title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: Four former senators, Jinggoy Estrada, Mar Roxas, Serge Osmeña, and Juan Ponce Enrile, lost in their bids to reenter the Senate.


title: 2019 Philippine Senate election

text: Controversial media portrayals of senatorial candidates before the start of campaign period (February 12, 2019):


title: Periorbital puffiness

text: Periorbital puffiness, also known as puffy eyes, or swelling around the eyes, is the appearance of swelling in the tissues around the eyes, called the orbits. It is almost exclusively caused by fluid buildup around the eyes, or periorbital edema. Minor puffiness usually detectable below the eyes only is often called eye bags. Such transient puffiness is distinct from the age related and gradual increase in the size of the fat pad lying below the lower eyelids (suborbicularis oculi fat – "SOOF") which can also be colloquially referred to as eye bags.


title: Periorbital puffiness

text: While some degree of puffiness may be normal for a given individual, factors such as age and fatigue may make the swelling more prominent. The periorbital tissues are most noticeably swollen immediately after waking, perhaps due to the gravitational redistribution of fluid in the horizontal position.


title: Periorbital puffiness

text: Puffy eyes are usually only a temporary cosmetic worry, but occasionally, individuals become concerned about the cosmetic effect of periorbital swelling and seek surgical correction. Severe and persistent puffiness may be a sign of other serious medical conditions.


title: Periorbital puffiness

text: For someone predisposed to eye puffiness, changes to diet and lifestyle (under the supervision of a physician) may be required to reduce the possibility of swelling.


title: Periorbital puffiness

text: A cold compress near the eye can act as a short-term remedy as cold temperature constricts blood vessels, preventing the flow of fluid into tissues and diminishing puffiness in the process.


title: Periorbital puffiness

text: Elevating the head while sleeping can prevent the gravitational redistribution of fluid that is associated with eye swelling. A low-carb diet can prevent eye puffiness by preventing water retention. Eating foods rich in vitamins, especially A, C and E, helps to reduce eye puffiness and to maintain clear, moist skin.


title: Juliana Harkavy

text: Juliana Jay Harkavy (born January 1, 1985) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Rebecca in "Dolphin Tale", Jessie in "To Write Love on her Arms", and Alisha in the television series "The Walking Dead". Her roles include a starring role in the horror film "Last Shift", and a reprise of her role as Rebecca in "Dolphin Tale 2". She was a series regular on The CW superhero series "Arrow", portraying Dinah Drake / Black Canary.


title: Juliana Harkavy

text: Harkavy was born in New York City. She is the daughter of Berta Carela, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic and Michael Harkavy, who is the former Senior Vice president of Warner Bros. Entertainment Worldwide Publishing, Kids' WB Music, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Her professional acting career began when she was 10 years old. Harkavy has described herself as "a Dominican Jew".


title: Juliana Harkavy

text: Harkavy trained at the Young Actors Space in Sherman Oaks, California, for nine years. She attended her first year of high school at Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles, where she became fluent in French, and did part of her schooling in the South of France. She earned her high school diploma from the Milken Community High School in Los Angeles, California.After high school, Harkavy attended The Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where she majored in Theater in the Sanford Meisner studio.


title: Juliana Harkavy

text: Harkavy's first acting job was at age 10 in a commercial for the Fox Kids series "Goosebumps", based on the popular horror-book series. Her first role in a major motion picture was an uncredited role in the 1995 version of "A Little Princess", directed by Alfonso Cuarón.


title: Juliana Harkavy

text: Harkavy starred in the 2011 film "If You Only Knew" about early-onset Alzheimer's disease. She stars as Jessica Loren in the horror film "Last Shift".


title: Juliana Harkavy

text: Harkavy starred in the 2010 short film "Whatever Lola Wants". Nominated for a Best Actress Award at the 2011 University of Miami Canes Film Festival


title: Juliana Harkavy

text: Harkavy plays Alisha, a survivor involved with the Governor on "The Walking Dead". She appeared in two episodes: "Dead Weight" and "Too Far Gone".


title: Juliana Harkavy

text: In 2016 she was cast in the fifth season of the CW show "Arrow", in the recurring role of Detective Tina Boland, whose true name is revealed to be Dinah Drake, acting as the new Black Canary. She was promoted to series regular for the show's sixth season, which began airing in the fall of 2017.


title: Juliana Harkavy

text: She has lived in New York, New Mexico, New Jersey, California, Florida, and France. On June 13, 2020, Harkavy announced that she was engaged to professional Setar player Alexander Meimand. They married on October 10, 2021.


title: G-suit

text: A g-suit, or anti-"g" suit, is a flight suit worn by aviators and astronauts who are subject to high levels of acceleration force (g). It is designed to prevent a black-out and g-LOC (g-induced loss of consciousness) caused by the blood pooling in the lower part of the body when under acceleration, thus depriving the brain of blood. Black-out and g-LOC have caused a number of fatal aircraft accidents.


title: G-suit

text: If blood is allowed to pool in the lower areas of the body, the brain will be deprived of blood. This lack of blood flow to the brain first causes a greyout (a dimming of the vision also called brownout), followed by tunnel vision and ultimately complete loss of vision 'blackout' followed by g-induced Loss Of Consciousness or 'g-LOC'. The danger of g-LOC to aircraft pilots is magnified because on relaxation of g-force there is a period of disorientation before full sensation is re-gained.


title: G-suit

text: A g-suit does not so much increase the g-threshold, but makes it possible to sustain high g longer without excessive physical fatigue. The resting g-tolerance of a typical person is anywhere from 3–5 g depending on the person. A g-suit will typically add 1 g of tolerance to that limit. Pilots still need to practice the 'g-straining maneuver' that consists of tensing the abdominal muscles in order to tighten blood vessels so as to reduce blood pooling in the lower body. High g is not comfortable, even with a g-suit. In older fighter aircraft, 6 g was considered a high level, but with modern fighters 9 g or more can be sustained structurally making the pilot the critical factor in maintaining high maneuverability in close aerial combat.


title: G-suit

text: A g-suit is a special garment and generally takes the form of tightly fitting trousers, which fit either under or over (depending on the design) the flight suit worn by the aviator or astronaut. The trousers are fitted with inflatable bladders which, when pressurized through a g-sensitive valve in the aircraft or spacecraft, press firmly on the abdomen and legs, thus restricting the draining of blood away from the brain during periods of high acceleration. In addition, in some modern very high-g aircraft, the Anti-g suit effect is augmented by a small amount of pressure applied to the lungs (positive pressure breathing), which also enhances resistance to high G. The effects of anti-g suits and positive pressure breathing are straightforward to replicate in a simulator, although only continuous g can be produced artificially in devices such as centrifuges.


title: G-suit

text: Various designs of g-suit have been developed. They first used water-filled bladders around the lower body and legs. Later designs used air under pressure to inflate the bladders. These g-suits were lighter than the liquid-filled versions and are still in extensive use. However, the Swiss company Life Support Systems AG and the German collaborated to design the new Libelle suit for use with the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, which reverts to liquid as the medium and improves on performance. The Libelle suit is under consideration for adoption by the United States Air Force.


title: G-suit

text: As early as 1917, there were documented cases of pilots' loss of consciousness due to g (G-LOC) that were referred to as "fainting in the air".


title: G-suit

text: In 1931 a professor of physiology, Frank Cotton, from the University of Sydney described a new way of determining the center of gravity of the human body. This made it possible to describe the displacement of mass within the body under acceleration. Cotton had recognised the need for an anti-gravity suit during the 1940 Battle of Britain. It was estimated that 30% of pilot deaths were due to accidents, including black-out. Spitfires, in particular, were capable of rapid turns that generated high g-forces, causing black-out when diving to fire or avoid enemy fire.


title: G-suit

text: With the development of higher speed monoplane fighters in the late 1930s, acceleration forces during combat became more severe. As early as 1940 some aircraft had foot-rests above the rudder pedals so that the pilot's feet and legs could be raised during combat in an attempt to minimize the negative effects of high speed turns. Large rudder deflections were often not necessary during such manoeuvres, but being able to cut inside the opponent's turning radius was.


title: G-suit

text: The first g-suits were developed by a team led by Wilbur R. Franks at the University of Toronto's Banting and Best Medical Institute in 1941. The suits were manufactured by the Dunlop company and first used operationally in 1942 by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) during Operation Torch. These devices used water filled bladders around the legs and two" 'Mk.' "versions (or Marks) were developed:


title: G-suit

text: Professor Frank Cotton of Sydney University, Australia, designed the world's first successful gas-operated anti-G suit. Research commenced late in 1940, and a suit was designed with rubber sacs covered externally by inextensible material. The sacs automatically inflated when G forces increased during flying. The suit was developed at the Sydney Medical School. Cotton constructed the first human centrifuge in the Anderson Stuart Building at Sydney University under tight wartime security. The volunteers, young airmen, were strapped by their legs to the centrifuge and subjected to high g-force and monitored until black-out occurred. All lost consciousness. On February 19, 1942, the day of the major Japanese


title: G-suit

text: air attack on Darwin, Cotton's suit was approved by the Allied war chiefs. The Americans soon issued orders for manufacture of a suit based on Cotton's design.


title: G-suit

text: The Cotton suit was later flight-tested in a Hurricane, Kittyhawks, and Spitfires and provided about 2G protection. The Royal Air Force ran competitive trials of the Cotton Anti-G suit with the Frank G-Suit that was already adopted in 1944. The Royal Air Force concluded that: "There is no doubt the Cotton Suit gives the best protection." The Cotton suit's use of gas-inflatable bladders is still used in the modern anti-G suit.


title: G-suit

text: In the United States, physiologists Drs. Earl H. Wood, Edward Baldes, Charles Code and Edward H. Lambert, working in a top secret research lab at the Mayo Clinic, helped to define the specific physiologic effects causing blackout and unconsciousness during high G forces. Based upon their new understanding of the physiologic effects of high G-forces, they developed a more practical g-suit derived from the work of Cotton and Franks. This suit used inflation like the Cotton suit. While Professor Cotton's design was intriguing, he was more focused on center of gravity than on blood flow. This latter point was the key to making a practical anti-g suit that could be worn in combat.


