juno-labs/simple_wikipedia huggingface dataset:
Hurdy gurdy

A **hurdy gurdy** is a stringed musical instrument played by a rosin-covered wheel. It dates back to the Middle Ages.
The hurdy gurdy can create three types of sounds. The melody is played on melody strings by pressing keys on the side of the instrument. These press tangents against the strings. Hurdy gurdies can also have drone strings, which play one note continuously. Many hurdy gurdies also have a buzzing bridge. Turning the wheel faster causes this to make a rhythmic buzzing sound.
its a pretty cool instrument. it makes a funny drone noise and it plays similar to a violin. :)

## Bands that feature hurdy gurdies

- Omnia
- Valravn
- Faun
- Kelten Zonder Grenzen
- The Mediaeval Baebes
Magician

A **magician** is an entertainer who does illusions and magic tricks by learning about the tricks of the mind and using them to his/her **advantage**; magicians will occasionally use props, such as a pack of cards.

The most famous magicians are:
- Harry Houdini
- David Copperfield
- Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin
- David Blaine
- P.C. Sorcar
- Doug Henning

## Related pages

- List of magicians
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

The **P-47 Thunderbolt** (also called **The Jug** ) was a fighter aircraft made by Republic Aviation. It first flew in 1941, and was introduced in 1942. It had a very big Pratt and Whitney R-2800-59 engine, which had more than 2,000 horsepower. Because of this, the P-47 could go more than 430 miles per hour. In fact, it was the biggest engine ever at the time.  It had 8 machine guns, 2 more than most fighters. It's shape and speed made it similar to the Fw 190.

During 1944, the P-51 Mustang was lighter, faster, and could turn better. Because of this, it started replacing the P-47 as a fighter. The P-47 was then used for bombing in late World War II. It was retired from the American Air National Guard in 1955.

Now, there is a jet called the A-10 Thunderbolt II, and it is named after the P-47.

## Related pages

- P-40 Warhawk

## Infobox (aircraft begin)

- **name**: P-47 Thunderbolt
- **image**: File:Republic P-47N Thunderbolt in flight.jpg
- **caption**: XP-47N flying over the Pacific during World War II


## Infobox (aircraft type)

- **type**: Fighter-bomber
- **manufacturer**: Republic Aviation
- **designer**: Alexander Kartveli
- **first flight**: 6 May 1941
- **introduction**: November 1942
- **retired**: 1966, Peruvian Air Force
- **primary user**: United States Army Air Forces
- **more users**: Royal Air Force
French Air Force
- **produced**: 1941–1945
- **number built**: 15,636
- **unit cost**: US$83,000 in 1945
- **variants with their own articles**: Republic XP-72
Judo

is a modern Japanese martial art and Olympic sport.  It was developed in 1882 by Jigorō Kanō. Judo is the most internationally competed form of jacket wrestling in the world today.

Judo is very scientific in its training methods and fighting techniques.

## History

Judo grew out of an older martial art, _Jujutsu_ or _Jū-jutsu_.

_Jujutsu_ was an ancient and deadly martial art which used chokes, throws, joint locks, and strikes. Kanō created judo by using techniques which were common in jujutsu. He eliminated techniques that he thought were dangerous in training, so that students could train with resistance. Some basic throws are Tai-otoshi and De-ashi-barai (these are in Japanese). There are two types: groundwork and feet work. Ground work is when both players are on the ground. Usually the attacker would be on top and the uke (defender) would be on the bottom. In feet work both players would move along the mat in a variety of moves.  Every once in a while a player will throw their opponent on the floor. In competitions the players will go full on for each other. Once someone has thrown their opponent down, they need to hold them down for 20 seconds or the point will not count. The person who has the most points at the end wins a gold, silver or bronze.

## Use of Judo in competitions

Judo has been included in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo for men and female judokas started competing in the 1992 Summer Olympics as well as the Commonwealth Games from 1990 initially as optional sport but from 2022, it is now a core sport.

## Rules for female judokas

Al female judokas must tie their hair either into a pony tail, neat hair bun or a messy hair bun. All female judokas also wear either blue or white judogis with a plain white T-shirt and also a black belt. All female judokas can play judo barefoot.

## Related pages

- Sports in Japan
- Boxing
- Fencing
- Sport
- Wrestling
Michelle Williams

**Michelle Williams** may refer to different people:

- Michelle Williams (actress) - American Academy Award-nominated actress. She is best known for her parts in the movie _Brokeback Mountain_ and the television series _Dawson's Creek_.
- Michelle Williams (singer) - American singer. She was a member of the group Destiny's Child.
Humus

**Humus** (or **humous**) is the organic matter in the soil. It is made of dead parts of plants and animals. Humus takes in water and has plenty of nutrients. Nitrogen is the most important. Plants put roots into the soil to get the water and nutrients. Humus is good for plants because it is like a sponge.

The dark colour of humus (usually black or dark brown) helps to warm up cold soils in the spring.

When plants and insects die they are first raw organic matter. Bacteria and fungi eat the raw material, but they do not eat all of it. They leave a small amount behind. The part they leave behind is named "humus". This activity is dynamic and keeps happening. There is always more dead material arriving on top. So the soil always has organic material in it, along with small pieces of rock.

In agriculture, "humus" usually means mature compost, or some taken naturally from a forest, where it may have lived for many years.

