title: Nike sweatshops

text: Multiple international organizations work on behalf of Nike factory workers attempting to obtain higher wages, improve the working conditions of the factories, and enable them to organize. Global efforts have increased the information being spread about Nike sweatshop conditions. In countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Mexico, and Cambodia, where factories are common, non-governmental organizations push efforts by informing the community of the workers of the plants. Several well-known advocacy groups are the Global Exchange (United States), Christian Aid (United Kingdom), The Ethical Shopper (New Zealand), and the Clean Clothes Campaign (Europe).


title: Nike sweatshops

text: The main focus of political efforts within the countries that house the factories is an increase in the minimum wage for workers. In Indonesia, other legislative efforts included limits on the number of hours a person can work per day, mandated rest periods, minimum age requirements, and a maternity leave for women. Restrictions on labor activism and labor unions limits the amount of unification workers can develop within the factories. When laws in Indonesia were lifted in the late 1980s, factory workers and non-governmental organizations staged many strikes at Nike factories protesting the poor working conditions. The organizations also worked with international allies such as the United States to bring about awareness in foreign, and often wealthier, countries. These allies provided aide for the workers who were not paid while on strike.


title: Nike sweatshops

text: In a Vietnamese Nike factory, a worker accused his employer of striking him. After contacting a factory advocate, the worker was interviewed by a news station. The video eventually reached an ESPN affiliate in Vietnam, where it was viewed by millions of people before officials in the United States had formally heard of the incident.


title: Nike sweatshops

text: In 2000, Nike chairman Phil Knight planned to donate $30 million to his alma mater, the University of Oregon. When the University of Oregon joined the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), Knight revoked his donation because the WRC has been blocked by Nike from inspecting its factories. The Fair Labor Association (which was co-founded by Nike in 1980s) is supported by Nike and the United States government, while the Workers Rights Consortium is not. There has been debate between the university and Knight about the legitimacy of the FLA and which labor monitoring organization is more effective.


title: Nike sweatshops

text: Another dispute arose from Nike’s personalization system, NIKEiD. Comedian Jonah Peretti attempted to order a pair of shoes from Nike. He chose to have the word “sweatshop” embroidered on them. Nike sent Peretti an email explaining that his personalization request could not be granted for one of four things: it contained another party's trademark or other intellectual property, the name of an athlete or team Nike does not have legal right to use, profanity or inappropriate slang, or was left blank. Peretti replied, expressing to Nike that his personalization did not contain content violating the aforementioned criteria. Nike responded by allowing Peretti to alter his personalization and Peretti chose not to change it and cancelled the order. According to the Mises Institute, the publicity led to Nike selling more of the personalized shoes.


title: Casa Casuarina

text: Casa Casuarina, also known as the Versace Mansion, is an American property built in 1930, renowned for being owned by and the place of the murder of the Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace; he lived there from 1992 until his death in 1997. It is located at 1116 Ocean Drive in the South Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, Florida, in the Miami Beach Architectural District. Since 2015, it has been adapted into and operates as a luxury boutique hotel known as The Villa Casa Casuarina.


title: Casa Casuarina

text: Casa Casuarina was built in 1930 by Ronin Wolf in the Mediterranean Revival style for Alden Freeman (1862–1937), a philanthropist homosexual bachelor who was heir to a Standard Oil fortune. It is rumored that during construction, a time capsule was hidden in one of the walls.


title: Casa Casuarina

text: Freeman said the structure was modeled on the Alcázar de Colón, with its Coralline rock blocks. A block from the Alcázar de Colón structure is located on the right side of the main entrance. Addison Mizner designed the interior, including the use of key lime coral flooring.


title: Casa Casuarina

text: The name translates to "house of the Australian pine". Commentators suggest that it was named after a W. Somerset Maugham novel, "Under the Casuarina Tree", or maybe refers to a tree on the lot that survived the 1926 Miami hurricane.


title: Casa Casuarina

text: Major architecture features included an observatory and a small replica of the Homage Tower from the Fortaleza Ozama in the Dominican Republic. About 100 medallions of notable political figures, including Lenin, Mussolini, and Julius Caesar, are installed on the walls.


title: Casa Casuarina

text: Freeman was the son of Joel Francis Freeman (1836–1910), who served as treasurer of Standard Oil. The younger Freeman lived in the house with his adopted son Charles Boulton and Boulton's family. He died at the house on December 29, 1937.


title: Casa Casuarina

text: Jacques Amsterdam acquired the house for $100,000 and converted it into a 24-unit apartment building, naming it "The Amsterdam Palace". It changed hands several times and was renamed as the Christopher Columbus Apartments, in commemoration of its architectural features referring to Mediterranean style.


title: Casa Casuarina

text: Gianni Versace bought the house for $2.95 million in 1992. He restored the original name and returned it to private use, creating 8 bedrooms, 2 kitchens, 3 sitting rooms, 10 bathrooms, a bar, a library, and 4 living rooms. He installed modern systems, including central air conditioning. In 1993, Versace bought the adjoining Revere Hotel to the south for $3.7 million, which he tore down to make a pool and garden area for his house. Versace commissioned Sir Roy Strong, an English art historian and landscape designer, to work on creating the garden. He also had created gardens at Versace's Villa Fontanelle on Lake Como in Italy.


title: Casa Casuarina

text: In 2000, the mansion was purchased by Peter Loftin for $19 million. He renovated the property for use as a boutique hotel, restaurant, and luxury event space. The restaurant was Il Sole at The Villa Casa Casuarina.


title: Casa Casuarina

text: The mansion was bought by VM South Beach LLC (owned by the Nakash family) for $41.5 million in 2013. Since 2015, The Villa Casa Casuarina has been a luxury hotel with ten unique suites. The renowned gourmet restaurant Gianni's is housed there.


title: James St. James

text: James St. James (born James Clark; August 1, 1966) is a television personality, author, celebutante, frequent collaborator with Mathu Andersen, and former "Club Kid", a member of the New York City club scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s.


title: James St. James

text: St. James was notorious for a lifestyle of excess that included heavy drug use, partying, and bizarre costumes that first brought him to national attention as the subject of television appearances and interviews. He wrote "Disco Bloodbath" (now published under the title "Party Monster") that was later made into the feature film "Party Monster" (2003), starring Macaulay Culkin as Michael Alig and Seth Green as St. James. His life was the subject of the documentary "" (1998).


title: James St. James

text: James grew up in an affluent family in Saginaw, Michigan, where he lived with his mother after his parents divorced. In the summer, he would stay with his father and younger and older siblings in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, until he moved to Fort Lauderdale for high school.


title: James St. James

text: In the late 1980s, St. James became friendly with Michael Alig, although at first he and the other club personalities shunned the newcomer. Undeterred, Alig soon created his own scene by gathering up other creative personalities of the nightlife world; he used his flamboyant style, and engaged in self-promotion and innovative themed parties. St. James morphed from celebutante to Club Kid while helping Alig create the new scene. Alig and St. James threw many parties together, eventually setting up the Disco 2000 club night at the New York City club The Limelight. St. James wrote several columns, most famously for the short-lived New York City-based gay publication "OutWeek" during the magazine's two year life span, from 1989–1991.


title: James St. James

text: St. James appeared many times on television talk shows to discuss the Club Kids during the 1980s and 1990s, including "The Oprah Winfrey Show", "The Phil Donahue Show", "The Jerry Springer Show", "Geraldo", and the "Joan Rivers Show".


title: James St. James

text: St. James's debut book, "Disco Bloodbath" (1999), is a memoir that describes his life in the club scene, and documents the infamous rise to fame of Michael Alig and Alig's murder of Andre "Angel" Melendez. The film "" (1998) was released prior to but is based on events in "Disco Bloodbath", as is the film "Party Monster" (2003).


title: James St. James

text: St. James published a second book, "Freak Show" in 2007, a comedy/romance about a teenage drag queen who attends a new school and forges a relationship with the football team's quarterback. "Freak Show" was named to the American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults list. The book was adapted into a feature in 2017 by Maven Entertainment. The film was directed by Trudie Styler, and stars Alex Lawther, Abigail Breslin, and Bette Midler.


title: James St. James

text: St. James curates art shows at the World of Wonder Gallery for the production company World of Wonder, makers of both "" (1998) and "Party Monster" (2003), and blogs regularly on World of Wonder's website, the WOW Report.


title: James St. James

text: In the 2000s St. James has made regular appearances on "America's Next Top Model", cycles 5, 7, & 11, presenting contest skill challenges to the aspiring models. St. James also appeared in season 2, episode 9 of "RuPaul's Drag Race", where he interviewed the top four contestants on a red carpet before they walked the runway.


title: James St. James

text: St. James currently has a long running webseries through the World of Wonder channel WOWPresents, titled "Transformations: with James St. James." The webseries features various makeup artists, drag queens, Club Kids, and "RuPaul's Drag Race" alums giving St. James themed makeovers.


title: Mickey Rooney filmography

text: Mickey Rooney (1920–2014) was an American actor of stage, film, television, Broadway, radio, and vaudeville. Beginning as a child actor, his career extended over 88 years, making him one of the most enduring performers in show business history. He appeared in more than 300 films and was one of the last surviving stars of the silent film era, having one of the longest careers in the medium's history.


title: Mickey Rooney filmography

text: For a number of years, film exhibitors regularly voted Rooney as one of the top money making stars in the country in the annual "Quigley" Poll:


title: Mickey Rooney filmography

text: Rooney made countless appearances in TV sitcoms and television films. He also lent his voice to many animation films. Only his most important work is listed in this section.


title: Mickey Rooney filmography

text: In May 1956, Rooney received an honorary PhD in Fine Arts from both Fremont College and degree mill Sequoia University for his work in the entertainment field.


