title: Grammatical number

text: In contrast to 'singular' (one item) and 'dual' (two items), 'plural' refers to three or more items. The Oxford English Dictionary lists no word that specifically refers to three items. Several Austronesian languages distinguish numbers that refer to three items with pronouns and bound person agreement markers, e.g. Larike or the Oceanic languages Mussau, Raga, and Anejom̃, with Lihir even having distinct pronouns for trial "and" paucal. Also the Austronesian-influenced creole languages Bislama and Tok Pisin have the trial number in their pronouns.


title: Grammatical number

text: The quadral number, if it existed, would denote four items together. No known natural language has it, nor is there any proof that any natural language ever did. It was once thought to exist in the pronoun systems of Marshallese, spoken in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and in Sursurunga, in Tangga, and in several other Austronesian languages. While not all of these languages are adequately attested, it turns out that Sursurunga instead has both a "lesser paucal" (labeled "trial", but in fact referring to small groups, with typically three or four members) and a "greater paucal" (misnamed the "quadral", as it has a minimum of four, e.g. a pair of dyadic kin terms)—the distinction is along the lines of "a few" vs. "several"; —and that what Marshallese actually has is a trial and a paucal. None of them has a "quadral"; in at least two cases the field workers who originally suggested they did have a "quadral" were also the first to publish a peer-reviewed article contradicting that suggestion.


title: Grammatical number

text: Paucal number, for a few (as opposed to many) instances of the referent (e.g. in Hopi, Warlpiri, Lower Sepik-Ramu languages, some Oceanic languages including Fijian, Motuna, Serbo-Croatian, and in Arabic for some nouns). Paucal number has also been documented in some Cushitic languages of Ethiopia, including Baiso, which marks singular, paucal, plural. When paucal number is used in Arabic, it generally refers to ten or fewer instances.


title: Grammatical number

text: Of the Indo-European languages, Kurmanji (also known as Northern Kurdish) is one of the few known languages with paucal number. For instance: "car-IN-an" (sometimes), cf. "gelek car-an" (many times) and "car" (time). Another example is "sêv-IN-an" (some apples), "sêvan" (the apples), "sêv" (apple). It can be applied to basically all nouns. In Russian, the genitive singular is also applied to two, three or four items (2, 3, 4 ка́мня – stones, gen. sg.; but 5...20 камне́й – stones, gen. pl.), making it effectively paucal (cf. э́тот ка́мень – this stone, nom. sg.; э́ти ка́мни – these stones, nom. pl.). Polish functions similarly: 'one dog' is "jeden pies"', while (2, 3, 4 psy – dogs, pl.; but "5+ psów" – dogs, gen. pl.). Slovene has one more distinction. With its use of dual ('one dog' is "en pes", 'two dogs' is "dva psa"), paucal is only used for counting 3 and 4 ("3, 4 psi" – dogs, pl.; but "5+ psov" – dogs, gen.pl.).


title: Grammatical number

text: Distributive plural number is for many instances viewed as independent individuals (for example, in Navajo).


title: Grammatical number

text: Superplural is a grammatical number referring to "a lot of items", "heaps of items". Such massive plural is in contrast to normal "plural". For example, the Australian Aboriginal Barngarla language has four grammatical numbers: singular, dual, plural and "superplural". For instance:


title: Grammatical number

text: Synthetic languages typically distinguish grammatical number by inflection. (Analytic languages, such as Chinese, often do not mark grammatical number.)


title: Grammatical number

text: Some languages have no marker for the plural in certain cases, e.g. Swedish "hus" – "house, houses" (but "huset" – "the house", "husen" – "the houses").


title: Grammatical number

text: In most languages, the singular is formally unmarked, whereas the plural is marked in some way. Other languages, most notably the Bantu languages, mark both the singular and the plural, for instance Swahili (see example below). The third logical possibility, found in only a few languages such as Welsh and Sinhala, is an unmarked plural contrasting with marked singular. Below are some examples of number affixes for nouns (where the inflecting morphemes are underlined):


title: Grammatical number

text: Elements marking number may appear on nouns and pronouns in dependent-marking languages or on verbs and adjectives in head-marking languages.


title: Grammatical number

text: In the English sentence above, the plural suffix "-s" is added to the noun "cowboy". In the equivalent in Western Apache, a head-marking language, a plural infix "da-" is added to the verb "yiłch'ígó'aah" "he is teaching him", resulting in "yiłch'ídagó'aah" "he is teaching them" while noun "idilohí" "cowboy" is unmarked for number.


title: Grammatical number

text: Plurality is sometimes marked by a specialized number particle (or number word). This is frequent in Australian and Austronesian languages. An example from Tagalog is the word "mga" [mɐˈŋa]: compare "bahay" "house" with "mga bahay" "houses". In Kapampangan, certain nouns optionally denote plurality by secondary stress: "ing laláki" "man" and "ing babái" "woman" become "ding láláki" "men" and "ding bábái" "women".


title: Grammatical number

text: In Sanskrit and some other languages, number and case are fused categories and there is concord for number between a noun and its predicator. Some languages however (for example, Assamese) lack this feature.


title: Grammatical number

text: Languages that show number inflection for a large enough corpus of nouns or allow them to combine directly with singular and plural numerals can be described as non-classifier languages. On the other hand, there are languages that obligatorily require a counter word or the so-called classifier for all nouns. For example, the category of number in Assamese is fused with the category of classifier, which always carries a definite/indefinite reading. The singularity or plurality of the noun is determined by the addition of the classifier suffix either to the noun or to the numeral. Number system in Assamese is either realized as numeral or as nominal inflection, but not both. Numerals [ek] 'one' and [dui] 'two', can be realized as both free morpheme and clitics. When used with classifiers, these two numerals are cliticised to the classifiers.


title: Grammatical number

text: Pingelapese is a Micronesian language spoken on the Pingelap atoll and on two of the eastern Caroline Islands, called the high island of Pohnpei. In Pingelapese, the meaning, use, or shape of an object can be expressed through the use of numerical classifiers. These classifiers combine a noun and a number that together can give more details about the object. There are at least five sets of numerical classifiers in Pingelapese. Each classifier has a numeral part and a classifier part that corresponds to the noun it is describing. The classifier follows the noun in a phrase. There is a separate set of numerical classifiers that is used when the object is not specified. Examples of this is the names of the days of the week.


title: Grammatical number

text: In many languages, such as English, number is obligatorily expressed in every grammatical context. Some limit number expression to certain classes of nouns, such as animates or referentially prominent nouns (as with proximate forms in most Algonquian languages, opposed to referentially less prominent obviative forms). In others, such as Chinese and Japanese, number marking is not consistently applied to most nouns unless a distinction is needed or already present.


title: Grammatical number

text: A very common situation is for plural number to not be marked if there is any other overt indication of number, as for example in Hungarian: "virág" "flower"; "virágok" "flowers"; "hat virág" "six flowers".


title: Grammatical number

text: Many languages, such as Chinese, Korean, Indonesian, Japanese and Malay, particularly spoken in Southeast and East Asia, have optional number marking. In such cases, an unmarked noun is neither singular nor plural, but rather ambiguous as to number. This is called "transnumeral" or sometimes "general number," abbreviated . In many such languages, number tends to be marked for definite and highly animate referents, most notably first-person pronouns.


title: Grammatical number

text: The languages of the Tanoan family have three numbers – singular, dual, and plural – and exhibit an unusual system of marking number, called "inverse number" (or "number toggling"). In this scheme, every countable noun has what might be called its "inherent" or "expected" numbers, and is unmarked for these. When a noun appears in an "inverse" (atypical) number, it is inflected to mark this. For example, in Jemez, where nouns take the ending "-sh" to denote an inverse number, there are four noun classes which inflect for number as follows:


title: Grammatical number

text: As can be seen, class-I nouns are inherently singular, class-II nouns are inherently plural, class-III nouns are inherently singular or plural. Class-IV nouns cannot be counted and are never marked with "-sh".*


title: Grammatical number

text: In many languages, verbs are conjugated according to number. Using French as an example, one says "je vois" ("I see"), but "nous voyons" ("we see"). The verb "voir" ("to see") changes from "vois" in the first person singular to "voyons" in the plural. In everyday English, this often happens in the third person ("she sees", "they see"), but not in other grammatical persons, except with the verb "to be".


title: Grammatical number

text: Adjectives often agree with the number of the noun they modify. For example, in French, one says "un grand arbre" "a tall tree", but "deux grands arbres" "two tall trees". The singular adjective "grand" becomes "grands" in the plural, unlike English "tall", which remains unchanged.


title: Grammatical number

text: Other determiners may agree with number. In English, the demonstratives "this", "that" change to "these", "those" in the plural, and the indefinite article "a", "an" is either omitted or changes to "some". In French and German, the definite articles have gender distinctions in the singular but not the plural. In Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, both definite and indefinite articles are inflected for gender and number, e.g. Portuguese "o, a" "the" (singular, masc./fem.), "os, as" "the" (plural, masc./fem.); "um, uma" "a(n)" (singular, masc./fem.), "uns, umas" "some" (plural, masc./fem.), "dois, duas" "two" (plural, masc./fem.),


title: Grammatical number

text: In the Finnish sentence "Yöt ovat pimeitä" "Nights are dark", each word referring to the plural noun "yöt" "nights" ("night" = "yö") is pluralized (night- is- dark--partitive).


title: Grammatical number

text: Sometimes, grammatical number will not represent the actual quantity, a form-meaning mismatch. For example, in Ancient Greek neuter plurals took a singular verb. The plural form of a pronoun may also be applied to a single individual as a sign of importance, respect or generality, as in the "pluralis majestatis", the T–V distinction, and the generic "you", found in many languages, or, in English, when using the singular "they" for gender-neutrality.


