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synth_fc_1786_rep13 | Positive | Health | Database search | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociological_theory | 19 | Anomie theory
Strain theory is a theoretical perspective that identifies anomie (i.e. normlessness) as the result of a society that provides little moral guidance to individuals.
Emile Durkheim (1893) first described anomie as one of the results of an inequitable division of labour within a society, observing that social periods of disruption resulted in greater anomie and higher rates of suicide and crimes. In this sense, broadly speaking, during times of great upheaval, increasing numbers of individuals "cease to accept the moral legitimacy of society," as noted by sociologist Anthony R. Mawson (1970).
Robert K. Merton would go on to theorize that anomie, as well as some forms of deviant behavior, derive largely from a disjunction between "culturally prescribed aspirations" of a society and "socially structured avenues for realizing those aspirations." |
synth_fc_3677_rep22 | Negative | Video game | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS-DOS | 10 | Use of undocumented APIs
Microsoft also used a variety of tactics in MS-DOS and several of their applications and development tools that, while operating perfectly when running on genuine MS-DOS (and PC DOS), would break when run on another vendor's implementation of DOS. Notable examples of this practice included: |
synth_fc_1505_rep3 | Positive | Geography | Calculation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swazi_language | 1 | Swazi or siSwati is a Bantu language of the Nguni group spoken in Eswatini and South Africa by the Swati people. The number of speakers is estimated to be in the region of 4.7 million including first and second language speakers. The language is taught in Eswatini and some South African schools in Mpumalanga, particularly former KaNgwane areas. Siswati is an official language of Eswatini, and is also one of the twelve official languages of South Africa. The official term is "siSwati" among native speakers; in English, Zulu, Ndebele or Xhosa it may be referred to as Swazi. Siswati is most closely related to the other Tekela languages, like Phuthi and Northern Transvaal (Sumayela) Ndebele, but is also very close to the Zunda languages: Zulu, Southern Ndebele, Northern Ndebele, and Xhosa. |
synth_fc_67_rep18 | Negative | Architecture | Calculation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_iron | 5 | Textile mills
Another important use was in textile mills. The air in the mills contained flammable fibres from the cotton, hemp, or wool being spun. As a result, textile mills had an alarming propensity to burn down. The solution was to build them completely of non-combustible materials, and it was found convenient to provide the building with an iron frame, largely of cast iron, replacing flammable wood. The first such building was at Ditherington in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. Many other warehouses were built using cast-iron columns and beams, although faulty designs, flawed beams or overloading sometimes caused building collapses and structural failures.
During the Industrial Revolution, cast iron was also widely used for frame and other fixed parts of machinery, including spinning and later weaving machines in textile mills. Cast iron became widely used, and many towns had foundries producing industrial and agricultural machinery. |
synth_fc_3408_rep3 | No function call | Store & Facility | Ranking | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_absorber | 1 | A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulic device designed to absorb and damp shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy which is then dissipated. Most shock absorbers are a form of dashpot. |
synth_fc_2724_rep1 | Positive | Music | Entity search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mstislav_Rostropovich | 16 | Stature
Rostropovich was a huge influence on the younger generation of cellists. Many have openly acknowledged their debt to his example. In the Daily Telegraph, Julian Lloyd Webber called him "probably the greatest cellist of all time".
Rostropovich either commissioned or was the recipient of compositions by many composers including Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, Nikolai Miaskovsky, Benjamin Britten, Henri Dutilleux, Olivier Messiaen, André Jolivet, Witold Lutosławski, Luciano Berio, Krzysztof Penderecki, Leonard Bernstein, Alfred Schnittke, Aram Khachaturian, Astor Piazzolla, Andreas Makris, Sofia Gubaidulina, Arthur Bliss, Colin Matthews and Lopes Graça. His commissions of new works enlarged the cello repertoire more than any previous cellist: he gave the premiere of 117 compositions.
Rostropovich is also well known for his interpretations of standard repertoire works, including Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor.
Between 1997 and 2001 he was intimately involved in the development and testing of the BACH.Bow, a curved bow designed by the cellist Michael Bach. In 2001 he invited Bach to present his BACH.Bow to Paris (7th Concours de violoncelle Rostropovitch). In 2011, the city of Moscow announced plans to erect a statue of Rostropovich in a central square; the statue was unveiled in 2012.
He was also a notably generous spirit. Seiji Ozawa relates an anecdote: on hearing of the death of the baby daughter of his friend the sumo wrestler Chiyonofuji, Rostropovich flew unannounced to Tokyo, took a 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 -hour cab ride to Chiyonofuji's house and played his Bach sarabande outside, as his gesture of sympathy — then got back in the taxi and returned to the airport to fly back to Europe.
Rostropovich is included in the Russian-American Chamber of Fame of Congress of Russian Americans, which is dedicated to Russian immigrants who made outstanding contributions to American science or culture. |
synth_fc_481_rep10 | Positive | Corporate Management | Database update | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiajing_Emperor | 18 | Grand Secretaries
After 1524, the emperor's closest advisers were Zhang Fujing and Gui E (桂萼). They attempted to remove followers of Yang Tinghe, who were associated with the Hanlin Academy, from influential positions. This resulted in a purge of the Beijing authorities in 1527–1528 and a significant change in personnel at the academy. In addition, Zhang Fujing and Gui E worked to limit the influence of Senior Grand Secretary, Fei Hong (費宏), in the Grand Secretariat. To balance this, they brought back Yang Yiqing, who had previously served in the Grand Secretariat in 1515–1516. In the following years, there was a power struggle between the Grand Secretaries and their associated groups of officials. The position of Senior Grand Secretary was constantly changing, with Fei Hong, Yang Yiqing, Zhang Fujing, and others taking turns.
In the early 1530s, the Jiajing Emperor's trust was won by Xia Yan, who had been promoted from Minister of Rites to Grand Secretary. Later, in the late 1530s, Yan Song, Xia Yan's successor in the ministry, also gained the Jiajing Emperor's trust. However, despite initially supporting Yan Song's rise, Xia Yan and Yan Song eventually came into conflict. In 1542, Yan Song was able to oust Xia Yan and take control of the Grand Secretariat. In an attempt to counterbalance Yan Song's influence, the emperor called Xia Yan back to lead the Grand Secretariat in October 1545. However, the two statesmen were at odds, with Xia Yan ignoring Yan Song, refusing to consult him, and canceling his appointment. As a result, the emperor grew distant from Xia Yan, partly due to his reserved attitude towards Taoist rituals and prayers. In contrast, Yan Song strongly supported the emperor's interest in Taoism. In February 1548, Xia Yan supported a campaign to Ordos without informing Yan Song, making him solely responsible for it. When the emperor withdrew his support for the campaign due to unfavorable omens and reports of discontent in the neighboring province of Shaanxi, enemies of Xia Yan, including Yan Song, used this as an opportunity to bring charges against him and have him executed.
From 1549 to 1562, the Grand Secretariat was under the control of Yan Song. He was known for his attentiveness and diligence towards the monarch, but also for pushing his colleagues out of power. Despite facing numerous political crises and challenges, Yan Song managed to survive by delegating decisions and responsibilities to the appropriate ministries and authorities. For example, the Ministry of Rites was responsible for dealing with the Mongols, while the Ministry of War handled their expulsion. However, Yan Song avoided getting involved in the government's biggest issue at the time—state finances—leaving it to the Ministries of Revennue and Works. He only maintained control over personnel matters and selected political issues. Despite facing criticism for corruption and selling offices, Yan Song was able to convince the emperor that these were false accusations and that his critics were simply trying to remove him from power. The emperor, who was always suspicious of officials, believed Yan Song's defense.
Yan Song, who was already eighty years old in 1560, was unable to continue his role as Grand Secretary. This was especially true after his wife died in 1561 and his son, who had been assisting him with writing edicts, went home to organize the funeral. To make matters worse, he faced opposition from his subordinate, Grand Secretary Xu Jie. As a result, the emperor no longer relied on Yan Song and dismissed him in June 1562. Xu Jie then took over as the head of the Grand Secretariat.
With the personnel changes in the immediate surroundings of the emperor, the focus and style of his policies also shifted. During the first phase of his reign, the Jiajing Emperor placed great importance on ceremonies, which were seen as essential in maintaining order and promoting a sense of superiority over non-Chinese peoples, according to Confucian beliefs. The refinement and organization of these ceremonies aimed to showcase the Ming dynasty as a model for surrounding countries and the world. The emperor received significant assistance from his Senior Grand Secretary, Zhang Fujing. However, during Xia Yan's dominance in the Grand Secretariat, the emperor withdrew from the Forbidden City to the West Park, neglecting his public duties but still maintaining control over the government. During this time, Ming China used military force to intimidate neighboring countries, successfully in the case of Vietnam, but falling in the attempt to recapture Ordos, resulting in Xia Yan's death in 1548. In the following period, during the conflicts of the 1550s in the north and on the coast, Yan Song pursued a policy of compromise and negotiation, which was accompanied by corruption. After the fall of Yan Song in 1562, the emperor's interest in good governance was rekindled under the influence of the capable and energetic Grand Secretary, Xu Jie. Thus, the Jiajing Emperor's rule after the overthrow of Yang Tinghe can be divided into four phases: Zhang Fujing's strict adherence to ideology, Xia Yan's aggressive expansionism, Yan Song's complacent corruption, and Xu Jie's corrective reforms. |
synth_fc_3402_rep28 | Positive | Store & Facility | Proximal search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasses | 25 | Magnification (bioptics)
Glasses can also provide magnification that is useful for people with vision impairments or specific occupational demands. An example would be bioptics or bioptic telescopes which have small telescopes mounted on, in, or behind their regular lenses. Newer designs use smaller lightweight telescopes, which can be embedded into the corrective glass and improve aesthetic appearance (mini telescopic spectacles). They may take the form of self-contained glasses that resemble goggles or binoculars, or may be attached to existing glasses. |
synth_fc_3129_rep30 | Negative | Sport | Entity search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shogi | 22 | Draws in tournaments
In professional tournaments, the rules typically require drawn games to be replayed with sides reversed, possibly with reduced time limits. They are rare compared to chess and xiangqi, occurring at a rate of 1–2% even in amateur games.
The 1982 Meijin title match between Makoto Nakahara and Hifumi Katoh was unusual in this regard with an impasse draw in the first (Double Fortress) game on April 13–14 (only the fifth draw in the then 40-year history of the tournament). This game (with Katoh as Black) lasted for 223 moves with 114 minutes spent pondering a single move. One of the reasons for the length of this game was that White (Nakahara) was very close to falling below the minimum of 24 points required for a draw. Thus, the end of the endgame was strategically about trying to keep White's points above the 24-point threshold. In this match, sennichite occurred in the sixth and eighth games. Thus, this best-of-seven match lasted eight games and took over three months to finish; Black did not lose a single game and the eventual victor was Katoh at 4–3. |
synth_fc_2441_rep7 | Negative | Movie | Recommendation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_Potemkin | 15 | The Odessa Steps sequence
One of the most celebrated scenes in the film is the massacre of civilians on the Odessa Steps (also known as the Primorsky or Potemkin Stairs). This sequence has been assessed as a "classic" and one of the most influential in the history of cinema. In the scene, the Tsar 's soldiers in their white summer tunics march down a seemingly endless flight of steps in a rhythmic, machine-like fashion, firing volleys into a crowd. A separate detachment of mounted Cossacks charges the crowd at the bottom of the stairs. The victims include an older woman wearing pince-nez, a young boy with his mother, a student in uniform and a teenage schoolgirl. A mother pushing an infant in a baby carriage falls to the ground dying and the carriage rolls down the steps amid the fleeing crowd.
The massacre on the steps, although it did not take place in daylight or as portrayed, was based on the fact that there were widespread riots in other parts of the city, sparked off by the arrival of the Potemkin in Odessa Harbour. Both The Times and the resident British Consul reported that troops fired on the rioters; deaths were reportedly in the hundreds. Roger Ebert writes, "That there was, in fact, no tsarist massacre on the Odessa Steps scarcely diminishes the power of the scene... It is ironic that did it so well that today, the bloodshed on the Odessa steps is often referred to as if it really happened." |
synth_fc_2017_rep1 | Positive | History | Entity search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_of_India | 27 | Mountbatten Plan
At a press conference on 3 June 1947, Lord Mountbatten announced the date of independence – 14 August 1947 – and also outlined the actual division of British India between the two new dominions in what became known as the "Mountbatten Plan" or the "3 June Plan". The plan's main points were:
The Indian political leaders had accepted the Plan on 2 June. It could not deal with the question of the princely states, which were not British possessions, but on 3 June Mountbatten advised them against remaining independent and urged them to join one of the two new Dominions.
The Muslim League 's demands for a separate country were thus conceded. The Congress 's position on unity was also taken into account while making Pakistan as small as possible. Mountbatten's formula was to divide India and, at the same time, retain maximum possible unity. Abul Kalam Azad expressed concern over the likelihood of violent riots, to which Mountbatten replied:
At least on this question I shall give you complete assurance. I shall see to it that there is no bloodshed and riot. I am a soldier and not a civilian. Once the partition is accepted in principle, I shall issue orders to see that there are no communal disturbances anywhere in the country. If there should be the slightest agitation, I shall adopt the sternest measures to nip the trouble in the bud.
Jagmohan has stated that this and what followed showed a "glaring failure of the government machinery."
On 3 June 1947, the partition plan was accepted by the Congress Working Committee. Boloji states that in Punjab, there were no riots, but there was communal tension, while Gandhi was reportedly isolated by Nehru and Patel and observed maun vrat (day of silence). Mountbatten visited Gandhi and said he hoped that he would not oppose the partition, to which Gandhi wrote the reply: "Have I ever opposed you?"
Within British India, the border between India and Pakistan (the Radcliffe Line) was determined by a British Government-commissioned report prepared under the chairmanship of a London barrister, Sir Cyril Radcliffe. Pakistan came into being with two non-contiguous areas, East Pakistan (today Bangladesh) and West Pakistan, separated geographically by India. India was formed out of the majority Hindu regions of British India, and Pakistan from the majority Muslim areas.
On 18 July 1947, the British Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act that finalized the arrangements for partition and abandoned British suzerainty over the princely states, of which there were several hundred, leaving them free to choose whether to accede to one of the new dominions or to remain independent outside both. The Government of India Act 1935 was adapted to provide a legal framework for the new dominions.
Following its creation as a new country in August 1947, Pakistan applied for membership of the United Nations and was accepted by the General Assembly on 30 September 1947. The Dominion of India continued to have the existing seat as India had been a founding member of the United Nations since 1945. |
synth_fc_1420_rep2 | Negative | Food | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggs_as_food | 9 | Yolk
The yolk in a newly laid egg is round and firm. As the yolk ages, it absorbs water from the albumen, which increases its size and causes it to stretch and weaken the vitelline membrane (the clear casing enclosing the yolk). The resulting effect is a flattened and enlarged yolk shape.
Yolk color is dependent on the diet of the hen. If the diet contains yellow or orange plant pigments known as xanthophylls, then they are deposited in the yolk, coloring it. Lutein is the most abundant pigment in egg yolk. A diet without such colorful foods may result in an almost colorless yolk. Yolk color is, for example, enhanced if the diet includes foods such as yellow corn and marigold petals. In the US, the use of artificial color additives is forbidden. |
synth_fc_1323_rep3 | Positive | Food | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla | 14 | Sweating
Sweating is a hydrolytic and oxidative process. Traditionally, it consists of keeping fruits, for 7 to 10 days, densely stacked and insulated in wool or other cloth. This retains a temperature of 45–65 °C (113–149 °F) and high humidity. Daily exposure to the sun may also be used, or dipping the fruits in hot water. The fruits are brown and have attained much of the characteristic vanilla flavor and aroma by the end of this process, but still retain a 60–70% moisture content by weight. |
synth_fc_2465_rep23 | Positive | Movie | Entity search | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_Sunshine_of_the_Spotless_Mind | 1 | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a 2004 American science fiction romantic drama film directed by Michel Gondry, based on Charlie Kaufman's screenplay developed from a story by Gondry, Kaufman, and Pierre Bismuth. Starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, along with supporting roles from Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, and Tom Wilkinson, it follows two individuals who undergo a memory erasure procedure to forget each other after the dissolution of their romantic relationship. The title of the film is a quotation from the 1717 poem Eloisa to Abelard by Alexander Pope. It uses elements of psychological drama, science fiction, and a nonlinear narrative to explore the nature of memory and love. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind opened in theaters in the United States on March 19, 2004, to widespread acclaim from critics and audiences, who hailed the visual style, editing, writing, score, themes, Gondry’s direction, and the performances of the cast, especially Carrey and Winslet. The film was a box office success, grossing $74 million on a $20 million budget, and was named by the American Film Institute one of the Top 10 Films of 2004. At the 77th Academy Awards, Bismuth, Gondry and Kaufman won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and Winslet received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In the years since its release, the film has become a cult classic; it is considered by many publications as one of the best films of the 21st century. The film has been the inspiration behind several music projects, such as Jay Electronica's 2007 piece "Eternal Sunshine", Bastille’s 2022 single "Remind Me" and Ariana Grande's 2024 album Eternal Sunshine. |
synth_fc_1700_rep15 | Positive | Health | Calculation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation | 26 | Possible damage to health and environment from certain types of radiation
Radiation is not always dangerous, and not all types of radiation are equally dangerous, contrary to several common medical myths. For example, although bananas contain naturally occurring radioactive isotopes, particularly potassium-40 (K), which emit ionizing radiation when undergoing radioactive decay, the levels of such radiation are far too low to induce radiation poisoning, and bananas are not a radiation hazard. It would not be physically possible to eat enough bananas to cause radiation poisoning, as the radiation dose from bananas is non-cumulative. Radiation is ubiquitous on Earth, and humans are adapted to survive at the normal low-to-moderate levels of radiation found on Earth's surface. The relationship between dose and toxicity is often non-linear, and many substances that are toxic at very high doses actually have neutral or positive health effects, or are biologically essential, at moderate or low doses. There is some evidence to suggest that this is true for ionizing radiation: normal levels of ionizing radiation may serve to stimulate and regulate the activity of DNA repair mechanisms. High enough levels of any kind of radiation will eventually become lethal, however.
