title: Nuclear power in India

text: Based on India's known commercially viable reserves of 80,000 to 112,000 tons of uranium, this represents a 40–50 years uranium supply for India's nuclear power reactors (note with reprocessing and breeder reactor technology, this supply could be stretched out many times over). Furthermore, the uranium requirements of India's Nuclear Arsenal are only a fifteenth (1/15) of that required for power generation (approx. 32 tonnes), meaning that India's domestic fissile material supply is more than enough to meet all needs for it strategic nuclear arsenal. Therefore, India has sufficient uranium resources to meet its strategic and power requirements for the foreseeable future.


title: Nuclear power in India

text: Former Indian President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam stated while he was in office that, "energy independence is India's first and highest priority. India has to go for nuclear power generation in a big way using thorium-based reactors. Thorium, a non-fissile material is available in abundance in our country." India has vast thorium reserves and quite limited uranium reserves.


title: Nuclear power in India

text: The long-term goal of India's nuclear program has been to develop an advanced heavy-water thorium cycle. The first stage of this employs the pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR) fuelled by natural uranium, and light water reactors, which produce plutonium incidentally to their prime purpose of electricity generation.


title: Nuclear power in India

text: The second stage uses fast neutron reactors burning the plutonium with the blanket around the core having uranium as well as thorium, so that further plutonium (ideally high-fissile Pu) is produced as well as U-233.


title: Nuclear power in India

text: The Atomic Minerals Directorate (AMD) has identified almost 12 million tonnes of monazite resources (typically with 6-7% thorium).


title: Nuclear power in India

text: In stage 3, Advanced Heavy Water Reactors (AHWR) would burn thorium-plutonium fuels in such a manner that breeds U-233 which can eventually be used as a self-sustaining fissile driver for a fleet of breeding AHWRs. An alternative stage 3 is molten salt breeder reactors (MSBR), which are believed to be another possible option for eventual large-scale deployment.


title: Nuclear power in India

text: In January 2021, India’s atomic energy secretary K.N. Vyas announced that the 700-megawatt pressurised heavy water reactor of the Kakrapar Atomic Power Station would be the first of the 16 such units planned in the country.


title: Nuclear power in India

text: Currently, twenty-two nuclear power reactors have a total install capacity of 6,780 MW (1.8% of total installed base).


title: Nuclear power in India

text: Following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, populations around proposed Indian NPP sites have launched protests that had found resonance around the country. There have been mass protests against the French-backed 9,900 MW Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project in Maharashtra and the Russian-backed 2,000 MW Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu. The Government of West Bengal initially refused permission to a proposed 6,000 MW facility near the town of Haripur that intended to host 6 Russian reactors. But after stiff resistance from locals, the proposed Nuclear Power Plant planned in Haripur has been shifted to Kavali in Andhra Pradesh. Interestingly, the Nuclear Power Plant planned at Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh was shifted from Mithi Virdi in Gujarat after locals in the Western state too showed resistance.


title: Nuclear power in India

text: A Public-interest litigation (PIL) has also been filed against the government’s civil nuclear program at the Supreme Court. The PIL specifically asks for the "staying of all proposed nuclear power plants till satisfactory safety measures and cost-benefit analyses are completed by independent agencies". But the Supreme Court said it was not an expert in the nuclear field to issue a direction to the government on the nuclear liability issue.


title: Ig Nobel Prize

text: The Ig Nobel Prize ( ) is a satiric prize awarded annually since 1991 to celebrate ten unusual or trivial achievements in scientific research. Its aim is to "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think." The name of the award is a pun on the Nobel Prize, which it parodies, and on the word "ignoble" ("not noble").


title: Ig Nobel Prize

text: Organized by the scientific humor magazine, "Annals of Improbable Research" (AIR), the Ig Nobel Prizes are presented by Nobel laureates in a ceremony at the Sanders Theater, Harvard University, and are followed by the winners' public lectures at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.


title: Ig Nobel Prize

text: The Ig Nobels were created in 1991 by Marc Abrahams, editor and co-founder of the "Annals of Improbable Research", a former editor-in-chief of the "Journal of Irreproducible Results" who has been master of ceremonies at all awards ceremonies. Awards were presented at that time for discoveries "that cannot, or should not, be reproduced". Ten prizes are awarded each year in many categories, including the Nobel Prize categories of physics, chemistry, physiology/medicine, literature, and peace, but also other categories such as public health, engineering, biology, and interdisciplinary research. The Ig Nobel Prizes recognize genuine achievements, with the exception of three prizes awarded in the first year to fictitious scientists Josiah S. Carberry, Paul DeFanti, and Thomas Kyle.


title: Ig Nobel Prize

text: The awards are sometimes criticism via satire, as in the two awards given for homeopathy research, prizes in "science education" to the Kansas State Department of Education and Colorado State Board of Education for their stance regarding the teaching of evolution, and the prize awarded to "Social Text" after the Sokal affair. Most often, however, they draw attention to scientific articles that have some humorous or unexpected aspect. Examples range from the discovery that the presence of humans tends to sexually arouse ostriches, to the statement that black holes fulfill all the technical requirements for being the location of Hell, to research on the "five-second rule", a tongue-in-cheek belief that food dropped on the floor will not become contaminated if it is picked up within five seconds.


title: Ig Nobel Prize

text: Sir Andre Geim, who had been awarded an Ig Nobel Prize in 2000 for levitating a frog by magnetism, was awarded a Nobel Prize in physics in 2010 for his work with the electromagnetic properties of graphene. He is the only individual, as of 2021, to have received both a Nobel and an Ig Nobel.


title: Ig Nobel Prize

text: The prizes are mostly presented by Nobel laureates, originally at a ceremony in a lecture hall at MIT but since 1994 in the Sanders Theater at Harvard University. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 and 2021's event was held fully online. The event contains a number of running jokes, including Miss Sweetie Poo, a little girl who repeatedly cries out, "Please stop: I'm bored", in a high-pitched voice if speakers go on too long. The awards ceremony is traditionally closed with the words: "If you didn't win a prize—and especially if you did—better luck next year!"


title: Ig Nobel Prize

text: The ceremony is co-sponsored by the Harvard Computer Society, the Harvard–Radcliffe Science Fiction Association and the Harvard–Radcliffe Society of Physics Students.


title: Ig Nobel Prize

text: Throwing paper planes onto the stage is a long-standing tradition. For many years Professor Roy J. Glauber swept the stage clean of the airplanes as the official "Keeper of the Broom". Glauber could not attend the 2005 awards because he was traveling to Stockholm to claim a genuine Nobel Prize in Physics.


title: Ig Nobel Prize

text: The "Parade of Ignitaries" into the hall includes supporting groups. At the 1997 ceremonies, a team of "cryogenic sex researchers" distributed a pamphlet titled "Safe Sex at Four Kelvin." Delegates from the Museum of Bad Art are often on hand to display some pieces from their collection.


title: Ig Nobel Prize

text: The ceremony is recorded and broadcast on National Public Radio in the US and is shown live over the Internet. The recording is broadcast each year, on the Friday after US Thanksgiving, on the public radio program "Science Friday". In recognition of this, the audience chants the name of the radio show's host, Ira Flatow.


title: Ig Nobel Prize

text: Two books have been published with write-ups on some winners: "The Ig Nobel Prize", and "The Ig Nobel Prize 2" which was later retitled "The Man Who Tried to Clone Himself".


title: Ig Nobel Prize

text: An Ig Nobel Tour has been an annual part of National Science week in the United Kingdom since 2003. The tour has also traveled to Australia several times, Aarhus University in Denmark in April 2009, Italy and The Netherlands.


title: Ig Nobel Prize

text: A September 2009 article in "The National" titled "A noble side to Ig Nobels" says that, although the Ig Nobel Awards are veiled criticism of trivial research, history shows that trivial research sometimes leads to important breakthroughs. For instance, in 2006, a study showing that one of the malaria mosquitoes ("Anopheles gambiae") is attracted equally to the smell of Limburger cheese and the smell of human feet earned the Ig Nobel Prize in the area of biology. As a direct result of these findings, traps baited with this cheese have been placed in strategic locations in some parts of Africa to combat the epidemic of malaria. And Andre Geim, before sharing the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics for his research on graphene, shared the Physics Ig Nobel in 2000 with Michael Berry for the magnetic levitation of a frog, which by 2022 was reportedly part of the inspiration for China's lunar gravity research facility.


title: Stimulant

text: Stimulants (also often referred to as psychostimulants or colloquially as uppers) is an overarching term that covers many drugs including those that increase activity of the central nervous system and the body, drugs that are pleasurable and invigorating, or drugs that have sympathomimetic effects. Stimulants are widely used throughout the world as prescription medicines as well as without a prescription (either legally or illicitly) as performance-enhancing or recreational drugs. Among narcotics, stimulants produce a noticeable crash or "comedown" at the end of their effects. The most frequently prescribed stimulants as of 2013 were lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse), methylphenidate (Ritalin), and amphetamine (Adderall). It was estimated in 2015 that the percentage of the world population that had used cocaine during a year was 0.4%. For the category "amphetamines and prescription stimulants" (with "amphetamines" including amphetamine and methamphetamine) the value was 0.7%, and for MDMA 0.4%.


title: Stimulant

text: Stimulants in therapeutic doses, such as those given to patients with ADHD, increases ability to focus, vigor, sociability, libido and may elevate mood. However, in higher doses stimulants may actually decrease the ability to focus, a principle of the Yerkes-Dodson Law. In higher doses stimulants may also produce euphoria, vigor, and decrease need for sleep. Many, but not all, stimulants have ergogenic effects. Drugs such as ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, amphetamine and methylphenidate have well documented ergogenic effects, while cocaine has the opposite effect. Neurocognitive enhancing effects of stimulants, specifically modafinil, amphetamine and methylphenidate have been documented in healthy adolescents, and is a commonly cited reason among illicit drug users for use, particularly among college students in the context of studying.