title: Grammatical number

text: In Arabic, the plural of a non-human noun (one that refers to an animal or to an inanimate entity regardless of whether the noun is grammatically masculine or feminine in the singular) is treated as feminine singular—this is called the inanimate plural. For example:


title: Grammatical number

text: A collective noun is a word that designates a group of objects or beings regarded as a whole, such as "flock", "team", or "corporation". Although many languages treat collective nouns as singular, in others they may be interpreted as plural. In British English, phrases such as "the committee are meeting" are common (the so-called agreement "in sensu" "in meaning"; with the meaning of a noun, rather than with its form, see constructio ad sensum). The use of this type of construction varies with dialect and level of formality.


title: Grammatical number

text: In some cases, the number marking on a verb with a collective subject may express the degree of collectivity of action:


title: Grammatical number

text: All languages are able to specify the quantity of referents. They may do so by lexical means with words such as English "a few", "some", "one", "two", "five hundred". However, not every language has a grammatical category of number. Grammatical number is expressed by morphological or syntactic means. That is, it is indicated by certain grammatical elements, such as through affixes or number words. Grammatical number may be thought of as the indication of semantic number through grammar.


title: Grammatical number

text: Languages that express quantity only by lexical means lack a grammatical category of number. For instance, in Khmer, neither nouns nor verbs carry any grammatical information concerning number: such information can only be conveyed by lexical items such as "khlah" 'some', "pii-bey" 'a few', and so on.


title: Grammatical number

text: Auxiliary languages often have fairly simple systems of grammatical number. In one of the most common schemes (found, for example, in Interlingua and Ido), nouns and pronouns distinguish between singular and plural, but not other numbers, and adjectives and verbs do not display any number agreement. In Esperanto, however, adjectives must agree in both number and case with the nouns that they qualify.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is the emission of characteristic "secondary" (or fluorescent) X-rays from a material that has been excited by being bombarded with high-energy X-rays or gamma rays. The phenomenon is widely used for elemental analysis and chemical analysis, particularly in the investigation of metals, glass, ceramics and building materials, and for research in geochemistry, forensic science, archaeology and art objects such as paintings.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: When materials are exposed to short-wavelength X-rays or to gamma rays, ionization of their component atoms may take place. Ionization consists of the ejection of one or more electrons from the atom, and may occur if the atom is exposed to radiation with an energy greater than its ionization energy. X-rays and gamma rays can be energetic enough to expel tightly held electrons from the inner orbitals of the atom. The removal of an electron in this way makes the electronic structure of the atom unstable, and electrons in higher orbitals "fall" into the lower orbital to fill the hole left behind. In falling, energy is released in the form of a photon, the energy of which is equal to the energy difference of the two orbitals involved. Thus, the material emits radiation, which has energy characteristic of the atoms present. The term "fluorescence" is applied to phenomena in which the absorption of radiation of a specific energy results in the re-emission of radiation of a different energy (generally lower).


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: Each element has electronic orbitals of characteristic energy. Following removal of an inner electron by an energetic photon provided by a primary radiation source, an electron from an outer shell drops into its place. There are a limited number of ways in which this can happen, as shown in Figure 1. The main transitions are given names: an L→K transition is traditionally called K, an M→K transition is called K, an M→L transition is called L, and so on. Each of these transitions yields a fluorescent photon with a characteristic energy equal to the difference in energy of the initial and final orbital. The wavelength of this fluorescent radiation can be calculated from Planck's Law:


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: The fluorescent radiation can be analysed either by sorting the energies of the photons (energy-dispersive analysis) or by separating the wavelengths of the radiation (wavelength-dispersive analysis). Once sorted, the intensity of each characteristic radiation is directly related to the amount of each element in the material. This is the basis of a powerful technique in analytical chemistry. Figure 2 shows the typical form of the sharp fluorescent spectral lines obtained in the wavelength-dispersive method (see Moseley's law).


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: In order to excite the atoms, a source of radiation is required, with sufficient energy to expel tightly held inner electrons. Conventional X-ray generators are most commonly used, because their output can readily be "tuned" for the application, and because higher power can be deployed relative to other techniques. X-ray generators in the range 20–60 kV are used, which allow excitation of a broad range of atoms. The continuous spectrum consists of "bremsstrahlung" radiation: radiation produced when high-energy electrons passing through the tube are progressively decelerated by the material of the tube anode (the "target"). A typical tube output spectrum is shown in Figure 3.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: Alternatively, gamma ray sources can be used without the need for an elaborate power supply, allowing for easier use in small, portable instruments.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: When the energy source is a synchrotron or the X-rays are focused by an optic like a polycapillary, the X-ray beam can be very small and very intense. As a result, atomic information on the sub-micrometer scale can be obtained.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: In energy-dispersive analysis, the fluorescent X-rays emitted by the material sample are directed into a solid-state detector which produces a "continuous" distribution of pulses, the voltages of which are proportional to the incoming photon energies. This signal is processed by a multichannel analyzer (MCA) which produces an accumulating digital spectrum that can be processed to obtain analytical data.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: In wavelength-dispersive analysis, the fluorescent X-rays emitted by the sample are directed into a diffraction grating-based monochromator. The diffraction grating used is usually a single crystal. By varying the angle of incidence and take-off on the crystal, a small X-ray wavelength range can be selected. The wavelength obtained is given by Bragg's law:


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: In energy-dispersive analysis, dispersion and detection are a single operation, as already mentioned above. Proportional counters or various types of solid-state detectors (PIN diode, Si(Li), Ge(Li), Silicon Drift Detector SDD) are used. They all share the same detection principle: An incoming X-ray photon ionizes a large number of detector atoms with the amount of charge produced being proportional to the energy of the incoming photon. The charge is then collected and the process repeats itself for the next photon. Detector speed is obviously critical, as all charge carriers measured have to come from the same photon to measure the photon energy correctly (peak length discrimination is used to eliminate events that seem to have been produced by two X-ray photons arriving almost simultaneously). The spectrum is then built up by dividing the energy spectrum into discrete bins and counting the number of pulses registered within each energy bin. EDXRF detector types vary in resolution, speed and the means of cooling (a low number of free charge carriers is critical in the solid state detectors): proportional counters with resolutions of several hundred eV cover the low end of the performance spectrum, followed by PIN diode detectors, while the Si(Li), Ge(Li) and SDDs occupy the high end of the performance scale.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: In wavelength-dispersive analysis, the single-wavelength radiation produced by the monochromator is passed into a photomultiplier (a detector similar to a Geiger counter) which counts individual photons as they pass through. The counter is a chamber containing a gas that is ionized by X-ray photons. A central electrode is charged at (typically) +1700 V with respect to the conducting chamber walls, and each photon triggers a pulse-like cascade of current across this field. The signal is amplified and transformed into an accumulating digital count. These counts are then processed to obtain analytical data.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: The fluorescence process is inefficient, and the secondary radiation is much weaker than the primary beam. Furthermore, the secondary radiation from lighter elements is of relatively low energy (long wavelength) and has low penetrating power, and is severely attenuated if the beam passes through air for any distance. Because of this, for high-performance analysis, the path from tube to sample to detector is maintained under vacuum (around 10 Pa residual pressure). This means in practice that most of the working parts of the instrument have to be located in a large vacuum chamber. The problems of maintaining moving parts in vacuum, and of rapidly introducing and withdrawing the sample without losing vacuum, pose major challenges for the design of the instrument. For less demanding applications, or when the sample is damaged by a vacuum (e.g. a volatile sample), a helium-swept X-ray chamber can be substituted, with some loss of low-Z (Z = atomic number) intensities.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: The use of a primary X-ray beam to excite fluorescent radiation from the sample was first proposed by Glocker and Schreiber in 1928. Today, the method is used as a non-destructive analytical technique, and as a process control tool in many extractive and processing industries. In principle, the lightest element that can be analysed is beryllium (Z = 4), but due to instrumental limitations and low X-ray yields for the light elements, it is often difficult to quantify elements lighter than sodium (Z = 11), unless background corrections and very comprehensive inter-element corrections are made.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: In energy-dispersive spectrometers (EDX or EDS), the detector allows the determination of the energy of the photon when it is detected. Detectors historically have been based on silicon semiconductors, in the form of lithium-drifted silicon crystals, or high-purity silicon wafers.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: These consist essentially of a 3–5 mm thick silicon junction type p-i-n diode (same as PIN diode) with a bias of −1000 V across it. The lithium-drifted centre part forms the non-conducting i-layer, where Li compensates the residual acceptors which would otherwise make the layer p-type. When an X-ray photon passes through, it causes a swarm of electron-hole pairs to form, and this causes a voltage pulse. To obtain sufficiently low conductivity, the detector must be maintained at low temperature, and liquid-nitrogen cooling must be used for the best resolution. With some loss of resolution, the much more convenient Peltier cooling can be employed.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: More recently, high-purity silicon wafers with low conductivity have become routinely available. Cooled by the Peltier effect, this provides a cheap and convenient detector, although the liquid nitrogen cooled Si(Li) detector still has the best resolution (i.e. ability to distinguish different photon energies).


