title: Man-at-arms

text: The cost of horses meant that the professional soldier might not wish to risk his expensive asset in combat. A system evolved in the 13th century for employers to compensate for horses lost in action. In England this was called by the Latin name "restauro equorum" and similar systems were in use in France and Italy. In order to secure this insurance scheme, the man-at-arms had the value of his horse assessed and details of its appearance recorded. The assessment system also allowed employers to insist on a minimum value (and hence quality) of horse be presented at muster. In 14th-century England, the minimum value appears in most cases to be 100 shillings (£5).


title: Man-at-arms

text: As early as the late 13th century, Edward I decreed that all his men-at-arms should be mounted on "equus coopertus", that is armoured, or barded, horses. Horse armour was not at that time always made of metal, with leather and quilted fabric armour also in use. Metal horse armours were made from mail or brigandine, with plate reserved for the head in the form of a "chamfron". In the 15th century, plate armour for horses was introduced and was a common feature of the equipment of the gendarme into the 16th century.


title: Man-at-arms

text: The social structure of the Anglo-Norman society of England was relatively rigid. One of the easiest ways for a man to improve his social rank was through military service; another method was through the church. In the Norman states, unlike in many other contemporary societies, the knighting of men of common birth who had demonstrated ability and courage on the field of battle was possible. Although rare, some non-knightly men-at-arms did advance socially to the status of knights. The knighting of squires and men-at-arms was sometimes done in an ignoble manner, simply to increase the number of knights within an army (such practice was common during the Hundred Years' War). In chivalric theory, any knight could bestow knighthood on another, however, in practice this was usually done by sovereigns and the higher nobility. It is recorded that the great mercenary captain Sir John Hawkwood knighted a number of his followers, as many as twenty on one occasion, though he could reasonably be expected to provide the income his created knights required to maintain their new status. Attempts to restrict the power of commanders to make knights would increase during the 16th century and by the end of Elizabeth I's reign, the practice had all but ceased.


title: Man-at-arms

text: Although a knight bachelor, a knight banneret and all grades of nobility usually served as men-at-arms when called to war, the bulk of men-at-arms from the later 13th century came from an evolving social group which became known as the gentry. The man-at-arms could be a wealthy mercenary of any social origin, but more often he had some level of social rank based on income, usually from land. Some came from the class known as serjeants but increasingly during the 14th century they were drawn from an evolving class of esquire. Esquires were frequently of families of knightly rank, wealthy enough to afford the arms of a knight but who had thus far not been advanced to knightly status or perhaps had avoided it because they did not want the costs and responsibilities of that rank. Also found serving as men-at-arms were the lowest social group of the gentry, known by the 15th century simply as gentlemen.


title: Man-at-arms

text: The proportion of knights among the men-at-arms varied through time. Between the 1280s and 1360s, figures between 20–30% were commonplace. Thereafter, there was a rapid decline, with the figure dropping to 6.5% in 1380. A slight rise is recorded to 8% at Agincourt, perhaps because this was a royal army, but thereafter the figure continued to decline and by 1443, the Duke of Somerset mustered only 1.3% knights among his men-at-arms.


title: Man-at-arms

text: Social status affected the types of military service performed by men-at-arms. Garrison duty was considered unattractive and was often carried out by soldiers of lesser status. For example, the English garrison in the Scottish town of Roxburgh in 1301 consisted of just three knights compared to twenty seven men-at-arms of lesser status.


title: Man-at-arms

text: The social stratification of men who served as men-at-arms is illustrated by their rates of pay on campaign. In the mid 1340s a knight was paid two shillings a day, an ordinary man-at-arms was paid half this amount; for comparison a foot archer received two or three pence (12 pennies to the shilling). A man-at-arms was also recompensed differentially according to the quality of his principal war-horse, if the horse was to die or was killed in battle. An ordinary esquire might own a war-horse worth only five pounds whilst a great nobleman might own a horse worth up to 100 pounds.


title: Man-at-arms

text: English men-at-arms before the second quarter of the 14th century were indistinguishable from their continental counterparts, serving as heavy cavalry on the field of battle. The Battle of Dupplin Moor in 1332, against the Scots, signalled a major change in the battlefield role of the English man-at-arms. This battle was the first major encounter where the tactical combination of dismounted men-at-arms with longbow-armed archers was deployed; the men-at-arms functioning as heavy close-combat infantry. This combination was later employed very effectively against the French in the Hundred Years' War. The English man-at-arms remained highly trained in mounted combat, though his use of the warhorse became largely confined to the pursuit of a broken enemy, skirmishing and in the "chevauchée". In the late 15th century a resurgence in the effectiveness of the heavy lancer in combat took place in Europe. This was reflected to some extent in England, exemplified by Richard III's mounted charge at the Battle of Bosworth (1485) and the English cavalry charge at the Battle of the Spurs (1513).


title: Man-at-arms

text: The last major battle in which English men-at-arms were prominent was fought against a Scottish army in 1547 at Pinkie Cleugh. The outnumbered Scots cavalry were easily driven off by the English horse (the Scots cavalry having lost heavily in an engagement the day before), the Scots then made a sudden advance with their massed pikemen. To slow their onset and give time for the English infantry to receive them the English heavy horse (men-at-arms and demi-lancers) were thrown against the pikes. The English cavalry crashed into the pikemen with great elan but sustained considerable losses. However, they halted the Scots attack, buying time for the English infantry and artillery to deploy effectively; the battle resulted in a heavy defeat for the Scots.


title: Man-at-arms

text: French men-at-arms were, as elsewhere, drawn from the broad class of "gentil hommes". Up to the middle of the 14th century, they attended the royal army either in company of their feudal lords or as individuals. In 1351, the first in a series of "ordonnances" was proclaimed, attempting to regularise the organisation of men-at-arms into units of 25 to 80 combatants. New "ordonnances" were issued occasionally to either reinforce or reform previous ones. The "ordonnance" of 1363 attempted to create a standing army of 6,000 men-at-arms, although it might not have achieved more than 3,000 in reality. In 1445, a more radical overhaul was attempted. 15 companies of the ordonnance were created, each of 100 lances. Each lance contained a man-at-arms, a coustillier, three mounted archers and a page. In 1446, the scheme was extended to add another five companies, giving a total of 2,000 men-at-arms. Eventually, the number of these "gens d'ordonnance du roi" raised by Louis XI would reach 15,816 men, including 2,636 men-at-arms.


title: Man-at-arms

text: The number of men-at-arms would continue to fluctuate, dependent on military circumstances, into the 16th century. In the first quarter of the century, they varied between a peacetime minimum of 1500 lances in 1505 and a wartime maximum of 3847 in 1523. The changes were made both by raising and disbanding whole companies and by varying the number of men in "ordonnance" companies. In 1559, for example, Francis II reduced the number of lances in each company by 20.


title: Man-at-arms

text: By the 1580s the traditional French gendarme, as a lance-armed heavily armoured cavalryman, was in sharp decline. The Battle of Coutras (October 20, 1587), between Henry of Navarre, and the Duc de Joyeuse, during the French Wars of Religion, illustrates the demise of the heavy lancer. Navarre's cavalry were 1,300 armoured pistoleers whilst the Royalists under Joyeuse were 2,000 heavy lancers (gendarmes). Within a few minutes of combat the lancers had been routed, many being captured and held for ransom. All later French cavalry named 'gendarmes' were more lightly armoured, eventually becoming unarmoured, and employed firearms and a sword, rather than the heavy lance.


title: Man-at-arms

text: Louis XIV on his accession to the throne found only eight companies of gendarmes surviving out of an original total of more than one hundred, but after the victory of Fleurus (1690), which had been decided by their courage, he increased their number to sixteen. The four first companies were designated by the names of "Gendarmes ecossais", "Gendarmes anglais", "Gendarmes bourguignons" and "Gendarmes flamands", from the nationality of the soldiers who had originally composed them, but at that time they consisted entirely of French soldiers and officers. These four companies had a captain-general, who was the king. The fifth company was that of the queen and the others bore the name of the princes who respectively commanded them. This organisation was dissolved in 1788.


title: Man-at-arms

text: A military corps having such duties was first created in 1337 and was placed under the orders of the Constable of France ("connétable"), and therefore named "connétablie". In 1626 after the abolition of the title of connétable, it was put under the command of the "Maréchal of France", and renamed "Maréchaussée". Its main mission was protecting the roads from highwaymen. In 1720 the "maréchaussée" was subordinated to the gendarmerie; after the French Revolution the "maréchaussée" was abolished and the gendarmerie took over its duties in 1791.


title: Man-at-arms

text: Spain had multiple factors contributing to the strong chivalric ethos exemplified by Spanish knights and men-at-arms. One factor leading to the prominence of chivalric orders in Spain, is the Reconquista in which Christian kingdoms attempted to regain land from, and eventually expel from the peninsula, the Muslim states. The greatest foes of the Spanish Christian knight were, above all, Muslims; who were a local and deeply entrenched enemy, not as distant as the 'infidel' was for the knights of other European regions. However, warfare between the Christian states of the Iberian Peninsula was also not uncommon. It can be argued that in Spain the existence of a common enemy had some role in uniting Christian kingdoms in the cause of the Crusades and Reconquista.


title: Man-at-arms

text: In the 12th–13th century most of the prominent Spanish Knightly orders were formed. The early history of chivalric orders in the peninsula was unstable. In Calatrava, during the middle of the 12th century Castilian Knights established a fortress, which would later be abandoned due to the threat of Muslim attack, then again within fifty years the castle of the Order of Calatrava was then rebuilt and became a fortified monastic community.


title: Man-at-arms

text: In the Italian Wars the Spanish man-at-arms was prominent in the campaigns. One example is at the Battle of Cerignola, which began with two charges by the French heavy cavalry against the center of the Spanish army, but these were scattered by Spanish heavy artillery and arquebus fire. The next assault tried to force the right flank, but many of the French cavalrymen fell into the Spanish trench and the attack was then broken by a storm of fire from the Spanish arquebusiers.


