off, tricking Shelly into buying many of the items, and uses the proceeds to buy out Aaron's partners. Brenda's Sicilian uncle reveals that the merchandise from Morty's first store was acquired nefariously and that his financial records are "fiction."

Elise becomes frustrated, continuing to drink excessively, when the club cannot find anything compromising to threaten Bill with, leading to a vicious fight among the women. Elise and Brenda reconcile and convince Annie not to give up on the club. They soon discover that Phoebe is actually 16 years old, unbeknownst to Bill.

The wives meet with their ex-husbands. They threaten to destroy the three men with what they've uncovered unless they agree to fund their nonprofit organization, named in honor of Cynthia, dedicated to helping impoverished and abused women. Bill, Aaron, and Morty all agree to the women's demands.

At the grand opening celebration, Morty becomes fed up with Shelly's narcissism and cruelty and reconciles with Brenda. Shelly flirts with Bill, though he hesitantly asks her how old she is. Elise, now starring in a successful Broadway play, has begun dating a co-star. Annie, now more confident and independent, rejects Aaron when he asks to come back to her. After the party has ended, the three women reminisce and together triumphantly sing "You Don't Own Me".

Cast

 * Bette Midler as Brenda Morelli-Cushman, a wise-cracking Sicilian-Jewish single mother who helped set her husband Morty on his feet financially, before he left her for his younger employee Shelly, cheating her out of an equitable settlement. She later blackmails Morty to get ownership of his business. However, when she realizes Morty is contrite about his sins, Brenda accepts attempts at reconciliation of their relationship.
 * Michele Brilliant as young Brenda Morelli
 * Goldie Hawn as Elise Eliot-Atchison, a former one-time Oscar-winning actress, now an alcoholic and heavy smoker relegated to B movies due to her "unprofitable" age. Her husband, Bill, who left her for another woman, is suing for alimony and insisting that all of their joint assets be sold and the profits be divided between them. She liquidates their assets by selling them to Annie for a very low amount, and Annie auctions them so she can buy out her husband's partners. Elise also blackmails Bill about dating a minor.
 * Dina Spybey as young Elise Eliot
 * Diane Keaton as Annie MacDuggan-Paradis, the vehicle for the film's sporadic voice-over and its central character; an anxious and slightly neurotic housewife, saddled with self-esteem problems, attempting to save her marriage with estranged husband Aaron – much to her daughter's dismay. After Aaron has sex with her and then leaves her for her therapist, she decides to band together with Brenda and Elise to form the First Wives Club. Annie learns that Aaron is having problems with his advertising firm partners through the help of her daughter, and buys them out at the end of the film; making her the majority owner of Aaron's firm.
 * Adria Tennor as young Annie MacDuggan
 * Maggie Smith as Gunilla Garson Goldberg, a wealthy New York City socialite who helps the First Wives Club with their schemes because she was once a first wife, as well as a "second, third and fourth wife", according to Annie. She fools the social climbing Shelly into thinking Duarto Feliz is a reputable decorator.
 * Sarah Jessica Parker as Shelly Stewart, Morty's dim-witted but manipulative fiancée. It's indicated throughout the film that Shelly believes a position in high society can be obtained through money and the protagonists exploit her social-climbing attitude for their revenge. This is Parker's second film with Midler as her co-star, the first being the 1993 Disney film Hocus Pocus.
 * Dan Hedaya as Morton "Morty" Cushman, Brenda's ex-husband, an electronics tycoon, who takes advantage of his former wife's having signed an out-of-court settlement – just to finance his girlfriend Shelly's extravagant taste. He's later blackmailed into giving Brenda a substantial amount of his money when she and her Uncle Carmine obtain proof of Morty's criminal activity. This later causes him to apologize to Brenda when he realizes Shelly only loved him because of his money, leading to his and Brenda's reconciliation.
 * Stephen Collins as Aaron Paradis, Annie's conflicted husband and CEO of an advertising agency, who leaves his wife for their therapist, Leslie Rosen. Eventually, he is left alone as Leslie runs off and Annie does not want him back.
 * Marcia Gay Harden as Dr. Leslie Rosen, Aaron's short-time affair, who is the therapist for both Annie and Aaron. Leslie has been "helping" Annie with her self-esteem problems.
 * Victor Garber as Bill Atchison, a successful film producer, who rose to fame through Elise's connections and eventually left her in favor of a young starlet.
 * Elizabeth Berkley as Phoebe LaVelle, an up-and-coming actress, living with Bill. Bill is under the impression she is 21, but Elise investigates and reveals to Bill that she is 16 years old and a high school dropout.
 * Eileen Heckart as Catherine MacDuggan, Annie's 'controlling' mother. By the end of the film, she tells Annie that she is proud of her and doesn't need anyone to make her happy.
 * Bronson Pinchot as Duarto Feliz, Brenda's boss and (according to Annie) "one of the ten worst interior decorators in New York." He uses his role as decorator to help the First Wives Club sneak into Morty and Shelly's apartment.
 * Stockard Channing as Cynthia Swann-Griffin, a college friend of the three main protagonists, who dies by suicide after her husband, Gil, leaves her and marries his young mistress three days after their divorce is finalized.
 * Juliehera Destefano as Young Cynthia
 * Jennifer Dundas as Christine "Chris" Paradis, Annie's lesbian and feminist daughter, who resents her father for what he is putting her mother through. She gets a job working at her father's advertising firm to spy on him for Annie. This is the second film in which Dundas plays Keaton's daughter, having previously done so in Mrs. Soffel.
 * Ari Greenberg as Jason Cushman, Brenda's son, who is caught in an emotional battle between his parents.
 * Philip Bosco as Uncle Carmine Morelli, Brenda's paternal uncle and part of her family's Sicilian Mafia connections. He is the one who informs Brenda that Morty had his stores stocked with stolen electronics, which the Mafia had done to help Morty and Brenda financially during the shaky early years of their marriage.
 * Timothy Olyphant as Brett Artounian, a film director who is interested in casting Elise as the main character's aging mother in his new film.
 * Aida Linares as Teresa, Cynthia's loyal maid.
 * Ivana Trump as herself (special guest appearance).
 * Kathie Lee Gifford as herself (special guest appearance).
 * Ed Koch and Gloria Steinem as party guests (special guest appearances).
 * James Naughton as Gil Griffin, Cynthia's ex-husband (special guest appearance).
 * Heather Locklear as Gil's new wife (special guest appearance).
 * Edward Hibbert as Maurice, a barman serving Elise as she drowns her sorrows
 * J. K. Simmons as Federal Marshal
 * Rob Reiner as Dr. Morris Packman, who warns Elise against overdoing it on plastic surgery.
 * Gregg Edelman as Mark Loest
 * Lea DeLaria as Elise's fan
 * Debra Monk as jilted lover
 * Kate Burton as woman in bed
 * Walter Bobbie as man in bed
 * Harsh Nayyar as Mohammed