title: G-suit

text: The researchers were part of a team assembled at the Mayo Clinic investigating the effects of high performance flight on military pilots, by studying physiological effects of flight and how to mitigate them. They used a large centrifuge to whirl riders and observe their blood pressures at the head and heart levels with special instruments. To prevent drops in blood pressure, the team designed an air bladder suit that inflated at the pilot's calves, thighs and abdomen. A primary contribution, allowing for the shift from pulsatile water filled bladders to non-pulsatile air filled bladders, made by the Mayo investigators was to show that maintenance of arterial pressure rather than venous return was required to maintain perfusion of the eyes and brain. Prototypes of the GPS suits were known as the "arterial Occlusion Suit" (AOS) or the Clark-Wood suit, named after Earl H. Wood and Dave Clark (head of the Dave Clark company who fabricated the early suits for the team at Mayo)


title: G-suit

text: Their efforts finally culminated with the release of the first US military design in late 1943: the GPS (Gradient Pressure Suit) type fighter pilot's G-1 anti-g-suit. The team subsequently worked on developing further, more advanced models in 1944 and beyond.


title: G-suit

text: Although uncomfortable and distracting to use, later research showed that military fighter pilots who wore g-suits survived and defeated their opponents in greater numbers than those who didn't.


title: G-suit

text: Modern g-Suits meet the United States Air Force Standard CSU-13B/P and United States Navy Standard CSU 15 A/P.


title: G-suit

text: During World War II the German Henschel Hs 132 (never flew) and the US Northrop XP-79 (crashed on first powered flight) jets both had prone positions to minimize blood pooling in the legs. After 1945 the British experimented with prone flying positions in a highly modified Gloster Meteor F8 jet fighter and the Reid and Sigrist R.S.3 "Bobsleigh" a piston engined trainer. However, other difficulties associated with prone piloting and the development of practical g-suits for normal seating positions terminated these experiments.


title: G-suit

text: Air-based g-suits were very common in NATO aircraft of all nations from the 1950s onwards and are still in common use today.


title: G-suit

text: Later jets such as the F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Super Hornet, Eurofighter Typhoon and the Dassault Rafale can sustain high g loads for longer periods, and are therefore more physically demanding. By using a modern g-suit in combination with anti-g strain techniques, a trained pilot is now expected to endure accelerations of up to nine g without blacking out.


title: G-suit

text: Astronauts wear g-suits similar to aviators but face different challenges due to the effects of microgravity. Aviator g-suits apply uniform pressure to the lower legs to minimize the effects of high acceleration but research from the Canadian Space Agency implies there might be a benefit in having a suit for astronauts that uses a "milking action" to increase blood flow to the upper body.


title: G-suit

text: Pilots in Red Bull Air Race World Championship have worn a g-suit called g-Race Suit since the 2009 season. The g-race suit is a liquid (water) filled, autonomous and aircraft independent working full-body g-protection system. It is tailor-made for each pilot and can be fine adjusted via lacings.


title: G-suit

text: The g-race suit contains four so-called "fluid muscles" which are sealed, liquid-filled tubes. Each fluid muscle extends from the shoulder to the ankle. Two fluid muscles – each filled with approximately 1 litre of fluid for a total of around per g-race suit – are routed vertically on the front side of the g-race suit and two are routed vertically on the rear side of the g-race suit. The suit weighs on average in total, and its fabric is made out of a special mix of Twaron and Nomex. The counter pressure effect occurs instantaneously without any time delay versus an up to two second delay before reaching full system protection in standard pneumatic, inflatable g-suits. The race pilot utilizes the g-race suit interactively by muscle straining and breathing techniques to achieve an improved cardiac output and thus improved G-protection.


title: Desogestrel

text: Desogestrel is a progestin medication which is used in birth control pills for women. It is also used in the treatment of menopausal symptoms in women. The medication is available and used alone or in combination with an estrogen. It is taken by mouth.


title: Desogestrel

text: Side effects of desogestrel include menstrual irregularities, headaches, nausea, breast tenderness, mood changes, acne, increased hair growth, and others. Desogestrel is a progestin, or a synthetic progestogen, and hence is an agonist of the progesterone receptor, the biological target of progestogens like progesterone. It has very weak androgenic and glucocorticoid activity and no other important hormonal activity. The medication is a prodrug of etonogestrel (3-ketodesogestrel) in the body.


title: Desogestrel

text: Desogestrel was discovered in 1972 and was introduced for medical use in Europe in 1981. It became available in the United States in 1992. Desogestrel is sometimes referred to as a "third-generation" progestin. Along with norethisterone, it is one of the only progestins that is widely available as a progestogen-only "mini pill" for birth control. Desogestrel is marketed widely throughout the world. It is available as a generic medication. In 2020, the version with ethinylestradiol was the 120th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 5million prescriptions.


title: Desogestrel

text: Desogestrel is used in hormonal contraception in women, specifically in birth control pills. It is used alone in progestogen-only pills ("mini pills") and in combination with the estrogen ethinylestradiol in combined oral contraceptive pills. Desogestrel and norethisterone are the only progestins that are widely used as a progestogen-only "mini pill". It is also the only newer-generation progestin with reduced androgenic activity that is used in such formulations. In addition to hormonal contraception, desogestrel has been used in combination with estrogens such as estradiol as a component of menopausal hormone therapy. The medication has also been used in the treatment of endometriosis.


title: Desogestrel

text: Desogestrel is available alone in the form of 75 μg oral tablets and at a dose of 150 μg in combination with 20 or 30 μg ethinylestradiol in oral tablets. These formulations are all indicated specifically for contraceptive purposes.


title: Desogestrel

text: Desogestrel is not indicated for use in pregnancy. It is not contraindicated during lactation and breastfeeding.


title: Desogestrel

text: Common side effects of desogestrel may include menstrual irregularities, amenorrhea, headaches, nausea, breast tenderness, and mood changes (e.g., depression), as well as weight gain, acne, and hirsutism. However, it has also been reported to not adversely affect weight. In addition, acne and hirsutism are negligible when combined with ethinylestradiol, and this combination can actually be used to treat such symptoms. Desogestrel can also cause changes in total, , and cholesterol. Uncommon side effects of desogestrel may include vaginal infection, contact lens intolerance, vomiting, hair loss, dysmenorrhea, ovarian cysts, and fatigue, while rare side effects include rash, urticaria, and erythema nodosum. Breast discharge, ectopic pregnancies, and aggravation of angioedema may also occur with desogestrel. Serious side effects of combined oral contraceptives containing desogestrel may include venous thromboembolism, arterial thromboembolism, hormone-dependent tumors (e.g., liver tumors, breast cancer), and melasma.


title: Desogestrel

text: No serious harmful effects have been reported with overdose of desogestrel. Symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, and, in young girls, slight vaginal bleeding. In safety studies, dosages of up to 750 μg/day desogestrel in women showed no adverse effects on laboratory and various other parameters and produced no reported subjective side effects. There is no antidote to desogestrel overdose and treatment should be based on symptoms.


title: Desogestrel

text: Inducers of liver enzymes can increase the metabolism of desogestrel and etonogestrel and reduce their circulating levels. This may result in contraceptive failure. Examples of liver enzyme inducers include barbiturates (e.g., phenobarbital), bosentan, carbamazepine, efavirenz, phenytoin, primidone, rifampicin, and possibly also felbamate, griseofulvin, oxcarbazepine, rifabutin, St. John's Wort, and topiramate. Many antivirals for HIV/AIDS and HCV, such as boceprevir, nelfinavir, nevirapine, ritonavir, and telaprevir, may increase or decrease levels of desogestrel and etonogestrel. CYP3A4 inhibitors including strong inhibitors like clarithromycin, itraconazole, and ketoconazole and moderate inhibitors like diltiazem, erythromycin, and fluconazole may increase levels of desogestrel and etonogestrel. Hormonal contraceptives may interfere with the metabolism of other drugs, resulting in increased levels (e.g., ciclosporine) or decreased levels (e.g., lamotrigine).


title: Desogestrel

text: Desogestrel is a prodrug of etonogestrel (3-ketodesogestrel), and, via this active metabolite, it has progestogenic activity, antigonadotropic effects, very weak androgenic activity, very weak glucocorticoid activity, and no other hormonal activity.


title: Desogestrel

text: Desogestrel is a progestogen, or an agonist of the progesterone receptor (PR). It is an inactive prodrug of etonogestrel with essentially no affinity for the PR itself (about 1% of that of promegestone). Hence, etonogestrel is exclusively responsible for the effects of desogestrel. Etonogestrel has about 150% of the affinity of promegestone and 300% of the affinity of progesterone for the PR. Desogestrel (via etonogestrel) is a very potent progestogen and inhibits ovulation at very low doses, in the low microgram range. The effective minimum dosage for inhibition of ovulation is 60 μg/day desogestrel (alone, not in combination with an estrogen). However, some studies in combination with oral estradiol have suggested that higher doses may be necessary. Desogestrel and etonogestrel are among the most potent progestogens available, along with gestodene and levonorgestrel (which have effective ovulation-inhibiting dosages 40 μg/day and 60 μg/day, respectively). Oral desogestrel is clinically on the order of 5,000 times more potent than oral micronized progesterone (which has an effective ovulation-inhibiting dosage of more than 300 mg/day) in humans.


title: Desogestrel

text: Due to its progestogenic activity, desogestrel has potent functional antiestrogenic effects in certain tissues. It dose-dependently antagonizes the effects of ethinylestradiol on the vaginal epithelium, cervical mucus, and endometrium, with marked progestogenic effects occurring at a dosage of 60 μg/day. There is a rise in body temperature in some women at 30 μg/day and in all women at 60 μg/day. Desogestrel also has antigonadotropic effects, which are similarly due to its progestogenic activity. The contraceptive effects of desogestrel in women are mediated not only by prevention of ovulation via its antigonadotropic effects but also by its marked progestogenic and antiestrogenic effects on cervical mucus and the endometrium.


title: Desogestrel

text: Aside from its progestogenic activity, desogestrel also has some off-target hormonal activity at other steroid hormone receptors (see below). However, these activities are relatively weak, and desogestrel is said to be one of the most selective and pure progestogens used in oral contraceptives.


