title: Water–gas shift reaction

text: The typical composition of commercial HTS catalyst has been reported as 74.2% FeO, 10.0% CrO, 0.2% MgO (remaining percentage attributed to volatile components). The chromium acts to stabilize the iron oxide and prevents sintering. The operation of HTS catalysts occurs within the temperature range of 310 °C to 450 °C. The temperature increases along the length of the reactor due to the exothermic nature of the reaction. As such, the inlet temperature is maintained at 350 °C to prevent the exit temperature from exceeding 550 °C. Industrial reactors operate at a range from atmospheric pressure to 8375 kPa (82.7 atm). The search for high performance HT WGS catalysts remains an intensive topic of research in fields of chemistry and materials science. Activation energy is a key criteria for the assessment of catalytic performance in WGS reactions. To date, some of the lowest activation energy values have been found for catalysts consisting of copper nanoparticles on ceria support materials, with values as low as Ea = 34 kJ/mol reported relative to hydrogen generation.


title: Water–gas shift reaction

text: Catalysts for the lower temperature WGS reaction are commonly based on copper or copper oxide loaded ceramic phases, While the most common supports include alumina or alumina with zinc oxide, other supports may include rare earth oxides, spinels or perovskites. A typical composition of a commercial LTS catalyst has been reported as 32-33% CuO, 34-53% ZnO, 15-33% AlO. The active catalytic species is CuO. The function of ZnO is to provide structural support as well as prevent the poisoning of copper by sulfur. The AlO prevents dispersion and pellet shrinkage. The LTS shift reactor operates at a range of 200–250 °C. The upper temperature limit is due to the susceptibility of copper to thermal sintering. These lower temperatures also reduce the occurrence of side reactions that are observed in the case of the HTS. Noble metals such as platinum, supported on ceria, have also been used for LTS.


title: Water–gas shift reaction

text: The WGSR has been extensively studied for over a hundred years. The kinetically relevant mechanism depends on the catalyst composition and the temperature. Two mechanisms have been proposed: an associative Langmuir–Hinshelwood mechanism and a redox mechanism. The redox mechanism is generally regarded as kinetically relevant during the high-temperature WGSR (> 350 °C) over the industrial iron-chromia catalyst. Historically, there has been much more controversy surrounding the mechanism at low temperatures. Recent experimental studies confirm that the associative carboxyl mechanism is the predominant low temperature pathway on metal-oxide-supported transition metal catalysts.


title: Water–gas shift reaction

text: In 1920 Armstrong and Hilditch first proposed the associative mechanism. In this mechanism CO and HO are adsorbed onto the surface of the catalyst, followed by formation of an intermediate and the desorption of H and CO. In general, HO dissociates onto the catalyst to yield adsorbed OH and H. The dissociated water reacts with CO to form a carboxyl or formate intermediate. The intermediate subsequently dehydrogenates to yield CO and adsorbed H. Two adsorbed H atoms recombine to form H.


title: Water–gas shift reaction

text: There has been significant controversy surrounding the kinetically relevant intermediate during the associative mechanism. Experimental studies indicate that both intermediates contribute to the reaction rate over metal oxide supported transition metal catalysts. However, the carboxyl pathway accounts for about 90% of the total rate owing to the thermodynamic stability of adsorbed formate on the oxide support. The active site for carboxyl formation consists of a metal atom adjacent to an adsorbed hydroxyl. This ensemble is readily formed at the metal-oxide interface and explains the much higher activity of oxide-supported transition metals relative to extended metal surfaces. The turn-over-frequency for the WGSR is proportional to the equilibrium constant of hydroxyl formation, which rationalizes why reducible oxide supports (e.g. CeO) are more active than irreducible supports (e.g. SiO) and extended metal surfaces (e.g. Pt). In contrast to the active site for carboxyl formation, formate formation occurs on extended metal surfaces. The formate intermediate can be eliminated during the WGSR by using oxide-supported atomically dispersed transition metal catalysts, further confirming the kinetic dominance of the carboxyl pathway.


title: Water–gas shift reaction

text: The redox mechanism involves a change in the oxidation state of the catalytic material. In this mechanism, CO is oxidized by an O-atom intrinsically belonging to the catalytic material to form CO. A water molecule undergoes dissociative adsorption at the newly formed O-vacancy to yield two hydroxyls. The hydroxyls disproportionate to yield H and return the catalytic surface back to its pre-reaction state.


title: Water–gas shift reaction

text: The mechanism entails nucleophilic attack of water or hydroxide on a M-CO center, generating a metallacarboxylic acid.