Writing
The film project originally belonged to Sherry Lansing, who bought the unpublished manuscript of the novel in 1991, after many publishers had rejected it, and handed it over to producer Scott Rudin when she became CEO of Paramount Pictures in 1992. "It was one of the single best ideas for a movie I've ever heard," she said in a 1996 interview with The New York Times. "The situation of a woman getting left for a younger version of herself was far too common. But we didn't want a movie about women as victims. We wanted a movie about empowerment." Rudin consulted Robert Harling to write the screenplay, whose script was reworked by Paul Rudnick when Harling left to direct 1996's The Evening Star, the sequel to the 1983 drama Terms of Endearment. Rudnick, however, felt the final script was "incomprehensible": "To figure out the structure of that movie would require an undiscovered Rosetta Stone," he told The New York Times.

Casting
Bette Midler and Goldie Hawn were the first actresses reported to have landed one of the three starring roles. While Midler had wanted to play the "more glamorous role" of Elise at first, Rudin intended to cast Jessica Lange in the role before the team decided to rewrite the character of the book in favour of a "glitzier" version which eventually went to Hawn. Hawn, in turn, persuaded Sally Field to join the cast in the role of Annie but Field declined, citing her lack of musicality. The role eventually went to Diane Keaton who was cast by Rudin while they were working on the drama film Marvin's Room

Mandy Patinkin was initially cast as Aaron, Annie's conflicted husband, but dropped out shortly before shooting started and was replaced by Stephen Collins when he decided to leave the project in favour of his musical ambitions. The role of Duarto originally went to writer David Rakoff though he was fired after only one day on set and replaced by Bronson Pinchot. Jon Stewart was hired to play the lover of Hawn's character Elise; however, his scenes were later cut from the final film. Dan Hedaya won the role of Morty, Brenda's ex-husband, over Héctor Elizondo.

Timothy Olyphant, who had impressed with local stage work, made his screen debut as director Brett Artounian in the film. Cameos of note include Ivana Trump (who famously stated in the film, "Don't get mad, get everything."), Gloria Steinem, and Kathie Lee Gifford as themselves, as well as author Olivia Goldsmith, director Hugh Wilson as a commercial director, and Heather Locklear as the younger lover of James Naughton's character Gil.

Production
Principal photography took place over three months at the Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, New York City, between December 4, 1995, and March 19, 1996. Among the 60 sites showcased on screen are Christie's auction house in the Delmonico's Hotel grand ballroom on Park Avenue, the Bowery Bar, a suite at The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, Café des Artistes on One West 67th Street, the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis Hotel, Frank E. Campbell's funeral home, and Barneys. Other familiar sites include the Chrysler Building, the NoHo neighborhood, both 5th and 7th Avenues, Riverside Drive, and Central Park. The last scene in the club was filmed at the Robbins & Appleton Building on 4 Bond Street.

Production designer Peter Larkin took much inspiration from Hollywood's romantic comedies of the 1930s, incorporating a post-Great Depression view on style and luxury, widely popularized through these films. "Those sets looked better than real New York penthouses and nightclubs ever could," he said upon creation. "In this film, I wanted settings that had that kind of striking nature."

Wilson has stated the making of the film was a difficult experience for him. In a 2009 interview with The A.V. Club, Bronson Pinchot defended Wilson and claimed that Midler was difficult to work with.

Soundtrack
An official soundtrack album titled Music from the Motion Picture The First Wives Club... And Then Some was released on September 17, 1996, through Work, shortly before the film's premiere. The compilation peaked at number 90 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

Track listing
The film's original score, composed by Marc Shaiman, was also released on November 26, 1996.

Box office
The First Wives club grossed US$105.4million in the United States and Canada, and US$76million in other territories, for a worldwide total of US$181.4million. becoming the 11th highest-grossing film of 1996. The film also ranked 11th on the 1996 North American box office year-end list, while leading the yearly PG Rated 1996 chart.

In the United States and Canada, the film opened at number one at the box office, making $18.9 million in its opening weekend over September 20–22, 1996. It would remain another two weeks at number one, earning an estimated $42 million within its first month of release, a September record by then. Cited as the "sleeper of the year" by The Los Angeles Times, industry sources said that the film clicked with an untargeted group of ticket buyers who were overlooked as studios poured out special effects and loud action films during the summer of 1996.

Critical reception
The First Wives Club received mixed reviews from film critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that based on 74 reviews, 50% of critics gave the film a positive rating, with an average score of 5.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "The First Wives Club is headlined by a trio of comedic dynamos, but the script lets them down with tepid plotting and a fatal lack of satirical bite." On Metacritic, which uses a normalized rating system, the film holds a 58/100 rating, indicating "mixed or average reviews" based on 21 critics.

Edward Guthmann of the San Francisco Chronicle called the film a "terrific comedy" and "a glamorous revenge romp, a 9 to 5 mixed with Auntie Mame", giving "each star the opportunity to do her best work in a long, long time." He added that "what's surprising isn't that each of them is so delightfully good but that they work together so well." In his review for Variety, Leonard Klady found that director "Hugh Wilson wisely gets out of the way of his performers, providing a simple glossy look enhanced by cameraman Donald Thorin, designer Peter Larkin and the costumes of Theoni V. Aldredge". He noted that "with its combination of comic zingers and star turns, [the] pic shapes up as one of the more commercial fall [1996] entries", that "at its core, is a celebration of its star trio as consummate performers. In that respect, First Wives Club is a highly enjoyable movie romp."