title: Stimulant

text: In some cases psychiatric phenomena may emerge such as stimulant psychosis, paranoia, and suicidal ideation. Acute toxicity has been reportedly associated with homicide, paranoia, aggressive behavior, motor dysfunction, and punding. The violent and aggressive behavior associated with acute stimulant toxicity may partially be driven by paranoia. Most drugs classified as stimulants are sympathomimetics, that is they stimulate the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. This leads to effects such as mydriasis, increased heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate and body temperature. When these changes become pathological, they are called arrhythmia, hypertension, and hyperthermia, and may lead to rhabdomyolysis, stroke, cardiac arrest, or seizures. However, given the complexity of the mechanisms that underlie these potentially fatal outcomes of acute stimulant toxicity, it is impossible to determine what dose may be lethal.


title: Stimulant

text: Assessment of the effects of stimulants is relevant given the large population currently taking stimulants. A systematic review of cardiovascular effects of prescription stimulants found no association in children, but found a correlation between prescription stimulant use and ischemic heart attacks. A review over a four-year period found that there were few negative effects of stimulant treatment, but stressed the need for longer-term studies. A review of a year long period of prescription stimulant use in those with ADHD found that cardiovascular side effects were limited to transient increases in blood pressure only. Initiation of stimulant treatment in those with ADHD in early childhood appears to carry benefits into adulthood with regard to social and cognitive functioning, and appears to be relatively safe.


title: Stimulant

text: Abuse of prescription stimulants (not following physician instruction) or of illicit stimulants carries many negative health risks. Abuse of cocaine, depending upon route of administration, increases risk of cardiorespiratory disease, stroke, and sepsis. Some effects are dependent upon the route of administration, with intravenous use associated with the transmission of many disease such as Hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS and potential medical emergencies such as infection, thrombosis or pseudoaneurysm, while inhalation may be associated with increased lower respiratory tract infection, lung cancer, and pathological restricting of lung tissue. Cocaine may also increase risk for autoimmune disease and damage nasal cartilage. Abuse of methamphetamine produces similar effects as well as marked degeneration of dopaminergic neurons, resulting in an increased risk for Parkinson's disease.


title: Stimulant

text: Stimulants have been used in medicine for many conditions including obesity, sleep disorders, mood disorders, impulse control disorders, asthma, nasal congestion and, in case of cocaine, as local anesthetics. Drugs used to treat obesity are called anorectics and generally include drugs that follow the general definition of a stimulant, but other drugs such as cannabinoid receptor antagonists also belong to this group. Eugeroics are used in management of sleep disorders characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, such as narcolepsy, and include stimulants such as modafinil. Stimulants are used in impulse control disorders such as ADHD and off-label in mood disorders such as major depressive disorder to increase energy, focus and elevate mood. Stimulants such as epinephrine, theophylline and salbutamol orally have been used to treat asthma, but inhaled adrenergic drugs are now preferred due to less systemic side effects. Pseudoephedrine is used to relieve nasal or sinus congestion caused by the common cold, sinusitis, hay fever and other respiratory allergies; it is also used to relieve ear congestion caused by ear inflammation or infection.


title: Stimulant

text: Stimulants were one of the first classes of drugs to be used in the treatment of depression, beginning after the introduction of the amphetamines in the 1930s. However, they were largely abandoned for treatment of depression following the introduction of conventional antidepressants in the 1950s. Subsequent to this, there has been a resurgence in interest in stimulants for depression in recent years.


title: Stimulant

text: Stimulants produce a fast-acting and pronounced but transient and short-lived mood lift. In relation to this, they are minimally effective in the treatment of depression when administered continuously. In addition, tolerance to the mood-lifting effects of amphetamine has led to dose escalation and dependence. Although the efficacy for depression with continuous administration is modest, it may still reach statistical significance over placebo and provide benefits similar in magnitude to those of conventional antidepressants. The reasons for the short-term mood-improving effects of stimulants are unclear, but may relate to rapid tolerance. Tolerance to the effects of stimulants has been studied and characterized both in animals and humans. Stimulant withdrawal is remarkably similar in its symptoms to those of major depressive disorder.


title: Stimulant

text: Classifying stimulants is difficult, because of the large number of classes the drugs occupy, and the fact that they may belong to multiple classes; for example, ecstasy can be classified as a substituted methylenedioxyphenethylamine, a substituted amphetamine and consequently, a substituted phenethylamine.


title: Stimulant

text: When referring to stimulants, the parent drug (e.g., "amphetamine") will always be expressed in the singular; with the word "substituted" placed before the parent drug ("substituted amphetamines").


title: Stimulant

text: Substituted amphetamines are a class of compounds based upon the amphetamine structure; it includes all derivative compounds which are formed by replacing, or substituting, one or more hydrogen atoms in the amphetamine core structure with substituents. Examples of substituted amphetamines are amphetamine (itself), methamphetamine, ephedrine, cathinone, phentermine, mephentermine, bupropion, methoxyphenamine, selegiline, amfepramone, pyrovalerone, MDMA (ecstasy), and DOM (STP). Many drugs in this class work primarily by activating trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1); in turn, this causes reuptake inhibition and effluxion, or release, of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. An additional mechanism of some substituted amphetamines is the release of vesicular stores of monoamine neurotransmitters through VMAT2, thereby increasing the concentration of these neurotransmitters in the cytosol, or intracellular fluid, of the presynaptic neuron.


title: Stimulant

text: Amphetamines-type stimulants are often used for their therapeutic effects. Physicians sometimes prescribe amphetamine to treat major depression, where subjects do not respond well to traditional SSRI medications, but evidence supporting this use is poor/mixed. Notably, two recent large phase III studies of lisdexamfetamine (a prodrug to amphetamine) as an adjunct to an SSRI or SNRI in the treatment of major depressive disorder showed no further benefit relative to placebo in effectiveness. Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of drugs such as Adderall (a mixture of salts of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine) in controlling symptoms associated with ADHD. Due to their availability and fast-acting effects, substituted amphetamines are prime candidates for abuse.


title: Stimulant

text: Hundreds of cocaine analogues have been created, all of them usually maintaining a benzyloxy connected to the 3 carbon of a tropane. Various modifications include substitutions on the benzene ring, as well as additions or substitutions in place of the normal carboxylate on the tropane 2 carbon. Various compound with similar structure activity relationships to cocaine that aren't technically analogues have been developed as well.


title: Stimulant

text: Most stimulants exert their activating effects by enhancing catecholamine neurotransmission. Catecholamine neurotransmitters are employed in regulatory pathways implicated in attention, arousal, motivation, task salience and reward anticipation. Classical stimulants either block the reuptake or stimulate the efflux of these catecholamines, resulting in increased activity of their circuits. Some stimulants, specifically those with empathogenic and hallucinogenic effects, also affect serotonergic transmission. Some stimulants, such as some amphetamine derivatives and, notably, yohimbine, can decrease negative feedback by antagonizing regulatory autoreceptors. Adrenergic agonists, such as, in part, ephedrine, act by directly binding to and activating adrenergic receptors, producing sympathomimetic effects.


title: Stimulant

text: There are also more indirect mechanisms a drug can elicit activating effects. Caffeine is an adenosine receptor antagonist, and only indirectly increases catecholamine transmission in the brain. Pitolisant is an H3-receptor inverse agonist. As H3 receptors mainly act as autoreceptors, pitolisant decreases negative feedback to histaminergic neurons, enhancing histaminergic transmission.


title: Stimulant

text: Amphetamine is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the phenethylamine class that is approved for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. Amphetamine is also used off-label as a performance and cognitive enhancer, and recreationally as an aphrodisiac and euphoriant. Although it is a prescription medication in many countries, unauthorized possession and distribution of amphetamine is often tightly controlled due to the significant health risks associated with uncontrolled or heavy use. As a consequence, amphetamine is illegally manufactured in clandestine labs to be trafficked and sold to users. Based upon drug and drug precursor seizures worldwide, illicit amphetamine production and trafficking is much less prevalent than that of methamphetamine.


title: Stimulant

text: The first pharmaceutical amphetamine was Benzedrine, a brand of inhalers used to treat a variety of conditions. Because the dextrorotary isomer has greater stimulant properties, Benzedrine was gradually discontinued in favor of formulations containing all or mostly dextroamphetamine. Presently, it is typically prescribed as mixed amphetamine salts, dextroamphetamine, and lisdexamfetamine.


title: Stimulant

text: Amphetamine is a norepinephrine-dopamine releasing agent (NDRA). It enters neurons through dopamine and norepinephrine transporters and facilitates neurotransmitter efflux by activating TAAR1 and inhibiting VMAT2. At therapeutic doses, this causes emotional and cognitive effects such as euphoria, change in libido, increased arousal, and improved cognitive control. Likewise, it induces physical effects such as decreased reaction time, fatigue resistance, and increased muscle strength. In contrast, supratherapeutic doses of amphetamine are likely to impair cognitive function and induce rapid muscle breakdown. Very high doses can result in psychosis (e.g., delusions and paranoia), which very rarely occurs at therapeutic doses even during long-term use. As recreational doses are generally much larger than prescribed therapeutic doses, recreational use carries a far greater risk of serious side effects, such as dependence, which only rarely arises with therapeutic amphetamine use.


title: Stimulant

text: Caffeine is a stimulant compound belonging to the xanthine class of chemicals naturally found in coffee, tea, and (to a lesser degree) cocoa or chocolate. It is included in many soft drinks, as well as a larger amount in energy drinks. Caffeine is the world's most widely used psychoactive drug and by far the most common stimulant. In North America, 90% of adults consume caffeine daily. A few jurisdictions restrict its sale and use. Caffeine is also included in some medications, usually for the purpose of enhancing the effect of the primary ingredient, or reducing one of its side-effects (especially drowsiness). Tablets containing standardized doses of caffeine are also widely available.