Ionizing radiation in certain conditions can damage living organisms, causing cancer or genetic damage.
Non-ionizing radiation in certain conditions also can cause damage to living organisms, such as burns. In 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) released a statement adding radio frequency electromagnetic fields (including microwave and millimeter waves) to their list of things which are possibly carcinogenic to humans.
RWTH Aachen University's EMF-Portal web site presents one of the biggest database about the effects of Electromagnetic radiation. As of 12 July 2019 it has 28,547 publications and 6,369 summaries of individual scientific studies on the effects of electromagnetic fields. |
synth_fc_2418_rep20 | Negative | Movie | Recommendation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheet_music | 1 | Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed books or pamphlets in English, Arabic, or other languages – the medium of sheet music typically is paper. However, access to musical notation since the 1980s has included the presentation of musical notation on computer screens and the development of scorewriter computer programs that can notate a song or piece electronically, and, in some cases, "play back" the notated music using a synthesizer or virtual instruments. The use of the term "sheet" is intended to differentiate written or printed forms of music from sound recordings, radio or TV broadcasts or recorded live performances, which may capture film or video footage of the performance as well as the audio component. In everyday use, "sheet music" can refer to the print publication of commercial sheet music in conjunction with the release of a new film, TV show, record album, or other unique or popular event which involves music. The first printed sheet music made with a printing press was made in 1473. Sheet music is the basic form in which Western classical music is notated so that it can be learned and performed by solo singers or instrumentalists or musical ensembles. Many forms of traditional and popular Western music are commonly learned by singers and musicians "by ear", rather than by using sheet music. The term score is a common alternative term for sheet music, and there are several types of scores, as discussed below. The term score can also refer to theatre music, orchestral music or songs written for a play, musical, opera or ballet, or to music or songs written for a television programme or film; for the last of these, see Film score. |
synth_fc_2259_rep8 | Positive | Law | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_television | 2 | "Reality" as misnomer
The authenticity of reality television is often called into question by its detractors. The genre's title of "reality" is often criticized as being inaccurate because of claims that the genre frequently includes elements such as premeditated scripting (including a practice called " soft-scripting "), acting, urgings from behind-the-scenes crew to create specified situations of adversity and drama, and misleading editing. It has often been described as "scripting without paper".
In many cases, the entire premise of the show is contrived, based around a competition or another unusual situation. Some shows have been accused of using fakery in order to create more compelling television, such as having premeditated storylines and in some cases feeding participants lines of dialogue, focusing only on participants' most outlandish behavior, and altering events through editing and re-shoots.
Shows such as Survivor and Amazing Race that offer a monetary prize are regulated in the United States by federal "game show" law, 47 U.S.C. § 509, and are monitored during the filming by the legal staff and standards and practice staff of the parent network. These shows cannot be manipulated in any way that affects the outcome of the game. However, misleading editing does not fall into altering the fairness of the competition.
Reality television shows that have been accused of, or admitted to, deception include The Real World, the American version of Survivor, Joe Millionaire, The Hills, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, Hogan Knows Best, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, Pawn Stars, Storage Wars, Squid Game: The Challenge and Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
In contrast, critic Matt Zoller Seitz praised Deadliest Catch as having "brought old-school documentary sobriety to a genre more often known for shamelessness." |
synth_fc_1213_rep5 | Negative | Finance | Calculation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism | 26 | Equilibrium
In the context of supply and demand, economic equilibrium refers to a state where economic forces such as supply and demand are balanced and in the absence of external influences the (equilibrium) values of economic variables will not change. For example, in the standard text-book model of perfect competition equilibrium occurs at the point at which quantity demanded and quantity supplied are equal. Market equilibrium, in this case, refers to a condition where a market price is established through competition such that the amount of goods or services sought by buyers is equal to the amount of goods or services produced by sellers. This price is often called the competitive price or market clearing price and will tend not to change unless demand or supply changes. |
synth_fc_2159_rep3 | Negative | Law | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser | 5 | Laser
In April 1957, Japanese engineer Jun-ichi Nishizawa proposed the concept of a " semiconductor optical maser " in a patent application.
That same year, Charles H. Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow, then at Bell Labs, began a serious study of infrared "optical masers". As ideas developed, they abandoned infrared radiation to instead concentrate on visible light. In 1958, Bell Labs filed a patent application for their proposed optical maser; and Schawlow and Townes submitted a manuscript of their theoretical calculations to the Physical Review, which was published in 1958.
Simultaneously, Columbia University graduate student Gordon Gould was working on a doctoral thesis about the energy levels of excited thallium. When Gould and Townes met, they spoke of radiation emission, as a general subject; afterward, in November 1957, Gould noted his ideas for a "laser", including using an open resonator (later an essential laser-device component). Moreover, in 1958, Prokhorov independently proposed using an open resonator, the first published appearance of this idea. Meanwhile, Schawlow and Townes had decided on an open-resonator laser design – apparently unaware of Prokhorov's publications and Gould's unpublished laser work.
At a conference in 1959, Gordon Gould first published the acronym "LASER" in the paper The LASER, Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Gould's intention was that different "-ASER" acronyms should be used for different parts of the spectrum: "XASER" for x-rays, "UVASER" for ultraviolet, etc. "LASER" ended up becoming the generic term for non-microwave devices, although "RASER" was briefly popular for denoting radio-frequency-emitting devices.
Gould's notes included possible applications for a laser, such as spectrometry, interferometry, radar, and nuclear fusion. He continued developing the idea and filed a patent application in April 1959. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) denied his application, and awarded a patent to Bell Labs, in 1960. That provoked a twenty-eight-year lawsuit, featuring scientific prestige and money as the stakes. Gould won his first minor patent in 1977, yet it was not until 1987 that he won the first significant patent lawsuit victory when a Federal judge ordered the USPTO to issue patents to Gould for the optically pumped and the gas discharge laser devices. The question of just how to assign credit for inventing the laser remains unresolved by historians.
On May 16, 1960, Theodore H. Maiman operated the first functioning laser at Hughes Research Laboratories, Malibu, California, ahead of several research teams, including those of Townes, at Columbia University, Arthur L. Schawlow, at Bell Labs, and Gould, at the TRG (Technical Research Group) company. Maiman's functional laser used a flashlamp -pumped synthetic ruby crystal to produce red laser light at 694 nanometers wavelength. The device was only capable of pulsed operation, due to its three-level pumping design scheme. Later that year, the Iranian physicist Ali Javan, and William R. Bennett Jr., and Donald R. Herriott, constructed the first gas laser, using helium and neon that was capable of continuous operation in the infrared (U.S. Patent 3,149,290); later, Javan received the Albert Einstein World Award of Science in 1993. In 1962, Robert N. Hall demonstrated the first semiconductor laser, which was made of gallium arsenide and emitted in the near-infrared band of the spectrum at 850 nm. Later that year, Nick Holonyak Jr. demonstrated the first semiconductor laser with a visible emission. This first semiconductor laser could only be used in pulsed-beam operation, and when cooled to liquid nitrogen temperatures (77 K). In 1970, Zhores Alferov, in the USSR, and Izuo Hayashi and Morton Panish of Bell Labs also independently developed room-temperature, continual-operation diode lasers, using the heterojunction structure. |
synth_fc_3467_rep11 | Positive | Time | Database search | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather | 2 | Causes
On Earth, the common weather phenomena include wind, cloud, rain, snow, fog and dust storms. Less common events include natural disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes, typhoons and ice storms. Almost all familiar weather phenomena occur in the troposphere (the lower part of the atmosphere). Weather does occur in the stratosphere and can affect weather lower down in the troposphere, but the exact mechanisms are poorly understood.
Weather occurs primarily due to air pressure, temperature and moisture differences from one place to another. These differences can occur due to the sun angle at any particular spot, which varies by latitude in the tropics. In other words, the farther from the tropics one lies, the lower the sun angle is, which causes those locations to be cooler due to the spread of the sunlight over a greater surface. The strong temperature contrast between polar and tropical air gives rise to the large scale atmospheric circulation cells and the jet stream. Weather systems in the mid-latitudes, such as extratropical cyclones, are caused by instabilities of the jet stream flow (see baroclinity). Weather systems in the tropics, such as monsoons or organized thunderstorm systems, are caused by different processes.
Because the Earth's axis is tilted relative to its orbital plane, sunlight is incident at different angles at different times of the year. In June the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun, so at any given Northern Hemisphere latitude sunlight falls more directly on that spot than in December (see Effect of sun angle on climate). This effect causes seasons. Over thousands to hundreds of thousands of years, changes in Earth's orbital parameters affect the amount and distribution of solar energy received by the Earth and influence long-term climate. (See Milankovitch cycles).
The uneven solar heating (the formation of zones of temperature and moisture gradients, or frontogenesis) can also be due to the weather itself in the form of cloudiness and precipitation. Higher altitudes are typically cooler than lower altitudes, which is the result of higher surface temperature and radiational heating, which produces the adiabatic lapse rate. In some situations, the temperature actually increases with height. This phenomenon is known as an inversion and can cause mountaintops to be warmer than the valleys below. Inversions can lead to the formation of fog and often act as a cap that suppresses thunderstorm development. On local scales, temperature differences can occur because different surfaces (such as oceans, forests, ice sheets, or human-made objects) have differing physical characteristics such as reflectivity, roughness, or moisture content.
Surface temperature differences in turn cause pressure differences. A hot surface warms the air above it causing it to expand and lower the density and the resulting surface air pressure. The resulting horizontal pressure gradient moves the air from higher to lower pressure regions, creating a wind, and the Earth's rotation then causes deflection of this airflow due to the Coriolis effect. The simple systems thus formed can then display emergent behaviour to produce more complex systems and thus other weather phenomena. Large scale examples include the Hadley cell while a smaller scale example would be coastal breezes.
The atmosphere is a chaotic system. As a result, small changes to one part of the system can accumulate and magnify to cause large effects on the system as a whole. This atmospheric instability makes weather forecasting less predictable than tidal waves or eclipses. Although it is difficult to accurately predict weather more than a few days in advance, weather forecasters are continually working to extend this limit through meteorological research and refining current methodologies in weather prediction. However, it is theoretically impossible to make useful day-to-day predictions more than about two weeks ahead, imposing an upper limit to potential for improved prediction skill. |
synth_fc_963_rep4 | Positive | Finance | Order | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_integration | 55 | Low Countries region (Benelux)
Since the end of the First World War the following unions have been set in the Low Countries region:
The Benelux is an economic and political union between Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. On 5 September 1944, a treaty establishing the Benelux Customs Union was signed. It entered into force in 1948, and ceased to exist on 1 November 1960, when it was replaced by the Benelux Economic Union after a treaty signed in The Hague on 3 February 1958. A Benelux Parliament was created in 1955.
The Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU) can be seen as a forerunner of the Benelux. BLEU was created by the treaty signed on 25 July 1921. It established a single market between both countries, while setting the Belgian franc and Luxembourgian franc at a fixed parity. |
synth_fc_1117_rep15 | Positive | Finance | Calculation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_yen | 14 | Early history (1868–1876)
Although the Edo Shogunate collapsed with the Meiji Restoration and a new government was born, the monetary system still took over that of the former entity. During this unstable period, the confusion caused by this form of exchange caused economic turmoil. The gold (counting money) system of eastern Japan and the silver (weighing money) system of the western Japan were not unified, and the difference in the gold-silver ratio caused a large amount of gold to flow overseas at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. Emperor Meiji responded to this by appointing Ōkuma Shigenobu as head of Japan's monetary reform program. He worked with Inoue Kaoru, Itō Hirobumi, and Shibusawa Eiichi to run the Ministry of Finance, seeking to introduce a modern monetary system into Japan. Ōkuma eventually proposed that coins, which were previously square, be made into circles, and that the names of the traditional currencies, ryō (両), bu (分) and shu (朱), be unified into yen (円), which was accepted by the government. Other rejected proposals included physical weight units of "Fun" and "Momme" which never made it past the pattern stage.
The first gold yen coins consisted of 2, 5, and 20 yen coins which were struck throughout 1870. Five yen coins were first struck in gold for the Japanese government in 1870 at the San Francisco Mint. During this time a new mint was being established at Osaka, which did not receive the gold bullion needed for coinage until the following year. Gold bullion was delivered from private Japanese citizens, foreigners, and the Japanese government. Initially the government opted for silver, which would become the standard unit of value leaving gold coinage as a subsidiary. While gold coinage couldn't be produced domestically in 1870, the mint at Osaka could produce silver coins which included denominations of 5, 10, 20, and 50 sen. None of these coins dated "1870" circulated until the Meiji government officially adopted the "yen" as Japan's modern unit of currency on June 27, 1871. This Act formally stipulated the adoption of the decimal accounting system of yen (1, 圓), sen (1 ⁄ 100, 錢), and rin (1 ⁄ 1000, 厘). The new currency was gradually introduced beginning from July of that year.
Japanese yen denominated paper currency was also conceived with the coins in 1870 as Meiji Tsuho notes by Italian engraver Edoardo Chiossone. These were released as fiat currency in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, and 100 yen along with subsidiary notes of 10, 20, and 50 sen in 1872. Almost concurrently, the government established a series of national banks modeled after the system in the United States which issued national bank notes. |
synth_fc_464_rep9 | Positive | Corporate Management | Database update | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Tutu | 22 | Personal life and personality
extrovert nature conceals a private, introvert side that needs space and regular periods of quiet; his jocularity runs alongside a deep seriousness; his occasional bursts of apparent arrogance mask a genuine humility before God and his fellow men. He is a true son of Africa who can move easily in European and American circles, a man of the people who enjoys ritual and episcopal splendour, a member of an established Church, in some ways a traditionalist, who takes a radical, provocative and fearless stand against authority if he sees it to be unjust. It is usually the most spiritual who can rejoice in all created things and Tutu has no problem in reconciling the sacred and the secular, but critics note a conflict between his socialist ideology and his desire to live comfortably, dress well and lead a life that, while unexceptional in Europe or America, is considered affluent, tainted with capitalism, in the eyes of the deprived black community of South Africa.
— Shirley du Boulay on Tutu's personality
Shirley Du Boulay noted that Tutu was "a man of many layers" and "contradictory tensions". His personality has been described as warm, exuberant, and outgoing. Du Boulay noted that his "typical African warmth and a spontaneous lack of inhibition" proved shocking to many of the "reticent English" whom he encountered when in England, but that it also meant that he had the "ability to endear himself to virtually everyone who actually meets him".
Du Boulay noted that as a child, Tutu had been hard-working and "unusually intelligent". She added that he had a "gentle, caring temperament and would have nothing to do with anything that hurt others", commenting on how he had "a quicksilver mind, a disarming honesty". Tutu was rarely angry in his personal contacts with others, although could become so if he felt that his integrity was being challenged. He had a tendency to be highly trusting, something which some of those close to him sometimes believed was unwise in various situations. He was also reportedly bad at managing finances and prone to overspending, resulting in accusations of irresponsibility and extravagance.
Tutu had a passion for preserving African traditions of courtesy. He could be offended by discourteous behaviour and careless language, as well as by swearing and ethnic slurs. He could get very upset if a member of his staff forgot to thank him or did not apologise for being late to a prayer session. He also disliked gossip and discouraged it among his staff. He was very punctual, and insisted on punctuality among those in his employ. Du Boulay noted that "his attention to the detail of people's lives is remarkable", for he would be meticulous in recording and noting people's birthdays and anniversaries. He was attentive to his parishioners, making an effort to visit and spend time with them regularly; this included making an effort to visit parishioners who disliked him.
According to Du Boulay, Tutu had "a deep need to be loved", a facet that he recognised about himself and referred to as a "horrible weakness". Tutu has also been described as being sensitive, and very easily hurt, an aspect of his personality which he concealed from the public eye; Du Boulay noted that he "reacts to emotional pain" in an "almost childlike way". He never denied being ambitious, and acknowledged that he enjoyed the limelight which his position gave him, something that his wife often teased him about. He was, according to Du Boulay, "a man of passionate emotions" who was quick to both laugh and cry.
As well as English, Tutu could speak Zulu, Sotho, Tswana, and Xhosa. He was often praised for his public speaking abilities; Du Boulay noted that his "star quality enables him to hold an audience spellbound". Gish noted that "Tutu's voice and manner could light up an audience; he never sounded puritanical or humourless". Quick witted, he used humour to try and win over audiences. He had a talent for mimicry, according to Du Boulay, "his humour has none of the cool acerbity that makes for real wit". His application of humour included jokes that made a point about apartheid; "the whites think the black people want to drive them into the sea. What they forget is, with apartheid on the beaches – we can't even go to the sea". In a speech made at the Sixth Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Vancouver he drew laughs from the audience for referring to South Africa as having a "few local problems".
Tutu had a lifelong love of literature and reading, and was a fan of cricket. To relax, he enjoyed listening to classical music and reading books on politics or religion. His favourite foods included samosas, marshmallows, fat cakes, and Yogi Sip. When hosts asked what his culinary tastes were, his wife responded: "think of a five-year old". Tutu woke at 4 am every morning, before engaging in an early morning walk, prayers, and the Eucharist. On Fridays, he fasted until supper.