Janet Maslin from The New York Times remarked that the film "freely overhauls the amusing beach book by Olivia Goldsmith, eliminating the sex, adding more slapstick and tailoring the leading roles to suit three divas in starring roles." While she felt that "Bette Midler, Diane Keaton, and Goldie Hawn make a spirited, surprisingly harmonious trio," reeling off "one-liners with accomplished flair, even when the film turns silly and begins to, pardon the expression, sag", she found that the film fared "better with sight gags and quick retorts than with plot development". Roger Ebert, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times gave The First Wives Club two out of four stars. He declared the film "heavy on incident but light on plot", filled with "heartfelt talks with slapstick and sitcom situations." Owen Gleiberman, writer for Entertainment Weekly, wrote that "paced like a Chris Farley movie and photographed like a denture-cream commercial, The First Wives Club is the sort of overbright plastic-package comedy that tends to live or die by its jokes, its farcical audacity – anything but its 'conviction'." He gave the film a C+ rating.

According to a 2023 poll by Costa Coffee, The First Wives Club was named by Brits as one of the top ten movies to help them "overcome heartbreak and move on".

Accolades
The First Wives Club earned composer Marc Shaiman his third Academy Award nomination. In 2000, the film earned recognition from the American Film Institute when it was shortlisted for the organization's AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs listing.

Sequel
For years there have been rumors of a sequel to the film. Although columnists Stacy Jenel Smith and Marilyn Beck reported in a 2002 article that producer Scott Rudin would refuse to work on a sequel, the actresses have made various statements to the contrary. In a Chicago Sun-Times interview in 2003, Keaton expressed her readiness to appear in a second film. A year later, writer Paul Rudnick reportedly started writing a draft, entitled Avon Ladies of the Amazon, and in 2005, Midler confirmed to USA Today that there was indeed a manuscript but that "the strike kept it from happening." However, as Hawn declared in a 2006 interview with the New York Daily News, Paramount Pictures declined the trio's services due to their demand for an increase in fees: "I got a call from the head of the studio, who said, 'Let's try to make it work. But I think we should all do it for the same amount of money.' Now, if there were three men that came back to do a sequel, they would have paid them three times their salary at least." On February 25, 2011, Goldie Hawn posted a picture on Twitter of the three at a lunch confirming that they had all signed on for a sequel, and the next day re-tweeted a message from Bravo TV confirming this again. In 2016, Hawn confirmed that Netflix was working on a sequel, though she also admitted that "the script isn't working."

On stage
A musical stage version of the film opened at The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California on July 17, 2009, in previews, through August 23, 2009, prior to a projected Broadway engagement. The book was by Rupert Holmes, with a score by the "one-time only reunited" Holland–Dozier–Holland songwriting team from the 1960s Motown soul music fame. Francesca Zambello directed the San Diego production. The creators and Zambello were engaged for the project in 2006. An industry reading of the musical was held in February 2009, with principals Ana Gasteyer, Carolee Carmello and Adriane Lenox.

The principal cast in the San Diego production originally included Karen Ziemba as Annie, Adriane Lenox as Elise, Barbara Walsh as Brenda, John Dossett as Aaron, Kevyn Morrow as Bill, Brad Oscar as Morty, Sara Chase as Trophy Wife, and Sam Harris as Duane. Lisa Stevens choreographed, with scenic design by Peter J. Davison and costumes by Paul Tazewell. On June 16, 2009, Lenox dropped out of the production due to health concerns and was replaced by Sheryl Lee Ralph. The production's tryout received mixed to negative reviews, but the production sold approximately 29,000 tickets in its five-week run. The ticket demand was so strong early on that the show's run was extended an extra week prior to its opening night.

Producers announced on November 11, 2009, that Francesca Zambello withdrew as director, and they would secure a new director prior to any Broadway run.

The originating producers, Jonas Neilson and Paul Lambert, teamed with Elizabeth Williams and John Frost, and have since brought on Simon Phillips to direct.

A newly adapted version of First Wives Club: The Musical began previews at Chicago's Oriental Theatre on February 17, 2015, with the opening on March 11 and running through March 29. The production aimed for Broadway in the 2015–2016 season. The new production is directed by Simon Phillips, choreographed by David W. Connolly, Kenny Seymour as musical director, and has a new book written by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason. The newly adapted version features new songs by the composers Holland-Dozier-Holland, the trio who wrote many Motown hits during the 1960s. The show also contains a few of their classic hits, such as "Reach Out...I'll Be There", "Stop! In the Name of Love" and "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)." Faith Prince, Christine Sherrill, and Carmen Cusack lead the cast as Brenda, Elise, and Annie respectively. Complete casting was announced in January 2015.

TV series
TV Land announced in March 2016, that it had ordered a pilot for a television adaptation of the film, to be written by Rebecca Addelman and executive produced by Jenny Bicks and Karen Rosenfelt. However, the network failed to pick up the pilot. The project went to the Paramount Network for redevelopment in early 2017. In October 2017, Tracy Oliver was tapped to write the series.

title: The First Wives Club


text:
Comedy on the Bridge

Veselohra na mostě' (Comedy on the Bridge) is a radio opera in one act by Bohuslav Martinů to a Czech libretto by the composer, based on the comedy by Václav Kliment Klicpera and composed in 1935 in Polička. It has later been staged successfully, in America and Czechoslovakia.

The composer at this time in his career was able to explore the possibilities of new media for opera in two works composed in 1935 in response to commissions from Czechoslovak Radio: Hlas lesa (The Voice of the Forest), and Veselohra na mostě (Comedy on the Bridge). The latter's "simplicity of means and effective characterization fulfil perfectly the requirements for radio opera".

Performance history
The first performance was a broadcast by Czech Radio, Prague on 18 March 1937. The first staged performance was at Hunter College, New York City on 28 May 1951, which the composer attended, where the work received an award for "best new opera" from the New York Music Critics Circle.

The opera has received two productions at the National Theatre in Prague, in 1961 and 1975.

Martinů arranged three sections of the opera (the instrumental opening, the song of Popelka, and the finale) into a "Little Suite" for chamber orchestra, including piano.

Synopsis
The setting is on a bridge over a river, during the first half of the 19th century. The river separates two opposing armies during an unspecified conflict. Josephine Popelka has earlier been to the battlefield and buried her brother. On her return, the enemy sentry lets her pass, but holds her papers from his commanding officer. Without the proper papers, the sentry on her own side denies her request to pass, and Josephine must remain on the bridge.

At the same time, Bedron, the village brewer, is allowed on to the bridge from his own side, but is prevented from crossing over at the other side. With Josephine and Bedron detained on the bridge, Bedron casually makes a pass at Josephine. Josephine's fiancé Johnny then appears, and accuses her of being unfaithful. Eva, Bedron's wife, in turn arrives and she joins the argument.

