title: Languages of South America

text: English is an official language in Guyana, and its creole form is the country’s most widely spoken language. English is also the official language in the territories of the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.


title: Languages of South America

text: French is the official language in French Guiana, an overseas region of France. Dutch is the official language in neighboring Suriname.


title: Languages of South America

text: There are also small clusters of Japanese speakers in Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia (including Okinawans from the island of Okinawa). Brazil currently holds the largest Japanese community outside Japan.


title: Languages of South America

text: Caribbean Hindustani is spoken by the Indo-Guyanese and the Indo-Surinamese. In Suriname, the language is known as Sarnami Hindoestani and is still widely spoken. However, in Guyana, where it is known as Aili Gaili, the language is nearly extinct as a spoken language, with only words and phrases still remaining.


title: Languages of South America

text: Sranan Tongo, an English-based creole, serves as one of the lingua francas of Suriname, alongside Dutch.


title: Languages of South America

text: Other non-indigenous languages spoken include Arabic, Chinese, Romani, Haitian Creole, Romanian, Greek, Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian.


title: Convolution theorem

text: In mathematics, the convolution theorem states that under suitable conditions the Fourier transform of a convolution of two functions (or signals) is the pointwise product of their Fourier transforms. More generally, convolution in one domain (e.g., time domain) equals point-wise multiplication in the other domain (e.g., frequency domain). Other versions of the convolution theorem are applicable to various Fourier-related transforms.


title: Convolution theorem

text: where formula_6 denotes the Fourier transform operator. The transform may be normalized in other ways, in which case constant scaling factors (typically formula_7 or formula_8) will appear in the convolution theorem below. The convolution of formula_9 and formula_10 is defined by:


title: Convolution theorem

text: In this context the asterisk denotes convolution, instead of standard multiplication. The tensor product symbol formula_12 is sometimes used instead.


title: Convolution theorem

text: &=\underbrace{\left(\int_{\mathbb{R}^n} g(\tau)\ e^{-i 2\pi f \cdot \tau}\,d\tau\right)}_{G(f)}\ H(f).


title: Convolution theorem

text: This theorem also holds for the Laplace transform, the two-sided Laplace transform and, when suitably modified, for the Mellin transform and Hartley transform (see Mellin inversion theorem). It can be extended to the Fourier transform of abstract harmonic analysis defined over locally compact abelian groups.


title: Convolution theorem

text: Consider formula_14-periodic functions formula_15 and formula_16 which can be expressed as periodic summations:


title: Convolution theorem

text: In practice the non-zero portion of components formula_9 and formula_10 are often limited to duration formula_21 but nothing in the theorem requires that. The Fourier series coefficients are:


title: Convolution theorem

text: &=\int_{x_o}^{x_o+P} g_{_P}(x - \tau) \cdot \underbrace{\left[\sum_{k=-\infty}^\infty h(\tau + kP)\right]}_{\triangleq \ h_{_P}(\tau)}\ d\tau


title: Convolution theorem

text: By a derivation similar to Eq.1, there is an analogous theorem for sequences, such as samples of two continuous functions, where now formula_6 denotes the discrete-time Fourier transform (DTFT) operator. Consider two sequences formula_32 and formula_33 with transforms formula_3 and formula_4:


title: Convolution theorem

text: formula_40 and formula_41 as defined above, are periodic, with a period of 1. Consider formula_42-periodic sequences formula_43 and formula_44:


title: Convolution theorem

text: These functions occur as the result of sampling formula_3 and formula_4 at intervals of formula_49 and performing an inverse discrete Fourier transform (DFT) on formula_42 samples (see ). The discrete convolution:


title: Convolution theorem

text: is also formula_42-periodic, and is called a periodic convolution. Redefining the formula_6 operator as the formula_42-length DFT, the corresponding theorem is:


title: Convolution theorem

text: Under the right conditions, it is possible for this N-length sequence to contain a distortion-free segment of a formula_55 convolution. But when the non-zero portion of the formula_56 or formula_57 sequence is equal or longer than formula_58 some distortion is inevitable.  Such is the case when the formula_59 sequence is obtained by directly sampling the DTFT of the infinitely long impulse response.


title: Convolution theorem

text: For formula_9 and formula_10 sequences whose non-zero duration is less than or equal to formula_58 a final simplification is:


title: Convolution theorem

text: As a partial reciprocal, it has been shown that any linear transform that turns convolution into pointwise product is the DFT (up to a permutation of coefficients).


title: Convolution theorem

text: but formula_70 must be "rapidly decreasing" towards formula_71 and formula_72 in order to guarantee the existence of both, convolution and multiplication product. Equivalently, if formula_73 is a smooth "slowly growing" ordinary function, it guarantees the existence of both, multiplication and convolution product.


title: Convolution theorem

text: In particular, every compactly supported tempered distribution, such as the Dirac Delta, is "rapidly decreasing". Equivalently, bandlimited functions, such as the function that is constantly formula_74 are smooth "slowly growing" ordinary functions. If, for example, formula_75 is the Dirac comb both equations yield the Poisson summation formula and if, furthermore, formula_76 is the Dirac delta then formula_77 is constantly one and these equations yield the Dirac comb identity.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, action, story, and characters are created collaboratively by the players as the improvisation unfolds in present time, without use of an already prepared, written script.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Improvisational theatre exists in performance as a range of styles of improvisational comedy as well as some non-comedic theatrical performances. It is sometimes used in film and television, both to develop characters and scripts and occasionally as part of the final product.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Improvisational techniques are often used extensively in drama programs to train actors for stage, film, and television and can be an important part of the rehearsal process. However, the skills and processes of improvisation are also used outside the context of performing arts. This practice, known as applied improvisation, is used in classrooms as an educational tool and in businesses as a way to develop communication skills, creative problem solving, and supportive team-work abilities that are used by improvisational, ensemble players. It is sometimes used in psychotherapy as a tool to gain insight into a person's thoughts, feelings, and relationships.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: The earliest well-documented use of improvisational theatre in Western history is found in the Atellan Farce of 391 BC. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, "commedia dell'arte" performers improvised based on a broad outline in the streets of Italy. In the 1890s, theatrical theorists and directors such as the Russian Konstantin Stanislavski and the French Jacques Copeau, founders of two major streams of acting theory, both heavily utilized improvisation in acting training and rehearsal.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Modern theatrical improvisation games began as drama exercises for children, which were a staple of drama education in the early 20th century thanks in part to the progressive education movement initiated by John Dewey in 1916. Some people credit American Dudley Riggs as the first vaudevillian to use audience suggestions to create improvised sketches on stage. Improvisation exercises were developed further by Viola Spolin in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, and codified in her book "Improvisation For The Theater", the first book that gave specific techniques for learning to do and teach improvisational theater. In 1977, Clive Barker's book "Theatre Games" (several translations and editions) spread the ideas of improv internationally. British playwright and director Keith Johnstone wrote "", a book outlining his ideas on improvisation, and invented Theatresports, which has become a staple of modern improvisational comedy and is the inspiration for the popular television show "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Spolin influenced the first generation of modern American improvisers at The Compass Players in Chicago, which led to The Second City. Her son, Paul Sills, along with David Shepherd, started The Compass Players. Following the demise of the Compass Players, Paul Sills began The Second City. They were the first organized troupes in Chicago, and the modern Chicago improvisational comedy movement grew from their success.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Many of the current "rules" of comedic improv were first formalized in Chicago in the late 1950s and early 1960s, initially among The Compass Players troupe, which was directed by Paul Sills. From most accounts, David Shepherd provided the philosophical vision of the Compass Players, while Elaine May was central to the development of the premises for its improvisations. Mike Nichols, Ted Flicker, and Del Close were her most frequent collaborators in this regard. When The Second City opened its doors on December 16, 1959, directed by Paul Sills, his mother Viola Spolin began training new improvisers through a series of classes and exercises which became the cornerstone of modern improv training. By the mid-1960s, Viola Spolin's classes were handed over to her protégé, Jo Forsberg, who further developed Spolin's methods into a one-year course, which eventually became The Players Workshop, the first official school of improvisation in the United States. During this time, Forsberg trained many of the performers who went on to star on The Second City stage.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Many of the original cast of "Saturday Night Live" came from The Second City, and the franchise has produced such comedy stars as Mike Myers, Tina Fey, Bob Odenkirk, Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, Eugene Levy, Jack McBrayer, Steve Carell, Chris Farley, Dan Aykroyd, and John Belushi.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Simultaneously, Keith Johnstone's group The Theatre Machine, which originated in London, was touring Europe. This work gave birth to Theatresports, at first secretly in Johnstone's workshops, and eventually in public when he moved to Canada. Toronto has been home to a rich improv tradition.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: In 1984, Dick Chudnow (Kentucky Fried Theater) founded ComedySportz in Milwaukee, WI. Expansion began with the addition of ComedySportz-Madison (WI), in 1985. The first Comedy League of America National Tournament was held in 1988, with 10 teams participating. The league is now known as CSz Worldwide and boasts a roster of 29 international cities.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: In San Francisco, The Committee theater was active in North Beach during the 1960s. It was founded by alumni of Chicago's Second City, Alan Myerson and his wife Jessica. When The Committee disbanded in 1972, three major companies were formed: The Pitchell Players, The Wing, and Improvisation Inc. The only company that continued to perform Close's Harold was the latter one. Its two former members, Michael Bossier and John Elk, formed Spaghetti Jam in San Francisco's Old Spaghetti Factory in 1976, where shortform improv and Harolds were performed through 1983. Stand-up comedians performing down the street at the Intersection for the Arts would drop by and sit in. In 1979, Elk brought shortform to England, teaching workshops at Jacksons Lane Theatre, and he was the first American to perform at The Comedy Store, London, above a Soho strip club.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Modern political improvisation's roots include Jerzy Grotowski's work in Poland during the late 1950s and early 1960s, Peter Brook's "happenings" in England during the late 1960s, Augusto Boal's "Forum Theatre" in South America in the early 1970s, and San Francisco's The Diggers' work in the 1960s. Some of this work led to pure improvisational performance styles, while others simply added to the theatrical vocabulary and were, on the whole, avant-garde experiments.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Joan Littlewood, an English actress and director who was active from the 1950s to 1960s, made extensive use of improv in developing plays for performance. However, she was successfully prosecuted twice for allowing her actors to improvise in performance. Until 1968, British law required scripts to be approved by the Lord Chamberlain's Office. The department also sent inspectors to some performances to check that the approved script was performed exactly as approved.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: In 1987, Annoyance Theatre began as a club in Chicago that emphasizes longform improvisation. The Annoyance Theatre has grown into multiple locations in Chicago and New York City. It is the home of the longest running musical improv show in history at 11 years.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: In 2012, Lebanese writer and director Lucien Bourjeily used improvisational theater techniques to create a multi-sensory play entitled "66 Minutes in Damascus". This play premiered at the London International Festival of Theater, and is considered one of the most extreme kinds of interactive improvised theater put on stage. The audience play the part of kidnapped tourists in today's Syria in a hyperreal sensory environment.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Rob Wittig and Mark C. Marino have developed a form of improv for online theatrical improvisation called netprov. The form relies on social media to engage audiences in the creation of dynamic fictional scenarios that evolve in real-time.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Modern improvisational comedy, as it is practiced in the West, falls generally into two categories: shortform and longform.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Shortform improv consists of short scenes usually constructed from a predetermined game, structure, or idea and driven by an audience suggestion. Many short form exercises were first created by Viola Spolin, who called them theatre games, influenced by her training from recreational games expert Neva Boyd. The short-form improv comedy television series "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" has familiarized American and British viewers with short-form.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Longform improv performers create shows in which short scenes are often interrelated by story, characters, or themes. Longform shows may take the form of an existing type of theatre, for example a full-length play or Broadway-style musical such as Spontaneous Broadway. One of the better-known longform structures is the Harold, developed by ImprovOlympic co-founder Del Close. Many such longform structures now exist.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Longform improvisation is especially performed in Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles; has a strong presence in Austin, Boston, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Detroit, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington, D.C.; and is building a growing following in Baltimore, Denver, Kansas City, Montreal, Columbus, New Orleans, Omaha, Rochester, NY, and Hawaii. Outside the United States, longform improv has a growing presence in the United Kingdom, especially in cities such as London, Bristol, and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Other forms of improvisational theatre training and performance techniques are experimental and avant-garde in nature and not necessarily intended to be comedic. These include Playback Theatre and Theatre of the Oppressed, the Poor Theatre, the Open Theatre, to name only a few.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: The Open Theatre was founded in New York City by a group of former students of acting teacher Nola Chilton, and joined shortly thereafter by director Joseph Chaikin, formerly of The Living Theatre, and Peter Feldman. This avant-garde theatre group explored political, artistic, and social issues. The company, developing work through an improvisational process drawn from Chilton and Viola Spolin, created well-known exercises, such as "sound and movement" and "transformations", and originated radical forms and techniques that anticipated or were contemporaneous with Jerzy Grotowski's "poor theater" in Poland. During the sixties Chaikin and the Open Theatre developed full theatrical productions with nothing but the actors, a few chairs and a bare stage, creating character, time and place through a series of transformations the actors physicalized and discovered through improvisations.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: On the west coast, Ruth Zaporah developed Action Theater™, a physically-based improvisation form that treats language, movement and voice equally. Action Theater™ performances have no scripts, no preplanned ideas and create full-length shows or shorter performances. Longform, dramatic, and narrative-based improvisation is well-established on the west coast with companies such as San Francisco's BATS Improv. This format allows for full-length plays and musicals to be created improvisationally.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Many people who have studied improv have noted that the guiding principles of improv are useful, not just on stage, but in everyday life. For example, Stephen Colbert in a commencement address said,