title: Man-at-arms

text: The Spanish leader Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba then called for a counterattack against the now disorganized enemy by both the Spanish infantry and the heavy Spanish cavalry waiting in reserve. Mounted arquebusiers surrounded and routed the remaining French gendarmes, but the Swiss pikeman managed to retreat in a relatively organized fashion.


title: Man-at-arms

text: Men-at-arms formed the core troops of the Italian "condottiere" companies from the 14th to the 16th century. Although the man-at-arms always remained essentially a mounted soldier, in the 14th century, they often fought on foot, following the example of English mercenaries who, from the second half of the century, commonly fought there. The system of "condotte" or contracts which gave the condottieri their name led to the construction of armies from a number of contract holders, usually grouped under a main contractor. Perhaps the best known of these is the White Company led by Sir John Hawkwood in the 14th century. Organisation of these companies was in "lanze" of three men, initially two fighting men and a page but later a man-at-arms, an armed servant ("piatto") and a page ("ragazzo"). 5 "lanze" were grouped to form a "posta" and five of these made a "bandiera".


title: Man-at-arms

text: In the 15th century, the structure of the companies changed. A company would be organised into a number of squadrons. One of these would be the household squadron of the captain, known as the "casa", which contained both fighting troops and headquarters staff, such as a marshal, chaplain, chancellors, cooks and servants. The size of squadrons varied but would contain about 25 "lanze".


title: Man-at-arms

text: In the second half of the century, these structures began to be supplemented by the practice of states hiring alongside companies individual men-at-arms, who were then grouped under a commander appointed by the state. These were originally recruited from men-at-arms whose company commander had died or retired and so were known as "lanze spezzate" or broken lances. At the same time, changes were seen in the components of the "lanze", with the introduction of the "corazzo", a larger unit but still containing just one man-at-arms, and the recognition of two types of men-at-arms in "condotte"; true men-at-arms known as "armigeri veri" and lighter-equipped "elmetti". Towards the end of the 15th century, squadrons of men-at-arms begin to be organised into larger formations known as columns led by a senior "condottiero" called a colonello. A column typically contained eight to ten squadrons.


title: Adrenalize

text: Adrenalize is the fifth studio album by English rock band Def Leppard, released on 31 March 1992 through Mercury Records. It is the first album by the band recorded without guitarist Steve Clark who died in 1991 and the only one recorded as a four-member band. Spawning seven singles, four of them – "Let's Get Rocked", "Make Love Like a Man", "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad", and "Stand Up (Kick Love into Motion)" – were major hits.


title: Adrenalize

text: "White Lightning" is dedicated to the memory of Clark, who has writing credits on six of the album's 10 tracks.


title: Adrenalize

text: Def Leppard had faced long delays, and the challenge of drummer Rick Allen losing his arm while making their previous album, Hysteria, and while trying to follow up the success, they also faced the prospect of doing so with a different producer, as Robert John "Mutt" Lange was already working with Bryan Adams. At the same time guitarist Steve Clark had been suffering from alcohol addiction since 1989, spending six sessions in rehab. Clark was involved in writing six of the songs on the album, but was given an ultimatum over his alcoholism in September 1990, and put on a six-month leave of absence. Clark died four months later, in January 1991.


title: Adrenalize

text: The band tried to continue the recording process, going back into the studio the day after Clark's death to cope with the loss, but it took several months before they were able to work to what they felt was a satisfactory standard.


title: Adrenalize

text: Instead of replacing Clark with a new member, the band recorded the album as a four-piece. "We had recorded demos on multitrack," recalled fellow guitarist Phil Collen. "I was sitting there with him when he played the original parts. I could relay that. But it was like playing along to a ghost."


title: Adrenalize

text: This was also the band's first album since 1981 recorded without longtime producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Instead, the band took matters in their own hands and produced the album themselves along with longtime engineer Mike Shipley; with Lange credited as executive producer.


title: Adrenalize

text: "We coped without Mutt quite well…" recalled Joe Elliott. "Mutt was in his studio in Guildford with Bryan Adams and we'd be in Dublin, talking every day… But it wasn't as adventurous as "Hysteria". It was more of a rock album, less experimental. It's like with Pink Floyd: to me, "Adrenalize" was our "Wish You Were Here" and "Hysteria" was our "Dark Side of the Moon"."


title: Adrenalize

text: "Adrenalize" debuted at No. 1 on both the UK Albums Chart and, in the following week, on the U.S. "Billboard" 200. It stayed at No. 1 of the Billboard chart for five weeks keeping Bruce Springsteen's "Human Touch" off the top spot, and spent 65 weeks on the charts in total.


title: Adrenalize

text: The album received mixed reviews: some critics praised its production values and instantly catchy and radio-friendly material, while others called it tired and formulaic. In a four-star review for "Rolling Stone", J.D. Considine wrote: ""Adrenalize" is so relentlessly catchy that it almost seems as if the band is about to abandon its heavy-metal roots for the greener fields of hard pop." Other reviewers also noted the album's less metal sound and pointed out its lack of cohesion. A staff writer for Sputnikmusic said that, despite the slick production, the album doesn't match the standard set by the band's previous two records, which they referred to as masterpieces."


title: Adrenalize

text: Writing in 2009, after "Pyromania" and "Adrenalize" have been reissued, Toby Cook of "The Quietus" said that, despite "Adrenalize"'s many flaws, "the record buying public of '92 cared not." Indeed, the album would go on to sell more than seven million copies worldwide, remaining Def Leppard's last studio album to achieve major mainstream success.


title: ZF 6HP transmission

text: 6HP is ZF Friedrichshafen AG's trademark name for its six-speed automatic transmission models (6-speed transmission with Hydraulic converter and Planetary gearsets) for longitudinal engine applications, designed and built by ZF's subsidiary in Saarbrücken. Released as the "6HP26" in 2000, it was the first six-speed automatic transmission in a production passenger car. Other variations of the first generation 6HP in addition to the "6HP26", were "6HP19", and "6HP32" having lower and higher torque capacity, respectively. In 2007, the second generation of the 6HP series was introduced, with models "6HP21" and "6HP28". A "6HP34" was planned, but never went into production.


title: ZF 6HP transmission

text: The 6HP uses a Lepelletier epicyclic/planetary gearset, which can provide more gear ratios with significantly fewer components. This means the "6HP26" is actually lighter than its five-speed 5HP predecessors. It also has the capability to achieve torque converter lock-up on all six forward gears, and disengage it completely when at a standstill, dramatically closing the fuel efficiency gap between automatic and manual transmissions.


title: ZF 6HP transmission

text: The last 6HP automatic transmission was produced by the Saarbrücken plant in March 2014 after 7,050,232 units were produced. The ZF plant in Shanghai continued to produce the 6HP for the Chinese market.


title: ZF 6HP transmission

text: All ZF 6HP gearboxes have the same gear ratios as the 6R60 and 6R80 gearboxes for passenger cars from Ford. Deviant gear ratios indicate another manufacturer as shown in the template.


title: ZF 6HP transmission

text: The 6HP is the first transmission designed according to ZF's new paradigm. After gaining additional gear ratios only with additional components, this time the number of components has to decrease for the first time in spite of the necessity of even more ratios. Coming from 5 gear ratios made of 10 main components (gear sets, Ravigneaux considered as 2, brakes, clutches) to the 6 made of 8 now reflects, what major progress the Lepelletier gear mechanism means compared to conventional designs like the 5HP-family.


title: ZF 6HP transmission

text: Problems with this transmission are well known. This transmission locks up the torque converter in all gears, increasing wear. Combined with a sealed transmission pan and "lifetime fluid", some people have experienced catastrophic transmission failure. Owners report shift issues when oil begins breaking down beyond 50K miles, hence shifting issues are common.


title: ZF 6HP transmission

text: There are also problems with the valve block and solenoids. When this failure starts to occur, shift quality and speed, torque transfer and even loss of ability to engage gears can occur. These problems led Volkswagen AG to extend the warranty on all of their vehicles equipped with this transmission to 100,000 miles or 10 years.


title: ZF 6HP transmission

text: The "6HP19" transmission was a development of the original "6HP26", but was downgraded for less demanding applications. As such, the "6HP19" is rated at of torque.


title: ZF 6HP transmission

text: The "6HP19A" is a variation of the "6HP19" for four-wheel drive applications torque of . It was used by the Volkswagen Group for some permanent four-wheel drive models.


title: ZF 6HP transmission

text: The "6HP26" was the original variation of the 6HP, released in 2000. It was rated for a maximum input torque of . It was first used by the BMW 7 Series (E65) in 2001. Initially only used by premium brands, it was later available on the 2009 model year V8 Hyundai Genesis.


title: ZF 6HP transmission

text: Several versions of the "6HP26" are available depending on application and brand: "6HP26", "6HP26A" and "6HP26X".


title: ZF 6HP transmission

text: Ford has developed their own versions ("6R60" and "6R80") based on the "6HP26". Therefore, certain Ford vehicles will not be listed.


title: ZF 6HP transmission

text: The "6HP26A" is a variation of the "6HP26" for four-wheel drive applications. It was used by the Volkswagen Group for some permanent four-wheel drive models and packages a TORSEN type center differential, and open front differential into the transmission assembly.


title: ZF 6HP transmission

text: The "6HP26X" and "6HP26Z" is another variation of the "6HP26", also for four-wheel drive applications. This transmission is suitable for 4WDs with a separate transfer box (the "X" stands for external 4WD).


title: ZF 6HP transmission

text: The "6HP32" is a variation of the "6HP26" for high-output applications. The gearbox's maximum input torque is .


title: ZF 6HP transmission

text: The "6HP21" was a variation of the 6HP produced in the PRC. It is also alternatively known as 6HP19tu and 6HP19z.


title: ZF 6HP transmission

text: (also known as BMW GA6HP26Z) The "6HP28" was the second generation of the 6HP gearbox, introduced in mid-2006.


title: Eudora Welty

text: Eudora Alice Welty (April 13, 1909 – July 23, 2001) was an American short story writer, novelist and photographer who wrote about the American South. Her novel "The Optimist's Daughter" won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty received numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Order of the South. She was the first living author to have her works published by the Library of America. Her house in Jackson, Mississippi has been designated as a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public as a house museum.