title: Stimulant

text: Caffeine's mechanism of action differs from many stimulants, as it produces stimulant effects by inhibiting adenosine receptors. Adenosine receptors are thought to be a large driver of drowsiness and sleep, and their action increases with extended wakefulness. Caffeine has been found to increase striatal dopamine in animal models, as well as inhibit the inhibitory effect of adenosine receptors on dopamine receptors, however the implications for humans are unknown. Unlike most stimulants, caffeine has no addictive potential. Caffeine does not appear to be a reinforcing stimulus, and some degree of aversion may actually occur, which people preferring placebo over caffeine in a study on drug abuse liability published in an NIDA research monograph. In large telephone surveys only 11% reported dependence symptoms. However, when people were tested in labs, only half of those who claim dependence actually experienced it, casting doubt on caffeine's ability to produce dependence and putting societal pressures in the spotlight.


title: Stimulant

text: Coffee consumption is associated with a lower overall risk of cancer. This is primarily due to a decrease in the risks of hepatocellular and endometrial cancer, but it may also have a modest effect on colorectal cancer. There does not appear to be a significant protective effect against other types of cancers, and heavy coffee consumption may increase the risk of bladder cancer. A protective effect of caffeine against Alzheimer's disease is possible, but the evidence is inconclusive. Moderate coffee consumption may decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease, and it may somewhat reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. Drinking 1-3 cups of coffee per day does not affect the risk of hypertension compared to drinking little or no coffee. However those who drink 2–4 cups per day may be at a slightly increased risk. Caffeine increases intraocular pressure in those with glaucoma but does not appear to affect normal individuals. It may protect people from liver cirrhosis. There is no evidence that coffee stunts a child's growth. Caffeine may increase the effectiveness of some medications including ones used to treat headaches. Caffeine may lessen the severity of acute mountain sickness if taken a few hours prior to attaining a high altitude.


title: Stimulant

text: Ephedrine is a sympathomimetic amine similar in molecular structure to the well-known drugs phenylpropanolamine and methamphetamine, as well as to the important neurotransmitter epinephrine (adrenaline). Ephedrine is commonly used as a stimulant, appetite suppressant, concentration aid, and decongestant, and to treat hypotension associated with anaesthesia.


title: Stimulant

text: In chemical terms, it is an alkaloid with a phenethylamine skeleton found in various plants in the genus "Ephedra" (family Ephedraceae). It works mainly by increasing the activity of norepinephrine (noradrenaline) on adrenergic receptors. It is most usually marketed as the "hydrochloride" or "sulfate" salt.


title: Stimulant

text: The herb "má huáng" ("Ephedra sinica"), used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), contains ephedrine and pseudoephedrine as its principal active constituents. The same may be true of other herbal products containing extracts from other "Ephedra" species.


title: Stimulant

text: 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy, or molly) is a euphoriant, empathogen, and stimulant of the amphetamine class. Briefly used by some psychotherapists as an adjunct to therapy, the drug became popular recreationally and the DEA listed MDMA as a Schedule I controlled substance, prohibiting most medical studies and applications. MDMA is known for its entactogenic properties. The stimulant effects of MDMA include hypertension, anorexia (appetite loss), euphoria, social disinhibition, insomnia (enhanced wakefulness/inability to sleep), improved energy, increased arousal, and increased perspiration, among others. Relative to catecholaminergic transmission, MDMA enhances serotonergic transmission significantly more, when compared to classical stimulants like amphetamine. MDMA does not appear to be significantly addictive or dependence forming.


title: Stimulant

text: Due to the relative safety of MDMA, some researchers such as David Nutt have criticized the scheduling level, writing a satirical article finding MDMA to be 28 times less dangerous than horseriding, a condition he termed "equasy" or "Equine Addiction Syndrome".


title: Stimulant

text: Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) is a psychoactive drug with stimulant properties that acts as a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI). It was first developed in the 1960s by a team at Boehringer Ingelheim. MDPV remained an obscure stimulant until around 2004, when it was reported to be sold as a designer drug. Products labeled as bath salts containing MDPV were previously sold as recreational drugs in gas stations and convenience stores in the United States, similar to the marketing for Spice and K2 as incense.


title: Stimulant

text: Mephedrone is a synthetic stimulant drug of the amphetamine and cathinone classes. Slang names include drone and MCAT. It is reported to be manufactured in China and is chemically similar to the cathinone compounds found in the khat plant of eastern Africa. It comes in the form of tablets or a powder, which users can swallow, snort, or inject, producing similar effects to MDMA, amphetamines, and cocaine.


title: Stimulant

text: Mephedrone was first synthesized in 1929, but did not become widely known until it was rediscovered in 2003. By 2007, mephedrone was reported to be available for sale on the Internet; by 2008 law enforcement agencies had become aware of the compound; and, by 2010, it had been reported in most of Europe, becoming particularly prevalent in the United Kingdom. Mephedrone was first made illegal in Israel in 2008, followed by Sweden later that year. In 2010, it was made illegal in many European countries, and, in December 2010, the EU ruled it illegal. In Australia, New Zealand, and the US, it is considered an analog of other illegal drugs and can be controlled by laws similar to the Federal Analog Act. In September 2011, the USA temporarily classified mephedrone as illegal, in effect from October 2011.


title: Stimulant

text: Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine classes that is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obesity. Methamphetamine exists as two enantiomers, dextrorotary and levorotary. Dextromethamphetamine is a stronger CNS stimulant than levomethamphetamine; however, both are addictive and produce the same toxicity symptoms at high doses. Although rarely prescribed due to the potential risks, methamphetamine hydrochloride is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) under the trade name "Desoxyn". Recreationally, methamphetamine is used to increase sexual desire, lift the mood, and increase energy, allowing some users to engage in sexual activity continuously for several days straight.


title: Stimulant

text: Methamphetamine may be sold illicitly, either as pure dextromethamphetamine or in an equal parts mixture of the right- and left-handed molecules (i.e., 50% levomethamphetamine and 50% dextromethamphetamine). Both dextromethamphetamine and racemic methamphetamine are schedule II controlled substances in the United States. Also, the production, distribution, sale, and possession of methamphetamine is restricted or illegal in many other countries due to its placement in schedule II of the United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances treaty. In contrast, levomethamphetamine is an over-the-counter drug in the United States.


title: Stimulant

text: In low doses, methamphetamine can cause an elevated mood and increase alertness, concentration, and energy in fatigued individuals. At higher doses, it can induce psychosis, rhabdomyolysis, and cerebral hemorrhage. Methamphetamine is known to have a high potential for abuse and addiction. Recreational use of methamphetamine may result in psychosis or lead to post-withdrawal syndrome, a withdrawal syndrome that can persist for months beyond the typical withdrawal period. Unlike amphetamine and cocaine, methamphetamine is neurotoxic to humans, damaging both dopamine and serotonin neurons in the central nervous system (CNS). Unlike the long-term use of amphetamine in prescription doses, which may improve certain brain regions in individuals with ADHD, there is evidence that methamphetamine causes brain damage from long-term use in humans; this damage includes adverse changes in brain structure and function, such as reductions in gray matter volume in several brain regions and adverse changes in markers of metabolic integrity. However, recreational amphetamine doses may also be neurotoxic.


title: Stimulant

text: Methylphenidate is a stimulant drug that is often used in the treatment of ADHD and narcolepsy and occasionally to treat obesity in combination with diet restraints and exercise. Its effects at therapeutic doses include increased focus, increased alertness, decreased appetite, decreased need for sleep and decreased impulsivity. Methylphenidate is not usually used recreationally, but when it is used, its effects are very similar to those of amphetamines.


title: Stimulant

text: Methylphenidate acts as a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor, by blocking the norepinephrine transporter (NET) and the dopamine transporter (DAT). Methylphenidate has a higher affinity for the dopamine transporter than for the norepinephrine transporter, and so its effects are mainly due to elevated dopamine levels caused by the inhibited reuptake of dopamine, however increased norepinephrine levels also contribute to various of the effects caused by the drug.


title: Stimulant

text: Methylphenidate is sold under a number of brand names including Ritalin. Other versions include the long lasting tablet Concerta and the long lasting transdermal patch Daytrana.


title: Stimulant

text: Cocaine is an SNDRI. Cocaine is made from the leaves of the coca shrub, which grows in the mountain regions of South American countries such as Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru, regions in which it was cultivated and used for centuries mainly by the Aymara people. In Europe, North America, and some parts of Asia, the most common form of cocaine is a white crystalline powder. Cocaine is a stimulant but is not normally prescribed therapeutically for its stimulant properties, although it sees clinical use as a local anesthetic, in particular in ophthalmology. Most cocaine use is recreational and its abuse potential is high (higher than amphetamine), and so its sale and possession are strictly controlled in most jurisdictions. Other tropane derivative drugs related to cocaine are also known such as troparil and lometopane but have not been widely sold or used recreationally.


title: Stimulant

text: Nicotine is the active chemical constituent in tobacco, which is available in many forms, including cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, and smoking cessation aids such as nicotine patches, nicotine gum, and electronic cigarettes. Nicotine is used widely throughout the world for its stimulating and relaxing effects. Nicotine exerts its effects through the agonism of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, resulting in multiple downstream effects such as increase in activity of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain reward system, and acetaldehyde one of the tobacco constituent decreased the expression of monoamine oxidase in the brain. Nicotine is addictive and dependence forming. Tobacco, the most common source of nicotine, has an overall harm to user and self score 3 percent below cocaine, and 13 percent above amphetamines, ranking 6th most harmful of the 20 drugs assessed, as determined by a multi-criteria decision analysis.


title: Stimulant

text: Phenylpropanolamine (PPA; Accutrim; β-hydroxyamphetamine), also known as the stereoisomers norephedrine and norpseudoephedrine, is a psychoactive drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine chemical classes that is used as a stimulant, decongestant, and anorectic agent. It is commonly used in prescription and over-the-counter cough and cold preparations. In veterinary medicine, it is used to control urinary incontinence in dogs under trade names Propalin and Proin.


title: Stimulant

text: In the United States, PPA is no longer sold without a prescription due to a proposed increased risk of stroke in younger women. In a few countries in Europe, however, it is still available either by prescription or sometimes over-the-counter. In Canada, it was withdrawn from the market on 31 May 2001. In India, human use of PPA and its formulations were banned on 10 February 2011.