The schoolmaster then joins the scene, trying to solve a riddle that he heard from Colonel Ladinsky, an officer on his own side: 'a deer is in a field, surrounded by a wall too high and steep to jump or climb. How does the deer escape?' The riddle parallels the characters' situation. Then, offstage, battle sounds are heard. The two couples settle their differences peaceably. Then they hear news of battlefield victory on their side. Colonel Ladinsky appears and tells Josephine her brother is alive; it turns out that she buried another deceased soldier. The colonel also reveals the answer to the riddle: the deer does not escape. Everyone laughs and celebrates the victory.

Recordings

 * 1963 - in French - featuring Nadine Sautereau, Jane Berbié, Jacques Mars, Bernard Demigny, Jean Giraudeau, Gérard Friedmann, with the Orchestre Lyrique de l'ORTF conducted by Manuel Rosenthal Le Chant du Monde
 * 1984 - in Czech with Alexandre bis Jarmila Krátká, Anna Barová, Vladimir Krejčik, René Tuček, Richard Novák, Brno Janáček Chamber Opera Orchestra conducted by František Jílek. 1CD Supraphon
 * 2022 - with Les Larmes du Couteau Elena Tsallagova, Maria Riccarda Wesseling, Adam Palka, Esther Dierkes, Stine Marie Fischer, Björn Bürger, Andrew Bogard, Michael Smallwood, Staatsorchester Stuttgart, Cornelius Meister. 1CD Capriccio

title: Comedy on the Bridge


text:
APX

In computational complexity theory, the class APX (an abbreviation of "approximable") is the set of NP optimization problems that allow polynomial-time approximation algorithms with approximation ratio bounded by a constant (or constant-factor approximation algorithms for short). In simple terms, problems in this class have efficient algorithms that can find an answer within some fixed multiplicative factor of the optimal answer.

An approximation algorithm is called an $$f(n)$$-approximation algorithm for input size $$n$$ if it can be proven that the solution that the algorithm finds is at most a multiplicative factor of $$f(n)$$ times worse than the optimal solution. Here, $$f(n)$$ is called the approximation ratio. Problems in APX are those with algorithms for which the approximation ratio $$f(n)$$ is a constant $$c$$. The approximation ratio is conventionally stated greater than 1. In the case of minimization problems, $$f(n)$$ is the found solution's score divided by the optimum solution's score, while for maximization problems the reverse is the case. For maximization problems, where an inferior solution has a smaller score, $$f(n)$$ is sometimes stated as less than 1; in such cases, the reciprocal of $$f(n)$$ is the ratio of the score of the found solution to the score of the optimum solution.

A problem is said to have a polynomial-time approximation scheme (PTAS) if for every multiplicative factor of the optimum worse than 1 there is a polynomial-time algorithm to solve the problem to within that factor. Unless P = NP there exist problems that are in APX but without a PTAS, so the class of problems with a PTAS is strictly contained in APX. One such problem is the bin packing problem.

APX-hardness and APX-completeness
A problem is said to be APX-hard if there is a PTAS reduction from every problem in APX to that problem, and to be APX-complete if the problem is APX-hard and also in APX. As a consequence of P ≠ NP ⇒ PTAS ≠ APX, if P ≠ NP is assumed, no APX-hard problem has a PTAS. In practice, reducing one problem to another to demonstrate APX-completeness is often done using other reduction schemes, such as L-reductions, which imply PTAS reductions.

Examples
One of the simplest APX-complete problems is MAX-3SAT-3, a variation of the boolean satisfiability problem. In this problem, we have a boolean formula in conjunctive normal form where each variable appears at most 3 times, and we wish to know the maximum number of clauses that can be simultaneously satisfied by a single assignment of true/false values to the variables.

Other APX-complete problems include:

 * Max independent set in bounded-degree graphs (here, the approximation ratio depends on the maximum degree of the graph, but is constant if the max degree is fixed).
 * Min vertex cover. The complement of any maximal independent set must be a vertex cover.
 * Min dominating set in bounded-degree graphs.
 * The travelling salesman problem when the distances in the graph satisfy the conditions of a metric. TSP is NPO-complete in the general case.
 * The token reconfiguration problem, via L-reduction from set cover.

PTAS
PTAS (polynomial time approximation scheme) consists of problems that can be approximated to within any constant factor besides 1 in time that is polynomial to the input size, but the polynomial depends on such factor. This class is a subset of APX.

APX-intermediate
Unless P = NP, there exist problems in APX that are neither in PTAS nor APX-complete. Such problems can be thought of as having a hardness between PTAS problems and APX-complete problems, and may be called APX-intermediate. The bin packing problem is thought to be APX-intermediate. Despite not having a known PTAS, the bin packing problem has several "asymptotic PTAS" algorithms, which behave like a PTAS when the optimum solution is large, so intuitively it may be easier than problems that are APX-hard.

One other example of a potentially APX-intermediate problem is min edge coloring.

f(n)-APX
One can also define a family of complexity classes $$f(n)$$-APX, where $$f(n)$$-APX contains problems with a polynomial time approximation algorithm with a $$O(f(n))$$ approximation ratio. One can analogously define $$f(n)$$-APX-complete classes; some such classes contain well-known optimization problems. Log-APX-completeness and poly-APX-completeness are defined in terms of AP-reductions rather than PTAS-reductions; this is because PTAS-reductions are not strong enough to preserve membership in Log-APX and Poly-APX, even though they suffice for APX.

Log-APX-complete, consisting of the hardest problems that can be approximated efficiently to within a factor logarithmic in the input size, includes min dominating set when degree is unbounded.

Poly-APX-complete, consisting of the hardest problems that can be approximated efficiently to within a factor polynomial in the input size, includes max independent set in the general case.

There also exist problems that are exp-APX-complete, where the approximation ratio is exponential in the input size. This may occur when the approximation is dependent on the value of numbers within the problem instance; these numbers may be expressed in space logarithmic in their value, hence the exponential factor.

title: APX


text:
Dave Flemming

David Braxton Flemming (born May 31, 1976) is an American sportscaster who has been a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball since 2003. Flemming also calls college football, college basketball, major league baseball, and golf on ESPN, as well as the World Series and World Baseball Classic for MLB International.

