title: Aquaponics

text: Inspired by the successes of the New Alchemy Institute and McMurtry's iAVs, other institutes soon followed suit. Starting in 1979, Dr. James Rakocy and his colleagues at the University of the Virgin Islands researched and developed the use of deep water culture hydroponic grow beds in a large-scale aquaponics system.


title: Aquaponics

text: Other institutes focused their research on "ebb and flow" systems (also known as "flood and drain"), which were partially based on the original ideas developed at North Carolina State University, but where coarse media (such as gravel or expanded clay) replaced sand, while bell syphons allowed an ebb-and-flow irrigation cycle, such systems are also known as "Speraneo Systems" because they are based on ideas developed in the 1990s by Tom and Paula Speraneo, owners of an aquaponics farm in Missouri.


title: Aquaponics

text: The first aquaponics research in Canada was a small system added onto existing aquaculture research at a research station in Lethbridge, Alberta. Canada saw a rise in aquaponics setups throughout the '90s, predominantly as commercial installations raising high-value crops such as trout and lettuce. A setup based on the deepwater system developed at the University of Virgin Islands was built in a greenhouse at Brooks, Alberta where Dr. Nick Savidov and colleagues researched aquaponics from a background of plant science. The team made findings on rapid root growth in aquaponics systems and on closing the solid-waste loop and found that, owing to certain advantages in the system over traditional aquaculture, the system can run well at a low pH level, which is favored by plants but not fish.


title: Aquaponics

text: Aquaponics consists of two main parts, with the aquaculture part for raising aquatic animals and the hydroponics part for growing plants. Aquatic effluents, resulting from uneaten feed or raising animals like fish, accumulate in water due to the closed-system recirculation of most aquaculture systems. The effluent-rich water becomes toxic to the aquatic animal in high concentrations but this contains nutrients essential for plant growth. Although consisting primarily of these two parts, aquaponics systems are usually grouped into several components or subsystems responsible for the effective removal of solid wastes, for adding bases to neutralize acids, or for maintaining water oxygenation. Typical components include:


title: Aquaponics

text: Depending on the sophistication and cost of the aquaponics system, the units for solids removal, biofiltration, and/or the hydroponics subsystem may be combined into one unit or subsystem, which prevents the water from flowing directly from the aquaculture part of the system to the hydroponics part. By utilizing gravel or sand as plant supporting medium, solids are captured and the medium has enough surface area for fixed-film nitrification. The ability to combine biofiltration and hydroponics allows for aquaponic system, in many cases, to eliminate the need for an expensive, separate biofilter.


title: Aquaponics

text: An aquaponic system depends on different live components to work successfully. The three main live components are plants, fish (or other aquatic creatures) and bacteria. Some systems also include additional live components like worms.


title: Aquaponics

text: Many plants are suitable for aquaponic systems, though which ones work for a specific system depends on the maturity and stocking density of the fish. These factors influence the concentration of nutrients from the fish effluent and how much of those nutrients are made available to the plant roots via bacteria.


title: Aquaponics

text: Green leaf vegetables with low to medium nutrient requirements are well adapted to aquaponic systems, including chinese cabbage, lettuce, basil, spinach, chives, herbs, and watercress.


title: Aquaponics

text: Other plants, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers, have higher nutrient requirements and will do well only in mature aquaponic systems with high stocking densities of fish.


title: Aquaponics

text: Plants that are common in salads have some of the greatest success in aquaponics, including cucumbers, shallots, tomatoes, lettuce, capsicum, red salad onions and snow peas.


title: Aquaponics

text: Some profitable plants for aquaponic systems include chinese cabbage, lettuce, basil, roses, tomatoes, okra, cantaloupe and bell peppers.


title: Aquaponics

text: Other species of vegetables and/or fruit that grow well in an aquaponic system include watercress, basil, coriander, parsley, lemongrass, sage, beans, peas, kohlrabi, taro, Pomegranate, radishes, strawberries, melons, onions, turnips, parsnips, sweet potato, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, and eggplant as well as the choys that are used for stir fries.


title: Aquaponics

text: Freshwater fish are the most common aquatic animal raised using aquaponics due to their ability to tolerate crowding. Freshwater crayfish and prawns are also sometimes used, as they excrete nutrient rich feces. There is a branch of aquaponics using saltwater fish, called saltwater aquaponics. There are many species of warmwater and cold-water fish that adapt well to aquaculture systems.


title: Aquaponics

text: In practice, tilapia are the most popular fish for home and commercial projects that are intended to raise edible fish because it is a warmwater fish species that can tolerate crowding and changing water conditions. Barramundi, silver perch, eel-tailed catfish or tandanus catfish, jade perch and Murray cod are also used. For temperate climates when there isn't ability or desire to maintain water temperature, bluegill and catfish are suitable fish species for home systems.


title: Aquaponics

text: Other suitable fish include channel catfish, rainbow trout, perch, common carp, Arctic char, largemouth bass and striped bass.


title: Aquaponics

text: Nitrification, the aerobic conversion of ammonia into nitrates, is one of the most important functions in an aquaponic system as it reduces the toxicity of the water for fish, and allows the resulting nitrate compounds to be removed by the plants for nourishment. Ammonia is steadily released into the water through the excreta and gills of fish as a product of their metabolism, but must be filtered out of the water since higher concentrations of ammonia (commonly between 0.5 and 1 ppm) can impair growth, cause widespread damage to tissues, decrease resistance to disease and even kill the fish. Although plants can absorb ammonia from the water to some degree, nitrates are assimilated more easily, thereby efficiently reducing the toxicity of the water for fish. Ammonia can be converted into safer nitrogenous compounds through combined healthy populations of 2 types of bacteria: "Nitrosomonas" which convert ammonia into nitrites, and "Nitrobacter" which then convert nitrites into nitrates. While nitrite is still harmful to fish due to its ability to create methemoglobin, which cannot bind oxygen, by attaching to hemoglobin, nitrates are able to be tolerated at high levels by fish.


title: Aquaponics

text: For this, nitrite levels must be maintained at concentrations lower than 1ppm. Nitrate, which is much safer for fish, can be tolerated at concentrations of over 150ppm. Typically, nitrogen cycling (system cycling) must conducted for 3-5 weeks in order to achieve and maintain these ideal concentrations of nitrogen compounds. High surface area provides more space for the growth of nitrifying bacteria. Grow bed material choices require careful analysis of the surface area, price and maintainability considerations.


title: Aquaponics

text: Plants are grown in hydroponics systems, with their roots immersed in the nutrient-rich effluent water. This enables them to filter out the ammonia that is toxic to the aquatic animals, or its metabolites. After the water has passed through the hydroponic subsystem, it is cleaned and oxygenated, and can return to the aquaculture vessels. This cycle is continuous. Common aquaponic applications of hydroponic systems include:


title: Aquaponics

text: Since plants at different growth stages require different amounts of minerals and nutrients, plant harvesting is staggered with seedlings growing at the same time as mature plants. This ensures stable nutrient content in the water because of continuous symbiotic cleansing of toxins from the water.


title: Aquaponics

text: In an aquaponics system, the bacteria responsible for the conversion of ammonia to usable nitrates for plants form a biofilm on all solid surfaces throughout the system that are in constant contact with the water. The submerged roots of the vegetables combined have a large surface area where many bacteria can accumulate. Together with the concentrations of ammonia and nitrites in the water, the surface area determines the speed with which nitrification takes place. Care for these bacterial colonies is important as to regulate the full assimilation of ammonia and nitrite. This is why most aquaponics systems include a biofiltering unit, which helps facilitate growth of these microorganisms. Typically, after a system has stabilized ammonia levels range from 0.25 to .50 ppm; nitrite levels range from 0.0 to 0.25 ppm, and nitrate levels range from 5 to 150 ppm. During system startup, systems take several weeks to begin the nitrification process. As a result, spikes may occur in the levels of ammonia (up to 6.0 ppm) and nitrite (up to 15 ppm) as the nitrosomonas and nitrobacter bacteria have yet to establish populations within the system. Nitrate levels peak later in the startup phase as the system completes nitrogen cycles and maintains a healthy biofilter and these bacteria grow into a mature colony. with nitrate levels peaking later in the startup phase. In the nitrification process ammonia is oxidized into nitrite, which releases hydrogen ions into the water. Overtime the water's pH will slowly drop, non-sodium bases such as potassium hydroxide or calcium hydroxide can be used to neutralize the water's pH if insufficient quantities are naturally present in the water to provide a buffer against acidification. In addition, selected minerals or nutrients such as iron can be added in addition to the fish waste that serves as the main source of nutrients to plants.


title: Aquaponics

text: A good way to deal with solids buildup in aquaponics is the use of worms, which liquefy the solid organic matter so that it can be utilized by the plants and/or other animals in the system. For a worm-only growing method, please see Vermiponics.


title: Aquaponics

text: The five main inputs to the system are water, oxygen, light, feed given to the aquatic animals, and electricity to pump, filter, and oxygenate the water. Spawn or fry may be added to replace grown fish that are taken out from the system to retain a stable system. In terms of outputs, an aquaponics system may continually yield plants such as vegetables grown in hydroponics, and edible aquatic species raised in an aquaculture. Typical build ratios are .5 to 1 square foot of grow space for every of aquaculture water in the system. of water can support between and of fish stock depending on aeration and filtration.


title: Aquaponics

text: Ten primary guiding principles for creating successful aquaponics systems were issued by Dr. James Rakocy, the director of the aquaponics research team at the University of the Virgin Islands, based on extensive research done as part of the "Agricultural Experiment Station" aquaculture program.


title: Aquaponics

text: As in most aquaculture based systems, stock feed often consists of fish meal derived from lower-value species. Ongoing depletion of wild fish stocks makes this practice unsustainable. Organic fish feeds may prove to be a viable alternative that relieves this concern. Other alternatives include growing duckweed with an aquaponics system that feeds the same fish grown on the system, excess worms grown from vermiculture composting, using prepared kitchen scraps, as well as growing black soldier fly larvae to feed to the fish using composting grub growers.