## Related pages

- Biomass
- Organic matter
Soil science

**Soil science** deals with soil as a natural resource on the surface of the earth.

It includes soil formation, classification and mapping.

But many more sciences deal with knowledge of soils and the advancement of the soil sciences: engineering, agronomists, chemistry, geology, geography, biology, microbiology, sylviculture, public health, archaeology, and regional planning.

"Soil" refers to anything between the top of the dirt and the top of the underlying rock (called "bedrock"). Soil is often broken into layers. The top layer is high in organic matter (rotting plants and such). Then there is a layer of soil where rain water has removed some metals (called "leaching"). Those metals get collected in another, lower layer. Finally, there is a layer made up mostly of broken bits of bedrock. A soil can have all of these layers, or only a few.

Soils are important because most groundwater, which is used in everything from city water supplies to farming, is found in soil, not bedrock.

## Fields of application in soil science

- Soil survey
- Soil management
- Standard methods of analysis
- Soil fertility / Nutrient management
- Ecosystem studies
- Climate change
- Watershed and wetland studies
- Pedotransfer function

## Related disciplines

- Agricultural sciences
    - Irrigation management
- Anthropology
    - archaeological stratigraphy
- Environmental science
    - Landscape ecology
- Geography
    - Physical geography
- Geology
- Hydrology
    - Hydrogeology
- Waste management
- Wetland science

## Other websites

- Certified Professional Soil Scientist
- Registered Professional Soil Scientist  (PDF)
- SoilScience.info
- SoilScience.info's Daily Dirt - Soil Science in Mainstream Media and Popular Press
- SoilScience.info's Job Listings
King's Counsel

**King's Counsel** (postnominal **KC**), during the reign of a female sovereign known as **Queen's Counsel** (**QC**), are senior lawyers in various Commonwealth countries.

They are appointed by letters patent to be one of "His Majesty's Counsel learned in the law".  They are not a separate type of lawyer. They are more than long serving lawyers,  because their status is given by the Crown and recognised by the courts.

King's Counsel have the privilege of sitting within the Bar of court, and wear silk gowns of a special design (hence the informal title **Silks**).   The special robes are the reason why becoming a
KC is often called "taking silk".

In order to "take silk" a lawyer usually has to serve as a barrister or a Scottish advocate for at least 10 years. Recently solicitors have also been appointed King's Counsel.

A KC's status means they generally charge higher fees than ordinary barristers, and always have another barrister as an assistant.  This assistant is called a "junior" even if the junior has been a lawyer longer than the "silk".
Pedogenesis

**Pedogenesis** or **soil evolution (formation)** is how soil is created.

Climate regulates soil formation. Soils develop more in areas with more rainfall and more warmth. The rate of chemical weathering increases by 2-3 times when the temperature increases by 10 degrees Celsius (50°F). Climate also affects which organisms are present, affecting the soil chemically and physically (movement of roots, burrowing by animals).

The organisms living in and on the soil form distinct soil types. Coniferous forests have acidic leaf litter. Mixed or deciduous forests leave a larger layer of humus. Prairies have very high humus accumulation, creating a dark, thick soil.

The rock from which soil is formed is called 'parent material' (bedrock). The main types are: eolian (wind), glacial material, alluvium, lake material other parent materials.

Pedogenesis is the major topic of the science of **pedology**. Its other aspects include the soil morphology, classification (taxonomy) of soils,  and their distribution in nature.

## Related pages

- Topography

## References

- Buol, Stanley W; F.D. Hole & R.W. McCracken. 1997. _Soil genesis and classification_. 4th ed, Iowa State Univ. Press, Ames.
- Hole Francis D. & J.B. Campbell. 1985. _Soil landscape analysis_. Totowa Rowman & Allanheld.
11 (number)

**11** (**eleven**  or ) is a number. It comes between ten and twelve, is an odd number, and is the 5th prime number, after 2, 3, 5, and 7.

In Roman numerals 11 is written as **XI**.

## Infobox (number)

- **number**: 11
- **cardinal**: eleven, 'leven, oneteen, enteen
- **ordinal text**: eleventh, 'leventh, oneteenth, enteenth
- **factorization**: prime number, prime
- **prime**: 5th
- **divisor**: 1, 11
- **greek prefix**: Wiktionary:hendeca-, hendeca-/hendeka-
- **latin prefix**: Wiktionary:undeca-, undeca-
- **lang1**: Hebrew numerals, Hebrew numeral
- **lang1 symbol**: <span style="font-size:150%;">יא</span>
12 (number)

**12** (also written as **twelve**) is a number. It comes between eleven and thirteen, and it is an even number. It is divisible by 2,3,4,6.

and 12. Its ordinal is 12th (twelfth). In Roman numerals, it is written as **XII**. It is the base of duodecimal numbers. It is often called **dozen**.

12 is also referred to as, The Twelve Imams or the Twelve Apostles of Christ

The number twelve carries religious, mythological and magical symbolism, generally representing perfection, entirety, or cosmic order in traditions since antiquity.

## Mathematics

- Twelve is the first abundant number.
- Twelve is a composite number, meaning it is divisible by other numbers, not only 1 and itself.
In Roman numerals 12 is written as **XII**.

## In the world

There are 12 months in a year

There are 12 gods in Greek and Roman Mythology.

