title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: Pilots of VMA-142, -131 and -133 began qualification landings in A-4 Skyhawks aboard "Independence" on 3 August 1971. For the next three days, four active duty and 20 reserve pilots operated aboard the carrier —the first time that Marine Corps Reserve squadrons qualified in carrier duty.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: Deploying from Norfolk in September 1971, the crew earned the designation as 'Blue Nose' sailors when the "Independence" crossed the Arctic Circle on 28 September. During subsequent operations in the North Sea, "Independence" conducted cross-deck operations with the British aircraft carrier and transited the English Channel en route to the Strait of Gibraltar and scheduled operations in the Mediterranean Sea.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: In May 1973, President Richard M. Nixon delivered his annual Armed Forces Day address from the decks of "Independence". While based in Norfolk, the ship made deployments to the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean. From 8 to 13 October 1973, Task Group 60.1 with "Independence", Task Force 60.2 with , and Task Forces 61/62 with were alerted for possible evacuation contingencies in the Middle East as a result of the 1973 Yom Kippur War between Arab states and Israel. "Independence" operated off the island of Crete.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: In the summer of 1974, "Independence" departed Norfolk for yet another 'Med Cruise', operating with CTG 60.1 and CVW-7. Relieving "Franklin D. Roosevelt", "Independence" and "Saratoga" continued the tradition of steaming the Mediterranean while being shadowed by Soviet aircraft and ships. On 8 September 1974, sailors were introduced to the new concept of terrorism when a bomb exploded in the cargo compartment of TWA Flight 841 high above. Steaming to the crash site, "Independence" and other ships spent two days retrieving the remains of the ill-fated jetliner, her crew, and passengers.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: On 20 June 1979, Lieutenant Donna L. Spruill became the first female Navy pilot to carrier qualify in a fixed-wing aircraft. Lieutenant Spruill piloted a C-1A Trader to an arrested landing aboard "Independence".


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: On 19 November 1980, "Independence" with Carrier Air Wing Six (AE) embarked, deployed to the Indian Ocean along with the cruiser and was on watch along with "Ranger" on "Gonzo Station" as President Reagan took office and the Iranian Hostages were freed. Subsequently, completing an Indian Ocean cruise, "Independence" transited the Suez Canal northbound, shortly after had transited southbound, making "America" the first United States Navy carrier (and, thus, "Independence" the second) to transit the Suez Canal since in 1967. "Independence" completed a deployment of 204 days. Scheduled to go to Singapore, the crew was instead diverted to the Persian Gulf to back up during the Iran Hostage Crisis mission with Capt. Thomas E. Shanahan Commanding. After the Gulf, "Independence" and her battle group visited Perth/Fremantle, Western Australia from 2 to 7 February for R&R. Upon completion of the deployment, Captain Shanahan was promoted to rear admiral.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: In 1982, "Independence" provided critical support to the multinational peacekeeping force in Lebanon. On 25 June, the greatest concentration of U.S. Navy air power in the Mediterranean Sea resulted when the battle groups of "Forrestal" and "Independence" joined forces with and "John F. Kennedy". After steaming together in the eastern Mediterranean Sea for several days, "Forrestal" and "Independence" relieved "Dwight D. Eisenhower" and "John F. Kennedy", the latter sailing home to Norfolk, after a long deployment.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: In late October 1983, "Independence"s battle group (Carrier Group Four), assigned to the United States Second Fleet, became the core of Task Group 20.5, the carrier task group that would support the Invasion of Grenada. On 25 October 1983, aircraft from "Independence's" embarked air wing flew missions supporting the invasion. Returning to Lebanon that same year, the ship's air wing conducted air strikes against Syrian positions.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: On 17 February 1985, "Independence" arrived at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard to undergo a modernization and overhaul program to extend her service life by 15 years. The flight deck was improved to allow the recovery of high-performance aircraft while the ship traveled at slower speeds, and the NATO Sea Sparrow launchers were upgraded. Other improvements improved the ship's fuel consumption. "Independence" completed the Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in June 1988. Setting sail 15 August 1988 from Norfolk, the ship transited the tip of South America and arrived at her new homeport of NAS North Island, in San Diego, California, 8 October.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: The Paramount film "Flight of the Intruder" (1991), starring Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe, and Brad Johnson was filmed partly on "Independence". The aircraft carrier went out for two weeks of filming in November 1989; the on-board fire party was kept busy dealing with the numerous small electrical fires that the movie crew had started with their lighting equipment.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: In June 1990, with Carrier Air Wing 14 embarked, "Independence" departs San Diego on a routine WESTPAC. On 2 August, in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, "Independence", leading Task Group 800.1, which included "Jouett" (CG-29), was sent to deter further Iraqi aggression during Operation Desert Shield. Arriving on station in the Gulf of Oman on 5 August, "Independence" was the first carrier to enter the Persian Gulf since 1974. The ship remained on station for 112 days and permanently reestablished a U.S. naval presence in the region. She returned to San Diego on 20 December 1990.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: "Independence" changed homeports again on 11 September 1991—this time to Yokosuka, Japan, embarking Carrier Air Wing 5 and becoming the Navy's only permanently forward-deployed aircraft carrier, and flagship for Commander, Carrier Group Five.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: On 23 August 1992, "Independence" entered the Persian Gulf, under the Command of Captain Carter B. Refo prepared to enforce an Allied ban on Iraqi flights over south Iraq below the 32nd parallel north. On 26 August, President George H. W. Bush announced that the United States and its allies had informed Iraq that in 24 hours allied aircraft would fly surveillance missions in southern Iraq and were prepared to shoot down any Iraqi aircraft flying south of the 32nd parallel. The action was precipitated by Iraq's failure to comply with U.N. Resolution 688, which demanded that the Iraqi government stop the repression of its Shiite population in southern Iraq.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: Persian Gulf allies began to enforce the ban on Iraqi planes from flying south of the 32nd parallel on 27 August in Operation Southern Watch. Any Iraqi planes that violated the ban would be shot down. Twenty Navy aircraft from CVW-5 aboard "Independence" in the Persian Gulf were the first coalition aircraft on station over Iraq as Operation Southern Watch began. Southern Watch was the enforcement of a ban on Iraqi warplanes and helicopters from flying south of the 32nd parallel.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: "Independence" became the most battle experienced ship in the Navy's active fleet, and the first carrier in history to hold that distinction, on 30 June 1995. With this honor, "Independence" displayed the Revolution-era First Navy Jack, commonly called the "Don't Tread on Me" flag, from her bow until her decommissioning. The flag was presented to "Independence"s commanding officer Capt. David P. Polatty III in a formal ceremony on 1 July. The flag was received from upon her decommissioning.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: In November 1995, "Independence" and Carrier Air Wing Five returned to Japan after successfully completing their third deployment to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: In March 1996, "Independence" was deployed to the waters east of Taiwan to provide a stabilizing presence amid the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis. She was joined in the area by "Nimitz" as the People's Republic of China lobbed missiles into Taiwanese territorial waters. On returning to Yokosuka in April 1996, the ship was visited by President Bill Clinton as part of an official state visit to Japan.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: In 1997, "Independence" made a four-month deployment, covering several major exercises and seven ports of call. Included in these ports of call were two historic port visits. The first was 28 February 1997 to the island territory of Guam. "Independence" was the first aircraft carrier to pull into Guam in 36 years.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: The second, two months later, was to Port Klang, Malaysia. "Independence" became the first aircraft carrier in the world to make a port visit to Malaysia.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: Before sailing back to Yokosuka, Japan, "Independence" made her last port call of the deployment in May 1997 to Hong Kong. The ship's port call was the last U.S. naval visit to the territory before its handover to China on 1 July 1997.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: "Independence" deployed to the Persian Gulf in January 1998 to support negotiations between the UN and Iraq and to again participate in Operation Southern Watch, prior to being relieved at Yokosuka by .


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: "Independence" was decommissioned in ceremonies at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, on 30 September 1998. At the conclusion of this ceremony, in keeping with naval tradition, "Independence"s last commanding officer, Captain (later Rear Admiral) Mark R. Milliken, USN, was the last person to depart the ship.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: "Independence"s commissioning pennant was hauled down 39 years, 9 months and 20 days after it was first hoisted, and the "Don't Tread on Me" First Navy Jack was transferred to the Navy's next oldest active ship, the aircraft carrier "Kitty Hawk".