title: Aquaponics

text: Like hydroponics, a few minerals and micronutrients can be added to improve plant growth. Iron is the most deficient nutrient in aquaponics, but it can be added through mixing Iron Chelate powder with water. Potassium can be added as potassium sulfate through foliar spray. Less vital nutrients include magnesium as epsom salt, calcium as calcium chloride, and boron. Biological filtration of aquaculture wastes yield high nitrate concentrations, which is great for leafy greens. For flowering plants with high nutrient demands, it is recommended to introduce supplemental nutrients such as magnesium, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus. Common sources are sulfate of potash, potassium bicarbonate, monoammonium phosphate, etc. Nutrient deficiency in wastewater from fish component (RAS) can be completely masked using raw or mineralized sludge, usually containing 3–17 times higher nutrient concentrations. RAS effluents (wastewater and sludge combined) contain adequate N, P, Mg, Ca, S, Fe, Zn, Cu, Ni to meet most aquaponic crop needs. Potassium is generally deficient requiring full-fledged fertilization. Micronutrients B, Mo are partly sufficient and can be easily ameliorated by increasing sludge release. The presumption surrounding 'definite' phyto-toxic sodium levels in RAS effluents should be reconsidered – practical solutions available too. No threat of heavy metal accumulation exists within the aquaponics loop.


title: Aquaponics

text: Aquaponic systems do not typically discharge or exchange water under normal operation, but instead, recirculate and reuse water very effectively. The system relies on the relationship between the animals and the plants to maintain a stable aquatic environment that experience a minimum of fluctuation in ambient nutrient and oxygen levels. Plants are able to recover dissolved nutrients from the circulating water, meaning that less water is discharged and the water exchange rate can be minimized. Water is added only to replace water loss from absorption and transpiration by plants, evaporation into the air from surface water, overflow from the system from rainfall, and removal of biomass such as settled solid wastes from the system. As a result, aquaponics uses approximately 2% of the water that a conventionally irrigated farm requires for the same vegetable production. This allows for aquaponic production of both crops and fish in areas where water or fertile land is scarce. Aquaponic systems can also be used to replicate controlled wetland conditions. Constructed wetlands can be useful for biofiltration and treatment of typical household sewage. The nutrient-filled overflow water can be accumulated in catchment tanks, and reused to accelerate growth of crops planted in soil, or it may be pumped back into the aquaponic system to top up the water level.


title: Aquaponics

text: Aquaponic installations rely in varying degrees on man-made energy, technological solutions, and environmental control to achieve recirculation and water/ambient temperatures. However, if a system is designed with energy conservation in mind, using alternative energy and a reduced number of pumps by letting the water flow downwards as much as possible, it can be highly energy efficient. While careful design can minimize the risk, aquaponics systems can have multiple 'single points of failure' where problems such as an electrical failure or a pipe blockage can lead to a complete loss of fish stock.


title: Aquaponics

text: In order for aquaponic systems to be financially successful and make a profit whilst also covering its operating expenses, the hydroponic plant components and fish rearing components need to almost constantly be at maximum production capacity. To keep the bio-mass of fish in the system at its maximum (without limiting fish growth), there are 3 main stocking method that can help maintain this maximum.


title: Aquaponics

text: Ideally the bio-mass of fish in the rearing tanks doesn't exceed 0.5 lbs/gallon, in order to reduce stress from crowding, efficiently feed the fish, and promote healthy growth.


title: Aquaponics

text: Although pesticides can normally be used to take care of insects on crops, in an aquaponic system the use of pesticides would threaten the fish ecosystem. On the other hand, if the fish acquire parasites or diseases, therapeutants cannot be used as the plants would absorb them. In order to maintain the symbiotic relationship between the plants and the fish, non-chemical methods such as traps, physical barriers and biological control (such as parasitic wasps/ladybugs to control white flies/aphids) should be used to control pests. The most effective organic pesticide is Neem oil, but only in small quantity to minimize spill over fish's water.. Commercialization of aquaponics is often stalled by bottlenecks in pest and disease management. The use of chemical control methods is highly complicated for all systems. While insecticides and herbicides are replaceable by well‐established commercial biocontrol measures, fungicides and nematicides are still relevant in aquaponics. Monitoring and cultural control are the first approaches to contain pest population. Biological controls, in general, are adaptable to a larger extent. Non‐chemical prophylactic measures are highly proficient for pest and disease prevention in all designs.


title: Aquaponics

text: Many have tried to create automatic control and monitoring systems and some of these demonstrated a level of success. For instance, researchers were able to introduce automation in a small scale aquaponic system to achieve a cost-effective and sustainable farming system. Commercial development of automation technologies has also emerged. For instance, a company has developed a system capable of automating the repetitive tasks of farming and features a machine learning algorithm that can automatically detect and eliminate diseased or underdeveloped plants. A 3.75-acre aquaponics facility that claims to be the first indoor salmon farm in the United States also includes an automated technology. The aquaponic machine has made notable strides in the documenting and gathering of information regarding aquaponics.


title: Aquaponics

text: Aquaponics offers a diverse and stable polyculture system that allows farmers to grow vegetables and raise fish at the same time. By having two sources of profit, farmers can continue to earn money even if the market for either fish or plants goes through a low cycle. The flexibility of an aquaponic system allows it to grow a large variety of crops including ordinary vegetables, herbs, flowers and aquatic plants to cater to a broad spectrum of consumers. Herbs, lettuce and speciality greens such as basil or spinach are especially well suited for aquaponic systems due to their low nutritional needs. For the growing number of environmentally conscious consumers, products from aquaponic systems are organic and pesticide free, whilst also leaving a small environmental footprint. Aquaponic systems additionally are economically efficient due to low water usage, effective nutrient cycling and needing little land to operate. Because soil isn't needed and only a little bit of water is required, aquaponic systems can be set up in areas that have traditionally poor soil quality or contaminated water. More importantly, aquaponic systems are usually free of weeds, pests and diseases that would affect soil, which allows them to consistently and quickly produce high quality crops to sell.


title: Aquaponics

text: The research pertaining to aquaponic systems, and their economic viability is still very limited compared to conventional hydroponic systems. With the research that is available, the economic viability of aquaponic businesses must be determined case by case. There are many variables including system design, seasonal weather, and local costs of energy or land that factor into the profitability of aquaponic businesses. According to a study that included 208 aquaponic businesses in the United States, the average investment cost of aquaponic businesses was $5,000 - $10,000 and only 10% of businesses were reporting more than $50,000 in annual revenue.


title: Aquaponics

text: There are two primary aquaponic systems: Single Recirculating Aquaponic Systems (SRAPS or coupled systems) and Double Recirculating Aquaponic Systems (DRAPS or decoupled systems). The primary difference is that in a DRAPS system, the water from the aquaculture (fish) system is used to provide nutrients to the hydroponic (plant) system but the two systems operate autonomously of each other. Unlike with SRAPS, a grower can add synthetic fertilizer into a DRAPS system without hurting the fish. DRAPS tomato systems that use fertilizers in addition to fish waste can provide the same level of production as conventional hydroponic systems while reducing fertilizer usage by 23.6%. SRAPS systems are not able to mimic these results. Additional research shows the support that aquaponic systems can use 14% less fertilizer than hydroponic systems. Despite this reduction, a grower should determine if the cost of maintaining aquaculture is cheaper than the use of extra fertilizer in hydroponics.


title: Aquaponics

text: Other non-system-based barriers to the economic success of aquaponic systems could include that these systems require a high degree of knowledge in multiple disciplines, a lack of financing opportunities for aquaponics, and the fact that the general public doesn't understand what aquaponics is. An aquaponics business may require additional branding strategies compared to hydroponics, which is a technology that is relatively well known at this point in the United States.


title: Substantia nigra

text: The substantia nigra (SN) is a basal ganglia structure located in the midbrain that plays an important role in reward and movement. "Substantia nigra" is Latin for "black substance", reflecting the fact that parts of the substantia nigra appear darker than neighboring areas due to high levels of neuromelanin in dopaminergic neurons. Parkinson's disease is characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta.


title: Substantia nigra

text: Although the substantia nigra appears as a continuous band in brain sections, anatomical studies have found that it actually consists of two parts with very different connections and functions: the pars compacta (SNpc) and the pars reticulata (SNpr). The pars compacta serves mainly as a projection to the basal ganglia circuit, supplying the striatum with dopamine. The pars reticulata conveys signals from the basal ganglia to numerous other brain structures.


title: Substantia nigra

text: The substantia nigra, along with four other nuclei, is part of the basal ganglia. It is the largest nucleus in the midbrain, lying dorsal to the cerebral peduncles. Humans have two substantiae nigrae, one on each side of the midline.


title: Substantia nigra

text: The SN is divided into two parts: the pars reticulata (SNpr) and the pars compacta (SNpc), which lies medial to the pars reticulata. Sometimes, a third region, the pars lateralis, is mentioned, though it is usually classified as part of the pars reticulata. The (SNpr) and the internal globus pallidus (GPi) are separated by the internal capsule.


title: Substantia nigra

text: The pars reticulata bears a strong structural and functional resemblance to the internal part of the globus pallidus. The two are sometimes considered parts of the same structure, separated by the white matter of the internal capsule. Like those of the globus pallidus, the neurons in pars reticulata are mainly GABAergic.


title: Substantia nigra

text: The main input to the SNpr derives from the striatum. It comes by two routes, known as the direct and indirect pathways. The direct pathway consists of axons from medium spiny cells in the striatum that project directly to pars reticulata. The indirect pathway consists of three links: a projection from striatal medium spiny cells to the external part of the globus pallidus; a GABAergic projection from the globus pallidus to the subthalamic nucleus, and a glutamatergic projection from the subthalamic nucleus to the pars reticulata. Thus, striatal activity via the direct pathway exerts an inhibitory effect on neurons in the (SNpr) but an excitatory effect via the indirect pathway. The direct and indirect pathways originate from different subsets of striatal medium spiny cells: They are tightly intermingled, but express different types of dopamine receptors, as well as showing other neurochemical differences.


title: Substantia nigra

text: Significant projections occur to the thalamus (ventral lateral and ventral anterior nuclei), superior colliculus, and other caudal nuclei from the pars reticulata (the nigrothalamic pathway), which use GABA as their neurotransmitter. In addition, these neurons form up to five collaterals that branch within both the pars compacta and pars reticulata, likely modulating dopaminergic activity in the pars compacta.