Flemming grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, listening to current Giants partner Jon Miller call Baltimore Orioles games. In 2004, Flemming began his first full year as an announcer for the team, working with Miller, Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow on San Francisco station KNBR and the Giants Radio Network. Since then, he has split time between television on NBC Sports Bay Area and radio on KNBR.

Early life and career
After graduating from St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School in 1994, Flemming received bachelor's and master's degrees in classics from Stanford University and a master's degree in broadcast journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University. While at Stanford, Flemming broadcast Stanford Cardinal baseball, men's and women's basketball, and football and served as sports director at KZSU. In 2000, he broadcast play-by-play for the Visalia Oaks and served as the assistant general manager, before moving on to the Pawtucket Red Sox.

Flemming called games for three seasons on the eight-station PawSox Radio Network. His rise in the baseball broadcasting industry was fast, as he went from Class-A ball (Visalia) in 2000 to Triple-A from 2001 to 2003 (Pawtucket) and finally the Giants.

Career with the San Francisco Giants
In twenty seasons calling Giants games, Flemming has been a part of many memorable on-air moments.

On April 27, 2003, in his second ever major league broadcast, working as a fill-in for Jon Miller, Flemming broadcast the Phillies' Kevin Millwood's no-hitter against the Giants. In some ways it was an indication of the moments to come.

Barry Bonds provided several of those. On May 28, 2006, Flemming called Barry Bonds' 715th home run, passing Babe Ruth for second place on the all-time home run list. However, as he was making the call, his microphone went dead. Flemming, unaware of the problem, continued to make the call, but all listeners heard was about ten seconds of dead air. Only Duane Kuiper's call on Fox Sports Net's broadcast was sent to the Hall of Fame. On September 23 of the same year, during Flemming's third-inning call of a game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park, Bonds hit a home run off left-hander Chris Capuano. This was Bonds' 734th career homer (26th for the season), which broke Hank Aaron's record for National League home runs. (Aaron hit his last 21 homers as an American League player.) Eventually on August 4, 2007, Flemming was able to call Bonds' record-tying 755th home run in San Diego on the radio against the San Diego Padres.

On July 14, 2006, for a Friday night home game, Flemming made his television broadcast debut for the Giants. Since then, he has appeared regularly on both NBC Sports Bay Area and KNTV during the baseball season.

Other milestone broadcasts Flemming contributed to include the calls of Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson's 300th pitching victories. Including the Milwood game on his debut weekend, Flemming has broadcast seven MLB no-hitters.

On November 1, 2010, during the seventh inning in Game 5 of the World Series at Rangers Ballpark, Flemming made the winning home run call that eventually sealed the Giants' win, and thus the World Series.

On June 13, 2012, Flemming made the radio call of the final out of Matt Cain's perfect game, the first in the history of the Giants. In 2013 Flemming (along with Kuiper and Miller) won an Emmy for his coverage of the perfect game.

Later that season, on October 28, 2012, Flemming made the call for the final out of the 2012 World Series. Flemming was again a part of the broadcasts for the 2014 postseason, and the Giants' third World Series win of the decade. In his time in San Francisco, he has won three Northern California Emmys for sports play-by-play.

Stanford football and basketball
Starting in 2007, Flemming began broadcasting Stanford Cardinal football and basketball. He spent three years as the voice of Stanford basketball on the radio, and six years in that capacity with Stanford football before leaving the Stanford broadcasts to concentrate on his ESPN work.

The period Flemming served as the voice of Stanford football coincided with perhaps the most successful stretch in the school's football history. Flemming's first broadcast on the Stanford radio network was the epic upset of #1 ranked USC on October 6, 2007. Over the next six seasons, Flemming was behind the microphone for the record performances of Toby Gerhart and Andrew Luck, and for three BCS bowl appearances, including a Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin on January 1, 2013.

National work
Flemming became a regular College Basketball on ESPN announcer in 2010, after having called a couple of games for the network the previous season. He has covered the Big 10, the Big 12, the Pac 12, and the WCC for ESPN college basketball, teaming with Dan Dakich, Sean Farnham, Fran Fraschilla, and many other analysts. In recent years Flemming and Farnham have frequently followed Gonzaga and have documented that program’s rise to the top of the college basketball world.

He has also called baseball for ESPN and ESPN Radio, including postseason Division Series games from 2013 to 2019. He worked a season calling college football games for the Pac-12 Network in 2012 before shifting to College Football on ESPN in 2013. Also in 2013, Flemming began calling NBA games on ESPN Radio and contributing to Little League World Series coverage on ESPN and ABC. His LLWS work continued for seven years. In 2015, Flemming began calling NFL games for ESPN Radio as well. In 2016, he began calling select Monday Night Baseball games for ESPN, as well as College Football Thursday Primetime games. He has also served a hole announcer for ESPN golf coverage, including the Masters and PGA Championship tournaments. In 2022, he called the AL Wild Card series between the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays with Jessica Mendoza, Tim Kurkjian and Coley Harvey, during the 9th inning of game 2 in reference to Cal Raleigh he said "It's hard to dump your big dumper". Flemming also called the 2022 World Series for MLB International with Dan Plesac.

Personal life
Flemming and his wife, Jessica, live in San Francisco with their identical twin daughters Katie and Carter and their son David Henry.

Flemming's brother, Will Flemming, is a play-by-play announcer for the Boston Red Sox Radio Network.

Flemming is a descendant of Carter Braxton, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence.

title: Dave Flemming


text:
Arno Bay, South Australia

Arno Bay is a small fishing and tourist town on the east coast of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, located on the Lincoln Highway about halfway between Whyalla and Port Lincoln. First proclaimed under the name Bligh in 1883, the current name dates back to 1940. It is a recreational town with a number of marine and nature based attractions, including fishing, surfing and swimming.

History
The area which is now known as Arno Bay was opened up by pastoralists in 1863, with the area being named 'Salt Creek Cove' in these early days. Of the variety of ventures that occurred before the town was built, the sinking of 'The Arno Bay Mine' was possibly the least successful, with water halting all operations. The small town was initially proclaimed in 1882 by G. H. Ayliffe under the name of 'Bligh', after Captain William Bligh, although locals resisted the name change, continually referring to the town as 'Arno Bay' until the official name change.

The town was expected to become a port and a jetty was built in 1880 in anticipation of this. The port was not huge, but nonetheless continued importing fertilisers and exporting cereal crops that were being grown in the district. By 1911, the town had grown substantially, with a school, post office, hotel and new hall established in this period.

