title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: The 1960 Chilean earthquakes were a sequence of strong earthquakes that affected Chile between 21 May and 6 June 1960, centered in the Araucanía, Aysén, and Bío Bío regions of the country. The first three quakes, all registering in the planet's top 10 by magnitude for 1960, are grouped together as the 1960 Concepción earthquakes. The first of these was the 8.1 M Concepción earthquake at on 21 May 1960. Its epicenter was near Curanilahue. Telecommunications to southern Chile were cut off and President Jorge Alessandri cancelled the traditional ceremony of the Battle of Iquique memorial holiday to oversee the emergency assistance efforts. The second and third Concepción earthquakes occurred the next day at (7.1 M) and (7.8 M) on 22 May. These earthquakes formed a southward migrating foreshock sequence to the main Valdivia shock, which occurred just 15 minutes after the third event.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: The earthquake interrupted and effectively ended Lota's coal miners' march on Concepción as they demanded higher salaries.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: The Valdivia earthquake occurred at 15:11 UTC-4 on 22 May, and affected all of Chile between Talca and Chiloé Island, more than . Coastal villages, such as Toltén, were struck. At Corral, the main port of Valdivia, the water level rose before it began to recede. At 16:20 UTC-4, a wave of struck the Chilean coast, mainly between Concepción and Chiloé. Another wave measuring was reported ten minutes later.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: Hundreds of people were already reported dead by the time the tsunami struck. One ship, "Canelos", starting at the mouth of the Valdivia River, sank after being moved backward and forward in the river; as of 2005, its mast was still visible from the road to Niebla.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: Soil subsidence also destroyed buildings, deepened local rivers and created wetlands in such places as the Río Cruces and Chorocomayo, a new aquatic park north of the city. Extensive areas of the city were flooded. The electricity and water systems of Valdivia were totally destroyed. Witnesses reported underground water flowing up through the soil. Despite the heavy rains of 21 May, the city was without a water supply. The river turned brown with sediment from landslides and was full of floating debris, including entire houses. The lack of potable water became a serious problem in one of Chile's rainiest regions.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: The earthquake did not strike all the territory with the same strength; measured with the Mercalli scale, tectonically depressed areas suffered heavier damage. The two most affected areas were Valdivia and Puerto Octay, near the northwest corner of Llanquihue Lake. Puerto Octay was the center of a north–south elliptical area in the Central Valley, where the intensity was at the highest outside the Valdivia Basin. East of Puerto Octay, in a hotel in Todos los Santos Lake, stacked plates were reported to have remained in place. Excepting poor building sites, the zone of Mercalli scales intensities of VII or more all lay west of the Andes in a strip running from Lota (37° S) southwards. The area of intensities of VII or more did not penetrate into the Central Valley north of Lleulleu Lake (38° S) and south of Castro (42.5° S).


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: Two days after the earthquake Cordón Caulle, a volcanic vent close to Puyehue volcano, erupted. Other volcanoes may also have erupted, but none were recorded because of the lack of communication in Chile at the time. The relatively low death toll in Chile (5,700) is explained in part by the low population density in the region, and by building practices that took into account the area's high geological activity.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: One of the main aftershocks occurred on 6 June in Aysén Region. This earthquake probably occurred along the Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault, meaning in this case that the fault would have moved as a consequence of the 22 May Valdivia earthquake.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: The earthquake was a megathrust earthquake resulting from the release of mechanical stress between the subducting Nazca Plate and the South American Plate, on the Peru–Chile Trench. The focus was relatively shallow at , considering that earthquakes in northern Chile and Argentina may reach depths of . A recent 2019 research paper postulates that the Liquine-Ofqui fault had a 9.07 strike-slip subevent along with the main 9.37 main thrust sub-event which could help account for how the plate boundary event seemingly "over spent" its tectonic budget. That is to say, the previous and to this day more widely accepted explanation for the earthquake involves the Peru-Chile Trench slipping further than its accumulated slip deficit (the amount of slip available for an earthquake to tap into) should allow. The alternative explanation, with two faults slipping near simultaneously could help explain the true mechanism of the earthquake.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: Subduction zones are known to produce the strongest earthquakes on earth, as their particular structure allows more stress to build up before energy is released. Geophysicists consider it a matter of time before this earthquake will be surpassed in magnitude by another. The earthquake's rupture zone was long, stretching from Arauco (37° S) to Chiloé Archipelago (43° S). Rupture velocity, the speed at which a rupture front expands across the surface of the fault, has been estimated as per second. The average slip across all 27 Nazca subfaults was estimated to be , with of slip south of the epicenter on offshore subfaults.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: While the Valdivia earthquake was extraordinarily large, the 2016 Chiloé earthquake hints that it did not release all the potential slip in that segment of the plate interface.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: Earthquake-induced tsunamis affected southern Chile, Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, China, eastern New Zealand, southeast Australia, and the Aleutian Islands. Some localized tsunamis severely battered the Chilean coast, with waves up to . The main tsunami crossed the Pacific Ocean at a speed of several hundred km/h and devastated Hilo, Hawaii, killing 61 people. Most of the tsunami-related deaths in Japan occurred in the northeast Sanriku region of Honshu.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: The Chilean coast was devastated by a tsunami from Mocha Island (38° S) to Aysén Region (45° S). Across southern Chile, the tsunami caused huge loss of life, damage to port infrastructure, and the loss of many small boats. Further north, the port of Talcahuano did not suffer any major damage, only some flooding. Some tugboats and small sailboats were stranded on Rocuant Island near Talcahuano.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: After the 21 May Concepción earthquake, people in Ancud sought refuge in boats. A carabinero (police) boat, "Gloria", was towing a few of these boats when the second earthquake struck on 22 May. As the sea regressed "Gloria" became stranded between Cerro Guaiguén and Cochinos Island. The stranded boat was wrecked when a tsunami wave engulfed it.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: All the new infrastructure of the small port of Bahía Mansa was destroyed by the tsunami, which reached heights of up to 10 metres above sea level there. The boat "Isabella" in Bahía Mansa quickly left the port but lost its anchors.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: In the Valdivia River and Corral Bay, several vessels were wrecked by the earthquake, among them "Argentina", "Canelos", "Carlos Haverbeck", "Melita", and the salvaged remnants of "Penco". "Canelos" was anchored at Corral when the quake struck, filling a cargo of wood and other products destined for northern Chile. The engine of "Canelos" was warmed up after the earthquake. After hours of drifting around in Corral Bay and Valdivia River, the ship was wrecked and subsequently abandoned by its crew at 1800 local time. Two men on board "Canelos" died in the incident. As of 2000, the remnants of "Canelos" were still visible.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: "Santiago", another ship anchored at Corral at the time of the quake, managed to leave Corral in a bad state but was wrecked off the coast of Mocha Island on 24 May. The schooner "La Milagrosa" departed from Queule on 22 May to load a cargo of "Fitzroya" wood shingles in a small port south of Corral. "La Milagrosa" was battered by the currents and waves of the tsunami for four days while moving south. Outside Corral the crew rescued six nearly unconscious and dehydrated children on board two boats. The boats found were used to navigate in Valdivia River and Corral Bay but had drifted into the high sea.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: At the coastal town of Queule, a carabinero reported hundreds of people dead or missing some days after the tsunami. Historians Yoselin Jaramillo and Ismael Basso report that people in Queule decades later know about 50 people to have died because of the earthquake and tsunami.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: The earthquake triggered numerous landslides, mainly in the steep glacial valleys of the southern Andes. Within the Andes, most landslides occurred on forested mountain slopes around the Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault. Some of these areas remain sparsely vegetated while others have naturally developed more or less pure stands of "Nothofagus dombeyi". These landslides did not cause many fatalities nor significant economic losses because most of the areas were uninhabited, with only minor roads.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: One landslide caused destruction and alarm following its blockage of the outflow of Riñihue Lake (see below). About south of Riñihue Lake, landslides in the mountains around Golgol River caused the river to dam up; when it burst through the earthen dam, it created a flood down to Puyehue Lake. The Golgol landslides destroyed parts of international Route 215-CH, which connects to Bariloche in Argentina through Cardenal Antonio Samoré Pass.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: While most landslides clustered around north–south strips in the Andes, other areas that were affected by large numbers of landslides were the coast, mainly the foot of the Chilean Coast Range, and the shores of Llanquihue Lake.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: A seiche of more than 1 meter was observed on Panguipulli Lake following the earthquake. On 22 May, a seiche occurred also in Nahuel Huapi Lake, on the Argentine side of the Andes, more than 200 km away from Valdivia. The wave, most likely produced by an earthquake-triggered sediment slide at the lake bottom, killed two people and destroyed a pier in San Carlos de Bariloche city.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: During the Great Chilean earthquake, several landslides west of Tralcán Mountain blocked the outflow of Riñihue Lake. Riñihue Lake is the lowest of the Seven Lakes chain and receives a constant inflow from the Enco River. The blocked San Pedro River, which drains the lake, passes through several towns before reaching the city of Valdivia near the coast.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: As the San Pedro River was blocked, the water level of Riñihue Lake started to rise quickly. Each meter the water level rose was equivalent to 20 million cubic meters, which meant that 480 million cubic meters of water would release into the San Pedro River (easily overpowering its flow capacity of per second if it rose above the final, 24-meter-high dam. This potential disaster would have violently flooded all the settlements along the course of the river in less than five hours, with more dire consequences if the dam suddenly broke.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: About 100,000 people lived in the affected zone. Plans were made to evacuate Valdivia, and many people left. To avoid the destruction of the city, several military units and hundreds of workers from ENDESA, CORFO, and MOP started an effort to control the lake. Twenty-seven bulldozers were put into service, but they had severe difficulties moving in the mud near the dams, so dykes had to be constructed with shovels from June onwards. The work was not restricted to the lake; drainages from other parts of the Seven Lakes were dammed to minimize additional flow into Riñihue Lake. These dams were removed later, with the exception of Calafquén Lake, which still retains its dam.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: By 23 June, the main dam had been lowered from , allowing 3 billion cubic metres of water to leave the lake gradually, but still with considerable destructive power. The team was led by ENDESA engineer Raúl Sáez.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: On 24 May, 38 hours after the main shock of the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, the Cordón Caulle volcano erupted. The eruption was believed to have been triggered by the earthquake. Between two sparsely populated and isolated Andean valleys, the eruption had few eyewitnesses and received little attention by local media, which was preoccupied with the severe and widespread damage and losses caused by the earthquake. The eruption was first noticed and reported as an explosion by the crew of a United States Air Force plane that was heading to Santiago from Puerto Montt.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: The eruption fed a 5.5 km-long fissure on 135° heading where 21 individual vents have been found. These vents produced an output of about 0.25 km DRE both in form of lava flows and tephra. The eruption ended on 22 July, 59 days later.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: The levels of material damage were relatively low given the high magnitude of the earthquake. Part of the reason behind this was the limited infrastructure development of the region next to the rupture zone. Structures that had been designed to resist earthquakes performed well during the earthquake, chiefly suffering damage when affected by soil subsidence or small fault movements. Houses built by their owners fared badly. In the regions of Maule and Bío Bío, houses built from adobe and masonry proved weak, while from Araucanía to the south weak houses were mainly those built with inappropriate wood that had decayed over time.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: It has been estimated that about 40 percent of the houses in Valdivia were destroyed, leaving 20,000 people homeless. The most affected structures were those built of concrete, which in some cases collapsed completely, because they were not built using modern earthquake engineering. Traditional wooden houses fared better; although many were uninhabitable if they did not collapse. Houses built upon elevated areas suffered considerably less damage compared to those on the lowlands, which absorbed great amounts of energy. Many city blocks with destroyed buildings in the city center remained empty until the 1990s and 2000s, with some of them still used as parking lots. Before the earthquake, some of these blocks had modern concrete buildings built after the Great Valdivia fire of 1909.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: Valdivia's bridges suffered only minor damage. Land subsidence in Corral Bay improved navigability as shoal banks, produced earlier by sediments from Madre de Dios and other nearby gold mines, sank and were compacted. As the earthquake destroyed Valdivia's flood barriers, general land subsidence exposed new areas to flooding. Parts of the botanical garden of the Austral University of Chile that were next to Cau-Cau River and the city's southern outskirts along Route 206 were permanently flooded.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: The United States quickly set up a field hospital following the earthquake. Aided by the United States, a geological survey of Valdivia was done following the earthquake and resulted in the city's first geological map. Mexico built and donated the public school "Escuela México" after the earthquake.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: The earthquakes damaged an area that had suffered a long period of economic decline, which began with shifts in trade routes due to the expansion of railroads in southern Chile and the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: Unlike Valdivia, Osorno was saved from major destruction. In Osorno only about 20 houses were totally destroyed, although many firewalls and chimneys collapsed.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: Puerto Montt, a major city today, had in the early 1960s about 49,500 inhabitants. The bulk of the damage in Puerto Montt was located in the neighborhood of Barrio Modelo and the northern part of Bahía Angelmó, where artificial fills subsided. Angelmó and other coastal areas of Puerto Montt were among the few urban areas that suffered "total destruction" by the earthquake.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: The tsunami that struck the coast of southern Chile destroyed seaside farms, killing numerous livestock and people. Barns and industrial structures were destroyed by the quake. The dairy industry was among the few industries of the affected zone that received subsidies and investment after the earthquake. It received state support through a long-term policy after the earthquake.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: As a result of the earthquake, an international technological cooperation programme was established in the dairy sector. More specifically, the German and Danish governments helped to create the "Centro Tecnológico de la Leche" (the Milk Technological Centre) in the Southern University of Chile. The scholar Erik Dahmén believes that the earthquake resulted in a "creative destruction" for farmers of Southern Chile.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: A large area of former pastures and cultivated fields around the lower course of Cruces River was permanently flooded as a result of c. 2 m of subsidence caused by the earthquake. Over the years the new wetlands were colonized chiefly by "Egeria densa" (). "Egeria densa" and other plants created a rich aquatic ecosystem that attracted a permanent bird fauna, notably black-necked swans. The protected area of Carlos Anwandter Nature Sanctuary was created in 1981 to protect the ecosystem.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: The economy of the coastal town of Queule had during the 1950s developed significantly. Its economy based on fishing, agriculture and industry had grown. Queule was connected by road in 1957 to the rest of the country and the town had developed into a balneario. This era of prosperity ended with the 1960 earthquake.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: After the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, a committee was formed to solve problems caused by the earthquake. It continued to operate, to develop approaches for national emergencies. In 1974, after the 1971 eruption of Villarrica volcano, the committee was officially founded as ONEMI (Spanish acronym for Ministry of Interior National Emergency Office) when it was authorized by law as an independent governmental office.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: In the coastal village Collileufu (La Araucanía Region), native Lafkenches carried out a human sacrifice during the days following the main earthquake. Collileufu is located in the Budi Lake area, south of Puerto Saavedra, which was highly isolated in 1960. The Mapuche spoke primarily Mapudungun. The community had gathered in Cerro La Mesa, while the lowlands were struck by successive tsunamis. Juana Namuncura Añen, a local machi, demanded the sacrifice of the grandson of Juan Painecur, a neighbor, in order to calm the earth and the ocean. The victim was 5-year-old José Luis Painecur, an "orphan" ("huacho") whose mother had gone to work as a domestic worker in Santiago and left her son under the care of his father.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: The sacrifice was learned about by authorities after a boy in the commune of Nueva Imperial denounced to local leaders the theft of two horses; these were allegedly eaten during the sacrifice ritual. Two men were charged with the crime of murder and confessed, but later recanted. They were released from prison after two years. A judge ruled that those involved had "acted without free will, driven by an irresistible natural force of ancestral tradition". The story was mentioned in a "Time" magazine article, although with little detail.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: An earthquake of similar magnitude occurred in this area around 1800 BC, as has been determined by dating charcoal and shells washed into the Atacama Desert by the tsunami. This apparently caused the hunter-gatherers of the area to stop living near the coast for the next thousand years or so.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: There is evidence that a similar earthquake and landslide occurred in 1575 in Valdivia. This earthquake was of similar strength and also caused a Riñihuazo. According to the chronicle of Mariño de Lobera, corregidor of Valdivia in 1575, a landslide blocked the outflow of the lagoon of Renigua. Several months later in April, it caused a flood. He said that the Spanish settlers had evacuated and waited on high ground until after the dam burst, but many aboriginals died in the flood waters. While the 1575 earthquake is considered the one most similar to that of 1960, it differed in not having caused any tsunami in Japan.