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Tina Fey in her book "Bossypants" lists several rules of improv that apply in the workplace. There has been much interest in bringing lessons from improv into the corporate world. In a "New York Times" article titled "Can Executives Learn to Ignore the Script?", Stanford professor and author, Patricia Ryan Madson notes, "executives and engineers and people in transition are looking for support in saying yes to their own voice. Often, the systems we put in place to keep us secure are keeping us from our more creative selves."


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Many directors have made use of improvisation in the creation of both mainstream and experimental films. Many silent filmmakers such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton used improvisation in the making of their films, developing their gags while filming and altering the plot to fit. The Marx Brothers were notorious for deviating from the script they were given, their ad libs often becoming part of the standard routine and making their way into their films. Many people, however, make a distinction between ad-libbing and improvising.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: The British director Mike Leigh makes extensive use of improvisation in the creation of his films, including improvising important moments in the characters' lives that will not even appear in the film. "This Is Spinal Tap" and other mockumentary films of director Christopher Guest were created with a mix of scripted and unscripted material. "Blue in the Face" is a 1995 comedy directed by Wayne Wang and Paul Auster created in part by the improvisations during the filming of "Smoke".


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Some of the best known American film directors who used improvisation in their work with actors are John Cassavetes, Robert Altman, Christopher Guest, and Rob Reiner.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Improv comedy techniques have also been used in hit television shows such as HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" created by Larry David, the UK Channel 4 and ABC television series "Whose Line Is It Anyway" (and its spinoffs "Drew Carey's Green Screen Show" and "Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza"), Nick Cannon's improv comedy show "Wild 'N Out", and "Thank God You're Here". A very early American improv television program was the weekly half-hour "What Happens Now?" which premiered on New York's WOR-TV on October 15, 1949 and ran for 22 episodes. "The Improvisers" were six actors (including Larry Blyden, Ross Martin, and Jean Alexander – Jean Pugsley at the time) who improvised skits based on situations suggested by viewers. In Canada, the series "Train 48" was improvised from scripts which contained a minimal outline of each scene, and the comedy series "This Sitcom Is...Not to Be Repeated" incorporated dialogue drawn from a hat during the course of an episode. The American show "Reno 911!" also contained improvised dialogue based on a plot outline. "Fast and Loose" is an improvisational game show, much like "Whose Line Is It Anyway?". The BBC sitcoms "Outnumbered" and "The Thick of It" also had some improvised elements in them.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: In the field of the psychology of consciousness, Eberhard Scheiffele explored the altered state of consciousness experienced by actors and improvisers in his scholarly paper "Acting: an altered state of consciousness". According to G. William Farthing in "The Psychology of Consciousness" comparative study, actors routinely enter into an altered state of consciousness (ASC). Acting is seen as altering most of the 14 dimensions of changed subjective experience which characterize ASCs according to Farthing, namely: attention, perception, imagery and fantasy, inner speech, memory, higher-level thought processes, meaning or significance of experiences, time experience, emotional feeling and expression, level of arousal, self-control, suggestibility, body image, and sense of personal identity.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: In the growing field of Drama Therapy, psychodramatic improvisation, along with other techniques developed for Drama Therapy, are used extensively. The ""Yes, and"" rule has been compared to Milton Erickson's "utilization" process and to a variety of acceptance-based psychotherapies. Improv training has been recommended for couples therapy and therapist training, and it has been speculated that improv training may be helpful in some cases of social anxiety disorder.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Improvisational theatre often allows an interactive relationship with the audience. Improv groups frequently solicit suggestions from the audience as a source of inspiration, a way of getting the audience involved, and as a means of proving that the performance is not scripted. That charge is sometimes aimed at the masters of the art, whose performances can seem so detailed that viewers may suspect the scenes are planned.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: In order for an improvised scene to be successful, the improvisers involved must work together responsively to define the parameters and action of the scene, in a process of co-creation. With each spoken word or action in the scene, an improviser makes an "offer", meaning that he or she defines some element of the reality of the scene. This might include giving another character a name, identifying a relationship, location, or using mime to define the physical environment. These activities are also known as "endowment". It is the responsibility of the other improvisers to accept the offers that their fellow performers make; to not do so is known as blocking, negation, or denial, which usually prevents the scene from developing. Some performers may deliberately block (or otherwise break out of character) for comedic effect—this is known as "gagging"—but this generally prevents the scene from advancing and is frowned upon by many improvisers. Accepting an offer is usually accompanied by adding a new offer, often building on the earlier one; this is a process improvisers refer to as "Yes, and..." and is considered the cornerstone of improvisational technique. Every new piece of information added helps the improvisers to refine their characters and progress the action of the scene. The "Yes, and..." rule, however, applies to a scene's early stage since it is in this stage that a "base (or shared) reality" is established in order to be later redefined by applying the "if (this is true), then (what else can also be true)" practice progressing the scene into comedy, as explained in the 2013 manual by the "Upright Citizens Brigade" members.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: The unscripted nature of improv also implies no predetermined knowledge about the props that might be useful in a scene. Improv companies may have at their disposal some number of readily accessible props that can be called upon at a moment's notice, but many improvisers eschew props in favor of the infinite possibilities available through mime. In improv, this is more commonly known as 'space object work' or 'space work', rather than 'mime', and the props and locations created by this technique, as 'space objects' created out of 'space substance', developed as a technique by Viola Spolin. As with all improv 'offers', improvisers are encouraged to respect the validity and continuity of the imaginary environment defined by themselves and their fellow performers; this means, for example, taking care not to walk through the table or "miraculously" survive multiple bullet wounds from another improviser's gun.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Because improvisers may be required to play a variety of roles without preparation, they need to be able to construct characters quickly with physicality, gestures, accents, voice changes, or other techniques as demanded by the situation. The improviser may be called upon to play a character of a different age or sex. Character motivations are an important part of successful improv scenes, and improvisers must therefore attempt to act according to the objectives that they believe their character seeks.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: In improv formats with multiple scenes, an agreed-upon signal is used to denote scene changes. Most often, this takes the form of a performer running in front of the scene, known as a "wipe". Tapping a character in or out can also be employed. The performers not currently part of the scene often stand at the side or back of the stage, and can enter or exit the scene by stepping into or out of the stage center.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Many theatre troupes are devoted to staging improvisational performances and growing the improv community through their training centers.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: In addition to for-profit theatre troupes, there are many college-based improv groups in the United States and around the world.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: In Europe the special contribution to the theatre of the abstract, the surreal, the irrational and the subconscious have been part of the stage tradition for centuries. From the 1990s onwards a growing number of European Improv groups have been set up specifically to explore the possibilities offered by the use of the abstract in improvised performance, including dance, movement, sound, music, mask work, lighting, and so on. These groups are not especially interested in comedy, either as a technique or as an effect, but rather in expanding the improv genre so as to incorporate techniques and approaches that have long been a legitimate part of European theatre.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: The Brave New Workshop Comedy Theater (BNW), is a sketch and improvisational comedy theater based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Started by Dudley Riggs in 1958, the artists of the BNW have been writing, performing and producing live sketch comedy and improvisation performances for 62 years – longer than any other theater in the nation. Notable alumni of the BNW include Louie Anderson, Mo Collins, Tom Davis, Al Franken, Penn Jillette, Carl Lumbly, Paul Menzel, Pat Proft, Annie Reirson, Taylor Nikolai, Nancy Steen, Peter Tolan, Linda Wallem, Lizz Winstead, Peter MacNicol, Melissa Peterman, and Cedric Yarbrough.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Some key figures in the development of improvisational theatre are Viola Spolin and her son Paul Sills, founder of Chicago's famed Second City troupe and originator of Theater Games, and Del Close, founder of ImprovOlympic (along with Charna Halpern) and creator of a popular longform improv format known as The Harold. Others include Keith Johnstone, the British teacher and writer–author of "Impro", who founded the Theatre Machine and whose teachings form the foundation of the popular shortform Theatresports format, Dick Chudnow, founder of ComedySportz which evolved its family-friendly show format from Johnstone's Theatersports, and Bill Johnson, creator/director of The Magic Meathands, who pioneered the concept of "Commun-edy Outreach" by tailoring performances to non-traditional audiences, such as the homeless and foster children.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: David Shepherd, with Paul Sills, founded The Compass Players in Chicago. Shepherd was intent on developing a true "people's Theatre", and hoped to bring political drama to the stockyards. The Compass went on to play in numerous forms and companies, in a number of cities including New York and Hyannis, after the founding of The Second City. A number of Compass members were also founding members of The Second City. In the 1970s, Shepherd began experimenting with group-created videos. He is the author of "That Movie In Your Head", about these efforts. In the 1970s, David Shepherd and Howard Jerome created the Improvisational Olympics, a format for competition based improv. The Improv Olympics were first demonstrated at Toronto's Homemade Theatre in 1976 and have been continued on as the Canadian Improv Games. In the United States, the Improv Olympics were later produced by Charna Halpern under the name "ImprovOlympic" and now as "IO"; IO operates training centers and theaters in Chicago and Los Angeles. At IO, Halpern combined Shepherd's "Time Dash" game with Del Close's "Harold" game; the revised format for the Harold became the fundamental structure for the development of modern longform improvisation.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: In 1975 Jonathan Fox founded Playback Theatre, a form of improvised community theatre which is often not comedic and replays stories as shared by members of the audience.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: The Groundlings is a popular and influential improv theatre and training center in Los Angeles, California. The late Gary Austin, founder of The Groundlings, taught improvisation around the country, focusing especially in Los Angeles. He was widely acclaimed as one of the greatest acting teachers in America. His work was grounded in the lessons he learned as an improviser at The Committee with Del Close, as well as in his experiences as founding director of The Groundlings. The Groundlings is often seen as the Los Angeles training ground for the "second generation" of improv performers and troupes. Stan Wells developed the "Clap-In" style of longform improvisation here, later using this as the basis for his own theatre, The Empty Stage which in turn bred multiple troupes utilizing this style.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: In the late 1990s, Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh founded the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York and later they founded one in Los Angeles, each with an accompanying improv/sketch comedy school. In September 2011 the UCB opened a third theatre in New York City's East Village, known as UCBeast.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Hoopla Impro are the founders of the UK and London's first improv theatre. They also run an annual UK improv festival and improv marathon.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Gunter Lösel compared the existing improvisational theater theories (including Moreno, Spolin, Johnstone, and Close), structured them and wrote a general theory of improvisational theater.