There are 12 zodiac signs

## Infobox (number)

- **number**: 12
- **cardinal**: twelve, twenteen
- **ordinal text**: twelfth, twenteenth
- **divisors**: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12
- **roman numeral**: XII
- **greek prefix**: Wiktionary:dodeca-, dodeca-/dodeka-
- **latin prefix**: Wiktionary:duodeca-, duodeca-
14 (number)

**14** (**fourteen**) is a number. It is between 13 and 15. It is an even number.  It is divisible by 1, 2, 7, and 14.

In Roman numerals, 14 is written as **XIV**.

## Infobox (number)

- **number**: 14
- **cardinal**: fourteen, eptwin
- **ordinal text**: fourteenth, eptwinth
- **numeral**: tetradecimal
- **divisor**: 1, 2, 7, 14
- **greek prefix**: tetrakaideca-
- **latin prefix**: quattuordec-
Rock (geology)

**Rocks** are a naturally occurring solid. Some rocks are man made which means they are created in a factory like concrete or ceramic pipes.  Rocks are made of collections of mineral fruits that are held together in a firm, solid mass. They are made of minerals (which are crystalline), or other mineral-like substances.

The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. That means the Earth's crust is made of rock. The different minerals in the rocks make different kinds of rock.

Rock is often covered by soil or water. You can find them in many different places like the park, beach or forest. It is beneath the oceans, lakes, and rivers of the earth, and under the polar icecaps. Petrology is the scientific study of rocks.

## Rock classification

Rocks are classified by their minerals and chemical make-up. The processes that formed them are also noted. Rocks may be igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. Rock types may change in a so-called 'rock cycle'.

### Igneous rocks

- _For the main article, see Igneous rock_

Igneous rocks are formed when molten magma cools, either above or below the surface. They are divided into two main categories: plutonic rock and volcanic rock. Plutonic or intrusive rocks are made when magma cools and crystallizes slowly within the Earth's crust (example granite). Volcanic or extrusive rocks result from magma reaching the surface either as lava or ejecta (examples pumice and basalt). There are over 700 hundred types of igneous rocks, and they are usually the hardest and heaviest of all rocks.

### Sedimentary rock

- _For the main article, see Sedimentary rock_

Sedimentary rocks are the most common rocks on Earth. They form at or near the Earth's surface. Sedimentary rock is formed in layers which were laid down one by one on top of another. Some of the layers are thin, some are thick. Layers are made by deposition of sediment, organic matter, and chemical precipitates. Of the rocks exposed on the Earth's surface, 66 percent of it are sedimentary rocks.
Deposition is followed by squeezing of sediment under its own weight, and cementation. This process is called 'consolidation': it turns the sediment into a more or less hard substance. 75% of the Earth is covered in this type of rock.

The approximate amounts of different kinds of sedimentary rock are:
1. Shale (including mudstone, and siltstone): 60%
1. Sandstones 20%.
1. Carbonate rocks (limestone and dolomite): 15%.
1. All others: 5%.

Only sedimentary rocks have fossils.

### Metamorphic rock

- _For the main article, see Metamorphic rock_

Metamorphic rocks are formed by rocks coming under great pressure and high temperatures without melting. These temperatures and pressures are found under mountains and volcanoes, especially when continental plates move together. These conditions change the make-up of the original minerals.

## Impact on human life

Rocks have had an impact on human life. They have been used by humans for over two million years. The mining of rocks for their metals has been important in human advancement. Rocks are mined for building materials of all kinds.

## Related pages

- Geology
- Quarrying
- Bedrock
15 (number)

**15** (**fifteen**) is a number. It is between fourteen and sixteen, and is an odd number. It is divisible by 1, 3, 5, and 15.

In Roman numerals, 15 is written as **XV**.

## Infobox (number)

- **number**: 15
- **cardinal**: fifteen, fim
- **ordinal text**: fifteenth, fimth
- **divisor**: 1, 3, 5, 15
- **lang1**: Hebrew (language), Hebrew
- **lang1 symbol**: <span style="font-size:150%;">ט"ו</span> (Tet Vav)
16 (number)

**16** (**sixteen**) is a number. It comes between fifteen and seventeen, and is an even number.  It is also the 4th square number, after 1, 4, and 9. It is the base of hexadecimal numbers.

In Roman numerals, 16 is written as **XVI**.

## Infobox (number)

- **number**: 16
- **numeral**: hexadecimal
- **divisor**: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16
- **lang1**: Hebrew (language), Hebrew
- **lang1 symbol**: <span style="font-size:150%;">ט"ז</span> (Tet Zayin)
Weathering

**Weathering** is the breaking down of rocks, soil and their minerals through direct contact with the Earth's atmosphere, waters, or living things. It is a natural process.

Weathering occurs in one place with little or no movement, and should not be confused with erosion which is when rocks and minerals are moved to another place by ice, water, wind or gravity.

## Mechanical weathering

Mechanical or physical weathering is when the rocks and minerals are broken down but the chemical composition remains the same. Mechanical weathering physically breaks up rock.

### Wind

Wind can blow water or small particles such as sand against the rock thus breaking it down.

### Rain

Rain is another force that works slowly. The force of raindrops on some rocks make them wear down. Rain also can make a chemical change in some rocks, because it is usually slightly acidic. The water mixes with the minerals in the rock to break it down.