title: Water–gas shift reaction

text: Since the water-gas shift reaction is an equilibrium reaction, there isn't a ‘reverse’ water-gas shift reaction. Water gas is defined as a fuel gas consisting mainly of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H). The term ‘shift’ in water-gas shift means changing the water gas composition (CO:H) ratio. The ratio can be increased by adding CO or reduced by adding steam to the reactor.


title: Marisa Pavan

text: Marisa Pavan (born Maria Luisa Pierangeli; 19 June 1932) is an Italian actress who first became known as the twin sister of film star Pier Angeli (Anna Maria Pierangeli) before achieving success in her own screen career.


title: Marisa Pavan

text: Pavan and her twin sister, Pier Angeli, were born in 1932 in Cagliari, Sardinia, the children of Enrichetta (née Romiti) and Luigi Pierangeli, a construction engineer. The two girls also had a younger sister, Patrizia Pierangeli, who became an actress as well.


title: Marisa Pavan

text: Pavan had no dramatic training when she signed a Hollywood contract with Paramount at age 19. Although her screen debut was in 1952 in "What Price Glory", Pavan's breakthrough role came three years later, when she was cast as Anna Magnani's daughter in "The Rose Tattoo". That part was initially assigned to her twin sister, but by the time production began, Angeli was unavailable for the role. Pavan's performance earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She also won the Golden Globe Award for (Best Supporting Actress) for her performance in the film.


title: Marisa Pavan

text: Pavan co-starred in films such as "Diane" (1956), "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" (1956), "The Midnight Story" (1957) and "John Paul Jones" (1959). She also played Abishag in King Vidor's biblical epic "Solomon and Sheba" (1959). Her later films included "A Slightly Pregnant Man" (1973), "Antoine and Sebastian" (1974) and the television miniseries "The Moneychangers" (1976). In 1985, she played Chantal Dubujak on "Ryan's Hope".


title: Marisa Pavan

text: On 27 March 1956, Pavan married French actor Jean-Pierre Aumont in Santa Barbara, California, and the couple remained together until Jean-Pierre's death in 2001. They had two sons: Jean-Claude, born in 1957, and Patrick, in 1960.


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps and Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps form the Army Medical Services.


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: Medical services in the British armed services date from the formation of the Standing Regular Army after the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. Prior to this, from as early as the 13th century there are records of surgeons and physicians being appointed by the English army to attend in times of war; but this was the first time a career was provided for a Medical Officer (MO), both in peacetime and in war. For much of the next two hundred years, army medical provision was mostly arranged on a regimental basis, with each battalion arranging its own hospital facilities and medical supplies. An element of oversight was provided by the appointment of three officials: a Surgeon-general, a Physician-general and an Apothecary-general.


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: In 1793 an Army Medical Board was formed (consisting of the Surgeon-general, Physician-general and Inspector of Regimental Infirmaries), which promoted a more centralised approach drawing on concurrent civilian healthcare practices. The Board set up five General (as opposed to regimental) Military Hospitals: four in the naval ports of Chatham, Deal, Plymouth and Gosport (Portsmouth), and one (known as York Hospital) in Chelsea. These hospitals received large numbers of sick and injured soldiers from the French Revolutionary Wars (so much so that by 1799 additional General Military Hospitals were set up in Yarmouth, Harwich and Colchester Barracks); the Board, however, was criticised, for both high expenditure and poor management. By the end of the century the Board had been disestablished, and most of the General Hospitals were closed or repurposed not long afterwards. By 1807 the only General Hospitals in operation were York Hospital (which was close to the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, where invalided soldiers were routinely sent for pension assessment) and the hospital at Parkhurst (which was attached to the army's Invalid Depôt on the Isle of Wight, where soldiers invalided home from service overseas were initially sent).


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: In 1810 the offices of Surgeon-general and Physician-general were abolished and a new Army Medical Department was established, overseen by a board chaired by a Director-General of the Medical Department. James McGrigor served in this role from 1815 to 1851: McGrigor, who has been called the Father of Army Medicine, had served as principal medical officer under the Duke of Wellington during the Peninsular War. During that time he had introduced significant changes in the organisation of the army's medical services, placing them on a far more formal footing: together with George Guthrie, he instituted the use of dedicated ambulance wagons to transport the wounded, and set up a series of temporary hospitals (formed of prefabricated huts brought over from Britain) to aid the evacuation of wounded soldiers from the front line.