title: Substantia nigra

text: The substantia nigra is an important player in brain function, in particular, in eye movement, motor planning, reward-seeking, learning, and addiction. Many of the substantia nigra's effects are mediated through the striatum. The nigral dopaminergic input to the striatum via the nigrostriatal pathway is intimately linked with the striatum's function. The co-dependence between the striatum and substantia nigra can be seen in this way: when the substantia nigra is electrically stimulated, no movement occurs; however, the symptoms of nigral degeneration due to Parkinson's is a poignant example of the substantia nigra's influence on movement. In addition to striatum-mediated functions, the substantia nigra also serves as a major source of GABAergic inhibition to various brain targets.


title: Substantia nigra

text: The pars reticulata of the substantia nigra is an important processing center in the basal ganglia. The GABAergic neurons in the pars reticulata convey the final processed signals of the basal ganglia to the thalamus and superior colliculus. In addition, the pars reticulata also inhibits dopaminergic activity in the pars compacta via axon collaterals, although the functional organization of these connections remains unclear.


title: Substantia nigra

text: The GABAergic neurons of the pars reticulata spontaneously fire action potentials. In rats, the frequency of action potentials is roughly 25 Hz. The purpose of these spontaneous action potentials is to inhibit targets of the basal ganglia, and decreases in inhibition are associated with movement. The subthalamic nucleus gives excitatory input that modulates the rate of firing of these spontaneous action potentials. However, lesion of the subthalamic nucleus leads to only a 20% decrease in pars reticulata firing rate, suggesting that the generation of action potentials in the pars reticulata is largely autonomous, as exemplified by the pars reticulata's role in saccadic eye movement. A group of GABAergic neurons from the pars reticulata projects to the superior colliculus, exhibiting a high level of sustained inhibitory activity. Projections from the caudate nucleus to the superior colliculus also modulate saccadic eye movement.


title: Substantia nigra

text: Altered patterns of pars reticulata firing such as single-spike or burst firing are found in Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.


title: Substantia nigra

text: The most prominent function of the pars compacta is motor control, though the substantia nigra's role in motor control is indirect; electrical stimulation of the substantia nigra does not result in movement, due to mediation of the striatum in the nigral influence of movement. The pars compacta sends excitatory input to the striatum via D1 pathway that excites and activates the striatum, resulting in the release of GABA onto the globus pallidus to inhibit its inhibitory effects on the thalamic nucleus. This causes the thalamocortical pathways to become excited and transmits motor neuron signals to the cerebral cortex to allow the initiation of movement, which is absent in Parkinson's disease. However, lack of pars compacta neurons has a large influence on movement, as evidenced by the symptoms of Parkinson's. The motor role of the pars compacta may involve fine motor control, as has been confirmed in animal models with lesions in that region.


title: Substantia nigra

text: The pars compacta is heavily involved in learned responses to stimuli. In primates, dopaminergic neuron activity increases in the nigrostriatal pathway when a new stimulus is presented. Dopaminergic activity decreases with repeated stimulus presentation. However, behaviorally significant stimulus presentation (i.e. rewards) continues to activate dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Dopaminergic projections from the ventral tegmental area (bottom part of the "midbrain" or mesencephalon) to the prefrontal cortex (mesocortical pathway) and to the nucleus accumbens (mesolimbic pathway – "meso" referring to "from the mesencephalon"... specifically the ventral tegmental area) are implicated in reward, pleasure, and addictive behavior. The pars compacta is also important in spatial learning, the observations about one's environment and location in space. Lesions in the pars compacta lead to learning deficits in repeating identical movements, and some studies point to its involvement in a dorsal striatal-dependent, response-based memory system that functions relatively independent of the hippocampus, which is traditionally believed to subserve spatial or episodic-like memory functions.


title: Substantia nigra

text: The pars compacta also plays a role in temporal processing and is activated during time reproduction. Lesions in the pars compacta leads to temporal deficits. As of late, the pars compacta has been suspected of regulating the sleep-wake cycle, which is consistent with symptoms such as insomnia and REM sleep disturbances that are reported by patients with Parkinson's disease. Even so, partial dopamine deficits that do not affect motor control can lead to disturbances in the sleep-wake cycle, especially REM-like patterns of neural activity while awake, especially in the hippocampus.


title: Substantia nigra

text: The substantia nigra is critical in the development of many diseases and syndromes, including parkinsonism and Parkinson's disease. There exist a study showing that high-frequency stimulation delivery to the left substantia nigra can induce transient acute depression symptoms.


title: Substantia nigra

text: Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disease characterized, in part, by the death of dopaminergic neurons in the SNpc. The major symptoms of Parkinson's disease include tremor, akinesia, bradykinesia, and stiffness. Other symptoms include disturbances to posture, fatigue, sleep abnormalities, and depressed mood.


title: Substantia nigra

text: The cause of death of dopaminergic neurons in the SNpc is unknown. However, some contributions to the unique susceptibility of dopaminergic neurons in the pars compacta have been identified. For one, dopaminergic neurons show abnormalities in mitochondrial complex 1, causing aggregation of alpha-synuclein; this can result in abnormal protein handling and neuron death. Secondly, dopaminergic neurons in the pars compacta contain less calbindin than other dopaminergic neurons. Calbindin is a protein involved in calcium ion transport within cells, and excess calcium in cells is toxic. The calbindin theory would explain the high cytotoxicity of Parkinson's in the substantia nigra compared to the ventral tegmental area. Regardless of the cause of neuronal death, the plasticity of the pars compacta is very robust; Parkinsonian symptoms do not appear until up to 50–80% of pars compacta dopaminergic neurons have died. Most of this plasticity occurs at the neurochemical level; dopamine transport systems are slowed, allowing dopamine to linger for longer periods of time in the chemical synapses in the striatum.


title: Substantia nigra

text: Menke, Jbabdi, Miller, Matthews and Zari (2010) used diffusion tensor imaging, as well as T1 mapping to assess volumetric differences in the SNpc and SNpr, in participants with Parkinson's compared to healthy individuals. These researchers found that participants with Parkinson's consistently had a smaller substantia nigra, specifically in the SNpr. Because the SNpr is connected to the posterior thalamus, ventral thalamus and specifically, the motor cortex, and because participants with Parkinson's disease report having a smaller SNprs (Menke, Jbabdi, Miller, Matthews and Zari, 2010), the small volume of this region may be responsible for motor impairments found in Parkinson's disease patients. This small volume may be responsible for weaker and/or less controlled motor movements, which may result in the tremors often experienced by those with Parkinson's.


title: Substantia nigra

text: Oxidative stress and oxidative damage in the SNpc are likely key drivers in the etiology of Parkinson’s disease as individuals age. DNA damages caused by oxidative stress can be repaired by processes modulated by alpha-synuclein. Alpha synuclein is expressed in the substantia nigra, but its DNA repair function appears to be compromised in Lewy body inclusion bearing neurons. This loss may trigger cell death.


title: Substantia nigra

text: Increased levels of dopamine have long been implicated in the development of schizophrenia. However, much debate continues to this day surrounding this dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia. Despite the controversy, dopamine antagonists remain a standard and successful treatment for schizophrenia. These antagonists include first generation (typical) antipsychotics such as butyrophenones, phenothiazines, and thioxanthenes. These drugs have largely been replaced by second-generation (atypical) antipsychotics such as clozapine and paliperidone. In general, these drugs do not act on dopamine-producing neurons themselves, but on the receptors on the post-synaptic neuron.


title: Substantia nigra

text: Other, non-pharmacological evidence in support of the dopamine hypothesis relating to the substantia nigra include structural changes in the pars compacta, such as reduction in synaptic terminal size. Other changes in the substantia nigra include increased expression of NMDA receptors in the substantia nigra, and reduced dysbindin expression. Increased NMDA receptors may point to the involvement of glutamate-dopamine interactions in schizophrenia. Dysbindin, which has been (controversially) linked to schizophrenia, may regulate dopamine release, and low expression of dysbindin in the substantia nigra may be important in schizophrenia etiology. Due to the changes to the substantia nigra in the schizophrenic brain, it may eventually be possible to use specific imaging techniques (such as neuromelanin-specific imaging) to detect physiological signs of schizophrenia in the substantia nigra.


title: Substantia nigra

text: Wooden chest, also called fentanyl chest wall rigidity syndrome, is a rare side effect of synthetic opioids such as Fentanyl, Sulfentanil, Alfentanil, Remifentanil. It results in a generalised increase in skeletal muscle tone. The mechanism is thought to be via increased dopamine release and decreased GABA release in the nerves of the substantia nigra/striatum. The effect is most pronounced on the chest wall muscles and can lead to impaired ventilation. The condition is most commonly observed in anaesthesia where rapid and high doses of these drugs are given intravenously.


title: Substantia nigra

text: Multiple system atrophy characterized by neuronal degeneration in the striatum and substantia nigra was previously called "striatonigral degeneration".


title: Substantia nigra

text: Chemical manipulation and modification of the substantia nigra is important in the fields of neuropharmacology and toxicology. Various compounds such as levodopa and MPTP are used in the treatment and study of Parkinson's disease, and many other drugs have effects on the substantia nigra.


title: Substantia nigra

text: Studies have shown that, in certain brain regions, amphetamine and trace amines increase the concentrations of dopamine in the synaptic cleft, thereby heightening the response of the post-synaptic neuron. The various mechanisms by which amphetamine and trace amines affect dopamine concentrations have been studied extensively, and are known to involve both DAT and VMAT2. Amphetamine is similar in structure to dopamine and trace amines; as a consequence, it can enter the presynaptic neuron via as well as by diffusing through the neural membrane directly. Upon entering the presynaptic neuron, amphetamine and trace amines activate TAAR1, which, through protein kinase signaling, induces dopamine efflux, phosphorylation-dependent internalization, and non-competitive reuptake inhibition. Because of the similarity between amphetamine and trace amines, it is also a substrate for monoamine transporters; as a consequence, it (competitively) inhibits the reuptake of dopamine and other monoamines by competing with them for uptake, as well.


title: Substantia nigra

text: In addition, amphetamine and trace amines are substrates for the neuronal vesicular monoamine transporter, vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2). When amphetamine is taken up by , the vesicle releases (effluxes) dopamine molecules into the cytosol in exchange.