The town continued to grow as a port until the point where it was exporting 11,000 tonnes of grain in 1940. In the same year, the decision was finally made to alter the town's official name to 'Arno Bay', named after a sandhill well and not the Italian 'Arno River' as had been suggested. The period of high export came to an abrupt end in 1963 when the storage silos were built, and ocean shipping became redundant to the large trucks that were now the main mechanism of transport.

This signalled the end of Arno Bay as a port, causing the population to drop slowly, eventually leading to its current position as a tourist fishing town.

Geography
Arno bay lies on the eastern Eyre Peninsula, and sits on the Spencer Gulf, a body of water that stretches up to Port Augusta in the north. The town itself lies on the bay of the same name, which is dominated by a mixture of white, sandy beaches, cliffs, and mangrove systems. Of particular note is 'Redbanks', a sedimentary cliff structure which is designated a geological monument by the Geological Society of Australia.

The climate is much like that of Port Lincoln, which is only 118 km to South. The Mediterranean-like climate, with its hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters is typical for most of the Eyre Peninsula.

Economy
The town still retains it position as a minor service centre for the surrounding agricultural communities, but in nowhere near the capacity of the mid-1900s. Cereal crops and sheep are still the major produce of the inland area, as well as minor amounts of other produce.

Fishing has been a minor part of the economy in the past, and recently, aquaculture has come to prominence in the bay, with Yellowtail Kingfish, mulloway and tuna held in large cages. These are farmed on 7 licenses covering 130 hectares in the bay. The aquaculture in the bay is still in development, and further expansions are expected in the future.

Tourism is now one of the largest components of the town's economy, with tourists typically drawn by the areas fishing, water sport and seaside atmosphere. A boat ramp is located in the town, with whiting, snapper, tommy ruff, garfish, salmon and may other popular species caught in the bay, with most of these also available off the town jetty and beach. For boat anglers, the 'Redbanks' region has been known to produce large Mulloway and Snapper, as well as offering scenery in the form of the imposing cliffs. The local aquaculture industry also promotes tourism, with tours through facilities where finfish are raised.

Facilities
For tourist facilities, Arno Bay has a beachfront caravan park, hotel, general stores, post office, playground and motor garage outlet, however no fuel station. An all-weather boat ramp, with floating pontoon and a refurbished town jetty launching facilities for boat based fishermen.

A number of sporting venues and clubs include a dried-up swamp that serves as a golf course, bowling green, oval, tennis, netball, and squash courts, dirt circuit and in summer yacht racing each Sunday.

title: Arno Bay, South Australia


text:
Kankan Region

Kankan Region is a region of Guinea located in the east of the country. It is the largest region of Guinea by area. The region has five (5) prefectures (Kankan, Kérouané, Kouroussa, Mandiana and Siguiri).

It is bordered by the countries of Mali and Côte d'Ivoire and the Guinean regions of Nzérékoré and Faranah.

Administrative divisions
Kankan Region is divided into five prefectures; which are further sub-divided into sub-prefectures:

title: Kankan Region


text:
Micranthes hieraciifolia

Micranthes hieraciifolia (common names: hawkweed-leaved saxifrage, hawkweed-leaf saxifrage, stiff stem saxifrage or stiff-stemmed saxifrage) is a species of flowering plants. It is native to Europe, North America and temperate Asia, being distributed throughout the high Arctic and some alpine areas like Norway and the Carpathian Mountains, with a few isolated populations in the Central Eastern Alps of Austria and the Massif Central of France. It is generally uncommon.

It grows to a height of 10–20 cm. The leaves are oblong to rhombic, thick, and remotely toothed. The stem is single, stout and thick, and densely glandular. The flowers are produced in dense clusters, small and inconspicuous, with greenish to purplish petals.

It grows in meadows, on solifluction soil, and in places with well-developed moss.

title: Micranthes hieraciifolia


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Masaledaar chole

 This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion of the article below. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was DELETE. Golbez 07:35, Jun 18, 2005 (UTC)

Masaledaar chole and Vangibhat
These two are both just recipes that have been transwikied to Wikibooks' cookbook. See Wikibooks:Cookbook:Masaledaar chole and Wikibooks:Transwiki:Vangibhat. Delete. --Dmcdevit 07:57, 10 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Deleat. Radiant_ >|< 13:10, Jun 10, 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete - -Snorre/Antwelm 13:54, 10 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete NeoJustin 15:30, June 10, 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete for reasons given by Radiant, -Snorre, NeoJustin. ;-) -- BD2412 talk 19:58, 2005 Jun 10 (UTC)
 * Delete already in wikibooks. JamesBurns 02:05, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete. Good wikibooks content.--Poli 18:33, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like some other VfD subpages, is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion, or the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages.  Please do not edit this page .


text:
Talk:Strontium Dog

Scooby do???
Removed the text beneath from the article until such time as can be verifed - sounds unlikely to me...

The Scooby Doo Connection
The Strontium Dog series contains a number of subtle references to the Hanna Barbera cartoon character Scooby Doo. The SD badges worn by Johnny Alpha and the other Search and Destroy agents are essentially identical to the dog tag worn by Scooby Doo. Another subtle connection is that the one non-mutant Strontium Dog, Wulf Sternhammer the Viking, is, just like Scooby Doo, a Great Dane.

Wow. Reaching much? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.237.54.15 (talk) 06:51, August 28, 2007 (UTC)

title: Talk:Strontium Dog


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Talk:Province of Teramo

Moved page as discussed here Giano | talk 07:59, 10 Jun 2005 (UTC)

title: Talk:Province of Teramo


text:
Talk:Province of Matera

Moving page as discussed here 145.97.39.135 08:00, 10 Jun 2005 (UTC)

title: Talk:Province of Matera


text:
Faranah Region

Faranah Region is located in east-central Guinea. It is bordered by the countries of Sierra Leone and Mali and the Guinean regions of Kankan, Mamou, Nzérékoré, and Labé.