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: After the end of the Peninsular War Fort Pitt in Chatham became the "de facto" headquarters of the Army Medical Department (the Invalid Depôt having relocated to Chatham from the Isle of Wight). A General Military Hospital was established on the site, which took on many of the functions (and most of the patients) of the old York Hospital. The influence of the Director-General grew, and from 1833 he was given sole charge of the Department. That same year the (hitherto separate) Irish Medical Board was merged into the Department, as was the Ordnance Medical Department twenty years later.


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: The Crimean War, however, would lay bare the inadequacies of the Army Medical Department (and many others). In 1854 there were only 163 surgeons on the Department's books; the Army had just two ambulance wagons, both of which were left behind in Bulgaria, and it relied for stretcher bearers on the Hospital Conveyance Corps (which was made up of pensioners and others deemed too infirm to fight). Two base hospitals were set up in Scutari, more than 300 miles from the front. Within weeks of arriving, more than half the British force had been incapacitated by disease (mainly typhus, dysentery and cholera); and in the space of seven months some 10,000 British servicemen out of a total of 28,000 had died.


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: In June 1855 a Medical Staff Corps was established (in place of the Hospital Conveyance Corps, which had by then been merged into the Land Transport Corps). It was formed of nine companies, overseen by a single officer, and had its headquarters at Fort Pitt. The Medical Staff Corps was set up to provide orderlies and stretcher bearers (later it was renamed the Army Hospital Corps, but reverted to its original title in 1884). The officers known as purveyors, who were responsible for medical provisioning, were formed into a separate Purveyors' Department by a Royal Warrant of 1861; nine years later it was merged into the Control Department, and later became part of the Army Service Corps. In 1857, in response to the Crimean debacle, a Royal Commission had been appointed for the improvement of sanitary conditions in Army barracks and hospitals; it recommended (among other things) the establishment of an Army Medical School, which was set up in 1860 at Fort Pitt Hospital before moving in 1863 to the new Royal Victoria Military Hospital at Netley outside Southampton.


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: Netley functioned as a general hospital, but much of the army's medical work continued to be carried out at a regimental level. At the time a regiment of 1,044 men would have a medical staff of one surgeon and two assistants (with an additional assistant being appointed if the regiment was stationed abroad, so as to allow the senior assistant to remain at home with the companies appointed to the depot).


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: The regimental basis of appointment for MOs continued until 1873, when a coordinated army medical service was set up. To join, a doctor needed to be qualified, single, and aged at least 21, and then undergo a further examination in physiology, surgery, medicine, zoology, botany and physical geography including meteorology, and also to satisfy various other requirements (including having dissected the whole body at least once and having attended 12 midwifery cases); the results were published in three classes by the Army Medical School. In 1884 the medical officers of the Army Medical Department were brought together with the quartermasters who provided their supplies to form the Army Medical Staff, which was given command of the Medical Staff Corps (which consisted entirely of other ranks).


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: Nevertheless, there was much unhappiness in the Army Medical Service in the following years as medical officers did not have military rank but "advantages corresponding to relative military rank" (such as choice of quarters, rates of lodging money, servants, fuel and light, allowances on account of injuries received in action, and pensions and allowances to widows and families). They had inferior pay in India, excessive amounts of Indian and colonial service (being required to serve in India six years at a stretch), and less recognition in honours and awards. They did not have their own identity as did the Army Service Corps, whose officers did have military rank. A number of complaints were published, and the "British Medical Journal" campaigned loudly. For over two years from 27 July 1887 there were no recruits to the Army Medical Department. A parliamentary committee reported in 1890, highlighting the doctors' injustices. There was no response from the Secretary of State for War. The British Medical Association, the Royal College of Physicians and others redoubled their protests. Eventually, by authority of a royal warrant dated 25 June 1898, officers and soldiers providing medical services were incorporated into a new body known by its present name, the Royal Army Medical Corps; its first Colonel-in-Chief was Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught.