title: Substantia nigra

text: Cocaine's mechanism of action in the human brain includes the inhibition of dopamine reuptake, which accounts for cocaine's addictive properties, as dopamine is the critical neurotransmitter for reward. However, cocaine is more active in the dopaminergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area than the substantia nigra. Cocaine administration increases metabolism in the substantia nigra, which can explain the altered motor function seen in cocaine-using subjects. The inhibition of dopamine reuptake by cocaine also inhibits the firing of spontaneous action potentials by the pars compacta. The mechanism by which cocaine inhibits dopamine reuptake involves its binding to the dopamine transporter protein. However, studies show that cocaine can also cause a decrease in DAT mRNA levels, most likely due to cocaine blocking dopamine receptors rather than direct interference with transcriptional or translational pathways.


title: Substantia nigra

text: Inactivation of the substantia nigra could prove to be a possible treatment for cocaine addiction. In a study of cocaine-dependent rats, inactivation of the substantia nigra via implanted cannulae greatly reduced cocaine addiction relapse.


title: Substantia nigra

text: The substantia nigra is the target of chemical therapeutics for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Levodopa (commonly referred to as L-DOPA), the dopamine precursor, is the most commonly prescribed medication for Parkinson's disease, despite controversy concerning the neurotoxicity of dopamine and L-DOPA. The drug is especially effective in treating patients in the early stages of Parkinson's, although it does lose its efficacy over time. Levodopa can cross the blood–brain barrier and increases dopamine levels in the substantia nigra, thus alleviating the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. The drawback of levodopa treatment is that it treats the symptoms of Parkinson's (low dopamine levels), rather than the cause (the death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra).


title: Substantia nigra

text: MPTP, is a neurotoxin specific to dopaminergic cells in the brain, specifically in the substantia nigra. MPTP was brought to the spotlight in 1982 when heroin users in California displayed Parkinson's-like symptoms after using MPPP contaminated with MPTP. The patients, who were rigid and almost completely immobile, responded to levodopa treatment. No remission of the Parkinson's-like symptoms was reported, suggesting irreversible death of the dopaminergic neurons. The proposed mechanism of MPTP involves disruption of mitochondrial function, including disruption of metabolism and creation of free radicals.


title: Substantia nigra

text: Soon after, MPTP was tested in animal models for its efficacy in inducing Parkinson's disease (with success). MPTP induced akinesia, rigidity, and tremor in primates, and its neurotoxicity was found to be very specific to the substantia nigra pars compacta. In other animals, such as rodents, the induction of Parkinson's by MPTP is incomplete or requires much higher and frequent doses than in primates. Today, MPTP remains the most favored method to induce Parkinson's disease in animal models.


title: Substantia nigra

text: The substantia nigra was discovered in 1784 by Félix Vicq-d'Azyr, and Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring alluded to this structure in 1791. The differentiation between the substantia nigra pars reticulata and compacta was first proposed by Sano in 1910. In 1963, Oleh Hornykiewicz concluded from his observation that ‘‘cell loss in the substantia nigra (of Parkinson's disease patients) could well be the cause of the dopamine deficit in the striatum’’.


title: Tutelary deity

text: A tutelary () (also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety and thus of guardianship.


title: Tutelary deity

text: In late Greek and Roman religion, one type of tutelary deity, the "genius", functions as the personal deity or "daimon" of an individual from birth to death. Another form of personal tutelary spirit is the familiar spirit of European folklore.


title: Tutelary deity

text: The Greeks also thought deities guarded specific places: for instance, Athena was the patron goddess of the city of Athens.


title: Tutelary deity

text: Tutelary deities who guard and preserve a place or a person are fundamental to ancient Roman religion. The tutelary deity of a man was his Genius, that of a woman her Juno. In the Imperial era, the Genius of the Emperor was a focus of Imperial cult. An emperor might also adopt a major deity as his personal patron or tutelary, as Augustus did Apollo. Precedents for claiming the personal protection of a deity were established in the Republican era, when for instance the Roman dictator Sulla advertised the goddess Victory as his tutelary by holding public games "(ludi)" in her honor.


title: Tutelary deity

text: Each town or city had one or more tutelary deities, whose protection was considered particularly vital in time of war and siege. Rome itself was protected by a goddess whose name was to be kept ritually secret on pain of death (for a supposed case, see Quintus Valerius Soranus). The Capitoline Triad of Juno, Jupiter, and Minerva were also tutelaries of Rome.


title: Tutelary deity

text: The Italic towns had their own tutelary deities. Juno often had this function, as at the Latin town of Lanuvium and the Etruscan city of Veii, and was often housed in an especially grand temple on the "arx" (citadel) or other prominent or central location. The tutelary deity of Praeneste was Fortuna, whose oracle was renowned.


title: Tutelary deity

text: The Roman ritual of "evocatio" was premised on the belief that a town could be made vulnerable to military defeat if the power of its tutelary deity were diverted outside the city, perhaps by the offer of superior cult at Rome. The depiction of some goddesses such as the "Magna Mater" (Great Mother, or Cybele) as "tower-crowned" represents their capacity to preserve the city.


title: Tutelary deity

text: A town in the provinces might adopt a deity from within the Roman religious sphere to serve as its guardian, or syncretize its own tutelary with such; for instance, a community within the "civitas" of the Remi in Gaul adopted Apollo as its tutelary, and at the capital of the Remi (present-day Rheims), the tutelary was Mars Camulus.


title: Tutelary deity

text: Tutelary deities were also attached to sites of a much smaller scale, such as storerooms, crossroads, and granaries. Each Roman home had a set of protective deities: the Lar or Lares of the household or "familia", whose shrine was a "lararium"; the Penates who guarded the storeroom "(penus)" of the innermost part of the house; Vesta, whose sacred site in each house was the hearth; and the Genius of the "paterfamilias", the head of household. The poet Martial lists the tutelary deities who watch over various aspects of his farm. The architecture of a granary "(horreum)" featured niches for images of the tutelary deities, who might include the "genius loci" or guardian spirit of the site, Hercules, Silvanus, Fortuna Conservatrix ("Fortuna the Preserver") and in the Greek East Aphrodite and Agathe Tyche.


title: Tutelary deity

text: The "Lares Compitales" were the tutelary gods of a neighborhood "(vicus)", each of which had a "compitum" (shrine) devoted to these. During the Republic, the cult of local or neighborhood tutelaries sometimes became rallying points for political and social unrest.


title: Tutelary deity

text: Chinese folk religion, both past and present, includes myriad tutelary deities. Exceptional individuals, highly cultivated sages, and prominent ancestors can be deified and honored after death. Lord Guan is the patron of military personnel and police, while Mazu is the patron of fishermen and sailors.


title: Tutelary deity

text: A similar concept in Christianity would be the patron saint example of archangels "Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, etc." or to a lesser extent, the guardian angel.


title: Tutelary deity

text: In Hinduism, personal tutelary deities are known as ishta-devata, while family tutelary deities are known as Kuladevata. Gramadevata are guardian deities of villages. Devas can also be seen as tutelary. Shiva is patron of yogis and renunciants. City goddesses include:


title: Tutelary deity

text: Influenced by the religion of Islam, Indonesian people believe in jinn, particularly on the island of Java. Those jinn who adhere to the religion of Islam are generally benevolent, however, non-Muslim jinn are considered to be mischievous. Some of them guard graves. If a pilgrim approaching the grave has evil intentions, they would cause severe illness or even death.


title: Tutelary deity

text: In Korean shamanism, "jangseung" and "sotdae" were placed at the edge of villages to frighten off demons. They were also worshiped as deities. Seonangshin is the patron deity of the village in Korean tradition and was believed to embody the Seonangdang.


title: Tutelary deity

text: In Meitei mythology and religion (Sanamahism) of Manipur, there are various types of tutelary deities, among which s are the most predominant ones.


title: Tutelary deity

text: In Philippine animism, "Diwata" or "Lambana" are deities or spirits that inhabit sacred places like mountains and mounds and serve as guardians.


title: Tutelary deity

text: In Shinto, the spirits, or "kami", which give life to human bodies come from nature and return to it after death. Ancestors are therefore themselves tutelaries to be worshiped.


title: Tutelary deity

text: Some tutelary deities are known to exist in Slavic Europe, a more prominent example being that of the Leshy.


title: Persis Khambatta

text: Persis Khambatta (2 October 1948 – 18 August 1998) was an Indian model and actress who is best remembered for playing Lieutenant Ilia in the feature film "" (1979).


title: Persis Khambatta

text: Persis Khambatta was born in Bombay to a middle-class Parsi family. Her father left her family when she was two years old. She first gained fame when a set of her pictures casually taken by a well-known Bombay photographer was used for a successful campaign for a popular soap brand. This eventually led to her becoming a model. She entered and won the Femina Miss India contest in 1965. She was the second winner of Femina Miss India and third Indian woman to participate in the Miss Universe pageant. At the Femina Miss India contest, she also won the Miss Photogenic award.


title: Persis Khambatta

text: Khambatta's first appearance at the age of 13 in advertisements for the soap brand Rexona set her on her way to becoming a popular model. At the age of 16, as Femina Miss India, Khambatta entered Miss Universe 1965 in July of that year, dressed in off-the-rack clothes she bought at the last minute. She became a model for companies such as Air India, Revlon, and Garden Vareli.


title: Persis Khambatta

text: Khambatta made her Bollywood début in director K. A. Abbas's "Bambai Raat Ki Bahon Mein" (1968), playing cabaret singer Lily who croons the film's title track. She had small roles in "Conduct Unbecoming" and "The Wilby Conspiracy" (both 1975). She went on to have a brief movie career that included the role for which she is most recognized, the bald Deltan navigator Lieutenant Ilia, in "" (1979). She shaved her head for the role. She was originally signed to play the role for five years, as the intention was to create a . Khambatta said that she was thrilled when the project became a movie instead, because it would have greater impact on her career, but she also recognised that she had lost five years' work. Khambatta became the first Indian citizen to present an Academy Award in 1980. She was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Actress for her role in "Star Trek". This led to roles in "Nighthawks" (1981), "Megaforce" (1982), "Warrior of the Lost World" (1983), and "She-Wolves of the Wasteland" (1988). She was considered for the title role in the James Bond film "Octopussy" (1983), but was passed over in favor of Maud Adams.