title: Improvisational theatre

text: Alan Alda's book "If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?" investigates the way in which improvisation improves communication in the sciences. The book is based on his work at Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University. The book has many examples of how improvisational theater games can increase communication skills and develop empathy.


title: Panzerkampfwagen E-100

text: The "Panzerkampfwagen" E-100 (Gerät 383) (TG-01) was a German super-heavy tank design developed towards the end of World War II. The largest of the "Entwicklung" series of tank designs intended to improve German armored vehicle production through standardization on cheaper, simpler to build vehicles.


title: Panzerkampfwagen E-100

text: By the end of the war, the chassis of the prototype E-100 had been partially completed; it was shipped to the United Kingdom for trials, but was later scrapped.


title: Panzerkampfwagen E-100

text: The basic design was ordered by the "Waffenamt" as a parallel development to the Porsche "Maus" in June 1943. It was the heaviest of the "Entwicklung" (E) series of vehicles, meant to standardize as many components as possible, in the 100 ton weight class; other designs were the E-10, E-25, E-50, E-75.


title: Panzerkampfwagen E-100

text: In March 1944, the Adler company in Frankfurt submitted blueprint 021A38300 for a super-heavy tank called E-100, after the tank was proposed in April 1943 along with the other "Entwicklung" series vehicles. According to the blueprints, the tank would be armed with a both a 150 mm gun and a 75 mm gun. Two types of engines were proposed: one was a 700 hp Maybach HL230, with a transmission and turning mechanism borrowed from the Tiger II. The estimated top speed was . The second variant would have a new 1200 hp Maybach engine and a top speed estimated at . The design had removable side skirts and narrow transport tracks to make rail transport more viable. This design was very similar to the original 'Tiger-Maus' proposal, but had larger diameter road wheels and a new coil spring based suspension rather than the original torsion bars. A new turret was designed; intended to be simpler and lighter than the Maus turret. But many sources also suggest that a Maus turret could be mounted.


title: Panzerkampfwagen E-100

text: In July 1944 Hitler ordered the development of super heavy tanks to stop. Work on the E-100 continued at a very low priority, with only three Adler employees available to assemble the prototype.


title: Panzerkampfwagen E-100

text: The first prototype was never fully completed and was found by the 751st Field Artillery Battalion of the American forces in April 1945. The partially completed vehicle was taken by the British Army for evaluation and then scrapped in the 1950s.


title: Michael Malloy

text: Michael Malloy (1873 – February 22, 1933), later known as either Mike the Durable or Iron Mike, was a homeless Irishman from County Donegal who lived in New York City during the 1920s and 1930s. A former firefighter, he survived multiple murder attempts by five acquaintances, who attempted to commit homicide as a life insurance fraud.


title: Michael Malloy

text: Beginning in January 1933, while Malloy was unemployed, alcoholic and homeless, five of his acquaintances Tony Marino, Joseph "Red" Murphy, Francis Pasqua, Hershey Green, and Daniel Kriesberg (later dubbed "the Murder Trust" by the headlines) plotted to kill Malloy by getting him to drink himself to death to collect life insurance. Presumably achieved with the aid of a corrupt insurance agent, they collected insurance policies on Malloy's life under the name Nicholas Malloy and stood to gain over () if Malloy died an accidental death.


title: Michael Malloy

text: Marino owned a speakeasy and gave Malloy an unlimited tab, thinking the alcoholic Malloy would abuse it and drink himself to death. Although Malloy drank for a majority of his waking day, it did not kill him. Marino then replaced Malloy's liquor with antifreeze, but Malloy would continue to drink with no problems. A possible explanation for the antifreeze not killing him is the fact that ethanol blocks absorption of ethylene glycol in the liver; and is used as an antidote for antifreeze poisoning. Antifreeze was replaced with turpentine, followed by horse liniment, and finally rat poison was mixed in. After these mixtures failed to kill Malloy, Marino mixed shots of wood alcohol (pure methanol) in with his normal shots of liquor. This did not kill Malloy, presumably because the normal liquor helped negate the methanol poisoning.


title: Michael Malloy

text: The group then gave Malloy raw oysters soaked in wood alcohol - the idea apparently coming from Pasqua, who claimed he saw a man die after eating oysters with whiskey. A sandwich of spoiled sardines mixed with poison and carpet tacks was then tried.


title: Michael Malloy

text: Concluding that it was unlikely that anything Malloy ingested was going to kill him quickly enough before the insurance policies ran out, the group decided to freeze him to death. On an extremely cold night, after Malloy drank until passing out, he was carried to a park, dumped in the snow, and had of water poured on his bare chest. However, shortly thereafter, Malloy was rescued by police who took him to a homeless charity where he was re-clothed.


title: Michael Malloy

text: The group then attempted to kill Malloy by running him down with Green's taxi, moving at . This put Malloy in the hospital for three weeks with broken bones. The group presumed he was dead, but they were unable to collect the policy on him.


title: Michael Malloy

text: On February 23, 1933, after he had passed out for the night, the murderers took Malloy to Murphy's room, put a hose in his mouth that was connected to the coal gas jet, and turned it on. This finally killed Malloy, with his death occurring within an hour. He was pronounced dead of lobar pneumonia and quickly buried, with Dr. Frank Manzella signing the death certificate. Police heard rumors of "Mike the Durable" in speakeasies all over town, and upon learning that a Michael Malloy had died that night, they had the body exhumed and forensically examined.