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: The RAMC began to develop during the Boer War of 1899–1902. The Corps itself lost 743 officers and 6130 soldiers in the war. However, far more of them, and thousands more of the sick and wounded they treated, would have died if it had not been for the civilian doctors working in South Africa as volunteers—such as Sir Frederick Treves, Sir George Makins, Sir Howard Henry Tooth and Professor Alexander Ogston—who, having seen how unprepared to deal with epidemics the RAMC and the Army itself were, decided that a radical reform was needed. Chief among them was Alfred Fripp, who had been chosen by the Imperial Yeomanry Hospital Committee to order all the necessary materials and medical personnel, and oversee the setting-up of a private hospital at Deelfontein to cater, initially, for 520 'sick and wounded.' The contrast between the smooth working of the IYH at Deelfontein with the chaos of the RAMC hospitals, where an enteric epidemic had overwhelmed the staff, led to questions in Parliament, mainly by William Burdett-Coutts. In July 1901 the first meeting of the Committee of Reform took place, with all the aforementioned civilian experts, plus Sir Edwin Cooper Perry, making up half the number; the rest were Army men, and included Alfred Keogh, whom the new Secretary of State for War, St John Brodrick, later Earl of Midleton, appointed Chairman of this Committee and the subsequent Advisory Committee. Neither would have met so soon—if at all—but for Fripp's concern to limit unnecessary suffering, and for his ten years' friendship with the new King, Edward VII. Fripp showed him his plans for reform and the King made sure that they were not shelved by his government. Part of his plan was to move the Netley Hospital and Medical School to a Thames-side site at Millbank, London. Cooper Perry, Fripp's colleague from Guy's Hospital, was instrumental in making this happen, as well as using his formidable talents as an organizer in other services for the Reform Committee. Fripp and Cooper Perry were knighted for their services to the RAMC Committee of Reform in 1903.


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: During the First World War, the corps reached its apogee both in size and experience. The two people in charge of the RAMC in the Great War were Arthur Sloggett, the senior RAMC officer seconded to the IYH in Deelfontein who acquiesced in all Fripp's surprising innovations, and Alfred Keogh, whom Fripp recommended to Brodrick as an RAMC man well-regarded when Registrar of No.3 General Hospital in Cape Town. Its main base was for long the Queen Alexandra Military Hospital at Millbank, London (now closed). It set up a network of military general hospitals around the United Kingdom and established clinics and hospitals in countries where there were British troops. Major-General Sir William Macpherson of the RAMC wrote the official "Medical History of the War" (HMSO 1922).


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: Before the Second World War, RAMC recruits were required to be at least tall, and could enlist up to 30 years of age. They initially enlisted for seven years with the colours, and a further five years with the reserve, or three years and nine years. They trained for six months at the RAMC Depot, Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Church Crookham, before proceeding to specialist trade training. The RAMC Depot moved from Church Crookham to Keogh Barracks in Mytchett in 1964.


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: The corps established a network of home-country military hospitals for military casualties during the First World War. The hospitals were managed by Territorial Force personnel and were headquartered as follows:


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: The military medical services are now a tri-service body, with the hospital facilities of Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy combined. The main hospital facility is now the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, a joint military-National Health Service centre. The majority of injured service personnel were treated in Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham prior to the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital's opening. There was press coverage critical of the standard of care during the surge of UK military commitments in the years following the second invasion of Iraq, but it was later reported that the care provided to injured troops had significantly improved.


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, Friarage Hospital in Northallerton (near Catterick Garrison) and Frimley Park Hospital (near Aldershot Garrison) also have military hospital units attached to them but they do not treat operational casualties.


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: Since the Victoria Cross was instituted in 1856 there have been 27 Victoria Crosses and two bars awarded to army medical personnel. A bar, indicating a subsequent award of a second Victoria Cross, has only ever been awarded three times, two of them to medical officers. Twenty-three of these Victoria Crosses are on display in the Army Medical Services Museum. The corps also has one recipient of both the Victoria Cross and the Iron Cross. One officer was awarded the George Cross in the Second World War. A young member of the corps, Private Michelle Norris, became the first woman to be awarded the Military Cross following her actions in Iraq on 11 June 2006.


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: One VC is in existence that is not counted in any official records. In 1856, Queen Victoria laid a Victoria Cross beneath the foundation stone of the Royal Victoria Military Hospital, Netley. When the hospital was demolished in 1966, the VC, known as "The Netley VC", was retrieved and is now on display in the Army Medical Services Museum.


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: Within the military, Medical officers could occupy a number of roles that were dependent on experience, rank and location. Within military documentation, numerous abbreviations were used to identify these roles, of which the following are among the most common.