title: Eudora Welty

text: Eudora Welty was born in Jackson, Mississippi, on April 13, 1909, the daughter of Christian Webb Welty (1879–1931) and Mary Chestina (Andrews) Welty (1883–1966). She grew up with younger brothers Edward Jefferson and Walter Andrews. Her mother was a schoolteacher. Welty soon developed a love of reading reinforced by her mother, who believed that "any room in our house, at any time in the day, was there to read in, or to be read to." Her father, who worked as an insurance executive, was intrigued by gadgets and machines and inspired in Welty a love of mechanical things. She later used technology for symbolism in her stories and also became an avid photographer, like her father.


title: Eudora Welty

text: She attended Central High School in Jackson. Near the time of her high school graduation, Welty moved with her family to a house built for them at 1119 Pinehurst Street, which remained her permanent address until her death. Wyatt C. Hedrick designed the Weltys' Tudor Revival-style home, which is now known as the Eudora Welty House and Garden.


title: Eudora Welty

text: Welty studied at the Mississippi State College for Women from 1925 to 1927, then transferred to the University of Wisconsin to complete her studies in English literature. At the suggestion of her father, she studied advertising at Columbia University. Because she graduated in the depths of the Great Depression, she struggled to find work in New York.


title: Eudora Welty

text: Soon after Welty returned to Jackson in 1931, her father died of leukemia. She took a job at a local radio station and wrote about Jackson society for the Memphis newspaper "Commercial Appeal". In 1933, she began work for the Works Progress Administration. As a publicity agent, she collected stories, conducted interviews, and took photographs of daily life in Mississippi. She gained a wider view of Southern life and the human relationships that she drew from for her short stories. During this time she also held meetings in her house with fellow writers and friends, a group she called the Night-Blooming Cereus Club. Three years later, she left her job to become a full-time writer.


title: Eudora Welty

text: In 1936, she published "The Death of a Traveling Salesman" in the literary magazine "Manuscript", and soon published stories in several other notable publications including "The Sewanee Review" and "The New Yorker". She strengthened her place as an influential Southern writer when she published her first book of short stories, "A Curtain of Green". Her new-found success won her a seat on the staff of "The New York Times Book Review", as well as a Guggenheim Fellowship which enabled her to travel to France, England, Ireland, and Germany. While abroad, she spent some time as a resident lecturer at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, becoming the first woman to be permitted into the hall of Peterhouse College. In 1960, she returned home to Jackson to care for her elderly mother and two brothers.


title: Eudora Welty

text: After Medgar Evers, field secretary of the NAACP in Mississippi, was assassinated, she published a story in "The New Yorker", "Where Is the Voice Coming From?". She wrote it in the first person as the assassin.


title: Eudora Welty

text: In 1971, she published a collection of her photographs depicting the Great Depression, titled "One Time, One Place". Two years later, she received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel "The Optimist's Daughter". She lectured at Harvard University, and eventually adapted her talks as a three-part memoir titled "One Writer's Beginnings". She continued to live in her family house in Jackson until her death from natural causes on July 23, 2001. She is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Jackson. Her headstone has a quote from "The Optimist's Daughter": "For her life, any life, she had to believe, was nothing but the continuity of its love."


title: Eudora Welty

text: Throughout the 1970s, Welty carried on a lengthy correspondence with novelist Ross Macdonald, creator of the Lew Archer series of detective novels.


title: Eudora Welty

text: While Welty worked as a publicity agent for the Works Progress Administration, she took photographs of people from all economic and social classes in her spare time. From the early 1930s, her photographs show Mississippi's rural poor and the effects of the Great Depression. Collections of her photographs were published as "One Time, One Place" (1971) and "Photographs" (1989). Her photography was the basis for several of her short stories, including "Why I Live at the P.O.", which was inspired by a woman she photographed ironing in the back of a small post office. Although focused on her writing, Welty continued to take photographs until the 1950s.


title: Eudora Welty

text: Welty's first short story, "Death of a Traveling Salesman", was published in 1936. Her work attracted the attention of author Katherine Anne Porter, who became a mentor to her and wrote the foreword to Welty's first collection of short stories, "A Curtain of Green", in 1941. The book established Welty as one of American literature's leading lights, and featured the stories "Why I Live at the P.O.", "Petrified Man", and the frequently anthologized "A Worn Path". Excited by the printing of Welty's works in publications such as "The Atlantic Monthly", the Junior League of Jackson, of which Welty was a member, requested permission from the publishers to reprint some of her works. She eventually published over forty short stories, five novels, three works of non-fiction, and one children's book.


title: Eudora Welty

text: The short story "Why I Live at the P.O." was published in 1941, with two others, by "The Atlantic Monthly". It was republished later that year in Welty's first collection of short stories, "A Curtain of Green". The story is about Sister and how she becomes estranged from her family and ends up living at the post office where she works. Seen by critics as quality Southern literature, the story comically captures family relationships. Like most of her short stories, Welty masterfully captures Southern idiom and places importance on location and customs. "A Worn Path" was also published in "The Atlantic Monthly" and "A Curtain of Green". It is seen as one of Welty's finest short stories, winning the second-place O. Henry Award in 1941.


title: Eudora Welty

text: Welty's debut novel, "The Robber Bridegroom" (1942), deviated from her previous psychologically inclined works, presenting static, fairy-tale characters. Some critics suggest that she worried about "encroaching on the turf of the male literary giant to the north of her in Oxford, Mississippi—William Faulkner", and therefore wrote in a fairy-tale style instead of a historical one. Most critics and readers saw it as a modern Southern fairy-tale and noted that it employs themes and characters reminiscent of the Grimm Brothers' works.


title: Eudora Welty

text: Immediately after the murder of Medgar Evers in 1963, Welty wrote "Where Is the Voice Coming From?". As she later said, she wondered: "Whoever the murderer is, I know him: not his identity, but his coming about, in this time and place. That is, I ought to have learned by now, from here, what such a man, intent on such a deed, had going on in his mind. I wrote his story—my fiction—in the first person: about that character's point of view". Welty's story was published in "The New Yorker" soon after Byron De La Beckwith's arrest.


title: Eudora Welty

text: Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, "The Optimist's Daughter" (1972) is believed by some to be Welty's best novel. It was written at a much later date than the bulk of her work. As poet Howard Moss wrote in "The New York Times", the book is "a miracle of compression, the kind of book, small in scope but profound in its implications, that rewards a lifetime of work". The plot focuses on family struggles when the daughter and the second wife of a judge confront each other in the limited confines of a hospital room while the judge undergoes eye surgery.


title: Eudora Welty

text: Welty gave a series of addresses at Harvard University, revised and published as "One Writer's Beginnings" (Harvard, 1983). It was the first book published by Harvard University Press to be a " New York Times" Best Seller (at least 32 weeks on the list), and runner-up for the 1984 National Book Award for Nonfiction.


title: Eudora Welty

text: In 1992, she was awarded the Rea Award for the Short Story for her lifetime contributions to the American short story. Welty was a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers, founded in 1987. She also taught creative writing at colleges and in workshops. She lived near Jackson's Belhaven College and was a common sight among the people of her home town.


title: Eudora Welty

text: Welty personally influenced several young Mississippi writers in their careers including Richard Ford, Ellen Gilchrist, and Elizabeth Spencer. She was a Charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers.


title: Eudora Welty

text: Welty was a prolific writer who created stories in multiple genres. Throughout her writing are the recurring themes of the paradox of human relationships, the importance of place (a recurring theme in most Southern writing), and the importance of mythological influences that help shape the theme.


title: Eudora Welty

text: Welty said that her interest in the relationships between individuals and their communities stemmed from her natural abilities as an observer. Perhaps the best examples can be found within the short stories in "A Curtain of Green". "Why I Live at the P.O." comically illustrates the conflict between Sister and her immediate community, her family. This particular story uses lack of proper communication to highlight the underlying theme of the paradox of human connection. Another example is Miss Eckhart of "The Golden Apples", who is considered an outsider in her town. Welty shows that this piano teacher's independent lifestyle allows her to follow her passions, but also highlights Miss Eckhart's longing to start a family and to be seen by the community as someone who belongs in Morgana. Her stories are often characterized by the struggle to retain identity while keeping community relationships.


title: Eudora Welty

text: Place is vitally important to Welty. She believed that place is what makes fiction seem real, because with place come customs, feelings, and associations. Place answers the questions, "What happened? Who's here? Who's coming?" Place is a prompt to memory; thus the human mind is what makes place significant. This is the job of the storyteller. “A Worn Path” is one short story that proves how place shapes how a story is perceived. Within the tale, the main character, Phoenix, must fight to overcome the barriers within the vividly described Southern landscape as she makes her trek to the nearest town. "The Wide Net" is another of Welty's short stories that uses place to define mood and plot. The river in the story is viewed differently by each character. Some see it as a food source, others see it as deadly, and some see it as a sign that "the outside world is full of endurance".


title: Eudora Welty

text: Welty is noted for using mythology to connect her specific characters and locations to universal truths and themes. Examples can be found within the short story "A Worn Path", the novel "Delta Wedding", and the collection of short stories "The Golden Apples". In "A Worn Path", the character Phoenix has much in common with the mythical bird. Phoenixes are said to be red and gold and are known for their endurance and dignity. Phoenix, the old Black woman, is described as being clad in a red handkerchief with undertones of gold and is noble and enduring in her difficult quest for the medicine to save her grandson. In "Death of a Traveling Salesman", the husband is given characteristics common to Prometheus. He comes home after bringing fire to his boss and is full of male libido and physical strength. Welty also refers to the figure of Medusa, who in "Petrified Man" and other stories is used to represent powerful or vulgar women.


title: Eudora Welty

text: Locations can also allude to mythology, as Welty proves in her novel "Delta Wedding". As Professor Veronica Makowsky from the University of Connecticut writes, the setting of the Mississippi Delta has "suggestions of the goddess of love, Aphrodite or Venus-shells like that upon which Venus rose from the sea and female genitalia, as in the mound of Venus and Delta of Venus". The title "The Golden Apples" refers to the difference between people who seek silver apples and those who seek golden apples. It is drawn from W. B. Yeats' poem "The Song of Wandering Aengus", which ends ""The silver apples of the moon, The golden apples of the sun"". It also refers to myths of a golden apple being awarded after a contest. Welty used the symbol to illuminate the two types of attitudes her characters could take about life.