title: Michael Malloy

text: The five men were put on trial and subsequently convicted, and Dr. Manzella was held as an accessory after the fact, with a bail. Green went to prison, while the other four members were sentenced to death and executed in the electric chair at Sing Sing in Ossining, New York: Kriesberg, Marino, and Pasqua on June 7, 1934, and Murphy on July 5, 1934.


title: David McCormack

text: David Liam McCormack (born 25 October 1968) is an Australian musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as frontman of Brisbane-based rock group Custard,


title: David McCormack

text: McCormack grew up in the west Brisbane suburb of Kenmore, Queensland, and attended Ipswich Grammar School. He started his musical career as a vocalist and guitarist in Brisbane blues hip hop rock outfit, Who's Gerald?, in 1986, which included school teachers Paul Medew on bass guitar and Glen Donald on keyboards, they recruited Cathy Atthow on drums. They released a cassette, "Who's Gerald's Greatest Hits" in the same year on their own Gerald Corp Records. In March 1988 they released a single, "Wrestle Wrestle" and had the track, "Pins and Needles" on that year's "Youngblood" compilation. Atthow, McCormack and Medew briefly formed Automatic Graphic in 1988 with Scott Younger.


title: David McCormack

text: In 1989, McCormack and Medew formed Custard Gun with Shane Brunn (later in Hugbubble, Vanlustbader) on drums and James Straker (later in Melniks). After a number of performances, Straker left in early 1990, the band was renamed as Custard, and Straker was replaced at year's end by Matthew Strong on guitar.


title: David McCormack

text: Custard existed for about a decade, with a number of different drummers including Gavin Herrenberg, Danny Plant, John Lowry and Glenn Thompson (later of The Go-Betweens). The band released five studio albums in the 1990s: "Buttercup/Bedford", "Wahooti Fandango", "Wisenheimer", "We Have the Technology" and "Loverama", a number of EPs and singles and a greatest hits compilation entitled "Goodbye Cruel World". A DVD video clip compilation called "The Spaces by the Side of the Road – A Digital History of Custard" was released in 2007.


title: David McCormack

text: Custard released a new album in November 2015, entitled "Come Back, All Is Forgiven", which was followed by 2017's "The Common Touch".


title: David McCormack

text: The single 'Funky Again' was released in March 2020, ahead of the band's eighth studio album "Respect All Lifeforms".


title: David McCormack

text: McCormack was moonlighting in other bands during the 1990s, which formed in and around Custard's practice rooms. The Cows from 1993 (later styled as COW or C.O.W. – for Country Or Western) had Thompson and Robert Moore on bass guitar; as well as Maureen Hansen on vocals, Susie Hansen on vocals and Mark Lowry (twin brother of John Lowry) on bass guitar by 1995. COW released "Beard" in June 1996. In 2006, McCormack and Moore collaborated on a new COW single called "The Chicken Dance" with Rob Hirst of Midnight Oil on drums.


title: David McCormack

text: McCormack, Moore and Thompson recorded with Robert Forster (ex-The Go-Betweens) for his second solo album, "Calling from a Country Phone", released in 1993 and toured with Forster as Silver Backwash. Frank 'n' Stein from 1995 had Moore and McCormack join with his brother Dylan McCormack (ex-Biro) and Ian Wadley. Miami, also from 1995, had Maureen Hansen (also in COW and McCormack's then girlfriend), Nick Naughton on drums and Medew. Miami released two CDs: "Costume of Sand" (March 1997) and "Feel the Seed" (1998). Computor was another collaboration between McCormack and Moore, which was electronic sounding and released a tape called "Floppy Disk".


title: David McCormack

text: After the break-up of Custard in 2000, McCormack formed The Titanics with Emma Tom (newspaper journalist for "The Australian") and Thompson and film-maker, Tina Havelock Stevens. The Titanics released "Size Isn't Everything" (2000) and "Love Is The Devil" (September 2000).


title: David McCormack

text: Following the break-up of The Titanics McCormack went solo, releasing a CD of electronic doodlings called "The Matterhorn" (2001) then recruited a backing band called The Polaroids. David McCormack and The Polaroids have released two albums, "Candy" (2002) and "The Truth About Love" (2004) as well as a few singles and a DVD entitled "Save Dave".


title: David McCormack

text: McCormack was one of the two weekly 'mystery' guests on the Australian television show RocKwiz on SBS One in March 2006. He later appeared as the guest host of RocKwiz in January 2009.


title: David McCormack

text: In November 2006, under the guidance of JJJ, McCormack assembled a band to perform a concert at the Tivoli in Brisbane as a tribute for the late Grant McLennan of The Go-Betweens. Early in 2007, McCormack then went into the studio to produce a tribute album to the band, called "Write Your Adventures Down" (released on Sony BMG). He also recorded a cover version of "Streets of Your Town" for the film "All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane".


title: David McCormack

text: In October 2009, McCormack released "Little Murders" containing 20 tracks and running for almost an hour. The name comes from a 1969 film.


title: David McCormack

text: McCormack is a part owner of the Sonar Music composer collective and since 2009 has been responsible for many film and television scores including "The Tall Man", "Rake", "Redfern Now", "House Husbands", "Wild Boys", and "Blood Brothers". Additionally, McCormack has also composed film scores for Alex Proyas's "Garage Days" in 2002, and for Daniel Krige's "West" in 2006.


title: David McCormack

text: Custard reformed for a concert on 10 December 2009, as part of the Queensland Proclamation Day, 150th Anniversary Celebrations. The band released a new album "Come Back, All Is Forgiven" in November 2015, and the critically acclaimed "The Common Touch" in 2017.


title: David McCormack

text: Since 2018, McCormack has starred in the critically acclaimed "ABC Kids" animated television series "Bluey", as the voice of the titular character's father, Bandit Heeler.


title: David McCormack

text: The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.


title: Bone fracture

text: A bone fracture (abbreviated FRX or Fx, F, or #) is a medical condition in which there is a partial or complete break in the continuity of any bone in the body. In more severe cases, the bone may be broken into several fragments, known as a "comminuted fracture". A bone fracture may be the result of high force impact or stress, or a minimal trauma injury as a result of certain medical conditions that weaken the bones, such as osteoporosis, osteopenia, bone cancer, or osteogenesis imperfecta, where the fracture is then properly termed a pathologic fracture.


title: Bone fracture

text: Damage to adjacent structures such as nerves, muscles or blood vessels, spinal cord, and nerve roots (for spine fractures), or cranial contents (for skull fractures) may cause other specific signs and symptoms.


title: Bone fracture

text: Some fractures may lead to serious complications including a condition known as compartment syndrome. If not treated, eventually, compartment syndrome may require amputation of the affected limb. Other complications may include non-union, where the fractured bone fails to heal or mal-union, where the fractured bone heals in a deformed manner. One form of malunion is the malrotation of a bone, which is especially common after femoral and tibial fractures.


title: Bone fracture

text: Complications of fractures may be classified into three broad groups, depending upon their time of occurrence. These are as follows –


title: Bone fracture

text: The natural process of healing a fracture starts when the injured bone and surrounding tissues bleed, forming a fracture hematoma. The blood coagulates to form a blood clot situated between the broken fragments. Within a few days, blood vessels grow into the jelly-like matrix of the blood clot. The new blood vessels bring phagocytes to the area, which gradually removes the non-viable material. The blood vessels also bring fibroblasts in the walls of the vessels and these multiply and produce collagen fibres. In this way, the blood clot is replaced by a matrix of collagen. Collagen's rubbery consistency allows bone fragments to move only a small amount unless severe or persistent force is applied.


title: Bone fracture

text: At this stage, some of the fibroblasts begin to lay down bone matrix in the form of collagen monomers. These monomers spontaneously assemble to form the bone matrix, for which bone crystals (calcium hydroxyapatite) are deposited in amongst, in the form of insoluble crystals. This mineralization of the collagen matrix stiffens it and transforms it into bone. In fact, bone "is" a mineralized collagen matrix; if the mineral is dissolved out of bone, it becomes rubbery. Healing bone callus on average is sufficiently mineralized to show up on X-ray within 6 weeks in adults and less in children. This initial "woven" bone does not have the strong mechanical properties of mature bone. By a process of remodelling, the woven bone is replaced by mature "lamellar" bone. The whole process may take up to 18 months, but in adults, the strength of the healing bone is usually 80% of normal by 3 months after the injury.


title: Bone fracture

text: Several factors may help or hinder the bone healing process. For example, tobacco smoking hinders the process of bone healing, and adequate nutrition (including calcium intake) will help the bone healing process. Weight-bearing stress on bone, after the bone has healed sufficiently to bear the weight, also builds bone strength.


title: Bone fracture

text: Although there are theoretical concerns about NSAIDs slowing the rate of healing, there is not enough evidence to warrant withholding the use of this type analgesic in simple fractures.


title: Bone fracture

text: Smokers generally have lower bone density than non-smokers, so they have a much higher risk of fractures. There is also evidence that smoking delays bone healing.


title: Bone fracture

text: A bone fracture may be diagnosed based on the history given and the physical examination performed. Radiographic imaging often is performed to confirm the diagnosis. Under certain circumstances, radiographic examination of the nearby joints is indicated in order to exclude dislocations and fracture-dislocations. In situations where projectional radiography alone is insufficient, Computed Tomography (CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) may be indicated.


title: Bone fracture

text: In orthopedic medicine, fractures are classified in various ways. Historically they are named after the physician who first described the fracture conditions, however, there are more systematic classifications as well.


title: Bone fracture

text: They may be divided into stable versus unstable depending on the likelihood that they may shift further.