title: Stimulant

text: Propylhexedrine (Hexahydromethamphetamine, Obesin) is a stimulant medication, sold over-the-counter in the United States as the cold medication Benzedrex. The drug has also been used as an appetite suppressant in Europe. Propylhexedrine is not an amphetamine, though it is structurally similar; it is instead a cycloalkylamine, and thus has stimulant effects that are less potent than similarly structured amphetamines, such as methamphetamine.


title: Stimulant

text: The abuse potential of propylhexedrine is fairly limited, due its limited routes of administration: in the United States, Benzedrex is only available as an inhalant, mixed with lavender oil and menthol. These ingredients cause unpleasant tastes, and abusers of the drug have reported unpleasant "menthol burps". Injection of the drug has been found to cause transient diplopia and brain stem dysfunction.


title: Stimulant

text: Pseudoephedrine is a sympathomimetic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine chemical classes. It may be used as a nasal/sinus decongestant, as a stimulant, or as a wakefulness-promoting agent.


title: Stimulant

text: The salts pseudoephedrine hydrochloride and pseudoephedrine sulfate are found in many over-the-counter preparations, either as a single ingredient or (more commonly) in combination with antihistamines, guaifenesin, dextromethorphan, and/or paracetamol (acetaminophen) or another NSAID (such as aspirin or ibuprofen). It is also used as a precursor chemical in the illegal production of methamphetamine.


title: Stimulant

text: Khat contains a monoamine alkaloid called cathinone, a "keto-amphetamine", that is said to cause excitement, loss of appetite, and euphoria. In 1980, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified it as a drug of abuse that can produce mild to moderate psychological dependence (less than tobacco or alcohol), although the WHO does not consider khat to be seriously addictive. It is banned in some countries, such as the United States, Canada, and Germany, while its production, sale, and consumption are legal in other nations, including Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and Yemen.


title: Stimulant

text: Modafinil, sold under the brand name Provigil among others, is a CNS stimulant used to treat sleepiness due to narcolepsy, shift work sleep disorder, or obstructive sleep apnea. While it has seen off-label use as a purported cognitive enhancer, the research on its effectiveness for this use is not conclusive.


title: Stimulant

text: Stimulants enhance the activity of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Common effects may include increased alertness, awareness, wakefulness, endurance, productivity, and motivation, arousal, locomotion, heart rate, and blood pressure, and a diminished desire for food and sleep. Use of stimulants may cause the body to reduce significantly its production of natural body chemicals that fulfill similar functions. Until the body reestablishes its normal state, once the effect of the ingested stimulant has worn off the user may feel depressed, lethargic, confused, and miserable. This is referred to as a "crash", and may provoke reuse of the stimulant.


title: Stimulant

text: Abuse of central nervous system (CNS) stimulants is common. Addiction to some CNS stimulants can quickly lead to medical, psychiatric, and psychosocial deterioration. Drug tolerance, dependence, and sensitization as well as a withdrawal syndrome can occur. Stimulants may be screened for in animal discrimination and self-administration models which have high sensitivity albeit low specificity. Research on a progressive ratio Self-administration protocol has found amphetamine, methylphenidate, modafinil, cocaine, and nicotine to all have a higher break point than placebo that scales with dose indicating reinforcing effects.


title: Stimulant

text: Psychosocial treatments, such as contingency management, have demonstrated improved effectiveness when added to treatment as usual consisting of counselling and/or case-management. This is demonstrated with a decrease in dropout rates and a lengthening of periods of abstinence.


title: Stimulant

text: The presence of stimulants in the body may be tested by a variety of procedures. Serum and urine are the common sources of testing material although saliva is sometimes used. Commonly used tests include chromatography, immunologic assay, and mass spectrometry.


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: Super Deluxe is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Thiagarajan Kumararaja, and additional screenplay written by Nalan Kumarasamy, Neelan K. Sekar and Mysskin. Produced by Tyler Durden and Kino Fist, Alchemy Vision Works, and East West Dream Work Entertainment, the film stars Vijay Sethupathi, Fahadh Faasil, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Ramya Krishnan. As a hyperlink film, it revolves around four groups of individuals who find themselves in the most unexpected predicaments, each poised to experience their destiny, all on one fateful day.


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: "Super Deluxe" marked the filmmaker's second directorial stint after "Aaranya Kaandam" (2011). Later, Kumararaja officially announced this project in November 2016 under "Aneedhi Kadhaigal". The filming process went on for more than a year, despite experiencing difficulties due to demonetisation, schedule commitments of the actors and technicians, and Tamil Film Producers Council strike. The film production finally wrapped up in June 2018, followed by a lengthy post-production phase. The film's score is composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja. The cinematography was handled by P. S. Vinod and Nirav Shah, after P. C. Sreeram who initially worked on the film's first schedule, walked out of the project midway. Sathyaraj Natarajan has edited the film. The film used the themes of nostalgia, science-fiction, political incidents, and emotions, using color as an important storytelling device.


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: After a North American premiere on 28 March 2019, "Super Deluxe" was theatrically released on 29 March, distributed by YNOT X. The film opened to critical acclaim praising Kumararaja's direction, storytelling and screenplay, along with the performances of the leading cast, particularly that of Vijay Sethupathi. Many critics listed the film as one of the "Best Tamil Films of 2019", and "Film Companion" ranked Sethupathi and child actor Ashwanth Ashok Kumar's performances in the list of "100 Greatest Performances of the Decade""." The film was screened at the Fantasia International Film Festival in North America, Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea, and Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, where it was conferred the "Equality in Cinema Award". The film won four Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards, four Zee Cine Awards, four Critics Choice Film Awards, two Edison Awards, and a nomination at the 9th AACTA Awards for Best Asian Film. At the 67th National Film Awards, the film won Best Supporting Actor award for Vijay Sethupathi.


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: Jyothi and her son Rasukutty are awaiting the return of Rasukutty's father, Manickam, who abandoned the family seven years ago. To their shock, Manickam arrives from Mumbai as a trans woman, Shilpa. Rasukutty wants to introduce Shilpa to his friends at school. On the way, a bigoted cop detains Shilpa, and she is forced into fellating a corrupt police officer named Berlin. Shilpa faces further harassment and humiliation from people at her son's school. Distraught, she buys a ticket to return to Mumbai, where she lives as a hijra. On the way home from school, Shilpa loses Rasukutty. Now desperate to find her son, she goes to the police and meets Berlin, pleading with him to help her. After refusing to entertain Berlin for any sexual favors, she grapples with Berlin and places a death curse on him before escaping. Distraught, she finally decides to go home and finds Rasukutty there. Rasukutty reveals he discovered Shilpa's intention of abandoning them again after seeing the train ticket to Mumbai in her purse, leading to an emotional confrontation where Shilpa realizes that Rasukutty and Jyothi are ready to accept her as she is, and they all go on living together.


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: Five teens (Gaaji, Soori, Mohan, Vasanth, and Thuyavan) skip school and gather to watch a porn movie at Thuyavan's home, only to find out that the porn star is Soori's mother, Leela. Soori breaks the TV in a fit of rage and runs away, crying. Thuyavan, afraid of his father finding out about the broken TV, enlists Gaaji and Vasanth into getting enough money for a new TV by the evening. They accept a job from a local gangster but fail to complete their assigned task. They then try to steal a North Indian pawnbroker's house, which fails too. Attempting to steal from him again, they are confronted by a girl with magical powers at the home who reveals herself to be an alien. She duplicates Gaaji, keeping one clone with herself for companionship. The friends get money from her to buy a new TV. They toss out the old broken TV through the broken roof of a disused building and set off to a cinema hall to finally watch a porn film.


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: Reaching home, an enraged Soori runs towards Leela with a screwdriver, intending to kill her after finding out she acted in a porn film. He trips and falls on the staircase and inadvertently stabs himself in the abdomen. A distraught Leela takes him to the hospital, and his father Arputham (formerly known as Dhanasekaran) is informed about the accident. Arputham is a survivor from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami who believes that God saved him in the form of a Jesus statue which he held onto when the tsunami struck. He converted to Christianity after this experience, but is currently having a crisis of faith. He forcibly takes Soori from Leela and subjects Soori to faith healing at his chapel while locking her out. Leela then gets her son admitted to a hospital with the help of a local counselor after she unsuccessfully pleads with her husband, but she now struggles to arrange for medical expenses. It is then revealed that Arputham's crisis of faith was triggered by a conversation with Shilpa earlier, when Shilpa, having lost Rasukutty, confesses her guilt to him over unknowingly escorting and delivering two children to a criminal gang, where the children were mutilated to make them more effective beggars, fearing that her karma has caught up with her and that her son might end up with a similar fate. Arputham states there can be no forgiveness for a person like her and tells her that she would be better off dead. Before leaving him, Shilpa tells Arputham that she tried to drown herself during the 2004 tsunami but survived by holding onto a rock, but didn't attribute any divinity to it, unlike Arputham. Arputham breaks the Jesus statue out of rage and desperation and finds long-forgotten diamonds inside it, which he uses to pay for Soori's medical expenses. Leela asks him whether he'd still have faith if he'd been saved by clinging onto a teddy bear instead of Jesus. He reflects on that question while Soori reconciles with Leela.


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: Vaembu, an unhappily married woman forced into an arranged marriage, has sex with her ex-boyfriend while her husband is away, but her ex-boyfriend suddenly dies in the act. Her husband Mugil returns home to find the corpse. While devastated to discover that his wife had been cheating on him, he decides to dispose of the body as he didn't want this incident to be exposed, fearful of the stigma attached to having an unfaithful wife. Eventually, they manage to smuggle the corpse out of town and attempt to plant the corpse in a car on the railway track to stage the death as an accident. But they are caught by Berlin (the corrupt police officer from Shilpa's story), who blackmails the couple in return for sexual favours from Vaembu. As he advances towards the unwilling and distraught Vaembu, intending to rape her, the old TV thrown by the boys (from the TV story) falls on his head and kills him. The couple gets rid of both the corpses and reconciles with each other.