### Temperature

Changing temperature can make a rock crack. Every day when the sun shines on the rock, its surface is heated. Heat causes the surface to expand (get bigger) a little. The inside of the rock, though, does not heat up as fast as the outside of the rock. The inside of the rock stays cooler. At night, the surface cools down and contracts. The expanding and contracting makes some places on the surface weak, and a crack is made.

Also, if water gets into a crack in a rock and the temperature goes below the freezing point, the water will freeze and expand. After some time, the rock may be weak enough to break into pieces.

### Ice

Ice, which can be miles thick, grinds the surface of the rock below it. The particles are carried with the ice, and if a glacier ends up in the sea, so does all the material carried with it.

### Lava or magma

Lava or magma can cause weathering when molten rock touches older rock. It causes the older rock to change form to a different crystal structure.

## Chemical weathering

Chemical weathering is the breaking down of rock which changes the chemical composition.

### Carbon dioxide cycle

The carbon dioxide cycle is the most important for weathering. CO<sub>2</sub> is put into the atmosphere mostly by volcanoes, and it is taken out of the atmosphere by photosynthesis, and by one other process.

While it is in the air, CO<sub>2</sub> can dissolve in water droplets to form weak carbonic acid.

When rain hits rock it does so with mechanical energy and dilute acid. The acid dissolves many types of minerals and rocks though, of course, very slowly. When a mineral like feldspar is dissolved, it lets sodium ions into the sea; chlorine ions come from other minerals. The sea tastes salty because of the elements which have been dissolved out of rocks.

## Related pages

- Erosion
- Pedogenesis
Recrystallisation

**Recrystallization** (see also crystallization) is an essentially physical process that has meanings in chemistry, metallurgy and geology.

In chemistry, recrystallization is a procedure for purifying compounds. A crystal compound often has other compounds on it that make it less useful. To get rid of these extra items, the crystal is placed in a boiling liquid. Soon the crystal dissolves. The boiling solution, or the mix of the liquid and the dissolved crystal, gets colder. The crystal will form again. The unwanted compounds stay in the solvent, or the liquid. Now the crystal is pure and made of only the compound. Each type of compound works best in a certain type of liquid. Sometimes two or more liquids mixed together are needed to dissolve a crystal.

In geology, solid-state recrystallization is a metamorphic process that occurs under situations of intense temperature and pressure where grains, atoms or molecules of a rock or mineral are packed closer together, creating a new crystal structure.
Limestone is a sedimentary rock that undergoes metamorphic  recrystallization to form marble, and clays can recrystallize to muscovite mica.

In metallurgy, recrystallization is the nucleation and growth of new undeformed grains in a deformed metal.

For ice, recrystallization means the growth of larger crystals at the expense of smaller ones. Some biological antifreeze proteins have been shown to inhibit this process, and the effect may be relevant in freezing-tolerant organisms.

## Related pages

- Crystal
- Crystallization
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

The **Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981** is an law for environmental conservation made by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It protects native species and restricts the release of non-native species into the wild. The Act is split into four parts. Killing most mammals and almost all birds is illegal in the United Kingdom, except for certain types and for certain reasons.

## Licenses

General licences under the act to hunt birds are issued each year by the Department for Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in England. The Department can give a licence to kill or disturb birds. It also gives out a general licence. This allows any "authorised person", that is someone who has the landowner's permission, to kill certain birds, or to destroy their eggs or nests, if there is no other way to get rid of the birds.

This table shows the name of the bird, and the reasons () that type of bird can be destroyed.

|Common name|Scientific name|To prevent the spread of disease<sup>1</sup>|To help conserve wild birds|To preserve public health or public safety||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Canada Goose|Branta Canadensis|||||
|Crow|Corvus corone|||||
|Dove, Collared|Streptopelia decaocto|||||
|Gull, Great Black-backed|Larus marinus|||||
|Gull, Herring|Larus argentatus|||||
|Gull, Lesser Black-backed|Larus fuscus|||||
|Jackdaw|Corvus monedula|||||
|Jay|Garrulus glandarius|||||
|Magpie|Pica pica|||||
|Pigeon, Feral|Columba livia|||||
|Rook|Corvus frugilegus|||||
|Woodpigeon|Columba palumbus|||||
<sup>1</sup>or to prevent serious damage to livestock or damage to foodstuffs for livestock, crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber, fisheries or inland waters.

## Other websites

- Official text of the Act
Soil classification

**Soil classification** means that one finds categories of soils that are based on general characteristics as well as criteria that decide about the use that is possible.

Soil classification can be approached from both the perspective of pedogenesis and from soil morphology. But in both cases interpretations do not vary widely.

## Further reading

- Eswaran, H., Rice, T., Ahrens, R., & Stewart, B. A. (Eds.). (2002). Soil classification : a global desk reference. Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press.
- McBratney, A. B., & de Gruijter, J. J. (1992). A continuum approach to soil classification by modified fuzzy k-means with extragrades. Journal of Soil Science, 43(1), 159-175.

## Other websites

- A Compendium of On-Line Soil Survey Information - Soil Classification for Soil Survey by D. G. Rossiter
- Engineering soil description and classification
Manor house

A **manor house** or **fortified manor-house** is a country house, which has historically formed the centre of a **manor** (see Manorialism).  The term is sometimes used for relatively small country houses which belonged to gentry families, as well as to grand stately homes, particularly as a technical term for minor late medieval castles more intended for show than for defence.