title: Bone fracture

text: An anatomical classification may begin with specifying the involved body part, such as the head or arm, followed by more specific localization. Fractures that have additional definition criteria than merely localization often may be classified as subtypes of fractures, such as a Holstein-Lewis fracture being a subtype of a humerus fracture. Most typical examples in an orthopaedic classification given in the previous section cannot be classified appropriately into any specific part of an anatomical classification, however, as they may apply to multiple anatomical fracture sites.


title: Bone fracture

text: The Orthopaedic Trauma Association Committee for Coding and Classification published its classification system in 1996, adopting a similar system to the 1987 AO Foundation system. In 2007, they extended their system, unifying the two systems regarding wrist, hand, foot, and ankle fractures.


title: Bone fracture

text: Both high- and low-force trauma can cause bone fracture injuries. Preventive efforts to reduce motor vehicle crashes, the most common cause of high-force trauma, include reducing distractions while driving. Common distractions are driving under the influence and texting or calling while driving, both of which lead to an approximate 6-fold increase in crashes. Wearing a seatbelt can also reduce the likelihood of injury in a collision. 30 km/h or 20 mph speed limits (as opposed to the more common intracity 50 km/h / 30 mph) also drastically reduce the risk of accident, serious injury and even death in crashes between motor vehicles and humans. Vision Zero aims to reduce traffic deaths to zero through better traffic design and other measures and to drastically reduce traffic injuries which would prevent many bone fractures.


title: Bone fracture

text: A common cause of low-force trauma is an at-home fall. When considering preventative efforts, the National Institute of Health (NIH) examines ways to reduce the likelihood of falling, the force of the fall, and bone fragility. To prevent at-home falls they suggest keeping cords out of high-traffic areas where someone could trip, installing handrails and keeping stairways well-lit, and installing an assistive bar near the bathtub in the washroom for support. To reduce the impact of a fall the NIH recommends to try falling straight down on your buttocks or onto your hands.


title: Bone fracture

text: Some sports have a relatively high risk of bone fractures as a common sports injury. Preventive measures depend to some extent on the specific sport, but learning proper technique, wearing protective gear and having a realistic estimation of one's own capabilities and limitations can all help reduce the risk of bone fracture. In contact sports rules have been put in place to protect athlete health, such as the prohibition of unnecessary roughness in American football.


title: Bone fracture

text: Taking calcium and vitamin D supplements can help strengthen your bones. Vitamin D supplements combined with additional calcium marginally reduces the risk of hip fractures and other types of fracture in older adults; however, vitamin D supplementation alone did not reduce the risk of fractures.


title: Bone fracture

text: Treatment of bone fractures are broadly classified as surgical or conservative, the latter basically referring to any non-surgical procedure, such as pain management, immobilization or other non-surgical stabilization. A similar classification is "open" versus "closed treatment", in which "open treatment" refers to any treatment in which the fracture site is opened surgically, regardless of whether the fracture is an open or closed fracture.


title: Bone fracture

text: In arm fractures in children, ibuprofen has been found to be as effective as a combination of paracetamol and codeine. In the ems setting it might be applicable to administer 1mg/kg of iv ketamine to achieve a dissociated state.


title: Bone fracture

text: Since bone healing is a natural process that will occur most often, fracture treatment aims to ensure the best possible "function" of the injured part after healing. Bone fractures typically are treated by restoring the fractured pieces of bone to their natural positions (if necessary), and maintaining those positions while the bone heals. Often, aligning the bone, called reduction, in a good position and verifying the improved alignment with an X-ray is all that is needed. This process is extremely painful without anaesthesia, about as painful as breaking the bone itself. To this end, a fractured limb usually is immobilized with a plaster or fibreglass cast or splint that holds the bones in position and immobilizes the joints above and below the fracture. When the initial post-fracture oedema or swelling goes down, the fracture may be placed in a removable brace or orthosis. If being treated with surgery, surgical nails, screws, plates, and wires are used to hold the fractured bone together more directly. Alternatively, fractured bones may be treated by the Ilizarov method which is a form of an external fixator.


title: Bone fracture

text: Occasionally smaller bones, such as phalanges of the toes and fingers, may be treated without the cast, by buddy wrapping them, which serves a similar function to making a cast. A device called a Suzuki frame may be used in cases of deep, complex intra-articular digit fractures. By allowing only limited movement, immobilization helps preserve anatomical alignment while enabling callus formation, toward the target of achieving union.


title: Bone fracture

text: Splinting results in the same outcome as casting in children who have a distal radius fracture with little shifting.


title: Bone fracture

text: Surgical methods of treating fractures have their own risks and benefits, but usually, surgery is performed only if conservative treatment has failed, is very likely to fail, or is likely to result in a poor functional outcome. With some fractures such as hip fractures (usually caused by osteoporosis), surgery is offered routinely because non-operative treatment results in prolonged immobilisation, which commonly results in complications including chest infections, pressure sores, deconditioning, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and pulmonary embolism, which are more dangerous than surgery. When a joint surface is damaged by a fracture, surgery is also commonly recommended to make an accurate anatomical reduction and restore the smoothness of the joint.


title: Bone fracture

text: Infection is especially dangerous in bones, due to the recrudescent nature of bone infections. Bone tissue is predominantly extracellular matrix, rather than living cells, and the few blood vessels needed to support this low metabolism are only able to bring a limited number of immune cells to an injury to fight infection. For this reason, open fractures and osteotomies call for very careful antiseptic procedures and prophylactic use of antibiotics.


title: Bone fracture

text: Sometimes bones are reinforced with metal. These implants must be designed and installed with care. "Stress shielding" occurs when plates or screws carry too large of a portion of the bone's load, causing atrophy. This problem is reduced, but not eliminated, by the use of low-modulus materials, including titanium and its alloys. The heat generated by the friction of installing hardware can accumulate easily and damage bone tissue, reducing the strength of the connections. If dissimilar metals are installed in contact with one another (i.e., a titanium plate with cobalt-chromium alloy or stainless steel screws), galvanic corrosion will result. The metal ions produced can damage the bone locally and may cause systemic effects as well.


title: Bone fracture

text: A Cochrane review of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound to speed healing in newly broken bones found insufficient evidence to justify routine use. Other reviews have found tentative evidence of benefit. It may be an alternative to surgery for established nonunions.


title: Bone fracture

text: In children, whose bones are still developing, there are risks of either a growth plate injury or a greenstick fracture.


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) is a process level improvement training and appraisal program. Administered by the CMMI Institute, a subsidiary of ISACA, it was developed at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). It is required by many U.S. Government contracts, especially in software development. CMU claims CMMI can be used to guide process improvement across a project, division, or an entire organization. CMMI defines the following maturity levels for processes: Initial, Managed, Defined, Quantitatively Managed, and Optimizing. Version 2.0 was published in 2018 (Version 1.3 was published in 2010, and is the reference model for the rest of the information in this article). CMMI is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by CMU.


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: In version 2.0 these three areas (that previously had a separate model each) were merged into a single model.


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: CMMI was developed by a group from industry, government, and the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at CMU. CMMI models provide guidance for developing or improving processes that meet the business goals of an organization. A CMMI model may also be used as a framework for appraising the process maturity of the organization. By January 2013, the entire CMMI product suite was transferred from the SEI to the CMMI Institute, a newly created organization at Carnegie Mellon.


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: CMMI was developed by the CMMI project, which aimed to improve the usability of maturity models by integrating many different models into one framework. The project consisted of members of industry, government and the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute (SEI). The main sponsors included the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and the National Defense Industrial Association.


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: CMMI is the successor of the capability maturity model (CMM) or Software CMM. The CMM was developed from 1987 until 1997. In 2002, version 1.1 was released, version 1.2 followed in August 2006, and version 1.3 in November 2010. Some major changes in CMMI V1.3 are the support of agile software development, improvements to high maturity practices and alignment of the representation (staged and continuous).


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: According to the Software Engineering Institute (SEI, 2008), CMMI helps "integrate traditionally separate organizational functions, set process improvement goals and priorities, provide guidance for quality processes, and provide a point of reference for appraising current processes."


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: Mary Beth Chrissis, Mike Konrad, and Sandy Shrum Rawdon were the authorship team for the hard copy publication of CMMI for Development Version 1.2 and 1.3. The Addison-Wesley publication of Version 1.3 was dedicated to the memory of Watts Humphry. Eileen C. Forrester, Brandon L. Buteau, and Sandy Shrum were the authorship team for the hard copy publication of CMMI for Services Version 1.3. Rawdon "Rusty" Young was the chief architect for the development of CMMI version 2.0. He was previously the CMMI Product Owner and the SCAMPI Quality Lead for the Software Engineering Institute.


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: In version 1.3 CMMI existed in two representations: continuous and staged. The continuous representation is designed to allow the user to focus on the specific processes that are considered important for the organization's immediate business objectives, or those to which the organization assigns a high degree of risks. The staged representation is designed to provide a standard sequence of improvements, and can serve as a basis for comparing the maturity of different projects and organizations. The staged representation also provides for an easy migration from the SW-CMM to CMMI.


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: In version 2.0 the above representation separation was cancelled and there is now only one cohesive model.


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: Depending on the areas of interest (acquisition, services, development) used, the process areas it contains will vary. Process areas are the areas that will be covered by the organization's processes. The table below lists the seventeen CMMI core process areas that are present for all CMMI areas of interest in version 1.3.


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: CMMI best practices are published in documents called models, each of which addresses a different area of interest. Version 1.3 provides models for three areas of interest: development, acquisition, and services.


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: In version 2.0 DEV, ACQ and SVC were merged into a single model where each process area potentially has a specific reference to one or more of these three aspects. Trying to keep up with the industry the model also has explicit reference to agile aspects in some process areas.


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: An organization cannot be certified in CMMI; instead, an organization is "appraised". Depending on the type of appraisal, the organization can be awarded a maturity level rating (1–5) or a capability level achievement profile.