Tutu was a committed Christian from boyhood. Prayer was a big part of his life; he often spent an hour in prayer at the start of each day, and would ensure that every meeting or interview that he was part of was preceded by a short prayer. He was even known to often pray while driving. He read the Bible every day and recommended that people read it as a collection of books, not a single constitutional document: "You have to understand that the Bible is really a library of books and it has different categories of material", he said. "There are certain parts which you have to say no to. The Bible accepted slavery. St. Paul said women should not speak in church at all and there are people who have used that to say women should not be ordained. There are many things that you shouldn't accept."
On 2 July 1955, Tutu married Nomalizo Leah Shenxane, a teacher whom he had met while at college. They had four children: Trevor Thamsanqa, Theresa Thandeka, Naomi Nontombi and Mpho Andrea, all of whom attended the Waterford Kamhlaba School in Swaziland. Du Boulay referred to him as "a loving and concerned father", while Allen described him as a "loving but strict father" to his children. |
synth_fc_866_rep4 | Positive | Finance | Calculation | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_card | 4 | Benefits to merchants
For merchants, card-based purchase amounts reduce resistance compared to paying cash, and the transaction is often more secure than other forms of payment, such as checks, because the issuing bank commits to pay the merchant the moment the transaction is authorized, regardless of whether the consumer defaults on the credit card payment (except for legitimate disputes, which can result in charges back to the merchant). Cards are even more secure than cash because they reduce theft opportunities by reducing the amount of cash on the premises. Finally, credit cards reduce the back office expense of processing checks/cash and transporting them to the bank.
Prior to credit cards, each merchant had to evaluate each customer's credit history before extending credit. That task is now performed by the banks which assume the credit risk. Extra turnover is generated by the fact that the customer can purchase goods and services immediately and is less inhibited by the amount of cash in pocket and the immediate state of the customer's bank balance. Much of merchants' marketing is based on this immediacy. For each purchase, the bank charges the merchant a commission (discount fee) for this service and there may be a certain delay before the agreed payment is received by the merchant. The commission is often a percentage of the transaction amount, plus a fixed fee (interchange rate). |
synth_fc_2744_rep13 | Positive | Physics & Chemistry | Database creation | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonic_acid | 1 | Carbonic acid is a chemical compound with the chemical formula H2CO3. The molecule rapidly converts to water and carbon dioxide in the presence of water. However, in the absence of water, it is quite stable at room temperature. The interconversion of carbon dioxide and carbonic acid is related to the breathing cycle of animals and the acidification of natural waters. In biochemistry and physiology, the name "carbonic acid" is sometimes applied to aqueous solutions of carbon dioxide. These chemical species play an important role in the bicarbonate buffer system, used to maintain acid–base homeostasis. |
synth_fc_1132_rep13 | Positive | Finance | Calculation | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_policy | 2 | Discretionary policy vs policy rules
For much of the 20th century, governments adopted discretionary policies like demand management designed to correct the business cycle. These typically used fiscal and monetary policy to adjust inflation, output and unemployment.
However, following the stagflation of the 1970s, policymakers began to be attracted to policy rules.
A discretionary policy is supported because it allows policymakers to respond quickly to events. However, discretionary policy can be subject to dynamic inconsistency: a government may say it intends to raise interest rates indefinitely to bring inflation under control, but then relax its stance later. This makes policy non-credible and ultimately ineffective.
A rule-based policy can be more credible, because it is more transparent and easier to anticipate. Examples of rule-based policies are fixed exchange rates, interest rate rules, the stability and growth pact and the Golden Rule. Some policy rules can be imposed by external bodies, for instance, the Exchange Rate Mechanism for currency.
A compromise between strict discretionary and strict rule-based policy is to grant discretionary power to an independent body. For instance, the Federal Reserve Bank, European Central Bank, Bank of England and Reserve Bank of Australia all set interest rates without government interference, but do not adopt rules.
Another type of non-discretionary policy is a set of policies that are imposed by an international body. This can occur (for example) as a result of intervention by the International Monetary Fund. |
synth_fc_2879_rep13 | Negative | Restaurant | Recommendation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima | 3 | Cuisine
Hiroshima is known for okonomiyaki, a savory (umami) pancake cooked on an iron plate, usually in front of the customer. It is cooked with various ingredients, which are layered rather than mixed as done with the Osaka version of okonomiyaki. The layers are typically egg, cabbage, bean sprouts (moyashi), sliced pork/bacon with optional items (mayonnaise, fried squid, octopus, cheese, mochi, kimchi, etc.), and noodles (soba, udon) topped with another layer of egg and a generous dollop of okonomiyaki sauce (Carp and Otafuku are two popular brands). The amount of cabbage used is usually 3 to 4 times the amount used in the Osaka style. It starts piled very high and is generally pushed down as the cabbage cooks. The order of the layers may vary slightly depending on the chef's style and preference, and ingredients will vary depending on the preference of the customer. |
synth_fc_1487_rep15 | Positive | Geography | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_Islands | 1 | The Hall Islands are a group of two large atolls in the northern part of the state of Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia. In the broader sense, a third and smaller atoll is included. Nomwin, the western atoll, and Murilo, the eastern one, are located about 9 km apart, being the emergent parts of a twin-lobed seamount. Murilo and Nomwin each harbor a population of more than 1,000 people. They lie roughly 100 km to the north of Chuuk Lagoon. Uninhabited East Fayu, lying 30+ km to the west of Nomwin, is sometimes included in the Halls. The three atolls together account for a dry surface of about 3.5 km2 over more than 50 islets or motus. |
synth_fc_951_rep23 | Positive | Finance | Calculation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Monetary_Fund | 25 | Benefits
Member countries of the IMF have access to information on the economic policies of all member countries, the opportunity to influence other members' economic policies, technical assistance in banking, fiscal affairs, and exchange matters, financial support in times of payment difficulties, and increased opportunities for trade and investment. |
synth_fc_3716_rep18 | Positive | Visual Art | Entity search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yves_Saint_Laurent_(designer) | 11 | Young designer
In 1953, Saint Laurent submitted three sketches to a contest for young fashion designers organized by the International Wool Secretariat. Saint Laurent won first place. Subsequently, he was invited to attend the awards ceremony held in Paris in December.
During his stay in Paris, Saint Laurent met Michel de Brunhoff, editor-in-chief of the French edition of Vogue magazine and a connection to his father. Michel De Brunhoff, a considerate person who encouraged new talent, was impressed by the sketches that Saint Laurent brought with him and suggested he should become a fashion designer. Saint Laurent eventually considered a course of study at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, the council which regulates the haute couture industry and provides training to its employees. Saint Laurent followed the advice, left Oran for Paris after graduation, began his studies there and eventually graduated as a star pupil. Later that same year, he entered the International Wool Secretariat competition again and won, beating his friend Fernando Sánchez and young German student Karl Lagerfeld.
Shortly after his win, he brought a number of sketches to de Brunhoff who recognized close similarities to sketches he had been shown that morning by Christian Dior. Knowing that Dior had created the sketches that morning and that the young man could not have seen them, de Brunhoff sent him to Dior, who hired him on the spot.
Although Dior recognised his talent immediately, Saint Laurent spent his first year at the House of Dior on mundane tasks, decorating the studio and designing accessories. Eventually he was allowed to submit sketches for the couture collection. With each passing season, more of his sketches were accepted by Dior. Some Dior collections from this period contain themes that would appear in Saint Laurent's independent work years later, such as the smock tops and safari jackets in Dior's 1957 "Libre" line. In August 1957, Dior met with Saint Laurent's mother to tell her that he had chosen Saint Laurent to succeed him as a designer. His mother later said that she had been confused by the remark, as Dior was only 52 years old at the time. Both she and her son were surprised when Dior died at a health spa in northern Italy of a massive heart attack in October 1957.
In 1957, Saint Laurent found himself at age 21 the head designer of the House of Dior. His spring 1958 collection almost certainly saved the enterprise from financial ruin. The simple, flaring lines of his first collection for Dior, called the Trapeze line, a variation of Dior's 1955 A-Line, catapulted him to international stardom. Dresses in the collection featured a narrow shoulder that flared gently to a hem that just covered the knee.
In his second collection for Dior, presented for fall 1958, he iconoclastically lowered hemlines by five inches and was not greeted with the same level of approval that his first collection received, with many considering it a major misstep. Soon after, Marc Bohan was hired to assist St. Laurent, and the spring 1959 Dior collection brought lengths back to the knee in a well-received collection inspired by the 1930s. Later collections for the House of Dior featuring hobble skirts (fall 1959) and beatnik fashions (fall 1960) were savaged by the press.
In 1959, he was chosen by Farah Diba, who was a student in Paris, to design her wedding dress for her marriage to the Shah of Iran. |
synth_fc_2136_rep18 | Positive | Law | Entity search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupac_Shakur | 7 | Panther heritage
Shakur's parents, Afeni Shakur—born Alice Faye Williams in North Carolina—and his biological father, William "Billy" Garland, had been active Black Panther Party members in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s. A month before Shakur's birth, his mother was tried in New York City as part of the Panther 21 criminal trial. She was acquitted of over 150 charges.
Other family members who were involved in the Black Panthers ' Black Liberation Army were convicted of serious crimes and imprisoned, including Shakur's stepfather, Mutulu Shakur, who spent four years as one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. Mutulu Shakur was apprehended in 1986 and subsequently convicted for a 1981 robbery of a Brinks armored truck, during which police officers and a guard were killed.
Shakur's godfather, Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, a high-ranking Black Panther, was wrongly convicted of murdering a schoolteacher during a 1968 robbery. After he spent 27 years in prison, his conviction was overturned due to the prosecution's having concealed evidence that proved his innocence.
Shakur's godmother, Assata Shakur, is a former member of the Black Liberation Army who was convicted in 1977 of the first-degree murder of a New Jersey State Trooper. Since 2013, she has been in the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list after she escaped prison in 1979. |
synth_fc_449_rep28 | Positive | Corporate Management | Database update | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo | 12 | Stabilization
Many ways and materials are available to stabilize and secure cargo in various modes of transport. Conventional load securing methods and materials such as steel strapping and plastic/wood blocking and bracing have been used for decades and are still widely used. Present load-securing methods offer several other options, including polyester strapping and lashing, synthetic webbings and dunnage bags, also known as airbags or inflatable bags.
Practical advice on stabilization is given in the International Guidelines on Safe Load Securing for Road Transport. |
synth_fc_950_rep15 | Positive | Finance | API setting | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Kelvin | 18 | Calculations on data rate
Though eminent in the academic field, Thomson was obscure to the general public. In September 1852, he married childhood sweetheart Margaret Crum, daughter of Walter Crum; but her health broke down on their honeymoon, and over the next 17 years Thomson was distracted by her suffering. On 16 October 1854, George Gabriel Stokes wrote to Thomson to try to re-interest him in work by asking his opinion on some experiments of Faraday on the proposed transatlantic telegraph cable.
Faraday had demonstrated how the construction of a cable would limit the rate at which messages could be sent—in modern terms, the bandwidth. Thomson jumped at the problem and published his response that month. He expressed his results in terms of the data rate that could be achieved and the economic consequences in terms of the potential revenue of the transatlantic undertaking. In a further 1855 analysis, Thomson stressed the impact that the design of the cable would have on its profitability.
Thomson contended that the signalling speed through a given cable was inversely proportional to the square of the length of the cable. Thomson's results were disputed at a meeting of the British Association in 1856 by Wildman Whitehouse, the electrician of the Atlantic Telegraph Company. Whitehouse had possibly misinterpreted the results of his own experiments but was doubtless feeling financial pressure as plans for the cable were already well under way. He believed that Thomson's calculations implied that the cable must be "abandoned as being practically and commercially impossible".
Thomson attacked Whitehouse's contention in a letter to the popular Athenaeum magazine, pitching himself into the public eye. Thomson recommended a larger conductor with a larger cross section of insulation. He thought Whitehouse no fool and suspected that he might have the practical skill to make the existing design work. Thomson's work had attracted the attention of the project's undertakers. In December 1856, he was elected to the board of directors of the Atlantic Telegraph Company. |
synth_fc_1633_rep2 | Positive | Geography | Ranking | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canal | 38 | Second millennium BCE
James Henry Breasted attributes the earliest-known attempt to construct a canal to the first cataract, near Aswan, to the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt and its completion to Senusret III (1878–1839 BCE) of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt.
The legendary Sesostris (likely either Pharaoh Senusret II or Senusret III of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt) may have constructed the ancient canal, the Canal of the Pharaohs, joining the Nile with the Red Sea (1897–1839 BCE), when an irrigation channel was constructed around 1848 BCE that was navigable during the flood season, leading into a dry river valley east of the Nile River Delta named Wadi Tumilat. (It is said that in ancient times the Red Sea reached northward to the Bitter Lakes and Lake Timsah).
In his Meteorology, Aristotle (384–322 BCE) wrote:
One of their kings tried to make a canal to it (for it would have been of no little advantage to them for the whole region to have become navigable; Sesostris is said to have been the first of the ancient kings to try), but he found that the sea was higher than the land. So he first, and Darius afterwards, stopped making the canal, lest the sea should mix with the river water and spoil it.
Strabo wrote that Sesostris started to build a canal, and Pliny the Elder (23/24–79 CE) wrote:
165. Next comes the Tyro tribe and, the harbour of the Daneoi, from which Sesostris, king of Egypt, intended to carry a ship-canal to where the Nile flows into what is known as the Delta; this is a distance of over 60 miles (100 km). Later the Persian king Darius had the same idea, and yet again Ptolemy II, who made a trench 100 feet (30 m) wide, 30 feet (9 m) deep and about 35 miles (55 km) long, as far as the Bitter Lakes.
In the 20th century, the northward extension of the later Darius I canal was discovered, extending from Lake Timsah to the Ballah Lakes. This was dated to the Middle Kingdom of Egypt by extrapolating the dates of ancient sites along its course.
The reliefs of the Punt expedition under Hatshepsut, 1470 BCE, depict seagoing vessels carrying the expeditionary force returning from Punt. This suggests that a navigable link existed between the Red Sea and the Nile. Recent excavations in Wadi Gawasis may indicate that Egypt's maritime trade started from the Red Sea and did not require a canal. Evidence seems to indicate its existence by the 13th century BCE during the time of Ramesses II. |
synth_fc_2551_rep30 | Positive | Museum | Entity search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermes | 27 | Temples and sacred places
There are only three temples known to have been specifically dedicated to Hermes during the Classical Greek period, all of them in Arcadia. Though there are a few references in ancient literature to "numerous" temples of Hermes, this may be poetic license describing the ubiquitous herms, or other, smaller shrines to Hermes located in the temples of other deities. One of the oldest places of worship for Hermes was Mount Cyllene in Arcadia, where some myths say he was born. Tradition holds that his first temple was built by Lycaon. From there, the Hermes cult would have been taken to Athens, from which it radiated to the whole of Greece. In the Roman period, additional temples to Hermes (Mercury) were constructed across the Empire, including several in modern-day Tunisia. Mercury's temple in Rome was situated in the Circus Maximus, between the Aventine and Palatine hills, and was built in 495 BC.
In most places, temples were consecrated to Hermes in conjunction with Aphrodite, as in Attica, Arcadia, Crete, Samos and in Magna Graecia. Several ex-votos found in his temples revealed his role as initiator of young adulthood, among them soldiers and hunters, since war and certain forms of hunting were seen as ceremonial initiatory ordeals. This function of Hermes explains why some images in temples and other vessels show him as a teenager.
As a patron of the gym and fighting, Hermes had statues in gyms and he was also worshiped in the sanctuary of the Twelve Gods in Olympia where Greeks celebrated the Olympic Games. His statue was held there on an altar dedicated to him and Apollo together. A temple within the Aventine was consecrated in 495 BC.
Pausanias wrote that during his time, at Megalopolis people could see the ruins of the temple of Hermes Acacesius. In addition, the Tricrena (Τρίκρηνα, meaning Three Springs) mountains at Pheneus were sacred to Hermes, because three springs were there and according to the legend, Hermes was washed in them, after birth, by the nymphs of the mountain. Furthermore, at Pharae there was a water sacred to Hermes. The name of the spring was Hermes' stream and the fish in it were not caught, being considered sacred to the god.
Sacrifices to Hermes involved honey, cakes, pigs, goats, and lambs. In the city of Tanagra, it was believed that Hermes had been nursed under a wild strawberry tree, the remains of which were held there in the shrine of Hermes Promachus, and in the hills Phene ran three waterways that were sacred to him, because he was believed to have been bathed there at birth. |
synth_fc_900_rep8 | Positive | Finance | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly_(game) | 53 | Official rules
Each player starts with $1,500 in their bank. Players roll the dice, and whoever rolls the highest number goes first. On a player's turn they roll the dice and advance their piece clockwise around the board the corresponding number of squares. Rolling doubles allows a player to take another turn after moving their piece; however, if three consecutive doubles are rolled, the player is immediately sent to jail.
A player who lands on or passes the "GO" space collects $200 from the bank. Players who land on either Income Tax or Luxury Tax pay the indicated amount to the bank. In older editions of the game, two options were given for Income Tax: either pay a flat fee of $200 (or $300) or 10% of total net worth (including the current values of all the properties and buildings owned). No calculation could be made before the choice, and no latitude was given for reversing an unwise decision. In 2008, the calculation option was removed from the official rules; simultaneously, the Luxury Tax was increased from $75 to $100. Nothing happens when a player lands on Free Parking.
Properties in a color group can only be developed once a single player owns all of them. They then must be developed equally. A house must be built on each property of that color before a second can be built. Each property within a group must be within one house level of all the others within that group.
