title: Neuromuscular-blocking drug

text: Pancuronium remains one of the few muscle relaxants logically and rationally designed from structure-action / effects relationship data. A steroid skeleton was chosen because of its appropriate size and rigidness. Acetylcholine moieties were inserted to increase receptor affinity. Although having many unwanted side-effects, a slow onset of action and recovery rate it was a big success and at the time the most potent neuromuscular drug available. Pancuronium and some other neuromuscular blocking agents block M2-receptors and therefore affect the vagus nerve, leading to hypotension and tachycardia. This muscarinic blocking effect is related to the acetylcholine moiety on the A ring on pancuronium. Making the N atom on the A ring tertiary, the ring loses its acetylcholine moiety, and the resulting compound, vecuronium, has nearly 100 times less affinity to muscarin receptors while maintaining its nicotinic affinity and a similar duration of action. Vecuronium is, therefore, free from cardiovascular effects. The D ring shows excellent properties validating Beers and Reich's rule with great precision. As a result, vecuronium has the greatest potency and specificity of all mono-quaternary compounds.


title: Neuromuscular-blocking drug

text: Two functional groups contribute significantly to aminosteroidal neuromuscular blocking potency, it is presumed to enable them to bind the receptor at two points. A bis-quaternary two point arrangement on A and D-ring (binding inter-site) or a D-ring acetylcholine moiety (binding at two points intra-site) are most likely to succeed. A third group can have variable effects. The quaternary and acetyl groups on the A and D ring of pipecuronium prevent it from binding intra-site (binding to two points at the same site). Instead, it must bind as bis-quaternary (inter-site). These structures are very dissimilar from acetylcholine and free pipecuronium from nicotinic or muscarinic side-effects linked to acetylcholine moiety. Also, they protect the molecule from hydrolysis by cholinesterases, which explain its nature of kidney excretion. The four methyl-groups on the quaternary N atoms make it less lipophilic than most aminosteroids. This also affects pipecuroniums metabolism by resisting hepatic uptake, metabolism, and biliary excretion. The length of the molecule (2.1 nm, close to ideal) and its rigidness make pipecuronium the most potent and clean one-bulk bis-quaternary. Even though the N-N distance (1.6 nm) is far away from what is considered ideal, its onium heads are well-exposed, and the quaternary groups help to bring together the onium heads to the anionic centers of the receptors without chirality issues.


title: Neuromuscular-blocking drug

text: Adding more than two onium heads in general does not add to potency. Though the third onium head in gallamine seems to help position the two outside heads near the optimum molecular length, it can interfere unfavorably and gallamine turns out to be a weak muscle relaxant, like all multi-quaternary compounds.


title: Neuromuscular-blocking drug

text: Considering acetylcholine a quaternizing group larger than methyl and an acyl group larger than acetyl would reduce the molecule's potency. The charged N and the carbonyl O atoms are distanced from structures they bind to on receptive sites and, thus, decrease potency. The carbonyl O in vecuronium for example is thrust outward to appose the H-bond donor of the receptive site. This also helps explain why gallamine, rocuronium, and rapacuronium are of relatively low potency.


title: Neuromuscular-blocking drug

text: In general, methyl quaternization is optimal for potency but, opposing this rule, the trimethyl derivatives of gallamine are of lower potency than gallamine. The reason for this is that gallamine has a suboptimal N-N distance. Substituting the ethyl groups with methyl groups would make the molecular length also shorter than optimal. Methoxylation of tetrahydroisoquinolinium agents seems to improve their potency. How methoxylation improves potency is still unclear.


title: Neuromuscular-blocking drug

text: Histamine release is a common attribute of benzylisoquinolinium muscle relaxants. This problem generally decreases with increased potency and smaller doses. The need for larger doses increases the degree of this side-effect. Conformational or structural explanations for histamine release are not clear.


title: Neuromuscular-blocking drug

text: Deacetylating vecuronium at position 3 results in a very active metabolite. In the case of rapacuronium the 3-deacylated metabolite is even more potent than rapacuronium. As long as the D-ring acetylcholine moiety is unchanged they retain their muscle relaxing effect. "Mono"-quaternary aminosteroids produced with deacylation in position 17 on the other hand are generally weak muscle relaxants. In the development of atracurium the main idea was to make use of Hofmann elimination of the muscle relaxant "in vivo". When working with bisbenzyl-isoquinolinium types of molecules, inserting proper features into the molecule such as an appropriate electron withdrawing group then Hofmann elimination should occur at conditions "in vivo". Atracurium, the resulting molecule, breaks down spontaneously in the body to inactive compounds and being especially useful in patients with kidney or liver failure. "Cis"-atracurium is very similar to atracurium except it is more potent and has a weaker tendency to cause histamine release.


title: Neuromuscular-blocking drug

text: The effect of structure on the onset of action is not very well known except that the time of onset appears inversely related to potency. In general "mono"-quaternary aminosteroids are faster than "bis"-quaternary compounds, which means they are also of lower potency. A possible explanation for this effect is that drug delivery and receptor binding are of a different timescale. Weaker muscle relaxants are given in larger doses so more molecules in the central compartment must diffuse into the effect compartment, which is the space within the mouth of the receptor, of the body. After delivery to the effect compartment then all molecules act quickly. Therapeutically this relationship is very inconvenient because low potency, often meaning low specificity can decrease the safety margin thus increasing the chances of side-effects. In addition, even though low potency usually accelerates onset of action, it does not guaranty a fast onset. Gallamine, for example, is weak and slow. When fast onset is necessary then succinylcholine or rocuronium are usually preferable.


title: Neuromuscular-blocking drug

text: Muscle relaxants can have very different metabolic pathways and it is important that the drug does not accumulate if certain elimination pathways are not active, for example in kidney failure.


title: Neuromuscular-blocking drug

text: Since these drugs may cause paralysis of the diaphragm, mechanical ventilation should be at hand to provide respiration.


title: Neuromuscular-blocking drug

text: In addition, these drugs may exhibit cardiovascular effects, since they are not fully selective for the nicotinic receptor and hence may have effects on muscarinic receptors. If nicotinic receptors of the autonomic ganglia or adrenal medulla are blocked, these drugs may cause autonomic symptoms. Also, neuromuscular blockers may facilitate histamine release, which causes hypotension, flushing, and tachycardia.


title: Neuromuscular-blocking drug

text: Succinylcholine may also trigger malignant hyperthermia in rare cases in patients who may be susceptible.


title: Neuromuscular-blocking drug

text: In depolarizing the musculature, suxamethonium may trigger a transient release of large amounts of potassium from muscle fibers. This puts the patient at risk for life-threatening complications, such as hyperkalemia and cardiac arrhythmias.


title: Neuromuscular-blocking drug

text: Certain drugs such as aminoglycoside antibiotics and polymyxin and some fluoroquinolones also have neuromuscular blocking action as their side-effect.


title: Neuromuscular-blocking drug

text: Methods for estimating the degree of neuromuscular block include valuation of muscular response to stimuli from surface electrodes, such as in the "train-of-four" test, wherein four such stimuli are given in rapid succession. With no neuromuscular blockade, the resultant muscle contractions are of equal strength, but gradually decrease in case of neuromuscular blockade. It is recommended during use of continuous-infusion neuromuscular blocking agents in intensive care.


title: Neuromuscular-blocking drug

text: The effect of non-depolarizing neuromuscular-blocking drugs may be reversed with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, neostigmine, and edrophonium, as commonly used examples. Of these, edrophonium has a faster onset of action than neostigmine, but it is unreliable when used to antagonize deep neuromuscular block. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors increase the amount of acetylcholine in the neuromuscular junction, so a prerequisite for their effect is that the neuromuscular block is not complete, because in case every acetylcholine receptor is blocked then it does not matter how much acetylcholine is present.


title: Neuromuscular-blocking drug

text: Sugammadex is a newer drug for reversing neuromuscular block by rocuronium and vecuronium in general anaesthesia. It is the first selective relaxant binding agent (SRBA).


title: Neuromuscular-blocking drug

text: Curare is a crude extract from certain South American plants in the genera "Strychnos" and "Chondrodendron", originally brought to Europe by explorers such as Walter Raleigh It was known in the 19th century to have a paralysing effect, due in part to the studies of scientists like Claude Bernard. D-tubocurarine a "mono"-quaternary alkaloid was isolated from "Chondrodendron tomentosum" in 1942, and it was shown to be the major constituent in curare responsible for producing the paralysing effect. At that time, it was known that curare and, therefore, d-tubocurarine worked at the neuromuscular junction. The isolation of tubocurarine and its marketing as the drug Intocostrin led to more research in the field of neuromuscular-blocking drugs. Scientists figured out that the potency of tubocurarine was related to the separation distance between the two quaternary ammonium heads.


title: Neuromuscular-blocking drug

text: Further research led to the development of synthesized molecules with different curariform effects, depending on the distance between the quaternary ammonium groups. One of the synthesized "bis"-quaternaries was decamethonium a 10-carbon "bis"-quaternary compound. Following research with decamethonium, scientists developed suxamethonium, which is a double acetylcholine molecule that was connected at the acetyl end. The discovery and development of suxamethonium lead to a Nobel Prize in medicine in 1957. Suxamethonium showed different blocking effect in that its effect was achieved more quickly and augmented a response in the muscle before block. Also, tubocurarine effects were known to be reversible by acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, whereas decamethonium and suxamethonium block were not reversible.


title: Neuromuscular-blocking drug

text: Another compound malouétine that was a "bis"-quaternary steroid was isolated from the plant "Malouetia bequaertiana" and showed curariform activity. This led to the synthetic drug pancuronium, a "bis"-quaternary steroid, and subsequently other drugs that had better pharmacological properties. Research on these molecules helped improve understanding of the physiology of neurons and receptors.


title: First Navy Jack

text: The First Navy Jack was the naval jack of the United States from 1975 to 1976 and again from 2002 to 2019. It was authorized by the U.S. Navy and was flown from the jackstaff of commissioned vessels of the U.S. Navy while moored pierside or at anchor. Since then, it is used only as a naval jack by the oldest active warship in the U.S. Navy. The design is traditionally regarded as that of the first U.S. naval jack, flown soon after independence, but this is not supported by the historical record.