In general terms, the manor house was the house of a feudal lord of a manor, which he occupied only on occasional visits if he held many manors. Although not built with strong fortifications as castles were, many manor houses were partly fortified: they were enclosed within walls or ditches. Often the farm buildings were within these walls as well. Many manor houses had small gatehouses and watchtower<nowiki/>s.

The main feature of the manor house was its great hall. By the beginning of the 16th century, manor houses as well as small castles began to acquire the character and amenities of the residences of country gentlemen. This late 16th century transformation produced many of the smaller Renaissance châteaux of France and the many country mansions of the Elizabethan and Jacobean styles in England.

In France, the terms _château_ or _manoir_ are often used to describe a French manor house. _Maison-forte_ is another French word to describe a strongly fortified manor house.  In the western France provinces of Brittany and Normandy, certain large manors enjoyed real means of protection.

In modern usage, the term _manor_ or _manor house_ is often used, especially outside Europe, to mean simply either a country house or indeed any other house considered to resemble one, without any reference to age or to the historical sense of the term.

## Related pages

- Mansion
- Reality TV show recreating life in an Edwardian manor house.

## Other websites

- Estonian Manors Portal - the English version gives the brief overview of 438 best preserved manor houses in Estonia.
English country house

The **English country house** is generally accepted as a large house that was once in the ownership of an individual who in most of the cases owned another great house in the West End of London. The country house was not only a weekend retreat for aristocrats, but also often a full time residence for the minor gentry.

## Evolution of the English country house

The country houses of England have developed over the last 500 years. Before this time most larger houses were fortified, because their owners were feudal lords or overlords of their manor. The Tudor period of stability in the country saw the first of the large unfortified country houses.

With the rise of modern industry and urbanization, when people left the country to go to the big cities the popularity of country houses declined as there were less people in the country. After 1945 it became very difficult to pay for the huge staff that was required to maintain these houses.

## References

- Girouard, Mark. _Life in the English Country House : a social and architectural history_ details the impact of social change on design

## Other websites

- The National Trust - England, Wales, & Northern Ireland
- The National Trust for Scotland
- English Heritage
- An English Manor House Head Gardener's Online Diary
- Lost Heritage - A Memorial to the Lost Country Houses of England
Larynx

The **larynx** (plural _larynges_), also known as the **voice box**, is an organ in the neck of humans and animals. It helps to protect the wind pipe by stopping it from inhaling food. It also helps with breathing and making sounds. The larynx houses the vocal cords.

## Function

The larynx makes the voice. Both pitch and loudness are controlled here. It has a small slit through which air passes and makes the vocal cords vibrate. The vibrating vocal cords make the air vibrate. This sound changes as it travels through the vocal tract. It becomes a different sound based on the position of the tongue, lips, mouth, and pharynx.

When swallowing, the backward motion of the tongue forces part of the larynx called the epiglottis to cover up the opening to the larynx, also called the laryngeal opening. This is to stop the food swallowed from entering the lungs. The larynx is also pulled upwards to help with this process. If the larynx is irritated by something that is swallowed, a strong cough reflex is used to protect the lungs.

## Disorders of the larynx

There are several things that can cause a larynx to not function properly. Some symptoms are hoarseness, loss of voice, pain in the throat or ears, and breathing difficulties. Larynx transplant is not done very often. The world's first successful operation took place in 1998 at the Cleveland Clinic, and the second took place in October 2010 at the University of California Medical Center in Sacramento.

- Acute laryngitis is the sudden inflammation and swelling of the larynx. It is caused by the common cold or by excessive shouting. It is not serious. Chronic laryngitis is caused by smoking, dust, frequent yelling, or prolonged exposure to polluted air. It is much more serious than acute laryngitis.
- Presbylarynx is age-related hardening of the soft tissues of the larynx. It results in weak voice and restricted vocal range. Bowing of the front portion of the vocal cords is found on laryngoscopy (_an examination of the larynx_).
- Polyps and nodules are small bumps on the vocal cords. They can be caused by prolonged exposure to cigarette smoke and vocal misuse.
- Two related types of cancer of the larynx, namely squamous cell carcinoma and verrucous carcinoma, are strongly associated with repeated exposure to cigarette smoke and alcohol.
- Laryngeal spasm.
- Laryngopharyngeal reflux is a condition in which acid from the stomach irritates and burns the larynx. Similar damage can occur with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
- Laryngomalacia is a very common condition of infancy. The soft, immature cartilage of the upper larynx collapses inward during inhalation, causing the airway to be (partly) blocked.
- Laryngeal perichondritis, the inflammation of the perichondrium (_a connective tissue around the cartilage_) of laryngeal cartilages, causing the airway to be (partly) blocked.

## Related pages

- Pharynx

## References

- **Speech and Hearing Science: Anatomy and Physiology** 3rd edition. Willard R. Zemlin. 1988. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

## Infobox (anatomy)

- **name**: Larynx
- **latin**: larynx
- **greek**: λάρυγξ
Endangered species

An **endangered species** is a  group of animals or plants which is threatened by becoming extinct. This could happen because there are few of that animal left, its predators have grown in number, or the climate that it lives in is changing, or the places it lives in have been destroyed.

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has worked out that endangered species are 40% of all organisms.

## How to get rid of endangered species

Many countries have laws to protect these plants and animals. These laws, if obeyed, can save species by stopping hunting, land development or making parks and reserves. Poaching and other illegal activities, however, can still destroy them.