title: Persis Khambatta

text: Co-star Stephen Collins described Khambatta in "Star Trek" as "a very gentle person, who I think was a little overwhelmed by Hollywood". In 1980, she was seriously injured in a car crash in West Germany, which left a huge scar on her head. In 1983, she underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. She returned to Bombay in 1985, and appeared in the 1986 Hindi movie "Shingora" opposite Aditya Pancholi and Marc Zuber. Soon after, Khambatta returned to Hollywood and performed in guest roles on various television series such as "Mike Hammer" and "MacGyver". In 1997, she wrote and published a coffee table book, "Pride of India", which featured several former Miss India winners. The book was dedicated to Mother Teresa, and part of the royalties went to the Missionaries of Charity. Her final appearance in an acting role was that of Chair of the Congress of Nations in the 1993 pilot episode of "".


title: Persis Khambatta

text: Khambatta was first married to actor Cliff Taylor. In May 1989 she married Rui Saldanha, a former field hockey player who represented Great Britain at the 1972 Summer Olympics. The ceremony took place at the Polk County Courthouse in Des Moines, Iowa, where Saldanha worked as a representative of the New York Life Insurance Company.


title: Persis Khambatta

text: Khambatta was a chain smoker. In 1998, she was taken to the Marine Hospital in south Mumbai, complaining of chest pains, and she died of a massive heart attack on 18 August 1998 at the age of 49. Her funeral was held in Mumbai the following day.


title: Jung Yu-mi (actress, born 1983)

text: Jung Yu-mi (, born January 18, 1983) is a South Korean actress. Jung made her feature film debut in "Blossom Again" (2005), for which she received acting recognition. She has since starred in the critically acclaimed films "Family Ties" (2006), "Chaw" (2009), "My Dear Desperado" (2010), and the box office hits "The Crucible" (2011), "Train to Busan" (2016) and "" (2019). She also frequently appears in films by auteur Hong Sang-soo, notably "Oki's Movie" (2010) and "Our Sunhi" (2013). Jung has drawn praise for her unique screen presence and versatility.


title: Jung Yu-mi (actress, born 1983)

text: For her works in film, Jung won the Best New Actress award at the Baeksang Arts Awards, Best Supporting Actress at the Blue Dragon Film Awards and Best Actress at the recent 56th Grand Bell Awards.


title: Jung Yu-mi (actress, born 1983)

text: Jung Yu-mi made her acting debut in short films, notably "How to Operate a Polaroid Camera". Shortly after, the then-aspiring actress impressed critics in the feature film "Blossom Again", in which she gave an engrossing performance as an emotionally vulnerable teenager experiencing her first love, and thus received several newcomer awards that year. Her next film "Family Ties" was also critically acclaimed, for which she won Best Supporting Actress at the Blue Dragon Film Awards.


title: Jung Yu-mi (actress, born 1983)

text: Jung's filmography is a diverse mix of arthouse indies such as "The Room Nearby" and "Cafe Noir", cult monster flick "Chaw", odd-couple romantic comedy "My Dear Desperado", and melodrama "Come, Closer". "The Crucible" (also known as "Silenced"), inspired by true events about a group of handicapped children who suffer physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their teachers, drew nearly 5 million viewers and became one of the highest-grossing films that Jung has starred in. Her ability to portray the lives of ordinary people in ways that are not ordinary have made her one of the most sought-after actresses for auteurial films, as evidenced by her continued collaboration with director Hong Sang-soo. She played the titular character in Hong's "Oki's Movie" (2010) and "Our Sunhi" (2013), where her fragile appeal is underpinned by a quiet strength and straightforwardness. "Oki's Movie" premiered at the 67th Venice Film Festival, while "Our Sunhi" premiered at the 66th Locarno International Film Festival. In 2015, she starred in the female-centric indie film "The Table" directed by Kim Jong-kwan, which premiered at the 21st Busan International Film Festival.


title: Jung Yu-mi (actress, born 1983)

text: Jung has also starred in several commercial films, such as "Manhole" (2014), where she plays a killer. She was cast in the zombie thriller "Train to Busan" (2016) directed by Yeon Sang-ho, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was a major success, surpassing 10 million audiences. Jung reunited with Yeon in another film, "Psychokinesis", a black comedy which premiered in 2018.


title: Jung Yu-mi (actress, born 1983)

text: Though much less prolific in television, Jung uses her quirky, offbeat image to great effect when playing peculiar but adorable characters in "Que Sera, Sera" (2007), "I Need Romance 2012", and "Discovery of Love" (2014). In 2018, Jung starred in the tvN drama "Live", written by Noh Hee-kyung where she played a police officer.


title: Jung Yu-mi (actress, born 1983)

text: Jung also showcased her sweet singing voice through the song ""Andromeda"" with Sung Si-kyung in 2016. They later did a live duet of the song in You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook in 2017.


title: Jung Yu-mi (actress, born 1983)

text: In 2019, Jung starred in the feminist film "" based on the best-selling novel of the same title. The film was released in October 2019.


title: Ruby Wax

text: Ruby Wax (; born 19 April 1953) is an American-British actress, comedian, writer, television personality, and mental health campaigner. A classically-trained actress, Wax was with the Royal Shakespeare Company for five years and co-starred on the ITV sitcom "Girls on Top" (1985–1986). She came to prominence as a comic interviewer, playing up to British perceptions of the strident American style, on television shows including "The Full Wax" (1991–1994), "Ruby Wax Meets..." (1994–1998), "Ruby" (1997–2000), and "The Ruby Wax Show" (2002). She was a script editor for the BBC sitcom "Absolutely Fabulous" (1992–2012), also appearing in two episodes.


title: Ruby Wax

text: Wax holds both American and British citizenship and has resided in the United Kingdom since the 1970s. In 2013, she gained a master's degree in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy from Kellogg College, Oxford. Wax was appointed an honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2015 Special Honours for services to mental health. Her memoirs "How Do You Want Me?" (2002) and "Sane New World" (2013) both reached number one on the "Sunday Times" bestseller list.


title: Ruby Wax

text: Wax was born Ruby Wachs and raised in Evanston, Illinois, the daughter of Edward and Berthe Wachs ("née" Goldmann.) Her parents were Austrian Jews who left Austria in 1938 because of the Nazi threat. Her father was a sausage manufacturer and her mother qualified as an accountant. Once settled in Chicago, her father changed the spelling of the family surname from Wachs to Wax.


title: Ruby Wax

text: Wax majored in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, leaving after a year without completing her degree.


title: Ruby Wax

text: Wax moved to the UK and studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. She started her acting career as a straight actress at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, where she began a long-standing writing and directing partnership with Alan Rickman, who later directed many of her stage comedy shows.


title: Ruby Wax

text: In 1978, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, working alongside Juliet Stevenson in "Measure for Measure", as Jaquenetta opposite Michael Hordern in "Love's Labours Lost", replacing Zoë Wanamaker as Jane in "The Way of the World" and appearing in the Howard Brenton three-hander "Sore Throats". While at the RSC, Wax also met and befriended Ian Charleson, and later contributed a chapter to the 1990 book, "For Ian Charleson: A Tribute". In 1981, Wax appeared as an American track fan in Charleson's breakthrough film, "Chariots of Fire".


title: Ruby Wax

text: Wax made a one-off appearance in a 1980 episode of "The Professionals", "Bloodsports", playing Lonnie, an American student. In 1981, she appeared in the follow-up to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", called "Shock Treatment". In the film, Wax portrays Betty Hapschatt, who married Ralph Hapschatt in the first film. Wax also appeared briefly as a secretary in "".


title: Ruby Wax

text: In 1985, she starred as loud-mouthed American actress Shelley DuPont on the British sitcom "Girls on Top".


title: Ruby Wax

text: In 1987, Wax was given her own comedy chat show, "Don't Miss Wax", on Channel 4. She was also hired as a radio presenter by the Superstation, an overnight sustaining service for commercial radio in the UK. In December 1989, she appeared in the "Red Dwarf" episode "Timeslides" as the television host Blaize Falconberger of the fictional show ""Lifestyles of the Disgustingly Rich and Famous"".


title: Ruby Wax

text: Wax began working with the BBC in 1991, with the show "The Full Wax" (1991–94). In 1994, "Ruby Wax Meets Madonna" aired on the BBC, followed by the series "Ruby Wax Meets..." (1996–98), in which she interviewed public figures such as Imelda Marcos, O. J. Simpson, and Pamela Anderson. "Ruby Wax Meets..." was nominated for a 1997 BAFTA Award (credited to Clive Tulloh and Don Boyd), for an interview with Sarah, Duchess of York, an interview which attracted over 14 million viewers. She also made two guest appearances in "Absolutely Fabulous", a programme on which she served as script editor throughout the run of the series.


title: Ruby Wax

text: From November 2001 to June 2002, Wax presented a TV quiz show on BBC One, "The Waiting Game". Her final BBC interview series aired in 2003. In 2005 Wax appeared as a cleaner in the music video to McFly's Comic Relief song "All About You".


title: Ruby Wax

text: In 2002, Wax became the host of "Commercial Breakdown". In that year, Wax published her memoir "How Do You Want Me?", which topped "The Sunday Times" best-seller list.


title: Ruby Wax

text: In March 2003, Wax was one of the celebrity contestants on "Comic Relief does Fame Academy", a spin-off from the BBC's "Fame Academy", with all proceeds donated to "Comic Relief". Although not a good singer, Wax made it to the final, taking runner-up position to Will Mellor.


title: Ruby Wax

text: In 2004 the BBC planned to show the cartoon series "Popetown", poking fun at the Catholic Church. Wax portrayed the Pope as a spoiled child. After protests, the BBC did not broadcast the show.


title: Ruby Wax

text: In February 2004 Irish broadcaster Patricia Danaher reached an out-of-court settlement with Wax, who had falsely claimed Danaher had made "racist" and "anti-Semitic" remarks about her in an interview for Ulster Television. Wax's legal team apologised in court, accepted Danaher had made no racist or anti-Semitic statements, and announced there had been a financial settlement.


title: Ruby Wax

text: In November 2005, Wax was criticised by the "Daily Mail" columnist Richard Kay for allegedly opposing a proposed disabled-access ramp for the Couper Collection charitable art gallery. The UK Sunday newspaper "The Observer" also reported the controversy. In 2006, Wax responded to the claims in the London "Evening Standard": "Oh no, that's not true. That's so off the wall. Why would I object to a disabled ramp? It wasn't even about that."


