TASK DEFINITION: In this task you will be given a text passage from a trivia quiz. You should choose the category this question belongs to from these categories: History, Science, Social Science, Fine Arts, Literature. You can only choose one category, so if in doubt, please choose the closest match.
PROBLEM: When it interacts with ryanodine receptors, this element upregulates its own release, and this compound forms the cell plates of coccolithophores. Stimulation of Gq ("g-sub-q") opens a channel that allows for this ion's movement, and proteins that bind this ion have an EF hand motif. Cellular concentrations of this ion are regulated by IP3. Parafollicular cells of the (*) thyroid produce a compound that reduces the concentration of this ion in blood, and its intestinal absorption requires vitamin D. This ion interacts with Troponin to stimulate muscle contraction, and the lumens of sarcoplasmic reticula have high concentrations of this ion. For 10 points, name this divalent cation that is stored in bones.

SOLUTION: Science

PROBLEM: The last thing he wrote before his suicide was a story entitled "Gleanings From" his most famous work, the longest of his "palm-of-the-hand" stories. David Henry Hwang wrote this man into a theatrical adaptation of this author's House of the Sleeping Beauties, written after his novel about the twin daughters of kimono salesmen, The Old Capital. Other novels by him deal with the six-month contest between Ottake and Shusai, and with the love of Shimmamura for a northern geisha. For 10 points, name this Japanese author of The Master of Go and Snow Country.

SOLUTION: Literature

PROBLEM: This practice had an analog in the cult of Cybele's practice of taurobolium, and this practice is advocated by the Right Ginza in Mandeism, which follows this action with a sacred meal. A reference to this practice "for the dead," is contained in 1 Corinthians 15:29, in which it is asked "if there is no resurrection, what will those do," to whom this has happened. That practice may originate in the rituals of the Orphic cult, which carried out this action to prepare their dead for the underworld. According to the Arians and the Donatists, this action was only efficacious if performed by someone who was of pure intention and belonged to the church, while leaders like Conrad Grebel and Felix Mantz argued that only an adult could undergo this ritual and denied its usefulness to infants. This practice is generally considered the first sacrament in Catholicism. Taking its name from the Greek for "to immerse," for ten points, identify this action which was performed for Jesus by John, and which involves annointment with water, symbolizing entry to the faith.

SOLUTION:
Social Science