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: The friends from the TV story are finally watching a porn film at the theatre. The film starts with a doctor speaking philosophically about the mysteries of life and patterns through the universe, with everything being interconnected in ways as yet unknown to us. He then says he will reveal some of those secrets to the audience now and winks. The nurse nearby blinks and starts to take her clothes off, as the porn film title shows its name "Vaazhvin Ragasiyam" ("The Secret of Life").


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: Following the release of "Aaranya Kaandam" (2011), which opened to critical acclaim, the film's director Thiagarajan Kumararaja officially announced his next film after a gap of five years, in October 2016. The untitled film had Vijay Sethupathi and Fahadh Faasil (in his second Tamil project after Velaikkaran) featuring in the lead roles, with Samantha Ruth Prabhu announced as the lead actress in early November. The same month, P. C. Sreeram was announced as the cinematographer and Yuvan Shankar Raja, who worked with Kumararaja in "Aaranya Kaandam", was chosen as the music director. Sathyaraj Natarajan, who worked in the same month as an assistant to Praveen K. L. was chosen as the film editor, and Vijay Adhinathan was the production designer. Kumararaja co-produced the film along with East West Dream Work Entertainment and Alchemy Vision Works. Initially, the film was titled "Aneedhi Kadhaigal" (Amoral tales), but following a series of schedule changes during the filming process, the new title "Super Deluxe" was announced.


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: In an interview with "The Hindu", Kumararaja said the film does not belong to any single genre, because "One may burst into laughter while the other might be in a state of shock for the same scene." Kumararaja worked with four directors: Mysskin, Nalan Kumarasamy and Neelan K. Sekar to work on the screenplay and also unsuccessfully approached Anurag Kashyap, Dhanush and S. J. Suryah as he wanted the storyline to be "interesting". Each writer had planned different segments and different characters in the storyline, which overlap each other in the end. He declined the film as an anthology, but considered it a "fresh attempt in narrative storytelling". He preferred to write the script using the Kino Fist technique the manipulation of narrative by jumbling up the sequence of frames through shooting and editing by Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein. Kumararaja wrote, "One story, then another, and then I cut from one scene to the next", to bring in a non-linear narrative.


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: Vijay Sethupathi was reported to play a full-fledged feminine character in the film, but was later revealed as a transgender, with the character named as Shilpa. Ramya Krishnan was earlier announced as a second female lead after Samantha Ruth Prabhu and had also shot her portions for the film, but due to creative issues she walked out of the project, and Nadiya Moidu was later brought on board. But, Nadiya also exited the project, as she was not satisfied with the script and the director re-approached Ramya Krishnan for the role, which she immediately agreed to. Krishnan played the role of Leela, a porn star in the film (within a film), Mallu Uncut, and she described her role as "most challenging ever in her career".


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: Mirnalini Ravi, who rose to fame with dubsmash, was roped in to play a pivotal character after she was selected by an audition. Though she did not reveal anything about her role, and her portions being set in Chennai, her role was later revealed to be an alien girl, which was the film's "surprise factor". Gayathrie was paired opposite Vijay Sethupathi, which marked their fourth collaboration after "Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom" (2012), "Puriyatha Puthir" (2017) and "Seethakaathi" (2018). For her role as a married woman, she was instructed to gain weight, but she eventually fell ill during the shoot because of her uncontrolled diet. Thiagarajan later advised Gayathrie to maintain a balanced diet and the team also prepared home-cooked food for her during her shoot. Mysskin, apart from co-writing the screenplay, also played a pivotal role in the segment. His role was initially auditioned to Anurag Kashyap, but he refused the project and later expressed regrets at not being a part in the film after watching the screening of the film.


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: Filming of the first schedule began in October 2016, but it was immediately halted after 15 days of shoot due to demonetization implemented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the actors' commitments in other projects. In July 2017, it was announced that P. C. Sreeram had opted out of the project, as his schedule was being conflicted with "Pad Man" (2018). As a result, P. S. Vinod, who had worked with Kumararaja in "Aaranya Kaandam", was roped in to replace Sreeram and Nirav Shah handled additional cinematography. Vijay Sethupathi, who had completed the first schedule of "Junga", started shooting for his portions in the same month and completed it by October. Mysskin's segment began filming in January 2018, and was completed before March 2018. Following the Tamil Film Producers Council strike, which ended in April, the makers resumed shooting for the last segment of the film featuring Fahadh Faasil, and the shooting was completed in its entirety after the segment's completion in June 2018, and post-production subsequently began.


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: Thiagarajan and Mysskin revealed in an interview that there are several sequences in the film that involved 100150 takes. For a scene featuring Ramya Krishnan, the team took 37 takes, which spanned two days. The team planned to shoot the film in film camera, but the lack of negative films prompted the team to use digital camera. As per Kumararaja's request, the locations had "shapes and textures and a sense of age and limitations in terms of lighting" to give a depth to the images. The shots were entirely filmed indoors, and for a few sequences, exterior shots were used. Kumararaja also had used saturated color gradings instead of vibrant colors to reflect the film's theme. He gave an example about Mysskin's segment, which had a marine feel to resemble the track being connected with the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the soundtrack for "Super Deluxe" in his second collaboration with Kumararaja after "Aaranya Kaandam" (2010). Unlike the previous film, which had no songs, Kumararaja planned a soundtrack album having a mix of retro style, jazz, and contemporary classical music. But they decided against doing so, and it eventually became Raja's third film without a soundtrack after "Adhu" and "Aaranya Kaandam". Instead, the team used yesteryear compositions of Ilaiyaraaja, being licensed for the film. A promotional song titled "Ding Dong" was composed, which was included in a promo teaser. Yuvan scored the music for the film's background, which was critically acclaimed. After being praised for his work in the film, fans insisted to release the film score as a separate album. Later, the original soundtrack was released on 27 May 2020.


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: Thiagarajan Kumararaja had initially planned to premiere the film at the 71st Cannes Film Festival during May 2018, which could not happen due to production delays. In February 2019, it was revealed that YNOT X, the distribution arm of YNOT Studios, had acquired the film rights. The official theatrical trailer was released on YouTube on 22 February 2019, which had Vijay Sethupathi narrating the entire segments of the storyline through the trailer. "Hindustan Times" and "The Indian Express" reviewed the trailer as "highly intriguing". The film's publicity designer, Gopi Prasanna, created a graffiti tribute for the film, which was considered to be his first professional artwork.


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: "Super Deluxe" received an A (adults only) certificate from the censor board without any cuts, unlike "Aaranya Kaandam", which had 52 cuts. It also had a speculated runtime of 176 minutes. The film was screened in more than 800 theaters across Tamil Nadu on 29 March 2019. A special premiere was held at the United States on 28 March in 85 locations distributed by Prime Media. Despite being an adult-rated film, the film was watched by family audiences owing to the fanbase of Vijay Sethupathi across rural and urban audiences."Super Deluxe" was screened and was conferred the "Equality in Cinema Award" at the 2019 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. It was also screened at the Fantasia International Film Festival, the largest genre film festival in North America and the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. After its theatrical premiere, the film was made available for streaming on Netflix. It was dubbed in Telugu under the same title and released directly through the streaming service Aha on 30 July 2021.


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: "Super Deluxe" opened to mostly positive critical reviews. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . Baradwaj Rangan in his review for "Film Companion South", praised the director on how he had concentrated on both the larger structure of the story and also on the minute details. He stated, "This is an utterly unique film," and went on to say, "All of this would be little more than postmodern pranks if not for the film's magnificent "design". This is not the first film to tell the story of three couples, but where earlier directors treated these stories like intimate domestic drama, "Super Deluxe" makes them something almost infinite, spanning the breadth of human (and other) existence". Writing for "The Hindu", Srivatsan S. called the film as a spiritual successor to "Aaranya Kaandam" and said, "No other filmmaker has probably romanticized the Tamil cinema universe with pop culture references as much as Kumararaja [...] If "Super Deluxe" is what you get from a filmmaker who was in exile, then you don't mind waiting a few years from now till he comes up with his next eccentric film." M Suganth, in his review for "The Times of India", gave 4 (out of 5) stars and wrote, "There is black comedy, double entendres, swear words, WTF moments, political and social commentary, romance, sentiment and even a musing on what it means to be life on Earth. There is ambition, genius, and also a beating heart."


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: Kirubakaran Purushothaman of "India Today" gave 4.5 stars (out of 5) and said, "Thiagarajan Kumararaja crafts a path-breaking film that deserves more than one watch to understand the depth in each characterisations". "Hindustan Times"-based critic Karthik Kumar gave a 5/5 rating and said, "Super Deluxe is built on the premise of morality. It questions what is right and what's wrong and in the process, makes us understand that what's right for someone need not necessarily be wrong for others." He called the performances as "top notch" and considered the film as "Tamil cinema's most eccentric and boldest attempts in recent years". Sowmya Rajendran of "The News Minute" too gave the same rating and said, ""Super Deluxe", like "Aaranya Kaandam", will open new doors of possibility for Tamil cinema. It may well be that the industry, which is already seeing quite a bit of successful experimentation, is stepping into the Deluxe age." Calling it as "one of the best Tamil film in recent times", Sreedhar Pillai, in his review for "Firstpost", assigned a score 4 (out of 5), saying, "Thiagarajan Kumararaja delivers a film of substance which also entertains". Writing for "The Indian Express", S. Subakeerthana rated the film 4 stars (out of 5) and called it an "intellectually stimulating experience". He went on to say, "It's hard to categorize this film, which has got everything — wholesome entertainment, humor, noir, and a bit of sci-fi. "Super Deluxe", undoubtedly, is one step higher than "Aaranya Kaandam" — in terms of treatment, writing, and presentation."