title: First Navy Jack

text: The First Navy Jack was replaced as the U.S. naval jack by the U.S. Union Jack (consisting of white stars on a blue field, not to be confused with the flag of the United Kingdom, also commonly called "the Union Jack") on June 4, 2019, by order of the Chief of Naval Operations.


title: First Navy Jack

text: In late 1775, as the first ships of the Continental Navy readied in the Delaware River, Commodore Esek Hopkins issued an instruction directing his vessels to fly a "striped" jack and ensign. The exact design of these flags is unknown. But, since about 1880, this jack has traditionally been depicted as consisting of thirteen red and white stripes charged with an uncoiled rattlesnake and the motto "Dont Tread on Me" ["sic"]; this design appeared in a color plate in Admiral George Henry Preble's influential "History of the Flag of the United States". Recent scholarship, however, has demonstrated that this design never existed but "was a 19th-century mistake based on an erroneous 1776 engraving".


title: First Navy Jack

text: In 1778, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sicily, thanking him for allowing entry of revolutionary ships into Sicilian ports. The letter describes the new flag of the colonies according to the 1777 Flag Resolution, but also describes a flag of "South Carolina, a rattlesnake, in the middle of the thirteen stripes."


title: First Navy Jack

text: The rattlesnake had long been a symbol in the colonies of resistance and defiance to the Crown. The phrase ""Don't Tread on Me"" may have been coined during the American Revolutionary War, a variant perhaps of an earlier image. A snake severed in segments and labelled with the names of the colonies and the legend "Join, or Die", had first been published in Benjamin Franklin's "Pennsylvania Gazette" in 1754, as a political cartoon reflecting on the Albany Congress.


title: First Navy Jack

text: The rattlesnake (specifically, the Timber Rattlesnake) is especially significant and symbolic to the American Revolution. The rattle has thirteen layers, signifying the original Thirteen Colonies. Additionally, the snake does not strike until provoked, a characteristic expressed by the phrase "Don't tread on me." (see Gadsden flag).


title: First Navy Jack

text: Typically the flag's rattlesnake is depicted with red scales on its back, but some have depicted the snake as all-gold.


title: First Navy Jack

text: Modern use of the flag is usually traced to 1976, when the United States celebrated its Bicentennial. All commissioned naval vessels were directed to fly the First Navy Jack for that calendar year while moored or anchored, and their commanding officers were authorized to retain and fly it thereafter.


title: First Navy Jack

text: The flag that had been used before, and afterward was the standard, was the fifty-star Union Jack. In 1980, Secretary of the Navy Edward Hidalgo directed that the warship or fleet auxiliary (e.g. a vessel designated as a "United States Ship" or "USS") with the longest active status shall display the First Navy Jack until decommissioned or transferred to inactive service.


title: First Navy Jack

text: The status of the flag was changed on May 31, 2002. Navy Secretary Gordon England issued , directing all warships and auxiliaries of the U.S. Navy to fly the First Naval Jack as a "temporary substitution" for the Jack of the United States "during the Global War on Terrorism". The idea was based on a post-9/11 suggestion from retired Captain Brayton Harris, who in 1975 and 1976 had been Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy for the bicentennial. Most vessels made the symbolic switch on September 11, 2002 during the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks. Not all US vessels flew the flag while moored or at anchor. Those that did not included commissioned vessels of the U.S. Coast Guard designated as "United States Coast Guard Cutter" ("USCGC"), USCG patrol boats, vessels of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, and predominantly civilian-crewed vessels of the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command.


title: First Navy Jack

text: On February 21, 2019, the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John Richardson, announced the blue Union Jack would be returned to nearly all commissioned warships of the U.S. Navy. He restored the 1980 practice of reserving the First Navy Jack to the longest active status warship. This order disregards the , which technically is the oldest in the Navy but is used only for ceremonial purposes. The honor of "oldest ship" in the Fleet was conferred on the following U.S. Navy vessels:


title: First Navy Jack

text: Since September 11, 2002, U.S. Navy installations and facilities ashore have been allowed but not required to fly the First Navy Jack from multi-halyard gaff-rigged flagpoles when the United States ensign is also flown.


title: First Navy Jack

text: The First Navy Jack has also been authorized for wear as a patch by sailors and naval officers on flight suits and certain versions of the Navy Working Uniform (NWU), including sailors and naval officers wearing the Army Combat Uniform (ACU) while assigned to and serving with Army units, at the discretion of the local Army commander. For the NWU and ACU, the patch is typically worn on the opposite sleeve as the U.S. flag.


title: First Navy Jack

text: This First Navy Jack, along with the Serapis flag, is also featured on the crest of the guided missile destroyer .


title: First Navy Jack

text: During the War in Afghanistan, U.S. Navy sailors and officers assigned to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were authorized to wear the First Navy Jack on their MultiCam-patterned Army Combat Uniform (ACU) on the right sleeve, below the U.S. flag.


title: First Navy Jack

text: Like other snake flags, the First Navy Jack has been used by non-Navy people in protest or commemoration. For example, opponents to a smoking ban in Franklin, Indiana, flew Navy Jacks outside their homes and businesses. A First Navy Jack flag was also placed at a makeshift memorial on Boylston Street after the Boston Marathon bombing.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: Timmy Mallett (born 18 October 1955) is an English TV presenter, broadcaster, and artist. He is known for his striking visual style, colourful glasses, loud shirts, and giant pink foam mallet, known as "Mallett's Mallet", as well as his "utterly brilliant!" and "blaaah!" catchphrases.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: Mallett was born in Marple, Cheshire. His media career started while he was a student at the University of Warwick where he worked on the student radio station, Radio Warwick. After graduating with a degree in History he started working at BBC Radio Oxford. He later moved to Centre Radio (now Leicester Sound) as the station's launch presenter. He also presented on Radio Luxembourg and Manchester's Piccadilly Radio.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: The programme he hosted at Piccadilly was "Timmy on the Tranny", a weekday evening show that ran from 8.00pm–11.00pm and took its name from Mallett's lunchtime and later afternoon shows on Radio Oxford. Among Mallett's team of helpers were Chris Evans (known as 'Nobby Nolevel'), Andy Bird (who played the pirate radio character 'Radio Diggle') and Karen Walsh (the original 'Aunty Boney kneecaps'). This led to Mallett co-presenting the Manchester-based BBC2 youth music show "Oxford Road Show" for a year in 1984.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: Mallett won two Radio Academy Awards for Best Local Radio presenter (1984) and Best pop music show (1986).


title: Timmy Mallett

text: In 1983, he presented "Summer Run" on Saturday mornings for the new breakfast television station, TV-am. The following year he became a presenter of "Wide Awake Club", a new Saturday morning children's programme on TV-am, with co-presenters Michaela Strachan, James Baker, Arabella Warner and Tommy Boyd. Future actor Mike Myers also had a minor role alongside Neil Mullarkey. TV-am found itself lacking a school holidays programme after Roland Rat moved to the BBC, and he was offered the chance to present it. The replacement, a spin-off of "Wide Awake Club", was called "Wacaday" (based on the addition of 'aday' to the initials 'WAC' for "Wide Awake Club") and began broadcasting in 1985.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: In the Wide Awake Club contestants were hit over the head by his famed mallet for getting answers wrong. In later years, a talking mini-version of the mallet called "Pinky Punky" was introduced (the name chosen after Mallett asked viewers to write in with their ideas) and soon became one of Mallett's established sidekicks along with Magic, his pet cockatiel. "Wacaday" ended in 1992 when TV-am lost its franchise to broadcast.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: In 1993, Mallett starred in The Children's Channel's "Around the World in 80 seconds" as Captain Everything.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: In 2002, Mallett made West Ham United F.C. agree to stop selling copies of their mascot, Herbie the Hammer, in their club shop after he complained that it looked too similar to Pinky Punky. West Ham United withdrew the item.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: In 2004 he was a stand-in contestant for the ITV1 jungle-based reality series "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!". In 2008 he entered the show as a full contestant.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: In September 2008, Mallett appeared on the BBC One politics show "This Week" talking about being positive when things get tough.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: In November 2008, Mallett appeared in the eighth series of "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!". He entered the show by being captured in an oversized net and imprisoned in jungle jail. The celebrities were given an option to trade their possessions for him and David Van Day to enter. They refused. On 30 November 2008, Mallett was the fourth contestant eliminated from the show after being placed in the bottom two in the public voting and taking part in a play-off bush tucker eating trial with Brian Paddick.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: With producers Nigel Wright and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Mallett formed the band Bombalurina, named after a character in Lloyd Webber's musical "Cats". Along with female vocalists and dancers Dawn Andrews and Annie Dunkley, they released a cover of the single "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini". It reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in August 1990.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: Follow up single "Seven Little Girls Sitting in the Backseat" reached number 18 in the UK in December 1990.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: Ditching the Bombalurina name, but again working with producer Nigel Wright, Mallett released a cover of Kenny's "The Bump" under the name M.C. Mallett in 1991. This failed to chart.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: For "Tommy's Campaign", Mallett recorded "The Laughing Policeman" with producer George Martin in 1991.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: In 2008, Mallett featured in Skepta's video "Rolex Sweep" and accompanied Skepta to the MOBO nominations.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: Mallett has appeared in pantomime in Lewisham theatre, Cliffs Pavilion Southend, Hexagon Reading, Derngate Northampton, Arena St Albans, Wyvern Swindon, Forum Billingham, Pavilion Worthing, Grand Pavilion Porthcawl, Playhouse Weston-super-Mare and Theatre Royal Windsor.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: Mallett is an oil painter and acrylic artist whose work sells in galleries across UK and Europe. His work is distributed and published in limited editions by De Montfort Fine Art and Buckingham Fine Art


title: Timmy Mallett

text: In 2002, he painted 50 portraits for the Queen's jubilee including Wendy Craig, Jim Rosenthal, Lorraine Kelly, Ulrika Jonsson and Sir Clive Woodward.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: In 2012, Mallett painted a telephone box in Windsor with likenesses of the Queen, Prince Harry and Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: In the summer of 2018, Mallett discovered and painted his father's secret Galloway bridge scene from September 1966.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: He rode through Northern Ireland in May 2015, Lincolnshire in summer 2015 and through Cumbria in May 2016.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: In spring 2018, Mallett cycled alone from home in England through France and Spain along the pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago to Santiago de Compostela Finisterre and back, a distance of over 4000 km, inspired by his older brother Martin with Downs syndrome.