title: Ruby Wax

text: Wax appeared in a supporting role opposite Olivia Williams and Andie MacDowell in the 2005 film "Tara Road". In September and October 2005, she appeared as a celebrity contestant in "Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon", progressing through to "Sale of the Century" before getting knocked out. In summer 2006, she was a celebrity showjumper in the BBC's Sport Relief event "Only Fools on Horses". She presented "Cirque de Celebrité" on Sky One in 2006. Wax also appeared in an episode of "Jackass", participating in the Gumball 3000. While the race was stopped at the Latvian border she was wrestled by "Jackass" personality Chris Pontius.


title: Ruby Wax

text: In March 2009, Wax returned to Comic Relief to take part in "Comic Relief Does The Apprentice". Wax appeared in the 2011 Comic Relief in "Comic Relief Does Masterchef" in which Wax prepared an appetiser for then Prime Minister David Cameron.


title: Ruby Wax

text: Wax teaches business communication in the public and private sectors. Clients include Deutsche Bank, the UK Home Office and Skype.


title: Ruby Wax

text: In September 2013, Wax graduated from Kellogg College, Oxford, with a master's degree in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. She had previously earned a postgraduate certificate in psychotherapy and counselling from Regent's College in London.


title: Ruby Wax

text: In 2016, Wax published her first mindfulness book, "A Mindfulness Guide For The Frazzled," within which she sets out her own six-week mindfulness course with the blessing of Mark Williams, her professor at Oxford and co-creator of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.


title: Ruby Wax

text: After the 2020 lockdown period caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, her book "And Now for the Good News..." was published. Still related to mindfulness, it discusses her discovery of new ways for education, community, self-sustainability, business or volunteering to improve lives internationally. Her book "A Mindfulness Guide For Survival" was published in August 2021.


title: Ruby Wax

text: Wax has been open about her struggles with bipolar disorder and depression. She made an online series on mental health issues for the BBC and has worked with mental health charities.


title: Ruby Wax

text: Wax's 2010 stand-up show "Losing It" dealt with her mental health, including time she spent in a psychiatric clinic. Wax founded the mental health website (which is now part of the SANE mental health charity) in 2011 in response to the audience reaction from her theatre show.


title: Ruby Wax

text: In 2013, Ruby Wax published a book called "Sane New World", which became a number-one best-seller. It was followed in January 2016 by "A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled". In 2018 her third book on the subject of mental health came out: "How to Be Human: The Manual", written with the help of a neuroscientist and a monk.


title: Ruby Wax

text: In June 2015, Wax was appointed Visiting Professor in Mental Health Nursing at the University of Surrey. In 2015, it was announced that she would be made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for her services to mental health.


title: Ruby Wax

text: Wax is married to television producer and director Ed Bye. They have three children: Max (born 1988), Madeleine (born 1990), and Marina (born 1993).


title: Ruby Wax

text: In an episode of the BBC's "Who Do You Think You Are?" in 2017, Wax revealed her great-grandmother and great-aunt had been committed to mental asylums in Brno and Vienna as they were incurably "agitated".


title: Ruby Wax

text: In 2019, Wax fell off a horse while on holiday, severely injuring her back. She had to cancel her show "How To Be Human" at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as a result of her injuries.


title: Escape to Victory

text: Escape to Victory (stylized as Victory) is a 1981 American-British-Italian sports war film directed by John Huston and starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, Max von Sydow and Pelé. The film is about Allied prisoners of war who are interned in a German prison camp during the Second World War who play an exhibition match of football against a German team.


title: Escape to Victory

text: The film received great attention upon its theatrical release, as it also starred professional footballers Bobby Moore, Osvaldo Ardiles, Kazimierz Deyna, Paul Van Himst, Mike Summerbee, Hallvar Thoresen, Werner Roth and Pelé. Numerous Ipswich Town players were also in the film, including John Wark, Russell Osman, Laurie Sivell, Robin Turner and Kevin O'Callaghan. Other Ipswich Town players stood in for actors in the football scenes – Kevin Beattie for Michael Caine, and Paul Cooper for Sylvester Stallone. Yabo Yablonsky wrote the script and the film was entered into the 12th Moscow International Film Festival.


title: Escape to Victory

text: A team of Allied prisoners of war (POWs), coached and led by English Captain John Colby (Michael Caine), a professional footballer for West Ham United before the war, agree to play an exhibition match against a German team, only to find themselves involved in a German propaganda stunt.


title: Escape to Victory

text: Colby is the captain and essentially the manager of the team and thus chooses his squad of players. Another POW, Robert Hatch (Sylvester Stallone), an American who is serving with the Canadian Army, is not initially chosen, but eventually nags the reluctant Colby into letting him on the team as the team's trainer, as Hatch needs to be with the team to facilitate his upcoming escape attempt.


title: Escape to Victory

text: Colby's superior officers repeatedly try to convince him to use the match as an opportunity for an escape attempt, but Colby consistently refuses, fearing that such an attempt will only result in getting his players killed. Meanwhile, Hatch has been planning his unrelated escape attempt, and Colby's superiors agree to help him if he in return agrees to journey to Paris, contact the French Resistance and try to convince them to help the football team escape.


title: Escape to Victory

text: Hatch succeeds in escaping the prison camp and finding the Resistance in Paris. The Resistance initially believes it will be too risky to aid the team's escape, but once they realise the game will be at the Colombes Stadium, they plan the escape using a tunnel from the Parisian sewer system to the showers in the players' changing room. They convince Hatch to let himself be recaptured so that he can pass this information back to the leading British officers at the prison camp.


title: Escape to Victory

text: Hatch is indeed recaptured. However, he is placed in solitary confinement, and thus the prisoners do not know if the French underground will help them. Colby tells the Germans that he needs Hatch on the team because Hatch is the backup goalkeeper and the starting goalkeeper has broken his arm. Colby himself actually has to break the starting goalkeeper's arm because the Germans want proof of the injury before they will allow Hatch to join the Allied lineup.


title: Escape to Victory

text: In the end, the POWs can leave the German camp only to play the match; they are to be imprisoned again afterward. The resistance's tunnelers break through to the Allied dressing room at halftime with the POWs trailing, 4-1. However, the team (led by Russell Osman saying "but we can win this") persuades Hatch to return to the pitch for the second half rather than lead the escape as planned.


title: Escape to Victory

text: Despite the match officials being heavily biased towards the Germans, and the German team causing several deliberate injuries to the Allied players, a 4-4 draw is achieved after great performances from Luis Fernandez (portrayed by Pelé), Carlos Rey (portrayed by Osvaldo Ardiles) and Terry Brady (portrayed by Bobby Moore). Hatch plays goalkeeper and makes excellent saves, including a save of a penalty kick as time expires to deny the Germans the win. An Allied goal had been blatantly disallowed earlier in the match, so the POWs should have won, 5–4.


title: Escape to Victory

text: After Hatch preserves the draw, the crowd storms the field and swarms the players. Some of the spectators help the Allied players disguise themselves in the chaos so that they can escape, and they all burst through the gates to freedom.


title: Escape to Victory

text: Filmed in Hungary, the film is based on the 1962 Hungarian film drama "Két félidő a pokolban" ("Two half-times in Hell"), which was directed by Zoltán Fábri and won the critics' award at the 1962 Boston Cinema Festival.


title: Escape to Victory

text: The film was inspired by the now discredited story of the so-called Death Match in which FC Dynamo Kyiv defeated German soldiers while Ukraine was occupied by German troops in World War II. According to myth, as a result of their victory, the Ukrainians were all shot. The true story is considerably more complex, as the team played a series of matches against German teams, emerging victorious in all of them, before any of them were sent to prison camps by the Gestapo. Four players were documented as being killed by the Germans but long after the dates of the matches they had won.


title: Escape to Victory

text: "Escape to Victory" featured a great many professional footballers as both the POW team and the German team. Many of the footballers came from the Ipswich Town squad, who were at the time one of the most successful teams in Europe. Despite not appearing on screen, English World Cup-winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks and Alan Thatcher were closely involved in the film, working with Sylvester Stallone on his goalkeeping scenes. "Sports Illustrated" magazine said "the game is marvelously photographed by Gerry Fisher, under second unit director Robert Riger."


title: Escape to Victory

text: Since the movie is set in the early years of the German occupation of France (probably 1941 or 1942), Pelé's character, Corporal Luis Fernandez, is identified as being from Trinidad, not Brazil. The Brazilians did not join the war against the Axis powers until 1943, with the Brazilian Expeditionary Force arriving in Italy in 1944. Similarly, Argentinian star Osvaldo Ardiles' character, Carlos Rey, is not identified as being from any particular country.


title: Escape to Victory

text: Nearly all of the film's music score borrows heavily from the first and last movements of Dmitri Shostakovich's "Leningrad Symphony," particularly the march theme of the first movement, which is almost quoted verbatim, a practice which the composer Bill Conti would later employ in "The Right Stuff" with Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 has always been associated with secondary meanings within the music aimed at the Stalinist regime's overwhelming repression of individualism and freedom of expression, but at the time of its composition during the war was said to represent the oppression of Nazism. At the end of the film, the last part of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 is also used to signify the triumphant conclusion of the story. However, while the music may fulfil the final moments of "Escape to Victory's" exultant ending explicitly, it is believed Shostakovich wrote the ending to his symphony to imply forced rejoicing under an authoritarian force. More prosaically, the music also pays tribute to Elmer Bernstein’s score for "The Great Escape".


title: Escape to Victory

text: On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a 67% rating based on reviews from 9. On Metacritic, the film is rated 57 out of 100 based on 10 critic reviews.


title: Escape to Victory

text: In March 2019, it was announced that Jaume Collet-Serra will direct a remake also titled "Victory". A draft was written by Gavin O'Connor and Anthony Tambakis in 2017, with Tambakis doing a rewrite. Gianni Nunnari and Bernie Goldman will produce.


title: Public holidays in the United Kingdom

text: In the United Kingdom, public holidays are days on which most businesses and non-essential services are closed. Many retail businesses (especially the larger ones) do open on some of the public holidays. There are restrictions on trading on Sundays and Christmas Day in England and Wales and on New Year's Day and Christmas Day in Scotland. Public holidays defined by statute are called "bank holidays", but this term can also be used to include common law holidays, which are held by convention. The term "public holidays" can refer exclusively to common law holidays.


title: Public holidays in the United Kingdom

text: There is no automatic right to time off on these days, but banks close and the majority of the working population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contracts.