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: The pulses generated by the detector are processed by pulse-shaping amplifiers. It takes time for the amplifier to shape the pulse for optimum resolution, and there is therefore a trade-off between resolution and count-rate: long processing time for good resolution results in "pulse pile-up" in which the pulses from successive photons overlap. Multi-photon events are, however, typically more drawn out in time (photons did not arrive exactly at the same time) than single photon events and pulse-length discrimination can thus be used to filter most of these out. Even so, a small number of pile-up peaks will remain and pile-up correction should be built into the software in applications that require trace analysis. To make the most efficient use of the detector, the tube current should be reduced to keep multi-photon events (before discrimination) at a reasonable level, e.g. 5–20%.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: Considerable computer power is dedicated to correcting for pulse-pile up and for extraction of data from poorly resolved spectra. These elaborate correction processes tend to be based on empirical relationships that may change with time, so that continuous vigilance is required in order to obtain chemical data of adequate precision.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: Digital pulse processors are widely used in high performance nuclear instrumentation. They are able to effectively reduce pile-up and base line shifts, allowing for easier processing. A low pass filter is integrated, improving the signal to noise ratio. The Digital Pulse Processor requires a significant amount of energy to run, but it provides precise results.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: EDX spectrometers are different from WDX spectrometers in that they are smaller, simpler in design and have fewer engineered parts, however the accuracy and resolution of EDX spectrometers are lower than for WDX. EDX spectrometers can also use miniature X-ray tubes or gamma sources, which makes them cheaper and allows miniaturization and portability. This type of instrument is commonly used for portable quality control screening applications, such as testing toys for lead (Pb) content, sorting scrap metals, and measuring the lead content of residential paint. On the other hand, the low resolution and problems with low count rate and long dead-time makes them inferior for high-precision analysis. They are, however, very effective for high-speed, multi-elemental analysis. Field Portable XRF analysers currently on the market weigh less than 2 kg, and have limits of detection on the order of 2 parts per million of lead (Pb) in pure sand. Using a Scanning Electron Microscope and using EDX, studies have been broadened to organic based samples such as biological samples and polymers.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: In wavelength dispersive spectrometers (WDX or WDS), the photons are separated by diffraction on a single crystal before being detected. Although wavelength dispersive spectrometers are occasionally used to scan a wide range of wavelengths, producing a spectrum plot as in EDS, they are usually set up to make measurements only at the wavelength of the emission lines of the elements of interest. This is achieved in two different ways:


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: In order to keep the geometry of the tube-sample-detector assembly constant, the sample is normally prepared as a flat disc, typically of diameter 20–50 mm. This is located at a standardized, small distance from the tube window. Because the X-ray intensity follows an inverse-square law, the tolerances for this placement and for the flatness of the surface must be very tight in order to maintain a repeatable X-ray flux. Ways of obtaining sample discs vary: metals may be machined to shape, minerals may be finely ground and pressed into a tablet, and glasses may be cast to the required shape. A further reason for obtaining a flat and representative sample surface is that the secondary X-rays from lighter elements often only emit from the top few micrometres of the sample. In order to further reduce the effect of surface irregularities, the sample is usually spun at 5–20 rpm. It is necessary to ensure that the sample is sufficiently thick to absorb the entire primary beam. For higher-Z materials, a few millimetres thickness is adequate, but for a light-element matrix such as coal, a thickness of 30–40 mm is needed.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: The common feature of monochromators is the maintenance of a symmetrical geometry between the sample, the crystal and the detector. In this geometry the Bragg diffraction condition is obtained.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: The X-ray emission lines are very narrow (see figure 2), so the angles must be defined with considerable precision. This is achieved in two ways:


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: A Söller collimator is a stack of parallel metal plates, spaced a few tenths of a millimeter apart. To improve angular resolution, one must lengthen the collimator, and/or reduce the plate spacing. This arrangement has the advantage of simplicity and relatively low cost, but the collimators reduce intensity and increase scattering, and reduce the area of sample and crystal that can be "seen". The simplicity of the geometry is especially useful for variable-geometry monochromators.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: The Rowland circle geometry ensures that the slits are both in focus, but in order for the Bragg condition to be met at all points, the crystal must first be bent to a radius of 2R (where R is the radius of the Rowland circle), then ground to a radius of R. This arrangement allows higher intensities (typically 8-fold) with higher resolution (typically 4-fold) and lower background. However, the mechanics of keeping Rowland circle geometry in a variable-angle monochromator is extremely difficult. In the case of fixed-angle monochromators (for use in simultaneous spectrometers), crystals bent to a logarithmic spiral shape give the best focusing performance. The manufacture of curved crystals to acceptable tolerances increases their price considerably.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: An intuitive understanding of X-ray diffraction can be obtained from the Bragg model of diffraction. In this model, a given reflection is associated with a set of evenly spaced sheets running through the crystal, usually passing through the centers of the atoms of the crystal lattice.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: The orientation of a particular set of sheets is identified by its three Miller indices ("h", "k", "l"), and let their spacing be noted by "d".


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: William Lawrence Bragg proposed a model in which the incoming X-rays are scattered specularly (mirror-like) from each plane; from that assumption, X-rays scattered from adjacent planes will combine constructively (constructive interference) when the angle between the plane and the X-ray results in a path-length difference that is an integer multiple "n" of the X-ray wavelength λ.(Fig.7)


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: Crystals with simple structures tend to give the best diffraction performance. Crystals containing heavy atoms can diffract well, but also fluoresce more in the higher energy region, causing interference. Crystals that are water-soluble, volatile or organic tend to give poor stability.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: Commonly used crystal materials include LiF (lithium fluoride), ADP (ammonium dihydrogen phosphate), Ge (germanium), Si (silicon), graphite, InSb (indium antimonide), PE ("tetrakis"-(hydroxymethyl)-methane, also known as pentaerythritol), KAP (potassium hydrogen phthalate), RbAP (rubidium hydrogen phthalate) and TlAP (thallium(I) hydrogen phthalate). In addition, there is an increasing use of "layered synthetic microstructures" (LSMs), which are "sandwich" structured materials comprising successive thick layers of low atomic number matrix, and monatomic layers of a heavy element. These can in principle be custom-manufactured to diffract any desired long wavelength, and are used extensively for elements in the range Li to Mg.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: In scientific methods that use X-ray/neutron or electron diffraction the before mentioned planes of a diffraction can be doubled to display higher order reflections. The given planes, resulting from Miller indices, can be calculated for a single crystal. The resulting values for "h,k and l" are then called Laue indices.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: So a single crystal can be variable in the way, that many reflection configurations of that crystal can be used to reflect different energy ranges.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: For that reason the corresponding indices used for a particular experimental setup always get noted behind the crystal material(e.g. Ge111, Ge444)


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: Notice, that the Ge222 configuration is forbidden due to diffraction rules stating, that all allowed reflections must be with all odd or all even Miller indices that, combined, result in formula_4,


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: The spectral lines used for elemental analysis of chemicals are selected on the basis of intensity, accessibility by the instrument, and lack of line overlaps. Typical lines used, and their wavelengths, are as follows:


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: X-ray Diffraction(XRD) is still the most used method for structural analysis of chemical compounds. Yet, with increasing detail on the relation of formula_6-line spectra and the surrounding chemical environment of the ionized metal atom, measurements of the so-called Valence-to-Core(V2C) energy region become more and more viable.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: Scientists noted that after ionization of 3d-transition metal-atom the formula_6-line intensities and energies shift


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: with oxidation state of the metal and with the species of ligand(s). The importance of spin-states in a compound tend to make big differences in this kind of measurement, too.:


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: This means, that by intense study of these spectral lines, one can obtain several crucial pieces of information from a sample. Especially, if there are references that have been studied in detail and can be used to make out differences. The information collected from this kind of measurement include:


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: These kinds of measurements are mostly done at synchrotron facilities, although a number of so-called "In-Lab"-Spectrometers have been developed and used for pre-beamtime (time at a synchrotron) measurements.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: Detectors used for wavelength dispersive spectrometry need to have high pulse processing speeds in order to cope with the very high photon count rates that can be obtained. In addition, they need sufficient energy resolution to allow filtering-out of background noise and spurious photons from the primary beam or from crystal fluorescence. There are four common types of detector:


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: Gas flow proportional counters are used mainly for detection of longer wavelengths. Gas flows through it continuously. Where there are multiple detectors, the gas is passed through them in series, then led to waste. The gas is usually 90% argon, 10% methane ("P10"), although the argon may be replaced with neon or helium where very long wavelengths (over 5 nm) are to be detected. The argon is ionised by incoming X-ray photons, and the electric field multiplies this charge into a measurable pulse. The methane suppresses the formation of fluorescent photons caused by recombination of the argon ions with stray electrons. The anode wire is typically tungsten or nichrome of 20–60 μm diameter. Since the pulse strength obtained is essentially proportional to the ratio of the detector chamber diameter to the wire diameter, a fine wire is needed, but it must also be strong enough to be maintained under tension so that it remains precisely straight and concentric with the detector. The window needs to be conductive, thin enough to transmit the X-rays effectively, but thick and strong enough to minimize diffusion of the detector gas into the high vacuum of the monochromator chamber. Materials often used are beryllium metal, aluminised PET film and aluminised polypropylene. Ultra-thin windows (down to 1 μm) for use with low-penetration long wavelengths are very expensive. The pulses are sorted electronically by "pulse height selection" in order to isolate those pulses deriving from the secondary X-ray photons being counted.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: Sealed gas detectors are similar to the gas flow proportional counter, except that the gas does not flow through it. The gas is usually krypton or xenon at a few atmospheres pressure. They are applied usually to wavelengths in the 0.15–0.6 nm range. They are applicable in principle to longer wavelengths, but are limited by the problem of manufacturing a thin window capable of withstanding the high pressure difference.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: Scintillation counters consist of a scintillating crystal (typically of sodium iodide doped with thallium) attached to a photomultiplier. The crystal produces a group of scintillations for each photon absorbed, the number being proportional to the photon energy. This translates into a pulse from the photomultiplier of voltage proportional to the photon energy. The crystal must be protected with a relatively thick aluminium/beryllium foil window, which limits the use of the detector to wavelengths below 0.25 nm. Scintillation counters are often connected in series with a gas flow proportional counter: the latter is provided with an outlet window opposite the inlet, to which the scintillation counter is attached. This arrangement is particularly used in sequential spectrometers.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: Semiconductor detectors can be used in theory, and their applications are increasing as their technology improves, but historically their use for WDX has been restricted by their slow response (see EDX).