title: 1960 Valdivia earthquake

text: On 27 February 2010 at 03:34 local time, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake occurred just to the north (off the coast of the Maule region of Chile, between Concepción and Santiago). This quake was reported to be centered approximately deep and several miles off shore. It may have been related or consequential to the 1960 Valdivia quake, the strongest as recorded using modern technology. This 2010 earthquake was the largest to affect Valdivia since the 1960 event. 35 houses were severely damaged and some 44 other suffered reparable damages. A survey showed that 434 persons in Valdivia had their homes damaged by the earthquake. The damages were to areas of poor soil quality, chiefly former wetlands and artificial fills. Some pavements near the rivershore in Valdivia cracked and collapsed much like in the 1960 earthquake. Over-all the 2010 damages in Valdivia were few and highly localized.


title: Frankincense

text: Frankincense (also known as olibanum) is an aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes, obtained from trees of the genus "Boswellia" in the family Burseraceae. The word is from Old French ('high-quality incense').


title: Frankincense

text: There are several species of "Boswellia" that produce true frankincense: "Boswellia sacra" (syn. "B. bhaw-dajiana", syn. "B. carteri"), "B. frereana", "B. serrata" ("B. thurifera", Indian frankincense), and "B. papyrifera". Resin from each is available in various grades, which depend on the time of harvesting. The resin is hand-sorted for quality.


title: Frankincense

text: The English word "frankincense" derives from the Old French expression , meaning 'high-quality incense'. The word in Old French meant 'noble, pure'.


title: Frankincense

text: The name of frankincense in Koine Greek (the language of the New Testament): (or ), is cognate with the name of Lebanon (); the same can be said with regard to Arabic, Phoenician, Hebrew, and . This is postulated to be because they both derive from the word for 'white' and that the spice route went via Mount Lebanon ().


title: Frankincense

text: The trees start producing resin at about eight to 10 years old. Tapping is done two to three times a year with the final taps producing the best tears due to their higher aromatic terpene, sesquiterpene and diterpene content. Generally speaking, the more opaque resins are the best quality. Cheap resin is produced in the Horn of Africa, which is the Roman Catholic Church's major source.


title: Frankincense

text: Recent studies indicate that frankincense tree populations are declining, partly due to over-exploitation. Heavily tapped trees produce seeds that germinate at only 16% while seeds of trees that had not been tapped germinate at more than 80%. In addition, burning, grazing, and attacks by the longhorn beetle have reduced the tree population. Conversion (clearing) of frankincense woodlands to agriculture is also a major threat.


title: Frankincense

text: Among various plants in the genus "Boswellia", only "Boswellia sacra", "Boswellia serrata" and "Boswellia papyrifera" have been confirmed to contain significant amounts of boswellic acids.


title: Frankincense

text: See the following references for a comprehensive overview of the chemical compounds in different frankincense species:


title: Frankincense

text: Frankincense has been traded on the Arabian Peninsula for more than 5,000 years. Frankincense was also traded from the Horn of Africa during the Silk Road era.


title: Frankincense

text: The Greek historian Herodotus wrote in "The History" that frankincense was harvested from trees in Southern Arabia. He reported that the gum was dangerous to harvest because of winged snakes that guard the trees, and that the smoke from burning storax would drive the snakes away. Pliny the Elder also mentioned frankincense in his "Naturalis Historia".


title: Frankincense

text: Frankincense was reintroduced to Western Europe by Frankish Crusaders, and other Western Europeans on their journeys to the Eastern Roman Empire where it was commonly used in church services. Although named "frank"incense, the name refers to the quality of incense brought to Western Europe, not to the Franks themselves.