The winner is the player remaining after all others have gone bankrupt. |
synth_fc_2875_rep7 | Negative | Restaurant | Entity search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaice | 3 | In cuisine and culture
In North German and Danish cuisine, plaice is one of the most commonly eaten fish. Filleted, battered, and pan-fried plaice is popular hot or cold as an open sandwich topping together with remoulade sauce and lemon slices. Battered plaice is often served hot with french fries and remoulade sauce as a main dish; this fish and chips variant is popular and is commonly available on children's menus in Danish restaurants. Breaded frozen plaice, ready to be baked or fried at home, are readily available in supermarkets. Fresh plaice is also oven-baked.
"The flesh of plaice is white, tender and subtle-flavoured."
Smoked plaice is one of the traditional summer time delicacies of Hiiumaa island. |
synth_fc_3525_rep23 | Negative | Travel itinerary | Calculation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irtysh | 9 | Geography
From its origins as the Kara-Irtysh (Black Irtysh) in the Mongolian Altay mountains in Xinjiang, China, the Irtysh flows northwest through Lake Zaysan in Kazakhstan, meeting the Ishim and Tobol rivers before merging with the Ob near Khanty-Mansiysk in western Siberia, Russia after 4,248 kilometres (2,640 mi).
The name Black Irtysh (Kara-Irtysh in Kazakh, or Cherny Irtysh in Russian) is applied by some authors, especially in Russia and Kazakhstan, to the upper course of the river, from its source entering Lake Zaysan. The term White Irtysh, in opposition to the Black Irtysh, was occasionally used in the past to refer to the Irtysh below lake Zaysan; now this usage is largely obsolete. |
synth_fc_2766_rep18 | Positive | Physics & Chemistry | Calculation | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandelbrot_set | 18 | Local connectivity
It is conjectured that the Mandelbrot set is locally connected. This conjecture is known as MLC (for Mandelbrot locally connected). By the work of Adrien Douady and John H. Hubbard, this conjecture would result in a simple abstract "pinched disk" model of the Mandelbrot set. In particular, it would imply the important hyperbolicity conjecture mentioned above.
The work of Jean-Christophe Yoccoz established local connectivity of the Mandelbrot set at all finitely renormalizable parameters; that is, roughly speaking those contained only in finitely many small Mandelbrot copies. Since then, local connectivity has been proved at many other points of M {\displaystyle M}, but the full conjecture is still open. |
synth_fc_3155_rep5 | Negative | Sport | Entity search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paavo_Nurmi | 11 | Personal life and public image
Nurmi was married to socialite Sylvi Laaksonen (1907–1968) from 1932 to 1935. Laaksonen, who was not interested in athletics, opposed Nurmi raising their newborn son Matti to be a runner and stated to the Associated Press in 1933, "is concentration on athletics at last forced me to go to the judge for a divorce." Matti Nurmi did become a middle-distance runner, and later a "self-made" businessman. Nurmi's relationship with his son was termed "uneasy". Matti admired his father more as a businessman than as an athlete, and the two never discussed his running career. As a runner, Matti was at his best in the 3000 m, where he equalled his father's time. In the famous race on 11 July 1957 when the "three Olavis" (Salsola, Salonen and Vuorisalo) broke the world record for the 1500 m, Matti Nurmi finished a distant ninth with his personal best, 2.2 seconds slower than his father's world record from 1924. Hollywood actress Maila Nurmi, best known as the horror icon " Vampira ", was often referred to as Paavo Nurmi's niece. However, the kinship is not supported by official documents.
Nurmi enjoyed the Finnish sports massage and sauna-bathing traditions, crediting the Finnish sauna for his performances during the Paris heat wave in 1924. He had a versatile diet, although he had practiced vegetarianism between the ages of 15 and 21. Nurmi, who identified as neurasthenic, was known to be "taciturn", "stony-faced" and "stubborn". He was not believed to have had any close friends, but he had occasionally socialized and showed his "sarcastic sense of humour" among the small circles he knew. Acclaimed the biggest sporting figure in the world at his peak, Nurmi was averse to publicity and the media, stating later on his 75th birthday, "orldly fame and reputation are worth less than a rotten lingonberry." French journalist Gabriel Hanot questioned Nurmi's intensive approach to sports and wrote in 1924 that Nurmi "is ever more serious, reserved, concentrated, pessimistic, fanatic. There is such coldness in him and his self-control is so great that never for a moment does he show his feelings." Some contemporary Finns nicknamed him Suuri vaikenija (The Great Silent One), and Ron Clarke noted that Nurmi's persona remained a mystery even to Finnish runners and journalists: "Even to them, he was never quite real. He was enigmatic, sphinx-like, a god in a cloud. It was as if he was all the time playing a role in a drama."
Nurmi was more responsive to his fellow athletes than to the media. He exchanged ideas with sprinter Charley Paddock and even trained with his rival Otto Peltzer. Nurmi told Peltzer to forget his opponents: "Conquering yourself is the greatest challenge of an athlete." Nurmi was known to emphasize the importance of psychological strength: "Mind is everything; muscle, pieces of rubber. All that I am, I am because of my mind." Regarding Nurmi's track antics, Peltzer found that "in his impenetrability he was a Buddha gliding on the track. Stopwatch in hand, lap after lap, he ran towards the tape, subject only to the laws of a mathematical table." Marathoner Johnny Kelley, who first met his idol at the 1936 Olympics, said that while Nurmi appeared cold to him at first, the two chatted for quite a while after Nurmi had asked for his name: "He grabbed ahold of me — he was so excited. I couldn't believe it!"
Nurmi's speed and elusive personality led to nicknames such as the "Phantom Finn", the "King of Runners" and "Peerless Paavo", while his mathematical prowess and use of a stopwatch led the press to characterize him as a running machine. One newspaperman dubbed Nurmi "a mechanical Frankenstein created to annihilate time." Phil Cousineau noted that "his own innovation — the tactic of pacing himself with a stopwatch — both inspired and troubled people in an era when the robot was becoming symbolic of the modern soulless human being." Among the popular newspaper rumours about Nurmi was that he had a "freakish heart" with a very low pulse rate. During the debate over his amateur status, Nurmi was joked to have "the lowest heartbeat and the highest asking price of any athlete in the world." |
synth_fc_2275_rep29 | Positive | Law | Entity search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine%E2%80%93American_War | 2 | Cultural impact
The influence of the Roman Catholic Church was reduced when the secular United States Government disestablished the Church and purchased and redistributed Church lands, one of the earliest attempts at land reform in the Philippines. The land amounted to 170,917 hectares (422,350 acres), for which the Church asked $12,086,438.11 in March 1903. The purchase was completed on December 22, 1903, at a sale price of $7,239,784.66. The land redistribution program was stipulated in at least three laws: the Philippine Organic Act, the Public Lands Act, and the Friar Lands Act. Section 10 of the Public Lands Act limited purchases to a maximum of 16 hectares for an individual or 1024 hectares for a corporation or like association. Land was also offered for lease to landless farmers, at prices ranging from fifty centavos to one peso and fifty centavos per hectare per annum. Section 28 of the Public Lands Act stipulated that lease contracts ran for a maximum of 25 years, renewable for another 25 years.
In 1901, at least five hundred teachers (365 males and 165 females) arrived from the U.S. aboard the USAT Thomas. The name "Thomasite" was adopted for these teachers, who established education as one of America's contributions to the Philippines. Among the assignments given were Albay, Catanduanes, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, and Masbate, which are the present day Bicol Region, which was heavily resistant to American rule. Twenty-seven of the original Thomasites either died of tropical diseases or were murdered by Filipino rebels during their first 20 months of residence. Despite the hardships, the Thomasites persisted, teaching and building learning institutions. They opened the Philippine Normal School (now Philippine Normal University) and the Philippine School of Arts and Trades (PSAT) in 1901 and reopened the Philippine Nautical School, established in 1839 by the Board of Commerce of Manila under Spain. By the end of 1904, primary courses were mostly taught by Filipinos under American supervision.
According to historian Daniel Immerwahr, the first 15 American officers to hold the office of Chief of Staff of the United States Army all served in the Philippine–American War. Some veterans of the war, including Douglas MacArthur, Chester W. Nimitz, Walter Krueger, and Rapp Brush were senior commanders in the US campaign to liberate the Philippines from the Empire of Japan during World War II. |
synth_fc_1449_rep22 | Positive | Geography | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minerva | 19 | Chester
There is a shrine dedicated to Minerva in Edgar's Field built in the face of a quarry next to the River Dee. |
synth_fc_1225_rep13 | Positive | Finance | Calculation | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cameron | 4 | 1990s
In 1990, Cameron co-founded the firm Lightstorm Entertainment with partner Lawrence Kasanoff. In 1991, Cameron served as executive producer for Point Break (1991), directed by Kathryn Bigelow. After the success of The Terminator, there were discussions for a sequel, and by the late 1980s, Mario Kassar of Carolco Pictures secured the rights to the sequel, allowing Cameron to begin production of the film, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr., Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton reprise their roles. The story follows on from Terminator, depicting a new villain (T-1000), with shape-shifting abilities who hunts for Sarah Connor 's son, John (Edward Furlong). Cameron cast Robert Patrick as T-1000 because of his lean and thin appearance — a sharp contrast to Schwarzenegger. Cameron explained: "I wanted someone who was extremely fast and agile. If the T-800 is a human Panzer tank, then the T-1000 is a Porsche ". Terminator 2 was one of the most expensive films to be produced, costing at least $ 94 million ($ 210 million in 2023). Despite the challenging use of computer-generated imagery (CGI), the film was completed on time and released on July 3, 1991. Terminator 2 broke box office records (including the opening weekend record for an R-rated film), earning over $ 200 million in North America and being the first to earn over $ 300 million worldwide (respectively over $ 447 million and $ 671 million in 2023). It won four Academy Awards: Best Makeup, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects. It also received nominations for Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing, but lost both to political thriller JFK (1991).
In subsequent years, Cameron planned to do a third Terminator film, but plans never materialized. The rights to the Terminator franchise were eventually purchased by Kassar from a bankruptcy sale of Carolco's assets. Cameron moved on to other projects and, in 1993, co-founded Digital Domain, a visual effects production company. In 1994, Cameron and Schwarzenegger reunited for their third collaboration, True Lies, a remake of the 1991 French comedy La Totale! The story depicts an American secret agent who leads a double life as a married man, whose wife believes he is a computer salesman. The film co-stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Eliza Dushku and Tom Arnold. Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment signed a deal with 20th Century Fox for the production of True Lies. Budgeted at a minimum of $100 million, the film earned $146 million in the United States and Canada. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and Curtis won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. It was during the production of True Lies that he would first meet Jon Landau, who at the time oversaw the film's production for Fox. In July 2024, Cameron stated that he "lured" Landau away from Fox to Lightstorm.
In 1995, Cameron co-produced Strange Days, a science fiction thriller. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow and co-written by Jay Cocks, Strange Days was critically and financially unsuccessful. In 1996, Cameron reunited with the cast of Terminator 2 to film T2 3-D: Battle Across Time, an attraction at Universal Studios Florida, and in other parks around the world.
His next major project was Titanic (1997), an epic about RMS Titanic, which sank in 1912 after striking an iceberg. With a production budget of $200 million, at the time it was the most expensive film ever made. Starting in 1995, Cameron took several dives to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean to capture footage of the wreck, which would later be used in the film. A replica of the ship was built in Rosarito Beach and principal photography began in September 1996. Titanic made headlines before its release, for being over-budget and exceeding its schedule. Cameron's completed screenplay depicts two star-crossed lovers, portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, from different social classes who fall in love amid the backdrop of the tragedy; a radical departure from his previous work. The supporting cast includes Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Gloria Stuart, Bernard Hill, Jonathan Hyde, Victor Garber, Danny Nucci, David Warner and Bill Paxton. The film was also Cameron's first large scale production with Landau as a co-producer.
After months of delay, Titanic premiered on December 19, 1997. The film received strong critical acclaim and became the highest-grossing film of all time, holding this position for twelve years, until Cameron's Avatar beat the record in 2010. The costumes and sets were praised, and The Washington Post considered the CGI graphics to be spectacular. Titanic received a record-tying fourteen nominations (tied with All About Eve (1950) at the 1998 Academy Awards. It won eleven of the awards, tying the record for most wins with 1959's Ben-Hur, and 2003's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, including: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, Best Original Score and Best Original Song. Upon receiving Best Picture, Cameron and producer Jon Landau asked for a moment of silence to remember the 1,500 people who died when the ship sank. Film critic Roger Ebert praised Cameron's storytelling, writing: "It is flawlessly crafted, intelligently constructed, strongly acted, and spellbinding". Authors Kevin Sandler and Gaylyn Studlar wrote in 1999 that the romance, historical nostalgia and James Horner 's music contributed to the film's cultural phenomenon. In 2017, on its 20th anniversary, Titanic became Cameron's second film to be selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
After the huge success of Titanic, Cameron kept a low profile. In 1998, he and his brother, John, formed Earthship Productions, to stream documentaries about the deep sea, one of Cameron's interests. Again during 1998, Cameron considered doing a large-scale technological/religious film by an unknown writer, but after three tries was forced to personally pass on the project "due to his secular nature." Cameron had also planned to make a film about Spider-Man, a project developed by Menahem Golan of Cannon Films. Columbia hired David Koepp to adapt Cameron's ideas into a screenplay, but due to various disagreements, Cameron abandoned the project. In 2002, Spider-Man was released with the screenplay credited solely to Koepp. |
synth_fc_1765_rep25 | Positive | Health | Calculation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading | 21 | EQAO
The Education Quality and Accountability Office, EQAO, is an agency of the government of Ontario, Canada that reports on the publicly funded school system. In 2022, it reported that 77% of grade three students in Ontario's English language schools met the provincial standard in reading in 2018–2019. This decreased to 73% in 2021–2022 and 2022–2023.
53% of grade three students with special needs met the standard in 2018–2019, and this reduced to 48% in 2021–2022. 72% of grade three students who are English language learners met the standard in 2018–2019, and this reduced to 67% in 2021–2022. |
synth_fc_2141_rep25 | Positive | Law | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canal | 16 | Initial difficulties (1869–1871)
Although numerous technical, political, and financial problems had been overcome, the final cost was more than double the original estimate.
The Khedive, in particular, was able to overcome initial reservations held by both British and French creditors by enlisting the help of the Sursock family, whose deep connections proved invaluable in securing much international support for the project.
After the opening, the Suez Canal Company was in financial difficulties. The remaining works were completed only in 1871, and traffic was below expectations in the first two years. De Lesseps therefore tried to increase revenues by interpreting the kind of net ton referred to in the second concession (tonneau de capacité) as meaning a ship's cargo capacity and not only the theoretical net tonnage of the " Moorsom System " introduced in Britain by the Merchant Shipping Act in 1854. The ensuing commercial and diplomatic activities resulted in the International Commission of Constantinople establishing a specific kind of net tonnage and settling the question of tariffs in its protocol of 18 December 1873. This was the origin of the Suez Canal Net Tonnage and the Suez Canal Special Tonnage Certificate, both of which are still in use today. |
synth_fc_2734_rep12 | Negative | Physics & Chemistry | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desalination | 23 | Passarell
The Passarell process uses reduced atmospheric pressure rather than heat to drive evaporative desalination. The pure water vapor generated by distillation is then compressed and condensed using an advanced compressor. The compression process improves distillation efficiency by creating the reduced pressure in the evaporation chamber. The compressor centrifuges the pure water vapor after it is drawn through a demister (removing residual impurities) causing it to compress against tubes in the collection chamber. The compression of the vapor increases its temperature. The heat is transferred to the input water falling in the tubes, vaporizing the water in the tubes. Water vapor condenses on the outside of the tubes as product water. By combining several physical processes, Passarell enables most of the system's energy to be recycled through its evaporation, demisting, vapor compression, condensation, and water movement processes. |
synth_fc_1303_rep17 | Positive | Finance | Database search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump | 68 | Trump wall and government shutdown
One of Trump's central campaign promises was to build a 1,000-mile (1,600 km) border wall to Mexico and have Mexico pay for it. By the end of his term, the U.S. had built " 40 miles of new primary wall and 33 miles of secondary wall" in locations where there had been no barriers and 365 miles (587 km) of primary or secondary border fencing replacing dilapidated or outdated barriers.
In 2018, Trump refused to sign any appropriations bill from Congress unless it allocated $5.6 billion for the border wall, resulting in the federal government partially shutting down for 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019, the longest U.S. government shutdown in history. Around 800,000 government employees were furloughed or worked without pay. Trump and Congress ended the shutdown by approving temporary funding that provided delayed payments to government workers but no funds for the wall. The shutdown resulted in an estimated permanent loss of $3 billion to the economy, according to the Congressional Budget Office. About half of those polled blamed Trump for the shutdown, and Trump's approval ratings dropped.