title: Public holidays in the United Kingdom

text: There are eight bank holidays a year in England and Wales, nine in Scotland and ten in Northern Ireland. Additional days have been allocated for special events, such as royal weddings and jubilees. There are seven bank holidays common to all jurisdictions: New Year's Day, Good Friday, the early May bank holiday, the Spring bank holiday, the Summer bank holiday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Easter Monday is a bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland but not in Scotland. In Northern Ireland, St Patrick's Day and Orangemen's Day are also bank holidays. In Scotland, 2 January and St Andrew's Day are bank holidays. The Summer bank holiday varies according to jurisdiction: in Scotland, it is on the first Monday in August, and in the rest of the United Kingdom, it is on the last Monday in August.


title: Public holidays in the United Kingdom

text: In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Good Friday and Christmas Day are common law holidays, having been customary holidays since time immemorial.


title: Public holidays in the United Kingdom

text: The first official bank holidays were named in the Bank Holidays Act 1871, introduced by Liberal politician and banker Sir John Lubbock. Under the Act, "no person was compelled to make any payment or to do any act upon a bank holiday which he would not be compelled to do or make on Christmas Day or Good Friday, and the making of a payment or the doing of an act on the following day was equivalent to doing it on the holiday". People were so grateful that some called the first bank holidays "St Lubbock's Days" for a while.


title: Public holidays in the United Kingdom

text: The Act did not include Good Friday and Christmas Day as bank holidays in England, Wales, or Ireland because they were already recognised as common law holidays.


title: Public holidays in the United Kingdom

text: In 1903, the Bank Holiday (Ireland) Act added 17 March, Saint Patrick's Day, as a bank holiday in Ireland only. New Year's Day did not become a bank holiday in England until 1 January 1974. Boxing Day did not become a bank holiday in Scotland until 1974.


title: Public holidays in the United Kingdom

text: Starting in 1965, experimentally, the August bank holiday weekend was observed at the end of August "to give a lead in extending British holidays over a longer summer period". Each year's date was announced in Parliament on an "ad hoc" basis, to the despair of the calendar and diary publishing trade. The rule seems to have been to select the weekend of the last Saturday in August, so that in 1968 and 1969 Bank Holiday Monday actually fell in September.


title: Public holidays in the United Kingdom

text: A century after the 1871 Act, the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, which currently regulates bank holidays in the UK, was passed. The majority of the current bank holidays were specified in the 1971 Act: however New Year's Day and May Day were not introduced throughout the whole of the UK until 1974 and 1978 respectively. The date of the August bank holiday was changed from the first Monday in August to the last Monday in August in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (but not in Scotland), and the Whitsun bank holiday (Whit Monday) was replaced by the Late Spring Bank Holiday, fixed as the last Monday in May. From 1978, the final Monday of May in Scotland (a statutory holiday in the rest of the UK) and the first Monday in May in the rest of the UK (a statutory holiday in Scotland) have been proclaimed as bank holidays.


title: Public holidays in the United Kingdom

text: In January 2007, the St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007 was given royal assent, making 30 November (or the following Monday if 30 November falls on a weekend) a bank holiday in Scotland.


title: Public holidays in the United Kingdom

text: There are calls for extra public holidays on the patron saints' days in England (for St. George's Day), and Wales (for St. David's Day). For example, in 2018 the Labour Party announced it would make those days bank holidays if elected. The same year, an online petition to the Prime Minister as to Wales received 3,577 signatures.


title: Public holidays in the United Kingdom

text: In 2009, it was reported that St Piran's Day (patron saint of Cornwall) on 5 March is already given as an unofficial day off to many government and other workers in the county. It is suggested that a move from the May bank holiday to a St Piran's Day bank holiday in Cornwall would benefit the Cornish economy by £20–35 million.


title: Public holidays in the United Kingdom

text: The number of holidays in the UK is relatively small compared to many other European countries. However, direct comparison is inaccurate since the 'substitute day' scheme of deferment does not apply in most European countries, where holidays that coincide with a weekend (29% of fixed-date holidays) are "lost". In fact, the average number of non-weekend holidays in such countries is only marginally higher (and in some cases lower) than the UK. Worth mentioning is that public holidays in Europe which fall on Thursday or Tuesday typically become "puente" or "bridge" four-day or even six-day extended holiday weekends as people tend to use one or two days from their holiday entitlement to take off Monday and/or Friday.


title: Public holidays in the United Kingdom

text: After the election of the coalition government in May 2010, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport launched a pre-consultation in 2011 which included the suggestion of moving the May Day Bank Holiday to October, to be a "UK Day" or "Trafalgar Day" (21 October) or to St David's Day and St George's Day.


title: Public holidays in the United Kingdom

text: Royal proclamation is also used to move bank holidays that would otherwise fall on a weekend and to create extra one-off bank holidays for special occasions. The Act does not provide for a bank holiday to be suppressed by royal proclamation without appointing another day in its place. In this way, public holidays are not "lost" in years when they coincide with weekends. These deferred bank holiday days are termed a "bank holiday in lieu" of the typical anniversary date. In the legislation they are known as "substitute days". The movement of the St Andrew's Day Scottish holiday to the nearest Monday when 30 November is a weekend day is statutory and does not require a proclamation. Bank holidays falling on a weekend are always moved to a later date, not an earlier one.


title: Public holidays in the United Kingdom

text: Although there is no statutory right for workers to take paid leave on bank holidays, where paid leave is given (either because the business is closed or for other reasons), the bank holiday can count towards the minimum statutory holiday entitlement. Likewise, if people are required to work on a bank holiday, there is no statutory right to an enhanced pay rate nor to a day off "in lieu", although many employers do give either or both. Any rights in this respect depend on the person's contract of employment. The statutory minimum paid holidays is 28 days (or 5.6 weeks) a year under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (including any bank holidays or public holidays that are taken).


title: Public holidays in the United Kingdom

text: Local holidays are determined by local authorities across Scotland. Some of these may be taken in lieu of statutory holidays while others may be additional holidays, although many companies, including Royal Mail, do not follow all the holidays listed below, and many swap between English and local holidays.


title: Public holidays in the United Kingdom

text: Since Easter 1996 the Scottish clearing banks have harmonised the days on which they are closed with those in England and Wales and are therefore closed on Easter Monday and the last Monday in August (rather than the first). This has resulted in a number of local authorities creating a public holiday on Easter Monday. Previously Easter Monday had not been a public holiday in Scotland.


title: Public holidays in the United Kingdom

text: There have been protests about banks opening on 2 January since this decision was taken. This has resulted in many banks now providing only a limited service on 2 January, with most members of staff still entitled to the holiday.


title: Dawn O'Porter

text: Dawn O'Porter (born Dawn Porter; 23 January 1979) is a British writer, director, and television presenter. She was born in Alexandria, Scotland, but raised in Guernsey.


title: Dawn O'Porter

text: She studied acting at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts but in her third year decided that acting was not for her and did work experience on the television series "Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned" rather than participate in a school production. Porter's father is Scottish and still lives in Scotland.


title: Dawn O'Porter

text: Porter first came to widespread public attention when she attempted to slim down to a size zero by using drastic dieting regimes for the BBC documentary "Super Slim Me". Porter also presented the product-testing section of "How to Look Good Naked" on Channel 4.


title: Dawn O'Porter

text: In 2008, Porter presented a BBC Three series of four documentary films, "Dawn..." (14 February–6 March), exploring attitudes to nudity, lesbianism, dating and pregnancy (including childbirth). Porter also appeared in "Seriously Dirty Dancing", a tribute to her favourite film, "Dirty Dancing", for Channel 5.


title: Dawn O'Porter

text: Later that year, she made a four-part series called "Extreme Wife" for Channel 4. In the first programme, "Dawn Porter: Free Lover" (30 September 2008), Porter travelled to San Diego, California, to investigate polyamory, then she travelled to former East Germany to visit ZEGG in Belzig, a German free love commune. The programme highlighted the world of free love, such as ritual sensuous oil sessions with naked people covered in warm olive oil, and included discussions with the people who lived in the commune. It premiered with 1.75m viewers (10.7% share).


title: Dawn O'Porter

text: In the second programme, "Dawn Porter: Mail Order Bride" (7 October 2008), Porter travelled to Odessa, Ukraine, with a group of American men in their search for a partner. The third programme, "Dawn Porter: Geisha Girl" (14 October 2008), saw Porter travel to Kyoto, Japan, and spend a week in a geisha house. In the fourth and final programme, "Dawn Porter: Polygamist's Wife" (21 October 2008), Porter investigated women who are prepared to share their husbands with other women. This included a stay in Centennial Park, Arizona.


title: Dawn O'Porter

text: In May 2009, it was announced that Porter would present a documentary, "The Booby Trap", exploring breast cancer, for Sky1. The show aired on 6–7 July 2009, under the title "My Breasts Could Kill Me". It premiered with 181,000 viewers (0.9% share). Porter appeared topless in the documentary to undergo a breast examination and breast screening.


title: Dawn O'Porter

text: On 11 November 2011, Porter made an appearance in "" entitled "The Secret of Luck" and later filmed six episodic advertisements for Andrex Washlets.


title: Dawn O'Porter

text: In 2012, Porter organised an Oxfam "get together" alongside friend Gemma Cairney, and raised money for Oxfam by selling clothing previously owned by celebrities.


title: Dawn O'Porter

text: In 2014 Porter hosted and co-produced a series for Channel 4 called "This Old Thing" exploring vintage clothing. Porter hosts "Soul Food" on Munchies for Vice. Her production company Trilogy Films struck an overall deal with Industrial Media in April 2021.


title: Dawn O'Porter

text: In 2006, she published "Diaries of an Internet Lover". In May 2013, she released her first novel, "Paper Aeroplanes", the fictional tale of an intense female friendship loosely inspired by her own childhood in Guernsey.


title: Dawn O'Porter

text: Her publication, "The Cows", was released in 2016 and has since been featured on the Sunday Times Best Sellers list.


title: Dawn O'Porter

text: In January 2015, O'Porter gave birth to a son, Art, in Los Angeles, where they live. In 2017, O'Porter gave birth to a second son, Valentine.


title: Pyramid of the Sun

text: The Pyramid of the Sun is the largest building in Teotihuacan, and one of the largest in Mesoamerica. It is believed to have been constructed about 200 AD. Found along the Avenue of the Dead, in between the Pyramid of the Moon and the Ciudadela, and in the shadow of the mountain Cerro Gordo, the pyramid is part of a large complex in the heart of the city.