Only a few plants and animals at risk of extinction, mostly vertebrates, are put on the lists and get legal protection. Many more species become extinct, or will become extinct, without people knowing about it.

## Mammal

This is a list of some mammals that are endangered. They include:
- Asiatic linsang
- Asiatic lion
- Black-footed ferret
- Black rhinoceros
- Blue whale
- Dhole
- Ethopian wolf
- Hairy-eared dwarf lemur
- Indonesian mountain weasel
- Snow leopard
- Tiger
- White rhinoceros  _(currently considered as near endangered)_

## Birds

Endangered birds include:
- Albatross
- Crowned solitary eagle
- Grey parrot

## Related pages

- CITES
- IUCN Red List
- Protected area

## Further reading

- _Endangered or Not, but at Least No Longer Waiting_ March 6, 2013 New York Times
Archosaur

**Archosaurs** are a big group of reptiles, including all crocodiles, birds, dinosaurs, and pterosaurs (flying reptiles). There are also some smaller extinct groups, mostly from the Triassic period.

The Archosaurs are a monophyletic clade, and do not include reptiles such as the Squamata (lizards and snakes) and the Sphenodontia (_Sphenodon_).

They have these diagnostic features, called _synapomorphies_ in cladistics talk:
- Teeth set in sockets, which makes them less likely to be torn loose during feeding. Some archosaurs, such as birds, are secondarily toothless.
- Holes in the skull in front of the eyes, but behind the nostrils. The holes reduce the weight of the skull.
- Small holes in the jaw bones make the jaw slightly less heavy.
- Legs held under the body rather than sprawled, or _may_ be held under the body. This helps both breathing and movement.
    - A special ridge for attaching muscles to the femur. This detail may have made it possible for dinosaurs to stand on two legs. All early dinosaurs and many later ones were bipedal. All birds are bipedal; only the large herbivore dinosaurs went back to walking on four legs.

The archosaurs or their immediate ancestors survived the catastrophic Permian–Triassic extinction event. Benton says: "The key tetrapods to benefit from the Permo-Triassic mass extinction was the Archosauromorpha". Then, in the early and middle Triassic, there was rapid evolution into the types of aquatic and land tetrapods which dominated the rest of the Mesozoic era.

## Archosaur classification

Clades:
- Avemetatarsalia
    - †Pterosauria
    - Dinosauria
- Crurotarsi or Pseudosuchia: The crocodile line of crown-group Archosauria
    - †Phytosauria: semi-aquatic long-snouted types
    - †Aetosauria: quadrupedal armoured herbivores
    - †Ornithosuchidae: look rather like dinosaurs
    - Crocodylomorpha (Crocodilia and their ancestors)
    - †Rauisuchia ? uncertain group, includes some large-bodied quadrupedal predators

## Archosauromorpha

This is an even wider group, which includes diapsid Sauropsida which appeared in the middle Permian and Triassic periods. Their relationships are not well established at present.

## Further reading

- Benton M.J. 2015. _Vertebrate paleontology_. 4th ed, Blackwell, Oxford: Evolution of the Archosauromorphs, p154.
- Carroll R.L. 1988. _Vertebrate paleontology and evolution_. Freeman N.Y.
Calcite

**Calcite** is one of the most common minerals on the Earth's surface. It is a often part of sedimentary rocks, especially limestone. It is also the primary mineral in metamorphic marble.

It is a chemical or biochemical calcium carbonate with the formula CaCO<sub>3</sub>. It is a carbonate mineral. It can be a vein mineral in deposits from hot springs, and in caverns as stalactites and stalagmites.
Stalagmite

- _Stalagmites may also refer to a type of fungus_.

A **stalagmite** is a form that can be found on the ground in a cave. It rises from the floor of a limestone cave when mineralized solutions drip from the ceiling and deposits of calcium carbonate form columns on the ground. When the columns form on the ceiling of a cave instead, they are called stalactites.

Stalactites and stalagmites can also form on concrete ceilings and floors, but they form much more quickly on concrete than in the natural cave environment.

## Stalagmites and stalactites

There are several methods to help remember which formation hangs from the ceiling (stalactite) and which rises from the floor (stalagmite):

- Stala**C**tite has a "c" for "ceiling".
- Stala**G**mite has a "g" for "ground".
- The T in Stalac**T**ite resembles one hanging from the ceiling, while the M in Stalag**M**ite resembles a formation rising from the floor.

## Preservation

When touring caves with stalactites and stalagmites you might be asked to not touch the rock formations. This is generally because the formation is considered to still be growing and forming. Since the rock buildup is formed by minerals solidifying out of the water solution, skin oils can disturb where the mineral water will cling. So the development of the rock formation will be affected and not will not be natural anymore.

## Related pages

- Stalactite

## Other websites

- The Virtual Cave: Stalagmites
Deposit

**Deposit** could mean:

- Deposit account, owed by the bank to its depositor
- Deposit (geology), material added to a landform
- Damage deposit taken in relation to rental or an item or property
- Deposit (town), New York
- Deposit (village), New York
- Deposit model, a method of identifying the character and degree of survival of buried archaeological remains
- Token amounts intended to promote recycling via container deposit legislation
Deposition (geology)

**Deposition** is the geological process where material is added to a land (or a landform). This can happen in many places, such as a beach or river. Some parts of a shoreline build up and grow out, whereas other parts of the shoreline erode and fall into the sea.