title: Frankincense

text: Southern Arabia was an exporter of frankincense in antiquity, with some of it being traded as far as China. The 13th-century Chinese writer and customs inspector Zhao Rugua wrote that: or (Chinese: / ) comes from the three "Dashi" states (Chinese: - Caliphate (Arab Muslims)) of "Maloba" (Murbat), "Shihe" (Shihr), and "Nufa" (Dhofar), from the depths of the remotest mountains; the trunk of the tree is notched with a hatchet, upon which the resin flows out, and, when hardened, turns into incense, which is gathered and made into lumps; it is transported on elephants to the "Dashi" ports, then on ship to Sanfoqi; which is why it was known as a product of Sanfoqi.


title: Frankincense

text: Thousands of tons of frankincense are traded every year to be used in religious ceremonies as incense in thuribles and by makers of perfumes, natural medicines, and essential oils. It can be inhaled or applied to the skin for its supposed health benefits. Most frankincense comes from the Horn of Africa, and India, but also in Oman, Yemen, and western Africa.


title: Frankincense

text: In the Horn of Africa, frankincense is harvested in the Bari and Sanaag regions : mountains lying at the northwest of Erigavo; El Afweyn District; Cal Madow mountain range, a westerly escarpment that runs parallel to the coast; Cal Miskeed, including Hantaara and Habeeno plateau and a middle segment of the frankincense-growing escarpment; Karkaar mountains or eastern escarpment, which lies at the eastern fringe of the frankinscence escarpment.


title: Frankincense

text: In Dhofar, Oman, frankincense species grow north of Salalah and were traded in the ancient coastal city of Sumhuram, now Khor Rori.


title: Frankincense

text: In 1998, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warned that one of the primary frankincense species, "Boswellia sacra", is "near threatened". Frankincense trees are not covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, but experts argue that "Boswellia" species meet the criteria for protection. In a 2006 study, an ecologist at Wageningen University & Research claimed that, by the late-1990s, "Boswellia papyrifera" trees in Eritrea were becoming hard to find. In 2019, a new paper predicted a 50% reduction in "Boswellia papyrifera" within the next two decades. This species, found mainly in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Sudan, accounts for about two-thirds of global frankincense production. The paper warns that all "Boswellia" species are threatened by habitat loss and overexploitation. Most "Boswellia" grow in harsh, arid regions beset by poverty and conflict. Harvesting and selling the tree's resin is one of the only sources of income for the inhabitants, resulting in overtapping.


title: Frankincense

text: The use of Boswellia resin for spiritual and medicinal purposes dates back to ancient civilizations. Numerous compounds of different chemical categories are identified in the resin; the pharmacological actions of Boswellia resin are attributed to the complementary effects exerted by these compounds. Clinical studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of frankincense resin in some disease conditions like asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases, osteoarthritis, and relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. The essential oil obtained from the oleogum resin of Boswellia serrata showed antimicrobial activities. Also, in vivo studies on animals revealed that Frankincense oleogum resin exhibits neuroprotective activity.


title: Frankincense

text: The Egyptians cleansed body cavities in the mummification process with frankincense and natron. In Persian medicine, it is used for diabetes, gastritis and stomach ulcer.


title: Frankincense

text: Generally, the oil is also used in Abrahamic religions to cleanse the house or building of bad or evil energy—including used in exorcisms and to bless one's being (like the bakhoor commonly found in Persian Gulf cultures by spreading the fumes towards the body).


title: Frankincense

text: The incense offering occupied a prominent position in the sacrificial legislation of the ancient Hebrews. The Book of Exodus (30:34–38) prescribes frankincense, blended with equal amounts of three aromatic spices, to be ground and burnt in the sacred altar before the Ark of the Covenant in the wilderness Tabernacle, where it was meant to be a holy offering—not to be enjoyed for its fragrance. Scholars have identified frankincense as what the Book of Jeremiah (6:20) relates was imported from Sheba during the 6th century BC Babylonian captivity.


title: Frankincense

text: Frankincense is mentioned in the New Testament as one of the three gifts (with gold and myrrh) that the magi "from the East" presented to the Christ Child ().


title: Frankincense

text: In Traditional Chinese medicine, frankincense ( ) along with myrrh ( ) are considered to have anti-bacterial properties, and blood-moving uses. It can be used topically or orally, also used in surgical and internal medicine of traditional Chinese medicine. It is used to relieve pain, remove blood stasis, promote blood circulation and treat deafness, stroke, locked jaw, and abnormalities in women's menstruation.


title: Frankincense

text: The essential oil of frankincense is produced by steam distillation of the tree resin. The oil's chemical components are 75% monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and ketones. Contrary to some commercial claims, steam distilled frankincense oils do not contain the insufficiently volatile boswellic acids (triterpenoids), although they may be present in solvent extractions. The chemistry of the essential oil is mainly monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, such as alpha-pinene, Limonene, alpha-Thujene, and beta-Pinene with small amounts of diterpenoid components being the upper limit in terms of molecular weight.


title: Frankincense

text: In the Book of Exodus frankincense is mentioned among other fragrant spices, when God gives Moses a recipe for a sacred incense. In , the Magi brought to the newborn Jesus the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: The Bilderberg meeting (also known as the Bilderberg Group) is an annual off-the-record conference established in 1954 to foster dialogue between Europe and North America. The group's agenda, originally to prevent another world war, is now defined as bolstering a consensus around free market Western capitalism and its interests around the globe. Participants include political leaders, experts, captains of industry, finance, academia, numbering between 120 and 150. Attendees are entitled to use information gained at meetings, but not attribute it to a named speaker (known as the Chatham House Rule). This is to encourage candid debate, while maintaining privacy—a provision that has fed conspiracy theories from both the left and right.


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: Meetings were chaired by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands until 1975. The current Chairman is French businessman Henri de Castries. Since 1954, the meeting has taken place every year except in 1976, when it was cancelled due to the Lockheed bribery scandals involving Prince Bernhard, and in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: The first conference was held at the Bilderberg Hotel (Hotel de Bilderberg) in Oosterbeek, Netherlands, from 29 to 31 May 1954. The hotel gave its name both to the group and to the "Bilderbergers" who participate in its activities. The hotel is situated in a quiet location, approximately 7 km west of the city of Arnhem. It is owned and operated by the Bilderberg hotel chain, which runs 12 hotels and an event location in the Netherlands and one hotel in Germany. At the time of the 1954 conference, it was a medium-sized family-run hotel.


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: The conference was initiated by several people, including Polish politician-in-exile Józef Retinger who, concerned about the growth of anti-Americanism in Western Europe, proposed an international conference at which leaders from European countries and the United States would be brought together with the aim of promoting Atlanticism—better understanding between the cultures of the United States and Western Europe to foster cooperation on political, economic, and defense issues.


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: Retinger approached Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands who agreed to promote the idea, together with former Belgian prime minister Paul van Zeeland, and the then head of Unilever, Paul Rijkens. Bernhard in turn contacted Walter Bedell Smith, the then head of the CIA, who asked Eisenhower adviser Charles Douglas Jackson to deal with the suggestion. The guest list was to be drawn up by inviting two attendees from each nation, one of each to represent "conservative" and "liberal" points of view. Fifty delegates from 11 countries in Western Europe attended the first conference, along with 11 Americans.


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: The success of the meeting led the organizers to arrange an annual conference. A permanent steering committee was established with Retinger appointed as permanent secretary. As well as organizing the conference, the steering committee also maintained a register of attendee names and contact details with the aim of creating an informal network of individuals who could call upon one another in a private capacity. Conferences were held in France, Germany, and Denmark over the following three years. In 1957, the first U.S. conference was held on St. Simons Island, Georgia, with $30,000 from the Ford Foundation. The foundation also supplied funding for the 1959 and 1963 conferences.


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: The participants are between 120 and 150 people, including political leaders, experts from industry, finance, academia and the media. About two thirds of the participants come from Europe and the rest from North America; one third from politics and government and the rest from other fields. Historically, attendee lists have been weighted toward bankers, politicians, directors of large businesses and board members from large publicly traded corporations, including Wallenberg-owned conglomerate holding company Investor AB and other Wallenberg-owned multinationals such as Ericsson and ABB, IBM, Xerox, Royal Dutch Shell, Nokia and Daimler. Heads of state, including former King Juan Carlos I of Spain and former Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, have attended meetings. A source connected to the group told "The Daily Telegraph" in 2013 that other individuals, whose names are not publicly issued, sometimes turn up "just for the day" at the group's meetings.


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: The banker and industrialist Marcus Wallenberg Jr. was a member of the steering committee and attended the meeting twenty-two times from the 1950s to 1981, a year prior to his death. His grandson Marcus Wallenberg has attended it eight times and his other grandson, Jacob Wallenberg, seventeen times.


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: The group's original goal of promoting Atlanticism, of strengthening U.S.-European relations and preventing another world war has grown; according to Andrew Kakabadse, the Bilderberg Group's theme is to "bolster a consensus around free-market Western capitalism and its interests around the globe". In 2001, Denis Healey, a Bilderberg group founder and a steering committee member for 30 years, said, "To say we were striving for a one-world government is exaggerated, but not wholly unfair. Those of us in Bilderberg felt we couldn't go on forever fighting one another for nothing and killing people and rendering millions homeless. So we felt that a single community throughout the world would be a good thing."


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: According to the web page of the group, the meetings are conducted under the Chatham House Rule, allowing the participants to use any information they gained during the meeting, but not to disclose the names of the speakers or any other participants. According to former chairman Étienne Davignon in 2011, a major attraction of Bilderberg group meetings is that they provide an opportunity for participants to speak and debate candidly and to find out what major figures really think, without the risk of off-the-cuff comments becoming fodder for controversy in the media. A 2008 press release from the "American Friends of Bilderberg" stated that "Bilderberg's only activity is its annual Conference and that at the meetings, no resolutions were proposed, no votes taken, and no policy statements issued." However, in November 2009, the group hosted a dinner meeting at the Château of Val-Duchesse in Brussels outside its annual conference to promote the candidacy of Herman Van Rompuy for President of the European Council.