To prevent another imminent shutdown in February 2019, Congress passed and Trump signed a funding bill that included $1.375 billion for 55 miles (89 km) of bollard border fencing. Trump also declared a national emergency on the southern border, intending to divert $6.1 billion of funds Congress had allocated to other purposes. Trump vetoed a joint resolution to overturn the declaration, and the Senate voted against a veto override. Legal challenges to the diversion of $2.5 billion originally meant for the Department of Defense 's drug interdiction efforts and $3.6 billion originally meant for military construction were unsuccessful. |
synth_fc_2420_rep28 | Positive | Movie | Feature search | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Blair | 1 | Mary Blair was an American artist, animator, and designer. She was prominent in producing art and animation for The Walt Disney Company, drawing concept art for such films as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Song of the South and Cinderella. Blair also created character designs for enduring attractions such as Disneyland's It's a Small World, the fiesta scene in El Rio del Tiempo in the Mexico pavilion in Epcot's World Showcase, and an enormous mosaic inside Disney's Contemporary Resort. Several of her illustrated children's books from the 1950s remain in print, such as I Can Fly by Ruth Krauss. Blair was inducted into the group of Disney Legends in 1991. |
synth_fc_2025_rep30 | Positive | History | Feature search | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parchment | 5 | History
The word parchment evolved (via the Latin pergamenum and the French parchemin) from the name of the city of Pergamon, which was a thriving center of parchment production during the Hellenistic period. The city so dominated the trade that a legend later arose which said that parchment had been invented in Pergamon to replace the use of papyrus which had become monopolized by the rival city of Alexandria. This account, originating in the writings of Pliny the Elder (Natural History, Book XIII, 69–70), is almost assuredly false because parchment had been in use in Anatolia and elsewhere long before the rise of Pergamon.
Herodotus mentions writing on skins as common in his time, the 5th century BC; and in his Histories (v.58) he states that the Ionians of Asia Minor had been accustomed to give the name of skins (diphtherai) to books; this word was adapted by Hellenized Jews to describe scrolls. Writing on prepared animal skins had a long history in other cultures outside of the Greeks as well. David Diringer noted that "the first mention of Egyptian documents written on leather goes back to the Fourth Dynasty (c. 2550–2450 BC), but the earliest of such documents extant are: a fragmentary roll of leather of the Sixth Dynasty (c. 24th century BC), unrolled by Dr. H. Ibscher, and preserved in the Cairo Museum; a roll of the Twelfth Dynasty (c. 1990–1777 BC) now in Berlin; the mathematical text now in the British Museum (MS. 10250); and a document of the reign of Ramses II (early thirteenth century BC)." Civilizations such as the Assyrians and the Babylonians most commonly impressed their cuneiform on clay tablets, but they also wrote on parchment from the 6th century BC onward.
By the fourth century AD, in cultures that traditionally used papyrus for writing, parchment began to become the new standard for use in manufacturing important books, and most works which wished to be preserved were eventually moved from papyrus to parchment.
In the later Middle Ages, especially the 15th century, parchment was largely replaced by paper for most uses except luxury manuscripts, some of which were also on paper. New techniques in paper milling allowed it to be much cheaper than parchment; it was made of textile rags and of very high quality. Following the arrival of printing in the later fifteenth century AD, the supply of animal skins for parchment could not keep up with the demands of printers.
There was a short period during the introduction of printing where parchment and paper were used at the same time, with parchment (in fact vellum) the more expensive luxury option, preferred by rich and conservative customers. Although most copies of the Gutenberg Bible are on paper, some were printed on parchment; 12 of the 48 surviving copies, with most incomplete. In 1490, Johannes Trithemius preferred the older methods, because "handwriting placed on parchment will be able to endure a thousand years. But how long will printing last, which is dependent on paper? For if... it lasts for two hundred years that is a long time." In fact, high-quality paper from this period has survived 500 years or more very well, if kept in reasonable library conditions. |
synth_fc_1248_rep2 | Positive | Finance | Calculation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutenberg_Bible | 2 | Early owners
The Bible seems to have sold out immediately, with some initial purchases as far away as England and possibly Sweden and Hungary. At least some copies are known to have sold for 30 florins (equivalent to about 100 grams or 3.5 ounces of gold), which was about three years' wages for a clerk. Although this made them significantly cheaper than manuscript Bibles, most students, priests or other people of moderate income would not have been able to afford them. It is assumed that most were sold to monasteries, universities and particularly wealthy individuals. At present only one copy is known to have been privately owned in the fifteenth century. Some are known to have been used for communal readings in monastery refectories; others may have been for display rather than use, and a few were certainly used for study. Kristian Jensen suggests that many copies were bought by wealthy and pious laymen for donation to religious institutions. |
synth_fc_1127_rep18 | Positive | Finance | Database search | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accounting | 7 | History
Accounting is thousands of years old and can be traced to ancient civilizations. One early development of accounting dates back to ancient Mesopotamia and is closely related to developments in writing, counting and money; there is also evidence of early forms of bookkeeping in ancient Iran, and early auditing systems by the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians. By the time of Emperor Augustus, the Roman government had access to detailed financial information.
Many concepts related to today's accounting seem to be initiated in medieval's Middle East. For example, Jewish communities used double-entry bookkeeping in the early-medieval period and Muslim societies, at least since the 10th century also used many modern accounting concepts.
The spread of the use of Arabic numerals, instead of the Roman numbers historically used in Europe, increased efficiency of accounting procedures among Mediterranean merchants, who further refined accounting in medieval Europe. With the development of joint-stock companies, accounting split into financial accounting and management accounting.
The first published work on a double-entry bookkeeping system was the Summa de arithmetica, published in Italy in 1494 by Luca Pacioli (the "Father of Accounting"). Accounting began to transition into an organized profession in the nineteenth century, with local professional bodies in England merging to form the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales in 1880. |
synth_fc_29_rep30 | Positive | Acoustics | Generation | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Tubby | 1 | Osbourne Ruddock, better known as King Tubby, was a Jamaican sound engineer who influenced the development of dub in the 1960s and 1970s. Tubby's studio work, which saw him elevate the role of the mixing engineer to a creative fame previously only reserved for composers and musicians, would prove to be influential across many genres of popular music. He is often cited as the inventor of the concept of the remix that later became ubiquitous in dance and electronic music production. Singer Mikey Dread stated, "King Tubby truly understood sound in a scientific sense. He knew how the circuits worked and what the electrons did. That's why he could do what he did". |
synth_fc_3697_rep19 | Positive | Visual Art | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_(1988_film) | 1 | Akira Akira is a 1988 Japanese animated cyberpunk action film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, produced by Ryōhei Suzuki and Shunzō Katō, and written by Otomo and Izo Hashimoto, based on Otomo's 1982 manga of the same name. Set in a dystopian 2019, it tells the story of Shōtarō Kaneda, the leader of a biker gang whose childhood friend, Tetsuo Shima, acquires incredible telekinetic abilities after a motorcycle accident, eventually threatening an entire military complex amid chaos and rebellion in the sprawling futuristic metropolis of Neo-Tokyo. While most of the character designs and settings were adapted from the manga, the plot differs considerably and does not include much of the last half of the manga, which continued publication for two years after the film's release. The soundtrack, which draws heavily from traditional Indonesian gamelan as well as Japanese noh music, was composed by Shōji Yamashiro and performed by Geinoh Yamashirogumi. Akira was released in Japan on July 16, 1988, by Toho; it was released the following year in the United States by Streamline Pictures. It garnered an international cult following after various theatrical and VHS releases, eventually earning over $80 million worldwide in home video sales. It has been cited as a masterpiece and is widely regarded by audiences and critics as one of the greatest films ever made, especially in the field of animation and in the action and science fiction genres. It is regarded as a landmark in Japanese animation, and the most influential and iconic anime film ever made. It is also a pivotal film in the cyberpunk genre, particularly the Japanese cyberpunk subgenre, as well as adult animation. The film had a significant effect on popular culture worldwide, paving the way for the growth of anime and Japanese popular culture in the Western world as well as influencing numerous works in animation, comics, film, music, television, and video games. |
synth_fc_2882_rep25 | Positive | Restaurant | Proximal search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pesto | 1 | Pesto or more fully pesto alla genovese is a paste made of crushed garlic, pine nuts, salt, basil leaves, grated cheese such as Parmesan or pecorino sardo, and olive oil. It originated in the Italian city of Genoa, and is used to dress pasta and flavour genoese minestrone soup. |
synth_fc_3102_rep22 | Positive | Sport | Entity search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tessa_Virtue | 1 | Tessa Jane McCormick Virtue is a Canadian retired ice dancer. With ice dance partner Scott Moir, she is the 2010 and 2018 Olympic champion, the 2014 Olympic silver medallist, a three-time World champion, a three-time Four Continents champion, the 2016–17 Grand Prix Final champion, an eight-time Canadian National champion, the 2006 World Junior champion and the 2006 Junior Grand Prix gold medallists. Virtue and Moir are also the 2018 Olympic gold medallists in the team event and the 2014 Olympic silver medallists in the team event. Upon winning their third Olympic gold medal, they became the most decorated Canadian ice dance team of all time and the most decorated Olympic figure skaters of all time. Widely regarded as one of the greatest ice dance teams of all time, they are the only ice dancers in history to achieve a Super Slam, having won all major international competitions in their senior and junior careers. Virtue and Moir are holders of the world record score for the now-defunct original dance. Virtue and Moir were paired in 1997, aged seven and nine. They are the 2004 Canadian junior champions and became Canada's top ice dance team in 2007. They are the 2008 World silver medallists and the 2009 World bronze medallists and became the first ice dance team to receive a 10.0 for a program component score under the new ISU Judging System. In 2010, they became the first ice dancers from North America to win an Olympic gold medal, ending the 34-year streak of the Europeans. Virtue and Moir are the youngest ice dance team ever to win an Olympic title, the first ice dancers to win a gold medal in their Olympic debut, and the first ice dance team to win Olympic gold on home ice. Virtue and Moir continued to be one of the world's top ice dance teams after their first Olympic victory in 2010. They are the 2010 and 2012 World champions, the 2011 and 2013 World silver medallists, and the 2014 Olympic ice dance and team event silver medallists. After taking a two-season break from the sport, they returned to competition in the fall of 2016 and became the 2017 World champions, having an unprecedented undefeated season. At the 2018 Olympics, they became only the second ice dance team in history to have won two Olympic gold medals in the individual event. Having skated together for over twenty years, Virtue and Moir are the longest-standing ice dance team in Canadian history. In 2018, Time magazine noted that "they've become especially beloved by new and returning spectators alike for their passionate performances and undeniable chemistry, on and off the ice". On September 17, 2019, Virtue and Moir announced that they are "stepping away" from the sport after 22 years as ice dancing partners. In 2020, Virtue and Moir were inducted to the Order of Canada "for their athletic excellence and for inspiring a new generation of figure skaters", and in 2023, they were inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. |
synth_fc_1909_rep18 | Negative | History | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque | 4 | Baroque in the Spanish and Portuguese Colonial Asia
In the Portuguese colonies of India (Goa, Daman and Diu) an architectural style of Baroque forms mixed with Hindu elements flourished, such as the Se Cathedral and the Basilica of Bom Jesus of Goa, which houses the tomb of St. Francis Xavier. The set of churches and convents of Goa was declared a World Heritage Site in 1986.
In the Philippines, which was a Spanish colony for over three centuries, a large number of Baroque constructions are preserved. Four of these as well as the Baroque and Neoclassical city of Vigan are both UNESCO World Heritage Sites; and although they lack formal classification, The Walled City of Manila along with the city of Tayabas both contain a significant extent of Spanish-Baroque-era architecture. |
synth_fc_2182_rep29 | Positive | Law | Entity search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_States | 13 | Unenumerated rights and reserved powers (Amendments 9 and 10)
The Ninth Amendment (1791) declares that individuals have other fundamental rights, in addition to those stated in the Constitution. During the Constitutional ratification debates, Anti-Federalists argued that a Bill of Rights should be added. The Federalists opposed it on grounds that a list would necessarily be incomplete but would be taken as explicit and exhaustive, thus enlarging the power of the federal government by implication. The Anti-Federalists persisted, and several state ratification conventions refused to ratify the Constitution without a more specific list of protections, so the First Congress added what became the Ninth Amendment as a compromise. Because the rights protected by the Ninth Amendment are not specified, they are referred to as "unenumerated". The Supreme Court has found that unenumerated rights include such important rights as the right to travel, the right to vote, the right to privacy, and the right to make important decisions about one's health care or body.
The Tenth Amendment (1791) was included in the Bill of Rights to further define the balance of power between the federal government and the states. The amendment states that the federal government has only those powers specifically granted by the Constitution. These powers include the power to declare war, to collect taxes, to regulate interstate business activities and others that are listed in the articles or in subsequent constitutional amendments. Any power not listed is, says the Tenth Amendment, left to the states or the people. While there is no specific list of what these "reserved powers" may be, the Supreme Court has ruled that laws affecting family relations, commerce within a state's own borders, abortion, and local law enforcement activities, are among those specifically reserved to the states or the people. |
synth_fc_2566_rep11 | Positive | Museum | Recommendation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Johnson | 13 | Postmodern period (1980–1990)
In 1980, Johnson and Burgee completed a cathedral in a dramatic new style: the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, is a soaring glass megachurch originally built for the Reverend Robert H. Schuller. The interior can seat 2,248 persons. It takes the form of a four-pointed star, with free-standing balconies in three points and the chancel in the fourth. The cathedral is covered with more than 10,000 rectangular pieces of glass. The Glass panels are not bolted, but glued to the structure, with a silicon based glue, to give it greater ability to resist Southern California earthquakes. Johnson and Burgee designed it to withstand an earthquake of magnitude 8.0. The tower was added in 1990.
The cathedral quickly became a Southern California landmark, but its costs helped drive the church into debt. When the church declared bankruptcy in 2012, it was purchased by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange and became the Roman Catholic cathedral for Orange County.
Working with John Burgee, Johnson did not confine himself to a single style and was comfortable mixing elements of modernism and postmodernism. For the Cleveland Play House, he built a Romanesque brick structure. His skyscrapers in the 1980s were clad in granite and marble and usually had some feature borrowed from historic architecture. In New York he designed the Museum of Television and Radio (now the Paley Center for Media) (1991).
In 1982, working in collaboration with John Burgee, he finished one of his most famous buildings, 550 Madison Avenue, (first known as AT&T Building, then the Sony building before taking its present name). Built between 1978 and 1982, it is a skyscraper with an eight-story high arched entry and a split pediment at the top which resembles an enormous piece of 18th-century Chippendale furniture. It was not the first work of postmodern architecture, as Robert Venturi and Frank Gehry had already built smaller scale postmodern buildings, and Michael Graves had completed the Portland Building (1980–82) in Portland, Oregon, two years earlier. But the building's Manhattan location, size, and originality made it the most famous and recognizable example of postmodern architecture. It was designated a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2018.
Between 1979 and 1984, Johnson and Burgee built PPG Place, the postmodern headquarters of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company. It is a complex of six buildings within three city blocks, covering five and a half acres. The centerpiece is the 40-story tower, One PPG Place, which has a crown of spires at the corners which suggest the neogothic tower of the Houses of Parliament in London. During the 1980s, Johnson and Burgee completed a series of other notable postmodern landmarks. The TC Energy Center (formerly Republic Bank Center, later, Bank of America Center), in Houston (1983), was the first postmodern skyscraper in the Houston skyline. Fifty-six stories high, it has two setbacks creating what appear to be three different buildings, one against the other. The three triangular gables were inspired by Flemish Renaissance architecture. The interior and exterior are covered with rough-textured red granite, which also covers the surrounding sidewalks.
The new building for the Hines College of Architecture (1985) of the University of Houston paid homage to forms drawn from earlier periods of architectural history, using modern materials, construction methods, and scale. The facade of the Hines building resembles, on a larger scale, the neoclassic facades of the French architect Claude Nicolas Ledoux.
400 West Market (1993) in Louisville, Kentucky, is a 35-story office tower built of reinforced concrete rather than the typical steel. It is topped by a concrete cupola, a vestige of the building's original owner and builder, Capital Holding.
In 1986, Johnson and Burgee moved their offices into one of their new buildings, the elliptical Lipstick Building at 885 Third Avenue in New York, nicknamed because of its resemblance to the color and shape of a stick of lipstick. A feud was beginning between the two architects, with Burgee demanding greater recognition.
As their business flourished and number of clients grew, the feud between Burgee and Johnson continued to grow. In 1988, the firm's name was changed to John Burgee Architects with Johnson as the "design consultant". In 1991, Johnson responded by establishing his own firm. The feud ended badly for Burgee; he was saddled with all of the firm's debts, while Johnson no longer had any responsibility. Burgee was eventually forced to declare bankruptcy and to retire, while Johnson continued to get commissions. |
synth_fc_3402_rep16 | Positive | Store & Facility | Proximal search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass_instrument | 14 | Metal
Traditionally the instruments are normally made of brass, polished and then lacquered to prevent corrosion. Some higher quality and higher cost instruments use gold or silver plating to prevent corrosion.
Alternatives to brass include other alloys containing significant amounts of copper or silver. These alloys are biostatic due to the oligodynamic effect, and thus suppress growth of molds, fungi or bacteria. Brass instruments constructed from stainless steel or aluminium have good sound quality but are rapidly colonized by microorganisms and become unpleasant to play.
Most higher quality instruments are designed to prevent or reduce galvanic corrosion between any steel in the valves and springs, and the brass of the tubing. This may take the form of desiccant design, to keep the valves dry, sacrificial zincs, replaceable valve cores and springs, plastic insulating washers, or nonconductive or noble materials for the valve cores and springs. Some instruments use several such features.