title: Timmy Mallett

text: The story forms the basis for his memoirs 'Utterly Brilliant My life's Journey' published in 2020 by SPCK which also includes some of the paintings produced on this adventure.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: Ryūjō ( "Prancing Dragon") was a light aircraft carrier built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the early 1930s. Small and lightly built in an attempt to exploit a loophole in the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, she proved to be top-heavy and only marginally stable and was back in the shipyard for modifications to address those issues within a year of completion. With her stability improved, "Ryūjō" returned to service and was employed in operations during the Second Sino-Japanese War. During World War II, she provided air support for operations in the Philippines, Malaya, and the Dutch East Indies, where her aircraft participated in the Second Battle of the Java Sea. During the Indian Ocean raid in April 1942, the carrier attacked British merchant shipping with her guns and aircraft. "Ryūjō" next participated in the Battle of the Aleutian Islands in June. She was sunk by American carrier aircraft at the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on 24 August 1942.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: "Ryūjō" was planned as a light carrier of around standard displacement to exploit a loophole in the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 that carriers under standard displacement were not regarded as "aircraft carriers". While "Ryūjō" was under construction, Article Three of the London Naval Treaty of 1930 closed the above-mentioned loophole; consequently, "Ryūjō" was the only light aircraft carrier of her type to be completed by Japan.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: "Ryūjō" had a length of overall. with a beam of and a draft of . She displaced at standard load and at normal load. Her crew consisted of 600 officers and enlisted men.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: To keep "Ryūjō"s weight to 8,000 metric tons, the hull was lightly built with no armor; some protective plating was added abreast the machinery spaces and magazines. She was also designed with only a single hangar, which would have left an extremely low profile (there being just of freeboard amidships and aft). Between the time the carrier was laid down in 1929 and launched in 1931, the Navy doubled her aircraft stowage requirement to 48 in order to give her a more capable air group. This necessitated the addition of a second hangar atop the first, raising freeboard to . Coupled with the ship's narrow beam, the consequent top-heaviness made her minimally stable in rough seas, despite the fitting of Sperry active stabilizers. This was a common flaw amongst many treaty-circumventing Japanese warships of her generation.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: The "Tomozuru" Incident of 12 March 1934, in which a top-heavy torpedo boat capsized in heavy weather, caused the IJN to investigate the stability of all their ships, resulting in design changes to improve stability and increase hull strength. "Ryūjō", already known to be only marginally stable, was promptly docked at the Kure Naval Arsenal for modifications that strengthened her keel and added ballast and shallow torpedo bulges to improve her stability. Her funnels were moved higher up the side of her hull and curved downward to keep the deck clear of smoke.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: Shortly afterward, "Ryūjō" was one of many Japanese warships caught in a typhoon on 25 September 1935 while on maneuvers during the "Fourth Fleet Incident." The ship's bridge, flight deck and superstructure were damaged and the hangar was flooded. The forecastle was raised one deck and the bow was remodelled with more flare to improve the sea handling. After these modifications, the beam and draft increased to and respectively. The displacement also increased to at standard load and at normal load. The crew also grew to 924 officers and enlisted men.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: The ship was fitted with two geared steam turbine sets with a total of , each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by six Kampon water-tube boilers. "Ryūjō" had a designed speed of , but reached during her sea trials from . The ship carried of fuel oil, which gave her a range of at . The boiler uptakes were trunked to the ship's starboard side amidships and exhausted horizontally below flight deck level through two small funnels.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: "Ryūjō" was a flush-decked carrier without an island superstructure; the navigating and control bridge was located just under the forward lip of the flight deck in a long glassed-in "greenhouse", whilst the superstructure was set back from the ship's stem, giving "Ryūjō" a distinctive open bow. The flight deck was wide and extended well beyond the aft end of the superstructure, supported by a pair of pillars. Six transverse arrestor wires were installed on the flight deck and were modernised in 1936 to stop a aircraft. The ship's hangars were both long and wide, and had an approximate area of . Between them, they gave the ship the capacity to store 48 aircraft, but only 37 could be operated at one time. After the Fourth Fleet incident, "Ryūjō"s bridge and the leading edge of the flight deck were rounded off to make them more streamlined. This reduced the length of the flight deck by .


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: Aircraft were transported between the hangars and the flight deck by two elevators; the forward platform measured and the rear . The small rear elevator became a problem as the IJN progressively fielded larger and more modern carrier aircraft. Of all the aircraft in front-line service in 1941, only the Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bomber would fit, when positioned at an angle with its wings folded. This effectively made "Ryūjō" a single-elevator carrier and considerably hindered transfer of aircraft in and out of the hangars for rearming and refueling during combat operations.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: As completed, "Ryūjō"s primary anti-aircraft (AA) armament comprised six twin-gun mounts equipped with 40-caliber 12.7-centimeter Type 89 dual-purpose guns mounted on projecting sponsons, three on either side of the carrier's hull. When firing at surface targets, the guns had a range of ; they had a maximum ceiling of at their maximum elevation of +90 degrees. Their maximum rate of fire was 14 rounds a minute, but their sustained rate of fire was around eight rounds per minute. Twenty-four anti-aircraft (AA) Type 93 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine guns were also fitted, in twin and quadruple mounts. Their effective range against aircraft was . The cyclic rate was adjustable between 425 and 475 rounds per minute, but the need to change 30-round magazines reduced the effective rate to 250 rounds per minute.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: During the carrier's 1934–1936 refit, two of the mountings were exchanged for two twin-gun mounts for license-built Hotchkiss 25 mm Type 96 light AA guns, resulting in a reduction of approximately of top-weight that improved the ship's overall stability. This was the standard Japanese light AA gun during World War II, but it suffered from severe design shortcomings that rendered it a largely ineffective weapon. According to historian Mark Stille, the weapon had many faults including an inability to "handle high-speed targets because it could not be trained or elevated fast enough by either hand or power, its sights were inadequate for high-speed targets, [and] it possessed excessive vibration and muzzle blast." These guns had an effective range of , and an effective ceiling of at an elevation of +85 degrees. The maximum effective rate of fire was only between 110 and 120 rounds per minute because of the need to frequently change the fifteen-round magazines. The machine guns were replaced during a brief refit in April–May 1942 with six triple-mount AA guns.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: Following the Japanese ship-naming conventions for aircraft carriers, "Ryūjō" was named "Prancing Dragon". The ship was laid down at the Mitsubishi's Yokohama shipyard on 26 November 1929. She was launched on 2 April 1931, towed to Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on 25 April for fitting out, and commissioned on 9 May 1933 with Captain Toshio Matsunaga in command. While training in mid-1933, her initial air group consisted of nine Mitsubishi B1M2 (Type 13) torpedo bombers, plus three spares, and three A1N1 (Type 3) fighters, plus two spares. Matsunaga was relieved by Captain Torao Kuwabara on 20 October. After the Tomozuru Incident, the ship was reconstructed from 26 May to 20 August 1934.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: Captain Ichiro Ono assumed command on 15 November 1934 and "Ryūjō" became the flagship of Rear Admiral Hideho Wada's First Carrier Division. The following month the ship was chosen to evaluate dive-bombing tactics using six Nakajima E4N2-C Type 90 reconnaissance aircraft, six Yokosuka B3Y1 Type 92 torpedo bombers, and a dozen A2N1 Type 90 fighters. The reconnaissance aircraft proved to be unsuitable after several months' testing. "Ryūjō" participated in the Combined Fleet Maneuvers of 1935 where she was attached to the IJN Fourth Fleet. The fleet was caught in a typhoon on 25 September and the ship was moderately damaged. "Ryūjō" arrived at Kure on 11 October 1935 for repairs, modifications, and a refit that lasted until 31 May 1936. On 31 October Ono was relieved by Captain Shun'ichi Kira.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: In mid-1936, the ship was used to evaluate a dozen Aichi D1A dive bombers and dive-bombing tactics. She also embarked at that time 24 A4N1 fighters, plus four and eight spare aircraft respectively. In September, "Ryūjō" resumed her role as flagship of First Carrier Division, now commanded by Rear Admiral Saburō Satō. Her air group now consisted of a mixture of B3Y1 torpedo bombers, D1A1 dive bombers and A2N fighters, but her torpedo bombers were transferred after fleet maneuvers in October demonstrated effective dive bombing tactics. Captain Katsuo Abe assumed command of the ship on 16 November.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: The First Carrier Division arrived off Shanghai on 13 August 1937 to support operations of the Japanese Army in China. Her aircraft complement consisted of 12 A4N fighters (plus four spares) and 15 D1A dive bombers. The dive bombers attacked targets in and near Shanghai. The Japanese fighters had their first aerial engagement on 22 August when four A4Ns surprised 18 Nationalist Curtiss Hawk III fighters and claimed to have shot down six without loss. The following day, four A4Ns claimed to have shot down nine Chinese fighters without loss to themselves. The carriers returned to Sasebo at the beginning of September to resupply before arriving off the South China coast on 21 September to attack Chinese forces near Canton. Nine fighters from "Ryūjō" escorted a raid on the city and claimed six of the defending fighters. While escorting another raid later that day, the Japanese pilots claimed five aircraft shot down and one probably shot down. The dive bombers attacked targets near Canton until the ship sailed to the Shanghai area on 3 October. Her air group was flown ashore on 6 October to support Japanese forces near Shanghai and Nanking. "Ryūjō" returned home in November and briefly became a training ship before she was assigned to Rear Admiral Tomoshige Samejima's Second Carrier Division.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: In February 1938 the ship replaced her A4N biplanes with nine Mitsubishi A5M "Claude" monoplane fighters. The division supported Japanese operations in Southern China in March–April and again in October. Captain Kiichi Hasegawa assumed command on 15 November 1939. "Ryūjō" was given a refit that lasted from December 1939 through January 1940 and became a training ship until November when she became the flagship of Rear Admiral Kakuji Kakuta's Third Carrier Division. Hasegawa was relieved by Captain Ushie Sugimoto on 21 June. The ship's air group then consisted of 18 Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers and 16 A5M4 fighters. When the First Air Fleet was formed on 10 April 1941, "Ryūjō" became flagship of the Fourth Carrier Division.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: The ship's assignment at the beginning of the Pacific War was to support the invasion of the Philippines, initially by attacking the American naval base at Davao, Mindanao, on the morning of 8 December. Her air group had not changed, but four of each type of aircraft were spares. "Ryūjō"s initial airstrike consisted of 13 B5Ns escorted by nine A5Ms with a smaller airstrike later in the day by two B5Ns and three A5Ms. They accomplished little, destroying two Consolidated PBY seaplanes on the ground for the loss of one B5N and one A5M. The ship covered the landing at Davao on 20 December and her B5Ns attacked a British oil tanker south of Davao. In January 1942 her aircraft supported Japanese operations in the Malay Peninsula.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: In mid-February 1942, "Ryūjō"s aircraft attacked ships evacuating from Singapore, claiming eight ships damaged, three burnt, and four sunk. They also covered convoys carrying troops to Sumatra. The ship was unsuccessfully attacked by several Bristol Blenheim light bombers of No. 84 Squadron RAF on 14 February. The following day two waves of B5Ns, totaling 13 aircraft, attacked the British heavy cruiser , but managed only to damage the ship's Supermarine Walrus seaplane. Follow-on attacks the same day were also unsuccessful. Two days later, B5Ns destroyed , a Dutch destroyer that had run aground in the Gaspar Strait and been abandoned on 14 February. The carrier sailed to Saigon, French Indochina, the next day and arrived on 20 February. A week later she was assigned to cover the convoy taking troops to Jakarta, Java. Her aircraft participated in the Second Battle of the Java Sea on 1 March and six B5Ns sank the American destroyer after it had been abandoned by its crew. Six other B5Ns bombed the port of Semarang, possibly setting one merchantman on fire.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: "Ryūjō" arrived in Singapore on 5 March and the ship supported operations in Sumatra and escorted convoys to Burma and the Andaman Islands for the rest of the month. On 1 April, while the 1st Air Fleet was starting its raid in the Indian Ocean, Malay Force, consisting of "Ryūjō", six cruisers, and four destroyers, left Burma on a mission to destroy merchant shipping in the Bay of Bengal. B5Ns damaged one freighter on 5 April before the force split into three groups. "Ryūjō"s aircraft bombed the small ports of Cocanada and Vizagapatam on the southeastern coast of India the next day, doing little damage, in addition to claiming two ships sunk and six more damaged during the day. The carrier and her escorts, the light cruiser and the destroyer , claimed to have sunk three more ships by gunfire. All together, Malay Force sank 19 ships totaling almost , before reuniting on 7 April and arriving at Singapore on 11 April. A week later, her B5Ns were detached for torpedo training and the ship arrived at Kure on 23 April for a brief refit.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: The newly commissioned carrier joined Carrier Division 4, under the command of Kakuta, with "Ryūjō" on 3 May 1942. They formed the core of the 2nd Carrier Strike Force, part of the Northern Force, tasked to attack the Aleutian Islands, an operation planned to seize several of the islands to provide advance warning in case of an American attack from the Aleutians down the Kurile Islands while the main body of the American fleet was occupied defending Midway. "Ryūjō"s air group now consisted of 12 A6M2 Zeros and 18 B5Ns, plus two spares of each type. The ship transferred to Mutsu Bay on 25 May and then to Paramushiro on 1 June before departing the same day for the Aleutians.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: At dawn on 3 June, she launched 9 B5Ns, escorted by 6 Zeros, to attack Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island. One B5N crashed on takeoff but 6 of the B5Ns and all of the Zeros were able to make it through the bad weather, destroying two PBYs and inflicting significant damage on the oil storage tanks and barracks. A second airstrike was launched later in the day to attack a group of destroyers discovered by aircraft from the first attack, but they failed to find the targets. One Zero from "Ryūjō" from the second strike was damaged by a Curtiss P-40 and crash landed on the island of Akutan. The aircraft, later dubbed the Akutan Zero, remained largely intact and was later salvaged by the U.S. Navy and test flown. On the following day, the two carriers launched another airstrike, consisting of 15 Zeros, 11 D3As, and 6 B5Ns, which successfully bombed Dutch Harbor. Shortly after the aircraft were launched, the Americans attacked the carriers, but failed to inflict any damage. A Martin B-26 Marauder bomber and a PBY were shot down by Zeros, and a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber was shot down by flak during the attack.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: "Ryūjō" arrived back at Mutsu Bay on 24 June, and departed for the Aleutians four days later to cover the second reinforcement convoy to Attu and Kiska Islands and remained in the area until 7 July in case of an American counterattack. She arrived at Kure on 13 July for a refit and was transferred to Carrier Division 2 a day later.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: The American landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi on 7 August caught the Japanese by surprise. The next day, "Ryūjō" was transferred to Carrier Division 1 and departed for Truk on 16 August together with the other two carriers of the division, and . Her air group consisted of 24 Zeros and nine B5N2s. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, ordered Truk to be bypassed and the fleet refueled at sea after an American carrier was spotted near the Solomon Islands on 21 August. At 01:45 on 24 August, Vice Admiral Chūichi Nagumo, commander of the Mobile Force, ordered "Ryūjō" and the heavy cruiser , escorted by two destroyers, detached to move in advance of the troop convoy bound for Guadalcanal and to attack the Allied air base at Henderson Field if no carriers were spotted. This Detached Force was commanded by Rear Admiral Chūichi Hara in "Tone".


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: "Ryūjō" launched two small airstrikes, totaling 6 B5Ns and 15 Zeros, beginning at 12:20 once the Diversionary Force was north of Lunga Point. Four Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters from Marine Fighter Squadron VMF-223 on combat air patrol (CAP) near Henderson Field spotted the incoming Japanese aircraft around 14:20 and alerted the defenders. Ten more Wildcats from VMF-223 and VMF-212 scrambled, as well as 2 United States Army Air Corps Bell P-400s from the 67th Fighter Squadron in response. Nine of the Zeros strafed the airfield while the B5Ns bombed it with bombs to little effect. The Americans claimed to have shot down 19 aircraft, but only three Zeros and three B5Ns were lost, with another B5N forced to crash-land. Only three Wildcats were shot down in turn.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: Around 14:40, the Detached Force was spotted again by several search aircraft from the carrier ; the Japanese ships did not immediately spot the Americans. They launched three Zeros for a combat air patrol at 14:55, three minutes before two of the searching Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers narrowly missed "Ryūjō" astern with four bombs. Two more Zeros reinforced the patrol shortly after 15:00, just in time to intercept two more searching Avengers, shooting down one. In the meantime, the carrier had launched an airstrike against the Detached Force in the early afternoon that consisted of 31 Douglas SBD Dauntlesses and 8 Avengers; the long range precluded fighter escort. They found the carrier shortly afterward and attacked. They hit "Ryūjō" three times with bombs and one torpedo; the torpedo hit flooded the starboard engine and boiler rooms. No aircraft from either "Ryūjō" or "Saratoga" were shot down in the attack.


title: Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō

text: The bomb hits set the carrier on fire and she took on a list from the flooding caused by the torpedo hit. "Ryūjō" turned north at 14:08, but her list continued to increase even after the fires were put out. The progressive flooding disabled her machinery and caused her to stop at 14:20. The order to abandon ship was given at 15:15 and the destroyer moved alongside to rescue the crew. The ships were bombed several times by multiple B-17s without effect before "Ryūjō" capsized about 17:55 at coordinates with the loss of 7 officers and 113 crewmen. Fourteen aircraft that she had dispatched on raids returned shortly after "Ryūjō" sank and circled over the force until they were forced to ditch. Seven pilots were rescued.


title: Māhū

text: According to some, in the pre-colonial history of Hawai'i, māhū were notable priests and healers, although much of this history was elided through the intervention of missionaries. Others describe the māhū as not having access to political power, being unable to aspire to leadership roles, and "Perceived as always available for sexual conquest by men." The first published description of māhū occurs in Captain William Bligh's logbook of the Bounty, which stopped in Tahiti in 1789, where he was introduced to a member of a "class of people very common in Otaheitie called Mahoo... who although I was certain was a man, had great marks of effeminacy about him."


title: Māhū

text: A surviving monument to this history are the "Wizard Stones" of Kapaemāhū on Waikiki Beach, which commemorate four important māhū who first brought the healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaiʻi. These are referred to by Hawaiian historian Mary Kawena Pukui as "pae māhū", or literally a row of māhū. The term māhū is misleadingly defined in Pukui and Ebert's Hawaiian dictionary as "n. Homosexual, of either sex; hermaphrodite." The assumption of same-sex behavior reflects the conflation of gender and sexuality that was common at that time. The idea that māhū are biological mosaics appears to be a misunderstanding of the term hermaphrodite, which in early publications by sexologists and anthropologists was used generally to mean "an individual which has the attributes of both male and female," including social and behavioral attributes, not necessarily a biological hybrid or intersex individual. This led to homosexual, bisexual, and gender nonconforming individuals being mislabeled as "hermaphrodites" in the medical literature.


title: Māhū

text: In 1891, when painter Paul Gauguin first came to Tahiti, he was thought to be a māhū by the indigenous people, due to his flamboyant manner of dress during that time. His 1893 painting "Papa Moe (Mysterious Water)" depicts a māhū drinking from a small waterfall.


title: Māhū

text: Missionaries to Hawai'i introduced biblical laws to the islands in the 1820s; under their influence Hawai'i's first anti-sodomy law was passed in 1850. These laws led to the social stigmatization of the māhū in Hawai'i. Beginning in the mid-1960s the Honolulu City Council required trans women to wear a badge identifying themselves as male.


title: Māhū

text: In American artist George Biddle's "Tahitian Journal" (1920–1922) he writes about several māhū friends in Tahiti, of their role in native Tahitian society, and of the persecution of a māhū friend Naipu, who fled Tahiti due to colonial French laws that sent māhū and homosexuals to hard labor in prison in New Caledonia. Rae rae is a social category of māhū that came into use in Tahiti in the 1960s, although it is criticized by some māhū as an abject reference to sex.


title: Māhū

text: In the 1980s, māhū and fa'afafine of Samoa and other queer cultures of the Pacific began organizing, as māhū and queer Pacific Islanders were beginning to receive international recognition in various fields.


title: Māhū

text: In 2003, the term "mahuwahine" was coined within Hawaii's queer community: māhū (in the middle) + wahine (woman), the structure of the word is similar to Samoan fa'a (the way of) + fafine (woman/wife). The term "mahuwahine" resembles a transgender identity that coincides with Hawaiian cultural renaissance. Kumu Hinaleimoana Kwai Kong Wong-Kalu clarified that:"Since the term "māhū" can have multiple spaces and experiences, Kumu Hina originally coined the terms: "māhū kāne" (transgender man) and "māhū wahine" (transgender woman). However, Kumu Hina believes that those terms should be revised due to scientific advancement and so she coined four new terms. "Māhū" who feel internally "wahine" (female) — emotionally, spiritually, psychologically and culturally — could use the term "haʻawahine". If they feel more internally that they are "kāne" (men), they are "haʻakāne". When they have taken on externally what they feel internally i.e. dressing as a female, have began to or had undergone hormone therapy and other forms of medical transitioning (including cosmetic surgery), then the term "hoʻowahine" would be used. Likewise, for "māhū" who feel that they are internally male and taking that form externally, then "hoʻokāne". ..."Notable contemporary "", or mahuwahine, include activist and kumu hula Hinaleimoana Kwai Kong Wong-Kalu, kumu hula Kaumakaiwa Kanaka'ole, and kumu hula Kaua'i Iki; and within the wider māhū LGBT community, historian Noenoe Silva, activist Ku‘u-mealoha Gomes, singer and painter Bobby Holcomb, and singer Kealii Reichel.


title: Māhū

text: In many traditional communities, māhū play an important role in carrying on Polynesian culture, and teaching "the balance of female and male throughout creation". Modern māhū carry on traditions of connection to the land, language preservation, and the preservation and revival of cultural activities including traditional dances, songs, and the methods of playing culturally-specific musical instruments. Symbolic tattooing is also a popular practice. Modern māhū do not alter their bodies through what others would consider gender reassignment surgery, but just as any person in Hawaiian/Tahitian society dress differently for work, home, and nights out.


title: Māhū

text: Strong familial relationships are important in māhū culture, as kinship bonds within all of Hawaiian/Tahitian cultures are essential to family survival. When possible, the māhū maintain solid relationships with their families of origin, often by becoming foster parents to nieces and nephews, and have been noted for being especially "compassionate, and creative". This ability to bring up children is considered a special skill specific to māhū people. Māhū also contribute to their extended families and communities through the gathering and maintaining of knowledge, and the practicing and teaching of "hula" traditions, which are traditionally handed down through women.


title: Māhū

text: In situations where they have been rejected by their families of origin, due to homophobia and colonization, māhū have formed their own communities, supporting one another, and preserving and teaching cultural traditions to the next generations. In the documentary "Kumu Hina", Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu visits one of these communities of elders up in the mountains, and meets with some of the māhū who were her teachers and chosen family when she was young.


title: Thug Life: Volume 1

text: Thug Life: Volume 1 is the only studio album by American hip hop group Thug Life started by American rapper Tupac Shakur (2Pac) and also comprising Big Syke, The Rated R, Macadoshis and Mopreme Shakur, Tupac's stepbrother. It was released on September 26, 1994 through Interscope and Atlantic Records. The album features guest appearances by Y.N.V. and Nate Dogg and production by Warren G, Easy Mo Bee, Big Syke and Stretch.


title: Thug Life: Volume 1

text: The album received critical acclaim and has been regarded as one of Shakur's most underrated records.


title: Thug Life: Volume 1

text: Due to heavy criticism of gangsta rap at the time, the original version of the album was scrapped and re-recorded with many of the original songs being cut. The album only contains ten tracks because Interscope Records felt many of the other recorded songs were too controversial to release. It has been said that 2Pac created two other versions of this album, with many of the songs still remaining unreleased. Several of these unreleased recordings include a 4 verse solo version of Bury Me A G with two new 2Pac verses, a radio version of Bury Me A G with another new unreleased verse by 2Pac and two alternate recordings of Str8 Balllin', which include never before released adlibs by the rapper.


title: Thug Life: Volume 1

text: Although the original version of the album never came to fruition as the album went through a number of changes, Tupac performed the planned first single from the album, "Out on Bail" at the 1994 Source Awards. Although the album was originally released on Interscope Records, Amaru Entertainment, the label owned by Tupac's mother, Afeni Shakur, gained the rights to it. "Thug Life: Volume 1" was certified Gold. The track "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" appeared later in 1998 from 2Pac's "Greatest Hits" album.


title: Thug Life: Volume 1

text: In commemoration of its twenty-fifth anniversary, it was released on vinyl on November 22, 2019. In 2019, Universal Music Group posted the video version to the song "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" to their YouTube channel. This version features an alternate verse by 2Pac with different lyrics that was not issued on the album.


title: Thug Life: Volume 1

text: The album has been met with critical acclaim retrospectively as a classic underground rap album. Full of machismo and do or die stances," wrote Jake Barnes in "Q", "the lyrics' hardcore posturing is perversely undercut by sweet and delicate backings from artists like Curtis Mayfield, George Clinton and The Isley Brothers."


title: Thug Life: Volume 1

text: "A shockingly considered, thoughtful rap record," opined "Select"'s Matt Hall. "And a very chilling one."


title: National Alliance (United States)

text: The National Alliance is a white supremacist and neo-Nazi political organization founded by William Luther Pierce in 1974 and based in Hillsboro, West Virginia. Membership in 2002 was estimated at 2,500 with an annual income of $1 million. Membership declined after Pierce's death in 2002, and after a split in its ranks in 2005, became largely defunct.


title: National Alliance (United States)

text: The National Alliance was reorganized from an earlier group called the National Youth Alliance (NYA), which in turn was formed out of the remains of the youth wing of Governor George Wallace's 1968 presidential campaign. The NYA broke into factions as a result of infighting, and William Luther Pierce, a former physics associate-professor and author of the white supremacist novels "The Turner Diaries" and "Hunter", gained control of the largest remnant and relaunched it as the National Alliance in 1974. Following Pierce's death from cancer in 2002, the Alliance's board of directors appointed Erich Gliebe to succeed him as chairman of the organization. A series of power struggles began almost immediately, with high-ranking members either resigning or being fired. A boycott of the National Alliance's Resistance Records label resulted in a steep drop-off in generated funds.


title: National Alliance (United States)

text: In April 2005, prominent Alliance member Kevin Alfred Strom, then editor of "National Vanguard" magazine, issued a declaration calling for Gliebe to step down; the Alliance's executive committee and most of its unit coordinators supported the action. Gliebe refused, claiming that the Alliance operated under the "Leadership Principle" and stating that he would not yield to any coup. Strom formed a new group called National Vanguard. In January 2008, Strom pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography in exchange for the other charges to be dropped. He was sentenced to 23 months in prison on April 23, 2008. Strom told the court before being sentenced that he was "not a pedophile" and was "in fact the precise opposite of what has been characterized in this case," saying he had been "unwillingly" possessing 10 images of child pornography and that those came from an online forum he had visited which had been "flooded with spam," which included "sleazy, tragic" pictures of children that he deleted. The judge of the case responded: "Mr. Strom, you pled guilty to charges that now you're saying you're innocent. I prefer people plead not guilty than put it on me."


title: National Alliance (United States)

text: Shortly after the attempted coup by Strom, Gliebe resigned as chairman of the Alliance and briefly appointed Shaun Walker as his successor. However, following Walker's arrest in June 2006, Gliebe again assumed leadership of the organization. By that year, paid membership for the Alliance had declined to fewer than 800 and the paid staff was down to only ten people. By 2012, the Alliance reportedly consisted of fewer than 100 members, with no paid staff other than Gliebe. The following year, it was revealed that the Alliance's property in Mill Point, West Virginia had been put up for sale. The end of the National Alliance as a "membership organization" was confirmed by Gliebe in September 2013.


title: National Alliance (United States)

text: In 2014, Will Williams became head of an organization calling itself the National Alliance (NA). However, a rival faction disputes whether this group maintains continuity with the original Alliance founded by Pierce. The Williams led NA has since been embroiled in several legal issues.


title: National Alliance (United States)

text: In 2015, an accountant was hired by Williams to audit the NA's books. According to a lawsuit filed by a former Baltimore attorney against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), there was a confrontation between the accountant and Williams. The lawsuit further claims that after the accountant left the NA headquarters he released documents that he had scanned to the SPLC.


title: National Alliance (United States)

text: In December 2015, Williams was arrested and charged with battery after allegedly hitting and strangling a female employee on the grounds of the Mill Point compound. He was convicted, briefly incarcerated, and placed on probation. He appealed the sentence and the appellate court affirmed the conviction.


title: National Alliance (United States)

text: Williams was banned from the NA compound in West Virginia pursuant to a court order stemming from his 2015 arrest. Williams claims that the National Alliance “(is) back. We are definitely back”. He also said in a letter to a newspaper sent from Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee (allegedly the NA's headquarters) that "(The National Alliance does) not appreciate being called “haters” or being associated with some “hate movement”.


title: National Alliance (United States)

text: Thomas Mair, later to be convicted of murdering the British Labour Party politician Jo Cox, was connected to the National Alliance.


title: National Alliance (United States)

text: Before the death of Pierce, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Federal Bureau of Investigation called the National Alliance the best-financed and best-organized white nationalist organization of its kind in the United States. Membership in 2002 was estimated at 2,500 with an annual income of $1 million.


title: National Alliance (United States)

text: In 2004, Harry Robert McCorkill of New Brunswick, Canada, attempted to will his entire estate (valued at almost $250,000) to the National Alliance upon his death. However, in 2014, the Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick invalidated the will on the grounds that the National Alliance was a criminal organization made for the purpose of spreading hate speech and inciting violence against non-whites.


title: National Alliance (United States)

text: In the past, the organization ran a white power record label called Resistance Records. It released the video game Ethnic Cleansing in 2002, which received criticism from the Anti-Defamation League.


title: National Alliance (United States)

text: The organization also once had a radio program, "American Dissident Voices", which was heard on shortwave, AM and FM stations, and streaming audio on the Internet. At one point in the mid-1990s there were 22 radio stations, AM and FM, which carried the program. The original host was Kevin Alfred Strom, who continued until early 1997 when Pierce took it over full-time. Upon the death of Pierce in July 2002 it again was hosted until April 16, 2005, by Strom. Walker then became the voice for "American Dissident Voices" until his arrest in June 2006. At that time, Gliebe became the voice of the radio program. Broadcasts continued until 2012, when the frequency became erratic. At some time in 2013, Gliebe ceased broadcasting altogether, but programming was resumed by Kevin Alfred Strom in December of that year.


title: Surge (drink)

text: Surge (sometimes styled as SURGE) is a citrus-flavored soft drink first produced in the 1990s by The Coca-Cola Company to compete with Pepsi's Mountain Dew. Surge was advertised as having a more "hardcore" edge, much like Mountain Dew's advertising at the time, in an attempt to lure customers away from Pepsi. It was originally launched in Norway as Urge in 1996, and was so popular that it was released in the United States as Surge in 1997. Lagging sales caused production to be ended in 2003 for most markets.


title: Surge (drink)

text: However, popular fan bases such as Facebook's "SURGE Movement" led Coca-Cola to re-release the soft drink on September 15, 2014, for the US market via Amazon Prime in 12-packs of cans. Following a test-market for the beverage in the Southeastern United States in early 2015, Surge was re-released primarily in convenience stores in the Eastern United States and some Mountain states in September 2015. Surge was re-released internationally in September 2018 in Burger King restaurants in the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines.


title: Surge (drink)

text: In 1997, Coca-Cola started production of Surge in the United States, with its original whitepaper name being "MDK," or "Mountain Dew Killer." It was developed to converge with Mello Yello as a means of slowing Mountain Dew growth. Coke's attempts to draw users away with divergent products like OK Soda or with similar ones like Mello Yello had not succeeded. Surge was intended to improve on Mountain Dew by using maltodextrin for a longer-lasting blast of energy and with bolder, brighter presentation. Its release was accompanied by a $50 million nationwide marketing campaign that led to high sales and popularity. A few years after the release, sales began to slip. Surge continued to be sold in vending machines, and promotional surge coolers. The Surge coolers were placed in high traffic areas in gas stations as a key promotion to push sales away from competitors coolers in the back of stores all over the United States. Surge cans and fountain drinks until its eventual discontinuation in 2003.


title: Surge (drink)

text: While preparations for the US launch were underway, a cry for help came in from the Norwegian Division, who were battling a successful launch of Mountain Dew in their market. Because the Surge brand was already registered by another firm, the product was launched as "Urge". Local food regulation prevented the bright green color from being used, so it was launched with a pale, more natural juice drink look and given a slight orange taste to match the flavor with the color.


title: Surge (drink)

text: Until September 15, 2014, when Coca-Cola re-released Surge, Norway was the only country where one could still buy a similar soft drink in any form, as the original Surge recipe was still popular there.


title: Surge (drink)

text: Surge was widely associated with the extreme sports lifestyle, with television commercials similar to those used by Mountain Dew at the time. Coca-Cola also used provocative catchphrases to market Surge to extreme sports enthusiasts and teenagers alike. Some of these catchphrases included "Feed the Rush", "Life's a Scream" and the references to Surge as "A Fully Loaded Citrus Soda." Further touted was the fact that Surge had a considerable number of carbohydrates, hence the "with carbos" tagline that was occasionally used in the marketing campaigns to emphasize the fact that Surge was supposed to be more than a soda, but an energy drink as well.


title: Surge (drink)

text: After its inception, Surge's logo was updated and redesigned to a sharper and more modern look by a graphic designer/marketer named Colin Nekritz.


title: Surge (drink)

text: In 1997 Coca-Cola settled a trademark dispute with Babson Bros., an industrial cleaning product company whose cow-milking machine has been known as Surge since 1925.


title: Surge (drink)

text: After the discontinuation of Surge in cans, a community was formed by web designer Eric "Karks" Karkovack entitled "Save Surge". The community initially mapped the locations at which Surge could be purchased in fountain form. Upon cancellation of the fountain syrup, the community continued, adopting an approach of activism that led to the creation of the citrus soda Vault in June 2005. After Vault's release, Karkovack announced the closure of SaveSurge.org. Vault was discontinued in 2011.


title: Surge (drink)

text: As a result of Vault's discontinuation, a group was started on Facebook by Evan Carr called the "Surge Movement". The group repeatedly posted requests on Coca-Cola's Facebook page, and encouraged its members to call Coca-Cola's consumer affairs hotline at 1-800-GET-COKE to voice their desires further, once every month. The movement gained around 200,000 Facebook "likes" in the months after it was started and continues to grow.


title: Surge (drink)

text: On February 10, 2015, Coca-Cola announced that it had begun test-marketing Surge with independent resellers and vending machines across the Southeast United States. The test run ended in late-May 2015. Two months later, Coca-Cola announced that it was preparing for a large-scale Surge retail release across the Eastern United States. Surge was re-released at convenience stores across the Eastern United States on September 7, 2015.


title: Surge (drink)

text: In August 2018, Surge became available in Coca-Cola Freestyle machines, exclusively at Burger King. It is available in several varieties, including Cherry, Grape, Vanilla, and Zero Sugar.


title: Surge (drink)

text: On November 16, 2015, Burger King restaurants released a slushy version of the beverage called "Frozen Surge" as a limited edition slushy. Burger King reintroduced it in their restaurants as a fountain drink in August, 2018


title: Surge (drink)

text: In late 2016, Valero Corner Stores partnered with Icee to release an Icee form of Surge at select locations.


title: Surge (drink)

text: On January 11, 2017, Cinemark theaters released a slushy version of the beverage called "Surge Frozen" for a limited time before being discontinued in Spring 2017.


title: Surge (drink)

text: Comparisons of Surge have been made to a later Coca-Cola product, Vault, which was first released in 2005—around two years after the discontinuation of Surge. Vault has also been discontinued as of December 2011. The two drinks are noted to have had similar taste, although Vault contained higher levels of caffeine at 70.5 mg per 12 fl. oz serving (equivalent to ) and contained artificial flavors in its recipe. The caffeine content of Surge was comparable to that of other citrus soft drinks in the American market during its time at 51 mg per 12 fl. oz serving ().


title: Surge (drink)

text: Below is a listing of the ingredients of Surge, per the label on the canned and bottled versions, as well as the ingredient listings from both a Surge fountain syrup box, and a Surge frozen carbonated beverage box. All four differ slightly; however, more information regarding the Surge formulation can be gleaned from both syrup variations, as they were to be mixed using a ratio of 4.4 parts cold, carbonated water to 1 part syrup.


title: 2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers season

text: The 2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 46th season of the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Cavaliers won the 2016 NBA championship, the first NBA championship in franchise history. During the regular season, the Cavaliers had the third best team offensive rating and were tenth in team defensive rating in the NBA. During the playoffs, the Cavaliers had the best team offensive rating and were eighth in team defensive rating in the NBA.


title: 2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers season

text: In the playoffs, the Cavaliers swept the Detroit Pistons in four games in the First Round, then swept the Atlanta Hawks in four games in the Semi-finals, before finally defeating the Toronto Raptors in six games in the Conference Finals to reach the NBA Finals for a second consecutive year. There, the Cavaliers faced off against the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors, the team that defeated them in the previous year's NBA Finals in six games, and were coming off of a record-breaking regular season, where the team posted a league-best 73–9 record.


title: 2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers season

text: The Cavaliers would go on to defeat the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals in seven games, coming back from a 3–1 series deficit to avenge their loss from the prior year. The Cavaliers became the first team in NBA Finals history to recover from a 3–1 series deficit and win. The Cavaliers' victory also marked the first championship win by a major professional sports team from Cleveland since 1964, ending a 52–year championship drought dating back to the 1964 NFL title won by the Cleveland Browns. The Cleveland Cavaliers would be the first NBA champion to represent the Central Division since the 2003–04 Detroit Pistons.


title: 2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers season

text: The Cavaliers started the season strong and rose to the top of the Eastern Conference. However, despite having the best record in their conference, the team fired head coach David Blatt on January 22, 2016. Assistant coach Tyronn Lue took over for the remainder of the season. The Cavaliers finished the regular season with a 57–25 record and obtained the number one seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2010.


title: 2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers season

text: In the 2016 NBA Playoffs' first round, the Cleveland Cavaliers matched up against the 8th seed Detroit Pistons. In the first game of their series, Cleveland’s point guard Kyrie Irving led the way scoring 31 points and sealing a win for the Cavaliers, 106-101. The Cavs swept the rest of the series, winning 107-90 in Game 2, 101-91 in Game 3, and 100-98 in Game 4. Kyrie Irving was the top scorer of the series averaging 27.5 points per game, LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers in this series in assist and steals, averaging 6.8 assists and 1.8 steals, and big man Kevin Love led Cleveland in rebounds averaging 12 total rebounds per game. The Cavaliers were matched with the number four seed, Atlanta Hawks, for their second series in the 2015-2016 post-season. Similar to their last series, they swept their opponents 4-0. Lebron James led the way in scoring, averaging 24.3 points per game. He also led his team in assists and steals, averaging 7.8 assists and 3 steals per game. Kevin Love was the rebound leader for the series averaging 13 rebounds per game. The Cavaliers were now facing the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals. The series between the Raptors and the Cavaliers took 6 games to finish with Cleveland winning 4 to 2. This was the first time in their 2015-2016 playoff run that they lost a game. Lebron James led his team in all major stats against the Toronto Raptors. He averaged 26 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 6.7 assists in the 6 game series. The Cavaliers were off to face the Golden State Warriors in the NBA finals. They were considered huge underdogs because the Warriors had accomplished an incredible feat in the regular season, seventy-three wins and nine losses, the best record ever in the NBA.


title: 2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers season

text: The Cavaliers lost three of the first four games of the 2016 NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors, who had defeated Cleveland in the Finals the year before. The first two games were blowouts for Golden State, 104–89 and 110–77 respectively, combining for a total winning margin of 48. Cleveland would respond with a 120–90 blowout of their own to cut the series deficit to 2–1, but the Warriors would pull away late in Game 4 to take a decisive 3–1 series lead. In turn, the Cavaliers won Games 5 and 6 of the series to bring about a climactic Game 7 at Oracle Arena.


title: 2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers season

text: With Game 7 tied at 89–89, LeBron James chased down and blocked Andre Iguodala's attempted lay-up in a play that became known as "The Block." The Cavaliers ultimately won Game 7, 93–89, for the first NBA championship in franchise history. Until then, no team had recovered from a 3–1 deficit in an NBA Finals series. James was named the unanimous NBA Finals MVP, receiving the award for the third time in his career.


title: 2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers season

text: This win ended a fifty-two year championship run in the city of Cleveland, with the last championship that any sports team had won there being 1964 when the Cleveland Browns won an NFL season. When the game ended, it was visible the sense of relief that the players felt. Lebron James was the star of the show, and he could not hold his tears back. When he finally got the strength to stand up, the only thing that he was able to say was, "Cleveland, this is for you," as the Oracle Arena blasted with cheers from Cleveland fans. Not only was this a monumental win for the Cleveland Cavaliers it also cemented Lebron James as one of the all-time greats the NBA has ever seen. Prior to this ring, he had only won with the Miami Heat. Haters were quick to disregard his Miami wins because the team were filled with talented players like Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, but the win in Cleveland was undoubtedly one of the best basketball performances the NBA has ever seen.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: Marine ecosystems are the largest of Earth's aquatic ecosystems and exist in waters that have a high salt content. These systems contrast with freshwater ecosystems, which have a lower salt content. Marine waters cover more than 70% of the surface of the Earth and account for more than 97% of Earth's water supply and 90% of habitable space on Earth. Seawater has an average salinity of 35 parts per thousand of water. Actual salinity varies among different marine ecosystems. Marine ecosystems can be divided into many zones depending upon water depth and shoreline features. The oceanic zone is the vast open part of the ocean where animals such as whales, sharks, and tuna live. The benthic zone consists of substrates below water where many invertebrates live. The intertidal zone is the area between high and low tides. Other near-shore (neritic) zones can include mudflats, seagrass meadows, mangroves, rocky intertidal systems, salt marshes, coral reefs, lagoons. In the deep water, hydrothermal vents may occur where chemosynthetic sulfur bacteria form the base of the food web.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: Coral reefs are one of the most well-known marine ecosystems in the world, with the largest being the Great Barrier Reef. These reefs are composed of large coral colonies of a variety of species living together. The corals from multiple symbiotic relationships with the organisms around them.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: Mangroves are trees or shrubs that grow in low-oxygen soil near coastlines in tropical or subtropical latitudes. They are an extremely productive and complex ecosystem that connects the land and sea. Mangroves consist of species that are not necessarily related to each other and are often grouped for the characteristics they share rather than genetic similarity. Because of their proximity to the coast, they have all developed adaptions such as salt excretion and root aeration to live in salty, oxygen-depleted water. Mangroves can often be recognized by their dense tangle of roots that act to protect the coast by reducing erosion from storm surges, currents, wave, and tides. The mangrove ecosystem is also an important source of food for many species as well as excellent at sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere with global mangrove carbon storage is estimated at 34 million metric tons per year.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: Seagrasses form dense underwater meadows which are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. They provide habitats and food for a diversity of marine life comparable to coral reefs. This includes invertebrates like shrimp and crabs, cod and flatfish, marine mammals and birds. They provide refuges for endangered species such as seahorses, turtles, and dugongs. They function as nursery habitats for shrimps, scallops and many commercial fish species. Seagrass meadows provide coastal storm protection by the way their leaves absorb energy from waves as they hit the coast. They keep coastal waters healthy by absorbing bacteria and nutrients, and slow the speed of climate change by sequestering carbon dioxide into the sediment of the ocean floor.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: Seagrasses evolved from marine algae which colonized land and became land plants, and then returned to the ocean about 100 million years ago. However, today seagrass meadows are being damaged by human activities such as pollution from land runoff, fishing boats that drag dredges or trawls across the meadows uprooting the grass, and overfishing which unbalances the ecosystem. Seagrass meadows are currently being destroyed at a rate of about two football fields every hour.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: Kelp forests occur worldwide throughout temperate and polar coastal oceans. In 2007, kelp forests were also discovered in tropical waters near Ecuador.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: Physically formed by brown macroalgae, kelp forests provide a unique habitat for marine organisms and are a source for understanding many ecological processes. Over the last century, they have been the focus of extensive research, particularly in trophic ecology, and continue to provoke important ideas that are relevant beyond this unique ecosystem. For example, kelp forests can influence coastal oceanographic patterns and provide many ecosystem services.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: However, the influence of humans has often contributed to kelp forest degradation. Of particular concern are the effects of overfishing nearshore ecosystems, which can release herbivores from their normal population regulation and result in the overgrazing of kelp and other algae. This can rapidly result in transitions to barren landscapes where relatively few species persist. Already due to the combined effects of overfishing and climate change, kelp forests have all but disappeared in many especially vulnerable places, such as Tasmania's east coast and the coast of Northern California. The implementation of marine protected areas is one management strategy useful for addressing such issues, since it may limit the impacts of fishing and buffer the ecosystem from additive effects of other environmental stressors.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: Estuaries occur where there is a noticeable change in salinity between saltwater and freshwater sources. This is typically found where rivers meet the ocean or sea. The wildlife found within estuaries is unique as the water in these areas is brackish - a mix of freshwater flowing to the ocean and salty seawater. Other types of estuaries also exist and have similar characteristics as traditional brackish estuaries. The Great Lakes are a prime example. There, river water mixes with lake water and creates freshwater estuaries. Estuaries are extremely productive ecosystems that many humans and animal species rely on for various activities. This can be seen as, of the 32 largest cities in the world, 22 are located on estuaries as they provide many environmental and economic benefits such as crucial habitat for many species, and being economic hubs for many coastal communities. Estuaries also provide essential ecosystem services such as water filtration, habitat protection, erosion control, gas regulation nutrient cycling, and it even gives education, recreation and tourism opportunities to people.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: Lagoons are areas that are separated from larger water by natural barriers such as coral reefs or sandbars. There are two types of lagoons, coastal and oceanic/atoll lagoons. A coastal lagoon is, as the definition above, simply a body of water that is separated from the ocean by a barrier. An atoll lagoon is a circular coral reef or several coral islands that surround a lagoon. Atoll lagoons are often much deeper than coastal lagoons. Most lagoons are very shallow meaning that they are greatly affected by changed in precipitation, evaporation and wind. This means that salinity and temperature are widely varied in lagoons and that they can have water that ranges from fresh to hypersaline. Lagoons can be found in on coasts all over the world, on every continent except Antarctica and is an extremely diverse habitat being home to a wide array of species including birds, fish, crabs, plankton and more. Lagoons are also important to the economy as they provide a wide array of ecosystem services in addition to being the home of so many different species. Some of these services include fisheries, nutrient cycling, flood protection, water filtration, and even human tradition.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: Salt marshes are a transition from the ocean to the land, where fresh and saltwater mix. The soil in these marshes is often made up of mud and a layer of organic material called peat. Peat is characterized as waterlogged and root-filled decomposing plant matter that often causes low oxygen levels (hypoxia). These hypoxic conditions causes growth of the bacteria that also gives salt marshes the sulfurous smell they are often known for. Salt marshes exist around the world and are needed for healthy ecosystems and a healthy economy. They are extremely productive ecosystems and they provide essential services for more than 75 percent of fishery species and protect shorelines from erosion and flooding. Salt marshes can be generally divided into the high marsh, low marsh, and the upland border. The low marsh is closer to the ocean, with it being flooded at nearly every tide except low tide. The high marsh is located between the low marsh and the upland border and it usually only flooded when higher than usual tides are present. The upland border is the freshwater edge of the marsh and is usually located at elevations slightly higher than the high marsh. This region is usually only flooded under extreme weather conditions and experiences much less waterlogged conditions and salt stress than other areas of the marsh.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: Intertidal zones are the areas that are visible and exposed to air during low tide and covered up by saltwater during high tide. There are four physical divisions of the intertidal zone with each one having its distinct characteristics and wildlife. These divisions are the Spray zone, High intertidal zone, Middle Intertidal zone, and Low intertidal zone. The Spray zone is a damp area that is usually only reached by the ocean and submerged only under high tides or storms. The high intertidal zone is submerged at high tide but remains dry for long periods between high tides. Due to the large variance of conditions possible in this region, it is inhabited by resilient wildlife that can withstand these changes such as barnacles, marine snails, mussels and hermit crabs. Tides flow over the middle intertidal zone two times a day and this zone has a larger variety of wildlife. The low intertidal zone is submerged nearly all the time except during the lowest tides and life is more abundant here due to the protection that the water gives.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: Organisms that live freely at the surface, termed neuston, include keystone organisms like the golden seaweed "Sargassum" that makes up the Sargasso Sea, floating barnacles, marine snails, nudibranchs, and cnidarians. Many ecologically and economically important fish species live as or rely upon neuston. Species at the surface are not distributed uniformly; the ocean's surface harbours unique neustonic communities and ecoregions found at only certain latitudes and only in specific ocean basins. But the surface is also on the front line of climate change and pollution. Life on the ocean's surface connects worlds. From shallow waters to the deep sea, the open ocean to rivers and lakes, numerous terrestrial and marine species depend on the surface ecosystem and the organisms found there.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: The ocean's surface acts like a skin between the atmosphere above and the water below, and harbours an ecosystem unique to this environment. This sun-drenched habitat can be defined as roughly one metre in depth, as nearly half of UV-B is attenuated within this first meter. Organisms here must contend with wave action and unique chemical and physical properties. The surface is utilised by a wide range of species, from various fish and cetaceans, to species that ride on ocean debris (termed rafters). Most prominently, the surface is home to a unique community of free-living organisms, termed neuston (from the Greek word, υεω, which means both to swim and to float. Floating organisms are also sometimes referred to as pleuston, though neuston is more commonly used). Despite the diversity and importance of the ocean's surface in connecting disparate habitats, and the risks it faces, not a lot is known about neustonic life.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: A stream of airborne microorganisms circles the planet above weather systems but below commercial air lanes. Some peripatetic microorganisms are swept up from terrestrial dust storms, but most originate from marine microorganisms in sea spray. In 2018, scientists reported that hundreds of millions of viruses and tens of millions of bacteria are deposited daily on every square meter around the planet.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: The deep sea contains up to 95% of the space occupied by living organisms. Combined with the sea floor (or benthic zone), these two areas have yet to be fully explored and have their organisms documented.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: In addition to providing many benefits to the natural world, marine ecosystems also provide social, economic, and biological ecosystem services to humans. Pelagic marine systems regulate the global climate, contribute to the water cycle, maintain biodiversity, provide food and energy resources, and create opportunities for recreation and tourism. Economically, marine systems support billions of dollars worth of capture fisheries, aquaculture, offshore oil and gas, and trade and shipping.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: Ecosystem services fall into multiple categories, including supporting services, provisioning services, regulating services, and cultural services.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: Coastal marine ecosystems experience growing population pressures with nearly 40% of people in the world living within 100 km of the coast. Humans often aggregate near coastal habitats to take advantage of ecosystem services. For example, coastal capture fisheries from mangroves and coral reef habitats are estimated to be worth a minimum of $34 billion per year. Yet, many of these habitats are either marginally protected or not protected. Mangrove area has declined worldwide by more than one-third since 1950, and 60% of the world's coral reefs are now immediately or directly threatened. Human development, aquaculture, and industrialization often lead to the destruction, replacement, or degradation of coastal habitats.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: Moving offshore, pelagic marine systems are directly threatened by overfishing. Global fisheries landings peaked in the late 1980s, but are now declining, despite increasing fishing effort. Fish biomass and average trophic level of fisheries landing are decreasing, leading to declines in marine biodiversity. In particular, local extinctions have led to declines in large, long-lived, slow-growing species, and those that have narrow geographic ranges. Biodiversity declines can lead to associated declines in ecosystem services. A long-term study reports the decline of 74–92% of catch per unit effort of sharks in Australian coastline from the 1960s to 2010s. Such biodiversity losses impact not just species themselves, but humans as well, and can contribute to climate change across the globe. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) states that managing and protecting marine ecosystems is crucial in attempting to conserve biodiversity in the face of Earth’s rapidly changing climate.