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: The Bilderberg meetings are also unofficially called the "Bilderberg Group", "Bilderberg conference" or "Bilderberg Club".


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: Meetings are organized by a steering committee with two members from each of approximately 18 nations. Official posts include a chairman and an Honorary Secretary General. The group's rules do not contain a membership category but former participants receive the annual conference reports. The only category that exists is "member of the steering committee". Besides the committee, there is a separate advisory group with overlapping membership.


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: Dutch economist Ernst van der Beugel became permanent secretary in 1960, upon Retinger's death. Prince Bernhard continued to serve as the meeting's chairman until 1976, the year of his involvement in the Lockheed affair. The position of Honorary American Secretary General has been held successively by Joseph E. Johnson of the Carnegie Endowment; William Bundy of Princeton University; Theodore L. Eliot Jr., former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan; and Casimir A. Yost of Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy.


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: According to James A. Bill, the "steering committee usually met twice a year to plan programs and to discuss the participant list".


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: In 2002, in "", author Jon Ronson wrote that the group has a small central office in Holland which each year decides what country will host the forthcoming meeting. The host country then has to book an entire hotel for four days, plus arrange catering, transport and security. To fund this, the host solicits donations from sympathetic corporations such as Barclays, Fiat Automobiles, GlaxoSmithKline, Heinz, Nokia and Xerox.


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: There have been long standing concerns about lobbying, since senior policymakers meet with corporate lobbyists, and in the case of the 2015 meeting even with senior figures at Transparency International.


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: Partly because of its working methods to ensure strict privacy and secrecy, the Bilderberg Group has been criticised for its lack of transparency and accountability.


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: Ian Richardson sees Bilderberg as the transnational power elite, "an integral, and to some extent critical, part of the existing system of global governance", that is "not acting in the interests of the whole". An article in "The Guardian" in June 2017 criticized the world view expressed in an agenda published by the Bilderberg group.


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: The undisclosed nature of the proceedings has given rise to several conspiracy theories, which have been popular at both extremes of the political spectrum, although there is disagreement about the exact nature of the group's intentions. Some on the left accuse the Bilderberg group of conspiring to impose capitalist domination, while some on the right have accused the group of conspiring to impose a world government and planned economy.


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: In 2005, Davignon discussed accusations of the group striving for a one-world government with the BBC: "It is unavoidable and it doesn't matter. There will always be people who believe in conspiracies but things happen in a much more incoherent fashion. ... When people say this is a secret government of the world I say that if we were a secret government of the world we should be bloody ashamed of ourselves."


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: In a 1994 report, "Right Woos Left", published by the Political Research Associates, investigative journalist Chip Berlet argued that right-wing populist conspiracy theories about the Bilderberg group date back to as early as 1964 and can be found in Phyllis Schlafly's self-published book "A Choice, Not an Echo", which promoted a conspiracy theory in which the Republican Party was secretly controlled by elitist intellectuals dominated by members of the Bilderberg group, whose internationalist policies would pave the way for world communism.


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: In August 2010, former Cuban president Fidel Castro wrote an article for the Cuban Communist Party newspaper "Granma" in which he cited Daniel Estulin's 2006 book "The Secrets of the Bilderberg Club", which, as quoted by Castro, describes "sinister cliques and the Bilderberg lobbyists" manipulating the public "to install a world government that knows no borders and is not accountable to anyone but its own self."


title: Bilderberg meeting

text: Proponents of Bilderberg conspiracy theories in the United States include individuals and groups such as the John Birch Society, political activist Phyllis Schlafly, writer Jim Tucker, political activist Lyndon LaRouche, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and politician Jesse Ventura, who made the Bilderberg group a topic of a 2009 episode of his TruTV series "Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura". Non-American proponents include Lithuanian writer Daniel Estulin and British politician Nigel Farage.


title: Vincente Minnelli

text: Vincente Minnelli (born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American stage director and film director. He directed the classic movie musicals "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1944), "An American in Paris" (1951), "The Band Wagon" (1953), and "Gigi" (1958). "An American in Paris" and "Gigi" both won the Academy Award for Best Picture, with Minnelli winning Best Director for "Gigi". In addition to having directed some of the best known musicals of his day, Minnelli made many comedies and melodramas. He was married to Judy Garland from 1945 until 1951; the couple were the parents of Liza Minnelli.


title: Vincente Minnelli

text: Lester Anthony Minnelli was born on February 28, 1903, to Marie Émilie Odile Lebeau and Vincent Charles Minnelli. He was baptized in Chicago, and was the youngest of four known sons, only two of whom survived to adulthood. His mother's stage name was Mina Gennell, and his father was the musical conductor of Minnelli Brothers' Tent Theater.


title: Vincente Minnelli

text: His mother was born in Chicago and was of French-Canadian descent with a probability of Anishinaabe lineage through her mother, who was born on Mackinac Island, Michigan. The family toured small towns primarily in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, before settling in Delaware, Ohio.


title: Vincente Minnelli

text: His paternal grandfather, Vincenzo Minnelli, and great-uncle, Domenico Minnelli, both Sicilian revolutionaries, were forced to leave Sicily after the collapse of the provisional Sicilian government that arose from the 1848 revolution against Ferdinand II and Bourbon rule. Domenico Minnelli had been Vice-Chancellor of the Gran Corte Civile in Palermo at the time he helped organize the January 12, 1848, uprising there. After the Bourbon return to power Vincenzo reportedly hid in the catacombs of Palermo for 18 months before being successfully smuggled onto a New York-bound fruit steamer.


title: Vincente Minnelli

text: While traveling as a piano demonstrator for Knabe Pianos, Vincenzo met his future wife Nina Picket during a stop in Delaware, Ohio. Vincenzo was a music teacher and composer. Both the U.S. Library of Congress and the Newberry Library in Chicago have Vincenzo (aka Vincent) Minnelli compositions in their collections.


title: Vincente Minnelli

text: Following his high school graduation, Minnelli moved to Chicago, where he lived briefly with his maternal grandmother and an aunt. His first job was at Marshall Field's department store as a window dresser. He later worked as a photographer for Paul Stone, who specialized in photographing actors from Chicago's theater district. His interest in the theater grew and he was greatly interested in art and immersed himself in books on the subject. Minnelli's first job in the theater was at the Chicago Theatre where he worked as a costume and set designer.


title: Vincente Minnelli

text: Owned by Balaban and Katz, the theater chain soon merged with a bigger national chain of Paramount-Publix and Minnelli sometimes found himself assigned to work on shows in New York City. He soon left Chicago and rented a tiny Greenwich Village apartment. He was eventually employed at Radio City Music Hall shortly after its 1932 opening as a set designer and worked his way up to stage director – he was also tasked to serve as a color consultant for the original interior design of the Rainbow Room.


title: Vincente Minnelli

text: After leaving Radio City Music Hall, the first play Minnelli directed was a musical revue for the Shuberts titled "At Home Abroad" which opened in October 1935 and starred Beatrice Lillie, Ethel Waters, and Eleanor Powell. The revue was well received and enjoyed a two-year run. Minnelli later worked on "The Ziegfeld Follies of 1936", "Hooray for What!", "Very Warm for May", and "The Show is On". Minnelli's reputation grew and he was offered a job at MGM in 1940 by producer Arthur Freed.


title: Vincente Minnelli

text: With his background in theatre, Minnelli was known as an auteur who always brought his stage experience to his films. The first film that he directed, "Cabin in the Sky" (1943), was visibly influenced by the theater. Shortly after that, he directed "I Dood It" (also 1943) with Red Skelton and "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1944), during which he fell in love with the film's star, Judy Garland. They had first met on the set of "Strike Up the Band" (1940), a Busby Berkeley film for which Minnelli was asked to design a musical sequence performed by Garland and Mickey Rooney. They began a courtship that eventually led to their marriage in June 1945. Their one child together, Liza Minnelli, grew up to become an Academy Award-winning actress and singer. The Minnelli family is thus unique in that father, mother and child all won Oscars.


title: Vincente Minnelli

text: Known as the director of musicals, including "An American in Paris" (1951), "Brigadoon" (1954), "Kismet" (1955), and "Gigi" (1958), he also directed comedies and melodramas, including "Madame Bovary" (1949), "Father of the Bride" (1950), "The Bad and the Beautiful" (1952), "The Long, Long Trailer" (1954), "Lust for Life" (1956), "Designing Woman" (1957), and "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" (1963). His last film was "A Matter of Time" (1976).


title: Vincente Minnelli

text: During the course of his career he directed seven different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Spencer Tracy, Gloria Grahame, Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, Arthur Kennedy, Shirley MacLaine and Martha Hyer. Grahame and Quinn won. Minnelli received an Oscar nomination as Best Director for "An American in Paris" (1951) and later won the Best Director Oscar for "Gigi" (1958). According to Peter Bart in his book "The Gross", Minnelli's films having 11 first-place finishes on Variety's opening release box office rankings.


title: Vincente Minnelli

text: He was awarded France's highest civilian honor, Commandeur of the Legion of Honor, only weeks before his death in 1986.


title: Vincente Minnelli

text: Minnelli's critical reputation has known a certain amount of fluctuation, being admired (or dismissed) in America as a "pure stylist" who, in Andrew Sarris' words, "believes more in beauty than in art." Alan Jay Lerner (of Lerner and Loewe) described Minnelli as, "the greatest director of motion picture musicals the screen has ever seen."


title: Vincente Minnelli

text: His work reached a height of critical attention during the late 1950s and early 1960s in France with extensive studies in the "Cahiers du Cinéma" magazine, especially in the articles by Jean Douchet and Jean Domarchi, who saw in him "a cinematic visionary obsessed with beauty and harmony", and "an artist who could give substance to the world of dreams". Minnelli served as a juror at the 1967 Cannes Film Festival. The MGM compilation film "That's Entertainment!" showed clips from many of his films.