title: Jorge Chávez International Airport

text: Jorge Chávez International Airport (Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chávez) is Peru's main international and domestic airport. It is located in Callao, northwest from Lima Center, the nation's capital city and from the district of Miraflores. During 2017, the airport served 22,025,704 passengers. Historically, the airport was the hub for Compañía de Aviación Faucett and Aeroperú. Now it serves as a hub for many aviation companies. The airport was named after Peruvian aviator Jorge Chávez (1887–1910).


title: Jorge Chávez International Airport

text: Lima's first airport was the Limatambo Airport in San Isidro. It ceased operations in 1960 due to a lack of space and capacity, and was replaced by the Lima-Callao International Airport. In June 1965, the Lima-Callao airport was renamed the "Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chávez" after the famous Peruvian aviator, Jorge Chávez Dartnell. In December 1965, the terminal building was officially opened.


title: Jorge Chávez International Airport

text: When it was in operation, Compañía de Aviación Faucett had its corporate headquarters on the airport grounds.


title: Jorge Chávez International Airport

text: In 2001, in order to improve and expand its infrastructure, the government of Peru placed the airport under the management of Lima Airport Partners (LAP). LAP is now composed of Fraport and International Finance Corporation. The air traffic control is managed by the Peruvian Corporation of Airports and Commercial Aviation (CORPAC). The Peruvian government engaged Jaime Malagón, Jerome Jakubik, Paul Slocomb, and Víctor M. Marroquín of Baker and McKenzie international law firm, to oversee the changes.


title: Jorge Chávez International Airport

text: In February 2005, the first phase of a new renovation and expansion project was completed. This included the Peru Plaza Shopping Center and a new concourse. In June 2007, a four-star hotel, Ramada Costa del Sol, opened at the airport.


title: Jorge Chávez International Airport

text: In January 2009, the second phase of the terminal expansion was commenced. The terminal has 28 gates, 19 with boarding bridges. In August 2009, the LAP announced that in 2010, the airport would have a new Instrument Landing System (ILS CAT III) to help with fog landings. Arquitectonica, a Miami-based architectural office, and Lima Airport Partners planned a second terminal and expansion of the main terminal.


title: Jorge Chávez International Airport

text: On October 24, 2018, the Peruvian state delivered all the land for the expansion and modernization of the Jorge Chavez airport to the airport operator "Lima Airport Partners".


title: Jorge Chávez International Airport

text: The estimated investment of US$1,200 million includes the construction of a new runway, a control tower and a passenger terminal in addition to the existing one. On the other hand, the state will build a new bridge and highway on the current Santa Rosa Avenue that will connect directly with the "Costa Verde" highway, benefiting a lot of tourists and entrepreneurs who are only going to visit Miraflores and the south. Works will be completed in 4 years, by the beginning of the year 2023, and will allow the transit of 40 million passengers per year by 2030.


title: Jorge Chávez International Airport

text: Transportation between the airport and the city is provided by taxis, tour buses and vans. Airport Express Lima is the official bus of Jorge Chávez Airport. Line 2 and Line 4 of the Lima Metro are currently under construction. Some companies of taxis and buses offer services to visit the city, some of them transit through the avenues: Faucett, Linea Amarilla, Tomás Valle, De La Marina, Colonial and Costa Verde. Some go north, east, to the historic center and the Financial Center; and others towards Miraflores and the south area like Pachacamac and Surco.


title: Jorge Chávez International Airport

text: The airport hosts the Wyndham Costa del Sol hotel which is located adjacent to the control tower and the arrivals exit. The hotel is built with noise canceling panels. The Peru Plaza Shopping Center is located near the passenger terminal in the Grand Concourse area. The food court is located near the entrance of the passenger terminal on the second floor and is always open. There is an ice cream vendor selling some special Peruvian flavours such as Chirimoya and Lucuma.


title: Jorge Chávez International Airport

text: The airport has numerous premium lounges in the departures terminal, such as VIP Peru. For passengers in first class, there is an exclusive salon near the gates, the VIP Club.


title: Alanis Morissette discography

text: The discography of Alanis Morissette, a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, comprises ten studio albums, three live albums, six compilation albums, two extended plays, 43 singles, twelve promotional singles, six video albums, and 33 music videos. She has sold more than 75 million albums worldwide.


title: Alanis Morissette discography

text: With the stage name of "Alanis", she signed a record deal with the Canadian division of MCA Records for two dance-pop albums. The label released her self-titled album (1991), which was certified platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association and earned her a Juno Award, and "Now Is the Time" (1992), which was less successful. These albums, released only in Canada, are often not mentioned in the media, which tend to consider "Jagged Little Pill" (1995), released on Maverick Records, as her debut album. "Jagged" remains one of the most successful albums in music history, holding the record as the best-selling debut album worldwide, the second best-selling album by a female artist (behind Shania Twain's "Come On Over") and having sold more than 33 million copies worldwide. Such hits as "You Oughta Know", "Hand in My Pocket", "Ironic", and "Head over Feet" helped Morissette become the first Canadian woman to top the "Billboard" 200. "Jagged" stayed there for 12 weeks and remained in the Top 10 for a year and a half (72 weeks). Between 1996 and 1997 Morissette won four Grammy Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, and seven Juno Awards. In addition, "Jagged Little Pill, Live" earned her another Grammy Award in 1998.


title: Alanis Morissette discography

text: Morissette contributed to the "" soundtrack, writing and performing "Uninvited". The song was the winner in two categories at the 41st Grammy Awards. Her second album, "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie", was released in 1998 and debuted at number one in the "Billboard" 200, becoming Morissette's second consecutive number-one album and, at the time, the fastest-selling album by a female in the United States. "Supposed" produced four singles: "Thank U", "Joining You", "Unsent" and "So Pure". Morissette herself directed all music videos from the album, except for the controversial "Thank U". Shortly afterwards, "MTV Unplugged" (sometimes titled "Alanis Unplugged") was released in 1999.


title: Alanis Morissette discography

text: "Under Rug Swept" (2002), her following release, debuted at number one in 12 countries, including the United States (where it was her third consecutive number-one album), and produced the hit single "Hands Clean". The album helped Morissette get the Jack Richardson Producer of the Year Award. Having many leftovers from the "Under Rug Swept" recording session, Morissette released "Feast on Scraps", a CD/DVD package, the same year. "So-Called Chaos" (2004) debuted at number five on "Billboard" 200 and was less successful. In 2005, Morissette released "The Collection", her first and so far the only greatest hits compilation, and "Jagged Little Pill Acoustic", which marked a 10-year anniversary of the original album. Her seventh studio set, "Flavors of Entanglement", was released in 2008 and became her last album on Maverick Records. Morissette's next studio album, "Havoc and Bright Lights", was released on August 28, 2012 through Collective Sounds. The album spawned three singles: "Guardian", "Lens", and "Receive".


title: Alanis Morissette discography

text: Morissette released her ninth studio album, "Such Pretty Forks in the Road", on July 31, 2020. The album's lead single, "Reasons I Drink", was released on December 2, 2019.


title: Alanis Morissette discography

text: On June 17th, 2022, Alanis Morissette released her debut meditation album, "The Storm Before the Calm". The album was released in a partnership with the Calm app.


title: Provinces of France

text: The Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until the National Constituent Assembly adopted a more uniform division into departments ("départements") and districts in late 1789. The provinces continued to exist administratively until 21 September 1791.


title: Provinces of France

text: The provinces of France were roughly equivalent to the historic counties of England. They came into their final form over the course of many hundreds of years, as many dozens of semi-independent fiefs and former independent countries came to be incorporated into the French royal domain. Because of the manner in which the provinces evolved, each had its own sets of feudal traditions, laws, taxation systems and courts; the system represented an impediment to effective administration of the entire country from Paris. During the early years of the French Revolution, in an attempt to centralise the administration of the whole country and to remove the influence of the French nobility over the country, the entirety of the province system was abolished and replaced by the system of departments in use today.


title: Provinces of France

text: In some cases, several modern regions or departments share names with the historic provinces; their borders may cover roughly the same territory.


title: Provinces of France

text: The list below shows the major provinces of France at the time of their dissolution during the French Revolution. Capital cities are shown in parentheses. Bold indicates a city that was also the seat of a judicial and quasi-legislative body called either a "parlement" (not to be confused with a parliament) or a "conseil souverain" (sovereign council). In some cases, this body met in a different city from the capital.


title: Provinces of France

text: Areas that were not part of the Kingdom of France, though they are currently parts of Metropolitan France:


title: Astrocyte

text: Astrocytes (from Ancient Greek , , "star" + , , "cavity", "cell"), also known collectively as astroglia, are characteristic star-shaped glial cells in the brain and spinal cord. They perform many functions, including biochemical control of endothelial cells that form the blood–brain barrier, provision of nutrients to the nervous tissue, maintenance of extracellular ion balance, regulation of cerebral blood flow, and a role in the repair and scarring process of the brain and spinal cord following infection and traumatic injuries. The proportion of astrocytes in the brain is not well defined; depending on the counting technique used, studies have found that the astrocyte proportion varies by region and ranges from 20% to 40% of all glia. Another study reports that astrocytes are the most numerous cell type in the brain. Astrocytes are the major source of cholesterol in the central nervous system. Apolipoprotein E transports cholesterol from astrocytes to neurons and other glial cells, regulating cell signaling in the brain. Astrocytes in humans are more than twenty times larger than in rodent brains, and make contact with more than ten times the number of synapses.


title: Astrocyte

text: Research since the mid-1990s has shown that astrocytes propagate intercellular Ca waves over long distances in response to stimulation, and, similar to neurons, release transmitters (called gliotransmitters) in a Ca-dependent manner. Data suggest that astrocytes also signal to neurons through Ca-dependent release of glutamate. Such discoveries have made astrocytes an important area of research within the field of neuroscience.