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: Many organizations find value in measuring their progress by conducting an appraisal. Appraisals are typically conducted for one or more of the following reasons:


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: Appraisals of organizations using a CMMI model must conform to the requirements defined in the Appraisal Requirements for CMMI (ARC) document. There are three classes of appraisals, A, B and C, which focus on identifying improvement opportunities and comparing the organization's processes to CMMI best practices. Of these, class A appraisal is the most formal and is the only one that can result in a level rating. Appraisal teams use a CMMI model and ARC-conformant appraisal method to guide their evaluation of the organization and their reporting of conclusions. The appraisal results can then be used (e.g., by a process group) to plan improvements for the organization.


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: The Standard CMMI Appraisal Method for Process Improvement (SCAMPI) is an appraisal method that meets all of the ARC requirements. Results of a SCAMPI appraisal may be published (if the appraised organization approves) on the CMMI Web site of the SEI: Published SCAMPI Appraisal Results. SCAMPI also supports the conduct of ISO/IEC 15504, also known as SPICE (Software Process Improvement and Capability Determination), assessments etc.


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: This approach promotes that members of the EPG and PATs be trained in the CMMI, that an informal (SCAMPI C) appraisal be performed, and that process areas be prioritized for improvement. More modern approaches, that involve the deployment of commercially available, CMMI-compliant processes, can significantly reduce the time to achieve compliance. SEI has maintained statistics on the "time to move up" for organizations adopting the earlier Software CMM as well as CMMI. These statistics indicate that, since 1987, the median times to move from Level 1 to Level 2 is 23 months, and from Level 2 to Level 3 is an additional 20 months. Since the release of the CMMI, the median times to move from Level 1 to Level 2 is 5 months, with median movement to Level 3 another 21 months. These statistics are updated and published every six months in a maturity profile.


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: The Software Engineering Institute's (SEI) team software process methodology and the use of CMMI models can be used to raise the maturity level. A new product called Accelerated Improvement Method (AIM) combines the use of CMMI and the TSP.


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: To address user security concerns, two unofficial security guides are available. "Considering the Case for Security Content in CMMI for Services" has one process area, Security Management. "Security by Design with CMMI for Development, Version 1.3" has the following process areas:


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: While they do not affect maturity or capability levels, these process areas can be reported in appraisal results.


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: The SEI published a study saying 60 organizations measured increases of performance in the categories of cost, schedule, productivity, quality and customer satisfaction. The median increase in performance varied between 14% (customer satisfaction) and 62% (productivity). However, the CMMI model mostly deals with "what" processes should be implemented, and not so much with "how" they can be implemented. These results do not guarantee that applying CMMI will increase performance in every organization. A small company with few resources may be less likely to benefit from CMMI; this view is supported by the process maturity profile (page 10). Of the small organizations (<25 employees), 70.5% are assessed at level 2: Managed, while 52.8% of the organizations with 1,001–2,000 employees are rated at the highest level (5: Optimizing).


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: Turner & Jain (2002) argue that although it is obvious there are large differences between CMMI and agile software development, both approaches have much in common. They believe neither way is the 'right' way to develop software, but that there are phases in a project where one of the two is better suited. They suggest one should combine the different fragments of the methods into a new hybrid method. Sutherland et al. (2007) assert that a combination of Scrum and CMMI brings more adaptability and predictability than either one alone. David J. Anderson (2005) gives hints on how to interpret CMMI in an agile manner.


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: CMMI Roadmaps, which are a goal-driven approach to selecting and deploying relevant process areas from the CMMI-DEV model, can provide guidance and focus for effective CMMI adoption. There are several CMMI roadmaps for the continuous representation, each with a specific set of improvement goals. Examples are the CMMI Project Roadmap, CMMI Product and Product Integration Roadmaps and the CMMI Process and Measurements Roadmaps. These roadmaps combine the strengths of both the staged and the continuous representations.


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: The combination of the project management technique earned value management (EVM) with CMMI has been described. To conclude with a similar use of CMMI, Extreme Programming (XP), a software engineering method, has been evaluated with CMM/CMMI (Nawrocki et al., 2002). For example, the XP requirements management approach, which relies on oral communication, was evaluated as not compliant with CMMI.


title: Capability Maturity Model Integration

text: CMMI can be appraised using two different approaches: staged and continuous. The staged approach yields appraisal results as one of five "maturity levels." The continuous approach yields one of four "capability levels." The differences in these approaches are felt only in the appraisal; the best practices are equivalent resulting in equivalent process improvement results.


title: Before the Coffee Gets Cold

text: In a narrow back alley in Tokyo lies a café called "Funiculi Funicula". In the café, customers have the opportunity to travel back to a time of their choosing, as long as they follow a long list of rules. There is only one seat in the café that allows time travel; the seat is only available when the ghost that usually occupies it goes for a toilet break; once back in time, customers can't leave the seat; the only people in the past who can be met are people who have visited the café; whatever happens in the past, the present won't change; and, most importantly, the customer has to return to the present before their cup of coffee goes cold.


title: Before the Coffee Gets Cold

text: The novel follows the stories of the café staff, notably barista Kazu, and four different customers. The first, a businesswoman named Fumiko, tries to repair her relationship with her boyfriend after he left the country for a job in the United States. The second, a nurse named Kohtake, tries to find a letter her Alzheimer-stricken husband wrote. The third, a bar owner named Hirai, tries to talk to her sister whom she's been avoiding. The fourth, one of the café co-owners named Kei, tries to go to the future to talk to her unborn daughter.


title: Before the Coffee Gets Cold

text: The story originally began as a play, before being adapted into a novel in 2015. The novel was then translated into English by Geoffrey Trousselot. In 2017, a sequel was released: "".


title: Before the Coffee Gets Cold

text: In October 2021, it was announced that SK Global and The Jackal Group to develop, finance and produce a television series adaptation of the novel.


title: Before the Coffee Gets Cold

text: Terry Hong of "The Christian Science Monitor" stated that the "narrative is occasionally uneven and tends to meander" but that the author "has a surprising, unerring ability to find lasting emotional resonance." Ian J. Battaglia of the "Chicago Review of Books" wrote that "despite the occasional clumsiness, the narrative is deeply moving" and that the "characters are the real stars here, and their empathy for one another is powerful." Courtney Rodgers of Book Riot compared the book to American comedy series Pushing Daisies, stating that the "charming short novel asks questions about time and how we choose to spend it."


title: L.F. Rothschild

text: L.F. Rothschild (later known as L.F. Rothschild, Unterberg, Towbin) was a merchant and investment banking firm based in the United States and founded in 1899. The firm collapsed following the 1987 stock market crash.


title: L.F. Rothschild

text: L.F. Rothschild & Co. was founded in 1899 by Louis F. Rothschild (1869–1957), not related to the European Rothschild family. Together with partner Leonard Hockstader, Rothschild took up the offices and business of Albert Loeb & Co. at 32 Broadway in New York City, New York. The firm's primary business was sales and trading of fixed income securities. The firm also had an arbitrage group as well as retail brokerage and wealth management operations.


title: L.F. Rothschild

text: Following its merger with C.E. Unterberg, Towbin in 1977, the firm was known as L.F. Rothschild, Unterberg, Towbin and was led primarily by Thomas I. Unterberg and A. Robert Towbin. As of March 26, 1977, it moved to 55 Water Street, leasing the 45th and 46th floors. The firm was known for its merchant banking investments, particularly in high-technology companies. In the early 1980s, the firm emerged as the leading underwriter of initial public offerings, surpassing the elite investment banks (at the time, including Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley). Among the companies they took public were Intel, Cray Research, and biotechnology company Cetus Corporation.


title: L.F. Rothschild

text: In 1986, just ten years after merging with L.F. Rothschild, Towbin and Unterberg left the firm to join Shearson Lehman. The split was attributed to their opposition to plans to expand the firm's bond sales and trading operations. However, in the negotiations with outside firms related to that expansion and capital infusion, at least one particularly attractive offer required that Unterberg and Towbin step down from management positions or leave the firm. Hard feelings between senior management that resulted by considering that offer were believed to be the causal factor behind their departure by most insiders. Ultimately, the firm's stock trading exposure during the stock market crash in 1987 led directly to its demise.


title: L.F. Rothschild

text: The firm suffered heavy losses in the 1987 stock market crash and was acquired by Kansas-based Franklin Savings Association in February 1988. However, even with new capital, the firm's holding company, L. F. Rothschild Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 1989. By the end of 1989, the firm had gone from a peak of 2,200 employees to 45.


title: Gastrointestinal perforation

text: Gastrointestinal perforation, also known as ruptured bowel, is a hole in the wall of part of the gastrointestinal tract. The gastrointestinal tract includes the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. Symptoms include severe abdominal pain and tenderness. When the hole is in the stomach or early part of the small intestine, the onset of pain is typically sudden while with a hole in the large intestine onset may be more gradual. The pain is usually constant in nature. Sepsis, with an increased heart rate, increased breathing rate, fever, and confusion may occur.


title: Gastrointestinal perforation

text: The cause can include trauma such as from a knife wound, eating a sharp object, or a medical procedure such as colonoscopy, bowel obstruction such as from a volvulus, colon cancer, or diverticulitis, stomach ulcers, ischemic bowel, and a number of infections including "C. difficile". A hole allows intestinal contents to enter the abdominal cavity. The entry of bacteria results in a condition known as peritonitis or in the formation of an abscess. A hole in the stomach can also lead to a chemical peritonitis due to gastric acid. A CT scan is typically the preferred method of diagnosis; however, free air from a perforation can often be seen on plain X-ray.