title: Pyramid of the Sun

text: The name "Pyramid of the Sun" comes from the Aztecs, who visited the city of Teotihuacan centuries after it was abandoned; the name given to the pyramid by the Teotihuacanos is unknown. It was constructed in two phases. The first construction stage, around 200 CE, brought the pyramid to nearly the size it is today. The second round of construction resulted in its completed size of 225 meters (738


title: Pyramid of the Sun

text: feet) across and 75 meters (246 feet) high, making it the third-largest pyramid in the world, though still just over half the height of the Great Pyramid of Giza (146 metres). The second phase also saw the construction of an altar atop of the pyramid which has not survived into modern times.


title: Pyramid of the Sun

text: Over the structure, the ancient Teotihuacanos finished their pyramid with lime plaster imported from surrounding areas, on which they painted brilliantly colored murals. While the pyramid has endured for centuries, the paint and plaster have not and are no longer visible. Jaguar heads and paws, stars, and snake rattles are among the few images associated with the pyramids.


title: Pyramid of the Sun

text: It is thought that the pyramid venerated a deity within Teotihuacan society. However, little evidence exists to support this hypothesis. The destruction of the temple on top of the pyramid, by both deliberate and natural forces prior to the archaeological study of the site, has so far prevented identification of the pyramid with any particular deity.


title: Pyramid of the Sun

text: The pyramid was built on a carefully selected spot, from where it was possible to align it both to the prominent Cerro Gordo to the north and, in perpendicular directions, to sunrises and sunsets on specific dates, recorded by a number of architectural orientations in Mesoamerica. The whole central part of the urban grid of Teotihuacan, including the Avenue of the Dead, reproduces the orientation of the Sun Pyramid, while the southern part exhibits a slightly different orientation, dictated by the Ciudadela.


title: Pyramid of the Sun

text: The pyramid was built over a man-made tunnel leading to a "cave" located six metres down beneath the centre of the structure. Originally this was believed to be a naturally formed lava tube and interpreted as possibly the place of Chicomoztoc, the place of human origin according to Nahua legends. More recent excavations have suggested that the space is man-made and could have served as a royal tomb. Recently scientists have used muon detectors to try to find other chambers within the interior of the pyramid, but substantial looting has prevented the discovery of a function for the chambers in Teotihuacan society.


title: Pyramid of the Sun

text: Only a few caches of artifacts have been found in and around the pyramid. Obsidian arrowheads and human figurines have been discovered inside the pyramid and similar objects have been found at the nearby Pyramid of the Moon and Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent in the Ciudadela. These objects may have represented sacrificial victims. A unique historical artifact discovered near the foot of the pyramid at the end of the nineteenth century was the Teotihuacan Ocelot, which is now in the British Museum's collection. In addition, burial sites of children have been found in excavations at the corners of the pyramid. It is believed that these burials were part of a sacrificial ritual dedicating the building of the pyramid.


title: The Christmas Chronicles

text: The Christmas Chronicles is a 2018 American Christmas comedy film directed by Clay Kaytis from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman. The film stars Kurt Russell, Judah Lewis, Darby Camp, Lamorne Morris, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, and Oliver Hudson. It is the first installment in "The Christmas Chronicles" film series. The film was produced by 1492 Pictures and Wonder Worldwide and was released on November 22, 2018, on Netflix.


title: The Christmas Chronicles

text: The plot follows two children, Kate and Teddy, who notice Santa Claus in their home and jump into his sleigh with his reindeer; however, they accidentally cause the sleigh to crash, and the presents are lost. As Christmas morning approaches, it is up to the children and Santa to save Christmas by correctly delivering all of the presents.


title: The Christmas Chronicles

text: "The Christmas Chronicles" received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. A sequel, titled "The Christmas Chronicles 2", was released on November 25, 2020, with much of the original cast returning.


title: The Christmas Chronicles

text: In Lowell, Massachusetts around Christmas 2018, widowed mother Claire Pierce struggles to keep her family together after the death of her firefighter husband Doug, who died while trying to save some strangers from a fire. Claire's son Teddy has lost his Christmas spirit and becomes involved in illegal activities like stealing cars. However, Teddy's younger sister, Kate, is trying to keep the Christmas spirit alive, while maintaining a belief in Santa Claus. Kate catches Teddy stealing a car from a parking lot and records it, threatening to show Claire, but changes her mind, telling Claire that Teddy had smashed a picture frame instead.


title: The Christmas Chronicles

text: On Christmas Eve, Claire is called away to fill in for a coworker, leaving Teddy to look after Kate. While watching old family Christmas videos, Kate notices a strange arm appear out of the fireplace. Kate believes this is Santa and convinces Teddy to help her by promising to destroy the tape of Teddy stealing the car. The two set up a makeshift tripwire and a hidden camera. Kate is later woken up and sees Santa in the living room. However, he escapes to the roof and the two children follow. Kate decides to hide in his sleigh to get a closer look, and Teddy reluctantly follows her. Santa rides off with the kids in tow. When Kate decides to make her presence known, Santa and the reindeer are startled and he loses control of the sleigh. After teleporting to Chicago, Illinois, the sleigh breaks down, causing the reindeer to scatter and Santa's hat and a bag of presents to be lost.


title: The Christmas Chronicles

text: Santa introduces himself to the kids and tells them that he has to get back to delivering presents as soon as possible or else Christmas spirit will be lost. Without his hat, Santa cannot move quickly or through tight spaces like he normally does. The kids are forced to help him after he threatens to put them on the naughty list permanently. They stop at a bar where Santa tries to seek help from the patrons. When they get no assistance, they steal a car at Teddy's suggestion, after he reminds Santa that the car was already stolen by the bartender and they can turn it into the police afterwards. They locate the reindeer, but encounter a police car driven by police officers Dave Poveda and Mikey Jameson, who are looking for the stolen car. Kate goes after the reindeer by herself while Teddy and Santa lure the police away. Santa is arrested, while Kate and Teddy escape with the reindeer. The kids find Santa's bag, and Kate goes inside to find help. She is teleported to the North Pole where she encounters Santa's elves, who agree to help her.


title: The Christmas Chronicles

text: Meanwhile, Teddy is attacked by Vincent and his gang of thugs who take him and the bag to their hideout, where he is saved by Kate and the elves, who then set out to repair Santa's sleigh. At the police station, Santa tries to explain his situation to Officer Poveda. When Santa reveals that the officer's wish this year is to reconcile with his ex-wife, Lisa, who also shares that wish, Poveda is taken aback, but still refuses to believe him. Poveda has Santa locked in the holding cell, though he becomes suspicious when he sees a larger number of arrests than usual on Christmas Eve. Seeing that Christmas spirit has gotten too low, Santa gathers all the inmates to perform "Santa Claus Is Back in Town", which works among all the officers except Poveda. Poveda is finally convinced when he receives a call from Lisa, who invites him out for coffee in the morning, and agrees to let Santa go. One of the elves arrives through the air vent to give Santa a spare hat. Santa goes outside to find his sleigh repaired.


title: The Christmas Chronicles

text: Santa sees that he only has an hour until morning to complete delivering presents, so the kids agree to help him. With Kate tossing him presents and Teddy driving the sleigh, Santa is able to deliver all of the presents, saving Christmas. Afterwards, he drops the kids off back at their home before their mother returns. Santa gives Teddy his hat as a memento, showing that he did not really need it. When he leaves, he gives Kate a "Ho, Ho, Ho", a saying he previously stated was an urban myth about him.


title: The Christmas Chronicles

text: When Claire returns, they go inside to find that the living room has been decorated like their father used to do it. When the kids open their gifts from Santa on Christmas morning, Kate gets the skateboard she asked for, while Teddy gets a magic ornament. When Teddy hangs it on the tree, he sees his dad magically appear in his reflection, and they both express pride in each other.


title: The Christmas Chronicles

text: Back in the North Pole, Santa reunites with Mrs. Claus, who has come home. She asks what movie they are going to watch, and Santa takes out the video Kate took of the entire adventure with a smile.


title: The Christmas Chronicles

text: In December 2017, it was reported that Kurt Russell would star as Santa Claus in the film for Netflix, later given the title "The Christmas Chronicles".


title: The Christmas Chronicles

text: Principal photography began in January 2018 in Toronto, Ontario. The film was set in Lowell, Massachusetts, and Chicago, Illinois.


title: The Christmas Chronicles

text: On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "Viewers seeking a fresh holiday viewing option – or those simply in the mood for Santa Kurt Russell – should find "The Christmas Chronicles" well worth a yuletide stream." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: The Christmas Chronicles

text: Melanie McFarland of "Salon" said: "The film's no great shakes, but Russell's star power in 'The Christmas Chronicles' is a gift anyone should be happy to claim." Charles Bramesco of "The A.V. Club" wrote: "The film doesn't know how to get out of its own way and foreground what's working, namely the dynamo of screen presence placed more prominently in the advertising than the feature itself." Writing for "Vox Magazine," Jenna Allen said: "Above all, it’s clear that Netflix has subverted the holiday movie blueprint – Hallmark, I'm looking at you – by giving us novelty, thrill and humor." Derek Smith of "Slant Magazine" wrote: "In the end, the film succumbs to the tropes and emotional contrivances of the family melodrama at its core, ending up as a serviceable yet mostly forgettable addition to the already overstuffed genre of holiday-themed films."


title: The Christmas Chronicles

text: The film features a cover of Elvis Presley's "Santa Claus Is Back in Town", performed by Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, with actor Kurt Russell on lead vocals. The lineup includes Stevie Van Zandt (of Springsteen's E Street Band) and Marc Ribler on guitar. The band recorded the song with Russell at Steven's studio in New York. In the film, the song is performed by Santa Claus (Kurt Russell) during a scene set at the jailhouse. Each of the band appear onscreen, including Van Zandt and Ribler as named characters Wolfie and Dusty.


title: The Christmas Chronicles

text: On September 15, 2020, a sequel titled "The Christmas Chronicles 2" was announced. Original director Clay Kaytis dropped out and was replaced by Chris Columbus, who produced the first installment. Stars Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, Darby Camp, Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Judah Lewis were all confirmed to reprise their roles, while Julian Dennison and Jahzir Bruno were cast to appear in the sequel. "The Christmas Chronicles 2" was released on Netflix on November 25, 2020.