title: Mickey Rooney filmography

text: On February 8, 1960, Rooney was initiated into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a star heralding his work in motion pictures, located at 1718 Vine Street, one for his television career located at 6541 Hollywood Boulevard, and a third dedicated to his work in radio, located at 6372 Hollywood Boulevard. On March 29, 1984, he received a fourth star, this one for his live performances, located at 6211 Hollywood Boulevard.


title: Mickey Rooney filmography

text: He was the subject of a "This Is Your Life" programme in 1988, when he was surprised by Michael Aspel while appearing in Sugar Babies (musical) at London's Savoy Theatre.


title: Ciudad de la Paz

text: Djibloho - Ciudad de la Paz (, ), formerly Oyala, is a city in Equatorial Guinea that is being built to replace Malabo as the national capital. Established as an urban district in Wele-Nzas in 2015, it is now the administrative headquarters of Djibloho, Equatorial Guinea's newest province created in 2017, and is located near the town of Mengomeyén. In 2017, the city was officially renamed "Ciudad de la Paz" ("City of Peace").


title: Ciudad de la Paz

text: The planned city's location was chosen for its easy access and benign climate. It is notably on the mainland, in contrast to Malabo, which is on the island of Bioko. It was designed by the Portuguese Studio for Architecture and Urbanism FAT – Future Architecture Thinking. It is projected to have around 200,000 inhabitants, a new Parliament building, a number of presidential villas and an area of 8150 hectares. The construction of this new capital has been criticised by the political opposition to President Teodoro Obiang, the driving force behind the initiative. The Government of Equatorial Guinea began to move to the city in early 2017.


title: Ciudad de la Paz

text: Oyala – Ciudad de la Paz is located near the centre of Río Muni, the continental part of Equatorial Guinea. It is located between the cities of Bata and Mongomo and 20 km from the airport of Mengomeyén. The power supply relies upon the 120 MW Djibloho Dam in the district Djibloho Evinayong.


title: Ciudad de la Paz

text: Oyala – Ciudad de la Paz has a tropical climate that borders between a tropical monsoon climate and a tropical savannah climate. It has high overall rainfall, averaging 2142 mm a year, which supports the lush rainforests in the region. There is an extensive wet season, spanning 10 months of the year from September to June, and a brief and slightly cooler dry season covering the remaining two months, July and August. There is also a noticeably drier, though still wet, stretch in December and January. Temperatures remain very warm throughout the course of the year, albeit lower than one might expect in other places with the same climate, especially considering its proximity to the equator.


title: Ciudad de la Paz

text: In the middle of the undeveloped forest, the government plans to build a new city as the future seat of government. It will be the headquarters of the president, government, administration, police and military leadership and replace the current capital Malabo. The city is being designed to house 160,000–200,000 people, living in an area of 81.5 km. This corresponds to about a quarter of the population of Equatorial Guinea.


title: Ciudad de la Paz

text: A golf course, a university, and a luxury hotel were finished in 2013 and a six-lane highway is almost complete. In planning are government buildings, a financial district and residential areas. Three bridges and highways have been completed or are under construction. There will be a connection between the city and the new airport in Mengomeyen (the home of the president). The strategic importance of the port city of Bata will be developed for the neighbouring Gabon and for Central Africa. For the highways, huge swaths of forest were cleared and lanes blown up. The Portuguese Chamber of Commerce (AICEP) said the city should use renewable energy and be sustainable.


title: Ciudad de la Paz

text: Funding is provided through the AICEP. The plans come from a Portuguese architectural office. The construction work will be supported by China, Poland, Brazil and North Korea. Construction faces delays such as, according to unconfirmed reports, President Obiang ordered a building to be moved because he did not like the view. Additionally, all materials are imported.


title: Ciudad de la Paz

text: The city was designed by the Portuguese urban architecture "FAT – Future Architecture Thinking". Estimates of its ultimate population size have been revised from 65,000 initially to between 160,000 and 200,000.


title: Ciudad de la Paz

text: The city will be built on an area of 8,150 hectares (81.5 km or 20,100 acres) According to FAT, the Djibloho project "combines modernity and respect for the cultural roots of the country, promoting local identity and the richness of the ecosystem in which it operates, prioritizing sustainability in the most varied aspects" stressing that "this project aims to create the first global capital entirely dependent on renewable and sustainable energy."


title: Ciudad de la Paz

text: In 2021, a video sponsored by the China State Construction group which is part of the building consortium, showed what appear to be an overpass of completed but not yet functioning highways to Oyala, Bata, Mongomo and Mengomeyén airport. The video continued showing viewers around parts of the new city where work on a six-storey cylindrical tower-building for the ministry of infrastructure remained partly built, and most other structures appeared far less advanced.


title: Ciudad de la Paz

text: However, 2022 videos show two glass towers, the gateway to the campus of the Afro-American University of Central Africa, several administrative style buildings and the Grand Hotel Djibloho all looking functionally complete. The 380-room hotel has a golf course, wellness centre and facilities for conferences as large as 1200 people, though its own website describes itself as being surrounded by tropical forest which suggests that it is not in the heart of a city.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: Marlon N. Humphrey (born July 8, 1996) is an American football cornerback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He attended Hoover High School, where he was named to the USA Today All-USA high school football team in 2012 and 2013. During his tenure, he won a silver medal in the 110 metres hurdles at the 2013 World Youth Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine. He also was named as a USA Today All-American Track and Field Team.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: Humphrey played college football at Alabama in 2015 and 2016. During his stint, he intended to compete in track and football, but went on to play cornerback. In 2015, he and the Alabama football team won the CFP National Championship. In 2016, he was named to the College Football All-America Team.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: Humphrey was drafted 16th overall by the Ravens in the 2017 NFL Draft. In 2019, he changed his jersey number from 29 to 44 after the team signed Earl Thomas. He earned a first-team All-Pro honor in 2019 and was named to the Pro Bowl team in 2019 and 2020.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: A native of Hoover, Alabama, Humphrey attended Hoover High School, where he was a three-time All-State selection. During his junior and senior seasons, Hoover went a combined 30–1, winning AHSAA 6A State Championships in 2013. Humphrey was named as a USA Today High School All-American for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Humphrey was a highly-touted five-star prospect in the class of 2014 and received nine offers from Power Five schools, including Alabama, Florida State, UCLA, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Michigan State, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Humphrey was vocal about his preference for attending Alabama and officially visited only Mississippi, Florida State, and Alabama, officially committing to the latter on January 29, 2014.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: He was rated as high as the ninth-best recruit in the country, and three major recruiting websites all listed him as a top five player at his position. Rivals.com ranked Humphrey the highest positionally, behind only Jabrill Peppers. 247Sports.com ranked him third behind Tony Brown and Adoree' Jackson, and ESPN.com ranked him fifth behind Peppers, Brown, Jackson, and Teez Tabor. Rivals and 247Sports listed Humphrey as the best recruit from the state of Alabama in his class, while ESPN ranked him second behind Bo Scarbrough.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: In high school, Humphrey also competed at a world-class level in track. He won a silver medal in the 110 metres hurdles at the 2013 World Youth Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine. He lost to Jaheel Hyde of Jamaica, who established a new championship record and came .01 seconds shy of tying the World Youth Best held by Wilhem Belocian. Humphrey was also named to the "USA Today" All-American Track and Field Team.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: Humphrey intended to compete in football and track for the Crimson Tide. After redshirting his initial year in Tuscaloosa, he became a starter at cornerback in 2015.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: The Crimson Tide's second-string cornerback had an electrifying first year at Alabama. He earned the starting job in his first game against Wisconsin and ranked second on the team in interceptions with 3 during the 2015 season. Humphrey was an essential part of an elite 2015 Alabama defense earning Freshman All-American rights. The team went on to win their 16th national championship, with Humphrey recovering a key onside kick midway through the fourth quarter of the game.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: After his impressive first season, Humphrey ended up earning first-team All-American rights in his final stint with the team. He started 2016 with the team's first interception for a touchdown against USC, and started 14 games. Humphrey continued to dominate opposing receivers the rest of the season, and declared his early departure from the collegiate level for the NFL draft.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: Humphrey received an invitation to the NFL Combine and completed nearly all of the required drills, except for the shuttle and vertical. He participated at Alabama's Pro Day and decided to only do positional drills for the scouts and team representatives. He attended pre-draft visits with multiple teams, including the Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, and Pittsburgh Steelers.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Humphrey was projected to be a first round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the second best cornerback prospect in the draft by ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr., was ranked the third best cornerback in the draft by NFL analysts Bucky Brooks and Mike Mayock, was ranked the fourth best cornerback by ESPN, and was ranked the fifth best cornerback in the draft by Sports Illustrated and DraftScout.com.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: The Baltimore Ravens selected Humphrey in the first round (16th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. Humphrey was the second cornerback drafted in 2017, after Ohio State cornerback Marshon Lattimore (11th overall).