The process of making the large open end (bell) of a brass instrument is called metal beating. In making the bell of, for example, a trumpet, a person lays out a pattern and shapes sheet metal into a bell-shape using templates, machine tools, handtools, and blueprints. The maker cuts out the bell blank, using hand or power shears. He hammers the blank over a bell-shaped mandrel, and butts the seam, using a notching tool. The seam is brazed, using a torch and smoothed using a hammer or file. A draw bench or arbor press equipped with expandable lead plug is used to shape and smooth the bell and bell neck over a mandrel. A lathe is used to spin the bell head and to form a bead at the edge of bell head. Previously shaped bell necks are annealed, using a hand torch to soften the metal for further bending. Scratches are removed from the bell using abrasive-coated cloth. |
synth_fc_765_rep22 | Positive | Evolution modeling | Calculation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammal | 14 | Thermoregulation
Hair length is not a factor in thermoregulation: for example, some tropical mammals such as sloths have the same length of fur length as some arctic mammals but with less insulation; and, conversely, other tropical mammals with short hair have the same insulating value as arctic mammals. The denseness of fur can increase an animal's insulation value, and arctic mammals especially have dense fur; for example, the musk ox has guard hairs measuring 30 cm (12 in) as well as a dense underfur, which forms an airtight coat, allowing them to survive in temperatures of −40 °C (−40 °F). Some desert mammals, such as camels, use dense fur to prevent solar heat from reaching their skin, allowing the animal to stay cool; a camel's fur may reach 70 °C (158 °F) in the summer, but the skin stays at 40 °C (104 °F). Aquatic mammals, conversely, trap air in their fur to conserve heat by keeping the skin dry. |
synth_fc_891_rep26 | No function call | Finance | Calculation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilt_Chamberlain | 5 | Junior season (1958)
In Chamberlain's junior season of 1957–58, the Jayhawks' matches were increasingly frustrating for him. Knowing how good he was, opponents resorted to freeze-ball tactics and routinely used three or more players to guard him. Teammate Bob Billings commented, "It was not fun basketball... we were just out chasing people throwing the basketball back and forth". Chamberlain averaged 30.1 points for the season and led the Jayhawks to an 18–5 record—three of the losses came while he was out with a urinary infection. The Jayhawks' season ended because KU came second in the league and only conference winners were invited to the NCAA tournament. Chamberlain was again named an All-American, along with future NBA Hall-of-Famers Elgin Baylor of Seattle University, Oscar Robertson of Cincinnati, and Guy Rodgers, who was now playing for Temple University.
Having lost the enjoyment from NCAA basketball and wanting to earn money, Chamberlain left college and sold a story titled "Why I Am Leaving College" to Look magazine for $10,000, a large sum when NBA players earned $9,000 in a season. In two seasons at KU, he averaged 29.9 points and 18.3 rebounds per game while totaling 1,433 points and 877 rebounds. Despite only playing in 48 games and last playing in 1958, Chamberlain's 877 rebounds is still 8th all-time in Kansas history. By the time Chamberlain was 21 and not yet a professional, he had been featured in Time, Life, Look, and Newsweek. |
synth_fc_3123_rep4 | Negative | Sport | Calculation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Karelin | 6 | Wrestling career
Karelin was born as a 5.5 kilograms (12 lb) baby. He was an avid fan of literature and mathematics during his school years. He began training in 1981, under Viktor Kuznetsov, who remained his coach through his entire career. He initially started boxing, following in the footsteps of his father, until he decided against it. He also tried weightlifting, volleyball, basketball, skiing and swimming, excelling in all the sports he tried. Being naturally very big, he came to a wrestling gym, aged 13, standing 179 centimetres (5 ft 10 in) tall and weighing 79 kilograms (174 lb), Karelin grew physically very fast and from 16 years of age throughout his entire career he competed in the super heavyweight division. In 1985 he came to an international competition and won a junior world title. He won gold at Friendship-84 in Greco-Roman wrestling as a junior. In 1986, he competed in 14 tournaments, winning all of them. He had his first loss (score 0–1) at the senior level at the USSR championships in 1987, to the reigning Russian and European champion Igor Rostorotsky; he defeated Rostorotsky at the next USSR Championships while recovering from a flu and a recent concussion. He would go on to become a 13-time champion of the USSR, CIS, and Russia from 1988 to 2000. He is listed as runner-up to David Koplovitz at the 1992 Wrestling World Cup, for while he won all of his matches at the event, his partner Andrey Grishin competed in the rest of the rounds, and so they did not accumulate enough ranking points to beat the American team.
"He's been the man for 13 years. Nobody even had a chance to beat him."
— Rulon Gardner on his opponent.
In the 1988 Olympic final Karelin beat Rangel Gerovski, by executing his signature Karelin Lift and won. With his win, Karelin became the youngest Greco-Roman wrestler to become an Olympic champion at super heavyweight (130 kg) at the age of 21 years and two days. At the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Karelin won one of the fastest Olympic wrestling matches, pinning Ioan Grigoraş in only 14 seconds. At the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Karelin faced American Matt Ghaffari for the gold medal. Karelin had come off a shoulder surgery and looked vulnerable against a strong Ghaffari, who was able to repel Karelin's efforts to lift and slam him, forcing Karelin to use all of his skill and experience to defend a 1–0 lead.
After going 13 years undefeated in international competition and six years without giving up a point, he eventually lost 0–1 to Rulon Gardner of the United States in the final of the Sydney Olympics. Karelin had previously beaten Gardner in 1997 with a score of 5–0 and throwing him three times. His loss to Gardner is considered one of the biggest upsets in sports history. His loss in the final of the Sydney Olympics was his first and only international loss, having previously been unbeaten throughout his international career. Karelin retired from competitions in 2000.
Thus his only two losses were in the finals of the 1987 USSR Championships and 2000 Summer Olympics. However, both of his losses are considered controversial, with him only losing to both opponents by a single point. Some argue, such as Finnish former wrestler Tuomo Karila, that Gardner should not have been awarded the point, and that Karelin should have won.
In addition to his wrestling success, twice was Karelin the winner of the Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR, in 1986 and 1991. |
synth_fc_452_rep12 | Positive | Corporate Management | Database removal | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Stock_Exchange | 23 | Post trade
Through the Exchange's Italian arm, Borsa Italiana, the London Stock Exchange Group as a whole offers clearing and settlement services for trades through CC&G (Cassa di Compensazione e Garanzia) and Monte Titoli. is the Groups Central Counterparty and covers multiple asset classes throughout the Italian equity, derivatives and bond markets. CC&G also clears Turquoise derivatives. Monte Titoli is the pre-settlement, settlement, custody and asset services provider of the Group. Monte Titoli operates both on-exchange and OTC trades with over 400 banks and brokers. |
synth_fc_1755_rep1 | Positive | Health | Database search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Kanner | 1 | Leo Kanner was an Austrian-American psychiatrist, physician, and social activist best known for his work related to infantile autism. Before working at the Henry Phipps Psychiatric Clinic at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Kanner practiced as a physician in Germany and South Dakota. In 1943, Kanner published his landmark paper Autistic Disturbances of Affective Contact, describing 11 children who displayed "a powerful desire for aloneness" and "an obsessive insistence on persistent sameness." He named their condition "early infantile autism". Kanner was in charge of developing the first child psychiatry clinic in the United States and later served as the Chief of Child Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He is one of the co-founders of The Children's Guild, a nonprofit organization serving children, families and child-serving organizations throughout Maryland and Washington, D.C., and dedicated to "Transforming how America Cares for and Educates its Children and Youth." He is widely considered one of the most influential American psychiatrists of the 20th century. |
synth_fc_3632_rep18 | Negative | Video game | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macross | 1 | Macross is a Japanese science fiction mecha anime media franchise/media mix, created by Studio Nue and Artland in 1982. The franchise features a fictional history of Earth and the human race after the year 1999, as well as the history of humanoid civilization in the Milky Way. It consists of four TV series, four movies, six OVAs, one light novel, and five manga series, all sponsored by Big West, in addition to 40 video games set in the Macross universe, two crossover games, and a wide variety of physical merchandise. Within the series, the term Macross is used to denote the main capital ship. This theme began in the original Macross, Super Dimension Fortress Macross. "Overtechnology" refers to the scientific advances discovered in an alien starship ASS-1 that crashed on South Ataria island. Humans were able to reverse engineer the technology to create the mecha, faster-than-light space fold drive for starships and other advanced technologies that the series features. |
synth_fc_2817_rep11 | Negative | Physics & Chemistry | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale | 7 | The advent of geochronometry
During the 19th century, the debate regarding Earth's age was renewed, with geologists estimating ages based on denudation rates and sedimentary thicknesses or ocean chemistry, and physicists determining ages for the cooling of the Earth or the Sun using basic thermodynamics or orbital physics. These estimations varied from 15,000 million years to 0.075 million years depending on method and author, but the estimations of Lord Kelvin and Clarence King were held in high regard at the time due to their pre-eminence in physics and geology. All of these early geochronometric determinations would later prove to be incorrect.
The discovery of radioactive decay by Henri Becquerel, Marie Curie, and Pierre Curie laid the ground work for radiometric dating, but the knowledge and tools required for accurate determination of radiometric ages would not be in place until the mid-1950s. Early attempts at determining ages of uranium minerals and rocks by Ernest Rutherford, Bertram Boltwood, Robert Strutt, and Arthur Holmes, would culminate in what are considered the first international geological time scales by Holmes in 1911 and 1913. The discovery of isotopes in 1913 by Frederick Soddy, and the developments in mass spectrometry pioneered by Francis William Aston, Arthur Jeffrey Dempster, and Alfred O. C. Nier during the early to mid- 20th century would finally allow for the accurate determination of radiometric ages, with Holmes publishing several revisions to his geological time-scale with his final version in 1960. |
synth_fc_1783_rep12 | Positive | Health | Calculation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_purification | 7 | Adsorption
Granular activated carbon is a form of activated carbon with a high surface area. It adsorbs many compounds including many toxic compounds. Water passing through activated carbon is commonly used in municipal regions with organic contamination, taste or odors. Many household water filters and fish tanks use activated carbon filters to purify water. Household filters for drinking water sometimes contain silver as metallic silver nanoparticle. If water is held in the carbon block for longer periods, microorganisms can grow inside which results in fouling and contamination. Silver nanoparticles are excellent anti-bacterial material and can decompose toxic halo-organic compounds such as pesticides into non-toxic organic products. Filtered water must be used soon after it is filtered, as the low amount of remaining microbes may proliferate over time. In general, these home filters remove over 90% of the chlorine in a glass of treated water. These filters must be periodically replaced otherwise the bacterial content of the water may actually increase due to the growth of bacteria within the filter unit. |
synth_fc_2462_rep30 | Negative | Movie | Entity search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baz_Luhrmann | 1 | Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is an Australian film director, producer, writer, and actor. With projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music, and recording industries, he is regarded by some as a contemporary example of an auteur for his style and deep involvement in the writing, directing, design, and musical components of all his work. He is the most commercially successful Australian director, with four of his films in the top ten highest worldwide grossing Australian films of all time. On the screen, he is best known for his Red Curtain Trilogy, consisting of his romantic comedy film Strictly Ballroom (1992) and the romantic tragedies William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Moulin Rouge! (2001). Following the trilogy, projects included Australia (2008), The Great Gatsby (2013), Elvis (2022), and his television period drama The Get Down (2016) for Netflix. Additional projects include stage productions of Giacomo Puccini's La bohème for both Opera Australia and Broadway, and Strictly Ballroom the Musical (2014). Luhrmann is known for his Grammy-nominated soundtracks for Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby, as well as his record label House of Iona, a co-venture with RCA Records. Serving as producer on all of his musical soundtracks, he also holds writing credits on many of the individual tracks. His album Something for Everybody features music from many of his films and also includes his hit "Everybody's Free". |
synth_fc_2354_rep23 | Negative | Law | Document search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Burns | 1 | William John Burns was an American private investigator and law enforcement official. He was known as "America's Sherlock Holmes" and earned fame for having conducted private investigations into a number of notable incidents, such as clearing Leo Frank of the 1913 murder of Mary Phagan, and for investigating the deadly 1910 Los Angeles Times bombing conducted by members of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers. From August 22, 1921, to May 10, 1924, Burns served as the director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI), predecessor to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and he was educated in Columbus, Ohio. As a young man, Burns performed well as a Secret Service Agent and parleyed his reputation into the William J. Burns International Detective Agency, now a part of Securitas Security Services USA. A combination of natural ability as a detective combined with an instinct for publicity made Burns a national figure. His exploits made national news, the gossip columns of New York City newspapers, and the pages of detective magazines, in which he published "true" crime stories based on his exploits. |
synth_fc_3578_rep3 | No function call | Travel itinerary | Calculation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine | 34 | Raising a ransom and restoration of Richard I (1192–1194)
In the Holy Land, Richard made little progress in his quest to capture Jerusalem, and by late 1192 was forced to arrange a truce with Saladin, and sent Joanna and Berengaria back to Sicily in September, departing from Acre himself on 9 October. Following which his whereabouts were unknown till January 1193 when Eleanor learned that he had been taken prisoner by Duke Leopold, whom he had slighted on his arrival in Acre. Richard had travelled north from Trieste through Hungary, but when he crossed into Austria he was recognised, apprehended and taken to Dürnstein Castle. Leopold informed the Emperor, Henry VI who wrote to King Philip of France who in turn supported this turn of events. Eleanor only became aware of what had happened through Coutances' spies in France, but immediately assumed control of the government, while Prince John with Philip's support, became emboldened once more in claiming the throne. Leopold handed over his prisoner to the Emperor in February, and he was moved to the castle of Trifels, while Eleanor unsuccessfully sought the intervention of the Pope. Eventually a truce was concluded with Prince John in April, but Eleanor also received a demand from the Emperor for 100,000 silver marks and the provision of hostages for Richard's release. At the same time she received the first letter from him since his capture, urging her to accept the terms, and informing her that his conditions had much improved and that he had been transferred to Hagenau.
Eleanor and her council immediately set about trying to raise the ransom and arrange the hostages, a task to which Beregnaria, now in Poitou. contributed, largely through taxation of all of Richard's territories and subjects. The first installment of 100,000 marks was delivered in October and the balance was raised by December. Having agreed to a date for Richard's release on 17 January 1194, Eleanor and Coutances set off for Germany in December 1193, arriving at Speyer by the agreed day. There she discovered that King Philip and Prince John had outbid her in return for keeping Richard in custody. Further negotiations and offers, including an annual tribute, eventually led to him being released on 4 February. They immediately began their return, via Cologne, eventually arriving in Antwerp where they boarded the Trenchemer in the Scheldt, to avoid the French, landing in Sandwich on 12 March. Richard and Eleanor then made a triumphal entry into London on 23 March 1194. |
synth_fc_3522_rep1 | Positive | Travel itinerary | Calculation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A1diz | 1 | Cádiz is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated from neighbouring San Fernando by a narrow isthmus. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, was founded by the Phoenicians as a trading post. In the 18th century, the Port in the Bay of Cádiz consolidated as the main harbour of mainland Spain, enjoying the virtual monopoly of trade with the Americas until 1778. It is also the site of the University of Cádiz. Situated on a narrow slice of land surrounded by the sea‚ Cádiz is, in most respects, a typical Andalusian city with well-preserved historical landmarks. The older part of Cádiz, within the remnants of the city walls, is commonly referred to as the Old Town, and represents a large area of the total size of the city. It is characterized by the antiquity of its various quarters (barrios), among them El Pópulo, La Viña, and Santa María, which present a marked contrast to the newer areas of town. While the Old City's street plan consists of narrow winding alleys connecting large plazas, newer areas of Cádiz typically have wide avenues and more modern buildings. The city is dotted with parks where exotic plants flourish, including giant trees supposedly brought to the Iberian Peninsula from the New World. This includes the historic Parque Genovés. |
synth_fc_2560_rep19 | Positive | Museum | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Zetian | 1 | Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was Empress of China from 660 to 705, ruling first through others and later in her own right. She ruled as empress consort through her husband Emperor Gaozong, and later as empress dowager through her sons Emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong, from 660 to 690, which was not unprecedented in Chinese history. She subsequently founded and ruled as empress regent of the Wu Zhou dynasty of China from 690 to 705. She was the only female sovereign in the history of China widely regarded as legitimate. Under her 45-year reign, China grew larger, becoming one of the great powers of the world, its culture and economy were revitalized, and corruption in the court was reduced. She was eventually removed from power during a coup and died a few months later.
In early life, Wu was the concubine of Emperor Taizong. After his death, she married his ninth son and successor, Emperor Gaozong, officially becoming Gaozong's huanghou (皇后), or empress consort, the highest-ranking of the wives, in 655. Even before becoming empress consort, Wu had considerable political power. Once announced as the empress consort, she began to control the court, and after Gaozong's debilitating stroke in 660, she became administrator of the court, a position equal to the emperor's, until 683.
As a young woman entering Gaozong's harem, Wu competed with Empress Wang and Pure Consort Xiao for the emperor's affection, and eventually expelled and killed them. After her wedding to Gaozong in 655, her rise to power was swift. A strong, charismatic, vengeful, ambitious, well-educated woman who enjoyed her husband's absolute affection, Wu was the most powerful and influential woman at court during a period when the Tang dynasty was at the peak of its glory.
Wu was more decisive and proactive than her husband, and historians consider her to have been the real power behind the throne during Gaozong's reign for more than 20 years until his death. She was partially in control of power from November 660, and totally from January 665. History records that she "was at the helm of the country for long years, her power is no different from that of the emperor." Wu presided over the court with the emperor, and even held court independently when the emperor was unwell. She was given charge of the Heirloom Seal of the Realm, implying that her perusal and consent were necessary before any document or order received legal validity. Gaozong sought her views on all matters before making major decisions. Wu was also granted certain honors and privileges not enjoyed by any Chinese empresses before or since. After Gaozong's death, Wu as empress dowager and regent held power completely and solely, used absolute power more forcefully and violently than before, and suppressed her overt and covert opponents. Seven years later, Wu seized the throne and began the Zhou dynasty, becoming the only empress regnant in Chinese history.
On Emperor Gaozong's death in 683, rather than entering into retirement (as was customary for royal widows), or not interfering in the government (according to the emperor's law, when he reaches the age of 17, he must rule by himself); Wu broke with tradition and took acquisition of complete power, refusing to allow any of her sons to rule. She took the throne in 690 by officially changing the name of the country from Tang to Zhou, changing the name of the royal family from Li to Wu, and holding a formal ceremony to crown herself as emperor.