title: Marine ecosystem

text: International attention to address the threats of coasts has been captured in Sustainable Development Goal 14 "Life Below Water" which sets goals for international policy focused on preserving coastal ecosystems and supporting more sustainable economic practices for coastal communities. Furthermore, the United Nations has declared 2021-2030 the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, but restoration of coastal ecosystems has received insufficient attention.


title: Tales of the City

text: Tales of the City is a series of nine novels written by American author Armistead Maupin from 1978 to 2014, depicting the life of a group of friends in San Francisco, many of whom are LGBT. The stories from "Tales" were originally serialized prior to their novelization, with the first four titles appearing as regular installments in the "San Francisco Chronicle", while the fifth appeared in the "San Francisco Examiner". The remaining titles were never serialized, but were instead originally written as novels.


title: Tales of the City

text: "Tales of the City" has been compared to similar serial novels that ran in other city newspapers, such as "The Serial" (1976; Marin County), "Tangled Lives" (Boston), "Bagtime" (Chicago), and "Federal Triangle" (Washington, D.C.).


title: Tales of the City

text: Characters from the "Tales of the City" series have appeared in supporting roles in Maupin's later novels "Maybe the Moon" and "The Night Listener".


title: Tales of the City

text: The series opens with the arrival of Mary Ann Singleton, a naive young woman from Cleveland, Ohio, who is visiting San Francisco on vacation when she impulsively decides to stay. She finds an apartment at 28 Barbary Lane, the domain of the eccentric, marijuana-growing landlady Anna Madrigal, later revealed to be a transgender woman. Mary Ann becomes friends with other tenants of the building: the hippyish, bisexual Mona Ramsey; heterosexual lothario Brian Hawkins; the sinister and cagey roof tenant Norman Neal Williams; and Michael Tolliver, a sweet and personable gay man known to friends as Mouse (as in Mickey).


title: Tales of the City

text: Beyond the house, lovers and friends guide Mary Ann through her San Francisco adventures. Edgar Halcyon, Mary Ann's and Mona's boss; Edgar's socialite daughter DeDe Halcyon-Day (a character based on real-life art patron Dede Wilsey); and DeDe's scheming bisexual husband Beauchamp Day all provide a glimpse into a more affluent Californian class. Mother Mucca, Mrs. Madrigal's mother and owner of the Blue Moon Lodge brothel, brings mystery and comic relief. D'orothea Wilson returns from a modeling assignment in New York to resume an affair with Mona. Jon Fielding, Michael's lover and DeDe's gynecologist, becomes part of the social group. Michael's lovers later in the series include Thack Sweeney and the significantly younger Ben McKenna.


title: Tales of the City

text: Because installments were published so soon after Maupin wrote them, he was able to incorporate many current events into the plot of the series, as well as gauge reader response and modify the story accordingly.


title: Tales of the City

text: For example, Maupin once received a letter from a reader of the original serial, who pointed out that Anna Madrigal's name was an anagram for "A Man and a Girl", and Maupin "appropriated the idea".


title: Tales of the City

text: The AIDS epidemic of the 1980s affected San Francisco's gay community in particular (with many of Maupin's friends dying), which is reflected in the later books of the series.


title: Tales of the City

text: Real life people such as Jim Jones and a thinly veiled Elizabeth Taylor are mentioned in the story lines. A prominent closeted gay celebrity is represented as "______ ______" throughout the third novel, a reference to Rock Hudson, who was a friend of Maupin.


title: Tales of the City

text: Nearly two decades after "Sure of You", Maupin resumed the series with the release of the novel "Michael Tolliver Lives". Maupin originally stated that the novel was "NOT a sequel... and it's certainly not Book 7 in the series"; however, he later conceded:


title: Tales of the City

text: "Michael Tolliver Lives" was criticized by one critic for its thinly veiled autobiographical nature and for being the work of a beloved author trying to remember how he did it first time round. Maupin's next novel in the series, "Mary Ann in Autumn", returned to the style of the earlier "Tales" books, a multi-character tapestry of interwoven story lines. The novel "The Days of Anna Madrigal" was released on January 21, 2014.


title: Tales of the City

text: The first book was made into a 1993 television miniseries, produced by Channel 4 in the UK and screened by PBS in the US the next year. Showtime debuted the second and third installments, in 1998 and 2001, respectively; all featured Laura Linney as Mary Ann Singleton, Olympia Dukakis as Anna Madrigal, and Barbara Garrick as DeDe Halcyon-Day.


title: Tales of the City

text: In 2019, Netflix produced a sequel miniseries. Laura Linney, Olympia Dukakis, Paul Gross and Barbara Garrick all reprised their roles. Linney and Maupin were executive producers, Alan Poul directed, and Michael Cunningham wrote the first episode script. While not a direct adaptation of any of Maupin's novels like the first three miniseries were, this 10-part series takes the core characters along with certain characters and elements from Maupin's later "Tales" novels and weaves them into a new story set mostly in the present day.


title: Tales of the City

text: All of the books have been adapted and broadcast on BBC Radio 4. The BBC series names and first broadcast dates are:


title: Tales of the City

text: Maupin has collaborated on several "Tales"-themed musical projects. In March 1999, he participated in "Tunes from Tales (Music for Mouse)", a concert series with the Seattle Men's Chorus that included readings from the series and music from the era. Maupin provided a new libretto for "Anna Madrigal Remembers", a musical work composed by Jake Heggie and performed by choir Chanticleer and mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade on 6 August 1999.


title: Tales of the City

text: After a developmental reading at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Music Theater Conference in 2009, "Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City" premiered at the American Conservatory Theater in 2011, with a book by Jeff Whitty and the score by Jake Shears and John "JJ" Garden. The musical stage adaptation ran for two months with direction by Jason Moore, and a cast featuring Judy Kaye as Anna Madrigal, Betsy Wolfe as Mary Ann Singleton, Mary Birdsong as Mona Ramsey, and Wesley Taylor as Michael "Mouse" Tolliver. Reviews were generally positive, with new songs that "range from bawdy comic numbers to traditional solo ballads in which the principals give vent to the secret suffering in their hearts."


title: Jeon Hye-bin

text: Jeon Hye-bin (; ; born September 27, 1983), also known as BIN, is a South Korean actress, singer and model. In 2002, she began her career as singer of the short-lived, three-member girl group LUV. However, the group disbanded the following year due to individual goals.


title: Jeon Hye-bin

text: Following the disbandment of LUV, Jeon released her first solo album, "Love Somebody." She ventured into acting and appeared in her first television drama, "Sang Doo! Let's Go to School," and was cast in the 2004 horror film "Dead Friend". On 23 September 2005, she found mainstream success with her second album, "In My Fantasy". She decided in 2008 to focus on her acting career and starred in the television series "Yaksha" (2010), "My Love By My Side" (2011), "Insu, The Queen Mother" (2011) and "Queen of the Office" (2013), "Gunman in Joseon" (2014) and "Another Oh Hae-young" (2016).


title: Jeon Hye-bin

text: Jeon was born in Namyangju, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, on September 27, 1983. She attended Kyewon Arts High School and later furthered her studies at Dong guk University under the faculty of film and theater studies.


title: Jeon Hye-bin

text: Jeon Hye-bin made her entertainment debut in 2002 with the band LUV, alongside Jo Eun-byul and Oh Yeon-seo. They released their first album "Story" that year, which included the singles "Orange Girl" and "I Still Believe in You". However, the band was short-lived and disbanded barely after six months due to their low popularity.


title: Jeon Hye-bin

text: In 2003, Jeon appeared in the third season of MBC's sitcom "Nonstop" and was later cast in KBS' television series "Sang Doo! Let's Go to School". Her first solo album "Love Somebody" was released on July 31.


title: Jeon Hye-bin

text: In 2004, Jeon made her big screen debut in the horror film "Dead Friend". She was then cast in "Wet Dreams 2", a sex comedy film.