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: After decommissioning, "Independence" remained in mothballs for five and a half years before being struck on 8 March 2004. During her time in mothballs, the ship was said to have been heavily stripped to support the active carrier fleet, especially the remaining s. Her port anchor and both anchor chains were used on the new . The recycling of parts and the poor material condition of the ship at the time she was withdrawn made a strong argument against retaining her as a potential museum ship. In April 2004, Navy officials identified ex-"Independence" as one of 24 decommissioned ships available to be sunk as artificial reefs. However, as of February 2008, she was scheduled to be dismantled in the next five years along with . At that time, she was still available for donation as a reef while awaiting a contract for her dismantling to be awarded.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: On 26 January 2012, the Navy's Naval Sea Systems Command posted a notice of solicitation for the towing and complete dismantlement of multiple CV-59/CV-63 Class Aircraft Carriers in the United States, including "Forrestal", "Independence", and "Constellation". The impacts of an initial scrapping for marine life in the Puget Sound required remediation with a layer of sand over the scrapping area.


title: USS Independence (CV-62)

text: Following the disposal of and "Constellation", on 10 March 2017 ex-"Independence" began her 16,000-mile journey from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard to Brownsville, Texas for dismantling by International Shipbreaking Limited. On 26 April 2017, she was on her way through the Strait of Magellan, and on 30 May 2017 she arrived at Brownsville, where a special ceremony was held at Isla Blanca Park for veterans, school children and members of the local community to honour the vessel. Scrapping was completed by early 2019.


title: Myostatin

text: Myostatin (also known as growth differentiation factor 8, abbreviated GDF8) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the "MSTN" gene. Myostatin is a myokine that is produced and released by myocytes and acts on muscle cells to inhibit muscle growth. Myostatin is a secreted growth differentiation factor that is a member of the TGF beta protein family.


title: Myostatin

text: Myostatin is assembled and produced in skeletal muscle before it is released into the blood stream. Most of the data regarding the effects of myostatin comes from studies performed on mice.


title: Myostatin

text: Animals either lacking myostatin or treated with substances that block the activity of myostatin have significantly more muscle mass.


title: Myostatin

text: Furthermore, individuals who have mutations in both copies of the myostatin gene have significantly more muscle mass and are stronger than normal. There is hope that studies into myostatin may have therapeutic application in treating muscle wasting diseases such as muscular dystrophy.


title: Myostatin

text: The gene encoding myostatin was discovered in 1997 by geneticists Se-Jin Lee and Alexandra McPherron who produced a knockout strain of mice that lack the gene, and have approximately twice as much muscle as normal mice. These mice were subsequently named "mighty mice".


title: Myostatin

text: Naturally occurring deficiencies of myostatin of various sorts have been identified in some breeds of cattle, sheep, whippets, and humans. In each case the result is a dramatic increase in muscle mass.


title: Myostatin

text: Human myostatin consists of two identical subunits, each consisting of 109 (NCBI database claims human myostatin is 375 residues long) amino acid residues [note the full length gene encodes a 375AA prepro-protein which is proteolytically processed to its shorter active form]. Its total molecular weight is 25.0 kDa. The protein is inactive until a protease cleaves the NH2-terminal, or "pro-domain" portion of the molecule, resulting in the active COOH-terminal dimer. Myostatin binds to the activin type II receptor, resulting in a recruitment of either coreceptor Alk-3 or Alk-4. This coreceptor then initiates a cell signaling cascade in the muscle that includes the activation of transcription factors in the SMAD family—SMAD2 and SMAD3. These factors then induce myostatin-specific gene regulation. When applied to myoblasts, myostatin inhibits their proliferation and either initiates differentiation or stimulates quiescence.


title: Myostatin

text: In mature muscle, myostatin inhibits Akt, a kinase that is sufficient to cause muscle hypertrophy, in part through the activation of protein synthesis while stimulating the production of ubiquitin ligases, proteins that regulate muscle protein breakdown. However, Akt is not responsible for all of the observed muscle hyperthrophic effects, which are mediated by myostatin inhibition. Thus myostatin acts in two ways: by inhibiting Akt-induced protein synthesis and stimulating ubiquitin-regulated protein degradation.


title: Myostatin

text: Many different mammalian and avian species produce myostatin, indicating that the ability to produce myostatin was positively selected for. According to some researchers, this is most likely because muscle building and maintenance are biologically expensive processes that require relatively large amounts of energy and nutrients that may not always be abundant, or that could be more useful somewhere else, such as the brain. Having excessive muscle would also negatively affect speed and stamina, as it would require more energy to move at fast speeds for longer periods of time.


title: Myostatin

text: Mutations in myostatin do more than just affect the amount of muscle mass an organism can produce; they also have variable effects on other phenotypes for different species.For example, a Belgian Blue bovine with a mutation that inhibits myostatin production will exhibit a dramatic increase in muscle mass but will also lead to dystocia. Other species with myostatin deficiency mutation such as humans or Whippet dogs do not get obstructed labor.


title: Myostatin

text: After the discovery of the gene encoding myostatin 1997, several laboratories cloned and established the nucleotide sequence of a myostatin gene in two breeds of cattle, Belgian Blue and Piedmontese. They found mutations in the myostatin gene (various mutations in each breed) which in one way or another lead to absence of functional myostatin. Unlike mice with a damaged myostatin gene, in these cattle breeds, muscle cells multiply rather than enlarge. People describe these cattle breeds as "double-muscled", but the total increase in all muscles is no more than 40%.


title: Myostatin

text: Animals lacking myostatin or animals treated with substances such as follistatin that block the binding of myostatin to its receptor have significantly larger muscles. Thus, reduction of myostatin could potentially benefit the livestock industry, with even a 20 percent reduction in myostatin levels potentially having a large effect on the development of muscles.


title: Myostatin

text: However, the animal breeds developed as homozygous for myostatin deficiency have reproduction issues due to their unusually heavy and bulky offspring, and require special care and a more expensive diet to achieve a superior yield. This negatively affects economics of myostatin-deficient breeds to the point where they do not usually offer an obvious advantage. While hypertrophic meat (e.g. from Piedmontese beef) has a place on the specialist market due to its high palatability and tenderness, at least for purebred myostatin-deficient strains the expenses and (especially in cattle) necessity of veterinary supervision place them at a disadvantage in the bulk market.


title: Myostatin

text: Whippets can have a mutation of the myostatin which involves a two-base-pair deletion, and results in a truncated, and likely inactive, myostatin protein.


title: Myostatin

text: Animals with a homozygous deletion have an unusual body shape, with a broader head, pronounced overbite, shorter legs, and thicker tails, and are called "bully whippets" by the breeding community. Although significantly more muscular, they are less able runners than other whippets. However, whippets that were heterozygous for the mutation were significantly over-represented in the top racing classes.


title: Myostatin

text: Mice that produce large amounts of myostatin exhibit a significant loss of skeletal muscle and body fat compared to normal mice. Comparatively, mice that produced decreased levels of myostatin had more muscle mass, less adipose tissue, and were double the size of wild type mice.


title: Myostatin

text: In 2016, the CRISPR/Cas9 system was used to genetically engineer rabbits and goats with no functional copies of the myostatin gene. In both cases the resulting animals were significantly more muscular. However, rabbits without myostatin also exhibited an enlarged tongue, a higher rate of still births, and a reduced lifespan.


title: Myostatin

text: A South Korean-Chinese team has engineered "double muscle" pigs, as with cattle, aiming for cheaper breeds for the meat market. Similar health problems have resulted as with other mammals, such as birthing difficulties due to excessive size.


title: Myostatin

text: Myostatin-disabled red sea breams grow to 1.2 the natural average size with the same amount of food and are sold as food in Japan by a startup.


title: Myostatin

text: A technique for detecting mutations in myostatin variants has been developed. Mutations that reduce the production of functional myostatin lead to an overgrowth of muscle tissue. Myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy has an incomplete autosomal dominance pattern of inheritance. People with a mutation in both copies of the "MSTN" gene in each cell (homozygotes) have significantly increased muscle mass and strength. People with a mutation in one copy of the "MSTN" gene in each cell (heterozygotes) have increased muscle bulk, but to a lesser degree.


title: Myostatin

text: In 2004, a German boy was diagnosed with a mutation in both copies of the myostatin-producing gene, making him considerably stronger than his peers. His mother has a mutation in one copy of the gene.


title: Myostatin

text: An American boy born in 2005 was diagnosed with a clinically similar condition, but with a somewhat different cause: his body produces a normal level of functional myostatin, but because he is stronger and more muscular than most others his age, a defect in his myostatin receptors is thought to prevent his muscle cells from responding normally to myostatin. He appeared on the television show "World's Strongest Toddler".


title: Myostatin

text: Further research into myostatin and the myostatin gene may lead to therapies for muscular dystrophy. The idea is to introduce substances that block myostatin. A monoclonal antibody specific to myostatin increases muscle mass in mice and monkeys.


title: Myostatin

text: A two-week treatment of normal mice with soluble activin type IIB receptor, a molecule that is normally attached to cells and binds to myostatin, leads to a significantly increased muscle mass (up to 60%). It is thought that binding of myostatin to the soluble activin receptor prevents it from interacting with the cell-bound receptors. In September 2020 scientists reported that suppressing activin type 2 receptors-signalling proteins myostatin and activin A via activin A/myostatin inhibitor ACVR2B – tested preliminarily in humans in the form of ACE-031 in the early 2010s – can protect against both muscle and bone loss in mice. The mice were sent to the International Space Station and could largely maintain their muscle weights – about twice those of wild type due to genetic engineering for targeted deletion of the myostatin gene – under microgravity.


title: Myostatin

text: Treating progeric mice with soluble activin receptor type IIB before the onset of premature ageing signs appear to protects against muscle loss and delay age related signs in other organs.


title: Myostatin

text: It remains unclear as to whether long-term treatment of muscular dystrophy with myostatin inhibitors is beneficial, as the depletion of muscle stem cells could worsen the disease later on. , no myostatin-inhibiting drugs for humans are on the market. An antibody genetically engineered to neutralize myostatin, stamulumab, which was under development by pharmaceutical company Wyeth, is no longer under development. Some athletes, eager to get their hands on such drugs, turn to the internet where fake "myostatin blockers" are being sold.


title: Myostatin

text: Inhibition of myostatin leads to muscle hyperplasia and hypertrophy. Myostatin inhibitors can improve athletic performance and therefore there is a concern these inhibitors might be abused in the field of sports. However, studies in mice suggest that myostatin inhibition does not directly increase the strength of individual muscle fibers. Myostatin inhibitors are specifically banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). In an August 12, 2012, interview with NPR, Carlon Colker stated "when the myostatin inhibitors come along, they'll be abused. There's no question in my mind."


title: Myostatin

text: Myostatin expression is decreased in physically active individuals, while obesity is linked to having a higher level myostatin as well as plasma in circulation.