Empress Wu is considered one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history due to her strong leadership and effective governance, which made China one of the world's most powerful nations. The importance to history of her tenure includes the major expansion of the Chinese empire, extending it far beyond its previous territorial limits, deep into Central Asia, and engaging in a series of wars on the Korean Peninsula, first allying with Silla against Goguryeo, and then against Silla over the occupation of former Goguryeo territory. Within China, besides the more direct consequences of her struggle to gain and maintain power, Wu's leadership resulted in important effects regarding social class in Chinese society and in relation to state support for Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, education and literature.
Wu developed a network of spies to build a strong intelligence system in the court and throughout the empire, delivering daily reports on current affairs of the empire or opposition to the central state. She also played a key role in reforming the imperial examination system and encouraging capable officials to work in governance to maintain a peaceful and well-governed state. Effectively, these reforms improved her nation's bureaucracy by ensuring that competence, rather than family connections, became a key feature of the civil service. Wu also had an important impact upon the statuary of the Longmen Grottoes and the "Wordless Stele" at the Qian Mausoleum, as well as the construction of some major buildings and bronze castings that no longer survive. Besides her career as a political leader, Wu also had an active family life. She was a mother of four sons, three of whom also carried the title of emperor, although one held that title only as a posthumous honor. One of her grandsons became the controversial Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, whose reign marked the turning point of the Tang dynasty into sharp decline. |
synth_fc_1935_rep10 | Negative | History | Entity search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire | 29 | Cultural aftermath
Byzantium has been often identified with absolutism, orthodox spirituality, orientalism and exoticism, while the terms "Byzantine" and "Byzantinism" have been used as bywords for decadence, complex bureaucracy, and repression. Both Eastern and Western European authors have often perceived Byzantium as a body of religious, political, and philosophical ideas contrary to those of the West. Even in 19th-century Greece, the focus was mainly on the classical past, while Byzantine tradition had been associated with negative connotations.
This traditional approach towards Byzantium has been partially or wholly disputed and revised by modern studies, which focus on the positive aspects of Byzantine culture and legacy. From the ninth to the twelfth centuries, Byzantine Christianity converted and helped establish multiple nations in what is now Eastern Europe. The historian Averil Cameron regards this as undeniable, and both Cameron and Obolensky recognize the major role of Byzantium in shaping Orthodoxy, which in turn occupies a central position in the history, societies and culture of Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, Georgia, Serbia and other countries.
Its use of vernacular language, and the development of the first Slavic written script, increased education and literacy and influenced the direction of the spiritual, religious, and cultural development of the entire region. The Byzantines also preserved and copied classical manuscripts, and they are thus regarded as transmitters of classical knowledge, as important contributors to modern European civilization, and as precursors of both Renaissance humanism and Slavic-Orthodox culture.
As the only stable long-term state in Europe during the Middle Ages, Byzantium isolated Western Europe from newly emerging forces to the East. Constantly under attack, it distanced Western Europe from Persians, Arabs, Seljuk Turks, and for a time, the Ottomans. From a different perspective, since the 7th century, the evolution and constant reshaping of the Byzantine state were directly related to the respective progress of Islam. Following the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453, Sultan Mehmed II took the title " Kaysar-i Rûm " (the Ottoman Turkish equivalent of Caesar of Rome), since he was determined to make the Ottoman Empire the heir of the Eastern Roman Empire. |
synth_fc_3156_rep11 | Negative | Sport | Entity search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddy_Merckx | 14 | Personal life
Merckx officially began dating Claudine Acou in April 1965. Acou was a 21-year-old teacher and daughter of the trainer of the national amateur team. Merckx asked her father for permission to marry her between track races. On 5 December 1967 Merckx married Acou after four years of courtship. She would often handle the press for her husband, who was shy. Acou gave birth to their first child, Sabrina, on 14 February 1970. Merckx skipped a team training camp to be with his wife for Sabrina's birth. Acou later gave birth to a son, Axel, who also became a professional cyclist. Merckx was brought up speaking Flemish, but was taught French in school.
In 1996 Albert II of Belgium, King of the Belgians, gave him the title of baron. In Italy, Merckx was given the title of Cavaliere. In 2011, he was named Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur by then French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. Merckx has become an ambassador for the Damien The Leper Society, a foundation named after a Catholic priest, which battles leprosy and other diseases in developing countries. He was blessed by Pope John Paul II in Brussels in the 1990s. Merckx is an art lover and stated that his favorite artist is René Magritte, a surrealist. Salvador Dalí is another of his favorites.
Before starting the third stage of the 1968 Giro d'Italia, Merckx was found to have a heart condition. A cardiologist, Giancarlo Lavezzaro, found that Merckx had non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease that has killed several young athletes. In 2013, Merckx was given a pacemaker to help correct a heart rhythm issue. The surgery was performed in Genk on the 21st of March of that year as a preventative measure. Merckx stated that he never had any heart issues while racing, despite the fact that several men in his family died young of heart-related problems. In May 2004, he had an esophagus operation to cure stomachaches that had plagued him since he was young. In August, he reported that he lost nearly 30 kg after the procedure. On 13 October 2019, Merckx was hospitalised after a cycling accident, having suffered a haemorrhage and falling unconscious for a while. He was released a week later. |
synth_fc_949_rep28 | Positive | Finance | Calculation | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsidy | 23 | Import subsidy
An import subsidy is support from the government for products that are imported. Rarer than an export subsidy, an import subsidy further reduces the price to consumers for imported goods. Import subsidies have various effects depending on the subject. For example, consumers in the importing country are better off and experience an increase in consumer welfare due to the decrease in price of the imported goods, as well as the decrease in price of the domestic substitute goods. Conversely, the consumers in the exporting country experience a decrease in consumer welfare due to an increase in the price of their domestic goods. Furthermore, producers of the importing country experience a loss of welfare due to a decrease in the price for the goods in their market, while on the other side, the exporters of the producing country experience an increase in well-being due to the increase in demand. Ultimately, the import subsidy is rarely used due to an overall loss of welfare for the country due to a decrease in domestic production and a reduction in production throughout the world. However, that can result in a redistribution of income. |
synth_fc_3868_rep3 | Positive | Weather & Air quality | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_power_quality | 1 | Electric power quality is the degree to which the voltage, frequency, and waveform of a power supply system conform to established specifications. Good power quality can be defined as a steady supply voltage that stays within the prescribed range, steady AC frequency close to the rated value, and smooth voltage curve waveform. In general, it is useful to consider power quality as the compatibility between what comes out of an electric outlet and the load that is plugged into it. The term is used to describe electric power that drives an electrical load and the load's ability to function properly. Without the proper power, an electrical device may malfunction, fail prematurely or not operate at all. There are many ways in which electric power can be of poor quality, and many more causes of such poor quality power. The electric power industry comprises electricity generation, electric power transmission and ultimately electric power distribution to an electricity meter located at the premises of the end user of the electric power. The electricity then moves through the wiring system of the end user until it reaches the load. The complexity of the system to move electric energy from the point of production to the point of consumption combined with variations in weather, generation, demand and other factors provide many opportunities for the quality of supply to be compromised. While "power quality" is a convenient term for many, it is the quality of the voltage—rather than power or electric current—that is actually described by the term. Power is simply the flow of energy, and the current demanded by a load is largely uncontrollable. |
synth_fc_358_rep15 | Positive | Board game | Calculation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Card_game | 47 | Simulation card games
A deck of either customized dedicated cards or a standard deck of playing cards with assigned meanings is used to simulate the actions of another activity, for example card football. |
synth_fc_3626_rep5 | Positive | Video game | Entity search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cone | 9 | Equation form
The surface of a cone can be parameterized as
where θ ∈ [ 0, 2 π) {\displaystyle \theta \in [0,2\pi)} is the angle "around" the cone, and h ∈ R {\displaystyle h\in \mathbb {R} } is the "height" along the cone.
A right solid circular cone with height h {\displaystyle h} and aperture 2 θ {\displaystyle 2\theta }, whose axis is the z {\displaystyle z} coordinate axis and whose apex is the origin, is described parametrically as
where s, t, u {\displaystyle s,t,u} range over {\displaystyle }, respectively.
In implicit form, the same solid is defined by the inequalities
where
More generally, a right circular cone with vertex at the origin, axis parallel to the vector d {\displaystyle d}, and aperture 2 θ {\displaystyle 2\theta }, is given by the implicit vector equation F (u) = 0 {\displaystyle F(u)=0} where
where u = (x, y, z) {\displaystyle u=(x,y,z)}, and u ⋅ d {\displaystyle u\cdot d} denotes the dot product. |
synth_fc_2766_rep12 | Positive | Physics & Chemistry | Calculation | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgs_boson | 3 | Confirmation of existence and current status
On 14 March 2013 CERN confirmed the following:
CMS and ATLAS have compared a number of options for the spin-parity of this particle, and these all prefer no spin and even parity. This, coupled with the measured interactions of the new particle with other particles, strongly indicates that it is a Higgs boson.
This also makes the particle the first elementary scalar particle to be discovered in nature.
The following are examples of tests used to confirm that the discovered particle is the Higgs boson: |
synth_fc_2119_rep26 | Positive | Law | Entity search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_law | 7 | France
In France, there is a dual jurisdictional system with the judiciary branch responsible for civil law and criminal law, and the administrative branch having jurisdiction when a government institution is involved. Most claims against the national or local governments as well as claims against private bodies providing public services are handled by administrative courts, which use the Conseil d'État (Council of State) as a court of last resort for both ordinary and special courts. The main administrative courts are the tribunaux administratifs and appeal courts are the cours administratives d'appel. Special administrative courts include the National Court of Asylum Right as well as military, medical and judicial disciplinary bodies. The French body of administrative law is called " droit administratif ".
Over the course of their history, France's administrative courts have developed an extensive and coherent case law (jurisprudence constante) and legal doctrine (principes généraux du droit and principes fondamentaux reconnus par les lois de la République), often before similar concepts were enshrined in constitutional and legal texts. These principes include:
French administrative law, the basis of continental administrative law, has had a strong influence on administrative laws in several other countries such as Belgium, Greece, Turkey and Tunisia. |
synth_fc_1403_rep2 | Positive | Food | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_as_food | 1 | Many species of fish are caught by humans and consumed as food in virtually all regions around the world. Fish has been an important dietary source of protein and other nutrients.
The English language does not have a special culinary name for food prepared from fish like with other animals (as with pig vs. pork), or as in other languages (such as Spanish pez vs. pescado). In culinary and fishery contexts, fish may include so-called shellfish such as molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms; more expansively, seafood covers both fish and other marine life used as food.
Since 1961, the average annual increase in global apparent food fish consumption (3.2 percent) has outpaced population growth (1.6 percent) and exceeded consumption of meat from all terrestrial animals, combined (2.8 percent) and individually (bovine, ovine, porcine, etc.), except poultry (4.9 percent). In per capita terms, food fish consumption has grown from 9.0 kg (19.8 lb) in 1961 to 20.2 kg (45 lb) in 2015, at an average rate of about 1.5 percent per year. The expansion in consumption has been driven not only by increased production, but also by a combination of many other factors, including reduced wastage, better utilization, improved distribution channels and growing consumer demand, linked with population growth, rising disposable incomes and urbanization.
Europe, Japan and the United States of America together accounted for 47 percent of the world's total food fish consumption in 1961, but only about 20 percent in 2015. Of the global total of 149 million tonnes in 2015, Asia consumed more than two-thirds (106 million tonnes at 24.0 kg per capita). Oceania and Africa consumed the lowest share. The shift is the result of structural changes in the sector and in particular the growing role of Asian countries in fish production, as well as a significant gap between the economic growth rates of the world's more mature fish markets and those of many increasingly important emerging markets around the world, particularly in Asia. |
synth_fc_2331_rep6 | Positive | Law | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Marcos | 99 | Impeachment attempt
In August 1985, 56 Assemblymen signed a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Marcos for alleged diversion of US aid for personal use, citing a July 1985 San Jose Mercury News exposé of the Marcos's multimillion-dollar investment and property holdings in the United States.
The properties allegedly amassed by the First Family were the Crown Building, Lindenmere Estate, and a number of residential apartments (in New Jersey and New York), a shopping center in New York, mansions (in London, Rome, and Honolulu), the Helen Knudsen Estate in Hawaii, and three condominiums in San Francisco, California.
The Assembly also included in the complaint the misuse and misapplication of funds "for the construction of the Manila Film Center, where X-rated and pornographic films are exhibited, contrary to public morals and Filipino customs and traditions." The impeachment attempt gained little real traction, however, even in the light of this incendiary charge; the committee to which the impeachment resolution was referred did not recommend it, and any momentum for removing Marcos under constitutional processes soon died. |
synth_fc_3724_rep20 | Positive | Weather & Air quality | Calculation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland | 12 | Geography and climate
Greenland is the world's largest non-continental island and the third largest area in North America after Canada and the United States. It is between latitudes 59° and 83°N, and longitudes 11° and 74°W. Greenland is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Greenland Sea to the east, the North Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, the Davis Strait to the southwest, Baffin Bay to the west, the Nares Strait and Lincoln Sea to the northwest. The nearest countries to Greenland are Canada, with which it shares a maritime border, to the west and southwest across Nares Strait and Baffin Bay, as well as a shared land border on Hans Island; and Iceland, southeast of Greenland in the Atlantic Ocean. Greenland also contains the world's largest national park, and it is the largest constituent country by area in the world, as well as the fourth largest country subdivision in the world, after Sakha Republic in Russia, Australia's state of Western Australia, and Russia's Krasnoyarsk Krai, and the largest in North America.
The lowest temperature ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere was recorded in Greenland, near the topographic summit of the Greenland Ice Sheet, on 22 December 1991, when the temperature reached −69.6 °C (−93.3 °F). In Nuuk, the average daily temperature varies over the seasons from −5.1 to 9.9 °C (22.8 to 49.8 °F). The total area of Greenland is 2,166,086 km (836,330 sq mi) (including other offshore minor islands), of which the Greenland ice sheet covers 1,755,637 km (677,855 sq mi) (81%) and has a volume of approximately 2,850,000 km (680,000 cu mi). The highest point on Greenland is Gunnbjørn Fjeld at 3,700 m (12,100 ft) of the Watkins Range (East Greenland mountain range). The majority of Greenland, however, is less than 1,500 m (4,900 ft) in elevation.
The weight of the ice sheet has depressed the central land area to form a basin lying more than 300 m (980 ft) below sea level, while elevations rise suddenly and steeply near the coast.
The ice flows generally to the coast from the centre of the island. A survey led by French scientist Paul-Emile Victor in 1951 concluded that, under the ice sheet, Greenland is composed of three large islands. This is disputed, but if it is so, they would be separated by narrow straits, reaching the sea at Ilulissat Icefjord, at Greenland's Grand Canyon and south of Nordostrundingen.
All towns and settlements of Greenland are situated along the ice-free coast, with the population being concentrated along the west coast. The northeastern part of Greenland is not part of any municipality, but it is the site of the world's largest national park, Northeast Greenland National Park.
At least four scientific expedition stations and camps had been established on the ice sheet in the ice-covered central part of Greenland (indicated as pale blue in the adjacent map): Eismitte, North Ice, North GRIP Camp and The Raven Skiway. There is a year-round station Summit Camp on the ice sheet, established in 1989. The radio station Jørgen Brønlund Fjord was, until 1950, the northernmost permanent outpost in the world.
The extreme north of Greenland, Peary Land, is not covered by an ice sheet, because the air there is too dry to produce snow, which is essential in the production and maintenance of an ice sheet. If the Greenland ice sheet were to melt away completely, the world's sea level would rise by more than 7 m (23 ft).
In 2003, a small island, 35 m × 15 m (115 ft × 49 ft) in length and width, was discovered by arctic explorer Dennis Schmitt and his team at the coordinates of 83-42. Whether this island is permanent is not yet confirmed. If it is, it is the northernmost permanent known land on Earth.
In 2007, the existence of a new island was announced. Named " Uunartoq Qeqertaq " (English: Warming Island), this island has always been present off the coast of Greenland, but was covered by a glacier. This glacier was discovered in 2002 to be shrinking rapidly, and by 2007 had completely melted away, leaving the exposed island. The island was named Place of the Year by the Oxford Atlas of the World in 2007. Ben Keene, the atlas's editor, commented:
In the last two or three decades, global warming has reduced the size of glaciers throughout the Arctic and earlier this year, news sources confirmed what climate scientists already knew: water, not rock, lay beneath this ice bridge on the east coast of Greenland. More islets are likely to appear as the sheet of frozen water covering the world's largest island continues to melt.
Some controversy surrounds the history of the island, specifically over whether the island might have been revealed during a brief warm period in Greenland during the mid-20th century. |
synth_fc_1680_rep6 | Positive | Health | API setting | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiopulmonary_bypass | 3 | Cannulae
Multiple cannulae are sewn into the patient's body in a variety of locations, depending on the type of surgery. A venous cannula removes oxygen depleted venous blood from a patient's body, and an arterial cannula infuses oxygen-rich blood into the arterial system. The main determinants of cannula size selection is determined by the patient's size and weight, anticipated flow rate, and the size of the vessel being cannulated. A Cardioplegia cannula delivers a Cardioplegia solution to cause the heart to stop beating.