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: At first sight, the translation of X-ray photon count-rates into elemental concentrations would appear to be straightforward: WDX separates the X-ray lines efficiently, and the rate of "generation" of secondary photons is proportional to the element concentration. However, the number of photons "leaving the sample" is also affected by the physical properties of the sample: so-called "matrix effects". These fall broadly into three categories:


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: All elements "absorb" X-rays to some extent. Each element has a characteristic absorption spectrum which consists of a "saw-tooth" succession of fringes, each step-change of which has wavelength close to an emission line of the element. Absorption attenuates the secondary X-rays leaving the sample. For example, the mass absorption coefficient of silicon at the wavelength of the aluminium Kα line is 50 m/kg, whereas that of iron is 377 m/kg. This means that fluorescent X-rays generated by a given concentration of aluminium in a matrix of iron are absorbed about seven times more (that is 377/50) compared with the fluorescent X-rays generated by the same concentration of aluminium, but in a silicon matrix. That would lead to about one seventh of the count rate, once the X-rays are detected. Fortunately, mass absorption coefficients are well known and can be calculated. However, to calculate the absorption for a multi-element sample, the composition must be known. For analysis of an unknown sample, an iterative procedure is therefore used. To derive the mass absorption accurately, data for the concentration of elements not measured by XRF may be needed, and various strategies are employed to estimate these. As an example, in cement analysis, the concentration of oxygen (which is not measured) is calculated by assuming that all other elements are present as standard oxides.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: Enhancement occurs where the secondary X-rays emitted by a heavier element are sufficiently energetic to stimulate additional secondary emission from a lighter element. This phenomenon can also be modelled, and corrections can be made provided that the full matrix composition can be deduced.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: Sample macroscopic effects consist of effects of inhomogeneities of the sample, and unrepresentative conditions at its surface. Samples are ideally homogeneous and isotropic, but they often deviate from this ideal. Mixtures of multiple crystalline components in mineral powders can result in absorption effects that deviate from those calculable from theory. When a powder is pressed into a tablet, the finer minerals concentrate at the surface. Spherical grains tend to migrate to the surface more than do angular grains. In machined metals, the softer components of an alloy tend to smear across the surface. Considerable care and ingenuity are required to minimize these effects. Because they are artifacts of the method of sample preparation, these effects can not be compensated by theoretical corrections, and must be "calibrated in". This means that the calibration materials and the unknowns must be compositionally and mechanically similar, and a given calibration is applicable only to a limited range of materials. Glasses most closely approach the ideal of homogeneity and isotropy, and for accurate work, minerals are usually prepared by dissolving them in a borate glass, and casting them into a flat disc or "bead". Prepared in this form, a virtually universal calibration is applicable.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: Further corrections that are often employed include background correction and line overlap correction. The background signal in an XRF spectrum derives primarily from scattering of primary beam photons by the sample surface. Scattering varies with the sample mass absorption, being greatest when mean atomic number is low. When measuring trace amounts of an element, or when measuring on a variable light matrix, background correction becomes necessary. This is really only feasible on a sequential spectrometer. Line overlap is a common problem, bearing in mind that the spectrum of a complex mineral can contain several hundred measurable lines. Sometimes it can be overcome by measuring a less-intense, but overlap-free line, but in certain instances a correction is inevitable. For instance, the Kα is the only usable line for measuring sodium, and it overlaps the zinc Lβ (L-M) line. Thus zinc, if present, must be analysed in order to properly correct the sodium value.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: It is also possible to create a characteristic secondary X-ray emission using other incident radiation to excite the sample:


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: When radiated by an X-ray beam, the sample also emits other radiations that can be used for analysis:


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: The de-excitation also ejects Auger electrons, but Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) normally uses an electron beam as the probe.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: Confocal microscopy X-ray fluorescence imaging is a newer technique that allows control over depth, in addition to horizontal and vertical aiming, for example, when analysing buried layers in a painting.


title: X-ray fluorescence

text: A 2001 review, addresses the application of portable instrumentation from QA/QC perspectives. It provides a guide to the development of a set of SOPs if regulatory compliance guidelines are not available.


title: Kantara (film)

text: Kantara () is a 2022 Indian Kannada-language action thriller film written and directed by Rishab Shetty, and produced by Vijay Kiragandur, under Hombale Films. The film stars Shetty as a Kambala champion who is at loggerheads with an upright forest officer, Murali (played by Kishore).


title: Kantara (film)

text: Set and filmed in Keradi in coastal Karnataka, principal photography began in August 2021. The cinematography was handled by Arvind S. Kashyap, with B. Ajaneesh Loknath scoring music for the film and the action sequences were choreographed by the action director Vikram More. The production design was handled by debutant, Dharani Gange Putra.


title: Kantara (film)

text: "Kantara" was released on 30 September 2022 and received acclaim from critics, who praised the cast performances (particularly those of Shetty and Kishore), direction, writing, production design, cinematography, proper showcasing of the Bhoota Kola, action sequences, editing, soundtrack, and musical score. The film was a huge commercial success and emerged as the second highest-grossing Kannada film of all time, as well as the second highest-grossing Kannada film of 2022.


title: Kantara (film)

text: In 1847, there lived a king that had a great kingdom as well as a loving wife and child, but could not find peace. He sets out on a journey to discover true happiness and comes upon a stone in a forest occupied by Panjurli Daiva, a deity that protects the villagers that reside in the forest. He donates vast amounts of his land to the villagers in exchange for taking the stone with him. Panjurli warns the king that his family and successors should keep their word and not reclaim the land, which will incur the wrath of Panjurli's companion, the ferocious Guliga Daiva.


title: Kantara (film)

text: In 1970, the King's successor asks a Bhoota Kola performer, who is possessed by Panjurli to make the locals hand over the land to him, which the performer refuses and states he will die vomiting blood if he tries to. The successor raises doubt on performer's possession by Panjurli, to which the performer replies he would vanish if he is possessed, after which he runs into the forest and is indeed never seen again. As warned, the king's successor dies mysteriously, vomiting blood a few months later on the steps of the court, where he was going to argue the land case.


title: Kantara (film)

text: In 1990, Murali, a forest officer, is tasked with converting the villagers' land into a forest reserve. However, he is challenged by Shiva, a Kambala athlete from the "Kaadubettu" village and the missing performer's son. Shiva is backed by his patron and the village's landlord, Devendra Suttooru, who is the king's successor in the present. Although Shiva is continually asked to perform the Bhoota Kola, he refuses due to the trauma of his father's disappearance. Instead, his cousin Guruva takes his place. Murali and his staff start erecting a fence along the earmarked forest reserve. Shiva falls in love with a woman named Leela and uses his connections with Devendra to appoint her as a forest guard. The villagers try to stop the fencing but the police and forest guards (including Leela) brutally suppress them, creating a rift between Leela and Shiva even though she was following orders and could do nothing about the situation.


title: Kantara (film)

text: As the feud between Murali and Shiva intensifies, Murali decides to arrest Shiva and his friends and heads to their hideout along with Devendra's henchman Surendran. However, Shiva and his friends who were cutting down a tree accidentally destroy Murali's jeep in the process, and thinking they killed everyone inside, go into hiding. A few days later, they return to the village to meet their families; Shiva makes up with Leela and tells her that he will surrender. However, they are caught by the police and forest guards the morning after. Guruva asks Devendra to bail Shiva, but Devendra tries to bribe him to act as if Panjurli orders the villagers to give him their land in the next Bhoota Kola. Guruva refuses and Devendra kills him; learning that Murali has figured out his ulterior motive, Devendra decides to set Shiva against him.


title: Kantara (film)

text: Having learnt about Guruva's death, Shiva meets Devendra, who lies about Murali being Guruva's killer. Enraged, Shiva goes to kill Murali, but learns from his friend Mahadeva the blacksmith that Devendra himself killed Guruva. Shiva is attacked by Devendra's henchmen, but manages to escape and meet the villagers, whom Murali has told about Devendra's land seizure. After Shiva reveals that Devendra killed Guruva, he and Murali set aside their grudge and unite the village. Devendra and his henchmen attack, leading to an intense battle where several of the villagers are killed. After nearly dying in the fight, Shiva hits his head against Panjurli's stone, gets possessed by the Guliga Daiva, and kills Devendra and his henchmen.


title: Kantara (film)

text: A few months after the battle, Shiva performs the Bhoota Kola where he is possessed by Guliga. He, Murali, and the villagers join hands in a symbolic gesture and blesses the villagers and he then disappears into the forest after meeting what seems to be his father's spirit. The film ends with Shiva and Leela's son asking Sundara about his father's disappearance and Sundara narrating the same.


title: Kantara (film)

text: Director Rishab Shetty cited the conflict between nature and human beings as the theme of the film, while adding specifically that the strife between forest officers and the inhabitants in his hometown Keradi, Karnataka, in the 1990s, as the source of inspiration for the film. He further added, "It is a film from our land, from our roots, stories that are heard through generations, untapped and deeply rooted to our culture." Shetty conceived the story in 2021 during the COVID-19 lockdown. Elaborating on the title of the film, he said, "Kantara is a mysterious forest and this is a story that happens around the area... The film title has a tagline calling it a "dhanta kathe" or a legend. I did not want to give the film a straight or direct title. The word is not used often. While it has Sanskrit origins, it is used in Kannada too. It is used in Yakshagana too, where we call a very mysterious forest Kantara."


title: Kantara (film)

text: The film had to present three timelines: 1847, 1970s and 1990s. Since many references through books were not available, the makers took the help of the tribes residing in Keradi where it was also filmed. Costume designer Pragathi Shetty stated that the makers "travelled the entire village and met the tribal community, who gave details about their dress." She added, "We had most of the junior artists roped in from Kundapura, and it was a challenge for me to convince them to wear tribal costumes. We also took reference to design the costume for the forest guard, played by Sapthami Gowda. We heard each year, the colour of the uniform would change, and everything, including the badges was customised." Filming took place in four forest locations in the area which included a set being built reflecting the 1990s. Art director Darani Gangeputra said, "A lot of natural sources were used to create the setups", further adding, "apart from this, we created a school, temple, and a tree house. We had 35 people from Bangalore and 15 people from the Keradi village, who helped us to study the culture." The set involved a village, including rustic homes with cowsheds, coops for hens, courtyards, areca plantations and an authentic Kambala racetrack. Shetty learned about the intricacies of Kambala and trained for four months before performing the sequence for the film in early 2022.