title: Myostatin

text: Due to myostatin's ability to inhibit muscle growth, it can indirectly inhibit bone formation by decreasing the load on the bone. It has a direct signalling effect on bone formation as well as degradation. Knockdown of myostatin has been shown to reduce formation of osteoclasts (multinucleated cells responsible for the breakdown of bone tissue) in mice modeling rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder that, among other effects, leads to the degradation of the bone tissue in affected joints. Myostatin has not, however, been shown to be solely sufficient for the formation of mature osteoclasts from macrophages, only an enhancer.


title: Myostatin

text: Myostatin expression is increased around the site of a fracture. Suppression of myostatin at the fracture site leads to increased callus and overall bone size, further supporting the inhibitory effect of myostatin on bone formation. One study by Berno Dankbar et al., 2015 found that myostatin deficiency leads to a notable reduction in inflammation around a fracture site. Myostatin affects osteoclastogenesis by binding to receptors on osteoclastic macrophages and causing a signalling cascade. The downstream signalling cascade enhances the expression of RANKL-dependent integrin αvβ3, DC-STAMP, calcitonin receptors, and NFATc1 (which is part of the initial intracellular complex that starts the signaling cascade, along with R-Smad2 and ALK4 or ALK5).


title: Myostatin

text: An association between osteoporosis, another disease characterized by the degradation of bony tissue, and sarcopenia, the age-related degeneration of muscle mass and quality have also been found. Whether this link is a result of direct regulation or a secondary effect through muscle mass is not known.


title: Myostatin

text: A link in mice between the concentration of myostatin in the prenatal environment and the strength of offspring's bones, partially counteracting the effects of osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease) has been found. Osteogenesis imperfecta is due to a mutation that causes the production of abnormal Type I collagen. Mice with defective myostatin were created by replacing sequences coding for the C-terminal region of myostatin with a neomycin cassette, rendering the protein nonfunctional. By crossbreeding mice with the abnormal Type I collagen and those with the knockout myostatin, the offspring had "a 15% increase in torsional ultimate strength, a 29% increase in tensile strength, and a 24% increase in energy to failure" of their femurs as compared to the other mice with osteogenesis imperfecta, showing the positive effects of decreased myostatin on bone strength and formation.


title: Myostatin

text: Myostatin is expressed at very low levels in cardiac myocytes. Although its presence has been noted in cardiomyocytes of both fetal and adult mice, its physiological function remains uncertain. However, it has been suggested that fetal cardiac myostatin may play a role in early heart development.


title: Myostatin

text: Myostatin is produced as promyostatin, a precursor protein kept inactive by the latent TGF-β binding protein 3 (LTBP3). Pathological cardiac stress promotes N-terminal cleavage by furin convertase to create a biologically active C-terminal fragment. The mature myostatin is then segregated from the latent complex via proteolytic cleavage by BMP-1 and tolloid metalloproteinases. Free myostatin is able to bind its receptor, ActRIIB, and increase SMAD2/3 phosphorylation. The latter produces a heteromeric complex with SMAD4, inducing myostatin translocation into the cardiomyocyte nucleus to modulate transcription factor activity. Manipulating the muscle creatinine kinase promoter can modulate myostatin expression, although it has only been observed in male mice thus far.


title: Myostatin

text: Myostatin may inhibit cardiomyocyte proliferation and differentiation by manipulating cell cycle progression. This argument is supported by the fact that myostatin mRNA is poorly expressed in proliferating fetal cardiomyocytes. "In vitro "studies indicate that myostatin promotes SMAD2 phosphorylation to inhibit cardiomyocyte proliferation. Furthermore, myostatin has been shown to directly prevent cell cycle G1 to S phase transition by decreasing levels of cyclin-dependent kinase complex 2 (CDK2) and by increasing p21 levels.


title: Myostatin

text: Growth of cardiomyocytes may also be hindered by myostatin-regulated inhibition of protein kinase p38 and the serine-threonine protein kinase Akt, which typically promote cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. However, increased myostatin activity only occurs in response to specific stimuli, such as in pressure stress models, in which cardiac myostatin induces whole-body muscular atrophy.


title: Myostatin

text: Physiologically, minimal amounts of cardiac myostatin are secreted from the myocardium into serum, having a limited effect on muscle growth. However, increases in cardiac myostatin can increase its serum concentration, which may cause skeletal muscle atrophy. Pathological states that increase cardiac stress and promote heart failure can induce a rise in both cardiac myostatin mRNA and protein levels within the heart. In ischemic or dilated cardiomyopathy, increased levels of myostatin mRNA have been detected within the left ventricle.


title: Myostatin

text: As a member of the TGF-β family, myostatin may play a role in post-infarct recovery. It has been hypothesized that hypertrophy of the heart induces an increase in myostatin as a negative feedback mechanism in an attempt to limit further myocyte growth. This process includes mitogen-activated protein kinases and binding of the MEF2 transcription factor within the promoter region of the myostatin gene. Increases in myostatin levels during chronic heart failure have been shown to cause cardiac cachexia. Systemic inhibition of cardiac myostatin with the JA-16 antibody maintains overall muscle weight in experimental models with pre-existing heart failure.


title: Myostatin

text: Myostatin also alters excitation-contraction (EC) coupling within the heart. A reduction in cardiac myostatin induces eccentric hypertrophy of the heart, and increases its sensitivity to beta-adrenergic stimuli by enhancing Ca release from the SR during EC coupling. Also, phospholamban phosphorylation is increased in myostatin-knockout mice, leading to an increase in Ca release into the cytosol during systole. Therefore, minimizing cardiac myostatin may improve cardiac output.


title: Amber Portwood

text: Amber Leann Portwood is an American reality television personality and convicted criminal. From Anderson, Indiana, she is known for being cast in the reality television series "16 and Pregnant" in 2009, which documented the pregnancies and first months of motherhood for several teenage girls. Portwood received particular public attention in 2010 where an episode documented Portwood's domestic violence against her partner, Gary Shirley, with Portwood eventually imprisoned for this and other crimes. She also went on to abuse her third partner Andrew Glennon.


title: Amber Portwood

text: Portwood was also cast in the spin-off series "Teen Mom", and appeared in each of its four seasons until its conclusion in 2012. In March 2015, Portwood, along with Maci McKinney, Catelynn Baltierra, and Farrah Abraham, returned to MTV for the fifth season of the show, renamed "Teen Mom OG".


title: Amber Portwood

text: Amber Leann Portwood is the daughter of Tonya and Shawn Edwin Portwood Sr. (1964–2014). She has a brother, Shawn Edwin Portwood Jr., a United States Army veteran, and a sister, Candace Portwood (1995–1996), who died in infancy. Portwood told the press that she had been neglected by her mother in her early teens, after her mother began having an affair. She attended Anderson High School, but dropped out after falling pregnant.


title: Amber Portwood

text: Portwood became pregnant by her then-boyfriend, Gary Shirley, in 2008 and, later that year, on November 12, at the age of 18, gave birth to their daughter, Leah Leann Shirley. Portwood and Shirley were engaged for a time but ultimately separated, with Shirley being granted full custody of Leah in December 2011. Shirley went onto wed Kristina Shirley (née Tinch, formerly Anderson), by whom he has a daughter, Emilee Grace Shirley, and became a police officer.


title: Amber Portwood

text: From 2014 until 2017, Portwood was engaged to Matt Baier, an amateur DJ she met through the social networking site Twitter.


title: Amber Portwood

text: Portwood fell pregnant a second time by her boyfriend, Andrew Glennon, in 2017 and Portwood gave birth to their son, James Andrew Glennon, on May 8, 2018.


title: Amber Portwood

text: MTV aired footage of Portwood's violent behaviour towards her child's father Gary Shirley, most notably a September 2010 broadcast showing an assault in which Shirley refused to physically defend himself and was injured. The MTV crew failed to intervene in Portwood's attacks and also failed to report the crimes to the police. An investigation from the police department of Anderson, Indiana, and that city's branch of the state Child Protective Services was later launched after the authorities were alerted by concerned viewers of the footage upon its broadcast, weeks after the incidents occurred.


title: Amber Portwood

text: The episode showed Portwood punching, slapping, and choking Shirley, she then kicked him in the back as he descended a set of stairs. The broadcast sparked hundreds of public complaints questioning Portwood's suitability to be a mother. Police searched Portwood's apartment, finding "evidence that requires further investigation," but would not specify what had been found at the time; it was later revealed that Portwood had been caught with a large quantity of marijuana and crack cocaine. On November 3, 2010, it was reported that Portwood agreed to allow Indiana CPS to monitor her for up to six months in exchange for CPS's allowing her to maintain custody of Leah.


title: Amber Portwood

text: On November 18, after an extensive investigation, Portwood was charged with three counts of domestic violence, two of them felonies, in connection with separate incidents of on-camera abuse of Shirley. The same day, MTV released a statement concerning the charges filed on Portwood: "We are cooperating with all parties and hope for a quick and fair resolution that allows everyone involved to move forward in a positive manner." On June 9, 2011, Portwood pleaded guilty to two felony counts of domestic battery and was given a two-year suspended sentence and two years' probation.


title: Amber Portwood

text: In December 2011, Portwood was arrested for the Class D felony of possession of a controlled substance and was later charged with violating her probation on her earlier domestic-violence charges by breaching conditions including behaving well in society, obtaining a GED certificate, completing six months of anger-management training, paying her probation fees, and setting up a $10,000 college fund for Leah. She was held without bond in Madison County Jail until her January 27, 2012, hearing on both charges, at which she entered a guilty plea and the court scheduled a sentencing hearing for February 6 of that year. On February 6, 2012, Portwood was given a five-year suspended sentence with the provision that all charges would be dropped if she went to and completed rehab.