Some commonly used cannulation sites: |
synth_fc_1390_rep26 | Positive | Food | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_(fruit) | 9 | Blood
Blood oranges, with an intense red coloration inside, are widely grown around the Mediterranean; there are several cultivars. The development of the red color requires cool nights. The redness is mainly due to the anthocyanin pigment chrysanthemin (cyanidin 3- O -glucoside). |
synth_fc_3460_rep15 | Negative | Time | Calculation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargon_of_Akkad | 12 | Chronicle of Early Kings
Shortly after securing Sumer, Sargon embarked on a series of campaigns to subjugate the entire Fertile Crescent. According to the Chronicle of Early Kings, a later Babylonian historiographical text:
had neither rival nor equal. His splendor, over the lands it diffused. He crossed the sea in the east. In the eleventh year he conquered the western land to its farthest point. He brought it under one authority. He set up his statues there and ferried the west's booty across on barges. He stationed his court officials at intervals of five double hours and ruled in unity the tribes of the lands. He marched to Kazallu and turned Kazallu into a ruin heap, so that there was not even a perch for a bird left. and
In the east, Sargon defeated four leaders of Elam, led by the king of Awan. Their cities were sacked; the governors, viceroys, and kings of Susa, Waraḫše, and neighboring districts became vassals of Akkad. |
synth_fc_1085_rep17 | Positive | Finance | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bali | 13 | Economy
In the 1970s, the Balinese economy was largely agriculture-based in terms of both output and employment. Tourism is now the largest single industry in terms of income, and as a result, Bali is one of Indonesia's wealthiest regions. In 2003, around 80% of Bali's economy was tourism related. By the end of June 2011, the rate of non-performing loans of all banks in Bali were 2.23%, lower than the average of Indonesian banking industry non-performing loan rates (about 5%). The economy, however, suffered significantly as a result of the terrorist bombings in 2002 and 2005. The tourism industry has since recovered from these events. |
synth_fc_1996_rep27 | Positive | History | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayreddin_Barbarossa | 8 | Khizr's career under Oruç
In 1503, Oruç managed to seize three more ships and made the island of Djerba his new base, thus moving his operations to the Western Mediterranean. Khizr joined Oruç at Djerba. In 1504, the brothers contacted Abu Abdallah Muhammad IV al-Mutawakkil, ruler of Tunis, and asked permission to use the strategically located port of La Goulette for their operations.
They were granted the right to do so on the condition of giving one-third of their spoils to the sultan. Oruç, in command of small galiots, captured two much larger papal galleys near the island of Elba. Later, near Lipari, the two brothers captured a Sicilian warship, the Cavalleria, with 380 Spanish soldiers and 60 Spanish knights from Aragon on board, who were on their way from Spain to Naples. In 1505, they raided the coasts of Calabria. These exploits increased their fame, and they were joined by several other well-known Muslim corsairs, including Kurtoğlu (known in the West as Curtogoli). In 1508, they raided the coasts of Liguria, particularly Diano Marina.
In 1509, Ishak also left Mytilene and joined his brothers at La Goulette. The fame of Oruç increased when, between 1504 and 1510, he transported Muslim Mudéjars from Christian Spain to North Africa. His efforts of helping the Muslims of Spain in need and transporting them to safer lands earned him the honorific name Baba Oruç (Father Oruç), which eventually – due to the similarity in sound – evolved in Spain, France, and Italy into Barbarossa (meaning "Redbeard" in Italian).
In 1510, the three brothers raided Capo Passero in Sicily and repulsed Spanish attacks on Bougie, Oran and Algiers. In August 1511, they raided the areas around Reggio Calabria in southern Italy. In August 1512, the exiled ruler of Bougie invited the brothers to drive out the Spaniards, and during the battle Oruç lost his left arm. This incident earned him the nickname Gümüş Kol ("Silver Arm" in Turkish), in reference to the silver prosthetic device that he used in place of his missing limb.
Later that same year, the brothers raided the coasts of Andalusia, capturing a galliot of the Lomellini family of Genoa, which owned Tabarca island. They subsequently landed at Menorca and captured a coastal castle and then headed towards Liguria, where they captured four Genoese galleys near Genoa. The Genoese sent a fleet to liberate their ships, but the brothers captured their flagship as well. After capturing a total of 23 ships in less than a month, the brothers sailed back to La Goulette, where they built three more galliots and a gunpowder production facility.
In 1513, they launched a raid on Valencia, where they captured four ships, and then headed for Alicante and captured a Spanish galley near Málaga. In 1513–14, the brothers engaged the Spanish fleet on several other occasions and moved to their new base to Cherchell, east of Algiers. In 1514, with 12 galliots and 1,000 Turks, they destroyed two Spanish fortresses at Bougie, and when the Spanish fleet under the command of Miguel de Gurrea, viceroy of Majorca, arrived as reinforcement, they headed towards Ceuta and raided that city before capturing Jijel in Algeria, which was under Genoese control. They later captured Mahdiya in Tunisia. Afterwards they raided the coasts of Sicily, Sardinia, the Balearic Islands and the Spanish mainland, capturing three large ships there.
In 1515, they captured several galleons, a galley and three barques at Majorca. Still in 1515, Oruç sent precious gifts to the Ottoman Sultan Selim I, who, in return, sent him two galleys and two swords encrusted with diamonds. In 1516, joined by Kurtoğlu (Curtogoli), the brothers besieged the Castle of Elba, before heading once more towards Liguria, where they captured 12 ships and damaged 28 others. |
synth_fc_3266_rep13 | Positive | Sport | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_hockey | 2 | Field hockey ball
Standard field hockey balls are hard spherical balls, made of solid plastic (sometimes over a cork core), and are usually white, although they can be any colour as long as they contrast with the playing surface. The balls have a diameter of 71.3–74.8 mm (2.81–2.94 in) and a mass of 156–163 g (5.5–5.7 oz). The ball is often covered with indentations to reduce aquaplaning that can cause an inconsistent ball speed on wet surfaces. |
synth_fc_2779_rep18 | Positive | Physics & Chemistry | Database creation | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensor | 3 | Continuum mechanics
Important examples are provided by continuum mechanics. The stresses inside a solid body or fluid are described by a tensor field. The stress tensor and strain tensor are both second-order tensor fields, and are related in a general linear elastic material by a fourth-order elasticity tensor field. In detail, the tensor quantifying stress in a 3-dimensional solid object has components that can be conveniently represented as a 3 × 3 array. The three faces of a cube-shaped infinitesimal volume segment of the solid are each subject to some given force. The force's vector components are also three in number. Thus, 3 × 3, or 9 components are required to describe the stress at this cube-shaped infinitesimal segment. Within the bounds of this solid is a whole mass of varying stress quantities, each requiring 9 quantities to describe. Thus, a second-order tensor is needed.
If a particular surface element inside the material is singled out, the material on one side of the surface will apply a force on the other side. In general, this force will not be orthogonal to the surface, but it will depend on the orientation of the surface in a linear manner. This is described by a tensor of type (2, 0), in linear elasticity, or more precisely by a tensor field of type (2, 0), since the stresses may vary from point to point. |
synth_fc_273_rep25 | No function call | Biomass | Calculation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulbul | 1 | The bulbuls are members of a family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized passerine songbirds, which also includes greenbuls, brownbuls, leafloves, and bristlebills. The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropical Asia to Indonesia, and north as far as Japan. A few insular species occur on the tropical islands of the Indian Ocean. There are 166 species in 32 genera. While different species are found in a wide range of habitats, the African species are predominantly found in rainforest, whereas Asian bulbuls are predominantly found in more open areas. |
synth_fc_1670_rep25 | Positive | Health | API setting | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enzyme | 20 | Inhibition
Enzyme reaction rates can be decreased by various types of enzyme inhibitors. |
synth_fc_1720_rep18 | Negative | Health | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developmental_psychology | 25 | Parenting
Parenting variables alone have typically accounted for 20 to 50 percent of the variance in child outcomes.
All parents have their own parenting styles. Parenting styles, according to Kimberly Kopko, are "based upon two aspects of parenting behavior; control and warmth. Parental control refers to the degree to which parents manage their children's behavior. Parental warmth refers to the degree to which parents are accepting and responsive to their children's behavior." |
synth_fc_1375_rep14 | Positive | Food | Entity search | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate | 31 | Types
Several types of chocolate can be distinguished. Pure, unsweetened chocolate, often called "baking chocolate", contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions. Much of the chocolate consumed today is in the form of sweet chocolate, which combines chocolate with sugar. |
synth_fc_803_rep11 | No function call | Evolution modeling | Calculation | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliptic_partial_differential_equation | 3 | In higher dimensions
A general second-order partial differential equation in n variables takes the form
This equation is considered elliptic if there are no characteristic surfaces, i.e. surfaces along which it is not possible to eliminate at least one second derivative of u from the conditions of the Cauchy problem.
Unlike the two-dimensional case, this equation cannot in general be reduced to a simple canonical form. |
synth_fc_3610_rep23 | Positive | Travel itinerary | Calculation | Multi | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davao_City | 45 | Tourism
The Philippine eagle, the country's national bird and considered the largest eagle in the world, is endemic to Davao. The orchid waling-waling and fruits such as durians, marang, rambutans, pomeloes and mangosteens are popular and generally cheaper in the city. Tourist destinations in the city include the Philippine Eagle Foundation and Nature Center, Mount Apo, Gap Farming Resort, the Davao Crocodile Park, Malagos Garden Resort, Eden Nature Park, and People's Park in the city center which is popular for its sculptures of indigenous people and dancing fountain. Samal Island, a part of Metro Davao, is an island city situated immediately off the city's coast in Davao Gulf, popularly known for its scenic beaches.
Two major annual festivals are held in the city: the Araw ng Dabaw (Day of Davao) on March 1 (The city's incorporation day) and the Kadayawan Festival in August. Also celebrated in the entire month of December, Pasko Fiesta sa Davao is an integration of festive and competitive Christmas activities showcasing colorful lightings and array of decorations in barangays, public parks, roads and buildings, and a series of competitive performances. Another annual festival, the Torotot Festival, is held annually every New Year's Eve. First organized in the last day of 2013 during the 2014 New Year's Eve, it was organized as a recompense for the city firecracker-pyrotechnics ban; it includes a number of people simultaneously blowing party horns, locally known as torotots. It recorded a number of 7,568 people participating in the first event, aiming to break the world record set by Japan for the most people simultaneously blowing party horns.
During 2011, there were 1,075,000 recorded tourist arrivals in the city, totaled from 81,081 foreign travelers, 983,315 local citizens, and 10,604 balikbayans/overseas Filipino workers. Estimated tourist receipts were recorded at 12.81 billion pesos while estimated economic benefits were 28.19 billion pesos. |
synth_fc_3176_rep9 | Negative | Sport | Entity search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh | 52 | Football
The city's professional team, NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, is named after the distribution company the Pittsburgh Steeling company established in 1927. News of the team has preempted news of elections and other events and are important to the region and its diaspora. The Steelers have been owned by the Rooney family since the team's founding in 1933, show consistency in coaching (only three coaches since the 1960s all with the same basic philosophy) and are noted as one of sports' most respectable franchises. The Steelers have a long waiting list for season tickets, and have sold out every home game since 1972. The team won four Super Bowls in a six-year span in the 1970s, a fifth Super Bowl in 2006, and a league record sixth Super Bowl in 2009. Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 they have qualified for the most NFL playoff berths (28) and have played in (15) and hosted (11) the most NFL conference championship games.
High school football routinely attract 10,000 fans per game and extensive press coverage. The Tom Cruise film All the Right Moves and ESPN's Bound for Glory with Dick Butkus both filmed in the area to capture the tradition and passion of local high school football.
College football in the city dates to 1889 with the Division I (FBS) Panthers of the University of Pittsburgh posting nine national championships, qualifying 37 total bowl games, appearing in the 2018 ACC Championship Game, and winning the 2020 ACC Championship Game which was the program's first conference title since leaving the Big East for the ACC between the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Local universities Duquesne and Robert Morris have loyal fan bases that follow their lower (FCS) teams. Duquesne, Carnegie Mellon University, and Washington & Jefferson College all posted major bowl games and AP Poll rankings from the 1920s to the 1940s as that era's equivalent of Top 25 FBS programs.
Acrisure Stadium serves as home for the Steelers, Panthers, and both the suburban and city high school championships. Playoff franchises Pittsburgh Power and Pittsburgh Gladiators competed in the Arena Football League in the 1980s and 2010s respectively. The Gladiators hosted ArenaBowl I in the city, competing in two, but losing both before moving to Tampa, Florida and becoming the Storm. The Pittsburgh Passion has been the city's professional women's football team since 2002 and plays its home games at Highmark Stadium. The Ed Debartolo owned Pittsburgh Maulers featured a Heisman Trophy winner in the mid-1980s, former superstar University of Nebraska running back Mike Rozier. |
synth_fc_3478_rep13 | Positive | Time | Database search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Northern_War | 1 | 1700: Denmark, Riga and Narva
Frederik IV of Denmark–Norway directed his first attack against Sweden's ally Holstein-Gottorp. In March 1700, a Danish army laid siege to Tönning. Simultaneously, Augustus II 's forces advanced through Swedish Livonia, captured Dünamünde and laid siege to Riga.
Charles XII of Sweden first focused on attacking Denmark. The Swedish navy was able to outmaneuver the Danish Sound blockade and deploy an army near the Danish capital, Copenhagen. At the same time, a combined Anglo-Dutch fleet had also set course towards Denmark. Together with the Swedish fleet, they carried out a bombardment of Copenhagen from 20 to 26 July. This surprise move and pressure by the Maritime Powers (England and the Dutch Republic) forced Denmark–Norway to withdraw from the war in August 1700 according to the terms of the Peace of Travendal.
Charles XII was now able to speedily deploy his army to the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea and face his remaining enemies: besides the army of Augustus II in Livonia, an army of Russian tsar Peter I was already on its way to invade Swedish Ingria, where it laid siege to Narva in October. In November, the Russian and Swedish armies met at the First Battle of Narva where the Russians suffered a crushing defeat.
After the dissolution of the first coalition through the peace of Travendal and with the victory at Narva, the Swedish chancellor, Benedict Oxenstjerna, attempted to use the bidding for the favour of Sweden by France and the Maritime Powers (then on the eve of the War of the Spanish Succession) to end the war and make Charles an arbiter of Europe. |
synth_fc_2012_rep13 | Positive | History | Feature search | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hades | 1 | Hades (/ ˈ h eɪ d iː z /; Greek: ᾍδης, translit. Hā́idēs, Attic Greek:, later), in the ancient Greek religion and mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also made him the last son to be regurgitated by his father. He and his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, defeated their father's generation of gods, the Titans, and claimed joint rulership over the cosmos. Hades received the underworld, Zeus the sky, and Poseidon the sea, with the solid earth (long the province of Gaia) available to all three concurrently. In artistic depictions, Hades is typically portrayed holding a bident and wearing his helm with Cerberus, the three-headed guard-dog of the underworld, standing at his side.
Roman-era mythographers eventually equated the Etruscan god Aita and the Roman gods Dis Pater and Orcus with Hades and merged all these figures into Pluto, a Latinisation of Plouton (Greek: Πλούτων, translit. Ploútōn), itself a euphemistic title (meaning "the rich one") often given to Hades. |
synth_fc_688_rep27 | Positive | Currency | API setting | Single | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honduras | 19 | Economy
The economy of Honduras is based mostly on agriculture, which accounts for 14% of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013. The country's leading export is coffee (US$340 million), which accounted for 22% of the total Honduran export revenues. Bananas, formerly the country's second-largest export until being virtually wiped out by 1998's Hurricane Mitch, recovered in 2000 to 57% of pre-Mitch levels. Cultivated shrimp is another important export sector. Since the late 1970s, towns in the north began industrial production through maquiladoras, especially in San Pedro Sula and Puerto Cortés.
Honduras has extensive forests, marine, and mineral resources, although widespread slash and burn agricultural methods continue to destroy Honduran forests. The Honduran economy grew 4.8% in 2000, recovering from the Mitch-induced recession (−1.9%) of 1999. The Honduran maquiladora sector, the third-largest in the world, continued its strong performance in 2000, providing employment to over 120,000 and generating more than $528 million in foreign exchange for the country. Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, was 10.1% in 2000, down slightly from the 10.9% recorded in 1999. The country's international reserve position continued to be strong in 2000, at slightly over US$1 billion. Remittances from Hondurans living abroad (mostly in the United States) rose 28% to $410 million in 2000. The Lempira (currency) was devaluing for many years, but stabilized at L19 to the United States dollar in 2005. The Honduran people are among the poorest in Latin America; gross national income per capita (2007) is US$1,649; the average for Central America is $6,736. Honduras is the fourth poorest country in the Western Hemisphere; only Haiti, Nicaragua, and Guyana are poorer. Using alternative statistical measurements in addition to the gross domestic product can provide greater context for the nation's poverty.
The country signed an Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) – later converted to a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) with the International Monetary Fund in March 1999. Honduras (as of the about year 2000) continues to maintain stable macroeconomic policies. It has not been swift in implementing structural changes, such as privatization of the publicly owned telephone and energy distribution companies—changes which are desired by the IMF and other international lenders. Honduras received significant debt relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch, including the suspension of bilateral debt service payments and bilateral debt reduction by the Paris Club —including the United States – worth over $400 million. In July 2000, Honduras reached its decision point under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC), qualifying the country for interim multilateral debt relief.
Land appears to be plentiful and readily exploitable, but the presence of apparently extensive land is misleading because the nation's rugged, mountainous terrain restricts large-scale agricultural production to narrow strips on the coasts and to a few fertile valleys. Honduras's manufacturing sector has not yet developed beyond simple textile and agricultural processing industries and assembly operations. The small domestic market and competition from more industrially advanced countries in the region have inhibited more complex industrialization. |
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