title: Desogestrel

text: Desogestrel has antigonadotropic effects via its progestogenic activity, similarly to other progestogens. It has been found to reduce testosterone levels by 15% in women at a dosage of 125 μg/day. In addition, desogestrel has been extensively investigated as an antigonadotropin at dosages of 150 to 300 μg/day in combination with testosterone in male contraceptive regimens. One study found that 150 μg/day and 300 μg/day desogestrel alone in healthy young men suppressed luteinizing hormone (LH) levels by about 35% and 42%, respectively; follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels by about 47% and 55%, respectively; and testosterone levels by about 59% and 68%, respectively. LH levels were suppressed maximally by desogestrel within 3 days, whereas 14 days were necessary for maximal suppression of FSH and testosterone levels. A previous study by the same authors found that increasing the dosage of desogestrel from 300 μg/day to 450 μg/day resulted in no further suppression of gonadotropin concentrations. The addition of a low dose of 50 or 100 mg/week intramuscular testosterone enanthate after 3 weeks increased testosterone levels and further suppressed LH and FSH levels, to the limits of assay detection (i.e., to undetectable or near-undetectable levels), in both the 150 μg/day and 300 μg/day desogestrel groups. Upon cessation of treatment, levels of LH, FSH, and testosterone all recovered to baseline values within 4 weeks.


title: Desogestrel

text: Etonogestrel has about 20% of the affinity of metribolone and 50% of the affinity of levonorgestrel for the androgen receptor (AR) while desogestrel has no affinity for this receptor. The 5α-reduced metabolite of etonogestrel, 5α-dihydroetonogestrel (3-keto-5α-dihydrodesogestrel), also has some affinity for the AR (about 17% of that of metribolone). Desogestrel (via etonogestrel) has very low androgenic potency, about 1.9 to 7.4% of that of methyltestosterone in animal assays, and hence is considered to be a very weak androgen. Although etonogestrel has about the same affinity for the AR as norethisterone, due to the relatively increased progestogenic potency and decreased androgenic activity of etonogestrel, the drug has markedly higher selectivity for the PR over the AR than older 19-nortestosterone progestins like norethisterone and levonorgestrel. Conversely, its selectivity for the PR over the AR is similar to other newer 19-nortestosterone progestins like gestodene and norgestimate. It has been estimated that 150 μg/day desogestrel has less than one-sixth of the androgenic effect of 1 mg/day norethisterone (these being common dosages of the drugs used in combined oral contraceptives). Clinical studies with norethisterone even at very high dosages (e.g., 10 to 60 mg/day) have observed only mild androgenic effects in a minority of women including acne, increased sebum production, hirsutism, and slight virilization of female fetuses.


title: Desogestrel

text: In accordance with its very weak androgenic activity, desogestrel has minimal effects on lipid metabolism and the blood lipid profile, although there may still be some significant changes. Desogestrel also reduces sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels by 50% when given to women alone, but when combined with 30 μg/day ethinylestradiol, which in contrast strongly activates SHBG production, there is a 200% increase in SHBG concentrations. Desogestrel may slightly reduce ethinylestradiol-induced increases in SHBG levels. However, at the dosages used in oral contraceptives and in combination with ethinylestradiol, which has potent functional antiandrogenic effects mainly due to increased SHBG levels, the androgenic activity of desogestrel is said to be essentially without any clinical relevance. Indeed, combined oral contraceptives containing ethinylestradiol and desogestrel have been found to significantly decrease free concentrations of testosterone and to possess overall antiandrogenic effects, significantly reducing symptoms of acne and hirsutism in women with hyperandrogenism.


title: Desogestrel

text: Desogestrel has no affinity for the glucocorticoid receptor, but etonogestrel has about 14% of the affinity of dexamethasone for this receptor. Hence, desogestrel and etonogestrel have weak glucocorticoid activity. At typical clinical dosages, the glucocorticoid activity of desogestrel is said to be negligible or very weak and hence not clinically relevant. However, it may nonetheless possibly influence vascular function, with some upregulation of the thrombin receptor observed with etonogestrel in vascular smooth muscle cells "in vitro". This could, in theory, increase coagulation and contribute to an increased risk of venous thromboembolism and atherosclerosis. The affinity of etonogestrel for the glucocorticoid receptor is a product of its C11 methylene substitution, as substitutions at the C11 position are a common feature of corticosteroids and as levonorgestrel, which is etonogestrel without the C11 methylene group (17α-ethynyl-18-methyl-19-nortestosterone), has only 1% of the affinity of dexamethasone for the receptor and hence is considered to have negligible glucocorticoid activity.


title: Desogestrel

text: Desogestrel and etonogestrel have no affinity for the estrogen receptor, and hence have no estrogenic activity. However, the metabolite 3β-hydroxydesogestrel has weak affinity for the estrogen receptor (about 2% of that of estradiol), although the significance of this is uncertain.


title: Desogestrel

text: Desogestrel and etonogestrel have no affinity for the mineralocorticoid receptor, and hence have no mineralocorticoid or antimineralocorticoid activity.


title: Desogestrel

text: Desogestrel and etonogestrel show some albeit weak inhibition of 5α-reductase (5.7% inhibition at 0.1 μM, 34.9% inhibition at 1 μM) and cytochrome P450 enzymes (e.g., CYP3A4) ( = 5 μM) "in vitro".


title: Desogestrel

text: Desogestrel stimulates the proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells "in vitro", an action that is independent of the classical PRs and is instead mediated via the progesterone receptor membrane component-1 (PGRMC1). Certain other progestins act similarly in this assay, whereas progesterone acts neutrally. It is unclear if these findings may explain the different risks of breast cancer observed with progesterone and progestins in clinical studies.


title: Desogestrel

text: The bioavailability of desogestrel has been found to range from 40 to 100%, with an average of 76%. This significant interindividual variability is comparable to that with norethisterone and levonorgestrel. Peak concentrations of etonogestrel occur about 1.5 hours after a dose while concentrations of desogestrel are very low and have disappeared by 3 hours after a dose. Steady-state levels of etonogestrel are achieved after about 8 to 10 days of daily administration. Accumulation of etonogestrel is thought to be related to progressive inhibition of 5α-reductase and cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (e.g., CYP3A4). The plasma protein binding of desogestrel is 99% and it is bound exclusively to albumin. Etonogestrel is bound 95 to 98% to plasma proteins. It is bound about 65 to 66% to albumin and 30 to 32% to SHBG, with 2 to 5% free in the circulation. While desogestrel is not bound to SHBG, etonogestrel has relatively high affinity for this plasma protein of 3 to 15% of that of dihydrotestosterone, although this is considerably less than that of the related progestins levonorgestrel and gestodene. Neither desogestrel nor etonogestrel are bound by corticosteroid-binding globulin.


title: Desogestrel

text: Desogestrel is a prodrug of etonogestrel (3-ketodesogestrel) and upon ingestion is rapidly and completely transformed into this metabolite in the intestines and liver. Hydroxylation of the C3 position of desogestrel catalyzed by cytochrome P450-dependent enzymes, with 3α-hydroxydesogestrel and 3β-hydroxydesogetrel as intermediates, followed by oxidation of the C3 hydroxyl group, is responsible for the transformation. A small percentage of desogestrel is metabolized into levonorgestrel, which involves the removal of the C11 methylene group. Following further metabolism of etonogestrel, which occurs mainly by reduction of the Δ-3-keto group (by 5α- and 5β-reductases) and hydroxylation (by monooxygenases), the major metabolite of desogestrel is 3α,5α-tetrahydroetonogestrel. Desogestrel has a very short terminal half-life of about 1.5 hours while etonogestrel has a relatively long elimination half-life of about 21 to 38 hours, reflecting the nature of desogestrel as a prodrug. Desogestrel and etonogestrel are eliminated exclusively as metabolites 50% in urine and 35% in feces.


title: Desogestrel

text: Desogestrel, also known as 3-deketo-11-methylene-17α-ethynyl-18-methyl-19-nortestosterone or as 11-methylene-17α-ethynyl-18-methylestr-4-en-17β-ol, is a synthetic estrane steroid and a derivative of testosterone. It is more specifically a derivative of norethisterone (17α-ethynyl-19-nortestosterone) and is a member of the gonane (13β-ethylgonane or 18-methylestrane) subgroup of the 19-nortestosterone family of progestins. Desogestrel is the C3 deketo analogue of etonogestrel and the C3 deketo and C11 methylene analogue of levonorgestrel.


title: Desogestrel

text: Desogestrel was synthesized in 1972 by Organon International in the Netherlands and was first described in the literature in 1975. It was developed following the discovery that C11 substitutions enhance the biological activity of norethisterone. Desogestrel was introduced for medical use in 1981 under the brand names Marvelon and Desogen in the Netherlands. Along with gestodene and norgestimate, it is sometimes referred to as a "third-generation" progestin based on the time of its introduction to the market. It was the first of the three "third-generation" progestins to be introduced. Although desogestrel was introduced in 1981 and was widely used in Europe from this time, it was not introduced in the United States until 1992.


title: Desogestrel

text: "Desogestrel" is the generic name of the drug and its , , , , , and . While under development, it was known as "ORG-2969".


title: Desogestrel

text: Desogestrel is marketed under a variety of brand names throughout the world including Alenvona, Apri, Azalia, Azurette, Bekyree, Caziant, Cerazette, Cerelle, Cesia, Cyclessa, Cyred, Denise, Desogen, Desirett, Diamilla, Emoquette, Enskyce, Feanolla, Gedarel, Gracial, Hana, Isibloom, Juleber, Kalliga, Kariva, Laurina, Linessa, Lovima, Marvelon, Mercilon, Mircette, Mirvala, Novynette, Ortho-Cept, Pimtrea, Reclipsen, Regulon, Simliya, Solia, Velivet, Viorele, and Volnea among others.


title: Desogestrel

text: Desogestrel is available widely throughout the world, including in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, many other European countries, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Latin America, Asia, and elsewhere. In the United States, it is available only in combination with ethinylestradiol as a combined oral contraceptive; it is not available alone and is not approved for any other indications.