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: On May 5, 2017, the Baltimore Ravens signed Humphrey to a fully guaranteed four-year, $11.84 million contract with a signing bonus of $6.75 million.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: Humphrey competed against Brandon Carr to be a starting cornerback during training camp. Head coach John Harbaugh named Humphrey the third cornerback on the depth chart to begin the regular season, behind Jimmy Smith and Brandon Carr.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: He made his professional regular season debut in the Baltimore Ravens' season-opening 20–0 victory at the Cincinnati Bengals. On October 8, 2017, Humphrey earned his first career start and recorded three combined tackles during a 30–17 win at the Oakland Raiders in Week 5. On November 19, 2017, Humphrey recorded three combined tackles, deflected two passes, and made his first career interception in the Ravens' 23–0 victory at the Green Bay Packers in Week 11. Humphrey made his first career interception off a pass attempt by quarterback Brett Hundley, which was originally intended for wide receiver Jordy Nelson, and returned it for a 15-yard gain in the fourth quarter. In Week 13, he collected a season-high seven combined tackles, broke up a pass, and made an interception during a 44–20 win against the Detroit Lions. Humphrey became a starting cornerback for the last four regular season games after Jimmy Smith was placed on injured reserve after tearing his Achilles tendon. He finished his rookie season in 2017 with 34 combined tackles (30 solo), 11 pass deflections, and two interceptions in 16 games and five starts. He received an overall grade of 70.7 from Pro Football Focus in 2017.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: Head coach John Harbaugh named Humphrey a starting cornerback to begin the regular season after Jimmy Smith was suspended for the first four games for violating the league's personal conduct policy. He started in the Baltimore Ravens' season-opener against the Buffalo Bills and made two solo tackles and a season-high three pass deflections during a 47–3 victory. He finished the season playing in 14 games with eight starts, recording 37 combined tackles, a forced fumble, and a team-leading 15 pass deflections and two interceptions. He was given a grade of 80.0 by "Pro Football Focus", which ranked 11th among all cornerbacks.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: In 2019, Humphrey changed his jersey number from 29 to 44 to accommodate the signing of Earl Thomas for the 2019 season. In week 1 against the Miami Dolphins, Humphrey intercepted Josh Rosen once as the Ravens won 59–10.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: In week 4 blowout 25–40 loss to the Cleveland Browns, after getting into an altercation with Odell Beckham Jr., Humphrey pinned him to the turf. Initially, it appeared that Humphrey choked Beckham Jr., but the Ravens released a close-up video after the game that showed Humphrey had two fists full of jersey and did not touch Beckham Jr.'s neck. After the game, Humphrey apologized to Beckham and said that his response to Beckham was not a brand of football he wanted to represent.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: In week 5 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Humphrey forced wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to fumble the ball and recovered the ball. Humphrey's forced fumble set up a game-winning field goal by Justin Tucker in the 26–23 win.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: In week 6 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Humphrey recorded an interception off Andy Dalton in the 23–17 win.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: In week 7 against the Seattle Seahawks, Humphrey recovered a fumble for an 18-yard touchdown on a ball lost by rookie wide receiver DK Metcalf in the 30–16 win.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: In week 9 against the New England Patriots, Humphrey recovered a fumble forced by teammate Patrick Onwuasor on wide receiver Julian Edelman for a 70-yard touchdown in the 37–20 win. This was Humphrey's second touchdown in two games. The 70-yard fumble recovery touchdown set the record for longest in Baltimore Ravens team history.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: In week 16 against the Cleveland Browns, Humphrey intercepted a pass thrown by Baker Mayfield late in the fourth quarter which sealed a 31–15 Ravens' win. At the end of the regular season, Humphrey had been named to the Pro Bowl and the AP 2019 All-Pro Team.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: On April 28, 2020, the Ravens exercised the fifth-year option on Humphrey's rookie contract. In Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns, Humphrey recorded his first interception of the season off a pass thrown by Baker Mayfield during the 38–6 win. On October 1, Humphrey signed a five-year, $97.5 million contract extension with $66 million guaranteed. In Week 5 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Humphrey recorded his first career full sack on Joe Burrow during the 27–3 win. He also forced a fumble on wide receiver Mike Thomas which was returned for a 53 yard touchdown by teammate Patrick Queen. Humphrey was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on November 2, 2021, and was activated on November 11, 2020.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: On December 5, 2021, Humphrey suffered a season-ending torn pectoral muscle injury in a Week 13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was placed on injured reserve on December 7, 2021, becoming one of the 19 players that the Ravens would place on the list that season. He finished the year with 58 combined tackles, a quarterback hit, an interception, a forced fumble, and 13 pass deflections.


title: Marlon Humphrey

text: Humphrey returned to his starting role at the beginning of the 2022 season. In a 24–9 Week 1 win over the New York Jets, he had seven tackles, a quarterback hit, and recovered a fumble. He had his first interception of the year in a Week 3 37–26 win over the New England Patroits. The next week, Humphrey returned an interception 26 yards in a 20–23 loss to the Buffalo Bills.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: Research has found that attempted suicide rates and suicidal ideation among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) youth are significantly higher than among the general population.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: The passage of laws that discriminate against LGBT people has significant negative impacts on the physical and mental health and well-being of LGBT youth; for example, depression and drug use among LGBT people have been shown to increase significantly after the passage of discriminatory laws. By contrast, the passage of laws that recognize LGBT people as equal with regard to civil rights, such as laws supporting same-sex marriage, may have significant positive impacts on the physical and mental health and well-being of LGBT youth.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: Bullying of LGBT youth is a contributing factor in many suicides, even if not all of the attacks have been specifically regarding sexuality or gender. Since a series of suicides in the early 2000s, more attention has been focused on the issues and underlying causes in an effort to reduce suicides among LGBT youth. Research by the Family Acceptance Project has demonstrated that "parental acceptance, and even neutrality, with regard to a child's sexual orientation" can bring down the attempted suicide rate.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: Clinical social worker Caitlin Ryan's Family Acceptance Project (San Francisco State University) conducted the first study of the effect of family acceptance and rejection on the health, mental health, and well-being of LGBT youth, including suicide, HIV/AIDS, and homelessness. Their research shows that LGBT youths "who experience high levels of rejection from their families during adolescence (when compared with those young people who experienced little or no rejection from parents and caregivers) were more than eight times [more] likely to have attempted suicide, more than six times likely to report high levels of depression, more than three times likely to use illegal drugs, and more than three times likely to be at high risk for HIV or other STDs" by the time they reach their early 20s.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: Numerous studies have shown that lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth have a higher rate of suicide attempts than do heterosexual youth. The Suicide Prevention Resource Center estimated that between 5 and 10% of LGBT youth, depending on age and sex groups, have attempted suicide, a rate 1.5-3 times higher than heterosexual youth. This higher prevalence of suicidal ideation and overall mental health problems among gay teenagers compared to their heterosexual peers has been attributed to minority stress.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: Parents with higher levels of education or belonging to different ethnicities do not seem to provide significant impact on LGBT+ suicide statistics.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: In terms of school climate, "approximately 25 percent of lesbian, gay and bisexual students and university employees have been harassed due to their sexual orientation, as well as a third of those who identify as transgender, according to the study and reported by the "Chronicle of Higher Education"." Research has found the presence of gay–straight alliances (GSAs) in schools is associated with decreased suicide attempts; in a study of LGBT youth, ages 13–22, 16.9% of youth who attended schools with GSAs attempted suicide versus 33.1% of students who attended schools without GSAs.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: "LGBT students are three times as likely as non-LGBT students to say that they do not feel safe at school (22% vs. 7%) and 90% of LGBT students (vs. 62% of non-LGBT teens) have been harassed or assaulted during the past year."