In deposition, wind and water lay down grains of material that have been eroded and transported from another place. Deposition happens when the forces which transport sediments  are weaker than the forces of particle weight and friction. This causes a resistance to movement, and the particles drop down.

Deposition can also refer to the buildup of sediment from organically derived matter or chemical process.

## Related pages

- Sediment
- Sedimentary rock
Calcium carbonate

**Calcium carbonate** is a chemical compound made of calcium and carbonate ions, with the chemical formula CaCO<sub>3</sub>. The elements involved are calcium (Ca), carbon (C), and oxygen (O). It is a common substance found as rock in all parts of the world, and is the main component of seashells, snails, and eggshell.

Calcium carbonate is usually the main cause of hard water. It is used as a calcium supplement or as a treatment for antacid (brand name Tums), but too much can be bad for your health.

Calcium carbonate is found naturally as the following minerals and rocks:
- Aragonite
- Calcite
- Vaterite or (μ-CaCO<sub>3</sub>)
- Chalk
- Limestone
- Marble
- Travertine

## Reactions with acids

Calcium carbonate reacts with strong acids (like hydrochloric acid) to make calcium salt, water, and carbon dioxide. It can also react with weak acids (like acetic acid) but less quickly. All of the rocks and minerals mentioned above will react with acids.

The balanced chemical equation of calcium carbonate and hydrochloric acid reaction is:

The word chemical equation for the hydrochloric acid reaction is:

While the balanced chemical equation of calcium carbonate and acetic acid reaction is:

And the word chemical equation for the acetic acid reaction is:

This is why a rock or mineral might need to be added with an acid to check there is calcium carbonate or not. If there is, then it will fizz and make carbon dioxide. But if it does not, then it will not fizz because there is no carbon dioxide forming.

## Related pages

- Ocean acidification
- Gesso
- Cuttlefish
- Cuttlebone
Hard water

**Hard water** is water that has a high mineral content (contrast with _soft water_).

The main components of these minerals usually are calcium (Ca<sup>2+</sup>) and magnesium (Mg<sup>2+</sup>) ions. But there are also dissolved metals, bicarbonates, and sulfates. Calcium usually enters the water as either calcium carbonate (CaCO<sub>3</sub>) in the form of limestone and chalk, or calcium sulfate (CaSO<sub>4</sub>) in the form of several other mineral deposits. The main source of magnesium is dolomite (CaMg(CO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>2</sub>). Hard water is generally not harmful and some hardness in water is a useful source of calcium for healthy bone development .

## Other websites

- Alcoa Chemical, Langelier Saturation Index (LSI) Calculator
Soft water

**Soft water** is water with a very low mineral content. The opposite is hard water_,_ which has a high mineral content. Around 15% of the United States' water supply is soft water.

Soft water contains less than 17 parts per million of calcium and magnesium.  This means the concentration of minerals in the water is very low.

## Sources

Most soft water comes from peat or igneous rock sources, such as granite. However, some comes from sandstone sources, since those sedimentary rocks are usually low in calcium and magnesium.

## Advantages & disadvantages

Hard water may be better for the heart than soft water. Its calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) ions may be a dietary supplement for some people.

The main disadvantage of hard water is it deposits calcium carbonate on pipes, especially hot water pipes. (This is called "scale formation".) The deposits can block pipes and reduce boiler efficiency.

Also, soap and detergents work less well in hard water. These effects increase as the hardness of the water increases. Meanwhile, soft water lathers easily with soap.
Moorland

**Moorland** or **moor** is a type of habitat that one can find in upland areas, that are characterised by acidic soils.

Moorland habitats are rather common in the neotropics and tropical Africa but one can find them also in small scattered places in northern and western Europe, northern Australia, North America, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. In the tiny areas of European moorlands tend to be  environments with only very few species. They are often dominated by heather. In the far more extensive moorlands of the tropics species diversity can be extremely high.

Moorlands differ from typical heathland in being colder and much wetter, often with extensive bogs.

## Famous moorlands in the UK

Notable areas of upland moorland in Britain include the Dark Peak, the Forest of Bowland, the Lake District, the Pennines, Mid Wales, the Southern Uplands of Scotland, the Scottish Highlands and a few very small pockets in western Herefordshire.

- Bleaklow, Dark Peak, England
- Bodmin Moor, Cornwall
- Curry and Hay Moors, Somerset, England
- Dartmoor, and Dartmoor wildlife, Devon, England
- Emley Moor, West Yorkshire, England
- Exmoor, Devon and Somerset, England
- Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire, England
- Marston Moor and North York Moors, North Yorkshire, England
- Rannoch Moor, Highland, Scotland
- Rombalds Moor, West Yorkshire, England
- Saddleworth Moor, Pennine hills, England
- Shropshire Hills, small pockets of moorland, England
- Staffordshire Moorlands, England
- Ythan Estuary complex, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, largest coastal moorland in the United Kingdom, known for high biodiversity.

## Conservation

In Europe if the heather and other vegetation is left for too long, a large volume of dry and combustible material builds up. This may cause a fire which may burn out a large area. But generally moorland wildlife copes with even major fires and are easily able to recover if such intense burnings are not too frequent.