title: Desogestrel

text: In the UK, in July 2021, some Desogestrel pills were made available to purchase over the counter, without requiring a prescription from a doctor beforehand. Pharmacists use a suitability questionnaire to determine if the medication is going to be suitable for the person, and if it is then they can purchase it from a pharmacy or online (all online purchases require the suitability questionnaire completed before the medication is sent to the customer).


title: Desogestrel

text: In February 2007, the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen released a petition requesting that the Food and Drug Administration ban oral contraceptives containing desogestrel in the United States, citing studies going as far back as 1995 that suggest the risk of dangerous blood clots is doubled for women on such pills in comparison to other oral contraceptives. In 2009, Public Citizen released a list of recommendations that included numerous alternative, second-generation birth control pills that women could take in place of oral contraceptives containing desogestrel. Most of those second-generation medications have been on the market longer and have been shown to be as effective in preventing unwanted pregnancy, but with a lower risk of blood clots. Medications cited specifically in the petition include Apri-28, Cyclessa, Desogen, Kariva, Mircette, Ortho-Cept, Reclipsen, Velivet, and some generic pills, all of which contain desogestrel in combination with ethinylestradiol. Medications containing desogestrel as the only active ingredient (as opposed to being used in conjunction with ethinylestradiol, like in combined oral contraceptives) do not show an increased thrombosis risk and are therefore safer than second-generation birth-control pills in regards to thrombosis.


title: Desogestrel

text: Desogestrel has been studied extensively as an antigonadotropin for use in combination with testosterone as a hormonal contraceptive in men. Such combinations have been found to be effective in producing reversible azoospermia in most men and reversible azoospermia or severe oligozoospermia in almost all men.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: The Battle of the Bismarck Sea (2–4 March 1943) took place in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) during World War II when aircraft of the U.S. Fifth Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) attacked a Japanese convoy carrying troops to Lae, New Guinea. Most of the Japanese task force was destroyed, and Japanese troop losses were heavy.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: The Japanese convoy was a result of a Japanese Imperial General Headquarters decision in December 1942 to reinforce their position in the South West Pacific. A plan was devised to move some 6,900 troops from Rabaul directly to Lae. The plan was understood to be risky, because Allied air power in the area was strong, but it was decided to proceed because otherwise the troops would have to be landed a considerable distance away and march through inhospitable swamp, mountain and jungle terrain without roads before reaching their destination. On 28 February 1943, the convoy – comprising eight destroyers and eight troop transports with an escort of approximately 100 fighter aircraft – set out from Simpson Harbour in Rabaul.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: The Allies had detected preparations for the convoy, and naval codebreakers in Melbourne (FRUMEL) and Washington, D.C., had decrypted and translated messages indicating the convoy's intended destination and date of arrival. The Allied Air Forces had developed new techniques, such as skip bombing, that they hoped would improve the chances of successful air attack on ships. They detected and shadowed the convoy, which came under sustained air attack on 2–3 March 1943. Follow-up attacks by PT boats and aircraft were made on 4 March on life boats and rafts. All eight transports and four of the escorting destroyers were sunk. Of 6,900 troops who were badly needed in New Guinea, only about 1,200 made it to Lae. Another 2,700 were rescued by destroyers and submarines and returned to Rabaul. The Japanese made no further attempts to reinforce Lae by ship, greatly hindering their ultimately unsuccessful efforts to stop Allied offensives in New Guinea.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: Six months after Imperial Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the United States won a strategic victory at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Seizing the strategic initiative, the United States and its Allies landed on Guadalcanal in the southern Solomon Islands in August 1942, beginning the Solomon Islands Campaign. The battle for Guadalcanal ended in victory for the Allies with the withdrawal of Japanese forces from the island in early February 1943. At the same time, Australian and American forces in New Guinea repelled the Japanese land offensive along the Kokoda Track. Going on the offensive, the Allied forces captured Buna–Gona, destroying Japanese forces in that area.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: The ultimate goal of the Allied counter-offensives in New Guinea and the Solomons was to capture the main Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain, later codified as Operation Cartwheel, and clear the way for the eventual reconquest of the Philippines. Recognising the threat, the Japanese continued to send land, naval, and aerial reinforcements to the area in an attempt to check the Allied advances.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: Reviewing the progress of the Battle of Guadalcanal and the Battle of Buna–Gona in December 1942, the Japanese faced the prospect that neither could be held. Accordingly, Imperial General Headquarters decided to take steps to strengthen the Japanese position in the South West Pacific by sending Lieutenant General Jusei Aoki's 20th Division from Korea to Guadalcanal and Lieutenant General Heisuke Abe's 41st Division from China to Rabaul. Lieutenant General Hitoshi Imamura, the commander of the Japanese Eighth Area Army at Rabaul, ordered Lieutenant General Hatazō Adachi's XVIII Army to secure Madang, Wewak and Tuluvu in New Guinea. On 29 December, Adachi ordered the 102nd Infantry Regiment and other units under the command of Major General Toru Okabe, the commander of the infantry group of the 51st Division, to move from Rabaul to Lae and advance inland to capture Wau. After deciding to evacuate Guadalcanal on 4 January, the Japanese switched priorities from the Solomon Islands to New Guinea, and opted to send the 20th and 41st Divisions to Wewak.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: On 5 January 1943, the convoy, which consisted of five destroyers and five troop transports carrying Okabe's force, set out for Lae from Rabaul. Forewarned by Ultra, United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircraft spotted, shadowed and attacked the convoy, which was shielded by low clouds and Japanese fighters. The Allies claimed to have shot down 69 Japanese aircraft for the loss of 10 of their own. An RAAF Consolidated PBY Catalina sank the transport . Although destroyers rescued 739 of the 1,100 troops on board, the ship took with it all of Okabe's medical supplies. Another transport, , was so badly damaged at Lae by USAAF North American B-25 Mitchells that it had to be beached. Nonetheless, the convoy succeeded in reaching Lae on 7 January and landing its troops, but Okabe was defeated in the Battle of Wau.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: Most of the 20th Division was landed at Wewak from naval high speed transports on 19 January 1943. The bulk of the 41st Division followed on 12 February. Imamura and Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa, the commander of the South East Area Fleet, developed a plan to move the command post of the headquarters of the Japanese XVIII Army and the main body of the 51st Division from Rabaul to Lae on 3 March, followed by moving the remainder of the 20th Division to Madang on 10 March. This plan was acknowledged to be risky because Allied air power in the area was strong. The XVIII Army staff held war games that predicted losses of four out of ten transports, and between 30 and 40 aircraft. They gave the operation only a 50–50 chance of success. On the other hand, if the troops were landed at Madang, they faced a march of more than over inhospitable swamp, mountain and jungle terrain without roads. To augment the three naval and two army fighter groups in the area assigned to protect the convoy, the Imperial Japanese Navy temporarily detached 18 fighters from the aircraft carrier 's fighter group from Truk to Kavieng.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: The Allies soon began detecting signs of preparations for a new convoy. A Japanese floatplane of the type normally used for anti-submarine patrols in advance of convoys was sighted on 7 February 1943. The Allied Air Forces South West Pacific Area commander – Lieutenant General George Kenney – ordered an increase in reconnaissance patrols over Rabaul. On 14 February, aerial photographs were taken that showed 79 vessels in port, including 45 merchant ships and six transports. It was clear that another convoy was being prepared, but its destination was unknown. On 16 February, naval codebreakers in Melbourne (FRUMEL) and Washington, D.C. finished decrypting and translating a coded message revealing the Japanese intention to land convoys at Wewak, Madang and Lae. Subsequently, codebreakers decrypted a message from the Japanese 11th Air Fleet to the effect that destroyers and six transports would reach Lae about 5 March. Another report indicated that they would reach Lae by 12 March. On 22 February, reconnaissance aircraft reported 59 merchant vessels in the harbour at Rabaul.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: Kenney read this Ultra intelligence in the office of the Supreme Allied Commander, South West Pacific Area – General Douglas MacArthur – on 25 February. The prospect of an additional 6,900 Japanese troops in the Lae area greatly disturbed MacArthur, as they might seriously affect his plans to capture and develop the area. Kenney wrote out orders, which were sent by courier, for Brigadier General Ennis Whitehead, the deputy commander of the Fifth Air Force, and the commander of its Advance Echelon (ADVON) in New Guinea. Under the Fifth Air Force's unusual command arrangements, Whitehead controlled the Allied Air Forces units of all types in New Guinea. This included the RAAF units there, which were grouped as No. 9 Operational Group RAAF, under the command of Air Commodore Joe Hewitt.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: Kenney informed Whitehead of the proposed convoy date, and warned him about the usual Japanese pre-convoy air attack. He also urged that flying hours be cut back so as to allow for a large strike on the convoy, and instructed him to move forward as many aircraft as possible so that they could be close to the nearby captured airfields around Dobodura, where they would not be subject to the vagaries of weather over the Owen Stanley Range. Kenney flew up to Port Moresby on 26 February, where he met with Whitehead. The two generals inspected fighter and bomber units in the area, and agreed to attack the Japanese convoy in the Vitiaz Strait. Kenney returned to Brisbane on 28 February.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: In the South West Pacific, a conventional strategic bombing campaign was out of the question, as industrial targets in Japan were well beyond the range of even the largest strategic bombers operating from bases in Australia and New Guinea. Therefore, the primary mission of the Allied bomber force was interdiction of Japanese supply lines, especially the sea lanes. The results of the effort against the Japanese convoy in January were very disappointing; some 416 sorties had been flown with only two ships sunk and three damaged; clearly, a change of tactics was in order. Group Captain Bill Garing, an RAAF officer on Kenney's staff with considerable experience in air-sea operations, including a tour of duty in Europe, recommended that Japanese convoys be subjected to simultaneous attack from different altitudes and directions.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: The Allied Air Forces adopted some innovative tactics. In February 1942, the RAAF began experimenting with skip bombing, an anti-shipping technique used by the British and Germans. Flying only a few dozen feet above the sea toward their targets, bombers would release their bombs which would then, ideally, ricochet across the surface of the water and explode at the side of the target ship, under it, or just over it. A similar technique was mast-height bombing, in which bombers would approach the target at low altitude, , at about , and then drop down to mast height, at about from the target. They would release their bombs at around , aiming directly at the side of the ship. The Battle of the Bismarck Sea would demonstrate that this was the more successful of the two tactics. The two techniques were not mutually exclusive: a bomber could drop two bombs, skipping the first and launching the second at mast height. In addition, as regular bomb fuses were designed to detonate immediately on impact, which would catch the attacking aircraft in its own bomb blast at low altitude attacks, crews developed a delayed-action fuse. Practice missions were carried out against the wreck of the , a liner that had run aground in 1923.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: In order for bombers to conduct skip or mast-height bombing, the target ship's antiaircraft artillery would first have to be neutralized by strafing runs. For the latter task, Major Paul I. "Pappy" Gunn and his men at the 81st Depot Repair Squadron in Townsville, Queensland, modified some USAAF Douglas A-20 Havoc light bombers by installing four machine guns in their noses in September 1942. Two fuel tanks were added, giving the aircraft more range. An attempt was then made in December 1942 to create a longer range attack aircraft by doing the same thing to a B-25 medium bomber to convert it to a "commerce destroyer", but this proved to be somewhat more difficult. The resulting aircraft was nose-heavy despite added lead ballast in the tail, and the vibrations caused by firing the machine guns were enough to make rivets pop out of the skin of the aircraft. The tail guns and belly turrets were removed, the latter being of little use if the aircraft was flying low. The new tactic of having the B-25 strafe ships would be tried in this battle.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: The Fifth Air Force had two heavy bomber groups. The 43rd Bombardment Group was equipped with about 55 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses. Most of these had seen hard war service over the previous six months and the availability rate was low. The recently arrived 90th Bombardment Group was equipped with Consolidated B-24 Liberators, but they too had maintenance problems. There were two medium groups: the 38th Bombardment Group, equipped with B-25 Mitchells, and the 22nd Bombardment Group, equipped with Martin B-26 Marauders, but two of the former's four squadrons had been diverted to the South Pacific Area, and the latter had taken so many losses that it had been withdrawn to Australia to be rebuilt.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: There was also a light group, the 3rd Attack Group, equipped with a mixture of Douglas A-20 Havocs and B-25 Mitchells. This group was not just short of aircraft; it was critically short of aircrew as well. To make up the numbers the USAAF turned to the RAAF for help. Australian aircrew were assigned to most of the group's aircraft, serving in every role except aircraft commander. In addition to the RAAF aircrew with the USAAF squadrons, there were RAAF units in the Port Moresby area. No. 30 Squadron RAAF, which had arrived in Port Moresby in September 1942, was equipped with the Bristol Beaufighter. Both the aircraft and the squadron proved adept at low level attacks. Also in the Port Moresby area were the 35th and 49th Fighter Groups, both equipped with Bell P-39, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk and Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters, but only the last were suitable for long range escort missions.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: The Japanese convoy – comprising eight destroyers and eight troop transports with an escort of approximately 100 fighters – assembled and departed from Simpson Harbour in Rabaul on 28 February. During the January operation, a course was followed that hugged the south coast of New Britain. This had made it easy to provide air cover, but being close to the airfields also made it possible for the Allied Air Forces to attack both the convoy and the airfields at the same time. This time, a route was chosen along the north coast, in the hope that the Allies would be deceived into thinking that the convoy's objective was Madang. Allied air attacks on the convoy at this point would have to fly over New Britain, allowing interdiction from Japanese air bases there, but the final leg of the voyage would be particularly dangerous, because the convoy would have to negotiate the restricted waters of the Vitiaz Strait. The Japanese named the convoy "Operation 81."