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: Suparna Sharma of "Deccan Chronicle" wrote, "Super Deluxe presents, then lovingly creates and frames the most masculine of archetypes on one side, and on the other are women, seeming rendered powerless by morality, gender, sexuality, and virtue. And then, slowly, it shows what they all are really made of". She gave the film 4 out of 5 stars. Udhay Bhatia of "Mint" said, ""Super Deluxe" is too pleasurable and fluent from minute to minute, scene to scene to get hung up on the stuff that doesn't work." A critic from "Indiaglitz" gave the film 3.75 (out of 5) and said, "Super Deluxe is an unforgettable, not to be missed top-notch cinematic experience that deserves to be celebrated." "Sify" gave a review: "Super Deluxe benefits enormously from winning performances by its lead actors". "Behindwoods" gave 3.5 (out of 5) and said, "Thiagarajan Kumararaja proves that he knows the medium of cinema quite well. He beautifully narrates four stories, each dealing with concepts like sexual abuse, porn film industry, bullying, marriage, abuse of power, religion, nationalism, and finally what life is. All these are conveyed with loads of humour, and the film also reinforces the fact that you don't need to constantly feed the audience with one-liners to evoke laughter." In contrast Gauthaman Bhaskaran of "News18", gave a mixed review, saying, ""Super Deluxe" could have been far more exciting had it been pruned by at least 45 minutes". He further praised Vijay Sethupathi's performance, giving the film 2.5 stars (out of 5).


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: Rachel Saltz of "The New York Times" said, "Kumararaja's work is stylish and wry, with an indie-cinephile sensibility. Part of that sensibility is a frankness about sex that's still unusual in Indian movies, especially commercial ones. Though nothing explicit is shown, all the story lines in "Super Deluxe" have a little sexual motor, and there's plenty of frank, off-color language, too." Ranjani Krishnakumar of "Huffington Post" said, ""Super Deluxe" is a delicately intelligent commentary on modern life with such powerful writing and artful filmmaking." However, she added, "The biggest strength of "Super Deluxe," is the characters. Despite the many interesting characters (and excellent actors) that share screen space, we understand and empathise with them[...] Kumararaja packs so much into so little time that we walk away feeling like we know these people, even if we don't really like all of them." Joe Leydon of "Variety Magazine" said, "Thiagarajan Kumararaja's unstable mix of dark comedy, brutal thriller and Douglas Sirk-ian melodrama is shamelessly excessive but undeniably entertaining". He further wrote, "There can be no denying that "Super Deluxe" has more than its share of draggy sections where the passage of time and the escalation of humiliation make themselves uncomfortably felt. Ultimately, however, the sheer chutzpah of the film, and the dedicatedly in-sync performance by the cast, are enough to keep audiences appreciatively absorbed." Sarath Ramesh Kuniyl of "The Week" said, ""Super Deluxe" makes you question what man often takes for granted. Be it sexuality, God or relationships. And it doesn't provide you the answers on a platter. It is for you to find out." He further called the film as a "comeback of epic proportions for the gifted filmmaker." Critics Thomas McNulty and Merrick Sinclair of "Hollywood Insider" said, ""Super Deluxe" is a masterfully put together web of storylines. Each plot is unique and interesting in its own way, so the audience is never bored. With expert acting, beautiful cinematography, and a non-stop story, "Super Deluxe" transcends language barriers and is enjoyable by all audiences."


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: "Super Deluxe" won four awards at the Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards – Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress (Ramya Krishnan), Best Cinematography (P. S. Vinod and Nirav Shah) and Best Music Director (Yuvan Shankar Raja). The film received four nominations at the inaugural ceremony of Zee Cine Awards Tamil: Best Supporting Actor – Female (Krishnan), Best Child Artist (Ashwanth Ashokkumar), Best Editor (Sathyaraj Natarajan) and Best Art Director (Vijay Adhinathan), and won all of them, including a Jury Special award for Best Actor – Female (Samantha Ruth Prabhu). The film won five Critics Choice Film Awards: Best Movie of the Year, Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Writing, and two Edison Awards. At the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne held on 8 August 2019, the film was nominated at four categories and won two – Best Actor (Vijay Sethupathi) and an Equality in Cinema (Honorary Award). It received a nomination at the 9th AACTA Awards for Best Asian Film. At the 67th National Film Awards, held for Indian films released in 2019, the film received an award for Best Supporting Actor for Vijay Sethupathi.


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: "Super Deluxe" was listed at many critics' top ten lists. In addition, "Film Companion" ranked Vijay Sethupathi and child actor Ashwanth Ashokkumar's performances in the list of "100 Greatest Performances of the Decade""."


title: Super Deluxe (film)

text: The film's poster, designed by Gopi Prasanna, was listed in "Posterphilia: Top 10 Indian Movie Posters of the Decade" by "Film Companion". "Moviecrow" too listed the poster in "Best Tamil Movie Posters (2019)" and reviewed: "The synchronicity of Super Deluxe's events is captured in this poster and interestingly it turned out to be an exact representation of all things that appear in the film. There's a sense of striking appeal to the embossed nature of the poster."


title: Nurse Ratched

text: Nurse Ratched (full name Mildred Ratched in the movie, also known as "Big Nurse") is a fictional character and the main antagonist of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", first featured in Ken Kesey's 1962 novel as well as the 1975 film adaptation. A cold, heartless tyrant, Nurse Ratched has become the stereotype of the nurse as a battleaxe. She has also become a popular metaphor for the corrupting influence of institutional power and authority in bureaucracies such as the psychiatric treatment center in which the novel is set.


title: Nurse Ratched

text: Nurse Ratched is the head administrative nurse at the Salem State Hospital, a mental institution where she exercises near-absolute power over the patients' access to medications, privileges, and basic necessities such as food and toiletries. She capriciously revokes these privileges whenever a patient displeases her. Her superiors turn a blind eye because she maintains order, keeping the patients from acting out, either through antipsychotic and anticonvulsant drugs or her own brand of psychotherapy, which consists mostly of humiliating patients into doing her bidding. Her tyrannical rule and her cruel personality stems from her time as an army nurse during World War II.


title: Nurse Ratched

text: Author Kesey stated that he based Ratched on the head nurse of the psychiatric ward where he worked. He later ran into her at an aquarium, realizing "She was much smaller than I remembered, and a whole lot more human." The 1940s hairstyle was, according to Louise Fletcher, "a symbol that life had stopped for her (Ratched) a long time ago".


title: Nurse Ratched

text: In Ken Kesey's novel, Nurse Ratched is described by Chief Bromden as having a face that is smooth, calculated, and precision-made, like an expensive baby doll, skin like flesh-colored enamel, blend of white and cream and baby-blue eyes, small nose, pink little nostrils. The only features that do not match her perfect appearance are her lips and fingernails that are both red-orange, along with carrying massive breasts. She wears a heavily starched, white nurse uniform that conceals her oversized bosom to hide her femininity; she has a stiff walk with high heels on her feet and sometimes carries a wicker bag.


title: Nurse Ratched

text: When Randle McMurphy arrives at the hospital, however, he flouts her rules with impunity and inspires other patients to follow. Her attempts to cow him into submission—at first with threats and mild punishments, then with shock therapy—are unsuccessful, serving only to fuel his defiance.


title: Nurse Ratched

text: McMurphy helps organize an unauthorized party late one evening, and they invite two prostitute friends, Sandra and Candy, into the asylum. After noticing fellow patient Billy Bibbitt has a crush on Candy, McMurphy encourages her to have sex with him. Ratched catches Billy and Candy in the act. Furious, she threatens to tell his mother. He begs her not to, blaming McMurphy and the other patients for orchestrating the event.


title: Nurse Ratched

text: Ratched sends him to wait in the ward doctor's office as the authorities are called. When Dr. Spivey finally arrives, he finds Billy has killed himself. When Ratched tells the inmates that "the best thing we can do is to go on with our daily routine", McMurphy attacks her in a fit of rage, nearly strangling her. Despite having McMurphy lobotomized in retribution, the attack leaves Ratched weakened and bruised, now unable to control the ward any longer because the patients no longer fear her.


title: Nurse Ratched

text: A stage adaptation by Dale Wasserman made its Broadway debut in 1963 with Joan Tetzel as Nurse Ratched. Amy Morton portrayed Ratched in the 2001 Broadway revival.


title: Nurse Ratched

text: The character was famously portrayed by Louise Fletcher in the film adaptation, whose performance earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress. Fletcher, who, up to that point, had only had a brief television career in the 1950s and early 1960s and had only appeared in two films (one uncredited), was cast after Anne Bancroft, Angela Lansbury, Geraldine Page, Colleen Dewhurst, and Ellen Burstyn turned down the role. Director Miloš Forman considered Fletcher for Ratched when he saw her in the 1974 film "Thieves Like Us".


title: Nurse Ratched

text: Nurse Ratched was a recurring character in the ABC series "Once Upon a Time" from 2012 through 2017. She was portrayed by Ingrid Torrance and works for the Evil Queen as a nurse in the Storybrooke Sanitarium.


title: Nurse Ratched

text: Sarah Paulson portrays Nurse Ratched in Ryan Murphy's Netflix television series "Ratched", a prequel to the "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" film, the first season of which debuted September 18, 2020. Isabelle JoLynn Murphy portrays a young Ratched.