title: Amber Portwood

text: In March 2012, Portwood failed to take a required drug test, violating the associated condition of her suspended sentence and putting herself in jeopardy of having the five-year suspended sentence reimposed. At the ensuing probation violation hearing, the judge in the case declined to reimpose any portion of the suspended sentence, instead requiring Amber to complete 30 days of daily drug tests. Portwood subsequently dropped out of her rehabilitation program and was charged with a third violation of her probation; in June 2012, the court reimposed Portwood's five-year sentence in its entirety.


title: Amber Portwood

text: On June 13, 2012, Portwood began serving her five-year sentence, during which she was expected to attend substance abuse classes and earn her GED.


title: Amber Portwood

text: On December 20, 2013, Portwood made an appearance on the talk show "Dr. Phil". She said that she had been released from jail early due to good behavior and now has her GED. Portwood also said that she was high on prescription and illegal medication for most episodes of "Teen Mom" and that she was sober with no intent of ever using again. Portwood said she was working on obtaining a joint custody agreement with her ex-boyfriend Gary Shirley and was trying to focus on being a good mom to her daughter. She also has established an organization to help teens stay off drugs.


title: Amber Portwood

text: On July 5, 2019, Portwood was arrested in Indianapolis, Indiana and charged with two counts of domestic battery and one count of criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, after she struck Glennon in the neck while Glennon held James in his arms, threatened to commit suicide by overdosing on clonazepam, and used a machete to attempt and break into the room where Glennon was hiding with their son. Portwood made bail the following day, after posting a bond of $2,000, and was released from jail. A restraining order was issued against Portwood, ordering she have no contact with Glennon. In October 2019, Portwood pleaded guilty to two felony charges of domestic battery and intimidation, and was sentenced to 906 days of probation. Should Portwood violate her probation she will be sentenced to five years' imprisonment. She must also take 26 weeks of parenting classes.


title: Billy Currington

text: William Matthew Currington (born November 19, 1973) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Mercury Records Nashville in 2003, he has released seven studio albums for the label: his self-titled debut (2003), "Doin' Somethin' Right" (2005), "Little Bit of Everything" (2008), "Enjoy Yourself" (2010), "We Are Tonight" (2013), "Summer Forever" (2015), and "Intuition" (2021).


title: Billy Currington

text: These six albums have produced 18 singles on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, including 11 number one hits: "Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right", "Good Directions", "People Are Crazy", "That's How Country Boys Roll", "Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer", "Let Me Down Easy", "Hey Girl", "We Are Tonight", "Don't It", "It Don't Hurt Like It Used To", and "Do I Make You Wanna". Currington has also charted as a duet partner on Shania Twain's single "Party for Two", and his own non-album single "Tangled Up", for a total of 20 top 40 hits.


title: Billy Currington

text: Setting a new record in August 2017 with his number-one single "Do I Make You Wanna", Currington is the only country music artist in US "Billboard" Country Airplay chart history to have a song in the number one spot gain an audience of nearly 9,500,000 over another country music artist's song in the number two spot.


title: Billy Currington

text: Billy Currington was born in Savannah, Georgia, raised in Rincon, Georgia, and currently lives in Savannah, Georgia. He has four sisters (Lexie, Ann, Kim, and Kellie) and two brothers (Charles and Jason).


title: Billy Currington

text: When he was a junior in Effingham County High School (Springfield, Georgia), Currington auditioned for a spot at Opryland, the renowned country music theme park located in Nashville. Failing the audition, after high school he moved to Nashville to pursue his career in country music. His first stint did not last too long, and he later sang for a bar named Cavalier Country Club in Georgia. In Nashville, Currington also worked for a concrete company, and as a personal trainer.


title: Billy Currington

text: One of the clients he worked with as a personal trainer led Currington to recording demo tapes, as well as writing songs. He eventually had cuts by George Strait, Tracy Byrd, and Marty Raybon. After almost being offered to join RCA Records, he signed to Mercury Records in 2003.


title: Billy Currington

text: Currington founded the Global South Relief organization which delivers supplies to those in need in Central American countries.


title: Billy Currington

text: Currington's self-titled debut album was released in September 2003. The album's first single was "Walk a Little Straighter". This song is about his relationship with his alcoholic stepfather, including a chorus that Currington wrote when he was just 12 years old. "Walk a Little Straighter" went to No.8 that year on the Hot Country Songs chart. Also, it allowed Currington to become a major country performer in Nashville. The second single from the album, "I Got a Feelin,' became the singer's first Top 5 on the US country charts, with a peak at No.5.


title: Billy Currington

text: He scored a third consecutive top 10 hit with Shania Twain in late 2004 with the song "Party for Two". The song was from Twain's "Greatest Hits" album and was released in two formats: a pop version with Mark McGrath as Twain's duet partner, and the country version, which featured Currington.


title: Billy Currington

text: In 2005, Currington released his second studio album "Doin' Somethin' Right", which peaked at No.2 on the Top Country Albums chart and at No.11 on the "Billboard" 200. This album produced his first number one hit with "Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right", followed by "Why, Why, Why" at No.13 and another number one hit with "Good Directions". Co-written by Capitol Records artist Luke Bryan, "Good Directions" was the No.2 country song of 2007 according to the "Billboard" Year-End charts. "Doin' Somethin' Right" was certified platinum by the RIAA. The album also featured "Lucille", a song that Currington covered from original artist Kenny Rogers.


title: Billy Currington

text: On July 19, 2007, Currington announced that he would cancel the rest of his tour dates for the year because of laryngitis. His 2007 single, "Tangled Up", peaked at No.30 in late 2007, and the release of his third studio album was delayed.


title: Billy Currington

text: He was absent from the charts for nearly a year before the release of his next single, "Don't", in mid-2008. That song was the first single from his third studio album, which was entitled "Little Bit of Everything". The album was released on October 14. Currington co-wrote five of the songs on it. "Don't" peaked at No.2 on the country charts in early 2009. "People Are Crazy", co-written by Bobby Braddock and Troy Jones, was released as the second single from the album in March 2009 and became his third number one hit in July 2009. The third single, "That's How Country Boys Roll", became his fourth number one hit in March 2010. The song was the first that Currington shared writing credit on to reach number one.


title: Billy Currington

text: On August 1, 2009, Currington suffered a concussion at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alberta after the stage on which he was performing collapsed during a massive wind storm that also injured the singer's bass guitarist and killed a spectator.


title: Billy Currington

text: In May 2010, Currington released his tenth single overall, "Pretty Good at Drinkin' Beer". That song hit No.1 in September. Also written by Troy Jones, it was the first single from his fourth studio album "Enjoy Yourself", which was released on September 21, 2010. The album's second single "Let Me Down Easy" was released on October 4, 2010, and reached No.1 in 2011. The third single "Love Done Gone", released to country radio on April 18, 2011, and reached No.11 later that year. Its fourth single "Like My Dog" released to country radio on October 10, 2011, and peaked at No.24 in 2012.


title: Billy Currington

text: Currington's fifth studio album, "We Are Tonight", was released on September 17, 2013. The album's first single, "Hey Girl", was released in March 2013. It peaked at number one on the Country Airplay chart in October of that year. The album's second single, the title track, was released on November 18, 2013. It also peaked at No.1 on the Country Airplay chart, this time in August 2014.


title: Billy Currington

text: Currington released a new single, the first from his sixth studio album, in late October 2014, titled "Don't It". The album, "Summer Forever", was released on June 2, 2015. The album's second single, "Drinkin' Town with a Football Problem", was released on June 8, 2015. "It Don't Hurt Like It Used To" was released on February 8, 2016, as the album's third single. It reached number one on Country Airplay in October 2016, remaining in that spot for two consecutive weeks. The album's fourth single, "Do I Make You Wanna", was released on November 21, 2016. The song reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in August 2017 and stayed there for three consecutive weeks, making it Currington's third number-one single from this album. "Wake Me Up", the album's fifth and final single, was released in September 2017.


title: Billy Currington

text: "Bring It On Over" was released to country radio on September 24, 2018. It debuted and peaked at No.29 on the "Billboard" Country Airplay charts. "Details" was released in 2019 and was also a minor top 40 hit on the same chart. The Stay Up 'Til the Sun Tour began on October 4, 2019, in Arizona and included nine concerts in total. He ended the tour in Florida.


title: Billy Currington

text: Currington's seventh studio album, "Intuition", was released on August 6, 2021. Currington co-wrote the album with producer Rob Persaud. It was a surprise release, in that it was not announced with advance warning and no new singles were released prior to the album to promote it, nor did it include either of his previous standalone singles. "Intuition" serves as a musical departure from his previous work as it was not marketed as a country album and instead drew inspirations from "synth pop, Eighties R&B, and tropical house".


title: Billy Currington

text: On April 24, 2013, the Chatham County, Georgia, Grand Jury indicted Currington on felony criminal charges of "abuse of an elder person by inflicting mental anguish" and "making terroristic threats". Both criminal charges stem from an incident involving boat captain Charles Harvey Ferrelle on April 15, 2013. The indictment alleged that Currington had made terrorist threats to Ferrelle. Currington was later released from a Georgia jail after posting $27,700 bond. If convicted, Currington could have faced a prison term of 1 to 5 years. Also, on April 26, 2013, as a result of negative press surrounding the indictment incident, the Charlotte Motor Speedway replaced Currington as a performer for its All Star pre-race entertainment. He entered a "not guilty" plea in August 2013.


title: Billy Currington

text: On September 25, 2013, Currington pleaded no contest to the abuse charge; the terroristic threats charge was dropped. Currington was sentenced to five years probation, a $1,000 fine, and anger management counseling; he is also required to have no contact with the boat captain.