title: Vincente Minnelli

text: On February 8, 1960, Minnelli received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the motion pictures industry at 6676 Hollywood Boulevard.


title: Vincente Minnelli

text: For years, there was speculation in the entertainment community that Minnelli was gay or bisexual. A biography by Emanuel Levy, "Vincente Minnelli: Hollywood's Dark Dreamer", claims evidence that Minnelli did, in fact, live as an openly gay man in New York prior to his arrival in Hollywood, where the town that made him a film legend also pressured him back into the closet. According to Levy: "He was openly gay in New York – we were able to document names of companions and stories from Dorothy Parker. But when he came to Hollywood, I think he made the decision to repress that part of himself or to become bisexual." Lester Gaba, a retail display designer who knew Minnelli in New York, was reported to have frequently claimed having an affair with Minnelli, although the same person who related Gaba's claim also admitted that Gaba "was known to embellish quite a bit." Minnelli reportedly had an affair with Lena Horne while making "Cabin in the Sky".


title: Vincente Minnelli

text: Minnelli died in his Beverly Hills home, on July 25, 1986, aged 83, of emphysema and pneumonia, which had caused him to be repeatedly hospitalized in his final year. He reportedly also suffered from Alzheimer's disease. He is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.


title: Vincente Minnelli

text: Minnelli left an estate valued at slightly over US$1.1 million, the bulk of which was left to his daughter, Liza. He bequeathed US$100,000 and his home in Beverly Hills to his widow.


title: Matryoshka doll

text: Matryoshka dolls ( ; ), also known as stacking dolls, nesting dolls, Russian tea dolls, or Russian dolls, are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another. The name "matryoshka", mainly known as "little matron", is a diminutive form of "Matryosha" (), in turn a diminutive of the Russian female first name "Matryona" ().


title: Matryoshka doll

text: A set of matryoshkas consists of a wooden figure, which separates at the middle, top from bottom, to reveal a smaller figure of the same sort inside, which has, in turn, another figure inside of it, and so on.


title: Matryoshka doll

text: The first Russian nested doll set was made in 1890 by wood turning craftsman and wood carver Vasily Zvyozdochkin from a design by Sergey Malyutin, who was a folk crafts painter at Abramtsevo. Traditionally the outer layer is a woman, dressed in a sarafan, a long and shapeless traditional Russian peasant jumper dress. The figures inside may be of any gender; the smallest, innermost doll is typically a baby turned from a single piece of wood. Much of the artistry is in the painting of each doll, which can be very elaborate. The dolls often follow a theme; the themes may vary, from fairy tale characters to Soviet leaders. In the West, matryoshka dolls are often referred to as babushka dolls, though they are not known by this name in Russian; "babushka" () means "grandmother" or "old woman".


title: Matryoshka doll

text: The first Russian nested doll set was carved in 1890 at the Children's Education Workshop by Vasily Zvyozdochkin and designed by Sergey Malyutin, who was a folk crafts painter in the Abramtsevo estate of Savva Mamontov, a Russian industrialist and patron of arts. Mamontov's brother, Anatoly Ivanovich Mamontov (1839–1905) created the Children's Education Workshop to make and sell children's toys. The doll set was painted by Malyutin. Malyutin's doll set consisted of eight dolls—the outermost was a mother in a traditional dress holding a red-combed rooster. The inner dolls were her children, girls and a boy, and the innermost a baby. The Children's Education Workshop was closed in the late 1890s, but the tradition of the matryoshka simply relocated to Sergiyev Posad, the Russian city known as a toy-making center since the fourteenth century.


title: Matryoshka doll

text: The inspiration for matryoshka dolls is not clear. It is believed that Zvyozdochkin and Malyutin were inspired by eastern Asian culture, for example, the Honshu doll, named after the main island of Japan, however, the Honshu figures cannot be placed one inside another. Sources differ in descriptions of the doll, describing it as either a round, hollow daruma doll, portraying a bald old Buddhist monk, or a Seven Lucky Gods nesting doll.


title: Matryoshka doll

text: Savva Mamontov's wife presented the dolls at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900, where the toy earned a bronze medal. Soon after, matryoshka dolls were being made in several places in Russia and shipped around the world.


title: Matryoshka doll

text: Ordinarily, matryoshka dolls are crafted from linden wood. There is a popular misconception that they are carved from one piece of wood. Rather, they are produced using: a lathe equipped with a balance bar; four heavy long distinct types of chisels (hook, knife, pipe, and spoon); and a "set of handmade wooden calipers particular to a size of the doll". The tools are hand forged by a village blacksmith from car axles or other salvage. A wood carver uniquely crafts each set of wooden calipers. Multiple pieces of wood are meticulously carved into the nesting set.


title: Matryoshka doll

text: Matryoshka dolls are often designed to follow a particular theme; for instance, peasant girls in traditional dress. Originally, themes were often drawn from tradition or fairy tale characters, in keeping with the craft tradition—but since the late 20th century, they have embraced a larger range, including Russian leaders.


title: Matryoshka doll

text: Common themes of matryoshkas are floral and relate to nature. Often Christmas, Easter, and religion are used as themes for the doll. Modern artists create many new styles of nesting dolls, mostly as an alternative purchase option for tourism. These include animal collections, portraits, and caricatures of famous politicians, musicians, athletes, astronauts, "robots", and popular movie stars. Today, some Russian artists specialize in painting themed matryoshka dolls that feature specific categories of subjects, people or nature. Areas with notable matryoshka styles include Sergiyev Posad, Semionovo (now the town of Semyonov), Polkhovsky Maidan, and the city of Kirov.


title: Matryoshka doll

text: In the late 1980s and early 1990s during Perestroika, freedom of expression allowed the leaders of the Soviet Union to become a common theme of the matryoshka, with the largest doll featuring then-current leader Mikhail Gorbachev. These became very popular at the time, affectionately earning the nickname of a "Gorba" or "Gorby", the namesake of Gorbachev. With the periodic succession of Russian leadership after the collapse of the Soviet Union, newer versions would start to feature Russian presidents Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin, and Dmitry Medvedev.


title: Matryoshka doll

text: Most sets feature the current leader as the largest doll, with the predecessors decreasing in size. The remaining smaller dolls may feature other former leaders such as Leonid Brezhnev, Nikita Khrushchev, Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Lenin, and sometimes several historically significant Tsars such as Nicholas II and Peter the Great. Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko rarely appear due to the short length of their respective terms. Some less-common sets may feature the current leader as the smallest doll, with the predecessors increasing in size, usually with Stalin or Lenin as the largest doll.


title: Matryoshka doll

text: Some sets that include Yeltsin preceding Gorbachev were made during the brief period between the establishment of President of the RSFSR and the collapse of the Soviet Union, as both Yeltsin and Gorbachev were concurrently in prominent government positions. During Medvedev's presidency, Medvedev and Putin may both share the largest doll due to Putin still having a prominent role in the government as Prime Minister of Russia. As of Putin's re-election as the fourth President of Russia, Medvedev will usually succeed Yeltsin and preceded Putin in stacking order, due to Putin's role solely as the largest doll.


title: Matryoshka doll

text: The largest set of matryoshka dolls in the world is a 51-piece set hand-painted by Youlia Bereznitskaia of Russia, completed in 2003. The tallest doll in the set measures ; the smallest, . Arranged side-by-side, the dolls span .


title: Matryoshka doll

text: Matryoshka is often seen as a symbol of the feminine side of Russian culture. Matryoshka is associated in Russia with family and fertility. Matryoshka is used as the symbol for the epithet Mother Russia.


title: Matryoshka doll

text: Matryoshka dolls are a traditional representation of the mother carrying a child within her and can be seen as a representation of a chain of mothers carrying on the family legacy through the child in their womb. Furthermore, matryoshka dolls are used to illustrate the unity of body, soul, mind, heart, and spirit.


title: Matryoshka doll

text: Matryoshkas are also used metaphorically, as a design paradigm, known as the "matryoshka principle" or "nested doll principle". It denotes a recognizable relationship of "object-within-similar-object" that appears in the design of many other natural and crafted objects. Examples of this use include the matrioshka brain, the Matroska media-container format, and the Russian Doll model of multi-walled carbon nanotubes.


title: Matryoshka doll

text: The onion metaphor is similar. If the outer layer is peeled off an onion, a similar onion exists within. This structure is employed by designers in applications such as the layering of clothes or the design of tables, where a smaller table nests within a larger table, and a smaller one within that.


title: Matryoshka doll

text: The metaphor of the matryoshka doll (or its onion equivalent) is also used in the description of shell companies and similar corporate structures that are used in the context of tax-evasion schemes in low-tax jurisdictions (for example, offshore tax havens). It has also been used to describe satellites and suspected weapons in space.


title: Matryoshka doll

text: In 2020, the Unicode Consortium approved the matryoshka doll (🪆) as one of the new emoji characters in release v.13. The matryoshka or nesting doll emoji was presented to the consortium by Jef Gray, as a non-religious, apolitical symbol of Russian-East European-Far East Asian culture.


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: Brockhampton (stylized in all caps) was an American hip hop collective founded in 2010 as AliveSinceForever in San Marcos, Texas. Led by Kevin Abstract and formed partially through online music discussion forum KanyeToThe, Brockhampton was a self-described "boy band", so-called in an effort to redefine the term. "Complex" magazine describes the group as "gay, black, white, DIY, ambitious, all-inclusive, and would-be pop stars," and this diversity is what largely distinguishes their lyrics and sound. The group's final line-up consisted of vocalists Kevin Abstract, Matt Champion, Merlyn Wood, and Dom McLennon, vocalists/producers Joba, Bearface, and Jabari Manwa and producers Romil Hemnani and Kiko Merley, as well as graphic designer Henock "HK" Sileshi, photographer Ashlan Grey, web designer Roberto Ontenient (who also featured prominently in voice skits), and manager Jon Nunes.