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: An international study found that suicidal LGBT people showed important differences with suicidal heterosexuals, in a matched-pairs study. That study found suicidal LGBT people were more likely to communicate suicidal intentions, to search for new friends online, and to find more support online than did suicidal heterosexuals.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: The black transgender and gender non-conforming community has been found to face discrimination to a higher degree than the rest of the transgender community, which is due to the intersection of racism and transphobia. Research has found that this community experiences a higher level of poverty, suicide attempts, and harassment, while the effects of HIV and being refused health care due to transphobia and/or racism are greater as well.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: A survey by the National LGBTQ task force found that amongst the black respondents 49% reported having attempted suicide. Additional findings were that this group reported that 26% are unemployed and 34% reported an annual income of less than $10,000 per year. 41% of respondents reported homelessness at some point in their lives, which is more than five times the rate of the general US population. Also, the report revealed that the black transgender or gender non-conforming community reported 20.23% were living with HIV and that half of the respondents who attended school expressing a transgender identity or gender non-conformity reported facing harassment. 27% of black transgender youth reported being physically assaulted, 15% were sexually assaulted and 21% left school due to these instances of harassment.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: A more recent survey by The Trevor Project revealed that 21% of African American LGBT youth have attempted suicide throughout 2021. Amongst Native American youth, 31% of LGBT youth have attempted suicide, and amongst Latin American youth, 18% of survey respondents admitted they have attempted suicide in the past year.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: A 2022 study found that the use of gender-affirming hormone therapy in transgender and nonbinary youth was associated with a significant decrease in depression and suicidality.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: Familial responses to LGBT youth identities differ from person to person. They range from acceptance to outright rejection of the LGBT individual. "Family connectedness" is important in a LGBT youth's life because it will help establish a positive mental health. One of the negative outcomes of LGBT youth confiding in family members about their sexual identities is the risk of being kicked out of their homes. When these youth don't have the support and acceptance of their family, they are more likely to turn to other riskier sources.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: Amongst transgender youth, these effects are even more pronounced. In a sample of 84 transgender youth, those that reported being strongly supported by their parents, had a 93% lower suicide attempt rate (a 14-fold difference). In a separate survey of nearly 34,000 LGBT youth, those with supportive families reported a suicide attempt rate that was less than half of those without supportive families.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: Across OECD countries, the legalisation of same-sex marriage is associated with reductions in the suicide rate of youth aged 10–24, with this association persisting into the medium term. The establishment of the legal right of same-sex marriage in the United States is associated with a significant reduction in the rate of attempted suicide among children, with the effect concentrated among children of a minority sexual orientation.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: A study of nationwide data from across the United States from January 1999 to December 2015 revealed that the recognition of same-sex marriage is associated with a significant reduction in the rate of attempted suicide among children, with the effect being concentrated among children of a minority sexual orientation (LGBT youth), resulting in approximately 134,000 fewer children attempting suicide each year in the United States. Comparable findings are observed outside the United States. A study using cross-country data from 1991 to 2017 for 36 OECD countries found that same-sex marriage legalization is associated with a decline in youth suicide of 1.191 deaths per 100,000 youth, with this reduction persisting at least into the medium term.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: A study of country-level data across 36 OECD countries from 1991 to 2017 found that same-sex marriage legalization reduced the suicide rate of youth aged 10–24 by 1.191 deaths per 100,000 youth, equal to a 17.90% decrease. This decline was most pronounced in males for whom the suicide rate fell by 1.993 compared to a decrease of 0.348 for female youth, corresponding to decreases of 19.98% and 10.90%, respectively. The study worked by exploiting common factors in the youth suicide rate across time between the sample countries to econometrically estimate what the suicide rate would have been in the absence of same-sex marriage legalization for the countries and years that same-sex marriage was legal. The impact of same-sex marriage legalization could then be inferred by comparing this estimated counterfactual to the observed data across time, thereby enabling inferences to be interpreted causally. By virtue of this design, the researchers were able to establish that the association persisted at least into the medium term and that countries that recently adopted same-sex marriage (the Netherlands was the first country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001 and, as of 2017, 18 of the 36 sample countries had followed suit) also experienced declines in youth suicide. These findings indicate that future legalization in other developed countries would also engender a decrease in youth suicide over time.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: A study of nationwide data from January 1999 to December 2015 revealed an association between states that established same-sex marriage and reduced rates of attempted suicide among all schoolchildren in grades 9–12, with a rate reduction in all schoolchildren (LGB and non-LGB youth) in grades 9–12 declining by 7% and a rate reduction among schoolchildren of a minority sexual orientation (LGB youth) in grades 9–12 of 14%, resulting in approximately 134,000 fewer children attempting suicide each year in the United States. The gradual manner in which same-sex marriage was established in the United States (expanding from 1 state in 2004 to all 50 states in 2015) allowed the researchers to compare the rate of attempted suicide among children in each state over the time period studied. Once same-sex marriage was established in a particular state, the reduction in the rate of attempted suicide among children in that state became permanent. No reduction in the rate of attempted suicide among children occurred in a particular state until that state recognized same-sex marriage. The lead researcher of the study observed that "laws that have the greatest impact on gay adults may make gay kids feel more hopeful for the future". Other research shows that while this nationwide study has shown an association between states that established same-sex marriage and reduced rates of attempted suicide among all schoolchildren in grades 9–12, it does not show causation.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: The diathesis-stress model suggests that biological vulnerabilities predispose individuals to different conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and mental health conditions like major depression, a risk factor for suicide. Varying amounts of environmental stress increase the probability that these individuals will develop that condition. Minority stress theory suggests that minority status leads to increased discrimination from the social environment which leads to greater stress and health problems. In the presence of poor emotion regulation skills this can lead to poor mental health. Also, the differential susceptibility hypothesis suggests that for some individuals their physical and mental development is highly dependent on their environment in a "for-better-and-for-worse" fashion. That is, individuals who are highly susceptible will have better than average health in highly supportive environments and significantly worse than average health in hostile, violent environments. The model can help explain the unique health problems affecting LGBT populations including increased suicide attempts. For adolescents, the most relevant environments are the family, neighborhood, and school. Adolescent bullying – which is highly prevalent among sexual minority youths – is a chronic stressor that can increase risk for suicide via the diathesis-stress model. In a 2011 study of American lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents, Mark Hatzenbuehler found that a more conservative social environment elevated risk in suicidal behavior among all youth and that this effect was stronger for LGB youth. Furthermore, he found that the social environment partially mediated the relation between LGB status and suicidal behaviour. Hatzenbuehler found that even after such social as well as individual factors were controlled for, however, that "LGB status remained a significant predictor of suicide attempts."


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: Institutionalized and internalized homophobia may also lead LGBT youth to not accept themselves and have deep internal conflicts about their sexual orientation. Parents may abandon or force children out of home after the child's coming out.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: Homophobia arrived at by any means can be a gateway to bullying which can take many forms. Physical bullying is kicking, punching, while emotional bullying is name calling, spreading rumors and other verbal abuse. Cyber bullying involves abusive text messages or messages of the same nature on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks. Sexual bullying includes inappropriate touching, lewd gestures or jokes.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: Bullying may be considered a "rite of passage", but studies have shown it has negative physical and psychological effects. "Sexual minority youth, or teens that identify themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual, are bullied two to three times more than heterosexuals", and "almost all transgender students have been verbally harassed (e.g., called names or threatened in the past year at school because of their sexual orientation (89%) and gender expression (89%)") according to Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's "Harsh Realities, The Experiences of Transgender Youth In Our Nation’s Schools".


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: Several NGOs have started initiatives to attempt a reduction of LGBT youth suicides, such as The Trevor Project and the It Gets Better Project. Actions such as Ally Week, Day of Silence, and Suicide intervention have helped to combat both Self-harm and violence against LGBT people.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: A number of policy options have been repeatedly proposed to address this issue. Some advocate intervention at the stage in which youth are already suicidal (such as crisis hotlines), while others advocate programs directed at increasing LGBT youth access to factors found to be "protective" against suicide (such as social support networks or mentors).


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: One proposed option is to provide LGBT-sensitivity and anti-bullying training to current middle and high school counselors and teachers. Citing a study by Jordan et al., school psychologist Anastasia Hansen notes that hearing teachers make homophobic remarks or fail to intervene when students make such remarks are both positively correlated with negative feelings about an LGBT identity. Conversely, a number of researchers have found the presence of LGBT-supportive school staff to be related to "positive outcomes for LGBT youth". Citing a 2006 Psychology in the Schools report, The Trevor Project notes that "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth who believe they have just one school staff member with whom they can talk about problems are only 1/3 as likely as those without that support to... report making multiple suicide attempts in the past year."


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: Another frequently proposed policy option involves providing grant incentives for schools to create and/or support Gay–Straight Alliances, student groups dedicated to providing a social support network for LGBT students. Kosciw and Diaz, researchers for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, found in a nationwide survey that "students in schools with a GSA were less likely to feel unsafe, less likely to miss school, and more likely to feel that they belonged at their school than students in schools with no such clubs." Studies have shown that social isolation and marginalization at school are psychologically damaging to LGBT students, and that GSAs and other similar peer-support group can be effective providers of this "psychosocial support".


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: Educators can be proactive in helping adolescents with gender identity and the questions/issues that sometimes come with them. Normalizing education about sexualities and genders can help prevent adolescents from resorting to suicide, drug abuse, homelessness, and many more psychological problems. Van Wormer & McKinney (2003) relate that understanding LGBT students is the first step to suicide prevention. They use a harm reduction approach, which meets students where they are to reduce any continued harm linked with their behaviors. They relate that creating a supportive and culturally diverse environment is crucial to social acceptance in an educational setting.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: It could be beneficial to hire LGBT teachers to serve as role models and support LGBT students. Many of the resources in the U.S. are crisis-driven- not prevention-driven. In order to prevent suicide for LGBT adolescents, it needs to be the other way around. Furthermore, studies show that counselors and teachers need to be trained in self-awareness, sexuality and sexual diversity with themselves and with students. Researchers also suggest inviting gay/lesbian and bisexual panels from colleges or universities to conduct classroom discussions. Education and resources is potentially key to helping LGBT students and families. According to researcher Rob Cover, role models and resources benefit LGBT youth only if they avoid replicating stereotypes and provide diverse visual and narrative representations to allow broad identification.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: Having a PFLAG (Parents Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and GSA Club are possible resources to promote discussions and leadership roles to LGBT students. These resources extend outside of school and in the community. (Greytak, E. A., Kosciw, J. G., & Boesen, M. J. 2013) report that when schools have a GSA or Gay Straight Alliance club or a club promoting social awareness and camaraderie of sorts, supportive educators, inclusive curricula, and comprehensive policies that LGBT students were victimized less and had more positive school experiences. This would allow LGBT students to be positive and want to be in school.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: Examine a school's climate and teach tolerance – Teaching Tolerance is a movement, magazine and website which gives many tools and ideas to help people be tolerant of one another. It demonstrates that the classroom is a reflection of the world around us. Educators can use Teach Tolerance's website and book to download resources and look up creative ways to learn more about LGBT students and teaching tolerance to their students in the classroom. It helps schools get started with anti-bullying training and professional development and resource suggestions. It even relates common roadblocks and tips to starting a GSA club.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: Research shows that a collaborative effort must be made in order to prevent LGBT students from being bullied and/or committing suicide. Teachers, administrators, students, families, and communities need to come together to help LGBT students be confident. Each school has its own individuality, its own sense of "self", whether it be the teachers, administrators, students, or the surrounding community. In order to tackle the issue of bullying for LGBT students it needs to start with understanding the student population and demographic where the school lies. Educating students, faculty, staff, and school boards on LGBT issues and eliminating homophobia and transphobia in schools, training staff on diversity acceptance and bullying prevention, and implementing Gay–Straight Alliances is key to suicide prevention for LGBT students (Bacon, Laura Ann 2011). Adolescents grow and are shaped by many factors including internal and external features (Swearer, Espelage, Vaillancourt, & Hymel, 2010).