Administrative divisions
Faranah Region is divided into four prefectures; which are further sub-divided into 42 sub-prefectures:

 * Dabola Prefecture (9 sub-prefectures)
 * Dinguiraye Prefecture (8 sub-prefectures)
 * Faranah Prefecture (12 sub-prefectures)
 * Kissidougou Prefecture (13 sub-prefectures)

Geography
Faranah Region is traversed by the northwesterly line of equal latitude and longitude.

title: Faranah Region


text:
HLM

An habitation à loyer modéré (HLM,, lit. 'housing at moderate rent'), is a form of low-income housing in France, Algeria, Senegal, and Quebec. It may be public or private, with rent subsidies.

HLMs constitute 16% of all housing in France. There are approximately four million such residences, housing an estimated 10 million people. The standard of living in the HLM housing projects is often the lowest in the country.

72% of French HLMs built before 2001 (and 95% of those built between 2001 and 2011) are small buildings or individual houses. The average size of buildings is 20 apartments. Construction of HLM is mainly financed by funds collected on Livret A, a type of savings account regulated by the Caisse des dépôts et consignations. In 2011, the French people have placed 280 billion euros on this type of savings account.

History

In the early 1960s, “bidonvilles” housed most low-income immigrants. Bidonvilles were housing developments, commonly referred to as “shanty towns” located in the metropole with little to no running water or utilities. The largest bidonvilles were located in Champigny with the majority population being Portuguese immigrants and a similar number in Nanterre with the majority population being Algerian immigrants. The Movement for France (MPF), which was a political party, pushed for the betterment of living conditions initially stating that social demands such as the need for shelter were basic and thus universal. MPF’s agenda slowly changed from housing being a universal need, to an exclusive right for citizens and the working class. The new HLM buildings improved living conditions; however, social commentaries coined the term Sarcellitis which is used to describe living in a depressing environment. The dramatic change from living in bidonvilles would overlook the unsightly buildings, but the environmental challenges (via police brutally) would soon follow in the coming years within the newly formed HLM communities. The French government hoped that by sheltering low-income populations, it would bring the standard of living up, but it instead stratified a hierarchical system. Surveillance of immigrant groups (in HLMs) were issued by government officials to procure cultural information on immigrant communities so as to better acclimate them into French society. This racially motivated approach was perpetuated by the Fifth Republic officials because they believed the immigrant communities were incapable of living in France. The lack of assimilation was a result of inequality and discrimination thus keeping immigrants in the HLM suburbs.

The low level of construction during and between the two world wars, the rural exodus that had started to take place in France (directed mainly at Île-de-France, the Paris region) and the baby boom, contributed to a deficit of an estimated four million residences. Eugène Claudius-Petit, the Minister for Reconstruction and Urbanisation, promoted a scheme of massive construction of socially subsidised residences to address this problem. The new system took its foundations from the HBM (habitation à bon marché – "inexpensive housing") system, which had been created in 1889 and financed mainly by charitable sources rather than the state.

The level of social construction did not significantly rise until minister Pierre Courant launched an ambitious plan in 1956, warranted by the increased rate of immigration from France's former colonies. Courant's plan had the goal of construction of at least 240,000 residences each year, and it was an unexpected success: from 1956 on, there were more than 300,000 new residences built annually, with a good number of them HLM. In 1964, there were 95,000 new HLM apartments. The residences were often constructed in large complexes, by le chemin de grue ("the way of the crane"). The new, large apartment buildings were perfectly rectangular, to allow a crane to roll along a track and place components on both sides of the building simultaneously, saving both time and effort.

The greatest increase in the number of HLMs came in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when many planned communities, or ZUP (zones à urbaniser en priorité: "priority urbanisation zones") were constructed. They were built mostly in the suburbs of Paris. A total of 195 ZUP were created, producing over two million new, mostly HLM, residences.

The emphasis shifted to improving the standard of living in the residences already in existence. In 1968, for example, only 41% of the HLM apartments had toilet and sanitary facilities. By the end of the 1970s, the figure had risen to about 80%. New HLM sites, with more rooms per residence, were built in smaller cities and towns, and numerous programmes were launched to combat poverty, unemployment and delinquency in ZUP communities. In 2001, each HLM residence had, on average, 2.4 persons living in it (compared to 3.2 in 1954), four rooms (three in 1954), and 96% of all HLM apartments had toilet and sanitary facilities, compared to only 10% in 1954.

title: HLM


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Maritime Union of Australia

The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) was a union which covered waterside workers, seafarers, port workers, professional divers, and office workers associated with Australian ports. The MUA was formed in 1993 with merger of the Seamen's Union of Australia and the Waterside Workers' Federation of Australia.

In 2017 the MUA had about 16,000 members. It was affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Australian Labor Party and the International Transport Workers Federation. From 2000 until its merger in 2018, Paddy Crumlin was National Secretary of the MUA and since 2010 he has been President of the ITF. He also holds the position of chair of the Dockers Section.

In late 2015, the MUA and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) commenced merger talks. On 29 February 2016, at the MUA national conference, delegates voted unanimously in favour of the merger. The Fair Work Commission approved the merger in March 2018. The merged union was named the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union.

Waterside Workers' Federation

The Waterside Workers' Federation of Australia traces its roots to the formation on the Australian waterfront in September 1872 of two unions in Sydney, the Labouring Men's Union of Circular Quay and the West Sydney Labouring Men's Association, which merged ten years later to form the Sydney Wharf Labourers' Union. In 1884 the Melbourne Wharf Labourers' Union was formed with the support of Melbourne Trades Hall representatives, after shipowners refused to allow waterfront workers to attend Eight-hour Day celebrations. With Federation in 1901 and the impending introduction of an arbitration system, the national Waterside Workers' Federation of Australia was formed in 1902 under the leadership of Billy Hughes.

The Communist Party of Australia was formed in October 1920, and achieved some influence in the trade union movement, especially in New South Wales. Though its influence had dwindled to an insignificant sect by the mid-1920s, it kept positions in particular trade unions, including the Waterside Workers' Federation. The union was regarded as militant and disruptive to the economy, and has suffered numerous attempts to suppress its activities. In 1928, the Nationalist government of Stanley Bruce enacted the Transport Workers Act 1928 requiring workers to have a licence, known as the "dog collar", to work on the wharves. Employment of non-union labour and members of the Permanent & Casual Wharf Labourers Union almost killed off the Waterside Workers' Federation.

In 1950 the WWF absorbed its industrial opposition the Permanent & Casual Wharf Labourers Union of Australia and in 1991 it amalgamated with the Australian Foremen Stevedore Association but retained the name Waterside Workers' Federation of Australia.