title: Kantara (film)

text: The music of the film was composed by B. Ajaneesh Loknath. Alongside him, 30–40 musicians were brought in. Mostly involving folklore music represented using Jaanapada songs using traditional instruments, the team took was assisted by Mime Ramdas. Songs usually sung by common people during crop harvest and those popular among the tribals of the area were used as a part of the album and the background score. The song "Varaha Roopam" was supposedly plagiarised from the song "Navarasam" as claimed by the band Thaikkudam Bridge which released Navarasam in 2017.This song gives nostalgic feeling. When the film was released on Amazon Prime, the song was modified with a new orchestral arrangement and vocals while the lyrics remained the same. The Copyright claim and the injunction was altogether dismissed by the High Court on 1 Dec 2022 and the original song was returned to all the platforms. Thus, within a few days of its online release, the original version of the Varaha Roopam song was restored back in Amazon Prime.


title: Kantara (film)

text: "Kantara" was released in theatres in Kannada on 30 September 2022 in more than 250 theatres across Karnataka, and simultaneously in the US, UK, Europe, Middle East and Australia among other places globally. After the success in Kannada, the makers announced that the film will be dubbed in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam languages and was released on 14 October 2022 in Hindi and 15 October 2022 in Telugu and Tamil. Though the Hindi version was announced to be released in over 800 screens across the country, later it was reported to be released in 2500 screens in the Hindi version. The film was also dubbed into Tulu language, the native language of the coastal Karnataka and was released on 2 Dec 2022 and was well received by the audience. It became the first Kannada movie to be released in Vietnam. Following a social media campaign based on the film's connection to Tulu culture, a Tulu language dub of the film was announced, with a release date of 25 November 2022 outside of India and 2 December in India.


title: Kantara (film)

text: The satellite and digital rights of the film were secured by Star Suvarna and Amazon Prime Video. The film was digitally streamed through Amazon Prime Video from 24 November 2022 in Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil languages. Kantara Hindi started premiering on Netflix from 9 December 2022. It was also announced by Netflix that an English dubbed version of the film will be available for streaming in January 2023 on its platform.


title: Kantara (film)

text: The first day net collection was estimated to be 3.5–4.25 crore with a gross of around ₹6 crore. The first weekend gross collection was reported to be ₹22.3 (with net collection of around 19 crore to ₹23 crore). The estimated first week gross earning was reported to be around ₹38–50 crore. The footfalls across Karnataka was estimated to be more than 19 lakhs in the first week of its release. The film reportedly collected ₹4.3 crores on its 11th day, which was the highest for a Kannada film on second Monday. The footfalls of the film was estimated to be around 40 lakhs by the time it grossed ₹60 crore. On its second Tuesday, the film was reported to have higher domestic net collections than both "" and "Godfather". "Kantara" also earned more than these films in Karnataka. The film was reported to have collected over ₹70 crore in Karnataka alone by the end of the second week.


title: Kantara (film)

text: The film crossed the ₹100 crore mark within 15–17 days. The film collected ₹36.5 crore in its third weekend. The film crossed the ₹150 crore mark in 18 days. The movie grossed ₹170 crore including ₹150 crore in India and 111 crores in Karnataka. The movie grossed ₹170.05 to ₹175 crores at the end of three weeks. The worldwide gross was reported to be ₹188 crores with ₹170 in India alone and ₹32 crores in the fourth weekend. The film collected US$1 million in North America and 200K AUD in Australia, thereby becoming the first Kannada film to achieve those landmarks. With a footfall of ₹77 lakhs in less than 4 weeks, it became the most viewed film in Karnataka among all the films produced by "Hombale Films". The film crossed the ₹200 crore mark in 25 days with a gross collection of ₹211.5 crore, including ₹196.95 crore from India alone. The film grossed ₹126 crores in Karnataka.


title: Kantara (film)

text: The film crossed the ₹250 crore mark in less than a month of its release. The domestic net collections of all the versions crossed ₹200 crore in 30 days. The film grossed ₹1.06 crore at the UK box office. The movie grossed ₹280 crore in 30 days. The footfalls crossed 80 lakhs in 32 days in Karnataka alone. The movie crossed the 300 crore gross collection milestone in 33 days. The film grossed ₹65 crore in its fifth week. The movie grossed ₹325 crore worldwide in 36 days. Its sixth weekend collection of ₹25.5 crore was reported to be the highest sixth weekend collection as well as the highest sixth week collection for an Indian movie beating the record of "" which had collected ₹22.20 crore in its sixth week. The movie was reported to have grossed around ₹350 to ₹355 crores in 41 days with a footfall of more than 1 crore in Karnataka alone. The movie collected ₹173.85 crores in 43 day run in Karnataka. The movie was reported to have grossed ₹360 crores in 44 days. The collections of the non-Hindi version was reported to be ₹280 crores at the end of six weeks. While the collections in Karnataka reached ₹180 crore, the domestic gross collections reached ₹275 crores. The movie was reported to have collected around ₹370 to ₹377 crores at the end of 50 day theatrical run. Its seventh week collection of ₹24 crore was the highest for an Indian movie surpassing ₹11 crore collected by "" in its seventh week. The worldwide gross collections crossed the 400 crore mark in 53 days. The domestic collections of the movie was reported to be the third highest of the year 2022. The movie completed 50 day theatrical run in Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, United Arab Emirates and United States. India's largest Hindi language newspaper "Dainik Bhaskar" reported the collections to be ₹446 crores at the end of 68 days. The movie crossed the ₹450 crore mark in 74 days.


title: Kantara (film)

text: The Telugu version grossed ₹5 crores on its first day. The Telugu version grossed ₹21.15 crore in its first week.The Telugu version grossed ₹28 crore in 10 days. The Telugu version also grossed ₹9 crore in 4 days (from 21 October to 24 October) outperforming other Diwali releases. The movie collected ₹50.30 crore in 25 days run from the Telugu states. The Telugu version grossed ₹60 crore in 39 days with a net collection of ₹42 crore during the same period.


title: Kantara (film)

text: The first-day net collection of the Hindi version was reported to be around ₹1.27–1.5 crore. The first-weekend collection of the Hindi version was ₹8 crore. The movie earned nett collections of ₹15 crore in the Hindi version at the end of its first week run. The net collections of the Hindi version was ₹29.1 crore in 13 days, crossing the lifetime domestic net collections of the Hindi version of "". The nett collections of the Hindi version was ₹31.7 crores at the end of two weeks.The nett collections of the Hindi version at the end of 3 weeks was ₹51.50 crore. The movie collected ₹2.10 crore on its fourth Friday which was higher than the three new Hindi releases of that week. Despite the film running for three weeks, it saw its highest ever box office number (₹4.5 crore) on its fourth sunday, taking the total nett collections to ₹62.40 crores at the end of 24 days. At the end of four weeks, it collected ₹69.75 crore nett. At the end of five weeks, it collected ₹79.25 crore nett. The Hindi version grossed ₹96 crore in 39 days with a nett collections of ₹82 crore. Its gross of ₹12.7 crore in the eighth week was the highest grossing eighth week collection for a Hindi movie breaking the 21 year old record of "" (2001) which had grossed ₹7 crore in its eighth week. It earned 80 times its first day net collections - the highest for a dubbed movie.


title: Kantara (film)

text: Muralidhara Khajane of "The Hindu" wrote "Rishab Shetty succeeds in meticulously bringing a tale of myths, legends and superstition, and that too in his native dialect." He commended the acting performances of Shetty and Kishore, and further wrote, "The locations are colourful and vivid, and the background music by B. Ajaneesh Loknath represents the ethos of the land. Cinematographer Arvind S Kashyap's meditative shots showcase the native culture and capture the rustic locales in their grandeur. The filming of the Kambala sequences... is testimony to his brilliant takes." A. Sharadhaa of "The New Indian Express" called the film "a compelling revenge-action drama with a neat blend of crime and divinity." Sridevi S. of "The Times of India" called the film "a visual grandeur" and rated the film 4/5, commending the acting performances while writing that the "biggest take away is the pre-climax and climax, which is conceived and performed to perfection".


title: Kantara (film)

text: The reviewer for "The News Minute" stated that the film was presented by Shetty "in his self-referential tale in the garb of a masala film that is not only entertaining but also uncannily original." They wrote, "Rishab Shetty, the actor, is particularly effective in the film and that's because he is fully aware of the pitch and tone of his performance. He looks the right shape and size for a Kambala sportsman and exudes a fine balance of naivety and arrogance when it comes to the 'manly' side of his personality." However, they felt that the "writing falters a bit" in that "repetitive scenes dished out about... ideological differences" of the central characters. Priyanka Sundar of "Firstpost" rated the film 3.5/5 and praised the performance of Shetty while calling the music "also a star of the film that not only supports the narrative but elevates it as well." She criticized the portrayal of Leela, the love interest of the lead character as having "not really one-note" and that she was used as "an attractive lamppost."


title: Kantara (film)

text: Vivek M. V of "Deccan Herald"'s rated the film 3.5/5 and felt the same in relation to Leela's character, while adding that the plotline meant Kishore's performance was "forced to remain one-note." However, he felt the music and cinematography make it "a technical marvel". He further wrote, "Having shared the screen with gifted actors, it has taken a career-best effort from Rishab to emerge the best."


title: Kantara (film)

text: The Karnataka State Government announced a monthly allowance for Bhoota kola performers over 60 years of age due to the movie.


title: Kantara (film)

text: Kantara director Rishab Shetty Biography: Kantara director Family, wife, qualification, upcoming movies- News Next


title: Son of a Preacher Man

text: "Son of a Preacher Man" is a song written and composed by American songwriters John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins and recorded by British singer Dusty Springfield in September 1968 for the album "Dusty in Memphis."


title: Son of a Preacher Man

text: Springfield's version was produced by Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, and Arif Mardin for her first album for the Atlantic Records label. The single, released in late 1968 and


title: Son of a Preacher Man

text: credited as "Son-of-a Preacher Man" on UK, US and other releases, became an international hit, reaching no. 9 in the UK singles chart and no. 10 on "Billboard"'s Hot 100 in January 1969. The album "Dusty in Memphis" was released in stereo, though its singles were remixed and released in mono.