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: The school climate must foster respect. Thus, setting the tone for administration, teachers, professionals who enter the building, parents and most importantly the students. People, in general, need to understand their own misconceptions and stereotypes of what being LGBT is. Unless students and adults are educated on the LGBT community, than stereotypes and negative attitudes will continue to exist (Knotts, G., & Gregorio, D. 2011). The GMCLA (Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles) use music and singing as a vehicle for changing the attitudes and hearts of people in schools nationwide. Their goal is to bring music to standards-driven curriculum to youth with the purpose of teaching content in innovative and meaningful ways. They instill in students and staff techniques to foster positive meaning of the social and personal issues dealt with in school and society.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: Gay, L. (2009) has generated a guide to helping school safety/climate and fostering positive interpersonal relationships through "The Safe Space Kit". This tool helps teachers create a safe space for LGBT students. One of the most effective ways for an educator to create a safe space is to be a supportive ally to LGBT students. This kit has numerous tools for teachers and schools to utilize to help transgender youth, including: a hard copy of "The Safe Space Kit" includes the "Guide to Being an Ally", stickers and two Safe Space posters. Even utilizing something just to promote awareness, such as using "The Safe Space Kit" could be a good first step for schools to promote responsiveness to LGBT students. Providing some supports rather than none at all can benefit LGBT youth tremendously now and in the future (Greytak, et al. 2013).


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: OBPP is an anti-bullying program designed by psychologist Dan Olweus utilized in schools in Europe, Canada and the U.S. Reductions in bullying were due to parent training, playground supervision, home-school communication, classroom rules, and training videos. Furthermore, Swearer, et al. (2010) discuss a "dosage effect" in which the more positive and consistent elements included in a program, the more the likelihood that bullying would decrease. Success in one school does not guarantee success in another because each school has its own social climate. The OBPP is effective but still needs to be analyzed further, since there are many things to consider when implementing this technique within a large school.


title: Suicide among LGBT youth

text: Steps To Respect is an anti-bullying campaign which can be beneficial in schools as well – it is a comprehensive guide for teachers, administrators, and students utilizing in class lessons and training helping schools foster positive social-emotional skills and conflict resolution. If schools are able to change peer conduct and norms, increase student communication skills, and maintain adult prevention and intervention efforts, the positive effects of their work will strengthen over time (Frey, Edstrom & Hirschstein 2005) and continue to grow as each class progresses through the school system.


title: Morphogenesis

text: Morphogenesis (from the Greek "morphê" shape and "genesis" creation, literally "the generation of form") is the biological process that causes a cell, tissue or organism to develop its shape. It is one of three fundamental aspects of developmental biology along with the control of tissue growth and patterning of cellular differentiation.


title: Morphogenesis

text: The process controls the organized spatial distribution of cells during the embryonic development of an organism. Morphogenesis can take place also in a mature organism, such as in the normal maintenance of tissue by stem cells or in regeneration of tissues after damage. Cancer is an example of highly abnormal and pathological tissue morphogenesis. Morphogenesis also describes the development of unicellular life forms that do not have an embryonic stage in their life cycle. Morphogenesis is essential for the evolution of new forms.


title: Morphogenesis

text: Morphogenesis is a mechanical process involving forces that generate mechanical stress, strain, and movement of cells, and can be induced by genetic programs according to the spatial patterning of cells within tissues. Abnormal morphogenesis is called dysmorphogenesis.


title: Morphogenesis

text: Some of the earliest ideas and mathematical descriptions on how physical processes and constraints affect biological growth, and hence natural patterns such as the spirals of phyllotaxis, were written by D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson in his 1917 book "On Growth and Form" and Alan Turing in his "The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis" (1952). Where Thompson explained animal body shapes as being created by varying rates of growth in different directions, for instance to create the spiral shell of a snail, Turing correctly predicted a mechanism of morphogenesis, the diffusion of two different chemical signals, one activating and one deactivating growth, to set up patterns of development, decades before the formation of such patterns was observed. The fuller understanding of the mechanisms involved in actual organisms required the discovery of the structure of DNA in 1953, and the development of molecular biology and biochemistry.


title: Morphogenesis

text: Several types of molecules are important in morphogenesis. Morphogens are soluble molecules that can diffuse and carry signals that control cell differentiation via concentration gradients. Morphogens typically act through binding to specific protein receptors. An important class of molecules involved in morphogenesis are transcription factor proteins that determine the fate of cells by interacting with DNA. These can be coded for by master regulatory genes, and either activate or deactivate the transcription of other genes; in turn, these secondary gene products can regulate the expression of still other genes in a regulatory cascade of gene regulatory networks. At the end of this cascade are classes of molecules that control cellular behaviors such as cell migration, or, more generally, their properties, such as cell adhesion or cell contractility. For example, during gastrulation, clumps of stem cells switch off their cell-to-cell adhesion, become migratory, and take up new positions within an embryo where they again activate specific cell adhesion proteins and form new tissues and organs. Developmental signaling pathways implicated in morphogenesis include Wnt, Hedgehog, and ephrins.


title: Morphogenesis

text: At a tissue level, ignoring the means of control, morphogenesis arises because of cellular proliferation and motility. Morphogenesis also involves changes in the cellular structure or how cells interact in tissues. These changes can result in tissue elongation, thinning, folding, invasion or separation of one tissue into distinct layers. The latter case is often referred as cell sorting. Cell "sorting out" consists of cells moving so as to sort into clusters that maximize contact between cells of the same type. The ability of cells to do this has been proposed to arise from differential cell adhesion by Malcolm Steinberg through his differential adhesion hypothesis. Tissue separation can also occur via more dramatic cellular differentiation events during which epithelial cells become mesenchymal (see Epithelial–mesenchymal transition). Mesenchymal cells typically leave the epithelial tissue as a consequence of changes in cell adhesive and contractile properties. Following epithelial-mesenchymal transition, cells can migrate away from an epithelium and then associate with other similar cells in a new location. In plants, cellular morphogenesis is tightly linked to the chemical composition and the mechanical properties of the cell wall.


title: Morphogenesis

text: During embryonic development, cells are restricted to different layers due to differential affinities. One of the ways this can occur is when cells share the same cell-to-cell adhesion molecules. For instance, homotypic cell adhesion can maintain boundaries between groups of cells that have different adhesion molecules. Furthermore, cells can sort based upon differences in adhesion between the cells, so even two populations of cells with different levels of the same adhesion molecule can sort out. In cell culture cells that have the strongest adhesion move to the center of a mixed aggregates of cells. Moreover, cell-cell adhesion is often modulated by cell contractility, which can exert forces on the cell-cell contacts so that two cell populations with equal levels of the same adhesion molecule can sort out. The molecules responsible for adhesion are called cell adhesion molecules (CAMs). Several types of cell adhesion molecules are known and one major class of these molecules are cadherins. There are dozens of different cadherins that are expressed on different cell types. Cadherins bind to other cadherins in a like-to-like manner: E-cadherin (found on many epithelial cells) binds preferentially to other E-cadherin molecules. Mesenchymal cells usually express other cadherin types such as N-cadherin.


title: Morphogenesis

text: The extracellular matrix (ECM) is involved in keeping tissues separated, providing structural support or providing a structure for cells to migrate on. Collagen, laminin, and fibronectin are major ECM molecules that are secreted and assembled into sheets, fibers, and gels. Multisubunit transmembrane receptors called integrins are used to bind to the ECM. Integrins bind extracellularly to fibronectin, laminin, or other ECM components, and intracellularly to microfilament-binding proteins α-actinin and talin to link the cytoskeleton with the outside. Integrins also serve as receptors to trigger signal transduction cascades when binding to the ECM. A well-studied example of morphogenesis that involves ECM is mammary gland ductal branching.


title: Morphogenesis

text: Tissues can change their shape and separate into distinct layers via cell contractility. Just as in muscle cells, myosin can contract different parts of the cytoplasm to change its shape or structure. Myosin-driven contractility in embryonic tissue morphogenesis is seen during the separation of germ layers in the model organisms "Caenorhabditis elegans", "Drosophila" and zebrafish. There are often periodic pulses of contraction in embryonic morphogenesis. A model called the cell state splitter involves alternating cell contraction and expansion, initiated by a bistable organelle at the apical end of each cell. The organelle consists of microtubules and microfilaments in mechanical opposition. It responds to local mechanical perturbations caused by morphogenetic movements. These then trigger traveling embryonic differentiation waves of contraction or expansion over presumptive tissues that determine cell type and is followed by cell differentiation. The cell state splitter was first proposed to explain neural plate morphogenesis during gastrulation of the axolotl and the model was later generalized to all of morphogenesis.


title: Morphogenesis

text: In the development of the lung a bronchus branches into bronchioles forming the respiratory tree. The branching is a result of the tip of each bronchiolar tube bifurcating, and the process of branching morphogenesis forms the bronchi, bronchioles, and ultimately the alveoli.


title: Morphogenesis

text: Branching morphogenesis is also evident in the ductal formation of the mammary gland. Primitive duct formation begins in development, but the branching formation of the duct system begins later in response to estrogen during puberty and is further refined in line with mammary gland development.


title: Morphogenesis

text: Cancer can result from disruption of normal morphogenesis, including both tumor formation and tumor metastasis. Mitochondrial dysfunction can result in increased cancer risk due to disturbed morphogen signaling.


title: Morphogenesis

text: During assembly of the bacteriophage (phage) T4 virion, the morphogenetic proteins encoded by the phage genes interact with each other in a characteristic sequence. Maintaining an appropriate balance in the amounts of each of these proteins produced during viral infection appears to be critical for normal phage T4 morphogenesis. Phage T4 encoded proteins that determine virion structure include major structural components, minor structural components and non-structural proteins that catalyze specific steps in the morphogenesis sequence. Phage T4 morphogenesis is divided into three independent pathways: the head, the tail and the long tail fibres as detailed by Yap and Rossman.