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: The group released their first mixtape "All-American Trash" in 2016. Their debut studio album, "Saturation", was released on June 9, 2017, followed by "Saturation II" on August 25 and "Saturation III" on December 15. On March 30, 2018, Brockhampton announced that they had signed a record deal under


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: RCA Records. Their fourth album, "Iridescence", was released on September 21, 2018 and debuted at No. 1 on the "Billboard" 200 album chart.


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: On July 18, 2019, Brockhampton officially announced their fifth album, "Ginger", giving it a release date of August. On July 31, they released the first single for the album, titled "I Been Born Again", along with a music video. Three more singles with accompanying music videos were released throughout August, leading up to "Ginger"'s release on August 23, 2019. On April 9, 2021, Brockhampton released their sixth studio album, "". In January 2022, the group announced an indefinite hiatus following their upcoming appearance at Coachella Festival in April. The group announced their seventh album, "The Family", which was released on November 17, 2022, followed by "TM", released without a previous announcement on the next day.


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: Although not all of them were a part of the original group, Kevin Abstract, Ameer Vann, Joba, Matt Champion, and Merlyn Wood met as teenagers, as they all attended The Woodlands High School in The Woodlands, Texas. In 2010, Abstract at 14 years old made a post on the KanyeLive online forum (now known as KanyeToThe) asking if anyone wanted to form a band, to which over 30 users responded. After this AliveSinceForever was then formed, although the band only went active in 2012. In 2013, AliveSinceForever released their debut EP album, The "ASF" EP. The lineup consisted of Abstract, Vann, Dom McLennon, Mic Kurb (later known as Rodney Tenor) and approximately 26 other members. At the end of 2014, AliveSinceForever disbanded to rebrand as Brockhampton.


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: Following the release of Abstract's "MTV1987", AliveSinceForever rebranded as Brockhampton and added several new members, some of whom were recruited through the Kanye West fan forum KanyeToThe. In January 2015, Brockhampton released their debut single, "Bet I" accompanied by a video directed by members Henock "HK" Sileshi and Franklin Mendez. "Bet I" was removed from all streaming platforms in 2017, although the music video can still be found on YouTube. On June 16, 2015, Brockhampton released their second single, "Hero". That same month, Brockhampton won the VFiles Loud contest, winning them a professionally-directed music video for their next single "Dirt", released through Fool's Gold Records.


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: On March 24, 2016, Brockhampton released their debut mixtape, "All-American Trash" for free. The project focuses on highlighting the group's individual members, and was led by the music video "Flip Mo", performed by Merlyn Wood and featuring Dom McLennon.


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: In January 2017, Brockhampton released a new standalone single and music video, "Cannon". In May 2017, Brockhampton released "Face", the first single and video promoting their debut album "Saturation". Throughout the month, Brockhampton released several singles and music videos in promotion of the album, including "Heat", "Gold", and "Star", all of which were directed by Abstract and shot locally in their neighborhood of South Central, Los Angeles, California. The same month, it was announced that Brockhampton was going to be the subject of the upcoming Viceland series "American Boyband," set to premiere June 8, 2017. A standalone music video, titled "Lamb" was released on June 8, 2017. "Saturation" was released on June 9, 2017 to critical acclaim, and brought new attention to the group.


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: Following the release of "Saturation", Abstract stated that Brockhampton were already working on a follow up, tentatively titled "Saturation II" and was set to be released in August. On August 1, 2017, Brockhampton released the debut single and video from "Saturation II", titled "Gummy". A week later, they released the second single and video, titled "Swamp". On August 15, they released the third single, titled "Junky", and later that day, they announced via Twitter the release date for "Saturation II".


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: The album's final single and video "Sweet" was released on August 22. This was followed the same day by the surprise release of "Follow", after which Abstract announced via Twitter that the Saturation Trilogy would be concluded with "Saturation III". "Saturation II" was released on August 25 to further acclaim and attention.


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: On September 14, 2017 Abstract revealed that the trilogy would be released as a box set alongside a collection of unreleased demos prior to the year's end.


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: On December 1, Brockhampton officially announced "Saturation III" as their final studio album; however, the group later clarified that this was not a literal statement, and they were likely to release further albums. Fans heard snippets of the album through Instagram livestreams from Kevin Abstract. On December 12, they released the album's lead single and video, entitled "Boogie". On December 14, 2017, Brockhampton announced their fourth studio album, "Team Effort", slated for release in 2018, along with a new single from "Saturation III", "Stains". "Saturation III" was released on December 15 to even further critical acclaim. The group also filmed a self-funded, self-made feature-length movie to celebrate the "Saturation" trilogy, directed by Kevin Abstract himself.


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: In March 2018, Brockhampton announced that "Team Effort" had been delayed indefinitely, and that they would instead release their fourth studio album "Puppy" in mid-2018. The next week, they announced via social media that they had signed a record deal with Sony's RCA Records. "Billboard" reported that according to label sources, the deal was worth more than $15 million for six albums over three years.


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: "Puppy" was delayed following allegations of sexual misconduct against founding member Ameer Vann. Although Vann admitted to being mentally and verbally abusive, he denied allegations of sexual abuse. On May 27, Brockhampton announced that Vann would no longer be a part of the group, stating that they "were lied to" and apologizing "for not speaking up sooner." Subsequently, the group offered an apology to victims of sexual misconduct stating; "Brockhampton was intended to bring people together and make everyone feel safe and included, we wish to apologize to anyone who has experienced similar scenarios we wish we had acted sooner. As a band we wish to extend our apologies to those who may no longer be able to listen to our music and feel safe". In light of controversy, the group canceled the remainder of their tour dates, including an appearance at the Governors Ball Music Festival. Afterwards, it came to light through lyrics and interviews by McLennon that Vann had, whilst visiting Texas, been involved in organizing a home robbery of one of McLennon's childhood friends. McLennon revealed to interviewers that Vann "didn't have the heart" to tell the band until after he had already been kicked out.


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: On June 20, the band appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon", in their late night television debut, and their first performance since announcing Vann's departure. They debuted the track "Tonya", accompanied by guest vocalists Jazmine Sullivan, Ryan Beatty and Serpentwithfeet, as well as revealing the new title of their upcoming album, "The Best Years of Our Lives." Following the performance the band resumed their summer tour, headlining the Agenda Festival in Long Beach, California. The next month the group announced a Beats 1 radio show "Things We Lost in the Fire Radio", promising "new music all summer". The show's first episode was aired on July 6, 2018, featuring the debut of single "1999 Wildfire", released that day with an accompanying music video. The track features vocals by Jazze Pha. On July 18, the single "1998 Truman" was debuted as a part of the show's second episode. A music video for the track was released later that day. On July 27, the group released the single "1997 Diana", accompanied by a music video. Later that day the song was featured on the third episode of "Things We Lost in the Fire Radio", alongside the unfinished track "Don't Be Famous". On August 26, 2018, the group announced that a new album titled "Iridescence", recorded over ten days in Abbey Road Studios, would be released in September. The band also announced dates of their "i'll be there" tour, which began on October 3, 2018 in Mesa, Arizona, concluding on December 6, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. "Iridescence" was officially released on September 21, consisting of fifteen new songs, including the revamped version of "Tonya" without Sullivan and Beatty. It debuted at number one on the US "Billboard" 200 on September 30, 2018, becoming Brockhampton's first chart-topping album. In January 2019, the band received their first ever nomination for the "Best International Group" at the BRIT Awards, which took place at The O Arena on February 20, 2019.


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: Weeks after releasing his solo album "Arizona Baby" in April 2019, Abstract revealed in an Instagram story that Brockhampton was working on a new album. On July 1, Brockhampton posted a snippet of a new song on Twitter. On July 18, they tweeted another snippet, this time revealing the album title, "Ginger", and a release month of August. The group subsequently released four singles with music videos leading up to the album's release: "I Been Born Again" on July 31; "If You Pray Right" on August 7; "Boy Bye" on August 14; and "No Halo" featuring singer Deb Never on August 21. The album was released on August 23. Brockhampton released a video two days later for "Heaven Belongs to You" featuring slowthai. On August 26, the band announced via Instagram and Twitter they would begin their Heaven Belongs to You Tour, with openers slowthai and 100 Gecs, from October to December 2019 in support of the new album.


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: The band made its first appearance on "The Ellen Show" on September 6, 2019, performing "Sugar" and "Boy Bye", though the latter was not televised. Later that same day, they performed "No Halo" with Deb Never on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!". The group was a guest on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon", interviewed and then performing "Sugar" with vocals by Ryan Beatty on October 24. On January 14, 2020, "Sugar" became the group's first Billboard hit, debuting at number 70 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and remaining on the chart for nine weeks, peaking at number 66. On March 6, a remix version of the track featuring English singer Dua Lipa, American singer Jon B and Beatty was released. The track also became the group's first platinum record on April 29, 2020.


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: In late April 2020, following the coronavirus pandemic, the band began releasing non-studio produced singles under the title "Technical Difficulties" to their YouTube channel. These songs were recorded during the band's self-imposed quarantine. Livestreams preceding the release of these singles were streamed on the Twitch platform for fans. The songs "N.S.T", "things cant stay the same", "M.O.B", "Twisted", "I.F.L", "Baby Bull", "Downside", "Fishbone" & "Chain On / Hold Me" have been released on YouTube, and many more have been premiered on their livestreams. Along with the single releases, members stated on the live-streams that a sixth album had been "sonically finished", and to expected it to release that summer. Abstract and Henock Sileshi later revealed the initials of their sixth album being RR. In August 2020, Abstract and Romil also started their own label called 'Video Store'. 2020 was the first year since 2015 in which Brockhampton did not release a studio album or a mixtape.


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: In January 2021, Kevin Abstract teased the sixth Brockhampton album's title, "Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine", through merch via Instagram. On January 2, 2021, Brockhampton released a snippet of the album's lead single, "Buzzcut", on Instagram.