title: Carmen Salinas

text: Carmen Salinas Lozano (5 October 1939 – 9 December 2021) was a Mexican actress, impressionist, comedian, politician, and theatre entrepreneur. She was associated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) during her later career as a politician.


title: Carmen Salinas

text: Salinas was born in 1939, the daughter of Jorge Perez Tejada Salinas and Carmen Lozano Viramontes. She made her television debut in 1964 under the direction of Ernesto Alonso, appearing in such shows as "La vecindad" (The Neighborhood), "La frontera" (The Border) and "El chofer" (The Chauffeur). She also appeared in plays, more than 110 movies, and 30 plus television shows. She worked alongside actors and producers including Denzel Washington (in "Man on Fire") and Juan Osorio. Salinas' other successful projects included her touring musical "Aventurera".


title: Carmen Salinas

text: In 1956, Salinas and Pedro Plascencia had a son, Pedro Plascencia Salinas. He composed music, including notable compositions for the Necaxa soccer club, and for Televisa's newscasts "Noticias ECO" and "24 Horas". Plascencia Salinas died of cancer on 19 April 1994.


title: Carmen Salinas

text: On 11 November 2021, Salinas suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, brought upon by hypertension, which caused her to lapse into a coma. Salinas never regained consciousness and died on 9 December 2021, at the age of 82 in Mexico City.


title: Carmen Salinas

text: In an interview conducted with "El Universal" in March 2015, Salinas declared that she "had been a "priísta" ever since [she] had the use of reason".


title: Carmen Salinas

text: In 2015, the PRI placed Salinas on its proportional representation list for election from the fourth electoral region, winning her a seat in the Chamber of Deputies for the LXIII Legislature of the Mexican Congress; Salinas served on the Gender Equality, Radio and Television, and Health Commissions. Salinas, who only completed primary school, had the lowest educational level of all the deputies in the legislature.


title: Vox populi

text: American television personality Steve Allen as the host of "The Tonight Show" further developed the "man on the street" interviews and audience-participation comedy breaks that have become commonplace on late-night TV. Usually the interviewees are shown in public places, and supposed to be giving spontaneous opinions in a chance encounter – unrehearsed persons, not selected in any way. As such, journalists almost always refer to them as the abbreviated "vox pop". In U.S. broadcast journalism it is often referred to as a man on the street interview or MOTS.


title: Vox populi

text: The results of such an interview are unpredictable at best, and therefore vox pop material is usually edited down very tightly. This presents difficulties of balance, in that the selection used ought to be, from the point of view of journalistic standards, a fair cross-section of opinions.


title: Vox populi

text: Although the two can be quite often confused, a vox pop is not a form of a survey. Each person is asked the same question; the aim is to get a variety of answers and opinions on any given subject. Journalists are usually instructed to approach a wide range of people to get varied answers from different points of view. The interviewees should be of various ages, sexes, classes and communities so that the diverse views and reactions of the general people will be known.


title: Vox populi

text: Generally, the vox pop question will be asked of different persons in different parts of streets or public places. But as an exception, in any specific topic or situation which is not concerned to general people, the question can be asked only in a specific group to know what the perception/reaction is of that group to the specific topic or issue; e.g., a question can be asked to a group of students about the quality of their education.


title: Vox populi

text: With increasing public familiarity with the term, several radio and television programs have been named "vox pop" in allusion to this practice.


title: Vox populi

text: An early reference to the expression is in a letter from Alcuin to Charlemagne in 798. The full quotation from Alcuin reads:


title: Vox populi

text: Of those who promoted the phrase and the idea, Archbishop of Canterbury Walter Reynolds brought charges against King Edward II in 1327 in a sermon "".


title: Toastmasters International

text: Toastmasters International (TI) is a US-headquartered nonprofit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of promoting communication, public speaking, and leadership.


title: Toastmasters International

text: The organization grew out of a single club founded by Ralph C. Smedley on October 22, 1924, at the YMCA in Santa Ana, California, United States. It originated as a set of classes with the aim of improving the communication skills of the young men under his charge. Toastmasters International was incorporated under Californian law on December 19, 1932.


title: Toastmasters International

text: The first international chapter was established in Vancouver, Canada, in 1932. The organization began admitting women in 1973.


title: Toastmasters International

text: Throughout its history, Toastmasters has served over four million people, and today the organization serves over 364,000 members in 145 countries, through its 16,200 member clubs. Toastmasters membership increased rapidly around the turn of the century, nearing 16,000 clubs worldwide by 2016.


title: Toastmasters International

text: Toastmasters International uses a local club-based structure, with an average club size of around 22 members. Meetings are held every week or every other week and usually in the evening, although some clubs meet in the morning or afternoon. Each club operates as a separate entity with a set of requirements leading to chartered status for them to be recognised as official Toastmasters clubs. Chartered status allows clubs to use the names, promotional material and programme of Toastmasters International.


title: Toastmasters International

text: Every meeting is based around a set of organized speeches. Speakers are given feedback, often by a more experienced member, who then gives an impromptu speech with constructive feedback based on their performance.


title: Toastmasters International

text: Part of meetings is devoted to Table Topics, which are impromptu speeches which are assigned on the spot by a Topicsmaster. The goal of this is to think on one's feet with minimal preparation. In some clubs attendees are then asked to vote on whom they thought gave the best speech.


title: Toastmasters International

text: Toastmasters International places a large emphasis on building the public speaking and leadership skills of its members. The current education system consists of eleven differing paths suited to their needs and requirements, based around "Public Speaking", "Interpersonal Communication", "Management", "Strategic Leadership", and "Confidence". Each path consists of 14 projects. Content consists of online and print materials, it being the first time in the organization’s history to provide modern technology in its programme. Content is available in English, French and German.


title: Toastmasters International

text: Toastmasters runs an international public speaking championship formally known as the Toastmasters International World Champion of Public Speaking, which is held annually at its International Convention in August. It started in 1938 and involves over 33,000 participants in 141 countries, making it the world's largest oratory contest. There is a six-month process of elimination to reach the semifinals; in 2018, there were 106 participants who made it that far. There are ten places in the final, and speeches are judged on content, gestures, organization, and style.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university, located in Bloomsbury, London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' Institute by its founder, Sir George Birkbeck, and its supporters, Jeremy Bentham, J. C. Hobhouse and Henry Brougham, Birkbeck is one of the few universities to specialise in evening higher education in the United Kingdom.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: Birkbeck's main building is based in the area of Bloomsbury in London Borough of Camden in Central London. Birkbeck offers over 200 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all lectures are given in the evening. Birkbeck's academic activities are organised into five constituent faculties which are subdivided into nineteen departments. Birkbeck, being part of the University of London, shares the university's academic standards and awards University of London degrees. In common with the other University of London colleges, Birkbeck has also secured its own independent degree awarding powers, which were confirmed by the Privy Council in July 2012. The quality of degrees awarded by Birkbeck was confirmed by the UK Quality Assurance Agency following institutional audits in 2005 and 2010.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: Birkbeck is a member of academic organisations such as the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the European University Association. The university is also a member of the Screen Studies Group, London. The university's Centre for Brain Function and Development was awarded The Queen's Anniversary Prize for its brain research in 2005.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: Birkbeck's alumni include five Nobel laureates, numerous political leaders, members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and a British prime minister.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: In 1823, Sir George Birkbeck, a physician and graduate of the University of Edinburgh and an early pioneer of adult education, founded the then "London Mechanics' Institute" at a meeting at the Crown and Anchor Tavern on the Strand. More than two thousand people attended. However the idea was not universally popular and some accused Birkbeck of "scattering the seeds of evil."


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: In 1825, two years later, the institute moved to the Southampton Buildings on Chancery Lane. In 1830, the first female students were admitted. In 1858, changes to the University of London's structure resulting in an opening up of access to the examinations for its degree. The Institute became the main provider of part-time university education.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: In 1885, Birkbeck moved to the Breams Building, on Fetter Lane, where it would remain for the next sixty-seven years.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: In 1907, Birkbeck's name was shortened to "Birkbeck College". In 1913, a review of the University of London (which had been restructured in 1900) successfully recommended that Birkbeck become a constituent college, although the outbreak of the First World War delayed this until 1920. The Royal Charter was granted in 1926.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: In 1921, the college's first female professor, Dame Helen Gwynne-Vaughan, began teaching botany. Other distinguished faculty in the inter-war years included Nikolaus Pevsner, J. D. Bernal, and Cyril Joad.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: During the Second World War, Birkbeck was the only central University of London college not to relocate out of the capital. In 1941, the library suffered a direct hit during The Blitz but teaching continued. During the war the college organised lunch time extramural lectures for the public given by, among others, Joad, Pevsner and Harold Nicolson.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: In 2002, the university was rebranded Birkbeck, University of London, having dropped the word "College" from its preferred name, but Birkbeck College, University of London remains its full legal name. In 2003, following a major redevelopment, its Malet Street building was reopened by the Chancellor of the University of London, The Princess Royal.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: In 2006, Birkbeck announced that it had been granted £5 million by the Higher Education Funding Council for England to expand its provision into east London, working with the University of East London. The partnership was formally launched on 21 November 2006 and is called Birkbeck Stratford.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: Birkbeck is the largest college of the University of London not to award its own degrees. Although it has held its own degree awarding powers since 2012, Birkbeck has chosen to hold these in reserve, preferring to award University of London degrees. It also offers many continuing education courses leading to certificates and diplomas, foundation degrees, and short courses.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: In late October 2022, the University and College Union published a press release in which it announced that Birkbeck was allegedly planning to significantly reduce its staff due to a multi-million pound deficit, in a restructuring that could lead to compulsory redundancies. In the same release it was revealed that the local UCU branch had passed a motion of no confidence in the senior leadership team. Protests took place at the university in November 2022 at proposed job cuts.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: In 2022 "Birkbeck", a history of the University, was published by Oxford University Press to mark its 200 year history.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: In 1876, the London Society for the Extension of University Education was founded, boosting the aims of encouraging working people to undertake higher education. In 1988, the Department of Extra-Mural Studies of the University of London was incorporated into Birkbeck, becoming at first the Centre for Extramural Studies. In 1903, it became the Department of Extra-Mural Studies of the University of London and it was integrated into Birkbeck in 1988 as the School of Continuing Education. In 2009, the Faculty of Lifelong Learning was incorporated into the main College structure.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: Birkbeck is principally located between Malet Street and Woburn Square in Bloomsbury, with a number of institutes, teaching hospitals, and scientific laboratories on nearby streets. The Friends House is also partially owned by Birkbeck Law School. The School of Arts, including the Department of English & Humanities, is housed in Virginia Woolf's former Gordon Square residence in Bloomsbury. Other notable former residents of this house include John Maynard Keynes, Vanessa Bell, and Lydia Lopokova. The Gordon Square building includes the Birkbeck Cinema and the Peltz Gallery.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: Many Birkbeck classes are taught at other locations around the Bloomsbury area, due to a combination of Birkbeck's widening participation strategy to make higher education accessible and also because nearly all classes on one day are taught at the same time, resulting in heavy competition for limited space.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: Birkbeck expanded into east London, in conjunction with the University of East London. The project is known as Birkbeck Stratford. The campus officially opened in November 2013.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: In 2021, it was announced that Birkbeck will be leasing Student Central. The building is expected to open in 2024.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: The university consists of five schools that comprise a total of 19 diverse academic departments, which are:


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: The Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities (BIR) was established in 2004, with the renowned but controversial Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek appointed as International Director. According to its website, the Institute aims to, among other things, "engage with important public issues of our time through a series of open debates, lectures, seminars and conferences" and "foster and promote a climate of interdisciplinary research and collaboration among academics and researchers". The launch of the Institute wasn't without controversy, provoking an article in "The Observer" newspaper titled "What have intellectuals ever done for the world?" which criticised the ostensible irrelevance and elitism of contemporary public intellectuals. The current director of the institute is Costas Douzinas.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: 2004 also saw Birkbeck enter into a research and teaching collaboration with the Institute of Education, jointly founding the London Knowledge Lab. This interdisciplinary research institute brings together social scientists and computer scientists to address research questions about technology and learning.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: Meanwhile, the London Consortium graduate school — a collaboration between Birkbeck, the Tate Galleries, the Institute of Contemporary Arts, the Architectural Association, and, until 1999, the British Film Institute – has been running since the mid-1990s, offering masters and doctoral degrees in the interdisciplinary humanities and cultural studies, resourced and jointly taught by all the participating institutions. Its permanent and adjunct faculty include figures such as Tom McCarthy, Colin MacCabe, Laura Mulvey, Steven Connor, Marina Warner, Juliet Mitchell, Stuart Hall, Roger Scruton, Salman Rushdie, Tilda Swinton as well as Slavoj Žižek. Its current chair is Anthony Julius.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: Since 2003, when David Latchman of UCL became Master of the Birkbeck, he has forged closer relations between these two University of London colleges, and personally maintains departments at both. Joint research centres include the UCL/Birkbeck Institute for Earth and Planetary Sciences, UCL/Birkbeck/IoE Centre for Educational Neuroscience, UCL/Birkbeck Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, and Birkbeck-UCL Centre for Neuroimaging.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: Science research at Birkbeck has a notable tradition. Physicist David Bohm who made notable contributions to the theory of Quantum mechanics was professor of Theoretical Physics from 1961 to 1987, Nobel Laureates Aaron Klug at the Department of crystallography, Derek Barton at the Department of Chemistry together with eminent physicist Roger Penrose and David Bohm at the Department of Physics. Computer scientist Kathleen Booth wrote the first assembly language. Birkbeck is part of the Institute of Structural Molecular Biology, which includes the Bloomsbury Centre for Structural biology, established in 1998. This is a collaborative venture between Birkbeck College and University College London and is a leading academic centre for translating gene sequences and determining protein structure and function. It also includes the Bloomsbury Centre for Bioinformatics, a collaborative venture also between Birkbeck College and University College London for research into Bioinformatics, Genomics, Systems Biology, Grid computing and Text mining.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: Birkbeck was ranked 13th in "The Guardian's" 2001 Research Assessment Exercise and 26th in the "Times Higher Education's" equivalent table. In the 2008 RAE results, Birkbeck ranked in the top 25% of UK multi-faculty Higher Education Institutions. The RAE rated the quality of research in a range of subjects at 159 Higher Education Institutions in the UK. Birkbeck submissions from Earth Sciences, Psychology, History, Classics and Archaeology and History of Art, Film and Visual Media were rated in the top five nationally. In REF2014, half of Birkbeck's submissions were rated in the top 20 nationally, and eight submissions received 100% ranking for Research Environment. 73% of Birkbeck's research was rated "world-leading" (4*) or "internationally excellent" (3*). In the #REF2021 exercise, Birkbeck performed very well throughout, with notable success in English Language & Literature, where Birkbeck was second nationally, and Art and Design, where Birkbeck was fourth nationally.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: Birkbeck's Centre for Brain Function and Development was awarded The Queen's Anniversary Prize for its brain research in 2005. In 2010, Birkbeck was shortlisted for the "Times Higher Education" University of the Year Award.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: In 2021, the "Times Higher Education World University Rankings" ranked Birkbeck 95th in the world for Psychology. The university is constantly ranked in the top 100 in the world by "QS World University Rankings" for English Language & Literature and Philosophy. Internationally, Birkbeck is ranked within the top 350 universities in the world by the "Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020" and "QS World University Rankings 2020."


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: In 2018, Birkbeck announced that it will withdraw from UK university rankings because their methodologies unfairly penalise it, since "despite having highly-rated teaching and research, other factors caused by its unique teaching model and unrelated to its performance push it significantly down the ratings".


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: The Birkbeck Students' Union (BBKSU) was founded in 1904 and was one of the founding members of the National Union of Students.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: Initially governed by a Council, elected from and responsible to the students, today it is governed jointly by a Student Council, Executive Committee and Board of Trustees.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: Students initially paid an annual membership fee to join, but students are now automatically registered as members when they enrol onto a course at the college.


title: Birkbeck, University of London

text: Birkbeck Students' Union offers a number of student groups for students, as well as a various sports clubs that compete in the LUSL. It also provides student representation, support and advice services, as well as volunteer and employment opportunities.


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France (Honore Bonnet) and the USA (Bob Beattie). It was soon backed by International Ski Federation president Marc Hodler during the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1966 at Portillo, Chile, and became an official FIS event in the spring of 1967 after the FIS Congress at Beirut, Lebanon.


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: On January 5, 1967, the inaugural World Cup race was held in Berchtesgaden, West Germany, a slalom won by Heinrich Messner of Austria. Jean-Claude Killy of France and Nancy Greene of Canada were the overall winners for the first two seasons.


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: Competitors attempt to achieve the best time in four disciplines: slalom, giant slalom, super G, and downhill. The fifth event, the combined, employs the downhill and slalom. The World Cup originally included only slalom, giant slalom, and downhill races. Combined events (calculated using results from selected downhill and slalom races) were included starting with the 1974–75 season, while the Super G was added for the 1982–83 season.


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: The current scoring system was implemented in the 1991–92 season. For every race points are awarded to the top 30 finishers: 100 points to the winner, 80 for second, 60 for third, winding down to 1 point for 30th place. The racer with the most points at the end of the season in mid-March wins the Cup, with the trophy consisting of a 9 kilogram crystal globe. Sub-prizes are also awarded in each individual race discipline, with a smaller 3.5 kg crystal globe. (See the section on scoring system below for more information.)


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: The World Cup is held annually, and is considered the premier competition for alpine ski racing after the quadrennial Winter Olympics. Many consider the World Cup to be a more valuable title than the Olympics or the biennial World Championships, since it requires a competitor to ski at an extremely high level in several disciplines throughout the season, and not just in one race.


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: Races are hosted primarily at ski resorts in the Alps in Europe, with regular stops in Scandinavia, North America, and east Asia, but a few races have also been held in the Southern Hemisphere. World Cup competitions have been hosted in 25 countries around the world: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. (Note that all World Cup races hosted in Bosnia were held when it was still part of Yugoslavia.)


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: Combined crystal globe was officially awarded from 2007 to 2012. However, there are counted all season titles, both official and unofficial. The records for most World Cup titles in each discipline are as follows:


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: A common measurement of how good individual skiers are is the total number of World Cup races won during their skiing career. The following skiers have won at least 20 World Cup races:


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: Based on ski-database super ranking system (since 1966), this scoring system is calculated using points from three categories: Olympic Games, World Championships, and World Cup (overall titles, discipline titles and individual top 10 results).


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: Parallel slaloms from 1976 to 1991 counted for Nations Cup. Number of athletes are limitless. 32 in main competition. Qualifying introduced in 2017.


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: Parallel city event is a version of parallel slalom where only Top16 ranked are allowed to compete. Length of the track and course/gates setting are also different from classic parallel slalom, and as of 2019/20 season, they are completely replaced with normal parallel races with qualification run.