title: Morphogenesis

text: An approach to model morphogenesis in computer science or mathematics can be traced to Alan Turing's 1952 paper called "The chemical basis of morphogenesis", a model now known as the Turing pattern.


title: Morphogenesis

text: Improvements in computer performance in the twenty-first century enabled the simulation of relatively complex morphogenesis models. In 2020, such a model was proposed where cell growth and differentiation is that of a cellular automaton with parametrized rules. As the rules' parameters are differentiable, they can be trained with gradient descent, a technique which has been highly optimized in recent years due to its use in machine learning. This model was limited to the generation of pictures, and is thus bi-dimensional.


title: Morphogenesis

text: A similar model to the one described above was subsequently extended to generate three-dimensional structures, and was demonstrated in the video game Minecraft, whose block-based nature made it particularly expedient for the simulation of 3D cellular automatons.


title: Peter Reid

text: A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career. He built his reputation as one of England's brightest midfield talents of the time at Bolton Wanderers, before signing for Everton in 1982. It was there that he enjoyed the most fruitful spell of his career, as he helped the club win domestic and European honours, including the Football League twice. He was voted as the PFA Players' Player of the Year in 1985 and came fourth in the World Soccer Player of the Year award, behind Michel Platini, Preben Elkjær and Diego Maradona. He also received his first senior England call-up that year, and represented his country at the 1986 FIFA World Cup and 1988 UEFA European Championship. He won 13 caps in total. Reid joined Queens Park Rangers in 1989, but moved on to Manchester City a year later to begin his managerial career.


title: Peter Reid

text: He spent three years at Maine Road as player-manager, and guided them to two fifth-place finishes in the First Division, the first of which saw them finish above their city rivals Manchester United. He was persuaded to resume his playing career after leaving Manchester City, and briefly played for Southampton, Notts County and Bury before returning to management with Sunderland in 1995. He won promotion to the Premier League with the club on two occasions and achieved two seventh-place finishes in the top division. He combined his role at the Stadium of Light with the job as manager of the England U21 for a brief spell in 1999. His seven-year association with Sunderland ended in 2002 and he returned to management a year later, helping Leeds United avoid relegation from the Premier League. Reid left Elland Road the following season.


title: Peter Reid

text: He was appointed manager of Coventry City in 2004 but his tenure lasted less than a year. He then worked as a pundit for the BBC at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and also worked for Sky Sports and ESPN before returning to management with Thailand in 2008. He won the T&T Cup with the country before returning to England as assistant manager to Tony Pulis at Stoke City, and helped them to an eleventh-place finish in the Premier League. He then managed Plymouth Argyle, taking over in June 2010, but was sacked after just over a year at the Devon club.


title: Peter Reid

text: Reid signed professional forms with Bolton Wanderers in 1974. He first won a medal when Bolton won the championship of the Football League Second Division in 1978, but he only enjoyed two seasons of First Division football before Bolton were relegated.


title: Peter Reid

text: The boyhood Liverpool fan transferred to rivals Everton in 1982, for £60,000 in 1982 only 12 months after a much larger fee had been mooted – a succession of injuries had cut the price.


title: Peter Reid

text: At club level his greatest achievement was as part of the Everton team that in 1984 won the FA Cup, in 1985 and 1987 the Football League championship and in 1985 the European Cup Winners' Cup. They nearly won a unique treble but lost 1–0 to Manchester United in the 1985 FA Cup final. In that game, Reid was recklessly challenged by Manchester United defender Kevin Moran who became the first player to be sent off in an FA Cup final.


title: Peter Reid

text: He was voted PFA Footballer of the Year in 1985, the same year that he collected a Football League title and European Cup Winner's Cup winner's medal. Reid's form was so good that year, he came 4th in the World Soccer player of the year award behind only Michel Platini, Preben Elkjaer and Diego Maradona.


title: Peter Reid

text: He made 167 appearances (eight as substitute) for Everton. In 2006, Reid was awarded with the 'Everton Giant' accolade.


title: Peter Reid

text: Reid signed for Queens Park Rangers on a free transfer in 1989, but only stayed for one season (1989–90) before signing for Manchester City, who were managed by former Everton manager Howard Kendall.


title: Peter Reid

text: Following his dismissal by Manchester City, in October 1993 Reid was persuaded by Ian Branfoot to resume his playing career with Southampton who were then in the middle of a crisis: the Saints fans were calling for Branfoot to be sacked with the club having lost eight of their first nine games. Reid brought a touch of guile and stability to the Saints side; despite playing only eight games he made a major contribution to the team's fortunes as Saints' season started to come together. He led them to some important victories, most specially over Newcastle United on 24 October 1993, a game in which Matthew Le Tissier scored two goals. His final game for Saints was a 3–1 victory over Chelsea on 28 December 1993.


title: Peter Reid

text: Branfoot was sacked a few days later (after a home defeat by Norwich City). Reid was touted as a possible replacement for Branfoot, but he stated that, as Branfoot had brought him to the club, it would only be fair that he left as well. Reid then had brief playing spells with Notts County and Bury before he retired from playing.


title: Peter Reid

text: Reid won 13 caps for England. Given his chance by the injuries to other players, he became the linchpin of the England team in the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. In the England v Argentina quarter-final at that tournament Reid was one of the England players left behind by Diego Maradona as he burst from inside his own half to score his 'Goal of the Century' second goal.


title: Peter Reid

text: Reid's managerial career began on 7 November 1990 at Manchester City, when he was appointed caretaker manager after the departure of Howard Kendall back to Everton. Reid was appointed player-manager on a permanent contract on 15 November.


title: Peter Reid

text: In 1990–91, Manchester City finished fifth (one place above neighbours Manchester United) and equalled this achievement the following season. In the first season of the Premier League (1992–93), City slipped into ninth place with an increasingly stale brand of 'long ball' football and Reid was sacked after a poor start to the following season.


title: Peter Reid

text: Reid bought Keith Curle and Terry Phelan for £2.5 million each. Colin Hendry was sold to be eventually replaced by Michel Vonk. Clive Allen was also sold in December 1991.


title: Peter Reid

text: Reid made his return to management in March 1995 with Sunderland, who were battling relegation in the First Division. He kept the club up, and the following season they were crowned champions of the division and were promoted to the Premier League.


title: Peter Reid

text: In 1996, a group of Sunderland fans under the name Simply Red and White released a song called "Daydream Believer (Cheer Up Peter Reid)" to the melody of "Daydream Believer". The song peaked at number 41 in the UK Singles & Album Chart. The fans recorded the song due to the fact the manager often had a dour demeanour, whilst the team was doing well, and even won promotion at the end of the season.


title: Peter Reid

text: The team was relegated back to the First Division at the end of the 1996–97 season, after losing their last match of the campaign at Wimbledon.


title: Peter Reid

text: Sunderland missed automatic promotion by one place in 1997–98 but reached the Division One play-off final, facing Charlton Athletic at Wembley Stadium. Reid's side missed out on promotion after drawing 3-3 after 90 minutes, 4-4 after extra time and losing 7–6 in a penalty shoot-out in one of the most dramatic play-off finals to date. The following season Sunderland bounced back by winning the Division One title with a then record 105 League points total. They topped the First Division table from October until the end of the season and clinched promotion on 13 April 1999 with a 5–2 win over Bury.


title: Peter Reid

text: Throughout 1999–2000, Sunderland were competing for a place in European competition but in the end missed out after finishing in seventh place, one of the highest finishes ever achieved by a Premier League team in the season after promotion. Striker Kevin Phillips was the highest league scorer in England and Europe with 30 goals in the Premier League, and therefore won the European Golden Shoe that season; he is the last Englishman to win the accolade to date. Reid also had a brief spell as manager of the England under-21 team in this season. For a while in 2000–01, Sunderland were second in the league and it looked as though they would secure qualification for the UEFA Champions League, but their form dipped in the final stages of the season and again they finished seventh.


title: Peter Reid

text: Reid's team suffered a downturn in the 2001–02 season ending up one place above the relegation zone and with just 28 goals from 38 games – fewer than any other team in the division. In a bid to halt the decline, Reid paid a club record £6.75million for Norwegian striker Tore André Flo from Rangers but was unsuccessful. Reid was dismissed in October 2002 after nearly eight years as Sunderland manager.


title: Peter Reid

text: Following his sacking from Sunderland, Reid was linked with the Republic of Ireland managerial position. He had even planned to apply for an Irish passport through his Drumcondra family connections. In March 2003 he was appointed caretaker manager of Leeds United after the dismissal of Terry Venables. The Elland Road club had been hit by £80 million debts after their £100 million outlay on new players in the space of five seasons had failed to land them a trophy. Reid looked to be the man to reverse the decline, especially after a 6–1 away win over Charlton Athletic and a 3–2 away win over Arsenal which ended the opposition's title hopes. After keeping Leeds up, he was awarded the job on a permanent basis.


title: Peter Reid

text: The club was still in a poor financial state, and Reid was forced to sell Harry Kewell and bring in cheaper signings from abroad as replacements. His new signings failed to gel and he was sacked in November 2003 after a 6–1 defeat against newly promoted Portsmouth. Although many of his signings left Leeds after the club was relegated, Kevin Blackwell, whom Reid had brought to Leeds as assistant manager, later went on to become manager in 2004.


title: Peter Reid

text: Reid was appointed manager of First Division side Coventry City in May 2004 with the aim of getting the club promoted to the Premier League. His spell at Highfield Road lasted only eight months as he departed on 6 January 2005 with the club 20th in the Championship.