title: Son of a Preacher Man

text: "Son of a Preacher Man" was Springfield's last Top 30 hit until 1987, when her collaboration with UK synthpop duo the Pet Shop Boys yielded the huge hit "What Have I Done to Deserve This?". "Son of a Preacher Man" found a new audience when it was included on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film "Pulp Fiction"; a re-release of the single reached number one in Iceland in 1995.


title: Son of a Preacher Man

text: In 1968, songwriters John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins (who had recently had a hit with "Love of the Common People") wrote the song with Aretha Franklin in mind, according to a 2009 interview with Wilkins. Atlantic Records producer and co-owner Jerry Wexler, who was recording Dusty Springfield's first Atlantic album in Memphis at the time, liked the song and suggested it to Springfield for the "Dusty in Memphis" album.


title: Son of a Preacher Man

text: Following Springfield's top-10 single release, the song was recorded in 1969 by Franklin for her "This Girl's in Love with You" album. Franklin's version also appeared as the B-side of her hit single "Call Me". Franklin's older sister Erma Franklin also recorded the song and included it on her 1969 Brunswick album "Soul Sister".


title: Son of a Preacher Man

text: "Cash Box" said that Springfield "shows a new soul" and that the song is "brim-full of the special southern-combo sound and a vocal strongly influenced by Aretha [Franklin]."


title: Son of a Preacher Man

text: The writers of "Rolling Stone" magazine placed Dusty Springfield's recording at number 77 among "The 100 Best Singles of the Last 25 Years" in 1987. The record was placed at number 43 among the "Greatest Singles of All Time", by the writers of "New Musical Express" in 2002, and in 2004, the song was on the "Rolling Stone" list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".


title: Son of a Preacher Man

text: In 1994, the song was featured in a scene of the film "Pulp Fiction". "Son of a Preacher Man" helped to sell more than two million units of the film's soundtrack and to help it reach number six on the charts, according to SoundScan. Quentin Tarantino has been quoted, on the "Collectors Edition" DVD of "Pulp Fiction", as saying that he probably would not have filmed the scene in which the song is featured had he not been able to use it.


title: Son of a Preacher Man

text: In 2001, Emma Wilkinson's UK television performance of "Son of a Preacher Man" won the Grand Final of the talent show "Stars in Their Eyes" garnering the most votes from 15 million television viewers.


title: Son of a Preacher Man

text: Samples from "Son of a Preacher Man" were used on Cypress Hill's "Hits from the Bong" on their album "Black Sunday". The song is also featured in the 2016 video game "Mafia III".


title: Greenland Dog

text: The Greenland Dog (Greenlandic: "Kalaallit Qimmiat", Danish: "Grønlandshund") is a large breed of husky-type dog kept as a sled dog. They were brought from Siberia to North America by the Thule people 1,000 years ago, along with the Canadian Eskimo Dog. The Canadian Eskimo Dog is considered the same breed as the Greenland Dog since they have not yet diverged enough genetically to be considered separate breeds, despite their geographic isolation.


title: Greenland Dog

text: Today, the breed is considered as nationally and culturally important to Greenland and efforts are made to safeguard its purity. In western Greenland north of the Arctic Circle and the entirety of eastern Greenland, it is illegal to import any dog from outside (except for police and assistance dogs with a special permit), and since 2017 all dogs have to be microchipped and registered in the Greenland dog database. In the southwest, such restrictions are not in place and the purity of dogs is not monitored. As the population has been falling ( 15,000 in Greenland as of 2016), a number of projects have been initiated in an attempt of ensuring that Greenland's dog sledding culture, knowledge and use, along with the breed itself, are not lost.


title: Greenland Dog

text: An Esquimaux bitch was exhibited at one of the earliest dog shows held in Darlington, Britain on 29 July 1875, which was reported in the "Live Stock Journal" and "Fanciers Gazette" published on 6 August 1875. They were recognized by the Kennel Club at its foundation in 1880.


title: Greenland Dog

text: The Greenland dog has been a draught animal in the Arctic regions for centuries and consequently they have developed a powerful body and heavy coats, with a natural capacity for load pulling and endurance in a harsh working environment. Roald Amundsen later used Greenland dogs to great success on his 1912 expedition to the Antarctic, where he became the first person to reach the South Pole. The men started with more dogs than they technically needed to pull the sledges, killing them along the way to use as food for dogs and men.


title: Greenland Dog

text: The first dogs arrived in the Americas 12,000 years ago. However, people and their dogs did not settle in the Arctic until the Paleo-Eskimo people 4,500 years ago and then the Thule people 1,000 years ago, both originating from Siberia. Dogs first appeared in Greenland around 4,000 years ago. The Inuit dogs from Canada (Canadian Eskimo Dog) and Greenland (Greenland Dog) descended from dogs associated with Thule people, who relied on them for transportation from Siberia. In 2015, a study using a number of genetic markers indicated that these were both the same dog and should not be treated as separate breeds, that they maintain an indigenous heritage that predates colonization and the timing corresponds with the arrival of the Thule people, and that they were distinct from Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Huskies and Malamutes. The maternal mitochondrial DNA sequences of the Inuit dogs were classified as haplotype A31 that indicates a common female ancestor, and this haplotype could not be found in other modern dogs but the nearest match was with a 1,000 year-old dog from Florida.


title: Greenland Dog

text: Nearly all dog breed's genetic closeness to the grey wolf is due to admixture. However, several Arctic dog breeds show a genetic closeness with the now-extinct Taimyr wolf of North Asia due to admixture. These breeds are associated with high latitudes – the Siberian Husky and Greenland Dog that are also associated with Arctic human populations, and to a lesser extent the Shar Pei and Finnish Spitz. An admixture graph of the Greenland dog indicates a best-fit of 3.5% shared material, however an ancestry proportion ranging between 1.4% and 27.3% is consistent with the data. This indicates admixture between the Taymyr wolf population and the ancestral dog population of these 4 high-latitude breeds. This introgression could have provided early dogs living in high latitudes with phenotypic variation beneficial for adaption to a new and challenging environment. It also indicates the ancestry of present-day dog breeds descends from more than one region.


title: Greenland Dog

text: In 2020, a genetic study found that Greenland sled dogs have been kept isolated from other breeds since their arrival in Greenland with the Inuit 850 years ago. Their lineage traces more genomic history than other arctic-breeds to their ancestor's remains which were found on Zhokhov Island, arctic northeastern Siberia and dated to be 9,500 years old.


title: Greenland Dog

text: The Greenland Dog is a powerful, heavy-built dog. It has a broad, wedge-shaped head, slightly tilted eyes and small, triangular ears covered with thick fur that prevents frostbite. It has strong, muscular, short-haired legs. The tail is usually rolled along/across its back. When it lies down and curls up to rest, the tail often covers the nose. Its coat is of medium length and consists of two layers. The inner layer consists of short wool-like fur, the outer layer of longer, coarser, water-repellent fur. The Greenland Dog comes in all colors, from black to fawn (excluding albino dogs and merle patterning). Blue eyes and heterochromia are not permitted, and are considered disqualifications based on standard.


title: Greenland Dog

text: A characteristic of most Greenland Dogs is the "úlo", a triangular shaped area on the shoulders. It is named after a common woman's-knife from Greenland which is of the same shape.


title: Greenland Dog

text: Males are significantly larger than females at 60cm (23.6in) and up at the withers; females are 55cm (21.7in) and up.


title: Greenland Dog

text: As is common among sled dogs, Greenland Dogs are able to traverse very difficult terrain with ease and with a high tempo. As working dogs they are especially valued for their physical strength and endurance, with a tireless and bold mentality.


title: 2021 Cleveland Browns season

text: The 2021 season was the Cleveland Browns' 69th season as a member of the National Football League (NFL), their 73rd overall and their second under head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry. The Browns finished 8–9, failing to improve upon their 11–5 record from 2020. They did not qualify for the playoffs. For the 75th anniversary of the team's founding in 1946, the Browns introduced a commemorative logo in January to use for the season.


title: 2021 Cleveland Browns season

text: With the loss, the Browns started their season at 0–1. The Browns failed to win in Week 1 for the 17th straight season.


title: 2021 Cleveland Browns season

text: With the win, the Browns improved to 2–1. The Browns' defense set franchise records for fewest yards allowed (47) and fewest net passing yards allowed (1). DE Myles Garrett set a franchise record with 4.5 sacks and was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week.


title: 2021 Cleveland Browns season

text: This was Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski's first return to Minneapolis since leaving the Vikings in January 2020 to become the Browns head coach. Stefanski served as an assistant coach for the Vikings from 2006 to 2019.


title: 2021 Cleveland Browns season

text: With the win, the Browns improved to 3–1. This marked the Browns' sixth consecutive win over NFC opponents.


title: 2021 Cleveland Browns season

text: With the loss, the Browns fell to 3–2. The Browns became the first team in NFL history to lose a game despite scoring 40+ points and having no turnovers. Such teams were previously 442–0.


title: 2021 Cleveland Browns season

text: With the loss, the Browns fell to 3–3. This loss ended a 6-game winning streak over NFC opponents and marked the first time the Browns lost consecutive games under head coach Kevin Stefanski. Starting quarterback Baker Mayfield left the game after aggravating a shoulder injury he suffered earlier in the season. Mayfield was ruled out for the following game, ending his streak of 51 consecutive starts at quarterback, the second longest stretch in franchise history (trailing only Brian Sipe's 70 consecutive starts from 1978–82).


title: 2021 Cleveland Browns season

text: With the win, the Browns improved to 4–3. RB D'Ernest Johnson was named the FedEx Ground Player of the week. Johnson, who was making his first career start in place of injured RBs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, had 22 carries for 146 yards and a touchdown, including several key runs to run out the clock and preserve the win.