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: On March 24, 2021, the band released "Buzzcut", featuring Danny Brown, followed by an announcement on March 26 of the album, titled "Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine". On March 31, Kevin Abstract took to Twitter to confirm the album's track list. He also announced that the final Brockhampton album was planned to be released later in 2021. It was later delayed until 2022, until the album was put on hold indefinitely as Brockhampton announced an indefinite hiatus on January 14, 2022. The second single "Count On Me" was released on April 2, and the album was released worldwide on April 9. The music video for "Count On Me" was released on April 13 featuring Lil Nas X and Dominic Fike. In addition to being featured on the "" soundtrack, the band recorded a song titled "MVP", sampling and interpolating the Kris Kross hit, "Jump".


title: Brockhampton (band)

text: On January 14, 2022, the band announced on their social media accounts that they would be taking an indefinite hiatus at the conclusion of their performance at Coachella. They played their final headline show on February 8, 2022, the second of two consecutive nights at the Brixton Academy. After their set at Coachella on April 16, 2022, the group announced that their final album would be coming out the same year. On October 27, 2022, a video on YouTube revealed that the final Brockhampton album would be titled "The Family". It was released on November 17, 2022, followed by the band's eighth album, "TM", which was released the following day. On November 19, the day after the release of "TM", the band played their final show at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles.


title: Red blood cell

text: Red blood cells (RBCs), also referred to as red cells, red blood corpuscles (in humans or other animals not having nucleus in red blood cells), haematids, erythroid cells or erythrocytes (from Greek "erythros" for "red" and "kytos" for "hollow vessel", with "-cyte" translated as "cell" in modern usage), are the most common type of blood cell and the vertebrate's principal means of delivering oxygen (O) to the body tissues—via blood flow through the circulatory system. RBCs take up oxygen in the lungs, or in fish the gills, and release it into tissues while squeezing through the body's capillaries.


title: Red blood cell

text: The cytoplasm of a red blood cell is rich in hemoglobin, an iron-containing biomolecule that can bind oxygen and is responsible for the red color of the cells and the blood. Each human red blood cell contains approximately 270 million hemoglobin molecules. The cell membrane is composed of proteins and lipids, and this structure provides properties essential for physiological cell function such as deformability and stability of the blood cell while traversing the circulatory system and specifically the capillary network.


title: Red blood cell

text: In humans, mature red blood cells are flexible biconcave disks. They lack a cell nucleus and organelles, to accommodate maximum space for hemoglobin; they can be viewed as sacks of hemoglobin, with a plasma membrane as the sack. Approximately 2.4 million new erythrocytes are produced per second in human adults. The cells develop in the bone marrow and circulate for about 100–120 days in the body before their components are recycled by macrophages. Each circulation takes about 60 seconds (one minute). Approximately 84% of the cells in the human body are 20–30 trillion red blood cells. Nearly half of the blood's volume (40% to 45%) is red blood cells.


title: Red blood cell

text: Packed red blood cells (pRBC) are red blood cells that have been donated, processed, and stored in a blood bank for blood transfusion.


title: Red blood cell

text: The vast majority of vertebrates, including mammals and humans, have red blood cells. Red blood cells are cells present in blood to transport oxygen. The only known vertebrates without red blood cells are the crocodile icefish (family Channichthyidae); they live in very oxygen-rich cold water and transport oxygen freely dissolved in their blood. While they no longer use hemoglobin, remnants of hemoglobin genes can be found in their genome.


title: Red blood cell

text: Vertebrate red blood cells consist mainly of hemoglobin, a complex metalloprotein containing heme groups whose iron atoms temporarily bind to oxygen molecules (O) in the lungs or gills and release them throughout the body. Oxygen can easily diffuse through the red blood cell's cell membrane. Hemoglobin in the red blood cells also carries some of the waste product carbon dioxide back from the tissues; most waste carbon dioxide, however, is transported back to the pulmonary capillaries of the lungs as bicarbonate (HCO) dissolved in the blood plasma. Myoglobin, a compound related to hemoglobin, acts to store oxygen in muscle cells.


title: Red blood cell

text: The color of red blood cells is due to the heme group of hemoglobin. The blood plasma alone is straw-colored, but the red blood cells change color depending on the state of the hemoglobin: when combined with oxygen the resulting oxyhemoglobin is scarlet, and when oxygen has been released the resulting deoxyhemoglobin is of a dark red burgundy color. However, blood can appear bluish when seen through the vessel wall and skin. Pulse oximetry takes advantage of the hemoglobin color change to directly measure the arterial blood oxygen saturation using colorimetric techniques. Hemoglobin also has a very high affinity for carbon monoxide, forming carboxyhemoglobin which is a very bright red in color. Flushed, confused patients with a saturation reading of 100% on pulse oximetry are sometimes found to be suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.


title: Red blood cell

text: Having oxygen-carrying proteins inside specialized cells (as opposed to oxygen carriers being dissolved in body fluid) was an important step in the evolution of vertebrates as it allows for less viscous blood, higher concentrations of oxygen, and better diffusion of oxygen from the blood to the tissues. The size of red blood cells varies widely among vertebrate species; red blood cell width is on average about 25% larger than capillary diameter, and it has been hypothesized that this improves the oxygen transfer from red blood cells to tissues.


title: Red blood cell

text: The red blood cells of mammals are typically shaped as biconcave disks: flattened and depressed in the center, with a dumbbell-shaped cross section, and a torus-shaped rim on the edge of the disk. This shape allows for a high surface-area-to-volume (SA/V) ratio to facilitate diffusion of gases. However, there are some exceptions concerning shape in the artiodactyl order (even-toed ungulates including cattle, deer, and their relatives), which displays a wide variety of bizarre red blood cell morphologies: small and highly ovaloid cells in llamas and camels (family Camelidae), tiny spherical cells in mouse deer (family Tragulidae), and cells which assume fusiform, lanceolate, crescentic, and irregularly polygonal and other angular forms in red deer and wapiti (family Cervidae). Members of this order have clearly evolved a mode of red blood cell development substantially different from the mammalian norm. Overall, mammalian red blood cells are remarkably flexible and deformable so as to squeeze through tiny capillaries, as well as to maximize their apposing surface by assuming a cigar shape, where they efficiently release their oxygen load.


title: Red blood cell

text: Red blood cells in mammals are unique amongst vertebrates as they do not have nuclei when mature. They do have nuclei during early phases of erythropoiesis, but extrude them during development as they mature; this provides more space for hemoglobin. The red blood cells without nuclei, called reticulocytes, subsequently lose all other cellular organelles such as their mitochondria, Golgi apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum.


title: Red blood cell

text: The spleen acts as a reservoir of red blood cells, but this effect is somewhat limited in humans. In some other mammals such as dogs and horses, the spleen sequesters large numbers of red blood cells, which are dumped into the blood during times of exertion stress, yielding a higher oxygen transport capacity.


title: Red blood cell

text: A typical human red blood cell has a disk diameter of approximately 6.2–8.2 µm and a thickness at the thickest point of 2–2.5 µm and a minimum thickness in the centre of 0.8–1 µm, being much smaller than most other human cells. These cells have an average volume of about 90 fL with a surface area of about 136 μm, and can swell up to a sphere shape containing 150 fL, without membrane distension.


title: Red blood cell

text: Adult humans have roughly 20–30 trillion red blood cells at any given time, constituting approximately 70% of all cells by number. Women have about 4–5 million red blood cells per microliter (cubic millimeter) of blood and men about 5–6 million; people living at high altitudes with low oxygen tension will have more. Red blood cells are thus much more common than the other blood particles: there are about 4,000–11,000 white blood cells and about 150,000–400,000 platelets per microliter.


title: Red blood cell

text: The blood's red color is due to the spectral properties of the hemic iron ions in hemoglobin. Each hemoglobin molecule carries four heme groups; hemoglobin constitutes about a third of the total cell volume. Hemoglobin is responsible for the transport of more than 98% of the oxygen in the body (the remaining oxygen is carried dissolved in the blood plasma). The red blood cells of an average adult human male store collectively about 2.5 grams of iron, representing about 65% of the total iron contained in the body.


title: Red blood cell

text: Red blood cells in mammals "anucleate" when mature, meaning that they lack a cell nucleus. In comparison, the red blood cells of other vertebrates have nuclei; the only known exceptions are salamanders of the genus "Batrachoseps" and fish of the genus "Maurolicus".


title: Red blood cell

text: The elimination of the nucleus in vertebrate red blood cells has been offered as an explanation for the subsequent accumulation of non-coding DNA in the genome. The argument runs as follows: Efficient gas transport requires red blood cells to pass through very narrow capillaries, and this constrains their size. In the absence of nuclear elimination, the accumulation of repeat sequences is constrained by the volume occupied by the nucleus, which increases with genome size.


title: Red blood cell

text: Nucleated red blood cells in mammals consist of two forms: normoblasts, which are normal erythropoietic precursors to mature red blood cells, and megaloblasts, which are abnormally large precursors that occur in megaloblastic anemias.


title: Red blood cell

text: Red blood cells are deformable, flexible, are able to adhere to other cells, and are able to interface with immune cells. Their membrane plays many roles in this. These functions are highly dependent on the membrane composition. The red blood cell membrane is composed of 3 layers: the glycocalyx on the exterior, which is rich in carbohydrates; the lipid bilayer which contains many transmembrane proteins, besides its lipidic main constituents; and the membrane skeleton, a structural network of proteins located on the inner surface of the lipid bilayer. Half of the membrane mass in human and most mammalian red blood cells are proteins. The other half are lipids, namely phospholipids and cholesterol.


title: Red blood cell

text: The red blood cell membrane comprises a typical lipid bilayer, similar to what can be found in virtually all human cells. Simply put, this lipid bilayer is composed of cholesterol and phospholipids in equal proportions by weight. The lipid composition is important as it defines many physical properties such as membrane permeability and fluidity. Additionally, the activity of many membrane proteins is regulated by interactions with lipids in the bilayer.