## Other websites

- Moorland
Moorland (disambiguation)

**Moorland** could mean:

In **geography**:

- Carlton-le-Moorland
- Moorland, type of habitat found in upland areas
- Moorland, Iowa
- Moorland, Kentucky
- Moorland Township, Michigan

In **other fields**:

- Daydream — Moorland, soundtrack album by the German band Tangerine Dream for the TV series _Tatort_
- Jesse E. Moorland, Black minister, community executive, and civic leader
- Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, repository for the documentation of the history and culture of people of African descent in Africa
Neotropic

In context of biogeography, **Neotropic** or **Neotropical** means one of the world's eight terrestrial ecozones.

This ecozone includes South and Central America, the Mexican lowlands, the Caribbean islands, and southern Florida, because these regions share a large number of plant and animal groups.

It is sometimes used as a synonym for the tropical area of South America, although the ecozone also includes temperate southern South America.
Its fauna and flora are distinct from the Nearctic (which includes most of North America) because of the long separation of the two continents. The formation of the Isthmus of Panama joined the two continents 2 to 3 million years ago.

The Neotropic includes more tropical rainforest than any other ecozone. They extend from southern Mexico through Central America and northern South America to southern Brazil and include the Amazon Rainforest. These rainforest ecoregions are one of the most important reserves of biodiversity on Earth. Extensive deforestation in the late 20th century has reduced this diversity to a degree.

## Other websites

- Map of the ecozones
- Eco-Index, a bilingual searchable reference of conservation and research projects in the Neotropics; a service of the Rainforest Alliance

## References

- Cox, C. Barry; Peter D. Moore 1985. _Biogeography: an ecological and evolutionary approach._ 4th ed, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.
- Dinerstein, Eric; David Olson; Douglas J. Graham; et al. 1995. _A conservation assessment of the terrestrial ecoregions of Latin America and the Caribbean_. World Bank, Washington DC.
- Schultz J.: 2005. The Ecozones of the World. 2nd ed, Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York.
- Udvardy M.D.F. 1975. _A classification of the biogeographical provinces of the world_. IUCN Occasional Paper #18. Morges, Switzerland: IUCN.
Nearctic

_For the thoroughbred racehorse see Nearctic (horse)._

The **Nearctic** is one of the eight terrestrial ecozones dividing the Earth's land surface.

In ecology, an ecozone is a large land mass that contains many terrestrial ecoregions, each of which has unique plants and animals.

The Nearctic ecozone covers most of North America, including Greenland and the highlands of Mexico.

Southern Mexico, southern Florida, Central America, and the Caribbean islands are part of the Neotropic ecozone, together with South America.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) divides the Nearctic into four **Bioregions**, defined as "geographic clusters of ecoregions that may span several habitat types, but have strong biogeographic affinities, particularly at taxonomic levels higher than the species level (genus, family)."

## Other websites

- Map of the ecozones
- Nearctica, the natural world of North America

## References

- Flannery, Tim 2001. _The eternal frontier: an ecological history of North America and its peoples_. Grove Press, New York.
- Ricketts, Taylor H., Eric Dinerstein, David M. Olson, Colby J. Loucks et al. 1999. _Terrestrial ecoregions of North America: a conservation assessment_. Island Press, Washington DC.
Nearctic (horse)

**Nearctic** (February 11, 1954 – July 27, 1973) was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. He had his most successful season in racing at 4 years old, when he won nine races. Nearctic was retired to stand at stud at _Windfields Farm_ in Canada where he became father of a _Kentucky Derby_ winner and the _Northern Dancer_.
He died at age 19 on July 27, 1973.

## Other websites

- Nearctic's pedigree and stats
Stud

**Stud** could mean:
- Stud (animal) - a male animal employed for breeding
    - By analogy, a virile human male (see gender role)
- A small ornamental button mounted on a short post for insertion through an eyelet
- Screw - a threaded fastener
- The interlocking circular piece of a LEGO brick
- Snowmobile Stud - a metal threaded piece installed in a snowmobile rubber track
- Stud earring for pierced ears
- Cleat - a protrusion on the bottom of a shoe to provide extra grip
- Shoe studs - a traction device used on the bottom of horse shoes
- Traction devices inserted in the tread of automobile winter tires
- Wall stud - a vertical member within a light-frame construction wall
- Stud poker - a kind of card game:
    - Five-card stud
    - Seven-card stud
    - Caribbean Stud Poker
- _Studs_ (game show) - a dating show from the early 1990s
- Stud contact system, an obsolete Ground-level power supply system for tramways
Lockerbie

**Lockerbie** is a small town in Scotland. About 4000 people live there. The town has been there since about 900. By 1750 Lockerbie had become a significant town. From the 1780s it was a staging post on the carriage route from Glasgow to London.   Thomas Telford's Carlisle-to-Glasgow road was built through Lockerbie from 1816. The Caledonian Railway opened the line from Carlisle to Beattock through Lockerbie in 1847 and later all the way to Glasgow.

It was devastated on 21 December 1988 when a Pan American World Airways 747-400 aeroplane crashed after a bomb exploded on board. The bomb was hidden in a hand held radio in the rear cargo hold. It had been transferred onto the flight from a connecting flight from Amsterdam. All 243 passengers and 16 crew aboard the aeroplane, and 11 people in the town  were killed. The total number of deaths caused was 270. The Libyan government was found to have organized the bombing. The United Nations placed sanctions on Libya, which stopped people buying and selling items with Libya. In 2003 Libya agreed to pay compensation to the families of the people killed.