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: The destroyers carried 958 troops while the transports took 5,954. All the ships were combat loaded to expedite unloading at Lae. The commander of the Japanese XVIII Army – Lieutenant General Hatazō Adachi – travelled on the destroyer , while that of the 51st Division – Lieutenant General Hidemitsu Nakano – was on board the destroyer . The escort commander – Rear Admiral Masatomi Kimura of the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla – flew his flag from the destroyer . The other five destroyers were , , , and . They escorted seven Army transports: (2,716 gross register tons), (950 tons), (5,493 tons), (6,494 tons), (3,793 tons), (2,883 tons) and (6,870 tons). Rounding out the force was the lone Navy transport (8,125 tons). All the ships carried troops, equipment and ammunition, except for the "Kembu Maru", which carried 1,000 drums of avgas and 650 drums of other fuel.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: The convoy, moving at , was not detected for some time, because of two tropical storms that struck the Solomon and Bismarck Seas between 27 February and 1 March, but at about 15:00 on 1 March, the crew of a patrolling B-24 Liberator heavy bomber spotted the convoy. Eight B-17 Flying Fortresses were sent to the location but failed to locate the ships.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: At dawn on 2 March, a force of six RAAF A-20 Bostons attacked Lae to reduce its ability to provide support. At about 10:00, another Liberator found the convoy. Eight B-17s took off to attack the ships, followed an hour later by another 20. The B-17s were planned to rendezvous with P-38 fighters from the 9th Fighter Squadron, however the B-17s arrived early and faced the Japanese fighters on their own for the initial air battle until the P-38s arrived. They found the convoy and attacked with bombs from . They claimed to have sunk up to three merchant ships. "Kyokusei Maru" had sunk carrying 1,200 army troops, and two other transports, "Teiyo Maru" and "Nojima", were damaged. Eight Japanese fighters were destroyed and 13 damaged in the day's action, while nine B-17s were damaged.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: The destroyers "Yukikaze" and "Asagumo" plucked 950 survivors of "Kyokusei Maru" from the water. These two destroyers, being faster than the convoy since its speed was dictated by the slower transports, broke away from the group to disembark the survivors at Lae. The destroyers resumed their escort duties the next day. The convoy – without the troop transport and two destroyers – was attacked again on the evening of 2 March by 11 B-17s, with minor damage to one transport. During the night, PBY Catalina flying boats from No. 11 Squadron RAAF took over the task of shadowing the convoy.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: By 3 March, the convoy was within range of the air base at Milne Bay, and eight Bristol Beaufort torpedo bombers from No. 100 Squadron RAAF took off from there. Because of bad weather only two found the convoy, and neither scored any hits, but the weather cleared after they rounded the Huon Peninsula. A force of 90 Allied aircraft took off from Port Moresby, and headed for Cape Ward Hunt, while 22 A-20 Bostons of No. 22 Squadron RAAF attacked the Japanese fighter base at Lae, reducing the convoy's air cover. Attacks on the base continued throughout the day.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: At 10:00, 13 B-17s reached the convoy and bombed from medium altitude of 7,000 feet, causing the ships to maneuver, which dispersed the convoy formation and reduced their concentrated anti-aircraft firepower. The B-17s attracted Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters, which were in turn attacked by the P-38 Lightning escorts. A B-17 broke up in the air, and its crew took to their parachutes. Japanese fighter pilots machine-gunned some of the B-17 crew members as they descended and attacked others in the water after they landed. Five of the Japanese fighters strafing the B-17 aircrew were promptly engaged and shot down by three P-38s which were also lost. The Allied fighter pilots claimed 15 Zeros destroyed, while the B-17 crews claimed five more. Actual Japanese fighter losses for the day were seven destroyed and three damaged. B-25s arrived shortly afterward and released their 500-pound bombs between 3,000 and 6,000 feet, reportedly causing two Japanese vessels to collide. The result of the B-17 and B-25 sorties scored few hits but left the convoy ships separated making them vulnerable to strafers and masthead bombers, and with the Japanese anti-aircraft fire being focused on the medium-altitude bombers this left an opening for minimum altitude attacks.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: The 13 Beaufighters from No. 30 Squadron RAAF approached the convoy at low level to give the impression they were Beauforts making a torpedo attack. The ships turned to face them, the standard procedure to present a smaller target to torpedo bombers, allowing the Beaufighters to maximise the damage they inflicted on the ships' anti-aircraft guns, bridges and crews in strafing runs with their four nose cannons and six wing-mounted machine guns. On board one of the Beaufighters was cameraman Damien Parer, who shot dramatic footage of the battle; it was later published in "The Bismarck Convoy Smashed". Immediately afterward, seven B-25s of the 38th Bombardment Group's 71st Bombardment Squadron bombed from about , while six from the 405th Bombardment Squadron attacked at mast height.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: According to the official RAAF release on the Beaufighter attack, "enemy crews were slain beside their guns, deck cargo burst into flame, superstructures toppled and burned". Garrett Middlebrook, a co-pilot in one of the B-25s, described the ferocity of the strafing attacks:


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: "Shirayuki" was the first ship to be hit, by a combination of strafing and bombing attacks. Almost all the men on the bridge became casualties, including Kimura, who was wounded. One bomb hit started a magazine explosion that caused the stern to break off, and the ship to sink. Her crew was transferred to "Shikinami", and "Shirayuki" was scuttled. The destroyer "Tokitsukaze" was also hit and fatally damaged. Its crew was taken off by "Yukikaze". The destroyer "Arashio" was hit, and collided with the transport "Nojima", disabling her. Both the destroyer and the transport were abandoned, and "Nojima" was later sunk by an air attack.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: Fourteen B-25s returned that afternoon, reportedly claiming 17 hits or near misses. By this time, a third of the transports were sunk or sinking. As the Beaufighters and B-25s had expended their munitions, some USAAF A-20 Havocs of the 3rd Attack Group joined in. Another five hits were claimed by B-17s of the 43rd Bombardment Group from higher altitudes. During the afternoon, further attacks from USAAF B-25s and Bostons of No. 22 Squadron RAAF followed.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: All seven of the transports were hit and most were burning or sinking about south east of Finschhafen, along with the destroyers "Shirayuki", "Tokitsukaze" and "Arashio". Four of the destroyers – "Shikinami", "Yukikaze", "Uranami" and "Asagumo" – picked up as many survivors as possible and then retired to Rabaul, accompanied by the destroyer , which had come from Rabaul to assist. That night, a force of ten U.S. Navy PT boats – under the command of Lieutenant Commander Barry Atkins – set out to attack the convoy. Two boats struck submerged debris and were forced to return. The other eight arrived off Lae in the early hours of 4 March. Atkins spotted a fire that turned out to be the transport "Oigawa Maru". "PT-143" and "PT-150" fired torpedoes at it, sinking the crippled vessel. In the morning, a fourth destroyer – "Asashio" – was sunk when a B-17 hit her with a bomb while she was picking up survivors from "Arashio". Only one destroyer, "Yukikaze", was undamaged among the four surviving destroyers.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: Some 2,700 survivors were taken to Rabaul by the destroyers. On 4 March, another 1,000 or so survivors were adrift on rafts. On the evenings of 3–5 March, PT boats and planes attacked Japanese rescue vessels, as well as the survivors from the sunken vessels on life rafts and swimming or floating in the sea. This was later justified on the grounds that rescued servicemen would have been rapidly landed at their military destination and promptly returned to active service, as well as being retaliation for the Japanese fighter planes attacking survivors of the downed B-17 bomber. While many of the Allied aircrew accepted these attacks as being necessary, others were sickened. On 6 March, the Japanese submarines and picked up 170 survivors. Two days later, "I-26" found another 54 and put them ashore at Lae. Hundreds made their way to various islands. One band of 18 survivors landed on Kiriwina, where they were captured by "PT-114". Another made its way to Guadalcanal, only to be killed by an American patrol.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: On 4 March the Japanese mounted a retaliatory raid on the Buna airfield, the site of a base that the Allies had captured back in January, though the fighters did little damage. Kenney wrote in his memoir that the Japanese reprisal occurred "after the horse had been stolen from the barn. It was a good thing that the Nip air commander was stupid. Those hundred airplanes would have made our job awfully hard if they had taken part in the big fight over the convoy on March 3rd."


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: On Goodenough Island, between 8 and 14 March 1943, Australian patrols from the 47th Infantry Battalion found and killed 72 Japanese, captured 42 and found another nine dead on a raft. One patrol killed eight Japanese who had landed in two flat-bottomed boats, in which were found some documents in sealed tins. On translation by the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section, one document turned out to be a copy of the Japanese Army List, with the names and postings of every officer in the Japanese Army. It therefore provided a complete order of battle of the Japanese Army, including many units that had never before been reported. A mention of any Japanese officer could now be correlated with his unit. Copies were made available to intelligence units in every theatre of war against Japan.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: The battle was a disaster for the Japanese. Out of 6,900 troops who were badly needed in New Guinea, only about 1,200 made it to Lae. Another 2,700 were saved by destroyers and submarines and returned to Rabaul. About 2,890 Japanese soldiers and sailors were killed. The Allies lost 13 aircrew, 10 of whom were lost in combat while three others died in an accident. There were also eight wounded. Aircraft losses were one B-17 and three P-38s in combat, and one B-25 and one Beaufighter in accidents. MacArthur issued a communiqué on 7 March stating that 22 ships, including twelve transports, three cruisers and seven destroyers, had been sunk along with 12,792 troops. Army Air Force Headquarters in Washington, D.C. looked into the matter in mid-1943 and concluded that there were only 16 ships involved, but GHQ SWPA considered the original account accurate. The victory was a propaganda boon for the Allies, with one United States newsreel claiming the Japanese had lost 22 ships, 15,000 troops, and 102 aircraft. The New York Times, on its front page on March 4, 1943, cited the loss by the Japanese of 22 ships, 15,000 troops and 55 aircraft.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: The Allied Air Forces had used 233,847 rounds of ammunition, and dropped two-hundred and sixty-one 500-pound and two-hundred and fifty-three 1,000-pound bombs. They claimed 19 hits and 42 near misses with the former and 59 hits and 39 near misses from the latter. Of the 137 bombs dropped in low level attacks, 48 (35 percent) were claimed to have hit but only 29 (7.5 percent) of the 387 bombs dropped from medium altitude. This compared favourably with efforts in August and September 1942 when only 3 percent of bombs dropped were claimed to have scored hits. It was noted that the high and medium altitude attacks scored few hits but dispersed the convoy, while the strafing runs from the Beaufighters had knocked out many of the ships' anti-aircraft defences. Aircraft attacking from several directions at once had confused and overwhelmed the Japanese defences, resulting in lower casualties and more accurate bombing. The results therefore vindicated not just the tactics of mast height attack but of mounting coordinated attacks from several directions. The Japanese estimated that at least 29 bombs had hit a ship during the battle. This was a big improvement over the Battle of Wau back in January, when Allied aircraft attacked a Japanese convoy consisting of five destroyers and five troop transports travelling from Rabaul to Lae, but managed to sink just one transport and beach another.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: Imamura's chief of staff flew to Imperial General Headquarters to report on the disaster. It was decided that there would be no more attempts to land troops at Lae. The losses incurred in the Bismarck Sea caused grave concern for the security of Lae and Rabaul and resulted in a change of strategy. On 25 March a joint Army-Navy Central Agreement on South West Area Operations gave operations in New Guinea priority over those in the Solomon Islands campaign. The XVIII Army was allocated additional shipping, ordnance and anti-aircraft units, which were sent to Wewak or Hansa Bay. Of the defeat, Rabaul staff officer Masatake Okumiya said, "Our losses for this single battle were fantastic. Not during the entire savage fighting at Guadalcanal did we suffer a single comparable blow. We knew we could no longer run cargo ships or even fast destroyer transports to any front on the north coast of New Guinea, east of Wewak".


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: The planned movement of the 20th Division to Madang was revised in the light of events in the Bismarck Sea. The operation was postponed for two days, and the destination was altered from Madang to Hansa Bay further west. To reduce the Allied air threat, the Allied airfield at Wau was bombed on 9 March and that at Dobodura on 11 March. Three Allied aircraft were destroyed on the ground and one P-40 was lost in the air but Allied fighters claimed nine Japanese aircraft. The transports reached Hansa Bay unscathed on 12 March and the troops made their way down to Madang on foot or in barges. The 20th Division then became involved in an attempt to construct a road from Madang to Lae through the Ramu and Markham Valleys. It toiled on the road for the next few months but its efforts were ultimately frustrated by the New Guinea weather and the rugged terrain of the Finisterre Range.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: Some submarines were made available for supply runs to Lae but they did not have the capacity to support the troops there by themselves. An operation was carried out on 29 March in which four destroyers delivered 800 troops to Finschhafen but the growing threat from Allied aircraft led to the development of routes along the coast of New Guinea from Madang to Finschhafen and along the north and south coasts of New Britain to Finschhafen, thence to Lae using Army landing craft. It was by this means that the remainder of the 51st Division finally made the trip to Lae in May. The necessity of delivering troops and supplies to the front in this manner caused immense difficulties for the Japanese in their attempts to halt further Allied advances. After the war, Japanese officers at Rabaul estimated that around 20,000 troops were lost in transit to New Guinea from Rabaul, a significant factor in Japan's ultimate defeat in the New Guinea campaign.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: In April, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto used the additional air resources allocated to Rabaul in Operation I-Go, an air offensive designed to redress the situation by destroying Allied ships and aircraft in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The operation was indecisive and Yamamoto became a casualty of Allied intelligence and air power in the Solomon Islands on 18 April 1943.


title: Battle of the Bismarck Sea

text: In 1954, O. G. Haywood Jr., wrote an article in the "" in which game theory was used to model the decision-making in the battle. Since then, the name of the battle has been applied to this particular type of two-person zero-sum game.


title: Michael McCaul

text: Michael Thomas McCaul Sr. (born January 14, 1962) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2005. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the House Committee on Homeland Security during the 113th, 114th, and 115th Congresses. His district stretches from Austin to Houston.


title: Michael McCaul

text: McCaul became the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the 116th Congress (2019–2021); he retains that position in the 117th Congress (2021–present).


title: Michael McCaul

text: Born in Dallas, the son of Frances Jane (Lott) and James Addington McCaul, Jr., McCaul has English, Irish, and German ancestry. He graduated from Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas and earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from San Antonio's Trinity University in 1984 and a Juris Doctor from St. Mary's University three years later. McCaul also completed a Senior Executive Fellowship at Harvard Kennedy School.


title: Michael McCaul

text: McCaul worked as an attorney and federal prosecutor before entering politics. He was the Chief of Counterterrorism and National Security for Texas's branch of the US Attorney's office, and also worked under the Department of Justice's Public Integrity Section. After he left, McCaul took a position as a Deputy Attorney General in 1999 with the Texas Attorney General's Office and served in this capacity until 2002.


title: Michael McCaul

text: McCaul first ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2004 and won a crowded Republican primary in the newly created 10th District. The district, which included part of Austin, the western part of Harris County and several rural counties in between, was thought to be so heavily Republican that no Democratic candidate even filed, effectively handing him the seat.


title: Michael McCaul

text: In 2006 he defeated Democratic nominee Ted Ankrum and former Libertarian presidential candidate Michael Badnarik with 55% of the vote. McCaul was reelected again in 2008, against Democratic candidate Larry Joe Doherty and Libertarian candidate Matt Finkel, 54% to 43%.


title: Michael McCaul

text: Four years later, he was reelected to a fourth term with 76% of the vote against Ankrum (22%) and Libertarian candidate Jeremiah "JP" Perkins (1%). McCaul won a seventh term in 2016 with 179,221 votes (57.3%) to Democratic nominee Tawana W. Cadien's 120,170 (38.4%). Libertarian Bill Kelsey received 13,209 (4.2%).


title: Michael McCaul

text: In 2018, McCaul won an eighth term in the House with 157,166 votes (51.1%) to Democratic nominee Mike Siegel's 144,034 (46.8%) and Libertarian Mike Ryan's 6,627 votes (2.5%). It was the closest race of McCaul's career.


title: Michael McCaul

text: On December 11, 2013, McCaul introduced legislation to require the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct cybersecurity activities on behalf of the federal government and codify DHS's role in preventing and responding to cybersecurity incidents involving the Information Technology (IT) systems of federal civilian agencies and critical infrastructure in the U.S. McCaul said the bill was "an important step toward addressing the cyber threat."


title: Michael McCaul

text: On December 18, 2019, McCaul voted against both articles of impeachment against Trump. Of the 195 Republicans who voted, all voted against both impeachment articles.


title: Michael McCaul

text: In April 2019, McCaul spoke out against a resolution that would end U.S. involvement in the Yemeni Civil War, saying it would "disrupt US security cooperation agreements with more than 100 countries."


title: Michael McCaul

text: In 2022, McCaul said he supports heavily arming Ukraine with the weapons they need to win the Russo-Ukrainian War.


title: Michael McCaul

text: McCaul supported Donald Trump's proposals to build a wall along the Mexico–United States border. He supports the Remain in Mexico policy.


title: Michael McCaul

text: McCaul is married to Linda Mays McCaul, the daughter of Clear Channel Communications founder and former chairman Lowry Mays and sister of its former CEO Mark Mays. In 2011, "Roll Call" named McCaul as one of the wealthiest members of the United States Congress, surpassing then U.S. Senator John Kerry. His net worth was estimated at $294 million, about 300% higher than it was in the previous year ($74 million). In 2004, the same publication estimated his net worth at $12 million. His wealth increase was due to large monetary transfers from his wife's family.


title: Michael McCaul

text: McCaul and his family live in West Lake Hills, Texas, a wealthy suburb of Austin, Texas. He is frequently named as one of the top ten users of household water in the Austin area, and was the No. 1 consumer of household water in the city in 2017. According to "The Dallas Morning News", "Several cities try to conserve water by creating mandatory watering schedules for residents. Dallas residents are allowed to water their lawns twice per week, with the day depending on the digits of their address. In Austin, residents are restricted to one or two days of watering per week and only during certain hours of the day."


title: Michael McCaul

text: On October 28, 2020, it was reported that McCaul's real estate firms have pursued two dozen lawsuits over breaches of lease agreements. Tenants complained about leases being granted under false pretenses, poor conditions in the properties, or hardship events forcing their abandonment, including at least one restaurant closed by law during the coronavirus pandemic. But McCaul's companies aggressively pursued back rent and expenses anyway.


The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India (PS to the PM) is the senior-most bureaucrat in, and the administrative head of, the Prime Minister's Office. The officeholder is generally a civil servant, commonly from the Indian Administrative Service and occasionally from the Indian Foreign Service. The post is considered one of the most influential in the Indian civil services, and some principal secretaries are considered more powerful and influential than senior government ministers.


title: Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India

text: The status of the principal secretary—akin to the additional principal secretary—was generally considered equivalent to the Cabinet Secretary, the Government of India's topmost civil servant. However, since 2019, the officeholder has been the accorded the status of a cabinet minister.


text: The Prime Minister's Secretariat (PMS)—headed by an officer of the rank of joint secretary to the Government of India—was established after independence under the prime ministership of Jawaharlal Nehru, as a successor to the office of the Governor-General of India's secretary. Lal Bahadur Shastri appointed Lakshmi Kant Jha, an Indian Civil Service officer, as his secretary, making Jha the first secretary to the Government of India-ranked officer in the PMS. During Indira Gandhi's tenure as prime minister, the post of Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister was created; with retired Indian Foreign Service officer P. N. Haksar becoming the first PS to the PM.


text: The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India acts as the administrative chief of the Prime Minister's Office, and as a result, wields a significant amount of power over the daily affairs of the Government of India. The main functions of the officeholder often include, but are not limited to:


text: The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister is generally considered the latter's most crucial aide. Some principal secretaries are considered more powerful and influential than senior government ministers.


text: A prime minister—through the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet—can also appoint an additional principal secretary. The only instance of an additional principal secretary being appointed was in May 2014, Pramod Kumar Misra, a retired 1972-batch Gujarat cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, was appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet to serve as newly-elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi's additional principal secretary.


title: Blade of the Immortal (film)

text: Miike explored different themes in the story such as revenge but in a more complex manner as he sees Manji as a "dark hero" while the team also found to difficult to write multiple fight scenes in the film's time. The director chose Kimura for the role of Manji due to the actor's large popularity something which he felt was similar to the original manga that he also found popular. Sugisaki, on the other hand, was chosen for her energetic role in a commercial. The film premiered out of competition at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, and was released theatrically in Japan by Warner Bros. Pictures on 29 April 2017.


title: Blade of the Immortal (film)

text: Grossing $8.40 million, the film did not manage to reach the expected success. However, the film got a generally positive response by critics for the handling fight scenes and the relationship between the two protagonists. It also achieved good sales in Japan involving its home media products. Samura expressed satisfaction when watching the final product. It was promoted to two awards but failed to obtain either of them.


title: Blade of the Immortal (film)

text: Manji is a samurai on the run after following his superior's order to kill a corrupt lord and his followers. Manji chose to care for his now insane sister Machi. While on the run, Machi is found being held hostage by a large group of rōnin out for a bounty on Manji's head. When Manji does comply with the rōnins' demands, they proceed to kill Machi. In retaliation Manji kills every member of the group, but is mortally wounded. As there was nothing left to live for, he accepts his death, but Yaobikuni implants "sacred bloodworms" into his body, which heal him.


title: Blade of the Immortal (film)

text: 52 years later: Manji is now an ageless immortal, who is approached by a young girl named Rin Asano who requests his aid as a bodyguard to help avenge the death of her father, Kurose, at the hands of Kagehisa Anotsu and the Ittō-ryū, a society of samurai assassins whom he leads. While Manji reluctantly agrees when a Ittō-ryū member Sabato Kuroi who had the severed head of Rin's mother mounted on his left shoulder. Word of Sabato's death reaches Kagehisa after setting up the Ittō-ryū's contract with Kagimura Habaki for a place in the shogunate, sending Taito Magatsu to deal with Rin and her bodyguard.


title: Blade of the Immortal (film)

text: Magatsu is defeated, but is spared as he reveals Manji's immortality to the other Ittō-ryū members. Manji later encounters the Ittō-ryū member Eiku Shizuma, but is defeated. Manji and Rin later arrive in Fukagawa where they encounter Kagehisa's loyal follower Makie Otono-Tachibana. While Makie had the upper hand, she cannot not bring herself to kill Manji. She reveals that she has been wondering if she is fighting for the right cause and that she has thought of leaving the group. Rin intervenes, telling her that she seeks vengeance because of the death of his parents whom she loved and Makie leaves them quietly.


title: Blade of the Immortal (film)

text: The duo later encounter the Mugai-ryū, learning that Kagehisa is going to Mt. Takeo to recruit a dojo master. Mugai-ryū's member Shira attacks Rin after she intervened in his attempt to have sex with a prostitute that the Ittō-ryū hired to pose as Kagehisa. Just as he is about to kill her, Manji takes a hand, but lets him run away. Following Rin's encounter with the real Kagehisa, learning that Kagehisa's actions were influenced by the history between their grandfathers Takayoshi Asano and Saburō Anotsu, Rin leaves Manji to continue her hunt alone while he tries to find her.


title: Blade of the Immortal (film)

text: When Kagehisa arrives at Mt. Takao he is betrayed by Habaki who has set up an ambush. Separately, Manji and Makie arrive soon after, resulting in an epic all-out battle as Makie sacrifices herself against gunfire from samurai in order to protect Kagehisa. Meanwhile, after killing hundreds on another part of the same battlefield while Kegehisa is being betrayed, Manji runs off after Shira as he abducts Rin to revenge Manji's previously chopping off his hand. Shira demands that Manji disarm himself, but Manji is mindful of Shira's duplicity he uses a small concealed dart to cut through the rope with which Rin is tied.


title: Blade of the Immortal (film)

text: They engage in a fist fight and Manji sends Shira spiraling to his death off a cliff. Although weakened and bloodied, Kagehisa kills Habaki, and then he encounters Manji who in the end defeats him. Rin is offered to deliver the killing blow of vengeance, while Kagehisa warns Manji that his sons will come after him. Despite his wounds, Manji survives to the battle.


title: Blade of the Immortal (film)

text: The film was produced and advertised as the 100th film in the career of Miike. Miike was not aware of this goal as he claims he was always busy when developing films but felt satisfied with "Blade of the Immortal" reaching the 100th movie. Miike wanted to make a samurai movie based on the lack of this genre in Japan as well as the amount of time "Blade of the Immortal" has finished its serialization by the time he considered grabbing its story to adapt as a film.


title: Blade of the Immortal (film)

text: The themes of revenge of explored in the feature was something that Miike paralleled with his own career as both do not seem to reach a conclusion. Miike noted that one of the biggest challenges of adapting the manga was the large amount of characters featured in the story and how Manji would often not be present. As a result, Miike decided the stuff should condense the plot from the original manga to make a proper film story. He was attracted to Samura's work based on his handling of characters such as villains who offer a realistic characterization, Manji being "dark hero" and the detailed artwork. The final fight scene was the most difficult part the studio found difficult to make and was done in Kyoto. Nevertheless, he felt that all the actors were committed to their characters during shooting of movie.


title: Blade of the Immortal (film)

text: The special features featurette titled "Mangi and the 300", indicates that the hyperviolence of "Blade of the Immortal" was modeled in part on the film version of "300" from several years prior dealing with the Spartans. It was announced in October 2015. Miike was interested by Samura's manga and thus wanted to create a product that would please the manga author. He was mostly impressed by the reverse ideas in regards to the themes of "light" and "dark", explaining that the main characters did not have a stereotypical appeal commonly found in fiction.


title: Blade of the Immortal (film)

text: Miike cast Kimura for the role as he found him fitting due to Kimura's personal life and the differences he has with the other members of the music group SMAP. Additionally, since Kimura was also popular within Japanese fandom for over two decades by the time the film was made, he felt that his appeal would attract a bigger audience. When originally thinking Kimura playing the role of Manji, Miike received negative commentaries by his coworkers stating the actor would not play it. However, Miike still felt that due to Kimura's experience in films, he has suitable to play the leading role in the movie. He further claimed ""in order to get those in the movie, using the character of Manji was absolutely instrumental." He said that he personally selected Kimura, "a superstar who made the transition from the Showa era to the Heisei era," as "the world's strongest member of the Miike Gang, the Ittō-ryū fighting school of our film industry."


title: Blade of the Immortal (film)

text: Kimura expressed multiple thoughts about his acting as Manji, such as how he deals with make up and action sequences. Kimura suffered a major wound while filming, resulting in him not being able to walk for various days. Hana Sugisaki was cast as Rin Asano based on a TV commercial for instant Chinese stir fry food. Miike found the actress did a justifying work in the commercial, inspiring him for such enthusiasm. The theme song of the film, "Live to Die Another Day", is performed by Miyavi, whom Miike noted he had a good relationship with Kimura due to their similar careers.


title: Blade of the Immortal (film)

text: "Blade of the Immortal" was released theatrically in Japan by Warner Bros. Pictures on 29 April 2017. "Variety" stated the film earned $6.73 million domestically which they described as "disappointing". The writer suggested that the film's box office performance may have been due to the disbanding of the music group SMAP which actor Takuya Kimura was part of.


title: Blade of the Immortal (film)

text: In Japan, the initial Blu-ray and DVD Set Premium Edition sold 8,930 copies to rank #3 on the overall Blu-ray Disc chart. The regular edition was #11 with 2,326 copies. The DVD Deluxe Edition for the live-action reached 8,896 copies. The Blu-ray deluxe edition for the live-action reached 20,383 copies.


title: Blade of the Immortal (film)

text: In the United States, the film grossed over from Blu-ray and DVD sales . In the United Kingdom, it was 2018's third best-selling foreign language film on home video (below the Japanese anime films "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Your Name").


title: Blade of the Immortal (film)

text: The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an 86% approval rating, based on reviews from 93 critics with an average rating of 7 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""Blade of the Immortal" highlights Takashi Miike's flair for balletic violence,combining what it gives in strict originality with rich characterizations and kinetic thrills." The film has a score of 72 out of 100 on Metacritic (based on 26 critics), indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Blade of the Immortal (film)

text: Critics focused on the large amount of action. Jordan Hoffman of "The Guardian" gave the film four stars out of five, noting that "the fun really shines when the film revels in the outlandish weapons: enormous double-pronged swords, an axe that looks more like a sharp anvil, blades attached to staffs, blades attached to chains, shurikens for all occasions, etc." "if you are going to see one outlandish and occasionally nauseating bloodbath samurai pic this year, this is the one" Harry Windsor of "The Hollywood Reporter" found the film to be "less memorable" than "13 Assassins", but that "there are still pleasures to be had, particularly for those fond of long but expertly choreographed sword fights with regular, and bloody, dismemberments." "Variety" described as a departure from Miike's previous samurai films as a result of the notable gore while also praising the large amount of fights. The plot was noted to take advatange of supernatural elements in order to focus on battles with the writer describing the film as a "chanbara" genre.


title: Blade of the Immortal (film)

text: Another comparison based on Manji's supernatural powers was made by "Blu Ray" but rather than "Logan", the 1986 "Highlander" film due to the portrayal of immortal fighters. "Japan Times" highly praised Kimura's work for his emotional and physical scenes despite not being at his prime in the film, comparing him to Tom Cruise. Although "IGN" criticized Manji's and Rin's journey for being an excuse to battle a large amount of characters, the reviewer enjoyed their relationship, comparing them to "Logan" like "The Guardian" while also being selfaware of the idea of revenge.


title: Blade of the Immortal (film)

text: In May 2017, Hiroaki Samura stated that he rejected Hollywood's suggestions for a live-action due to the changes Westerns tend to make. In regards to Miike's film, he had this to say:


title: Arya (name)

text: Arya, also spelled Aarya or Ariya ( '; ') or as Aryo or Ario, is an Indo-Iranian name. The Sanskrit word "Arya" is a surname and a masculine ( ') and feminine ( ') given name, signifying "honorable" or "noble". In India and Iran it is a popular masculine given name and a popular surname. In the historically Indianized country of Cambodia, it is usually a name given to girls. In Indonesia, Arya is also commonly used as a masculine given name, usually in Java, Bali, and other places. In Javanese it becomes Aryo, Ario, or Aryono. It is a common name amongst Hindus and Muslims.


title: Arya (name)

text: The 2011 television series "Game of Thrones" features a character named Arya Stark, increasing the name's popularity among Western audiences. In 2013, BBC News wrote that "the passion and the extreme devotion of fans" had brought about a phenomenon unlike anything related to other popular TV series, manifesting itself in a very broad range of fan labor, such as fan fiction, "Game of Thrones"-themed burlesque routines, or people naming their children after characters from the series. In 2012, "Arya" was the fastest-rising girl's name in popularity in the United States, jumping from 711th to 413th position.


title: Arya (name)

text: It peaked in popularity in the United States in 2019, when it was the 92nd most popular name for newborn girls. It fell to 120th position on the U.S. popularity chart in 2021. The name entered the top 200 most commonly used names for girls born in England and Wales in 2017.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: Winnemucca () is the only incorporated city in, and is the county seat of, Humboldt County, Nevada, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 8,431, up 14.0 percent from the 2010 census figure of 7,396. Interstate 80 passes through the city, where it meets U.S. Route 95.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: The town was named for the 19th-century Chief Winnemucca of the local Northern Paiute tribe, who traditionally lived in this area. Winnemucca, loosely translated, means "one moccasin." The chief's daughter, Sarah Winnemucca, was an advocate for education and fair treatment of the Paiute and Shoshone tribes in the area. Their family all learned to speak English, and Sarah worked as an interpreter, scout and messenger for the United States Army during the Bannock War of 1878. In 1883, Sarah Winnemucca published the first autobiography written by a Native American woman, based on hundreds of lectures she'd given in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. It has been described as "one of the most enduring ethno-historical books written by an American Indian."


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: On September 16, 1868, the Central Pacific Railroad reached Winnemucca, and was officially opened on October 1 of that year. It was on the First transcontinental railroad. It was part of the transcontinental line.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: Basque immigrants worked as sheep-herders starting in the mid-19th century. In honor of this heritage, Winnemucca hosts an annual Basque Festival.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: Winnemucca's brothel district, while smaller now than in the 1980s, is known as "The Line" or "The Ring Circle", based on the layout of the street where the brothels are located. As of 2015, there have been no operating brothels in Humboldt County, Nevada. Sex workers in the town must register their vehicles with the local police.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: According to a billboard along State Route 140 (the "Winnemucca to the Sea Highway"), Winnemucca styles itself "The City of Paved Streets".


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Winnemucca had a vibrant Chinatown. The Chinese originally came to the area as workers on the transcontinental Central Pacific Railroad, which reached Winnemucca in 1868. Some remained or returned to settle.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: During the 1890s, around 400 Chinese formed a community in the town. Among their prominent buildings was the Joss House on Baud Street, a place of worship and celebration. In 1911, the community was visited by Sun Yat-Sen, later to become Chinese president. He was on a fund-raising tour of the United States to help the Xinhai Revolution.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: The Joss House, the last structure associated with Chinatown, was demolished on March 8, 1955, by order of the Winnemucca City Council.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: Winnemucca's climate is semi-arid (Köppen climate classification ""BSk""), averaging of precipitation annually. Summer days tend to be hot, but the temperature drops significantly at night. Winters are cold with generally light snow, with falling during a typical year. The highest recorded temperature in Winnemucca was , on July 11, 2002, and the lowest recorded temperature was on December 22, 1990. Freezing temperatures have been observed in every month of the year.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: As of the census of 2000, there were 7,174 people, 2,736 households, and 1,824 families residing in the city. The population density was 867.5 people per square mile (334.9/km). There were 3,280 housing units at an average density of 396.6 per square mile (153.1/km). The racial makeup of the city was 83.41% White, 2.23% African American, 0.89% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 9.60% from other races, and 3.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 20.74% of the population.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: Basque Americans make up 4.2% of the population of Winnemucca, the highest percentage of any city in the United States.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: There were 2,736 households, out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.21.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.2% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.5 males.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: The median income for a household in the city was $46,699, and the median income for a family was $53,681. Males had a median income of $47,917 versus $26,682 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,441. About 7.5% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under the age of 18 and 8.1% of those 65 and older.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: The Winnemucca Indian Colony of Nevada has its headquarters in Winnemucca. It is a federally recognized tribe of Western Shoshone and Northern Paiute Indians in northwestern Nevada.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Winnemucca. The "California Zephyr" provides a daily service in both directions between San Francisco and Chicago. The Winnemucca passenger rail station, at 209 West Railroad Street, is now unstaffed. Amtrak tickets for railway transportation in Winnemucca can be purchased online.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: Winnemucca is near the half-way point between Salt Lake City and San Francisco along Interstate 80, which passes through town. US Route 95 also goes through Winnemucca.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: Local aviation needs are served by the Winnemucca Municipal Airport, located about 5 miles southwest of downtown. There are no scheduled passenger services. The closest commercial airports are Reno–Tahoe International Airport in Reno and Elko Regional Airport in Elko.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: Nomadic Broadcasting operates radio station KHYX-FM with a 50,000 watt signal on 102.7 FM and Translator K232BK on 94.3 FM, serving Winnemucca and its outlying communities. 102.7 is an adult contemporary format while 94.3 is a rock format. These two signals are HD.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: Many of Winnemucca's residents are employed by large mining companies such as Newmont and Barrick Gold and by many companies servicing the gold mining industry. Carry-On Trailers employs over 100 residents at their manufacturing facility in the Airport Industrial Park. Winnemucca also has a decent and growing Nevada tourism base. Other area employers include Winnemucca Farms, casinos, hotels, motels and restaurants located in the city.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: Until 2013, Winnemucca Farms operated the world's largest potato dehydration plant. The Winnemucca area is still one of the largest potato farming areas in the world.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: Three K-4 elementary schools, Grass Valley, Sonoma Heights, and Winnemucca Grammar School serve Winnemucca. All of Winnemucca is zoned to French Ford Middle School (5–6), Winnemucca Junior High School (7–8), and Albert M. Lowry High School (9–12). Lowry High's mascot is the Buckaroos.


title: Winnemucca, Nevada

text: Winnemucca is mentioned in the American version of the song "I've Been Everywhere", recorded, for instance, by Hank Snow (1962), the Statler Brothers (1973), Lynn Anderson (1970), and Johnny Cash (1993). The song begins "I was totin' my pack along the dusty Winnemucca road". Winnemucca is mentioned a second time in the song and is the only town mentioned twice.