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: Introduced by the International Ski Federation to the World Cup as a spectator-friendly event in late 2015, the parallel giant slalom competition, or shortened parallel-G, joining the parallel slalom, is intended to lure more speed specialists into the faster of the two technical disciplines, along with attracting their fans to watch the races at the venue, on-line, and on television. The Federation has not indicated, as of early 2016, that they are fully committed to duplicating the effort, however, their long-term calendar shows that the plan is to return to Alta Badia twelve months after the inaugural event in December 2016, and then again, tentatively, through December 2018. Few venues offer the slope and conditions required to host an extremely short Giant Slalom course that can be readily viewed in its entirety by a compact gallery of fans. Modified or not, the Federation has not suggested that they will push the format to lower-level tours like the NorAm and Europa Cup.


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: The Chief Race Director of the inaugural event at Alta Badia, Markus Waldner, on 20 December 2015 stated that "great performances" and "head-to-head fights" between the best Giant Slalom racers is the goal of the competition. The course for the first race was very compact at about 20–22 seconds duration, or about one-third of a normal GS run, however, the pace and cadence will be the same as Giant Slalom, not standard Slalom. Gates were set at roughly the same distances as GS and on a slope of about the same pitch. The field of thirty-two were drawn following an "invitational" format. The top four men in the overall World Cup rankings were automatic invitees, if they chose to compete. Another sixteen racers were selected from the top of the current GS start list rankings, and the final twelve competitors were selected from the 1st run efforts at the standard GS event the day prior at the same venue. Overlapping qualifications allowed the sponsors to invite lower ranked participants to fill in gaps, as needed, and to replace individuals who declined to participate. Points were awarded and accumulated according to current standards for the race season in all relevant categories: the GS discipline, Overall and Nations Cup. The field was filled with thirty-two first round participants, each getting a run on either course. The best combined times moved the fastest racer to the second round through bracket preference protocols. From the second round, skiers the head-to-head competitions were held over one run only, with the faster skier from the previous round granted course selection between the 'red-right' or 'blue-left' course. At about one-third the time of a standard GS event, top performers/finalists were able to make multiple runs without the fatigue of a longer event. The course was methodically set with lasers, and a GPS-equipped Snowcat, to guarantee that both courses on the hill were as identical as possible to ensure equity and a fair competition. The Race Director suggested the difference between the two lanes were within "1–to–2 centimeters" tolerance of one another.


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: Only a few racers have ever managed to win races in all five classic World Cup alpine skiing disciplines during their career, as listed in the table below. Marc Girardelli (1988–89), Petra Kronberger (1990–91), Janica Kostelić (2005–06) and Tina Maze (2012–13) are the only skiers to have won all five events in a single season. Bode Miller is the only skier with at least five World Cup victories in all five disciplines.


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: The following skiers have won at least 10 World Cup races in a single season (events not available in a given season are marked by NA):


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: The World Cup scoring system is based on awarding a number of points for each place in a race, but the procedure for doing so and the often-arcane method used to calculate the annual champions has varied greatly over the years. Originally, points were awarded only to the top 10 finishers in each race, with 25 points for the winner, 20 for second, 15 for third, 11 for fourth, 8 for fifth, 6 for sixth, 4 for seventh, and then decreasing by 1 point for each lower place. To determine the winner for each discipline World Cup, only a racer's best 3 results would count, even though there would typically be 6–8 races in each discipline. For the overall Cup, the best three results in each discipline would be summed. Until 1970, also the results of Winter Olympic Games races and Alpine World Ski Championship races were included in the World Cup valuation (i.e. Grenoble 1968 and Val Gardena 1970); this was abandoned after 1970, mainly due to the limited number of racers per nation who are admitted to take part in these events. For the 1971–72 season, the number of results counted was increased to 5 in each discipline. The formula used to determine the overall winner varied almost every year over the next decade, with some seasons divided into two portions with a fixed number of results in each period counting towards the overall, while in other seasons the best 3 or 4 results in each discipline would count.


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: Starting with the 1979–80 season, points were awarded to the top 15 finishers in each race. After 1980–81, the formula for the overall title stabilized for several years, counting the best 5 results in the original disciplines (slalom, giant slalom, and downhill) plus the best 3 results in combined. When Super G events were introduced for the 1982–83 season, the results were included with giant slalom for the first three seasons, before a separate discipline Cup was awarded starting in 1985–86 and the top 3 Super G results were counted towards the overall. The formula for the overall was changed yet again the following season, with the top 4 results in each discipline counting, along with all combined results (although the combined was nearly eliminated from the schedule, reduced to only 1 or 2 events per season).


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: This perennial tweaking of the scoring formula was a source of ongoing uncertainty to the World Cup racers and to fans. The need for a complete overhaul of the scoring system had grown increasingly urgent with each successive year, and in 1987–88 the FIS decided to fully simplify the system: all results would now count in each discipline and in the overall. This new system was an immediate success, and the practice of counting all results has been maintained in every subsequent season. With the ongoing expansion of the number and quality of competitors in World Cup races over the years, a major change to the scoring system was implemented in the 1991–92 season. The top 30 finishers in each race would now earn points, with 100 for the winner, 80 for second, 60 for third, and then decreasing by smaller increments for each lower place. The point values were adjusted slightly the following season (to reduce the points for places 4th through 20th), and the scoring system has not been changed again since that year. The table below compares the point values under all five scoring systems which have been in use:


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: Since the Top 30 scoring system was implemented in 1991–92., the number of completed men's or women's World Cup races each year has ranged from 30 to 44, so the maximum possible point total for an individual racer is about 3000–4400 under the current scoring system. However, very few racers actually ski in all events; for example, Bode Miller was "the only skier to have competed in every World Cup race" during the three seasons from 2003–2005. The current record for total World Cup points in a season is Tina Maze's 2414 points in 2012–13, with the men's record of 2000 points set by Hermann Maier in 1999–2000. The fewest points for an overall champion under the current system thus far have been 1009 for men by Aksel Lund Svindal in 2008–09 and 1248 for women by Vreni Schneider in 1994–95. The largest margin of victory in the overall has been Maze's 1313 points in 2012–13, more than doubling second-place finisher Maria Höfl-Riesch's total, while the largest men's margin was 743 points by Hermann Maier in 2000–01. Note that in the early days of World Cup (when the first place was awarded only 25 points), even larger relative margins of victory were recorded in 1967 by Jean-Claude Killy with 225 points over Heinrich Messner with 114 points and in 1973–74 by Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 268 points over Monika Kaserer with 153 points. The closest finishes since 1992 have been minuscule margins of 6 points in 1994–95 (Vreni Schneider over Katja Seizinger), 3 points in 2004–05 (Anja Pärson over Janica Kostelić) and in 2010–11 (Maria Riesch over Lindsey Vonn), and only 2 points in 2008–09 (Aksel Lund Svindal over Benjamin Raich). The current men's record for total World Cup points in one month of the season is Ivica Kostelić's 999 points from January 2011.


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: The tables below contain a brief statistical analysis of the overall World Cup standings during the 21 seasons since the Top 30 scoring system was implemented in 1991–92. In general, over 1000 points are needed to contend for the overall title. At least 1 man and 1 woman has scored 1000 points in each of these seasons, but no more than 5 men's or women's racers have crossed that threshold in any single season. Of the 42 men's and women's overall champions in these years, 38 scored over 1200 points, 30 had over 1300 points, 19 reached 1500 points, and only 7 amassed more than 1700 points during their winning seasons. As for the runners-up, 37 of the 42 second-place finishers scored over 1000 points, 18 had over 1300 points, and only 4 reached 1500 points yet failed to win. Most overall titles have been won quite convincingly, by more than 200 points in 23 of 42 cases, while only 11 margins of victory have been tighter than 50 points.


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: Since 1993 the International Ski Federation (FIS) has hosted a World Cup Final at the end of each season in March. During five days, men's and women's races are held in four disciplines: slalom, giant slalom, Super G, and downhill, as well as a team event. Only a limited number of racers are invited to ski at the Finals, including the top 25 in the World Cup standings in each discipline, the current junior World Champions in each discipline, and any skiers with at least 500 points in the general classification. Because of the smaller field, World Cup points are only awarded to the top 15 finishers in each race.


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: The table below lists those nations which have won at least one World Cup race (current as of 19 December 2022).


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: "Individual race wins are counted in this table, along with the nations team events held at World Cup Finals since 2006 (counts double as both men & women in mixed competition contribute to a win). The "parallel race" is a head-to-head slalom race format used occasionally from the 1970s through 1990s, and again in 2011. Team event wins are doubled (because on one team event race competed both women and men; so it's counted separately each for women and men). Results for West Germany and Germany are counted together in this table. All of Yugoslavia's wins are currently lumped in with Slovenia, since the skiers who won races for former Yugoslavia were all Slovenes from Slovenia (one of six Yugoslav Republics), and thus are listed under Slovenia in online databases. The Soviet Union and Russia are counted separately, as are Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic."


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: A total of 24 countries have won World Cup races, with 19 countries winning men's races and 20 winning women's races. As expected, the top 10 nations in this list are the same as the 10 nations listed in the Nations Cup summary table (with slight changes in order).


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: Some interesting facts can be found in the data: Marc Girardelli accounted for all of Luxembourg's 46 wins, while Janica Kostelić has 30 of Croatia's 56 and her brother Ivica has the rest. Ingemar Stenmark still has nearly one-half of Sweden's 192 wins more than two decades after his retirement. Some nations specialize in either speed (downhill and Super G) or technical (slalom and GS) disciplines, while others are strong across the board. Among nations with 30+ wins, the Canadian team has won 73% of its races in speed events, while Yugoslavia/Slovenia has won 84% and Sweden 86% of their races in technical events, especially notable in Sweden's case given its large number of wins. Several nations with under 30 wins have 100% of them in technical events, led by Finland and Spain. In contrast Germany and Norway have the most even distribution without disproportionate strength or weakness in any one discipline. Some nations have strong teams in only one gender, as 92% of Norway's wins have come from their men and 83% of Germany's from their women, while the Swiss, French and Canadian totals are split almost equally.


