"Aurornis" was described from a sedimentary rock fossil in 2013. The fossil was purchased from a local dealer who said it had been unearthed in Yaoluguo in western Liaoning, China. At first, analysis confirmed it came from the Tiaojishan Formation, which has been dated to the late Jurassic period, about 160 million years ago. The fossil features traces of downy feathers along the animal's tail, chest, and neck. It was only partly prepared at the time of purchase; the feathers were not showing, and the fossil bore no signs of forgery.
On 7th June 2013 Science (journal) said that Pascal Godefroit, the paleontologist who led the team that described "Aurornis", is uncertain if the fossil material came from Liaoning province's 160-million-year-old Tiaojishan Formation as claimed by the fossil dealer. It may be from the province's 125-million-year-old Yixian Formation, which is known to have produced several ancient bird fossils. The failure to secure rigorous provenance casts doubt on the claim that "Aurornis" is 160 million years old and predates "Archaeopteryx". Godefroit's team will try to confirm the specimen's age by mineralogical and botanical analysis on the shale slab.
"Aurornis" was roughly the size of a modern pheasant – in length from beak to tail tip. It had claws and a long tail. Its leg bones are similar to those of "Archaeopteryx", but overall its bone structure is more primitive. The absence of larger feathers suggests "A. xui" was unable to fly. If "Aurornis" lived roughly 160 million years ago, this is about ten million years before "Archaeopteryx", which often has been described as the first bird.
A phylogenetic analysis of "Aurornis" published in 2013 found that it belongs in the bird lineage, in a more basal position than "Archaeopteryx". The analysis was based on "almost 1,500 [anatomical] characteristics."
The classification of "A. xui" as a bird is somewhat contentious, however, due to the various differing definitions of the word "bird". Recent discoveries "[emphasize] how grey the dividing line is between birds and [non-avian] dinosaurs", says Paul Barrett of the Natural History Museum, in London. "There's such a gradation in features between them that it's very difficult to tell them apart ... ["Aurornis xui"] is certainly an older member of the bird lineage than "Archaeopteryx", and it's fair to call it a very primitive bird. But what you call a bird comes down to what you call a bird, and a lot of definitions depend on "Archaeopteryx"." Bird evolution specialist Lawrence Witmer called the new analysis compelling, but said it remains difficult to distinguish birds from birdlike dinosaurs: "All of these little feathered species running and flapping around ... were all very similar."
American paleontologist Luis Chiappe said that "A. xui"'s forelimb is too short to be a true bird. It "is very birdlike, but it is not yet a bird," he concluded.
Casting (metalworking)
In metalworking, casting is the act of pouring liquid metal in to a mold. When it hardens it is sometimes called a "cast" or "casting".
Casting processes have been used for thousands of years. It is widely used for making sculptures, jewellery, weapons and tools.
Canadair CL-13 Sabre
The Canadair CL-13 Sabre is a jet aircraft built in Canada. It is similar to the F-86 Sabre made by the USA. About 1800 of these planes were built from 1950 under a license from the United States. It was used in Canada and Germany.
Development Regions of Nepal
Nepal was divided into 5 Development Regions (), 14 Administrative Zones () and 75 Districts () before 20 September 2015. After 20 September 2015, Nepal is divided into 7 provinces and 77 districts.
Zones of Nepal
Nepal is divided into 14 administrative zones ("anchal") and 77 districts ("jillā"). The 14 administrative zones are grouped into five development regions.
In 1962, Nepal reorganized into 14 administrative zones but, around 1995, zones fell into disuse, so the already existing development regions effectively became the primary subdivisions.
The administrative zones, by development regions and from east to west, are the following:
Willie Degel
William Jack "Willie" Degel (born September 1, 1967) is an American entrepreneur who started and is the chief financial officer of the "Uncle Jack's Steakhouse" chain of restaurants in New York City. He is best known as the host of "Restaurant Stakeout" on Food Network. He was born in Queens, New York.
Degel opened his first restaurant, "Hollywood and Main", in June 1990 in Flushing, Queens. Six years later, he opened "Uncle Jack's Steakhouse", which has three locations in New York City. In March 2012, Degel began hosting "Restaurant Stakeout", where he goes to different restaurants around the country with hidden cameras to take a look at problems with the service that the restaurants are having.
Restaurant Stakeout
Restaurant Stakeout is an American reality television program that airs on Food Network. It began on March 12, 2012. It follows New York City restaurant owner Willie Degel, who goes to different restaurants around the country with hidden cameras to take a look at problems with the service that the restaurants are having. The show has actors who go into the restaurants to be rude or difficult to the employees. The second season began on August 29, 2012. It is one of the first "reality" series to air on Food Network.
DVD-Audio
DVD-Audio is an audio format similar to the CD. It is commonly claimed to have higher audio quality than the CD. DVD-Audio has not become popular due to the cost and rarity of the players, and because the traditional CD is considered good enough. Tests have shown that the traditional CD already has the highest possible audio quality. This has been mathematically proven by the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem. DVD-Audio does, however, support surround sound, and many DVD-Audio releases are available with surround sound. The traditional CD theoretically supports surround sound too, but, with the exception of DTS and Dolby Surround-encoded CDs, no surround-capable CD player has ever been made, and no surround-formatted CD has ever been released.
DVD-audio supports multiple sample rates, including 44.1 (same as CD), 48 (same as DAT and DVD-Video), 88.2, 96, 176.4, and 192 kHz, with either 16, 20, or 24-bit encoding. Surround sound is supported up to the 96 kHz sample rate; higher sample rates can only be in mono or stereo. DVD-Audio also uses 56-bit encryption on the audio data (DVD-Video uses 40-bit CSS encryption and CD does not use encryption). The 56-bit encryption algorithm is a modified version of DES, and like DES it has been broken. DVD-Video content may be present on a DVD-Audio disc to enable compatibility with video-only players. Unlike Super Audio CD, there is no mechanism for compatibility with standard CD players.
Boris Christoff
Boris Christoff (18 May 1914 – 28 June 1993) was a Bulgarian singer. He sang in the bass range. Critics thought him to be one of the great acting singers of the 20th century. He sang some 40 roles. His most famous role was Boris Godunov. He also received kudos for his Philip II in Verdi's "Don Carlo", and for his Mephistopheles in Gounod's "Faust". He sang several Wagnerian roles. These included Hagen in "Gotterdammerung" and King Mark in "Tristan und Isolde".
Christoff was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. He sang in the Gusla Choir. King Boris of Bulgaria gave him a private stipend to study in Rome. He studied with Riccardo Stracciari. He also studied in Salzburg, Austria. After World War II, Christoff lived in Rome. In 1950, he was hired to sing the title role in "Boris Godunov" at Covent Garden. This became the role he was known for. He sang in the United States. He never sang at the Metropolitan Opera. Problems with his visa made this impossible.
Italian Peninsula