title: Peter Reid

text: After an absence from management of nearly four years Reid became manager of Thailand in September 2008, having been linked with the position earlier in the year. He signed a four-year contract with an aim of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He admitted to not knowing much about Thai football, and referring to his players by squad numbers rather than their Thai names. Reid said "I was surprised by the players' ability and I'm learning things about football I'd never have learnt in the Premier League. It's great for my football education. This is pure football and I love it."


title: Peter Reid

text: Reid's first assignment as the new national coach of Thailand was to take part in the T&T Cup in Vietnam, a three-team round-robin tournament with hosts Vietnam and North Korea. Thailand beat North Korea in the first game of the tournament and then went on to draw with Vietnam to clinch the championship. On 9 September 2009, the Thailand Football Association (FAT) announced that Reid had left his position as manager; his contract was terminated by mutual consent after a year in charge.


title: Peter Reid

text: After Reid left the Thailand job on 10 September 2009, Reid joined Stoke City as assistant manager to Tony Pulis. Reid spent the 2009–10 season at Stoke before leaving in June 2010 in order to return to management.


title: Peter Reid

text: On 24 June 2010, Plymouth Argyle confirmed the appointment of Reid as manager. Reid endured an unexpectedly turbulent time with the Pilgrims who had just been relegated from the Football League Championship. The club was hit with two winding-up petitions from HMRC in November, and was forced to sell star players Bradley Wright-Phillips and Craig Noone in the January transfer window. Reid himself even auctioned off his FA Cup runners up medal and paid the club's heating bill at one point. Despite these efforts the club was docked 10 points for intention to enter administration in February 2011 and left Argyle bottom of League 1 with relegation seeming inevitable. The club's relegation to League 2 was confirmed on 2 May 2011 following a 3–1 defeat to Southampton, with the club finishing 23rd in League One.


title: Peter Reid

text: Reid was forced to sign an almost entirely new team over the summer of 2011, with 10 players making their debut on the opening day in a 1–1 draw with Shrewsbury Town. However the club were unable to build on the Shrewsbury result and lost their following 8 league games, all whilst the club was still stuck in financial turmoil. On 18 September, Peter Reid was sacked by acting chairman Peter Ridsdale with the club bottom of the Football League with just one point. Despite having a win rate of just 26% during his time at the club, Reid remains popular amongst Plymouth Argyle supporters because of his generosity and commitment during troubled times.


title: Peter Reid

text: On 4 September 2014, Reid was appointed manager of Mumbai City FC ahead of the inaugural Indian Super League season.


title: Peter Reid

text: On 18 March 2016, it was announced that Reid had returned to his first club Bolton Wanderers in a coaching capacity to assist interim manager Jimmy Phillips. He left at the end of the season.


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: BRAC is an international development organisation based in Bangladesh. In order to receive foreign donations, BRAC was subsequently registered under the NGO Affairs Bureau of the Government of Bangladesh. BRAC is the largest non-governmental development organisation in the world, in terms of number of employees as of September 2016. Established by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed in 1972 after the independence of Bangladesh, BRAC is present in all 64 districts of Bangladesh as well as 11 other countries in Asia, Africa, and the Americas.


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: BRAC states that it employs over 90,000 people, roughly 70 percent of whom are women, and that it reaches more than 126 million people with its services. The organisation is partly self-funded through a number of social enterprises that include a dairy and food project, a chain of retail handicraft stores called Aarong, seed and Agro, and chicken. BRAC has operations in 12 countries of the world.


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: Known formerly as the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee, then as the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, and later as Building Resources Across Communities, BRAC was initiated in 1972 by Sir Fazlé Hasan Abed at Shallah Upazillah in the district of Sunamganj as a small-scale relief and rehabilitation project to help returning war refugees after the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. 14 thousand homes had to be rebuilt as part of the relief effort, as well as several hundred fishing boats; BRAC claims to have done this within nine months, as well as opening medical centres and providing other essential services.


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: Until the mid-1970s, BRAC concentrated on community development through village development programmes that included agriculture, fisheries, cooperatives, rural crafts, adult literacy, health and family planning, vocational training for women and construction of community centres. A Research and Evaluation Division (RED) was set up to evaluate its activities and decide direction, and in 1977, BRAC began taking a more targeted approach by creating Village Organisations (VO) to assist the landless, small farmers, artisans, and vulnerable women. That same year BRAC set up a commercial printing press to help finance its activities. The handicraft retail chain called Aarong was established the following year.


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: In the late 1970s, diarrhoea was a leading cause of child mortality in Bangladesh. In February 1979, BRAC began a field trial, in two villages of what was then Sulla thana, of a campaign to combat diarrhoea. The following year they scaled up the operation and named it the Oral Therapy Extension Programme (OTEP). It taught rural mothers in their homes how to prepare an oral rehydration solution (ORS) from readily available ingredients and how to use it to treat diarrhoea. The training was reinforced with posters and radio and TV spots.


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: The ten-year programme taught 12 million households spread over 75,000 villages in every part of Bangladesh except the Chittagong Hill Tracts (which were unsafe to work in because of civil unrest). Fifteen years after they were taught, the vast majority of mothers could still prepare a safe and effective ORS. The treatment was little known in Bangladesh when OTEP began, but 15 years later it was used in rural households for severe diarrhoea more than 80% of the time, one of the highest rates in the world.


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: In 1986, BRAC started its Rural Development Programme that incorporated four major activities – institution building including functional education and training, credit operation, income and employment generation and support service programmes.


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: In 1991, the Women's Health Development programme commenced. The following year BRAC established a Centre for Development Management (CDM) in Rajendrapur.


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: In 1998, BRAC's Dairy and Food project was commissioned. BRAC launched an Information Technology Institute the following year.


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: Microfinance, introduced in 1974, is BRAC's oldest programme. It spans all districts of Bangladesh. It provides collateral-free loans to mostly poor, landless, rural women, enabling them to generate income and improve their standards of living. BRAC's microcredit program has funded over $1.9 billion in loans in its first 40 years. 95% of BRACs microloan customers are women. According to BRAC, the repayment rate is over 98%. BRAC started community empowerment programme back in 1988 all over the country.


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: BRAC founded its retail outlet, Aarong (Bengali for "village fair") in 1978 to market and distribute products made by indigenous peoples. Aarong services about 65,000 artisans, and sells gold and silver jewellery, hand loom, leather crafts, etc.


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: The Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction: Targeting the Ultra Poor (CFPR-TUP) project was initiated in 2002. The ultra poor are a group of people who eat below 80% of their energy requirements despite spending at least 80% of income on food. In Bangladesh, they constitute the poorest 17.5 percent of the population. These people suffer from chronic hunger and malnutrition, have inadequate shelter, are more prone to disease, deprived of education and more vulnerable to recurring natural disasters. The CFPR-TUP programme is aimed at households which are too poor to access the benefits from development interventions such as microfinance and assists them to access mainstream development services. The program costs around US$35 million a year.


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: BRAC is one of the largest NGOs involved in primary education in Bangladesh. As of the end of 2012, it had more than 22,700 non-formal primary schools with a combined enrolment of 670,000 children. Its schools constitute three-quarters of all NGO non-formal primary schools in the country.


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: BRAC's education programme provides non-formal primary education to those left out of the formal education system, especially poor, rural, or disadvantaged children, and drop-outs. Its schools are typically one room with one teacher and no more than 33 students. Core subjects include mathematics, social studies and English. The schools also offer extracurricular activities. They incentivise schooling by providing food, allowing flexible learning hours, and conferring scholarships contingent on academic performance.


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: Bangladesh has reduced the gap between male and female attendance in schools. The improvement in female enrollment, which has largely been at the primary level, is in part attributable to BRAC. Roughly 60% of the students in their schools are girls.


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: BRAC started providing public healthcare in 1972 with an initial focus on curative care through paramedics and a self-financing health insurance scheme. The programme went on to offer integrated health care services.


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: BRAC's 2007 impact assessment of its North West Microfinance Expansion Project testified to increased awareness of legal issues, including those of marriage and divorce, among women participants in BRAC programs. Furthermore, women participants' self-confidence was boosted and incidence of domestic violence were found to have declined. One of the most prominent forms of violence against women, acid throwing, has been decreasing by 15-20% annually since the enactment in 2002 of legislation specifically targeting acid violence.


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: BRAC conducted one of the largest NGO responses to Cyclone Sidr which hit vast areas of the south-western coast in Bangladesh in mid-November 2007. BRAC distributed emergency relief materials, including food and clothing, to over 900,000 survivors, provided medical care to over 60,000 victims and secured safe supplies of drinking water. BRAC is now focusing on long-term rehabilitation, which will include agriculture support, infrastructure reconstruction and livelihood regeneration.


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: BRAC has a collaboration with Nike's Girl Effect campaign to launch a new program to reach out to teenagers in Uganda and Tanzania.