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: The Nations Cup standings are calculated by adding up all points each season for all racers from a given nation.


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: The total number of top-three placings for each nation in the Nations Cup (through the 2021–22 season) are summarized below:


title: FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

text: Since 1967, the big crystal globe has been awarded for the overall title. From the beginning to 1971–72, discipline titles were awarded with medals. Statistically, those titles have the same value as the small crystal globes, which first appeared for discipline titles in slalom, giant slalom and downhill in the 1977–78. In super-G, the small globe has been awarded since 1985–86. For super-g races in the three seasons previous, points were added and calculated in the giant slalom ranking. In combined, the small crystal globe was officially awarded only between 2007-2012. Before that, combined season winners could not officially be considered as season titles. In those years FIS simply calculated points from the other two races, DH and SL.


title: Dark horse

text: A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might.


title: Dark horse

text: The term began as horse racing parlance for a race horse that is unknown to gamblers and thus difficult to establish betting odds for.


title: Dark horse

text: The first known mention of the concept is in Benjamin Disraeli's novel "The Young Duke" (1831). Disraeli's protagonist, the Duke of St. James, attends a horse race with a surprise finish: "A dark horse which had never been thought of, and which the careless St. James had never even observed in the list, rushed past the grandstand in sweeping triumph."


title: Dark horse

text: The concept has been used in political contexts in such countries as Iran, Philippines, Russia, Egypt, Finland, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.


title: Dark horse

text: Politically, the concept came to the United States in the nineteenth century when it was first applied to James K. Polk, a relatively unknown Tennessee politician who won the Democratic Party's 1844 presidential nomination over a host of better-known candidates. Polk won the nomination on the ninth ballot at his party's national nominating convention, and went on to become the country's eleventh president.


title: Dark horse

text: Perhaps the two most famous unsuccessful dark horse presidential candidates in American history are Democrat William Jennings Bryan, a three-term congressman from Nebraska nominated on the fifth ballot after impressing the 1896 Democratic National Convention with his famous Cross of Gold speech (Bryan would go on to receive the Democratic presidential nomination twice more and serve as United States Secretary of State), and Republican businessman Wendell Willkie, who was nominated on the sixth ballot at the 1940 Republican National Convention despite never having previously held government office and having only joined the party in 1939. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders is another classic example of a dark horse candidate, whose grassroots campaign in the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries came much closer than initially expected to toppling front-runner Hillary Clinton for the party's presidential nomination.


title: Dark horse

text: In addition, surprising or unlikely nominations for such prizes as the Academy Award (awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) are referred to as dark horses.


title: Dark horse

text: Guitarist and singer-songwriter George Harrison was nicknamed the "dark horse" of The Beatles, as his visibility as a songwriter and vocalist increased later in the Beatles' career, particularly on "Abbey Road". Harrison went on to name his solo label Dark Horse Records and release both an album and a song titled "Dark Horse.”


title: Dark horse

text: Switchfoot's song "Dark Horses" was inspired by an organization called StandUp for Kids, which aids homeless and street children (the "Dark Horses") across America.


title: Dark horse

text: The 24th chapter of Mark Helprin's novel "Winter's Tale" is called 'White Horse and Dark Horse,' referring to the character of Praeger de Pinto as an outlier candidate for the Mayor of New York City.


title: Dark horse

text: Todd Solondz' 2011 drama film "Dark Horse", whose protagonist is implied by the character's father to be "Dad's Dark Horse" in broader terms.


title: Dark horse

text: In 2013, a song by Katy Perry titled "Dark Horse" was featured on her fourth studio album "Prism". It was the third single released from the album and topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks.


title: Dark horse

text: The term has been used in sport to describe teams and athletes who unexpectedly outperformed their expectations in a competition. Examples include the Los Angeles Kings during the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs (who placed 1st despite being an 8th-seed entry into the playoffs; the first and only team to ever achieve such a feat), Croatia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup (who placed 2nd despite being ranked 20th in the FIFA World Rankings) and Morocco at the 2022 FIFA World Cup (who placed 4th despite being ranked 23rd in the FIFA World Rankings) .


title: Sort code

text: Sort codes are the domestic bank codes used to route money transfers between financial institutions in the United Kingdom, and in the Republic of Ireland. They are six-digit hierarchical numerical addresses that specify clearing banks, clearing systems, regions, large financial institutions, groups of financial institutions and ultimately resolve to individual branches. In the UK they continue to be used to route transactions domestically within clearance organisations and to identify accounts, while in the Republic of Ireland (a founder member of the Euro) they have been deprecated and replaced by the SEPA systems and infrastructure.


title: Sort code

text: Sort codes for Northern Ireland branches of banks (codes beginning with a '9') were registered with the Irish Payment Services Organisation (IPSO) for both Northern Ireland and the Republic. These codes are used in the British clearing system and historically in the Irish system.


title: Sort code

text: The sort code is usually formatted as three pairs of numbers, for example 12-34-56. It identifies both the bank (in the first digit or the first two digits) and the branch where the account is held. Sort codes are encoded into IBANs but are not encoded into BICs.


title: Sort code

text: Codes began to be used in the early 20th century to facilitate the manual processing of cheques. Known as a 'national code', these had between three and five digits.


title: Sort code

text: The eleven London clearing banks were each allocated a main number, with the "big five" (and the Bank of England) allocated single-digit numbers alphabetically. Lloyds Bank, for example, was allocated 3 and National Provincial was allocated 5. The remaining single digit codes were used to indicate that a cheque was from outside the London clearing system. The smaller clearing banks were allocated two-digit numbers, for example Martins was allocated 11.


title: Sort code

text: The bank branches were allocated further digits by their bank to make up the entire number; some banks represented these on cheques in smaller type. Main clearing branches (usually major London branches) would have only one digit after the main number, e.g. 11. Metropolitan branches (which covered Greater London) had two digits after the main number, e.g. 11. Country branches made up the rest of the country, and used three or more digits after the main number, e.g. 11. They were displayed on cheques in this fashion, with the bank identifier taking precedence.


title: Sort code

text: Six-digit "sorting codes" were introduced in a staggered process from 1957 as the banking industry moved towards automation. The national codes were retained but where a single digit was used to identify the bank a two-digit range was introduced. So, for example, Barclays codes went from starting with a 2 to 20, Midland from 4 to 40, etc.


title: Sort code

text: In the United Kingdom the initial digits of bank sort codes were originally allocated to settlement members of the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company and the Belfast Bankers' Clearing Company. Today, sort codes are issued to any organisation that will be a direct member of a UK electronic payment network (in addition to the cheque clearing systems, this includes BACS, Faster Payments and CHAPS). Non-standard sort codes are issued to payment service providers who need an IBAN, for example for SEPA, as the sort code forms part of this.


title: Sort code

text: The allocation of sort codes is managed by BACS. These numbers are six digits long, formatted into three pairs which are separated by hyphens.


title: Sort code

text: The cheque clearing system in the United Kingdom is managed by Pay.UK, following the merger of the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company, BACS and Faster Payments Ltd in 2018. Since August 2019, sterling cheque clearing has been through the Image Clearing System.


title: Sort code

text: In the following list the dates in parentheses give the year of merger with the present-day sort code holder, or its subsidiary.


title: Sort code

text: The clearing system in Northern Ireland was operated under the Belfast Clearing Rules which were agreed by the Belfast Bankers' Clearing Company (formerly the Belfast Bankers' Clearing Committee), until the introduction of the Image Clearing System managed by Pay.UK which was completed in August 2019. Sort codes in the 90 range are managed by the Irish Payment Services Organisation (IPSO).


title: Sort code

text: Sort codes are no longer directly used in the Republic of Ireland, although they still form part of the underlying structure of account numbers. As a part of the Eurozone, all aspects of the SEPA system are fully implemented and adhered to. This means that all domestic transactions, including Direct Debit and interbank transfers are processed using an IBAN through the SEPA system. The Irish electronic clearing systems, including those run by the Irish Retail Electronic Payments Clearing Company Ltd, which entered voluntary liquidation in late 2014, have been retired and replaced by SEPA. Domestic cheques continue to be processed by the Irish Paper Clearing Company CLG.


title: Sort code

text: Historically, the Irish banking system shared the sort code structure used in the UK, but operated as a separate system since the Irish pound broke the link with sterling in March 1979. Codes are issued by the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) which replaced IPSO in 2014.


title: Sort code

text: Note: A large number of lower volume users and smaller banks share the 99 XX XX code and there are at least three users of the 93 XX XX codes assigned primarily to AIB.


title: Sort code

text: This corresponds to the fictitious sort code: 97-99-99 and account: 12345678, prefixed by ISO Country code: IE, IBAN check digits 97 and Bank Identifier: BANK


title: Sort code

text: Numbers starting with a '7' (after the 1960s, '70') were reserved for the large number of London offices of banks which were not members of the London Clearing. Individual sort codes were allocated on a one-off basis to the many London offices of private and foreign banks. Cheques drawn on these banks were colloquially known within the banking industry as 'walks' because they were cleared by being hand-delivered ("walked") to the drawee banks by messengers from the Clearing House. By the 1990s, most of these banks had been issued with sort codes within the ranges of the various clearing banks which, from then on, acted as clearing agents for them; the practice of "walking" cheques was ended. For cheques drawn on banks that had not made such an arrangement, the cheques were posted to the drawee bank, who would settle them by a cheque drawn on a clearing bank.