title: Astrocyte

text: Astrocytes are a sub-type of glial cells in the central nervous system. They are also known as "astrocytic glial cells." Star-shaped, their many processes envelop synapses made by neurons. In humans, a single astrocyte cell can interact with up to 2 million synapses at a time. Astrocytes are classically identified using histological analysis; many of these cells express the intermediate filament glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Several forms of astrocytes exist in the central nervous system including "fibrous" (in white matter), "protoplasmic" (in grey matter), and "radial". The fibrous glia are usually located within white matter, have relatively few organelles, and exhibit long unbranched cellular processes. This type often has astrocytic endfoot processes that physically connect the cells to the outside of capillary walls when they are in proximity to them. The protoplasmic glia are the most prevalent and are found in grey matter tissue, possess a larger quantity of organelles, and exhibit short and highly branched tertiary processes. The radial glial cells are disposed in planes perpendicular to the axes of ventricles. One of their processes abuts the pia mater, while the other is deeply buried in gray matter. Radial glia are mostly present during development, playing a role in neuron migration. Müller cells of the retina and Bergmann glia cells of the cerebellar cortex represent an exception, being present still during adulthood. When in proximity to the pia mater, all three forms of astrocytes send out processes to form the pia-glial membrane.


title: Astrocyte

text: Astrocytes are macroglial cells in the central nervous system. Astrocytes are derived from heterogeneous populations of progenitor cells in the neuroepithelium of the developing central nervous system. There is remarkable similarity between the well known genetic mechanisms that specify the lineage of diverse neuron subtypes and that of macroglial cells. Just as with neuronal cell specification, canonical signaling factors like sonic hedgehog (SHH), fibroblast growth factor (FGFs), WNTs and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), provide positional information to developing macroglial cells through morphogen gradients along the dorsal–ventral, anterior–posterior and medial–lateral axes. The resultant patterning along the neuraxis leads to segmentation of the neuroepithelium into progenitor domains (p0, p1 p2, p3 and pMN) for distinct neuron types in the developing spinal cord. On the basis of several studies it is now believed that this model also applies to macroglial cell specification. Studies carried out by Hochstim and colleagues have demonstrated that three distinct populations of astrocytes arise from the p1, p2 and p3 domains. These subtypes of astrocytes can be identified on the basis of their expression of different transcription factors (PAX6, NKX6.1) and cell surface markers (reelin and SLIT1). The three populations of astrocyte subtypes which have been identified are 1) dorsally located VA1 astrocytes, derived from p1 domain, express PAX6 and reelin 2) ventrally located VA3 astrocytes, derived from p3, express NKX6.1 and SLIT1 and 3) and intermediate white-matter located VA2 astrocyte, derived from the p2 domain, which express PAX6, NKX6.1, reelin and SLIT1. After astrocyte specification has occurred in the developing CNS, it is believed that astrocyte precursors migrate to their final positions within the nervous system before the process of terminal differentiation occurs.


title: Astrocyte

text: Astrocytes help form the physical structure of the brain, and are thought to play a number of active roles, including the secretion or absorption of neural transmitters and maintenance of the blood–brain barrier. The concept of a tripartite synapse has been proposed, referring to the tight relationship occurring at synapses among a presynaptic element, a postsynaptic element and a glial element.


title: Astrocyte

text: Astrocytes are linked by gap junctions, creating an electrically coupled (functional) syncytium. Because of this ability of astrocytes to communicate with their neighbors, changes in the activity of one astrocyte can have repercussions on the activities of others that are quite distant from the original astrocyte.


title: Astrocyte

text: An influx of Ca ions into astrocytes is the essential change that ultimately generates calcium waves. Because this influx is directly caused by an increase in blood flow to the brain, calcium waves are said to be a kind of hemodynamic response function. An increase in intracellular calcium concentration can propagate outwards through this functional syncytium. Mechanisms of calcium wave propagation include diffusion of calcium ions and IP3 through gap junctions and extracellular ATP signalling. Calcium elevations are the primary known axis of activation in astrocytes, and are necessary and sufficient for some types of astrocytic glutamate release. Given the importance of calcium signaling in astrocytes, tight regulatory mechanisms for the progression of the spatio-temporal calcium signaling have been developed. Via mathematical analysis it has been shown that localized inflow of Ca ions yields a localized raise in the cytosolic concentration of Ca ions. Moreover, cytosolic Ca accumulation is independent of every intracellular calcium flux and depends on the Ca exchange across the


title: Astrocyte

text: membrane, cytosolic calcium diffusion, geometry of the cell, extracellular calcium perturbation, and initial concentrations.


title: Astrocyte

text: Within the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, activated astrocytes have the ability to respond to almost all neurotransmitters and, upon activation, release a multitude of neuroactive molecules such as glutamate, ATP, nitric oxide (NO), and prostaglandins (PG), which in turn influences neuronal excitability. The close association between astrocytes and presynaptic and postsynaptic terminals as well as their ability to integrate synaptic activity and release neuromodulators has been termed the tripartite synapse. Synaptic modulation by astrocytes takes place because of this three-part association.


title: Astrocyte

text: Astrocytomas are primary intracranial tumors that develop from astrocytes. It is also possible that glial progenitors or neural stem cells can give rise to astrocytomas. These tumors may occur in many parts of the brain and/or spinal cord. Astrocytomas are divided into two categories: low grade (I and II) and high grade (III and IV). Low grade tumors are more common in children, and high grade tumors are more common in adults. Malignant astrocytomas are more prevalent among men, contributing to worse survival.


title: Astrocyte

text: Pilocytic astrocytomas are grade I tumors. They are considered benign and slow growing tumors. Pilocytic astrocytomas frequently have cystic portions filled with fluid and a nodule, which is the solid portion. Most are located in the cerebellum. Therefore, most symptoms are related to balance or coordination difficulties. They also occur more frequently in children and teens.


title: Astrocyte

text: Fibrillary astrocytomas are grade II tumors. They grow relatively slowly so are usually considered benign, but they infiltrate the surrounding healthy tissue and can become malignant. Fibrillary astrocytomas commonly occur in younger people, who often present with seizures.


title: Astrocyte

text: Anaplastic astrocytomas are grade III malignant tumors. They grow more rapidly than lower grade tumors. Anaplastic astrocytomas recur more frequently than lower grade tumors because their tendency to spread into surrounding tissue makes them difficult to completely remove surgically.


title: Astrocyte

text: Glioblastoma multiforme is a grade IV cancer that may originate from astrocytes or an existing astrocytoma. Approximately 50% of all brain tumors are glioblastomas. Glioblastomas can contain multiple glial cell types, including astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Glioblastomas are generally considered to be the most invasive type of glial tumor, as they grow rapidly and spread to nearby tissue. Treatment may be complicated, because one tumor cell type may die off in response to a particular treatment while the other cell types may continue to multiply.


title: Astrocyte

text: Astrocytes have emerged as important participants in various neurodevelopmental disorders. This view states that astrocyte dysfunction may result in improper neural circuitry, which underlies certain psychiatric disorders such as autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia.


title: Astrocyte

text: Under normal conditions, pain conduction begins with some noxious signal followed by an action potential carried by nociceptive (pain sensing) afferent neurons, which elicit excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSP) in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. That message is then relayed to the cerebral cortex, where we translate those EPSPs into "pain." Since the discovery of astrocyte-neuron signaling, our understanding of the conduction of pain has been dramatically complicated. Pain processing is no longer seen as a repetitive relay of signals from body to brain, but as a complex system that can be up- and down-regulated by a number of different factors. One factor at the forefront of recent research is in the pain-potentiating synapse located in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord and the role of astrocytes in encapsulating these synapses. Garrison and co-workers were the first to suggest association when they found a correlation between astrocyte hypertrophy in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord and hypersensitivity to pain after peripheral nerve injury, typically considered an indicator of glial activation after injury. Astrocytes detect neuronal activity and can release chemical transmitters, which in turn control synaptic activity. In the past, hyperalgesia was thought to be modulated by the release of substance P and excitatory amino acids (EAA), such as glutamate, from the presynaptic afferent nerve terminals in the spinal cord dorsal horn. Subsequent activation of AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid), NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) and kainate subtypes of ionotropic glutamate receptors follows. It is the activation of these receptors that potentiates the pain signal up the spinal cord. This idea, although true, is an oversimplification of pain transduction. A litany of other neurotransmitter and neuromodulators, such as calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), adenosine triphosphate (ATP), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), somatostatin, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), galanin, and vasopressin are all synthesized and released in response to noxious stimuli. In addition to each of these regulatory factors, several other interactions between pain-transmitting neurons and other neurons in the dorsal horn have added impact on pain pathways.


title: Astrocyte

text: After persistent peripheral tissue damage there is a release of several factors from the injured tissue as well as in the spinal dorsal horn. These factors increase the responsiveness of the dorsal horn pain-projection neurons to ensuing stimuli, termed "spinal sensitization," thus amplifying the pain impulse to the brain. Release of glutamate, substance P, and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) mediates NMDAR activation (originally silent because it is plugged by Mg2+), thus aiding in depolarization of the postsynaptic pain-transmitting neurons (PTN). In addition, activation of IP3 signaling and MAPKs (mitogen-activated protein kinases) such as ERK and JNK, bring about an increase in the synthesis of inflammatory factors that alter glutamate transporter function. ERK also further activates AMPARs and NMDARs in neurons. Nociception is further sensitized by the association of ATP and substance P with their respective receptors (PX) and neurokinin 1 receptor (NK1R), as well as activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors and release of BDNF. Persistent presence of glutamate in the synapse eventually results in dysregulation of GLT1 and GLAST, crucial transporters of glutamate into astrocytes. Ongoing excitation can also induce ERK and JNK activation, resulting in release of several inflammatory factors.


title: Astrocyte

text: As noxious pain is sustained, spinal sensitization creates transcriptional changes in the neurons of the dorsal horn that lead to altered function for extended periods. Mobilization of Ca from internal stores results from persistent synaptic activity and leads to the release of glutamate, ATP, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin 1β (IL-1β), IL-6, nitric oxide (NO), and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Activated astrocytes are also a source of matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2), which induces pro-IL-1β cleavage and sustains astrocyte activation. In this chronic signaling pathway, p38 is activated as a result of IL-1β signaling, and there is a presence of chemokines that trigger their receptors to become active. In response to nerve damage, heat shock proteins (HSP) are released and can bind to their respective TLRs, leading to further activation.


title: Astrocyte

text: Other clinically significant pathologies involving astrocytes include astrogliosis and astrocytopathy. Examples of these include multiple sclerosis, anti-AQP4+ neuromyelitis optica, Rasmussen's encephalitis, Alexander disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Studies have shown that astrocytes may be implied in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, Stuttering and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and in acute brain injuries, such as intracerebral hemorrhage and traumatic brain injury.


title: Astrocyte

text: A type of astrocyte with an aging-related pathology has been described over the last fifty years. Astrocytes of this subtype possess prominent cytoplasmic granules that are intensely stained by Gomori's chrome alum hematoxylin stain, and hence are termed Gomori-positive (GP) astrocytes. They can be found throughout the brain, but are by far the most abundant in the olfactory bulbs, medial habenula, dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus, and in the dorsal medulla, just beneath the area postrema.


title: Astrocyte

text: Gomori-positive cytoplasmic granules are derived from damaged mitochondria engulfed within lysosomes. Cytoplasmic granules contain undigested remnants of mitochondrial structures. These contents include heme-linked copper and iron atoms remaining from mitochondrial enzymes. These chemical substances account for the pseudoperoxidase activity of Gomori-positive granules that can utilized to stain for these granules. Oxidative stress is believed to be cause of damage to these astrocytes. However, the exact nature of this stress is uncertain.


title: Astrocyte

text: Brain regions enriched in Gomori-positive astrocytes also contain a sub-population of specialized astrocytes that synthesize Fatty Acid Binding Protein 7 (FABP7). Indeed, astrocytes in the hypothalamus that synthesize FABP7 have also been shown to possess Gomori-positive granules. Thus, a connection between these two glial features is apparent. Recent data have shown that astrocytes, but not neurons, possess the mitochondrial enzymes needed to metabolize fatty acids, and that the resulting oxidative stress can damage mitochondria. Thus, an increased uptake and oxidation of fatty acids in glia containing FABP7 is likely to cause the oxidative stress and damage to mitochondria in these cells. Also, FABP proteins have recently been shown to interact with a protein called synuclein to cause mitochondrial damage.


title: Astrocyte

text: Astrocytes can transfer mitochondria into adjacent neurons to improve neuronal function. It is therefore plausible that the damage to astrocyte mitochondria seen in GP astrocytes could affect the activity of neurons.


title: Astrocyte

text: A number of hypothalamic functions show declines in aging that may be related to GP astrocytes. For example, GP astrocytes are in close contact with neurons that make a neurotransmitter called dopamine in both the rat and human hypothalamus. The dopamine produced by these neurons is carried to the nearby pituitary gland to inhibit the release of a hormone called prolactin from the pituitary. The activity of dopaminergic neurons declines during aging, leading to elevations in blood levels of prolactin that can provoke breast cancer. An aging-associated change in astrocyte function might contribute to this change in dopaminergic activity.


title: Astrocyte

text: FABP7+ astrocytes are in close contact with neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus that are responsive to a hormone called leptin that is produced by fat cells. Leptin-sensitive neurons regulate appetite and body weight. FABP7+ astrocytes regulate the responsiveness of these neurons to leptin. Mitochondrial damage in these astrocytes could thus alter the function of leptin-sensitive neurons and could contribute to an aging-associated dysregulation of feeding and body weight.


title: Astrocyte

text: GP astrocytes may also be involved in the hypothalamic regulation of overall glucose metabolism. Recent data show that astrocytes function as glucose sensors and exert a commanding influence upon neuronal reactivity to changes in extracellular glucose. GP astrocytes possess high-capacity GLUT2-type glucose transporter proteins and appear to modulate the neuronal responses to glucose. Hypothalamic cells monitor blood levels of glucose and exert an influence upon blood glucose levels via an altered input to autonomic circuits that innervate liver and muscle cells.


title: Astrocyte

text: The importance of astrocytes in aging-related disturbances in glucose metabolism has been recently illustrated by studies of diabetic animals. A single infusion of a protein called fibroblast growth factor-1 into the hypothalamus has been shown to permanently normalize blood glucose levels in diabetic rodents. This remarkable cure of diabetes mellitus is mediated by astrocytes. The most prominent genes activated by FGF-1 treatment include the genes responsible for the synthesis of FABP6 and FABP7 by astrocytes. These data confirm the importance of FABP7+ astrocytes for the control of blood glucose. Dysfunction of FABP7+/Gomori-positive astrocytes may contribute to the aging-related development of diabetes mellitus.


title: Astrocyte

text: GP astrocytes are also present in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus in both rodent and human brains. The hippocampus undergoes severe degenerative changes during aging in Alzheimer's disease. The reasons for these degenerative changes are currently being hotly debated. A recent study has shown that levels of glial proteins, and NOT neuronal proteins, are most abnormal in Alzheimer's disease. The glial protein most severely affected is FABP5. Another study showed that 100% of hippocampal astrocytes that contain FABP7 also contain FABP5. These data suggest that FABP7+/Gomori-positive astrocytes may play a role in Alzheimer's disease. An altered glial function in this region could compromise the function of dentate gyrus neurons and also the function of axons that terminate in the dentate gyrus. Many such axons originate in the lateral entorhinal cortex, which is the first brain region to show degeneration in Alzheimer's disease. Astrocyte pathology in the hippocampus thus might make a contribution to the pathology of Alzheimer's disease.


title: Astrocyte

text: A study performed in November 2010 and published March 2011, was done by a team of scientists from the University of Rochester and University of Colorado School of Medicine. They did an experiment to attempt to repair trauma to the Central Nervous System of an adult rat by replacing the glial cells. When the glial cells were injected into the injury of the adult rat's spinal cord, astrocytes were generated by exposing human glial precursor cells to bone morphogenetic protein (bone morphogenetic protein is important because it is considered to create tissue architecture throughout the body). So, with the bone protein and human glial cells combined, they promoted significant recovery of conscious foot placement, axonal growth, and obvious increases in neuronal survival in the spinal cord laminae. On the other hand, human glial precursor cells and astrocytes generated from these cells by being in contact with ciliary neurotrophic factors, failed to promote neuronal survival and support of axonal growth at the spot of the injury.


title: Astrocyte

text: One study done in Shanghai had two types of hippocampal neuronal cultures: In one culture, the neuron was grown from a layer of astrocytes and the other culture was not in contact with any astrocytes, but they were instead fed a glial conditioned medium (GCM), which inhibits the rapid growth of cultured astrocytes in the brains of rats in most cases. In their results they were able to see that astrocytes had a direct role in Long-term potentiation with the mixed culture (which is the culture that was grown from a layer of astrocytes) but not in GCM cultures.


title: Astrocyte

text: Studies have shown that astrocytes play an important function in the regulation of neural stem cells. Research from the Schepens Eye Research Institute at Harvard shows the human brain to abound in neural stem cells, which are kept in a dormant state by chemical signals (ephrin-A2 and ephrin-A3) from the astrocytes. The astrocytes are able to activate the stem cells to transform into working neurons by dampening the release of ephrin-A2 and ephrin-A3.


title: Astrocyte

text: In a study published in a 2011 issue of "Nature Biotechnology" a group of researchers from the University of Wisconsin reports that it has been able to direct embryonic and induced human stem cells to become astrocytes.


title: Astrocyte

text: A 2012 study of the effects of marijuana on short-term memories found that THC activates CB1 receptors of astrocytes which cause receptors for AMPA to be removed from the membranes of associated neurons.


title: Philadelphia City Hall

text: Philadelphia City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of the City of Philadelphia. Built in the ornate Second Empire style, City Hall houses the chambers of the Philadelphia City Council and the offices of the Mayor of Philadelphia. It is also a courthouse, serving as the seat of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, and houses the Civil Trial and Orphans' Court Divisions of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County.


title: Philadelphia City Hall

text: Built of brick, white marble, and limestone, Philadelphia City Hall is the world's largest free-standing masonry building and was the world's tallest habitable building upon its completion in 1894. In 1976, it was designated a National Historic Landmark, and in 2006, was also named a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers.


title: Philadelphia City Hall

text: The building was designed by Scottish-born architect John McArthur Jr. and Thomas Ustick Walter in the Second Empire style, and was constructed from 1871 to 1901 at a cost of $24 million. City Hall's tower was completed by 1894, although the interior was not finished until 1901. Designed to be the world's tallest building, it was surpassed during construction by the Washington Monument and the Eiffel Tower. Upon completion of its tower in 1894, it became the world's tallest habitable building. It was also the first secular building to have this distinction, as all previous world's tallest buildings were religious structures, including European cathedrals and—for the previous 3,800 years—the Great Pyramid of Giza.


title: Philadelphia City Hall

text: The location chosen was one of the five center city urban park squares dedicated by William Penn, that geometrically is the center to the other four squares within Center City renamed as Penn Square. City Hall is a masonry building whose weight is borne by granite and brick walls up to thick. The principal exterior materials are limestone, granite, and marble. The original design called for virtually no sculpture. The stonemason William Struthers and sculptor Alexander Milne Calder were responsible for the more than 250 sculptures, capturing artists, educators, and engineers who embodied American ideals and contributed to this country's genius. The final construction cost was $24 million.


title: Philadelphia City Hall

text: At , including the statue of city founder William Penn atop its tower, City Hall was the tallest habitable building in the world from 1894 to 1908. It remained the tallest in Pennsylvania until it was surpassed in 1932 by the Gulf Tower in Pittsburgh; it is now the 16th tallest. It was the tallest in Philadelphia until 1986 when the construction of One Liberty Place surpassed it, ending the informal gentlemen's agreement that had limited the height of buildings in the city to no higher than the Penn statue.


title: Philadelphia City Hall

text: It was constructed over the time span from 1871 to 1901 and includes 700 rooms dedicated for uses of various governmental operations. The building structure used over 88 million bricks and thousands of tons of marble and granite. With almost 700 rooms, City Hall is the largest municipal building in the United States and one of the largest in the world. The building houses three branches of government: the city's executive branch (the Mayor's Office), its legislature (the Philadelphia City Council), and a substantial portion of the judicial activity in the city (the Civil Division and Orphan's Court of the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas for the First Judicial District are housed there, as well as chambers for some criminal judges and some judges of the Philadelphia Municipal Court).


title: Philadelphia City Hall

text: It was the tallest clock tower in the world when it was completed; it was surpassed by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower in 1912, and is currently the 5th tallest building of this type. The tower features a clock face on each side that is in diameter. The clock faces are larger in diameter than those on Big Ben which measure . City Hall's clock was designed by Warren Johnson and built in 1898. The 1937 Philadelphia Guide noted that "shortly after the clock was installed the city inaugurated a custom which still continues. Every evening at three minutes of nine the tower lights are turned off, and then turned on again on the hour. This enables those within observation distance, though unable to see the hands, to set their timepieces. There are four bronze eagles, each weighing three tons with wingspans, perched above the tower's four clocks.


title: Philadelphia City Hall

text: City Hall's observation deck is located directly below the base of the statue, about above street level. Once enclosed with chain-link fencing, the observation deck is now enclosed by glass. It is reached in a 6-person elevator whose glass panels allow visitors to see the interior of the iron superstructure that caps the tower and supports the statuary and clocks. Stairs within the tower are only used for emergency exit. The ornamentation of the tower has been simplified; the huge garlands that festooned the top panels of the tower were removed.


title: Philadelphia City Hall

text: In the 1950s, the city council investigated tearing down City Hall for a new building elsewhere. They found that the demolition would have bankrupted the city due to the building's masonry construction.


title: Philadelphia City Hall

text: Beginning in 1992, Philadelphia City Hall underwent a comprehensive exterior restoration, planned and supervised by the Historical Preservation Studio of Vitetta Architects & Engineers, headed by renowned historical preservation architect Hyman Myers. The majority of the restoration was completed by 2007, although some work has continued, including the installation of four new ornamental courtyard gates, based on an original architectural sketch, in December 2015.


title: Philadelphia City Hall

text: The building was voted #21 on the American Institute of Architects' list of Americans' 150 favorite U.S. structures in 2007.


title: Philadelphia City Hall

text: The building is topped by a bronze statue weighing of city founder William Penn, one of 250 sculptures created by Alexander Milne Calder that adorn the building inside and out. The statue was cast at the Tacony Iron Works of Northeast Philadelphia and hoisted to the top of the tower in fourteen sections in 1894. The statue is the tallest atop any building in the world. Despite its lofty perch, the city has mandated that the statue be cleaned about every ten years to remove corrosion and reduce deterioration due to weathering, with the latest cleaning done in May 2017. Penn's statue is hollow, and a narrow access tunnel through it leads to a hatch atop the hat.


title: Philadelphia City Hall

text: Calder wished the statue to face south so that its face would be lit by the sun most of the day, the better to reveal the details of his work. The statue actually faces northeast, towards Penn Treaty Park in the Fishtown section of the city, which commemorates the site where Penn signed a treaty with the local Native American tribe. Pennsbury Manor, Penn's country home in Bucks County, is also located to the northeast.


title: Philadelphia City Hall

text: By the terms of a gentlemen's agreement that forbade any structure from rising above the hat on the Penn statue, Philadelphia City Hall remained the tallest building in the city until it was surpassed by One Liberty Place in 1986. The abrogation of this agreement supposedly brought a curse onto local professional sports teams. Twice during the 1990s, the statue was partially clothed in a major league sports team's uniform when they were in contention for a championship: a Phillies cap in 1993 and a Flyers jersey in 1997—both teams lost. The supposed curse ended 22 years later when the Phillies won the 2008 World Series, a year and four months after a Penn statuette had been affixed to the final beam of the Comcast Center during its topping out ceremony in June 2007. Another Penn statuette was placed on the topmost beam of the Comcast Technology Center in November 2017, and the Eagles won the Super Bowl a few months later.


title: Philadelphia City Hall

text: City Hall is situated on land that was reserved as a public square upon the city's founding in 1682. Originally known as Centre Square—later renamed Penn Square—it was used for public gatherings until the construction of City Hall began in 1871. Centre Square was one of the five original squares of Philadelphia laid out on the city grid by William Penn. The square had been located at the geographic center of Penn's city plan, but the Act of Consolidation in 1854 created the much larger and coterminous city and county of Philadelphia. Though no longer at the exact center of the city, the square remains situated in the center of the historic area between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers; an area which is now called Center City.


title: Philadelphia City Hall

text: Penn had intended that Centre Square be the central focus point where the major public buildings would be located, including those for government, religion, and education, as well as the central marketplace. However, the Delaware riverfront would remain the de facto economic and social heart of the city for more than a century.


title: Philadelphia City Hall

text: City Hall has been a filming location for several motion pictures including "Rocky" (1976), "Blow Out" (1981), "Trading Places" (1983), "Philadelphia" (1993), "12 Monkeys" (1995), "National Treasure" (2004), "" (2009), and "Limitless" (2011).


title: Trimetazidine

text: Trimetazidine (IUPAC: 1-(2,3,4-trimethoxybenzyl)piperazine) is a drug for angina pectoris (chest pain associated with blood flow to the heart) sold under many brand names. Trimetazidine is described as the first cytoprotective anti-ischemic agent developed and marketed by Laboratoires Servier (France). It is an anti-ischemic (antianginal) metabolic agent of the fatty acid oxidation inhibitor class, meaning that it improves myocardial glucose utilization through inhibition of fatty acid metabolism.


title: Trimetazidine

text: Trimetazidine is usually prescribed as a long-term treatment of angina pectoris, and in some countries (including France) for tinnitus and dizziness. It is taken twice a day. In 2012, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) finished a review of benefits and risks of trimetazidine and recommended restricting use of trimetazidine-containing medicines to just as an additional treatment of angina pectoris in cases of inadequate control by or intolerance to first-line antianginal therapies.


title: Trimetazidine

text: Controlled studies in angina patients have shown that trimetazidine increases coronary flow reserve, thereby delaying the onset of ischemia associated with exercise, limits rapid swings in blood pressure without any significant variations in heart rate, significantly decreases the frequency of angina attacks, and leads to a significant decrease in the use of nitrates.


title: Trimetazidine

text: However, there was a 2020 placebo-controlled, randomized trial assessed trimetazidine in over 6000 patients who had recently had a coronary intervention or heart surgery. Trimetazidine was administered along with typical anti-anginal therapy versus typical anti-anginal therapy alone and no significant difference between the two groups with respect to cardiac death, hospital admission for a cardiac event, recurrence or persistence of angina, or the need for repeat coronary angiography was found. This study therefore calls into question the clinical utility of trimetazidine in the treatment of angina.


title: Trimetazidine

text: It improves left ventricular function in diabetic patients with coronary heart disease. Recently, it has been shown to be effective in patients with heart failure of different etiologies.


title: Trimetazidine

text: Although trimetazidine was already developed for medical use in the 1970s, it only became listed in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited substances list under the category of "hormone and metabolic modulators" beginning in 2014, and its use is prohibited at all times "in- and out-of-competition."


title: Trimetazidine

text: In 2014, Chinese Olympic champion swimmer Sun Yang tested positive for trimetazidine, which had been newly banned four months earlier and classified as a prohibited stimulant by WADA; Sun Yang and his doctor were not made aware of the changes to the use of the drug of which he was prescribed, and was consequently banned by the Chinese Swimming Association for three months.


title: Trimetazidine

text: In January 2015, WADA reclassified and downgraded trimetazidine from a "stimulant" to a "modulator of cardiac metabolism."


title: Trimetazidine

text: In 2018, U.S. swimmer Madisyn Cox was banned from competition for six months after a urine sample tested positive for trimetazidine. FINA initially reduced her suspension from four years to two years because of Cox's testimony that she did not knowingly ingest the drug. Upon analysis of both opened and sealed bottles of Cooper Complete Elite Athletic multivitamins, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) determined that the multivitamins were the source, and reduced Cox's suspension to six months. The suspension expired on September 3, 2018.


title: Trimetazidine

text: In February 2022, the medal ceremony for the figure skating team event at the 2022 Olympics originally scheduled for Tuesday, 8 February, was delayed over what International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesperson Mark Adams described as a situation that required "legal consultation" with the International Skating Union (ISU). Several media outlets reported on Wednesday that the issue was over a December 2021 test for trimetazidine by the Russian Olympic Committee's Kamila Valieva, whose result was released on February 11. The results are pending investigation. Valieva was cleared by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) on February 9, a day after positive results of a test held in December 2021 were released. The IOC, WADA, and ISU are appealing RUSADA's decision. On February 14, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Valieva would be allowed to compete in the women's single event, deciding that preventing her from competing "would cause her irreparable harm in the circumstances", though her gold medal in the team event was still under consideration. The favorable decision from the court was made in part due to her age, as minor athletes are subject to different rules than adult athletes.


title: Trimetazidine

text: The IOC announced that the medal ceremony would not take place until the investigation is over and there is a concrete decision whether to strip Russia of their medals.


title: Trimetazidine

text: "Popular Science" published an overview of scientific research about the potential for the use of trimetazidine as a performance enhancing drug for athletes. The author of the article concluded in its headline that "there's no hard proof that it would improve a figure skater's performance". Scott Powers, a physiologist at the University of Florida who studies the effects of exercise on the heart explained how trimetazidine was included in WADA list. "I've been involved in roundtables with the International Olympic Committee, and I think their policy is: When in doubt, ban the drug," says Scott Powers. "I guess they're just trying to err on the possibility that this drug may be an ergogenic aid." Doping expert Klaas Faber referred to "grossly inconsistent anti-doping rules" in Sun Yang's case. Faber has pointed out for years the necessity to establish thresholds for trimetazidine detected so as to avoid any inadvertent positive doping cases. Faber has detailed some of these observations published in the journal "Science & Justice".


title: Trimetazidine

text: On the efficacy of the drug on figure skating and Valieva in particular, heart expert Benjamin J. Levine, a professor of exercise science at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, said "The chance that trimetazidine would improve her performance, in my opinion, is zero. The heart has plenty of blood. And the heart is so good at using different fuels."


title: Trimetazidine

text: Aaron Baggish, director of the Cardiovascular Performance Program at Massachusetts General Hospital said "In theory, trimetazidine could aid endurance athletes who have to generate high cardiac output, such as cyclists, rowers and long-distance runners, but would be unlikely to have a direct impact on a figure skater's performance, where there is less demand on the heart."


title: Trimetazidine

text: Besides "trimetazidine", the young figure skater was also admitted taking hypoxen and L-carnitine supplements in her forms, both of which are not banned substances, nevertheless, the combination of these two substances with "trimetazidine" raised concerns over a potential deliberate attempt to enhance performance. Some experts believe that the combination of the three substances can reduce fatigue and increased endurance during intense exercises.


title: Trimetazidine

text: Lawrence Cherono, winner of several major marathons, tested positive for trimetazidine and was suspended just one day before slated to run the marathon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships.


title: Trimetazidine

text: Information is scarce about trimetazidine's effect on mortality, cardiovascular events, or quality of life. Long-term, randomized, controlled trials comparing trimetazidine against standard antianginal agents, using clinically important outcomes would be justifiable. Recently, an international multicentre retrospective cohort study has indeed shown that in patients with heart failure of different etiologies, the addition of trimetazidine on conventional optimal therapy can improve mortality and morbidity.


title: Trimetazidine

text: The EMA recommends that doctors should no longer prescribe trimetazidine for the treatment of patients with tinnitus, vertigo, or disturbances in vision. The recent EMA evaluation also revealed rare cases (3.6/1 000 000 patient years) of parkinsonian (or extrapyramidal) symptoms (such as tremor, rigidity, akinesia, hypertonia), gait instability, restless leg syndrome, and other related movement disorders; most patients recovered within 4 months after treatment discontinuation, so doctors are advised not to prescribe the medicine either to patients with Parkinson disease, parkinsonian symptoms, tremors, restless leg syndrome, or other related movement disorders, or to patients with severe renal impairment.


title: Trimetazidine

text: Trimetazidine inhibits beta-oxidation of fatty acids by blocking long-chain 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase, which enhances glucose oxidation. In an ischaemic cell, energy obtained during glucose oxidation requires less oxygen consumption than in the beta-oxidation process. Potentiation of glucose oxidation optimizes cellular energy processes, thereby maintaining proper energy metabolism during ischaemia. By preserving energy metabolism in cells exposed to hypoxia or ischaemia, trimetazidine prevents a decrease in intracellular ATP levels, thereby ensuring the proper functioning of ionic pumps and transmembrane sodium-potassium flow whilst maintaining cellular homeostasis.


title: Gibson SG

text: The Gibson SG is a solid-body electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1961 as the Gibson Les Paul SG. It remains in production today in many variations of the initial design. The SG (where "SG" refers to Solid-Body Guitar) Standard is Gibson's best-selling model of all time.


title: Gibson SG

text: In 1960, Gibson Les Paul sales were significantly lower than in previous years. The following year, the flat-topped, mahogany bodied Les Paul design was given a thinner, more contoured body with a double cutaway. Not only did this make the upper frets more accessible, it was further eased by moving the neck joint outwards by three frets. The simpler body construction significantly reduced production costs, and the new Les Paul, with its slender neck profile and small heel where it joined the body, was advertised as having the "fastest neck in the world".


title: Gibson SG

text: However, the redesign was done without knowledge of Les Paul himself. Although the new guitar was popular, he strongly disliked it. Problems with the strength of the body and neck made Paul dissatisfied with the new guitar. At the same time, Paul was going through a public divorce from wife and vocalist partner Mary Ford, and his popularity was dwindling as music tastes had changed in the early 1960s. Paul asked lifelong friend and former President of Gibson Ted McCarty to withhold his $1 royalty per guitar, and Gibson mutually agreed to end the contract.


title: Gibson SG

text: Gibson also honored Les Paul's request to remove his name from the guitar, and the new model was renamed ""SG"", which stood for "Solid Guitar". Les Paul's name was "officially" removed in 1963, but the SG continued to feature "Les Paul" nameplates and truss rod covers until the end of 1963.


title: Gibson SG

text: In the early-to-mid 1960s Gibson's parent corporation, Chicago Musical Instruments, revived the Kalamazoo brand name for a short time. Later models of the KG-1 and KG-2 featured a body style similar to the Gibson SG, effectively creating a budget-line model until the brand was dropped in the late 1960s. Gibson currently makes lower-cost, internationally sourced versions of the SG at their subsidiary Epiphone.


title: Gibson SG

text: Because of its ease of play, comfort to hold, popularity, and vintage heritage, the body style of the SG is often copied by other manufacturers, although much less frequently than the Les Paul and the Fender Stratocaster.


title: Gibson SG

text: The SG generally has a solid mahogany body, with a black pickguard. The 24.75" scale mahogany neck joins the body at the 19th or 22nd fret. Early models had a smaller neck joint with a longer tenon. This neck design provided access above the 16th fret. Epiphone-made bolt-on neck models still use a 16th fret neck joint. The SG's set neck is shallower than the Gibson Les Paul's. The SG features the traditional Gibson combination of two or three humbucker pickups or P90 pickups and a Tune-o-matic bridge assembly, wraparound bridge, or vibrato tailpiece, depending on the model.


title: Gibson SG

text: The SG Standard features pearloid trapezoid fretboard inlays, as well as fretboard binding and inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo and crown; the mid-level SG Special features pearloid dot inlays and an inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo, without a crown. The Standard has a volume and a tone control for each individual pickup, and a three-way switch that allows the player to select either the bridge pickup, the neck pickup, or both together. The SG does not include switching to coil split the humbuckers in stock form.


title: Gibson SG

text: Some models use body woods other than mahogany; examples include the swamp ash SG Special, the SG Zoot Suit, made using multiple birch wood laminate, and the SG Voodoo, the 2009 "Raw Power", and some walnut bodied 1970s models. High-end models, including the Diablo, occasionally sport decorative maple caps, carved tops, and gold hardware.


title: Gibson SG

text: variants of the SG; the SG Junior (a stripped-down version of the standard, analogous to the Les Paul Junior), the SG Special, the SG Standard, and the top-of-the-line SG Custom.


title: Gibson SG

text: As of 2010 Gibson's current core variants were the SG Standard and the SG Special. Over the years, Gibson has offered many variations of the SG, and continues to manufacture special editions, including models such as the Special and Faded Special, Supreme, Artist Signature SGs, Menace, and Gothic, as well as the premium-priced VOS reissues of the sixties SG Standard and Custom.


title: Gibson SG

text: Models produced between 1961 and early 1966 have the original small pickguard; in late 1966 the guitar was redesigned slightly, first with a longer, more robust neck joint, and then came the modern larger semi-symmetrical "batwing" pickguard. This design continued until late 1971 or early 1972, when variations of the SG were sold with a raised Les Paul style pickguard and a front-mounted control plate. The low-end SG-100 and the P-90 equipped SG-200 appeared during this time, as well as the luxurious SG Pro and SG Deluxe guitars. Vibrato (tremolo arm) tailpieces were also introduced as options.


title: Gibson SG

text: In 1972 the design went back to the original style pickguard and rear-mounted controls but with the neck then set further into the body, joining roughly at the 20th fret. By the end of the seventies, the SG models returned to the original sixties styling, and modern (1991–present) standard and special models have mostly returned to the 1967–1969 styling and construction, with a few exceptions; various reissues and other models of the SG still retain the original 1961–1967 styling.


title: Gibson SG

text: In 1979, a low-cost SG made of walnut wood was introduced called "The SG." It had a clear finish and an ebony fingerboard and was accompanied by low-cost "Les Paul" and "ES 335" type guitars. "The Paul" was also made from walnut, but "The ES" was made out of solid mahogany (rather than the semi-solid body they usually produced). All three guitars were discontinued after about a year, replaced by the "firebrand" series, again made of mahogany. Also in 1979 a limited edition model, the SG Exclusive was produced. Visually similar to the SG Standard of the time, the special features included an ebony fretboard, two Dirty Fingers humbucker pickups, and a master volume, two tone controls, and rotary coil tap that gradually eliminated one coil from each humbucker. The finish was black with cream color plastics and the truss rod cover read "Exclusive".


title: Gibson SG

text: In 1980, the first SG manufactured with "active" factory pickups was introduced. Gibson experimented with an SG that included the same Moog active electronics that had previously been used in another Gibson model, the RD Artist. The resulting SG had a slightly thicker body to accommodate the extra circuitry, and was dubbed the "Gibson SG-R1". The SG-R1 was renamed the "SG Artist" in 1981, and was discontinued shortly afterwards. Approximately 200 active SGs were produced.


title: Gibson SG

text: In 2008, Gibson introduced the Robot SG, which feature a motorized tuning system developed by Tronical. Limited-edition variants include the SG Robot Special and the limited-edition Robot SG LTD. The Robot system was designed to be convenient for players who need to frequently change tunings, without requiring them to manually tune or carry several guitars; however, they also carry a significant price premium.


title: Gibson SG

text: Around 2000 through 2009, Gibson introduced the SG Classic, which harked back to a Junior/Special type design, with bound mahogany fret board with dot inlays and two P-90 pickups, with a thin '60s neck profile.


title: Gibson SG

text: In 2009, Gibson introduced the "Raw Power" line of SGs, which have an all-maple body, unbound maple neck and fretboard, and unique colors not previously seen in SGs. These models are priced between the entry-level Specials and the more expensive Standards. The year 2009 also brought the Guitar Center-exclusive SG Standard with Coil Taps available in both 50s and 60s style necks.