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: In 2006 BRAC received donations from Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS) and Government of the Netherlands / Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN).


title: BRAC (organisation)

text: In 2012 the Department for International Development (DFID), Government of the UK and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and Australian Government (SPA) (under the strategic partnership arrangement) became BRAC donors as well.


title: Methanethiol

text: Methanethiol (also known as methyl mercaptan) is an organosulfur compound with the chemical formula . It is a colorless gas with a distinctive putrid smell. It is a natural substance found in the blood, brain and feces of animals (including humans), as well as in plant tissues. It also occurs naturally in certain foods, such as some nuts and cheese. It is one of the chemical compounds responsible for bad breath and the smell of flatus. Methanethiol is the simplest thiol and is sometimes abbreviated as MeSH. It is very flammable.


title: Methanethiol

text: The molecule is tetrahedral at the carbon atom, like methanol. It is a weak acid, with a p"K" of ~10.4, but is about a hundred thousand times more acidic than methanol. The colorless salt can be obtained in this way:


title: Methanethiol

text: Further oxidation takes the disulfide to two molecules of methanesulfonic acid, which is odorless. Bleach deodorizes methanethiol in this way.


title: Methanethiol

text: Methanethiol (MeSH) is released as a by-product of kraft pulping in pulp mills. In kraft pulping, lignin is depolymerized by nucleophilic attack with the strongly nucleophilic hydrosulfide ion (HS) in a highly alkaline medium. However, in a side reaction, HS attacks methoxyl groups (OMe) in lignin, demethylating them to give free phenolate groups (PhO) and releasing MeSH. Due to alkalinity, MeSH is readily deprotonated (MeSNa), and the formed MeS ion is also a strong nucleophile, reacting further to dimethyl sulfide. The compounds remain in the liquor and are burned in the recovery boiler, where the sulfur is recovered as sodium sulfide.


title: Methanethiol

text: Methanethiol is released from decaying organic matter in marshes and is present in the natural gas of certain regions, in coal tar, and in some crude oils. It occurs in various plants and vegetables, such as radishes.


title: Methanethiol

text: In surface seawater, methanethiol is the primary breakdown product of the algal metabolite dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP). Marine bacteria appear to obtain most of the sulfur in their proteins by the breakdown of DMSP and incorporation of methanethiol, despite the fact that methanethiol is present in seawater at much lower concentrations than sulfate (~0.3 nM vs. 28 mM). Bacteria in environments both with and without oxygen can also convert methanethiol to dimethyl sulfide (DMS), although most DMS in surface seawater is produced by a separate pathway. Both DMS and methanethiol can be used by certain microbes as substrates for methanogenesis in some anaerobic soils.


title: Methanethiol

text: Methanethiol is a byproduct of the metabolism of asparagus. The production of methanethiol in urine after eating asparagus was once thought to be a genetic trait. More recent research suggests that the peculiar odor is in fact produced by all humans after consuming asparagus, while the ability to detect it (methanethiol being one of many components in "asparagus pee") is in fact the genetic trait. The chemical components responsible for the change in the odor of urine show as soon as 15 minutes after eating asparagus.


title: Methanethiol

text: Methanethiol is prepared commercially by the reaction of methanol with hydrogen sulfide gas over an aluminum oxide catalyst:


title: Methanethiol

text: Methanethiol is mainly used to produce the essential amino acid methionine, which is used as a dietary component in poultry and animal feed. Methanethiol is also used in the plastic industry as a moderator for free-radical polymerizations and as a precursor in the manufacture of pesticides.


title: Methanethiol

text: This chemical is also used in the natural gas industry as an odorant, as it mixes well with methane. The characteristic rotting vegetation smell of the mix is widely known by natural gas customers as an indicator of a possible gas leak, even a very minor one.


title: Methanethiol

text: The safety data sheet (SDS) lists methanethiol as a colorless, flammable gas with an extremely strong and repulsive smell. At very high concentrations it is highly toxic and affects the central nervous system. Its penetrating odor provides warning at dangerous concentrations. An odor threshold of 1 ppb has been reported. The United States OSHA Ceiling Limit is listed as 10 ppm.


title: Methanethiol

text: On the 15th of November 2014, at Dupont's La Porte facility, a deadly release of Methyl Mercaptan occurred in a confined space, killing 4 and injuring 1 other.


title: Methanethiol

text: On 14 July 2022, there was an accidental release of methanethiol in Charlotte, North Carolina. While there were no injuries, a rare weather event caused the odor to persist for several hours. Many believed they were experiencing a natural gas leak, which lead to a high volume of emergency calls and the closure of several local government offices.


title: Claymore mine

text: The Claymore mine is a directional anti-personnel mine developed for the United States Armed Forces. Its inventor, Norman MacLeod, named the mine after a large medieval Scottish sword. Unlike a conventional land mine, the Claymore is command-detonated and directional, meaning it is fired by remote-control and shoots a wide pattern of metal balls into the kill zone. The Claymore can also be victim-activated by booby-trapping it with a tripwire firing system for use in area denial operations.


title: Claymore mine

text: The Claymore fires steel balls out to about within a 60° arc in front of the device. It is used primarily in ambushes and as an anti-infiltration device against enemy infantry. It is also used against unarmored vehicles.


title: Claymore mine

text: Many countries have developed and used mines like the Claymore. Examples include former Soviet Union models MON-50, MON-90, MON-100, and MON-200, as well as MRUD (Serbia), MAPED F1 (France), and Mini MS-803 (South Africa).


title: Claymore mine

text: The M18A1 Claymore mine has a horizontally convex gray-green plastic case (inert training versions are light blue or green with a light blue band). The shape was developed through experimentation to deliver the optimum distribution of fragments at range. The case has the words "FRONT TOWARD ENEMY" embossed on the front of the mine. A simple open sight on the top surface allows for aiming the mine. Two pairs of scissor legs attached to the bottom support the mine and allow it to be aimed vertically. On both sides of the sight are fuse wells set at 45 degrees.


title: Claymore mine

text: Internally the mine contains a layer of C-4 explosive behind a matrix of about seven hundred steel balls set into an epoxy resin.


title: Claymore mine

text: When the M18A1 is detonated, the explosion drives the matrix forward, out of the mine at a velocity of , at the same time breaking it into individual fragments. The steel balls are projected in a 60° fan-shaped pattern that is high and wide at a range of . The force of the explosion deforms the relatively soft steel balls into a shape similar to a .22 rimfire projectile. These fragments are moderately effective up to a range of , with a hit probability of around 10% on a prone man-sized target. The fragments can travel up to . The optimum effective range is , at which the optimal balance is achieved between lethality and area coverage, with a hit probability of 30% on a man-sized target.


title: Claymore mine

text: The weapon and all its accessories are carried in an M7 bandolier ("Claymore bag"). The mine is detonated as the enemy personnel approaches the killing zone. Controlled detonation may be accomplished by use of either an electrical or non-electrical firing system. When mines are employed in the controlled role, they are treated as individual weapons and are reported in the unit fire plan. They are not reported as mines; however, the emplacing unit must ensure that the mines are removed, detonated, or turned over to a relieving unit. The M4 electric firing wire on a green plastic spool is provided in each bandolier. The M57 firing device (colloquially referred to as the "clacker") is included with each mine. An M40 circuit test set is packed in each case of six mines. When the mines are daisy-chained together, one firing device can detonate several mines.


title: Claymore mine

text: The mine can be detonated by any mechanism that activates the blasting cap. There are field-expedient methods of detonating the mine by tripwire, or by a timer, but these are rarely used.


title: Claymore mine

text: The development of the M18A1 mine dates back to work done during World War II. The Misznay–Schardin effect was independently discovered during World War II by József Misznay, a Hungarian, and Hubert Schardin, a German. When a sheet of explosive detonates in contact with a heavy backing surface (for example, a metal plate), the resulting blast is primarily directed away from the surface in a single direction. Schardin spent some time developing the discovery as a side-attack anti-tank weapon, but development was incomplete at the end of the war. Schardin also spent time researching a "trench mine" that used a directional fragmentation effect.


title: Claymore mine

text: Following the massed Chinese attacks during the Korean War, Canada and the United States began to develop projects to counter them. Canada fielded a weapon called the "Phoenix" landmine, which used the Misznay–Schardin effect to project a spray of steel cubes towards the enemy. The cubes were embedded in of Composition B explosive. It was too large to be a practical infantry weapon and was relatively ineffective, with a maximum effective range of only 20 to 30 yards (about 20 to 30 meters).


title: Claymore mine

text: Around 1952 Norman MacLeod, at his company the Calord Corporation, began working on a small directional mine for use by infantry. It is not clear if the United States Picatinny Arsenal took the concept from the Canadian weapon and asked Norman MacLeod to develop it, or if he developed the design independently and presented it to them. MacLeod designed a weapon called the T-48; broadly similar to the final M18A1, it lacked a number of the design details that made the M18A1 effective.


title: Claymore mine

text: Through Picatinny, the United States Army accepted the weapon into service as the M18 Claymore and approximately 10,000 were produced. It was used in small numbers in Vietnam from around 1961. It was not until the improved M18A1 was developed that the Claymore became a widely used weapon.


title: Claymore mine

text: The M18 was long and high, held in a plastic case with three folding spike legs on the bottom. An electrical blasting cap for triggering the mine was inserted through a small hole in the side. Internally the mine consisted of a layer of of C-3 explosive (the forerunner of C-4 explosive) in front of which was laid an array of steel cubes. In total the mine weighed about , and could be fitted with an optional peep sight for aiming. It lacked the later version's iconic "FRONT TOWARD ENEMY" marking. The mine was planted in the ground, using its three sharp legs, and aimed in the direction of enemy approach; at that point, it was fitted with an electrical blasting cap. The mine was triggered from a safe position, preferably to the side and rear. The mine was barely more than a prototype and was not considered a "reliable casualty producer"; like the Phoenix it had an effective range of only .


title: Claymore mine

text: MacLeod applied for a patent for the mine on 18 January 1956 and was granted it in February 1961. The patent was later the subject of a civil court case between MacLeod, the Army, and Aerojet, which further developed the Claymore design. MacLeod's case collapsed when photographs of the German Trenchmine prototype were produced as evidence of prior art.


title: Claymore mine

text: In 1954 Picatinny Arsenal issued a request for proposals (RFP) to improve the M18 as a more effective weapon. At Aerojet in the early 1950s, Guy C. Throner had independently come up with a design for a Claymore-like mine. He worked with Don Kennedy and the two men submitted a 30-page proposal in response to Picatinny's RFP. They were awarded a $375,000 development contract to improve the Claymore design. The Picatinny criteria for the weapon were as follows: