Bridge Wives

February 8th, 2010

















Bridge Wives

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Bridge Wives
Directed by Fatty Arbuckle
(as William Goodrich)
Written by Ernest Pagano
Jack Townley
Starring Al St. John
Release date(s) 21 February 1932
Running time 11 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Bridge Wives is a 1932 comedy film directed by Fatty Arbuckle.

Cast

  • Al St. John - Al Smith
  • Fern Emmett - Al’s wife, Mrs. Smith
  • Billy Bletcher - Radio announcer
  • Lynton Brent - Reporter
  • Roger Moore - Sewer worker (uncredited) (as Joe Young)

See also

  • List of American films of 1932
  • Fatty Arbuckle filmography

External links

  • Bridge Wives at the Internet Movie Database

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_Wives”
Categories: American films | English-language films | 1932 films | Films directed by Roscoe Arbuckle | Short films | Black and white films | 1930s comedy films | 1930s comedy film stubs

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Wildcard (Pennywise EP)

February 8th, 2010

















Wildcard (Pennywise EP)

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Wildcard
EP by Pennywise
Released 1989
Recorded 1989
Genre Punk
Length 7:18
Label Theologian Records
Pennywise chronology
A Word from the Wise
(EP)
(1989)
Wildcard
(EP)
(1989)
Pennywise
(1991)

Wildcard is a self-released EP by Pennywise. It was originally released in 1989 as a 7″ release and again in 1992, on the compilation album A Word from the Wise/Wildcard, along with the first EP A Word from the Wise.

Track listing

  1. “Wildcard” - 2:20
  2. “Maybes” - 1:57
  3. “Stand by Me” - 3:07

Personnel

  • Jim Lindberg - Vocals
  • Fletcher Dragge - Guitars
  • Jason Thirsk - Bass
  • Byron McMackin - Drums

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildcard_(Pennywise_EP)”
Categories: 1989 EPs | Pennywise albumsHidden categories: Articles lacking sources from December 2009 | All articles lacking sources

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Fariborz Kamkari

February 8th, 2010

















Fariborz Kamkari

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Fariborz Kamkari is a Kurdish Iranian film director and producer.

Kamkari was born in 1981 in Rome, Italy, and studied cinema and theater in Tehran, Iran. He has written several scripts for other Iranian directors, and has produced and directed some short films. In 2002, he wrote and directed his first feature film, Black Tape. The film won the top jury prize at Cinequest Film Festival, and was in competition at several other festivals, including the Venice Film Festival.

In 2005 Kamkari wrote and directed The Forbidden Chapter, an Italy-France-Iran co-production.

External links

  • Fariborz Kamkari at the Internet Movie Database

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fariborz_Kamkari”
Categories: 1971 births | Living people | Iranian film directors | Italians of Iranian descent | Italian Muslims | Iranian film director stubs

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Time Pilot

February 8th, 2010

















Time Pilot

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Time Pilot
Developer(s) Konami
Publisher(s) Centuri
Designer(s) Yoshiki Okamoto
Platform(s) Arcade, Atari 2600, MSX, ColecoVision, Xbox Live Arcade
Release date(s) 1982
Genre(s) Multi-directional shooter
Mode(s) Up to 2 players, alternating turns
Input methods 8-way joystick, 1 button
Cabinet Upright
Arcade system 2x Zilog Z80, 2x AY-3-8910

Time Pilot is a 1982 arcade game by Konami and distributed in the US by Centuri, designed by Yoshiki Okamoto. It is a flying themed game debuting in the Golden Age of Arcade Games.

Contents

  • 1 Overview
  • 2 Description
  • 3 Development
  • 4 Legacy
  • 5 License
  • 6 Ports
  • 7 References
  • 8 External links

Overview

The player assumes the role of a pilot of a futuristic fighter jet, trying to rescue fellow pilots trapped in different time eras. The player must fight off hordes of enemy craft and defeat the mother ship (or “boss”) present in every level. The background moves in the opposite direction to the player’s plane, rather than the other way around; the player’s plane always remains in the center.

Description

This game has the player travel through five time periods, rescuing stranded fellow pilots. The player must fight off droves of enemy craft while picking up parachuting friendly pilots. Once 56 enemy craft are defeated, Initially 25 on the MSX platform, and increases by 5 after each game cycle (finishing the last battle against the UFOs), the player must defeat the mothership for the time period. Once she is destroyed, any remaining enemy craft are also eliminated and the player time-travels to the next level. All the levels have a blue sky and clouds as the background except the last level, which has space and asteroids instead. The specific eras visited, the common enemies and the motherships are:

  1. 1910: biplanes and a blimp
  2. 1940: WWII monoplanes and a B-25
  3. 1970: helicopters and a large, blue CH-47
  4. 1982 (Konami version)/1983 (Centuri version): jets and a B-52
  5. 2001: UFOs

The mothership is destroyed with seven direct hits. Once all the eras have been visited, the levels start over again but are harder and faster. The Gameboy Advance version of Time Pilot in Konami Arcade Classics includes a hidden sixth era, 1,000,000BC, where the player must destroy vicious pterodactyls in order to return to the early 20th century.

Development

According to his account, Yoshiki Okamoto’s proposal for Time Pilot was initially rejected by his boss at Konami, who assigned Okamoto to work on a driving game instead. Okamoto secretly gave instructions to his programmer to work on his idea, while pretending to be working on a driving game in front of his boss. When Time Pilot was a success, Okamoto’s boss claimed credit for Okamoto’s idea.

Legacy

This game was one of the more successful games of the era. It spawned one sequel in 1984, Time Pilot ‘84. Though a respectable game, it did not do nearly as well as the original. A special version named Time Pilot ‘95 also appears in the Super Famicom game Ganbare Goemon Kirakira Douchuu: Boku ga Dancer ni Natta Wake (of the Ganbare Goemon series), and can be unlocked when the main game is completely cleared. A version of the game for Xbox Live Arcade by Digital Eclipse features optional updated graphics, although the game plays identically (it is a port of the original).

License

The game was successfully licensed to both Atari and Centuri for global regions outside of Japan. Centuri obtained the license for North America, whereas Atari produced dedicated cabinets with the game for sale in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Ports

Like many games of the era, Time Pilot was ported to video game consoles for personal use.

  • Atari 2600, MSX and ColecoVision in 1983
  • PlayStation as part of the Konami Arcade Classics compilation in 1999
  • Game Boy Advance as part of the Konami Collector’s Series: Arcade Advanced compilation on March 18, 2002.
  • Xbox 360 as part of Xbox Live Arcade on August 30, 2006.
  • Nintendo DS as part of Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits.

References

  1. ^ Kent, Steven. “VideoGameSpot’s Interview with Yoshiki Okamoto (Waybacked)”. http://web.archive.org/web/19981207033331/www.videogames.com/features/universal/okamoto/oktime.html. 
  2. ^ “GBA Gems: Konami Collector’s Series: Arcade Advanced”. IGN. IGN. http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/694/694557p1.html. Retrieved 2006-09-01. 
  3. ^ “Time Pilot Flies Onto Xbox Live Marketplace”. TeamXbox. IGN. http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/11668/Time-Pilot-Flies-Onto-Xbox-Live-Marketplace/. Retrieved 2006-09-01. 

External links

  • Time Pilot at the Killer List of Videogames
  • Time Pilot entry at the Centuri.net Arcade Database
  • Time Pilot guide at StrategyWiki
  • Time Pilot at MobyGames

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Pilot”
Categories: Arcade games | 1982 video games | Commodore 64 games | Konami games | Atari 2600 games | ColecoVision games | MSX games | Scrolling shooters | Xbox 360 Live Arcade games | Multidirectional shooters

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Another Way (song)

February 8th, 2010

















Another Way (song)

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“Another Way”
Single by Tevin Campbell
from the album Tevin Campbell
Released 1999
Format CD single, Cassette single
Recorded 1998
Genre R&B
Label Qwest/Warner Bros.
Writer(s) Babyface
Producer Babyface
Tevin Campbell singles chronology
“Could You Learn To Love”
(1997)
“Another Way”
(1998)
“Losing All Control”
(1999)

Another Way” is the first single from R&B Singer Tevin Campbell’s fourth album Tevin Campbell.

It was the only single off the album to reach the Hot 100, peaking just at the end of the chart. Up to this date this remains the last single for Tevin to enter the pop charts. The single had more success on the R&B charts where it peaked at #25.

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_Way_(song)”
Categories: Tevin Campbell songs | 1998 singles | R&B song stubsHidden categories: Articles lacking sources from September 2007 | All articles lacking sources

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Hand cannon

February 6th, 2010

















Hand cannon

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Hand cannon from the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368)


Western European handgun, 1380


“Hand bombard”, France, 1390–1400


Hand cannon being fired from a stand, “Belli Fortis”, manuscript, by Konrad Kyeser, 1400

A hand cannon (also called a gonne) (Arabic: midfa?; Chinese: ??; Russian: ??????) is an early form of firearm. It is possibly the oldest type of portable firearm, as well as the simplest type of early firearm, as most examples require direct manual external ignition through a touch hole without any form of firing mechanism. It may also be considered a forerunner of the handgun. The hand cannon was widely used until at least the 1520s in Europe and Asia, where it was mostly supplanted by matchlock firearms.

Contents

  • 1 Origins
  • 2 Design and features
  • 3 Impact
  • 4 Notes
  • 5 References
  • 6 See also
  • 7 External links

Origins

As with the general origins of gunpowder, there is a great deal of controversy as to where and when the hand cannon came into existence.

The earliest surviving documentary evidence for the use of hand cannons are from several Arabic manuscripts dated to the 14th century. Ahmad Y. al-Hassan argues that these are based on earlier originals and that they report hand cannons being used at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260 by the Mamluks against the invading Mongols. He refers to it as “the first cannon in history” with gunpowder formulae which were almost identical with the ideal composition for explosive gunpowder. Iqtidar Alam Khan argues that it was invading Mongols who introduced gunpowder to the Islamic world and cites Mamluk antagonism towards early gun-armed men in their infantry as an example of how gunpowder weapons were not always met with open acceptance in the Middle East.

According to Chase (2003:1) regarding the origins of firearms:

There was once a great deal of confusion and controversy surrounding the invention of firearms, but it is now generally accepted that firearms originated in China. Although there is no solid evidence for firearms in Europe before the 1300s, archeologists have discovered a gun in Manchuria dating from the 1200s, and a historian has identified a sculpture in Sichuan dating from the 1100s that appears to represent a figure with a firearm. Since all the other evidence points to Chinese origins, it is safe to conclude that this was in fact the case. The Europeans certainly had firearms by the first half of the 1300s. The Arabs obtained firearms in the 1300s too, and the Turks, Iranians, and Indians all got them no later than the 1400s, in each case directly or indirectly from the Europeans. The Koreans adopted firearms from the Chinese in the 1300s, but the Japanese did not acquire them until the 1500s, and then from the Portuguese rather than the Chinese.

Design and features

The hand cannon was a simple weapon, effectively consisting of a barrel with some sort of handle, though it came in many different shapes and sizes. Although surviving examples are all completely constructed of metal, evidence suggests that many were attached to some kind of stock, usually wooden. Other examples show a simple metal extension from the barrel acting as the handle. In fact, not all hand cannons used metal at all in their construction, as some Chinese illustrations demonstrate bamboo tubes being used instead.

For firing, the hand cannon could be held in two hands while an assistant applied the means of ignition. These could range from smoldering wood or coal, red-hot iron rods, to slow-burning matches. Alternately, the hand cannon could be placed on a rest and held by one hand while the gunner applied the means of ignition himself. Projectiles used in these weapons were varied, with many utilizing a variety of different ammunition. Some fired pebbles found on the ground, while others fired more sophisticated ammunition such as shaped balls of stone or iron or arrows.

Later hand cannons were made with a flash pan attached to the barrel, and a touch hole drilled through the side wall of the gun instead of the top of the barrel. The flash pan had a leather cover, and later on a hinged metal lid fitted, to keep the priming powder dry until the moment of firing and to prevent premature firing. These features were carried on over to subsequent firearms.

Due to the poor quality of powder that was often used in these weapons and their crude construction, they were not effective missile weapons, as early examples often lacked sufficient power to punch through light armour. All were inaccurate, due to the awkward handling as well as the aforementioned poor quality of the weapons. While the noise and flash may have had some psychological effect on the enemy, many early hand cannons were utilized in a minor capacity and so lacked battlefield presence.

The invention of corned powder, the slow match, and the serpentine around the mid-1400s led to much more effective firearms and eventually to increased adoption. It also prompted the development of the first matchlock firearms, which could be more effectively aimed and fired than hand cannon. Gradually, hand cannon became obsolete, although it found use in some locales up until the 20th century.

Impact

Firearms, of which the hand cannon was an early example, gradually came to dominate European warfare, and the reasons are clear. The hand cannon was inexpensive and easy to mass produce. At the same time, the forging methods required meant that centralized governments had a measure of control over their manufacture (and especially the manufacture of ammunition—an important consideration in a medieval Europe wracked by rebellion). They had superior armor-penetration capability; the longbow was somewhat effective against mail armor, and the crossbow slightly better, but the hand cannon could pierce even plate armor. Furthermore, much like the crossbow, the weapon could be employed by relatively poorly-trained troops.

The other hand-operated ranged weapons of the time had their own drawbacks. Crossbows had superior accuracy and similar power as compared to early hand cannons. However, they were expensive to make, slow to reload and their performance was almost as severely affected by wet weather as that of hand cannons. While the hand cannon could not match the accuracy nor speed of fire of the longbow, gunners did not require the special training and continuous practice from childhood required of a good bowman.

Despite the hand cannon’s serious drawbacks, especially early in its development, its virtues outshone those of either the longbow or the crossbow, and it grew and evolved to become the ubiquitous firearm of later European wars.

Notes

  1. ^ a b Ancient Discoveries, Episode 12: Machines of the East, History Channel, 2007  (Part 4 and Part 5)
  2. ^ Ahmad Y Hassan, Gunpowder Composition for Rockets and Cannon in Arabic Military Treatises In Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries
  3. ^ Ahmad Y Hassan, Technology Transfer in the Chemical Industries
  4. ^ Khan, Iqtidar Alam (1996), “Coming of Gunpowder to the Islamic World and North India: Spotlight on the Role of the Mongols”, Journal of Asian History 30: 41–5 .
  5. ^ Khan, Iqtidar Alam (2004), Gunpowder and Firearms: Warfare in Medieval India, Oxford University Press .

References

  • Chase, Kenneth (2003), Firearms: A Global History to 1700, Cambridge University Press .

See also

  • Flintlock
  • Matchlock
  • Miquelet
  • Snaphance
  • Snaplock
  • Wheellock

External links

  • Handgonnes and Matchlocks
  • Ulrich Bretschler’s Blackpowder Page
  • Maitre Jehan de Montsiler - the first recorded hand gunner
  • Handgonnes Design

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_cannon”
Categories: Firearm actions | Early firearmsHidden categories: Wikipedia articles needing reorganization | Accuracy disputes from December 2008 | All accuracy disputes | Articles containing Arabic language text | Articles containing Russian language text

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Somogymeggyes

February 6th, 2010





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Somogymeggyes

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Somogymeggyes

Somogymeggyes is located in Hungary


Somogymeggyes

Location of Somogymeggyes

Coordinates: 46°42?40?N 17°54?39?E? / ?data for this location”>46.71104°N 17.91090°E? / 46.71104; 17.91090
Country  Hungary
County Somogy
Area
 - Total 15.65 km2 (6 sq mi)
Population (2004)
 - Total 585
 - Density 37.38/km2 (96.8/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 8673
Area code(s) 84

Somogymeggyes is a village in Somogy county, Hungary.

External links

  • Street map (Hungarian)

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somogymeggyes”
Categories: Somogy geography stubs | Cities, towns and villages in Somogy county

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Kesterson Reservoir

February 4th, 2010

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Kesterson Reservoir

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The Kesterson Reservoir is the name of a former unit of the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge which is part of the current San Luis National Wildlife Refuge. The site gained national attention during the later half of the 20th century due to selenium toxicity and rapid die off of migratory waterfowl, fish, insects, plants and algae within the Kesterson Reservoir.

Contents

  • 1 Background
  • 2 Contamination
  • 3 Selenium toxicity
  • 4 Remediation
  • 5 References
  • 6 External links

Background

The Kesterson Reservoir is located in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley in central California. The reservoir and San Luis National Wildlife Refuge is approximately 18 miles (29 km) north of Los Banos, California. The refuge includes four units, the Kesterson, Freitas, Bear Creek and original San Luis Units. The refuge is 26,609 acres (107.68 km2) and includes a variety of wetland and riparian habitat with supports a large variety of waterfowl, mammals and other wildlife.

The San Joaquin Valley has been considered by historian Kevin Starr as being “the most productive unnatural environment on Earth” as approximately 25% of the United States’ agricultural products originate from the valley. Examples of the agricultural exports from this area include grapes, cotton, nuts, citrus, and vegetables. Cattle and sheep ranching also contribute to the agricultural output of the area.

The San Joaquin Valley is bordered on the west by the Coast Range and on the east by the Sierra Nevada mountains. The Coast Range include Cretaceous and Tertiary marine sedimentary rocks. Weathering and oxidation of the Moreno Formation, a black marine shale, produces Pyrite, FeS2, and Iron Selenide, FeSe2. As the weathered products concentrate in evaporative minerals and salts, selenates (for instance, Na2SeO4 · 10 H2O or Na2Mg(SeO4)2 · 4 H2O) and Sulfates (Na2SO4 · 10 H2O or Na2Mg(SO4)4 · 4 H2O) can form. This results in selenium salts and selenium rich soils that are sloughed off the mountains via debris flows or landslides into the San Joaquin valley. Additionally, the San Joaquin Valley has a shallow aquifer bounded by impermeable clays.

The climate of the San Joaquin Valley does not lend itself well to agricultural production and results in large scale irrigation projects in order to keep fertile farms in operation. According to some estimates, the climate of the San Joaquin Valley has approximately 10 inches (250 mm) of precipitation and over 90 inches (2,300 mm) of evaporation annually. In order to keep the area productive, irrigation is a requirement.

A side effect of irrigation in the San Joaquin Valley was that ground water levels began to rise over time. This led to a condition where excess water was accumulating and starting to harm crops. In 1968, the Bureau of Reclamation created the 134 km long San Luis Drain and the Kesterson Reservoir. Farmers in the San Joaquin valley installed drainage tiles in an effort to maintain water tables at 2 meters. The Kesterson reservoir was completed in 1971 by the Bureau of Reclamation and consisted of 12 evaporation ponds within the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge.

Contamination

Due to the concentration of selenium in the Coast Range west of the San Joaquin Valley, selenium was transported into the valley and naturally accumulated on the valley floor. Selenium toxicity began to become a problem shortly after drainage tiles were installed. Initially (from 1971–78), the reservoir was receiving all fresh water. After 1978, this began to change and by 1981, all water coming into the Kesterson Reservoir was saline drain water. Contributing to the salinity of the drain water was the highly-mobile ion of selenium, selenate, SeO42-. Selenium begin to bioaccumulate in the waterfowl and wildlife that used the reservoir.

Prior to 1981, the Kesterson Reservoir supported a wide variety of life, including several species of fish. After 1981, the reservoir only supported the most saline tolerant mosquito fish. The habitat change occurred quickly and also included algal blooms and disappearing waterfowl. In 1982, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service began a study to determine the cause for declining wildlife use at the reservoir. Selenium concentrations at these locations were found to be greater than 1400 micrograms per liter.

Selenium toxicity

Selenium is an element that behaves very similarly to sulfur. It is required for humans in small amounts, less than 55 micrograms. Selenium is the required element in the amino acids selenocysteine and selenomethionine. In humans, selenium is seen in antioxidant enzymes such as gluthathione peroxidases and thioredoxin reductase. It helps in the daily functioning of the thyroid gland. Selenium deficiency can lead to Keshan disease, which is potentially fatal. Keshan disease includes such symptoms as myocardial necrosis which leads to weakening of the heart. If a diet is low in selenium and iodine, Keshan-Beck disease may develop, which leads to immune deficiency, making the body less resilient to nutritional, biochemical and infectious diseases. Selenium is necessary for the conversion of the thyroid hormone thyroxine (T4) into triiodothyronine. A deficiency of selenium can cause hypothyroidism, which results in extreme fatigue, mental slowing, Goitre, cretinism and miscarriage.

In locations around the world with low selenium concentrations in soil, some research has indicated a higher incidence of HIV/AIDS. Lack of selenium strongly correlates with the progression of AIDS and the risk of death.

In concentrations greater than 400 micrograms per day, selenosis may develop. The symptoms of selenosis include gastrointestinal disorders, hair loss, sloughing of nails, fatigue, irritability and neurological damage. Cirrhosis of the liver, pulmonary edema, and death can occur with extreme concentrations of selenium.

Remediation

In 1981, ranchers in the San Joaquin Valley near the San Luis drain and Kesterson Reservoir discovered livestock deformities and death. Two years later, there was a large migratory waterfowl die off. Many birds were severely deformed. The Bureau of Reclamation, United States Fish and Wildlife Service and United States Geological Survey came to the conclusion that high concentrations of selenium in the highly mobile selenate state was the primary cause of deformation and abnormality of animals at the Kesterson Reservoir . In 1987, the site was declared a toxic waste dump. Remediation of the site began shortly after researchers reported their findings. The San Luis drain was closed and the Kesterson reservoir was drained. The Kesterson Reservoir was capped with soil in the late 1980s and closed as a wildlife area.

Because of the potential of other locations experiencing a similar fate (also known as “the Kesterson Effect”), the United States Geological Survey created the San Joaquin Valley Drainage Program and National Irrigation Water Quality Program to study the effects of irrigation drain water on surrounding ecosystems. 14 locations have been identified that have the potential to affect ecosystems in similar ways to that of the Kesterson Reservoir.

  • Tulare Basin, San Joaquin Valley, California
  • Salton Sea, California
  • Middle Green River Basin, Utah
  • Stillwater Management Area, Nevada
  • Kendrick Reclamation Project, Wyoming
  • Gunnison River Basin-Grand Valley Project, Colorado
  • San Juan River area, New Mexico
  • Sun River area, Montana
  • Riverton Reclamation Project, Wyoming
  • Belle Fourche Reclamation, South Dakota
  • Dolores-Ute Mountain Area, Colorado
  • Lower Colorado River valley, Texas
  • Middle Arkansas River Basin, Colorado-Kansas
  • Pine River area, Colorado.

References

  1. ^ “San Luis National Wildlife Refuge”. GORP. http://gorp.away.com/gorp/resource/us_nwr/ca_san_1.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-25. 
  2. ^ “San Luis National Wildlife Refuge”. Defenders of Wildlife. http://www.defenders.org/habitat/refuges/map/ca.html. Retrieved 2007-04-25. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g “Selenium Contamination Associated with Irrigated Agriculture in the Western United States”. United States Geological Survey. http://menlocampus.wr.usgs.gov/50years/accomplishments/agriculture.html. Retrieved 2007-04-25. 
  4. ^ a b c d “Selenium Toxicity at Kesterson Reservoir”. Waterscape International Group. http://www.waterscape.org/pubs/factsheet_kesterson/FS_SeleniumToxicityatKestersonReservoir.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-25. 
  5. ^ a b c “The Kesterson Effect” (PDF). National Research Program. http://www.springerlink.com/index/55283W5801716278.pdf. Retrieved 2007-04-25. 
  6. ^ “Public Health and Safety: Element Maps of Soils”. United States Geological Survey. http://minerals.cr.usgs.gov/gips/0elemap.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-25. 
  7. ^ “Keshan-Beck Disease”. Centers for Disease Control. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp92-c3.pdf. Retrieved 2007-04-25. 
  8. ^ “High risk of HIV-related mortality is associated with selenium deficiency”. University of Miami, School of Medicine. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9342257&dopt=Abstract. Retrieved 2007-04-25. 
  9. ^ “Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Selenium”. Office of Dietary Supplements. http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/selenium.asp. Retrieved 2007-04-25. 
  10. ^ C. Michael Hogan, Marc Papineau, Ballard George, et al. (1990), Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Residential and Commercial Development at the Westley Interchange, Earth Metrics Inc., Report 10529C, California State Environmental Clearinghouse, Sacramento, California, July, 1990

External links

  • US Fish and Wildlife Service

37°15?30?N 120°53?30?W? / ?37.25833°N 120.89167°W? / 37.25833; -120.89167Coordinates: 37°15?30?N 120°53?30?W? / ?37.25833°N 120.89167°W? / 37.25833; -120.89167

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kesterson_Reservoir”
Categories: National Wildlife Refuges in California | Reservoirs in California | Wetlands of California | Environmental disasters | Disasters in California | Central Valley of California | Selenium

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Tournament selection

February 3rd, 2010

html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd”>















Tournament selection

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Tournament selection is a method of selecting an individual from a population of individuals in a genetic algorithm. Tournament selection involves running several “tournaments” among a few individuals chosen at random from the population. The winner of each tournament (the one with the best fitness) is selected for crossover. Selection pressure is easily adjusted by changing the tournament size. If the tournament size is larger, weak individuals have a smaller chance to be selected.

Tournament selection pseudo code:

choose k (the tournament size) individuals from the population at random
choose the best individual from pool/tournament with probability p
choose the second best individual with probability p*(1-p)
choose the third best individual with probability p*((1-p)^2)
and so on...

Deterministic tournament selection selects the best individual (when p=1) in any tournament. A 1-way tournament (k=1) selection is equivalent to random selection. The chosen individual can be removed from the population that the selection is made from if desired, otherwise individuals can be selected more than once for the next generation.

Tournament selection has several benefits: it is efficient to code, works on parallel architectures and allows the selection pressure to be easily adjusted.

External links

  • “Genetic Algorithms, Tournament Selection, and the Effects of Noise” by Brad L. Miller and David E. Goldberg (PDF link).

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tournament_selection”
Categories: Genetic algorithms

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Plain-capped Ground-tyrant

February 2nd, 2010

















Plain-capped Ground Tyrant

  (Redirected from Plain-capped Ground-tyrant)
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Plain-capped Ground Tyrant
Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Tyrannidae
Genus: Muscisaxicola
Species: M. griseus
Binomial name
Muscisaxicola griseus
Taczanowski, 1884

The Plain-capped Ground Tyrant or Taczanowski’s Ground-tyrant (Muscisaxicola griseus) is a species of bird in the Tyrannidae family. It is found in Bolivia and Peru. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland.

References

  1. ^ Gill, F., Wright, M. & Donsker, D. (2009). IOC World Bird Names (version 2.2). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/ Accessed 30 August 2009
  • BirdLife International 2006. Muscisaxicola griseus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 26 July 2007.

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain-capped_Ground_Tyrant”
Categories: IUCN Red List least concern species | Muscisaxicola | Tyrant flycatcher stubs

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