title: Nurse Ratched

text: Fletcher won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Ratched in the film. Ratched was named the fifth-greatest villain in film history (and second-greatest villainess, behind the Wicked Witch of the West of "The Wizard of Oz") by the American Film Institute in their series 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: Maude is an American sitcom television series that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 12, 1972, until April 22, 1978.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: "Maude" stars Bea Arthur as Maude Findlay, an outspoken, middle-aged, politically liberal woman living in suburban Tuckahoe, New York with her fourth husband, household appliance store owner Walter Findlay (Bill Macy). Maude embraces the tenets of women's liberation, always votes for Democratic Party candidates, and advocates for civil rights and racial and gender equality. However, her overbearing and sometimes domineering personality often gets her into trouble when speaking about these issues.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: The show was the first spin-off of "All in the Family", on which Arthur had made two appearances as Maude, Edith Bunker's favorite cousin. Like "All in the Family", "Maude" was a sitcom with topical storylines created by producers Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: Unusual for an American sitcom, several episodes (such as "Maude's Night Out" and "The Convention") featured only the characters of Maude and her husband Walter, in what amounted to half-hour "two-hander" teleplays. In the season four episode "The Analyst" (sometimes referred to as "Maude Bares Her Soul"), Arthur as Maude, speaking to an unseen psychiatrist, was the sole actor on screen for the entire episode.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: The show's theme song, "And Then There's Maude", was written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman and Dave Grusin, and performed by Donny Hathaway.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: Maude first appears in two season-two episodes of "All in the Family": the first in December 1971 as a visitor to the Bunker home, and the second, a backdoor pilot setting up the premise of the "Maude" series, in March 1972. She is Edith Bunker's (Jean Stapleton) favorite cousin who has been married four times. Her first husband, Barney, died shortly after their marriage; she divorced the next two, Albert and Chester. Albert was never portrayed on screen, but the episode "Poor Albert" revolved around his death, while second former husband Chester would appear once on the show (played by Martin Balsam). Her fourth (and current) husband, Walter Findlay (played by Bill Macy), owns an appliance store called Findlay's Friendly Appliances. Maude and Walter met just before the 1968 presidential election. Maude sometimes gets in the last word during their many arguments with her hallmark catchphrase, "God'll get you for that, Walter", which came directly from Bea Arthur. Maude's deep, raspy voice is also an occasional comic foil whenever she answers the phone and explaining in one episode, "No, this is not Mr. Findlay; this is Mrs. Findlay! Mr. Findlay has a much higher voice."


title: Maude (TV series)

text: Maude's daughter, Carol Traynor (played by Adrienne Barbeau – in the "All in the Family" pilot episode the character was played by Marcia Rodd), is also divorced and has one child, like Maude. Carol and her son, Phillip (played by Brian Morrison in seasons 1-5 and by Kraig Metzinger in the sixth), live with the Findlays. Though single, Carol maintains her reputation of dating many men. She dates various men throughout the early seasons, later forming a serious relationship with a man named Chris (played by Fred Grandy); Grandy left at the end of the second season. Like her mother, Carol is an outspoken liberal feminist who is not afraid to speak her mind, though they often clash. There are conflicting accounts as to whether Carol's father was Maude's first or second husband. In the series' first episode, "Maude's Problem", Maude reveals to Carol's psychiatrist that Carol's father was her second husband.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: The Findlays' next-door neighbors are Dr. Arthur Harmon (Conrad Bain), a stuffy, sardonic Republican, and his sweet but scatterbrained second wife Vivian (Rue McClanahan). McClanahan confirmed in an interview with the Archive of American Television that she was approached by Norman Lear during the taping of the "All in the Family" episode "The Bunkers and the Swingers" (1972) to take on the role as a late replacement for Doris Roberts, the original choice for the part. Arthur has been Walter's best friend since the two served together in World War II; he was the one who brought Walter and Maude together in 1968 and "affectionately" calls Maude "Maudie." Vivian and Maude have been best friends since college. At the beginning of the series, Arthur is a widower. Vivian is introduced in a guest appearance that focused on her split with her first husband. She later got involved with Arthur as a divorcée.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: For the entire run of the show, Maude also has a housekeeper. At the beginning of the series, Maude hires Florida Evans (Esther Rolle), a no-nonsense black woman who often has the last laugh at Maude's expense. Maude often makes a point of conspicuously and awkwardly demonstrating how open-minded and liberal she is (Florida almost quits because of this). Despite Florida's status as a maid, Maude emphasizes to Florida that they are "equals," and insists she enter and exit the house via the front door, even though the back door is more convenient for Florida.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: Rolle's character was so popular that, in 1974, she became the star of her own series, "Good Times". In the second-season episode titled "Florida's Goodbye", Florida's husband Henry (John Amos) gets a promotion at his job, and Florida quits to become a full-time housewife. Whereas "Maude" took place in New York, "Good Times" took place in Chicago, with numerous other differences in Florida's situation, such as her husband being called James Evans – "Henry" being the name of James's long-lost father.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: After Florida's departure in 1974, Maude hires Mrs. Nell Naugatuck (Hermione Baddeley), an elderly (and vulgar) British widow who drinks excessively and lies compulsively, as her new housekeeper. Unlike Florida, who commuted to work, Mrs. Naugatuck lives with the Findlays. She meets and begins dating Bert Beasley (J. Pat O'Malley), a graveyard security guard, in 1975. They get married in 1977 and move to Ireland to care for Bert's mother. Mrs. Naugatuck's frequent sparring with Maude is, arguably, just as comically popular as Florida's sparring. The difference, however, is that Mrs. Naugatuck often seems to despise Maude, whereas Florida is only periodically frustrated by Maude.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: Lear said the last name "Naugatuck" was taken directly from the town of Naugatuck, Connecticut, which he found amusing. Due to the popularity of "Maude", Baddeley visited the town in the late 1970s and was given a warm, official ceremony at the town green.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: Maude then hires Victoria Butterfield (Marlene Warfield), a native of Saint Norman in the West Indies, whom Maude initially accuses of stealing her wallet on the subway. Victoria remains until the end of the series in 1978. However, Warfield's character was never as popular as her two predecessors, and she was not seen as often, nor given a credit as a series regular.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: The character of Maude Findlay was loosely based on creator Norman Lear's then-wife Frances. She first appeared on two episodes of "All in the Family" as Edith Bunker's cousin. A "Cousin Maud," with a similar role, had also appeared on an episode of "Till Death Us Do Part", the British series on which "All in the Family" had been based. Maude represented everything Archie Bunker did not: she was a liberal, feminist, upper-middle-class Democrat, whereas Archie was a conservative, prejudiced, working-class Republican.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: Maude's political beliefs were closer to those of the series creators than Archie Bunker's, but the series often lampooned Maude as a naive "limousine liberal". They did not show her beliefs and attitudes in an entirely complimentary light. Just before the show's premiere in September 1972, "TV Guide" described the character of Maude as "a caricature of the knee-jerk liberal."


title: Maude (TV series)

text: While the show was conceived as a comedy, scripts also incorporated much darker humor, drama and controversy. Maude took Miltown, a mild tranquilizer, and also Valium; she and her husband Walter began drinking in the evening. Maude had an abortion in November 1972, two months before the "Roe v. Wade" decision made abortion legal throughout the U.S., and the episodes that dealt with the situation are probably the series' most famous and most controversial. Maude, at age 47, was dismayed to find herself unexpectedly pregnant. Her daughter Carol brought to her attention that abortion had become legal in the state of New York. After some soul-searching (and discussions with Walter, who agreed that raising a baby at their stage of life was not what they wanted to do), Maude decided at the end of the two-part episode that abortion was probably the best choice for their lives and their marriage. Noticing the controversy around the storyline, CBS decided to rerun the episodes in August 1973, and members of the country's clergy reacted strongly to the decision. Thirty-nine stations pre-empted the episode. The two-part episode was written by Susan Harris, who would work with Bea Arthur again later on "The Golden Girls".


title: Maude (TV series)

text: The producers and the writers of the show tackled other controversies. In a story arc that opened the 1973–74 season, Walter came to grips with his alcoholism and subsequently had a nervous breakdown. The beginning of the story arc had Maude, Walter, and Arthur enjoying a night of revelry. However, Maude panicked when she awoke the following morning to find Arthur in her bed. This alarmed her to the point that both of them swore off alcohol entirely. Walter could not do it ("Dean Martin gets a million dollars for his buzz") and became so frustrated during his attempts to stop that he struck Maude. Afterward, he suffered a breakdown as a result of his alcoholism and guilt over the domestic violence incident. The arc, which played out in two parts, was typically controversial for the show but gained praise for highlighting how social drinking can lead to alcoholism.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: The first-season episode "The Grass Story" tackled the then-recent Rockefeller Drug Laws, as Maude and her well-meaning housewife friends try to get arrested in protest over a grocery boy's tough conviction for marijuana possession. The severity of the marijuana laws contrasted with the characters' lax attitudes toward drinking and prescription pill abuse.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: In season four, Maude had a session with an analyst, in which she revealed insecurities about her life and marriage and talked through memories from her childhood. The episode was a solo performance by Beatrice Arthur.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: During the fifth season, Walter suffered another nervous breakdown, this time even attempting suicide, when he saw his business go bankrupt.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: The Nielsen ratings for "Maude" were high, in particular, during the first seasons of the program (during the heyday of topical sitcoms, which its presence helped to create), when it was regularly one of the top-ten highest-rated American television programs in any given week.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: In Great Britain, "Maude" was not shown nationally, although it was shown (beginning in 1975) in the ITV regions of Scottish, Westward, Border, Tyne Tees, Anglia, Yorkshire, Granada and Channel. Satellite station Sky One ran the series in the early/mid-1990s.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: In the fifth season, "Maude" declined from No. 4 to No. 31 in the Nielsen ratings as its lead-ins "Rhoda" and "Phyllis" began to struggle. In 1978, late in the sixth season, CBS, in an attempt to save the series, revamped the format. In the last three episodes of that year, the fictional governor of New York appointed Maude as a congresswoman from Tuckahoe, as a Democrat during the 1978 U.S. midterm elections (she helped campaign for a congresswoman who unexpectedly died in her home). With this change, Maude and husband Walter would move to Washington, D.C., and the rest of the regular cast would be written out of the series.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: However, with the show already having lost substantial viewership and faltering with low ratings, Bea Arthur felt that it didn't make sense to "start all over again" with a new group of supporting characters. As a result, Arthur made the decision to leave the series after season six, bringing "Maude" to an end. Lear still liked the idea of a member of a minority group in Congress, and it evolved into the pilot "Mr. Dugan", with John Amos replacing Arthur as the lead character. Intended for a March 1979 premiere, a negative backlash from a screening for African-American members of Congress resulted in CBS pulling the plug and not airing any of the three episodes produced. Lear went back to work on the project and it was eventually reworked into "Hanging In", with Bill Macy returning to play a former professional football player turned university president. Premiering in the summer of 1979, the show did not find an audience and ended shortly after it began.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the first season of "Maude" on DVD in Region 1 on March 20, 2007.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: On August 27, 2013, Mill Creek Entertainment announced it had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library including "Maude". Mill Creek subsequently re-released the first season on DVD on February 3, 2015.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: On December 2, 2014, Shout! Factory announced it had acquired the rights to the series; it subsequently released the complete series on DVD on March 17, 2015. Among the bonus features, the set includes the two Second season episodes of "All in the Family", which introduced Maude ("Cousin Maude's Visit" and "Maude"); two previously unaired episodes of "Maude" ("The Double Standard" and "Maude's New Friends"); the Syndicated Sales Presentation, hosted by Norman Lear; as well as three featurettes called "And Then There's Maude: Television's First Feminist"; "Everything but Hemorrhoids: Maude Speaks to America"; and "Memories of Maude" with interviews by Adrienne Barbeau and Bill Macy, along with newly discovered interviews with Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan and "Maude" director, Hal Cooper.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: In 2015, Shout! began releasing individual season sets; the second season was released on August 11, 2015, followed by the third season on November 10, 2015, the fourth season on March 22, 2016, the fifth season on June 14, 2016, and the sixth and final season on August 9, 2016.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: "Maude" aired on TV Land in 1999 for a brief time, including an introductory "Maude-a-thon" marathon. "Maude" was later seen on Nick at Nite in the United States in 2001. Reruns of "Maude" are occasionally shown on Canwest's digital specialty channel, DejaView in Canada. In 2010, "Maude" began reruns in Chicago, on WWME-CA's Me-TV. In 2011, "Maude" began airing on Antenna TV, a digital broadcast network, which has since run the entire six season cycle of the show. In 2015, reruns of "Maude" began airing on Logo TV during late night/early morning. It also airs weeknights on FETV (Family Entertainment Television). As of April 2021, Maude is on CHCH TV in the Toronto (Hamilton) Ontario area as part of their afternoon retro sitcom lineup. It is also available on the CTV app for free (with ads) as part of its “Throwback” library.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: "Maude" was adapted in France as "". "Maguy" aired on Sundays at 19.30 from September 1985 to December 1994 on France 2 for 333 episodes.