title: 2021 Cleveland Browns season

text: With the win, the Browns improved to 5–4. The 25-point margin of victory was the Browns' largest since 2003. RB Nick Chubb was named FedEx Ground Player of the Week. Chubb rushed for 137 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns.


title: 2021 Cleveland Browns season

text: With the loss, the Browns fell to 5–5. The 38-point margin of defeat was the Browns' largest since 2005.


title: 2021 Cleveland Browns season

text: With the win, the Browns improved to 6–5. This win ended a four-game losing streak to the Lions, as this was the Browns first win over the Lions since 2001.


title: 2021 Cleveland Browns season

text: With the loss, the Browns went into their bye week at 6–6. The Browns' sixth loss on the season means they did not improve upon their 11–5 record from 2020.


title: 2021 Cleveland Browns season

text: With the win, the Browns improved to 7–6. During the game, Myles Garrett set the franchise record for most sacks in a season, with 15.


title: 2021 Cleveland Browns season

text: After 25 Browns players and three coaches, including head coach Kevin Stefanski, tested positive for COVID-19 in the week leading up to the game, the game was postponed from its original date of December 18 to December 20. During this time, three players were able to test negative and be activated, but the majority of the infected players were ruled out. With starting QB Baker Mayfield and backup QB Case Keenum sidelined with the virus, third-string QB Nick Mullens made his first start with the Browns. Special teams coach Mike Priefer served as acting head coach for the game.


title: 2021 Cleveland Browns season

text: On January 2, Cincinnati defeated Kansas City to clinch the AFC North title. This marks the Browns’ 29th consecutive season without winning a division title. With the Los Angeles Chargers’ win over Denver later that day, the Browns were eliminated from playoff contention.


title: 2021 Cleveland Browns season

text: With their 18th straight regular season loss in Pittsburgh, the Browns fell to 7–9. They finished 2–6 in away games.


title: 2021 Cleveland Browns season

text: With the win, the Browns finished the season 8–9. They finished 6–3 in home games. The Browns swept the Bengals in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1994 and 1995.


title: 2021 Cleveland Browns season

text: On December 20, it was announced that G Joel Bitonio, RB Nick Chubb, DE Myles Garrett, G Wyatt Teller, and CB Denzel Ward were named to the AFC Pro Bowl roster, with Bitonio and Garrett named as starters. This marks the fourth Pro Bowl selection for Bitonio, the third for Chubb and Garrett, the second for Ward, and the first for Teller.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne of Spain, and involved much of Europe for over a decade. The main action saw France as the defender of Spain against a multinational coalition. The war was very expensive and bloody and finally stalemated. Essentially, the treaties allowed Philip V (grandson of King Louis XIV of France) to keep the Spanish throne in return for permanently renouncing his claim to the French throne, along with other necessary guarantees that would ensure that France and Spain should not merge, thus preserving the balance of power in Europe.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: The treaties between several European states, including Spain, Great Britain, France, Portugal, Savoy and the Dutch Republic, helped end the war. The treaties were concluded between the representatives of Louis XIV of France and of his grandson Philip on one hand, and representatives of Queen Anne of Great Britain, King Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia, King John V of Portugal and the United Provinces of the Netherlands on the other. Though the king of France ensured the Spanish crown for his dynasty, the treaties marked the end of French ambitions of hegemony in Europe expressed in the continuous wars of Louis XIV, and paved the way to the European system based on the balance of power. British historian G. M. Trevelyan argued that:


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: Another enduring result was the creation of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty, which still reigns over Spain up to the present day whilst the French branch of the House of Bourbon has long since been dethroned.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: The War of the Spanish Succession was occasioned by the failure of the Habsburg king, Charles II of Spain, to produce an heir. Dispute followed the death of Charles II in 1700, and fourteen years of war were the result.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: The pro-French Electorate of Bavaria was knocked out of the war early on by the Battle of Blenheim (13 August 1704), forcing it to sign the Treaty of Ilbesheim (7 November 1704) and accept Austrian occupation until the end of the war.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: France and Great Britain had come to terms in October 1711, when the preliminaries of peace had been signed in London. The preliminaries were based on a tacit acceptance of the partition of Spain's European possessions. Following this, the Congress of Utrecht opened on 29 January 1712, with the British representatives being John Robinson, Bishop of Bristol, and Thomas Wentworth, Lord Strafford. Reluctantly the United Provinces accepted the preliminaries and sent representatives, but Emperor Charles VI refused to do so until he was assured that the preliminaries were not binding. This assurance was given, and so in February the Imperial representatives made their appearance. As Philip was not yet recognized as its king, Spain did not at first send plenipotentiaries, but the Duke of Savoy sent one, and the Kingdom of Portugal was represented by Luís da Cunha. One of the first questions discussed was the nature of the guarantees to be given by France and Spain that their crowns would be kept separate, and little progress was made until 10 July 1712, when Philip signed a renunciation.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: With Great Britain, France and Spain having agreed to a "suspension of arms" (armistice) covering Spain on 19 August in Paris, the pace of negotiation quickened. The first treaty signed at Utrecht was the truce between France and Portugal on 7 November, followed by the truce between France and Savoy on 14 March 1714. That same day, Spain, Great Britain, France and the Empire agreed to the evacuation of Catalonia and an armistice in Italy. The main treaties of peace followed on 11 April 1713. These were five separate treaties between France and Great Britain, the Netherlands, Savoy, Prussia and Portugal. Spain under Philip V signed separate peace treaties with Savoy and Great Britain at Utrecht on 13 July. Negotiations at Utrecht dragged on into the next year, for the peace treaty between Spain and the Netherlands was only signed on 26 June 1714 and that between Spain and Portugal on 6 February 1715.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: Several other treaties came out of the congress of Utrecht. France signed treaties of commerce and navigation with Great Britain and the Netherlands (11 April 1713). Great Britain signed a like treaty with Spain (9 December 1713).


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: The Peace confirmed the Bourbon candidate as Philip V of Spain to remain as king. In return, Philip renounced the French throne, both for himself and his descendants, with reciprocal renunciations by French Bourbons to the Spanish throne, including Louis XIV's nephew Philippe of Orléans. These became increasingly important after a series of deaths between 1712 and 1714 left the five year old Louis XV as his great-grandfather's heir.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: Great Britain was the main beneficiary; Utrecht marked the point at which it became the primary European commercial power. In Article X, Spain ceded the strategic ports of Gibraltar and Minorca, giving Britain a dominant position in the Western Mediterranean.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: In a major coup for the British delegation, the British government emerged from the treaty with the "Asiento de Negros", which referred to the monopoly contract granted by the Spanish government to other European nations to supply slaves to Spain's colonies in the Americas. The "Asiento de Negros" had come about due to the fact that the Spanish Empire rarely engaged in the transatlantic slave trade itself, preferring to outsource this to foreign merchants. Bourbon France had previously held the "Asiento de Negros", allowing French slave traders to supply 5,000 slaves to the Spanish Empire each year; France had gained control over this contract after Philip V had become King of Spain. After the British government gained access to the "Asiento de Negros", the economic prominence held by Dutch Sephardic Jewish slaveowners began to fade, while the South Sea Company was established in hopes of gaining exclusive access to the contract. The British government sought to reduce its debt by increasing the volume of trade it had with Spain, which required gaining access to the "Asiento de Negros"; as historian G.M. Trevelyan noted: "The finances of the country were based in May 1711 on the assumption that the Asiento, or monopoly of the slave trade with Spanish America, would be wrested from France as an integral part of the terms of peace". Following the passage of the treaty, the British government gained a thirty-year access to the "Asiento de Negros".


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: The importance placed by British negotiators on commercial interests was demonstrated by their demand for France to "level the fortifications of Dunkirk, block up the port and demolish the sluices that scour the harbour, [which] shall never be reconstructed". This was because Dunkirk was the primary base for French privateers, as it was possible to reach the North Sea in a single tide and escape British patrols in the English Channel. This ultimately proved unenforceable.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: Under Article XIII, Spain agreed to a British demand to preserve Catalan historical rights, in return for Catalan support for the Allies during the war. Spanish territories in Italy and Flanders were divided, with Savoy receiving Sicily and parts of the Duchy of Milan. The former Spanish Netherlands, the Kingdom of Naples, Sardinia, and the bulk of the Duchy of Milan went to Emperor Charles VI. In South America, Spain returned Colónia do Sacramento in modern Uruguay to Portugal and recognised Portuguese sovereignty over the lands between the Amazon and Oyapock rivers, now in Brazil.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: In North America, France recognised British suzerainty over the Iroquois, and ceded Nova Scotia and its claims to Newfoundland and territories in Rupert's Land. The French portion of Saint Kitts in the West Indies was also ceded in its entirety to Britain. France retained its other pre-war North American possessions, including Cape Breton Island, where it built the Fortress of Louisbourg, then the most expensive military installation in North America.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: The successful French Rhineland campaign of 1713 finally induced Charles to sign the 1714 treaties of Rastatt and Baden, although terms were not agreed with Spain until the 1720 Treaty of The Hague.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: The treaty's territorial provisions did not go as far as the Whigs in Britain would have liked, considering that the French had made overtures for peace in 1706 and again in 1709. The Whigs considered themselves the heirs of the staunch anti-French policies of William III and the Duke of Marlborough. However, in the Parliament of 1710 the Tories had gained control of the House of Commons, and they wished for an end to Great Britain's participation in a European war. Queen Anne and her advisors had also come to agree.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: The party in the administration of Robert Harley (created Earl of Oxford and Mortimer on 23 May 1711) and the Viscount Bolingbroke proved more flexible at the bargaining table and were characterised by the Whigs as "pro-French"; Oxford and Bolingbroke persuaded the Queen to create twelve new "Tory peers" to ensure ratification of the treaty in the House of Lords. The opponents of the treaty tried to rally support under the slogan of "No Peace Without Spain".