Seamen's Union
The Federated Seamens Union of Australasia (SUA) was formed in 1876 by the amalgamation of the Sydney Seamen's Union and the Melbourne Seamen's Union, adopting the name Seamen's Union of Australia in 1906.

From December 1935 to February 1936 there was a long strike against an unsatisfactory award and poor working conditions. The strike failed, and the union was left divided and crippled.

1998 waterfront dispute
In 1998 the Maritime Union of Australia was involved in a waterfront dispute when Patrick Corporation attempted to sack 1400 waterfront workers across Australia and introduce non-union contract labour.

2015 Hutchison Ports dispute
On 6 August 2015, just before midnight, Hutchison Ports, located in Sydney and Brisbane, sacked 97 workers by text message and email – 57 in Sydney and 40 in Brisbane. This led to one of the longest running community assemblies in modern times.

Influence with the Rudd government
In 2009 the union ran a campaign entitled Time for a Sea Change in Australian Shipping calling on the government to revitalise Australian shipping by giving tax incentives for the industry to invest in new ships, providing training for new seafarers, and introducing pro-union laws. According to Glenn Milne, a Union Strategy document which was leaked in March 2008 reveals the union also wants a return to pattern bargaining.

At the same time, in April 2008 the union began pushing for access to Howard government strategy documents, which it believes will show ministers conspired with Patrick Corporation to smash the union. The timing of this move was potentially damaging for the union as Julia Gillard was in the process of talking to employers, in an attempt to rewrite the Howard government's workplace relations system. One editorial in the Australian Financial Review said that Paddy Crumlin had done the workplace relations debate a "big favour" by trying to "revive the ghosts of the [1998 waterfront dispute]" because the union's power could show Labor that industries such as cafes, restaurants and accommodation needed flexibility but were being "shut out of consideration because their lobbies are less powerful".

Merger with CFMEU (2016)
In late 2015, the MUA and CFMEU entered into merger talks to create "Australia's most powerful union".

On 29 February 2016, at the MUA national conference, delegates voted unanimously in favour of a merger with the CFMEU.

The Fair Work Commission approved the merger in March 2018.

Notable officials
Notable officials include:

 * Billy Hughes – Secretary, Sydney Wharf Labourers Union and Waterside Workers' Federation
 * Big Jim Healy – General Secretary, Waterside Workers' Federation 1937–1961
 * Eliot V. Elliott – Federal Secretary, Seamens Union of Australia 1941–1978
 * John Coombs – National Secretary, Maritime Union of Australia 1993–2000
 * Paddy Crumlin – National Secretary, Maritime Union of Australia 2000–present / President, International Transport Workers Federation – 2010–present

Blake Prize for Human Justice
From 2009 to 2014, the MUA sponsored the Blake Prize for Human Justice.

title: Maritime Union of Australia


text:
Joachim Vadian

Joachim Vadian (29 November 1484 – 6 April 1551), born as Joachim von Watt, was a humanist, scholar, mayor and reformer in the free city of St. Gallen.

Biography
Vadian was born in St. Gallen into a family of wealthy and influential linen merchants. After having gone to school in St. Gallen, he moved to Vienna at the end of 1501, where he took up studies at faculty of arts the university, in particular under Conrad Celtis and Matthias Qualle.

In Vienna, he changed his name to Joachimus Vadianus; like so many other humanists, he preferred a Latin name to express his admiration for the classic masters. He evaded the outbreak of the bubonic plague of 1506/07 by moving to Villach where he worked as a teacher and studied music. A study trip through northern Italy brought him to Trent, Venice, and Padua, where he met the Irish scholar Mauritius Hibernicus.

In 1509 completed his studies with the degree of Master of Arts and returned for a short while to St. Gallen, where he studied the scriptures in the library of the abbey of St. Gall. He returned to Vienna, where he had some success as a writer. From 1512 on, he held the chair of poetry at the university of Vienna—he had gained some reputation as the author of Latin poems. In 1513, he visited Buda, and the following year, he was named poeta laureatus by emperor Maximilian I. In 1516, he was even named a Dean of the University of Vienna.

In the following years, Vadian studied medicine and sciences, in particular geography and history under Georg Tannstetter, called Collimitius. In 1517, he was graduated as a doctor of medicine, and subsequently moved back to his hometown, St. Gallen. On that voyage, he visited many of his humanist acquaintances in Leipzig, Breslau, and Kraków. In 1518, he climbed the Pilatus mountain near Lucerne, the first documented ascent to its top.

In St. Gallen, he was appointed city physician (Stadtarzt), and on 18 August 1519 he married Martha Grebel, the sister of Conrad Grebel who would later become a leading figure of the Anabaptist movement. In 1521, he succeeded his father Leonhard, who had died on 20 December 1520, as a member of the city council. The beginning of the Reformation in Switzerland (he was a friend of Huldrych Zwingli) made him, who had never had a theological schooling, study ecclesiastic texts. From 1522 on, he sided with the new, reformed interpretation and henceforth was its most important proponent in St. Gallen. When he was elected mayor of the city in 1526, he led the conversion of St. Gallen to Protestantism, and managed to maintain that new state even after the victory of the Catholic cantons in the Second war of Kappel. Vadian wrote several theological texts after 1522, helping disseminate the reformatory views.

He died in St. Gallen. In his testament, he donated his large private library to the city. His collection became the nucleus of the cantonal library of St. Gallen, which is named Vadiana.

Selected works
Modern critical edition with German translation in 3 vols: Joachim Vadianus, De Poetica by Peter Schäffer (Humanistische Bibliothek, Reihe II: Texte, 21, I-III). Wilhelm Fink, Munich 1973-1977, vol. 1 ; vol. 2 ISBN 3-7705-1119-0; vol. 3 ISBN 3-7705-1120-4
 * Vadian: De poetica et carminis ratione liber, Vienna 1518. A comprehensive work on the history of literature.
 * Vadian: Grosse Chronik der Äbte des Klosters St. Gallen, St. Gallen 1529. A history of the abbots of the abbey of St. Gallen.
 * Vadian: Epitome trium terrae partium, Asiae, Africae et Europae..., Zürich 1534. A world atlas (one of the first to include America).
 * Vadian: Aphorismorum de consideratione eucharistiae libri VI, St. Gallen 1535. A theological treatise arguing for the reformed interpretation of the eucharist as a symbolism.

title: Joachim Vadian