title: Maude (TV series)

text: "Maude" had previously been adapted in 1980 by ITV in the United Kingdom as "Nobody's Perfect". Starring Elaine Stritch and Richard Griffiths, the show ran for two series with a total of 14 episodes. Of the 14 episodes, Stritch herself adapted 13 original "Maude" scripts and Griffiths adapted one. The original series was screened by certain ITV companies.


title: Test-driven development

text: Test-driven development (TDD) is a software development process relying on software requirements being converted to test cases before software is fully developed, and tracking all software development by repeatedly testing the software against all test cases. This is as opposed to software being developed first and test cases created later.


title: Test-driven development

text: Software engineer Kent Beck, who is credited with having developed or "rediscovered" the technique, stated in 2003 that TDD encourages simple designs and inspires confidence.


title: Test-driven development

text: Test-driven development is related to the test-first programming concepts of extreme programming, begun in 1999, but more recently has created more general interest in its own right.


title: Test-driven development

text: Programmers also apply the concept to improving and debugging legacy code developed with older techniques.


title: Test-driven development

text: There are various aspects to using test-driven development, for example the principles of "keep it simple, stupid" (KISS) and "You aren't gonna need it" (YAGNI). By focusing on writing only the code necessary to pass tests, designs can often be cleaner and clearer than is achieved by other methods. In "Test-Driven Development by Example", Kent Beck also suggests the principle "Fake it till you make it".


title: Test-driven development

text: To achieve some advanced design concept such as a design pattern, tests are written that generate that design. The code may remain simpler than the target pattern, but still pass all required tests. This can be unsettling at first but it allows the developer to focus only on what is important.


title: Test-driven development

text: Writing the tests first: The tests should be written before the functionality that is to be tested. This has been claimed to have many benefits. It helps ensure that the application is written for testability, as the developers must consider how to test the application from the outset rather than adding it later. It also ensures that tests for every feature get written. Additionally, writing the tests first leads to a deeper and earlier understanding of the product requirements, ensures the effectiveness of the test code, and maintains a continual focus on software quality. When writing feature-first code, there is a tendency by developers and organizations to push the developer on to the next feature, even neglecting testing entirely. The first TDD test might not even compile at first, because the classes and methods it requires may not yet exist. Nevertheless, that first test functions as the beginning of an executable specification.


title: Test-driven development

text: Each test case fails initially: This ensures that the test really works and can catch an error. Once this is shown, the underlying functionality can be implemented. This has led to the "test-driven development mantra", which is "red/green/refactor", where red means "fail" and green means "pass". Test-driven development constantly repeats the steps of adding test cases that fail, passing them, and refactoring. Receiving the expected test results at each stage reinforces the developer's mental model of the code, boosts confidence and increases productivity.


title: Test-driven development

text: For TDD, a unit is most commonly defined as a class, or a group of related functions often called a module. Keeping units relatively small is claimed to provide critical benefits, including:


title: Test-driven development

text: Advanced practices of test-driven development can lead to acceptance test–driven development (ATDD) and specification by example where the criteria specified by the customer are automated into acceptance tests, which then drive the traditional unit test-driven development (UTDD) process. This process ensures the customer has an automated mechanism to decide whether the software meets their requirements. With ATDD, the development team now has a specific target to satisfy – the acceptance tests – which keeps them continuously focused on what the customer really wants from each user story.


title: Test-driven development

text: Effective layout of a test case ensures all required actions are completed, improves the readability of the test case, and smooth's the flow of execution. Consistent structure helps in building a self-documenting test case. A commonly applied structure for test cases has (1) setup, (2) execution, (3) validation, and (4) cleanup.


title: Test-driven development

text: Some best practices that an individual could follow would be to separate common set-up and tear-down logic into test support services utilized by the appropriate test cases, to keep each test oracle focused on only the results necessary to validate its test, and to design time-related tests to allow tolerance for execution in non-real time operating systems. The common practice of allowing a 5-10 percent margin for late execution reduces the potential number of false negatives in test execution. It is also suggested to treat test code with the same respect as production code. Test code must work correctly for both positive and negative cases, last a long time, and be readable and maintainable. Teams can get together with and review tests and test practices to share effective techniques and catch bad habits.


title: Test-driven development

text: A 2005 study found that using TDD meant writing more tests and, in turn, programmers who wrote more tests tended to be more productive. Hypotheses relating to code quality and a more direct correlation between TDD and productivity were inconclusive.


title: Test-driven development

text: Programmers using pure TDD on new ("greenfield") projects reported they only rarely felt the need to invoke a debugger. Used in conjunction with a version control system, when tests fail unexpectedly, reverting the code to the last version that passed all tests may often be more productive than debugging.


title: Test-driven development

text: Test-driven development offers more than just simple validation of correctness, but can also drive the design of a program. By focusing on the test cases first, one must imagine how the functionality is used by clients (in the first case, the test cases). So, the programmer is concerned with the interface before the implementation. This benefit is complementary to design by contract as it approaches code through test cases rather than through mathematical assertions or preconceptions.


title: Test-driven development

text: Test-driven development offers the ability to take small steps when required. It allows a programmer to focus on the task at hand as the first goal is to make the test pass. Exceptional cases and error handling are not considered initially, and tests to create these extraneous circumstances are implemented separately. Test-driven development ensures in this way that all written code is covered by at least one test. This gives the programming team, and subsequent users, a greater level of confidence in the code.


title: Test-driven development

text: While it is true that more code is required with TDD than without TDD because of the unit test code, the total code implementation time could be shorter based on a model by Müller and Padberg. Large numbers of tests help to limit the number of defects in the code. The early and frequent nature of the testing helps to catch defects early in the development cycle, preventing them from becoming endemic and expensive problems. Eliminating defects early in the process usually avoids lengthy and tedious debugging later in the project.


title: Test-driven development

text: TDD can lead to more modularized, flexible, and extensible code. This effect often comes about because the methodology requires that the developers think of the software in terms of small units that can be written and tested independently and integrated together later. This leads to smaller, more focused classes, looser coupling, and cleaner interfaces. The use of the mock object design pattern also contributes to the overall modularization of the code because this pattern requires that the code be written so that modules can be switched easily between mock versions for unit testing and "real" versions for deployment.


title: Test-driven development

text: Because no more code is written than necessary to pass a failing test case, automated tests tend to cover every code path. For example, for a TDD developer to add an codice_1 branch to an existing codice_2 statement, the developer would first have to write a failing test case that motivates the branch. As a result, the automated tests resulting from TDD tend to be very thorough: they detect any unexpected changes in the code's behaviour. This detects problems that can arise where a change later in the development cycle unexpectedly alters other functionality.


title: Test-driven development

text: Madeyski provided empirical evidence (via a series of laboratory experiments with over 200 developers) regarding the superiority of the TDD practice over the traditional Test-Last approach or testing for correctness approach, with respect to the lower coupling between objects (CBO). The mean effect size represents a medium (but close to large) effect on the basis of meta-analysis of the performed experiments which is a substantial finding. It suggests a better modularization (i.e., a more modular design), easier reuse and testing of the developed software products due to the TDD programming practice. Madeyski also measured the effect of the TDD practice on unit tests using branch coverage (BC) and mutation score indicator (MSI), which are indicators of the thoroughness and the fault detection effectiveness of unit tests, respectively. The effect size of TDD on branch coverage was medium in size and therefore is considered substantive effect. These findings have been subsequently confirmed by further, smaller experimental evaluations of TDD.


title: Test-driven development

text: Test-driven development does not perform sufficient testing in situations where full functional tests are required to determine success or failure, due to extensive use of unit tests. Examples of these are user interfaces, programs that work with databases, and some that depend on specific network configurations. TDD encourages developers to put the minimum amount of code into such modules and to maximize the logic that is in testable library code, using fakes and mocks to represent the outside world.


title: Test-driven development

text: Management support is essential. Without the entire organization believing that test-driven development is going to improve the product, management may feel that time spent writing tests is wasted.