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: Although the fate of the Spanish Netherlands in particular was of interest to the United Provinces, Dutch influence on the outcome of the negotiations was fairly insignificant, even though the talks were held on their territory. The French negotiator Melchior de Polignac taunted the Dutch with the scathing remark "de vous, chez vous, sans vous", meaning that negotiations would be held "about you, around you, without you". The fact that Bolingbroke had secretly ordered the British commander, the Duke of Ormonde, to withdraw from the Allied forces before the Battle of Denain (informing the French but not the Allies), and the fact that they secretly arrived at separate peace with France was a "fait accompli", made the objections of the Allies pointless. In any case, the Dutch achieved their condominium in the Austrian Netherlands with the Austro-Dutch Barrier Treaty of 1715.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: The Treaty stipulated that "because of the great danger which threatened the liberty and safety of all Europe, from the too close conjunction of the kingdoms of Spain and France, ... one and the same person should never become King of both kingdoms". Some historians argue this makes it a significant milestone in the evolution of the modern nation state and concept of a balance of power.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: First mentioned in 1701 by Charles Davenant in his "Essays on the Balance of Power", it was widely publicised in Britain by author and Tory satirist Daniel Defoe in his 1709 article "A Review of the Affairs of France". The idea was reflected in the wording of the treaties and resurfaced after the defeat of Napoleon in the 1815 Concert of Europe that dominated Europe in the 19th century.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: For the individual signatories, Britain established naval superiority over its competitors, commercial access to Spain and America, and control of Menorca and Gibraltar; it retains the latter territory to this day. France accepted the Protestant succession on the British throne, ensuring a smooth transition when Anne died in August 1714, and ended its support for the Stuarts under the 1716 Anglo-French Treaty. While the war left all participants with unprecedented levels of government debt, only Great Britain successfully financed it.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: Spain retained the majority of its Empire and recovered remarkably quickly; the recapture of Naples and Sicily in 1718 was only prevented by British naval power and a second attempt was successful in 1734. The 1707, 1715 and 1716 "Nueva Planta" decrees abolished regional political structures in the kingdoms of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca and the Principality of Catalonia, although Catalonia and Aragon retained some of these rights until 1767.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: Despite failure in Spain, Austria secured its position in Italy and Hungary, allowing it to continue expansion into areas of South-East Europe previously held by the Ottoman Empire. Even after paying expenses associated with the Dutch Barrier, increased tax revenues from the Austrian Netherlands funded a significant upgrade of the Austrian military. However, these gains were diminished by various factors, chiefly the disruption of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 caused by Charles disinheriting his nieces in favour of his daughter Maria Theresa.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: Attempts to ensure its succession involved Austria in wars of little strategic value; much of the fighting in the 1733–1735 War of the Polish Succession taking place in its maritime provinces in Italy. Austria had traditionally relied on naval support from the Dutch, whose own capability had been severely degraded; Britain prevented the loss of Sicily and Naples in 1718 but refused to do so again in 1734. The dispute continued to loosen Habsburg control over the Empire; Bavaria, Hanover, Prussia and Saxony increasingly acted as independent powers and in 1742, Charles of Bavaria became the first non-Habsburg Emperor in over 300 years.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: The Dutch Republic ended the war effectively bankrupt, while the damage suffered by the Dutch merchant navy permanently affected their commercial and political strength and it was superseded by Britain as the pre-eminent European mercantile power. The acquisition of the Barrier Fortresses however became an important asset of Dutch foreign policy and enlarged their sphere of influence. Although judged favourably by contemporaries, it was later argued that the barrier proved to be largely illusory when put to the test during the War of Austrian Succession. The Dutch had in any case successfully defended their positions in the Southern Netherlands and their troops were central in the alliance which halted French territorial expansion in Europe until a new cycle began in 1792.


title: Peace of Utrecht

text: While the final settlement at Utrecht was far more favourable to France than the Allied offer of 1709 had been, it gained little that had not already been achieved through diplomacy by February 1701. Though France remained a great power, concern at its relative decline in military and economic terms compared to Britain was an underlying cause of the War of the Austrian Succession in 1740.


title: Car rental

text: A car rental, hire car or car hire agency is a company that rents automobiles for short periods of time to the public, generally ranging from a few hours to a few weeks. It is often organized with numerous local branches (which allow a user to return a vehicle to a different location), and primarily located near airports or busy city areas and often complemented by a website allowing online reservations.


title: Car rental

text: Car rental agencies primarily serve people who require a temporary vehicle, for example, those who do not own their own car, travelers who are out of town, or owners of damaged or destroyed vehicles who are awaiting repair or insurance compensation. Car rental agencies may also serve the self-moving industry needs, by renting vans or trucks, and in certain markets, other types of vehicles such as motorcycles or scooters may also be offered.


title: Car rental

text: Alongside the basic rental of a vehicle, car rental agencies typically also offer extra products such as insurance, global positioning system (GPS) navigation systems, entertainment systems, mobile phones, portable WiFi and child safety seats.


title: Car rental

text: The earliest known example of cars being offered for rent dates back to 1906. The German company Sixt was established in 1912 under the name "Sixt Autofahrten und Selbstfahrer" (Sixt Car Cruises and Self Drivers).


title: Car rental

text: Joe Saunders of Omaha, Nebraska first started with only one borrowed Model T Ford in 1916, but by 1917, his Ford Livery Company was renting out 18 Model Ts at 10 cents per mile. The company name became "Saunders Drive-It-Yourself System" and then "Saunders System". By 1926, Saunders had expanded to 56 cities. Saunders' company was bought by Avis in 1955.


title: Car rental

text: An early competitor to Saunders was Walter L. Jacobs, whose Chicago-based "Rent-a-Car" opened in 1918 with twelve Ford Model T. The company was bought in 1923 by John Hertz.


title: Car rental

text: In Britain, car rental started with Godfrey Davis, established in 1920, and bought by Europcar in 1981.


title: Car rental

text: The sector expanded rapidly in the US; in 1926, the American Driveurself Association assembled over 1200 delegates in Chicago.


title: Car rental

text: The growth in travel after World War II led to the establishment of several well known international companies, including National Car Rental (1947), Europcar (1949), Enterprise Rent-A-Car (1957), Thrifty Rent A Car (1958), and Budget Rent a Car (1958).


title: Car rental

text: Car rental companies operate by purchasing or leasing a number of fleet vehicles and renting them to their customers for a fee. Rental fleets can be structured in several ways – they can be owned outright (these are known as 'risk vehicles' because the car rental operator is taking a risk on how much the vehicle will be sold for when it is removed from service), they can be leased, or they can be owned under a guaranteed buy-back program arranged directly through a manufacturer or manufacturer's financial arm (these are known as 'repurchase vehicles' because the manufacturer outlines the exact price of original sale and of repurchase at the end of a defined term).


title: Car rental

text: In the UK, the registration of rental cars can be concealed by using unfamiliar initials or subsidiaries, which can increase the resale value via manufacturer or third-party dealers. In North America, it is common to see rental companies with their own branded second-hand car dealers where the ex-rental stock is sold directly to the public. Alternatively, auctions are often used in the United States and with the advent of digital platforms, rental cars have increasingly sold the vehicles directly to new and used car dealers bypassing the auction channels.


title: Car rental

text: Most car rental offices offer a range of vehicle sizes to suit a variety of budgets and space requirements and some additionally offer specialized vehicles to suit its location such as convertibles, prestige models, hybrid/electric vehicles, or SUVs and passenger vans. At major airports or in larger cities, some independent car rental agencies offer high-end vehicles for rent. Some specialized companies offer older vehicles at reduced prices.


title: Car rental

text: To allow for a uniform classification and easy comparison of car rental prices, the Association of Car Rental Industry Systems and Standards (ACRISS) has developed the ACRISS Car Classification Code coding system. This describes the size, door count, gearbox type (manual/automatic), and whether the car is air-conditioned, encoded into four letters. The first letter in the Acriss Code represents the general classification of the vehicle (e.g. Mini, Economy, Compact etc.). The second letter specifies the vehicle variant on offer (e.g. 4 Door, Estate, Convertible, SUV etc.). The third letter is generally used to specify the transmission type, although it can also be used to describe how many wheels drive the vehicle, and the fourth letter describes the fuel type and whether the vehicle has air conditioning or not.


title: Car rental

text: Additional classifications based on seat numbers and trunk volume were also set by the Belgian Rent a Car association in order to provide a unified system for assessing the car types in online reservation systems and airline global distribution systems.


title: Car rental

text: Car rentals are subject to many conditions which vary from one country to another and from one company to another. Generally the vehicle must be returned in the same condition it was rented in, and often must not exceed mileage restrictions, otherwise, extra fees may be incurred.


title: Car rental

text: For insurance reasons, some companies stipulate a minimum and/or maximum rental age. In some cases, the minimum age for rental can be as high as 25, even in countries where the minimum legal age to hold a driver's license is much lower, e.g. 14,15,16 or 17 in the United States. It is not uncommon for there to be a young driver surcharge for all drivers aged under 25. On average, most car rental companies will only to rent to drivers who are at least 20 or 21 depending on the company. The companies Hertz, Dollar Car Rental, and Thrifty have a minimum age of 20. Alamo, Enterprise, Avis, and all other reputable companies have a minimum age of 21. Certain luxury vehicles may be restricted to those 30+. The US states of New York and Michigan are the only ones who mandate via state law that rental car companies cannot refuse service on the grounds of age if the customer is at least 18 years of age or older. In addition, some companies will rent to 18 and 19 year olds if they are military or government personnel.


title: Car rental

text: In all cases, a valid driver's license is required in order to rent a vehicle, and some countries require an International Driving Permit (IDP).


title: Car rental

text: The majority of car rental companies require the use of a credit card to charge additional fees should a defect be found with the car on its return or for road tolls, motoring related fines, or missing fuel. In lieu of a credit card, some companies require a large cash deposit. Some companies permit a debit card for deposits, typically with proof of a round-trip travel ticket, e.g. an airline, bus, or train ticket.