title: Red blood cell

text: Unlike cholesterol, which is evenly distributed between the inner and outer leaflets, the 5 major phospholipids are asymmetrically disposed, as shown below:


title: Red blood cell

text: This asymmetric phospholipid distribution among the bilayer is the result of the function of several energy-dependent and energy-independent phospholipid transport proteins. Proteins called "Flippases" move phospholipids from the outer to the inner monolayer, while others called "floppases" do the opposite operation, against a concentration gradient in an energy-dependent manner. Additionally, there are also "scramblase" proteins that move phospholipids in both directions at the same time, down their concentration gradients in an energy-independent manner. There is still considerable debate ongoing regarding the identity of these membrane maintenance proteins in the red cell membrane.


title: Red blood cell

text: The maintenance of an asymmetric phospholipid distribution in the bilayer (such as an exclusive localization of PS and PIs in the inner monolayer) is critical for the cell integrity and function due to several reasons:


title: Red blood cell

text: The presence of specialized structures named "lipid rafts" in the red blood cell membrane have been described by recent studies. These are structures enriched in cholesterol and sphingolipids associated with specific membrane proteins, namely flotillins, STOMatins (band 7), G-proteins, and β-adrenergic receptors. Lipid rafts that have been implicated in cell signaling events in nonerythroid cells have been shown in erythroid cells to mediate β2-adregenic receptor signaling and increase cAMP levels, and thus regulating entry of malarial parasites into normal red cells.


title: Red blood cell

text: The proteins of the membrane skeleton are responsible for the deformability, flexibility and durability of the red blood cell, enabling it to squeeze through capillaries less than half the diameter of the red blood cell (7–8 μm) and recovering the discoid shape as soon as these cells stop receiving compressive forces, in a similar fashion to an object made of rubber.


title: Red blood cell

text: There are currently more than 50 known membrane proteins, which can exist in a few hundred up to a million copies per red blood cell. Approximately 25 of these membrane proteins carry the various blood group antigens, such as the A, B and Rh antigens, among many others. These membrane proteins can perform a wide diversity of functions, such as transporting ions and molecules across the red cell membrane, adhesion and interaction with other cells such as endothelial cells, as signaling receptors, as well as other currently unknown functions. The blood types of humans are due to variations in surface glycoproteins of red blood cells. Disorders of the proteins in these membranes are associated with many disorders, such as hereditary spherocytosis, hereditary elliptocytosis, hereditary stomatocytosis, and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria.


title: Red blood cell

text: Structural role – The following membrane proteins establish linkages with skeletal proteins and may play an important role in regulating cohesion between the lipid bilayer and membrane skeleton, likely enabling the red cell to maintain its favorable membrane surface area by preventing the membrane from collapsing (vesiculating).


title: Red blood cell

text: The zeta potential is an electrochemical property of cell surfaces that is determined by the net electrical charge of molecules exposed at the surface of cell membranes of the cell. The normal zeta potential of the red blood cell is −15.7 millivolts (mV). Much of this potential appears to be contributed by the exposed sialic acid residues in the membrane: their removal results in zeta potential of −6.06 mV.


title: Red blood cell

text: Recall that respiration, as illustrated schematically here with a unit of carbohydrate, produces about as many molecules of carbon dioxide, CO, as it consumes of oxygen, O.


title: Red blood cell

text: Thus, the function of the circulatory system is as much about the transport of carbon dioxide as about the transport of oxygen.


title: Red blood cell

text: As stated elsewhere in this article, most of the carbon dioxide in the blood is in the form of bicarbonate ion. The bicarbonate provides a critical pH buffer. Thus, unlike hemoglobin for O transport, there is a physiological advantage to not having a specific CO transporter molecule.


title: Red blood cell

text: First, because, besides hemoglobin, they contain a large number of copies of the enzyme carbonic anhydrase on the inside of their cell membrane. Carbonic anhydrase, as its name suggests, acts as a catalyst of the exchange between carbonic acid and carbon dioxide (which is the anhydride of carbonic acid). Because it is a catalyst, it can affect many CO molecules, so it performs its essential role without needing as many copies as are needed for O transport by hemoglobin.


title: Red blood cell

text: In the presence of this catalyst carbon dioxide and carbonic acid reach an equilibrium very rapidly, while the red cells are still moving through the capillary. Thus it is the RBC that ensures that most of the CO is transported as bicarbonate.


title: Red blood cell

text: At physiological pH the equilibrium strongly favors carbonic acid, which is mostly dissociated into bicarbonate ion.


title: Red blood cell

text: The H+ ions released by this rapid reaction within RBC, while still in the capillary, act to reduce the oxygen binding affinity of hemoglobin, the Bohr effect.


title: Red blood cell

text: The second major contribution of RBC to carbon dioxide transport is that carbon dioxide directly reacts with globin protein components of hemoglobin to form carbaminohemoglobin compounds.


title: Red blood cell

text: As oxygen is released in the tissues, more CO binds to hemoglobin, and as oxygen binds in the lung, it displaces the hemoglobin bound CO, this is called the Haldane effect. Despite the fact that only a small amount of the CO in blood is bound to hemoglobin in venous blood, a greater proportion of the change in CO content between venous and arterial blood comes from the change in this bound CO. That is, there is always an abundance of bicarbonate in blood, both venous and arterial, because of its aforementioned role as a pH buffer.


title: Red blood cell

text: In summary, carbon dioxide produced by cellular respiration diffuses very rapidly to areas of lower concentration, specifically into nearby capillaries.


title: Red blood cell

text: When it diffuses into a RBC, CO is rapidly converted by the carbonic anhydrase found on the inside of the RBC membrane into bicarbonate ion. The bicarbonate ions in turn leave the RBC in exchange for chloride ions from the plasma, facilitated by the band 3 anion transport protein colocated in the RBC membrane. The bicarbonate ion does not diffuse back out of the capillary, but is carried to the lung. In the lung the lower partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the alveoli causes carbon dioxide to diffuse rapidly from the capillary into the alveoli. The carbonic anhydrase in the red cells keeps the bicarbonate ion in equilibrium with carbon dioxide. So as carbon dioxide leaves the capillary, and CO is displaced by O on hemoglobin, sufficient bicarbonate ion converts rapidly to carbon dioxide to maintain the equilibrium.


title: Red blood cell

text: When red blood cells undergo shear stress in constricted vessels, they release ATP, which causes the vessel walls to relax and dilate so as to promote normal blood flow.


title: Red blood cell

text: When their hemoglobin molecules are deoxygenated, red blood cells release S-Nitrosothiols, which also act to dilate blood vessels, thus directing more blood to areas of the body depleted of oxygen.


title: Red blood cell

text: Red blood cells can also synthesize nitric oxide enzymatically, using L-arginine as substrate, as do endothelial cells. Exposure of red blood cells to physiological levels of shear stress activates nitric oxide synthase and export of nitric oxide, which may contribute to the regulation of vascular tonus.


title: Red blood cell

text: Red blood cells can also produce hydrogen sulfide, a signalling gas that acts to relax vessel walls. It is believed that the cardioprotective effects of garlic are due to red blood cells converting its sulfur compounds into hydrogen sulfide.


title: Red blood cell

text: Red blood cells also play a part in the body's immune response: when lysed by pathogens such as bacteria, their hemoglobin releases free radicals, which break down the pathogen's cell wall and membrane, killing it.


title: Red blood cell

text: As a result of not containing mitochondria, red blood cells use none of the oxygen they transport; instead they produce the energy carrier ATP by the glycolysis of glucose and lactic acid fermentation on the resulting pyruvate. Furthermore, the pentose phosphate pathway plays an important role in red blood cells; see glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency for more information.


title: Red blood cell

text: As red blood cells contain no nucleus, protein biosynthesis is currently assumed to be absent in these cells.


title: Red blood cell

text: Because of the lack of nuclei and organelles, mature red blood cells do not contain DNA and cannot synthesize any RNA, and consequently cannot divide and have limited repair capabilities. The inability to carry out protein synthesis means that no virus can evolve to target mammalian red blood cells. However, infection with parvoviruses (such as human parvovirus B19) can affect erythroid precursors while they still have DNA, as recognized by the presence of giant pronormoblasts with viral particles and inclusion bodies, thus temporarily depleting the blood of reticulocytes and causing anemia.


title: Red blood cell

text: Human red blood cells are produced through a process named erythropoiesis, developing from committed stem cells to mature red blood cells in about 7 days. When matured, in a healthy individual these cells live in blood circulation for about 100 to 120 days (and 80 to 90 days in a full term infant). At the end of their lifespan, they are removed from circulation. In many chronic diseases, the lifespan of the red blood cells is reduced.


title: Red blood cell

text: Erythropoiesis is the process by which new red blood cells are produced; it lasts about 7 days. Through this process red blood cells are continuously produced in the red bone marrow of large bones. (In the embryo, the liver is the main site of red blood cell production.) The production can be stimulated by the hormone erythropoietin (EPO), synthesised by the kidney. Just before and after leaving the bone marrow, the developing cells are known as reticulocytes; these constitute about 1% of circulating red blood cells.


title: Red blood cell

text: The functional lifetime of a red blood cell is about 100–120 days, during which time the red blood cells are continually moved by the blood flow push (in arteries), pull (in veins) and a combination of the two as they squeeze through microvessels such as capillaries. They are also recycled in the bone marrow.


title: Red blood cell

text: The aging red blood cell undergoes changes in its plasma membrane, making it susceptible to selective recognition by macrophages and subsequent phagocytosis in the mononuclear phagocyte system (spleen, liver and lymph nodes), thus removing old and defective cells and continually purging the blood. This process is termed eryptosis, red blood cell programmed death. This process normally occurs at the same rate of production by erythropoiesis, balancing the total circulating red blood cell count. Eryptosis is increased in a wide variety of diseases including sepsis, haemolytic uremic syndrome, malaria, sickle cell anemia, beta-thalassemia, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, phosphate depletion, iron deficiency and Wilson's disease. Eryptosis can be elicited by osmotic shock, oxidative stress, and energy depletion, as well as by a wide variety of endogenous mediators and xenobiotics. Excessive eryptosis is observed in red blood cells lacking the cGMP-dependent protein kinase type I or the AMP-activated protein kinase AMPK. Inhibitors of eryptosis include erythropoietin, nitric oxide, catecholamines and high concentrations of urea.