title: Gastrointestinal perforation

text: Perforation anywhere along the gastrointestinal tract typically requires emergency surgery in the form of an exploratory laparotomy. This is usually carried out along with intravenous fluids and antibiotics. A number of different antibiotics may be used such as piperacillin/tazobactam or the combination of ciprofloxacin and metronidazole. Occasionally the hole can be sewn closed while other times a bowel resection is required. Even with maximum treatment the risk of death can be as high as 50%. A hole from a stomach ulcer occurs in about 1 per 10,000 people per year, while one from diverticulitis occurs in about 0.4 per 10,000 people per year.


title: Gastrointestinal perforation

text: Signs and symptoms may include a sudden pain in the epigastrium to the right of the midline indicating the perforation of a duodenal ulcer, while a gastric ulcer perforation reveals itself by burning pain in epigastrium, with flatulence and dyspepsia.In intestinal perforation, pain starts from the site of perforation and spreads across the abdomen.


title: Gastrointestinal perforation

text: Gastrointestinal perforation results in severe abdominal pain intensified by movement, nausea, vomiting and hematemesis. Later symptoms include fever and or chills. In any case, the abdomen becomes rigid with tenderness and rebound tenderness. After some time the abdomen becomes silent and heart sounds can be heard all over. Patient stops passing flatus and motion, abdomen is distended.


title: Gastrointestinal perforation

text: Underlying causes include gastric ulcers, duodenal ulcers, appendicitis, gastrointestinal cancer, diverticulitis, inflammatory bowel disease, superior mesenteric artery syndrome, trauma, vascular Ehlers–Danlos syndrome, and ascariasis. Typhoid fever, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, ingestion of corrosives may also be responsible.


title: Gastrointestinal perforation

text: Eating multiple magnets can also lead to perforation if the magnets attract and stick to one another through different loops of the intestine.


title: Gastrointestinal perforation

text: On x-rays, gas may be visible in the abdominal cavity. Gas is easily visualized on x-ray while the patient is in an upright position. The perforation can often be visualised using computed tomography. White blood cells are often elevated.


title: Gastrointestinal perforation

text: Surgical intervention is nearly always required in the form of exploratory laparotomy and closure of perforation with peritoneal wash. Occasionally they may be managed laparoscopically. A Graham patch may be used for duodenal perforations.


title: Gastrointestinal perforation

text: Conservative treatment including intravenous fluids, antibiotics, nasogastric aspiration and bowel rest is indicated only if the person is nontoxic and clinically stable.


title: Lipoprotein

text: A lipoprotein is a biochemical assembly whose primary function is to transport hydrophobic lipid (also known as fat) molecules in water, as in blood plasma or other extracellular fluids. They consist of a triglyceride and cholesterol center, surrounded by a phospholipid outer shell, with the hydrophilic portions oriented outward toward the surrounding water and lipophilic portions oriented inward toward the lipid center. A special kind of protein, called apolipoprotein, is embedded in the outer shell, both stabilising the complex and giving it a functional identity that determines its role.


title: Lipoprotein

text: Many enzymes, transporters, structural proteins, antigens, adhesins, and toxins are lipoproteins. Examples include plasma lipoprotein particles (HDL, LDL, IDL, VLDL and chylomicrons). Subgroups of these plasma particles are primary drivers or modulators of atherosclerosis.


title: Lipoprotein

text: Some transmembrane proteolipids, especially those found in bacteria, are referred to as lipoproteins; they are not related to the lipoprotein particles that this article is about. Such transmembrane proteins are difficult to isolate, as they bind tightly to the lipid membrane, often require lipids to display the proper structure, and can be water-insoluble. Detergents are usually required to isolate transmembrane lipoproteins from their associated biological membranes.


title: Lipoprotein

text: Because fats are insoluble in water, they cannot be transported on their own in extracellular water, including blood plasma. Instead, they are surrounded by a hydrophilic external shell that functions as a transport vehicle. The role of lipoprotein particles is to transport fat molecules, such as triacylglycerols (also known as triglycerides), phospholipids, and cholesterol within the extracellular water of the body to all the cells and tissues of the body. The proteins included in the external shell of these particles, called apolipoproteins, are synthesized and secreted into the extracellular water by both the small intestine and liver cells. The external shell also contains phospholipids and cholesterol.


title: Lipoprotein

text: All cells use and rely on fats and cholesterol as building blocks to create the multiple membranes that cells use both to control internal water content and internal water-soluble elements and to organize their internal structure and protein enzymatic systems. The outer shell of lipoprotein particles have the hydrophilic groups of phospholipids, cholesterol, and apolipoproteins directed outward. Such characteristics make them soluble in the salt-water-based blood pool. Triacylglycerols and cholesteryl esters are carried internally, shielded from the water by the outer shell. The kind of apolipoproteins contained in the outer shell determines the functional identity of the lipoprotein particles. The interaction of these apolipoproteins with enzymes in the blood, with each other, or with specific proteins on the surfaces of cells, determines whether triacylglycerols and cholesterol will be added to or removed from the lipoprotein transport particles.


title: Lipoprotein

text: Lipoproteins are complex particles that have a central hydrophobic core of non-polar lipids, primarily cholesteryl esters and triglycerides. This hydrophobic core is surrounded by a hydrophilic membrane consisting of phospholipids, free cholesterol, and apolipoproteins. Plasma lipoproteins are divided into seven classes based on size, lipid composition, and apolipoproteins.


title: Lipoprotein

text: The handling of lipoprotein particles in the body is referred to as "lipoprotein particle metabolism". It is divided into two pathways, exogenous and endogenous, depending in large part on whether the lipoprotein particles in question are composed chiefly of dietary (exogenous) lipids or whether they originated in the liver (endogenous), through de novo synthesis of triacylglycerols.


title: Lipoprotein

text: The hepatocytes are the main platform for the handling of triacylglycerols and cholesterol; the liver can also store certain amounts of glycogen and triacylglycerols. While adipocytes are the main storage cells for triacylglycerols, they do not produce any lipoproteins.


title: Lipoprotein

text: Bile emulsifies fats contained in the chyme, then pancreatic lipase cleaves triacylglycerol molecules into two fatty acids and one 2-monoacylglycerol. Enterocytes readily absorb the small molecules from the chymus. Inside of the enterocytes, fatty acids and monoacylglycerides are transformed again into triacylglycerides. Then these lipids are assembled with apolipoprotein B-48 into "nascent chylomicrons". These particles are then secreted into the lacteals in a process that depends heavily on apolipoprotein B-48. As they circulate through the lymphatic vessels, nascent chylomicrons bypass the liver circulation and are drained via the thoracic duct into the bloodstream.


title: Lipoprotein

text: In the blood stream, "nascent chylomicron particles" interact with HDL particles, resulting in HDL donation of apolipoprotein C-II and apolipoprotein E to the nascent chylomicron. The chylomicron at this stage is then considered mature. Via apolipoprotein C-II, mature chylomicrons activate lipoprotein lipase (LPL), an enzyme on endothelial cells lining the blood vessels. LPL catalyzes the hydrolysis of triacylglycerol that ultimately releases glycerol and fatty acids from the chylomicrons. Glycerol and fatty acids can then be absorbed in peripheral tissues, especially adipose and muscle, for energy and storage.


title: Lipoprotein

text: The hydrolyzed chylomicrons are now called "chylomicron remnants". The chylomicron remnants continue circulating the bloodstream until they interact via apolipoprotein E with chylomicron remnant receptors, found chiefly in the liver. This interaction causes the endocytosis of the chylomicron remnants, which are subsequently hydrolyzed within lysosomes. Lysosomal hydrolysis releases glycerol and fatty acids into the cell, which can be used for energy or stored for later use.


title: Lipoprotein

text: The liver is the central platform for the handling of lipids: it is able to store glycerols and fats in its cells, the hepatocytes. Hepatocytes are also able to create triacylglycerols via de novo synthesis. They also produce the bile from cholesterol. The intestines are responsible for absorbing cholesterol. They transfer it over into the blood stream.


title: Lipoprotein

text: In the hepatocytes, triacylglycerols and cholesteryl esters are assembled with apolipoprotein B-100 to form "nascent VLDL particles". Nascent VLDL particles are released into the bloodstream via a process that depends upon apolipoprotein B-100.


title: Lipoprotein

text: In the blood stream, "nascent VLDL particles" bump with HDL particles; as a result, HDL particles donate apolipoprotein C-II and apolipoprotein E to the nascent VLDL particle. Once loaded with apolipoproteins C-II and E, the nascent VLDL particle is considered mature. VLDL particles circulate and encounter LPL expressed on endothelial cells. Apolipoprotein C-II activates LPL, causing hydrolysis of the VLDL particle and the release of glycerol and fatty acids. These products can be absorbed from the blood by peripheral tissues, principally adipose and muscle. The hydrolyzed VLDL particles are now called VLDL remnants or intermediate-density lipoproteins (IDLs). VLDL remnants can circulate and, via an interaction between apolipoprotein E and the remnant receptor, be absorbed by the liver, or they can be further hydrolyzed by hepatic lipase.


title: Lipoprotein

text: Hydrolysis by hepatic lipase releases glycerol and fatty acids, leaving behind "IDL remnants", called low-density lipoproteins (LDL), which contain a relatively high cholesterol content (). LDL circulates and is absorbed by the liver and peripheral cells. Binding of LDL to its target tissue occurs through an interaction between the LDL receptor and apolipoprotein B-100 on the LDL particle. Absorption occurs through endocytosis, and the internalized LDL particles are hydrolyzed within lysosomes, releasing lipids, chiefly cholesterol.


title: Lipoprotein

text: Plasma lipoproteins may carry oxygen gas. This property is due to the crystalline hydrophobic structure of lipids, providing a suitable environment for O solubility compared to an aqueous medium.


title: Lipoprotein

text: Inflammation, a biological system response to stimuli such as the introduction of a pathogen, has an underlying role in numerous systemic biological functions and pathologies. This is a useful response by the immune system when the body is exposed to pathogens, such as bacteria in locations that will prove harmful, but can also have detrimental effects if left unregulated. It has been demonstrated that lipoproteins, specifically HDL, have important roles in the inflammatory process.


title: Lipoprotein

text: When the body is functioning under normal, stable physiological conditions, HDL has been shown to be beneficial in several ways. LDL contains apolipoprotein B (apoB), which allows LDL to bind to different tissues, such as the artery wall if the glycocalyx has been damaged by high blood sugar levels. If oxidised, the LDL can become trapped in the proteoglycans, preventing its removal by HDL cholesterol efflux. Normal functioning HDL is able to prevent the process of oxidation of LDL and the subsequent inflammatory processes seen after oxidation.


title: Lipoprotein

text: Lipopolysaccharide, or LPS, is the major pathogenic factor on the cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria. Gram-positive bacteria has a similar component named Lipoteichoic acid, or LTA. HDL has the ability to bind LPS and LTA, creating HDL-LPS complexes to neutralize the harmful effects in the body and clear the LPS from the body. HDL also has significant roles interacting with cells of the immune system to modulate the availability of cholesterol and modulate the immune response.


title: Lipoprotein

text: Under certain abnormal physiological conditions such as system infection or sepsis, the major components of HDL become altered, The composition and quantity of lipids and apolipoproteins are altered as compared to normal physiological conditions, such as a decrease in HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), phospholipids, apoA-I (a major lipoprotein in HDL that has been shown to have beneficial anti-inflammatory properties), and an increase in Serum amyloid A. This altered composition of HDL is commonly referred to as acute-phase HDL in an acute-phase inflammatory response, during which time HDL can lose its ability to inhibit the oxidation of LDL. In fact, this altered composition of HDL is associated with increased mortality and worse clinical outcomes in patients with sepsis.


title: Lipoprotein

text: Lipoproteins may be classified as five major groups, listed from larger and lower density to smaller and higher density. Lipoproteins are larger and less dense when the fat to protein ratio is increased. They are classified on the basis of electrophoresis, ultracentrifugation and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy via the Vantera Analyzer.


title: Lipoprotein

text: For young healthy research subjects, ~70 kg (154 lb), these data represent averages across individuals studied, percentages represent % dry weight:


title: Lipoprotein

text: It is also possible to classify lipoproteins as "alpha" and "beta", according to the classification of proteins in serum protein electrophoresis. This terminology is sometimes used in describing lipid disorders such as abetalipoproteinemia.


title: Lipoprotein

text: Lipoproteins, such as LDL and HDL, can be further subdivided into subspecies isolated through a variety of methods. These are subdivided by density or by the protein contents/ proteins they carry. While the research is currently ongoing, researchers are learning that different subspecies contain different apolipoproteins, proteins, and lipid contents between species which have different physiological roles. For example, within the HDL lipoprotein subspecies, a large number of proteins are involved in general lipid metabolism. However, it is being elucidated that HDL subspecies also contain proteins involved in the following functions: homeostasis, fibrinogen, clotting cascade, inflammatory and immune responses, including the complement system, proteolysis inhibitors, acute-phase response proteins, and the LPS-binding protein, heme and iron metabolism, platelet regulation, vitamin binding and general transport.


title: Lipoprotein

text: Atherosclerosis is the leading cause of coronary artery disease. And, ischaemic heart disease is the leading cause of mortality in the world. Many studies have examined possible "correlations" between the incidence of the disease and plasma lipoprotein particle concentrations in the blood. Hypotheses exist for possible "causations" but none have been proven to date. These studies have shown correlation (and correlation does not imply causation) between atherosclerosis and concentrations of particles. Studies specifically targeting different phenotypes are needed to determine if the amount of particles are a reaction to diet composition. Citizen scientists are attempting to do that.


title: The Walker Brothers

text: The Walker Brothers were an American pop group of the 1960s and 1970s which included Noel Scott Engel (eventually known professionally as Scott Walker), John Walker (born John Joseph Maus, but using the name Walker since his teens) and Gary Leeds (eventually known as Gary Walker). After moving to Britain in 1965, they had a number of top-10 albums and singles there, including the No. 1 hits "Make It Easy on Yourself" and "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)", both of which also made the US top 20 and Canadian top 2. Between the two was the lesser US hit "My Ship is Coming In", another major hit in Britain, where it reached No. 3 in the chart. The trio split up in 1968, but reunited in the mid- to late 1970s and scored a final top-10 UK hit with "No Regrets".


title: The Walker Brothers

text: Formed in 1964, they adopted the 'Walker Brothers' name as a show business touch even though the members were all unrelated — "simply because we liked it." They provided a unique counterpoint to the British Invasion by achieving much more success in the United Kingdom than in their home country, a period when the popularity of British bands such as The Beatles dominated the U.S. charts.


title: The Walker Brothers

text: The Walker Brothers Trio was formed in Los Angeles in 1964 by John Walker (lead vocals, guitar), Scott Engel (bass, harmony vocals), and drummer Al "Tiny" Schneider. Before then, John Walker—who had already been using that name professionally for several years—had performed and recorded several unsuccessful singles with his sister as a duo, John and Judy, and Engel had been bass player with instrumental band The Routers. Walker and Engel, with two other musicians, had also toured the Midwest in 1963 as The Surfaris, though the group included none of the musicians who played on the Surfaris' records. Dropping the word Trio, Walker and Engel were signed by Mercury Records, recorded a single, "Pretty Girls Everywhere", and became a leading attraction at Gazzari's Club in Hollywood. They also appeared on the "Shindig!" TV show, developed by Jack Good, and then on a weekly TV show, "Ninth Street A Go Go".


title: The Walker Brothers

text: Late in 1964, they met drummer Gary Leeds, previously of The Standells (Late 1962–1964). He had recently toured the UK with singer P.J. Proby. Leeds – along with club regular Brian Jones – persuaded them that the band's rock and roll and blues style would go down well in "swinging London," where Proby had already succeeded. Before leaving, they recorded their second single, "Love Her," overseen by Nick Venet and arranger Jack Nitzsche, with Scott Engel taking the lead vocal part for the first time—previously John Walker had been the lead vocalist. With his distinct baritone, Scott became the group's "de facto" frontman, and the trio shifted their focus from upbeat R&B to pop ballads that better suited his vocals. They also appeared in a film, "Beach Ball", and sent demo recordings to record labels in the United Kingdom.


title: The Walker Brothers

text: With financial backing from Leeds' stepfather, Walker, Engel and Leeds traveled to the UK in February 1965 for an exploratory visit.


title: The Walker Brothers

text: When they landed in England, record producer Johnny Franz was keen to sign them up. In a short time, Walker and Engel had secured a recording contract with Philips Records, an affiliate of Mercury, and had played several venues around the UK, with Leeds as drummer. Along with the group's relocation came a change in image, abandoning matching suits and pompadours in favor of the mop top haircuts and casual attire typical of British pop stars. Their first single, "Pretty Girls Everywhere," had little success, but radio stations picked up on the follow-up "Love Her" with Engel's baritone vocals, and it made the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1965. The song had originally been recorded by The Everly Brothers and released as the B-side to their single "The Girl Who Sang The Blues" in 1963.


title: The Walker Brothers

text: Philips then recorded and released the group's version of "Make It Easy on Yourself," a Burt Bacharach and Hal David ballad previously recorded by Jerry Butler. It was sung by Engel (by now called Scott Walker), arranged by Ivor Raymonde and produced by Johnny Franz, with a full orchestra augmented by session musicians. Session musicians on the record included Alan Parker and Big Jim Sullivan.


title: The Walker Brothers

text: By August 1965, "Make It Easy on Yourself" had entered the UK Top 10, eventually reaching the top of the record chart. Later in the year, it also reached No. 16 in the US "Billboard" Hot 100. The track sold 250,000 copies in the UK, and over one million copies globally, achieving gold disc status.


title: The Walker Brothers

text: The number 3 UK hit "My Ship Is Coming In", originally recorded in 1965 by soul singer Jimmy Radcliffe, followed. Then in March 1966, The Walker Brothers hit No. 1 for the second time in six months with "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore." Their popularity in the UK – particularly that of Scott – reached a new high, especially among teenage girls, and their fan club in that country was said to have been larger than The Beatles.' "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" also made the US Top 20, but had less success in the US.


title: The Walker Brothers

text: The Walker Brothers continued to have chart hits in the UK in 1966 and 1967, with Scott taking a more prominent role in their song choices and arrangements, but with diminishing commercial success. They also had to leave the UK for six months in 1967 because of work permit problems. As pop music moved on, the Walker Brothers began to sound dated. By the end of 1967, the pressures of stardom, internal tensions and 'artistic differences' began to weaken the group. After a UK tour in April 1967, which also featured Jimi Hendrix, Cat Stevens, and Engelbert Humperdinck, followed by a tour of Japan in 1968, the group officially disbanded.


title: The Walker Brothers

text: All three continued to release solo records, with Scott (who first recorded solo in 1967) being by far the most successful and creating a large cult following. Late in 1974, Walker, Engel and Leeds agreed to reform The Walker Brothers. In 1975, they released the album "No Regrets". The title track was released as a single and rose to No. 7 on the UK chart in early 1976. They recorded two further albums together, "Lines" (1976) and "Nite Flights" (1978), which were less commercially successful; the experimental style of Scott's tracks on "Nite Flights" laid the stylistic groundwork for his later solo career. The Walker Brothers undertook some cabaret performances, although Engel (by now more usually known as Scott Walker) was reluctant to sing live; the group's contract with GTO Records ended and, according to John Walker, the group "just drifted apart."


title: The Walker Brothers

text: Interest in the band was briefly revived in 1992 with the issue of the compilation album "No Regrets – The Best of Scott Walker and The Walker Brothers 1965–1976", which reached No. 4 in the UK Albums Chart.