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: Since 1903, the corps has published an academic journal titled the "Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps" ("JRAMC"). Its stated aim is to "publish high quality research, reviews and case reports, as well as other invited articles, which pertain to the practice of military medicine in its broadest sense". Submissions are accepted from serving members of all ranks, as well as academics from outside the military. Initially a monthly publication, it is currently published quarterly by BMJ on behalf of the RAMC Association.


title: Royal Army Medical Corps

text: From 1898 to 1984, the RAMC maintained a staff band in its ranks. The earliest record of music in the RAMC was in the 1880s when a Corporal of the Medical Staff Corps was sent to Kneller Hall to be trained as a bugler. It was founded officially in 1898, with official permission for the band being given by the Duke of Connaught, first Colonel-in Chief of the RAMC. In 1902, the band had reached a stature to where it could take part in the Coronation Procession of King Edward VII. On 1 January 1939, the RAMC Band was taken over by the Army Council and was officially recognised as a state sponsored band. In 1962, Derek Waterhouse became the first official drum major to be appointed to the band. It was disbanded in 1984, being one of the first to go in the as a result of the restructuring of the Army. It is today retained in the Army Medical Services Band.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: The G Brooklyn-Queens Crosstown Local is an rapid transit service in the B Division of the New York City Subway. Its route emblem, or "bullet", is colored since it uses the IND Crosstown Line.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: The G operates at all times between Court Square in Long Island City, Queens, and Church Avenue in Kensington, Brooklyn, making local stops along its entire route. The G is the only non-shuttle service in the system that does not run within the borough of Manhattan. Since the 2000s, several improvements have been made to the G, including a route extension in Brooklyn and a full-route audit that identified solutions for issues on the G service.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: The G serves two stations in Queens: Court Square and 21st Street, which are both in Long Island City. Prior to 2010, it served all stations on the IND Queens Boulevard Line between Court Square and 71st Avenue in Forest Hills. In 1939 and 1940, the then-designated GG also used the now-demolished IND World's Fair Line to access the 1939 New York World's Fair. The GG, which became the G in 1985, had its southern terminal at Smith–Ninth Streets from 1976 to 2009.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: The original Brooklyn–Queens Crosstown Local service began on August 19, 1933, as a shuttle between Queens Plaza on the IND Queens Boulevard Line and Nassau Avenue. This service was designated GG because the IND used double letters to indicate local service. Starting on April 24, 1937, GG trains were extended to Forest Hills–71st Avenue during rush hours, serving as the Queens Boulevard local while trains ran express west of 71st Avenue. The entire IND Crosstown Line was completed on July 1, 1937, including the connection to the IND Culver Line (then the South Brooklyn Line) at Bergen Street. GG service ran at all times between Forest Hills–71st Avenue and Church Avenue. Soon after, it was cut back to Smith–Ninth Streets.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: From April 30 to November 1, 1939, and from May 11 to October 28, 1940, GG trains were extended via the temporary IND World's Fair Line to World's Fair Station at Horace Harding Boulevard at all times during the 1939-1940 World's Fair. Trains were marked as S Special. The fair closed on October 28, 1940, with the station and line being demolished later that year. As a result, GG service was truncated to Forest Hills–71st Avenue. Additional GG service was provided for the 1964 New York World's Fair, running nonstop between Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets station and Roosevelt Avenue every 30 minutes between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. It took 23 minutes for trains to travel between the two stations.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: On August 19, 1968, service was again extended to Church Avenue during rush hours to allow for the introduction of express service on the IND Culver Line. Since riders at local stations complained about the loss of direct service to Manhattan, F trains to and from Kings Highway began making local stops. All peak-direction F trains began running local on January 19, 1976. On August 30, 1976, due to budget cuts, remaining F express service north of Church Avenue was eliminated, and GG service was cut back to Smith–Ninth Streets. On January 24, 1977, as part of a series of NYCTA service cuts to save $13 million, many subway lines began running shorter trains again during middays. As part of the change, GG trains began running with four cars between 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.. On August 27, 1977, GG service was cut back to Queens Plaza during late nights, and local service along Queens Boulevard was provided by the . Effective May 6, 1985, use of double letters to indicate local service was discontinued, so the GG was relabeled G.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: Afterwards, as part of the New York City Transit Authority's proposed service plan to serve the new Archer Avenue Line upper level, the G would have been extended to Jamaica Center during weekends and evenings when N trains terminated at 71st Avenue or 57th Street–Seventh Avenue. During late nights, a G train shuttle would have run between Jamaica Center and Van Wyck Boulevard. On weekdays, the extension would have been served by N trains. This service plan would have allowed E and F trains to remain on the Queens Boulevard mainline toward 179th Street. The final service plan, which took effect on December 11, 1988, had the extension served by E trains, with R trains extended to 179th Street.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: On May 24, 1987, the and services switched terminals in Queens. As part of the reroute plan, Queens Plaza became the northern terminal for the G train on evenings, weekends and late nights. Three years later, on September 30, 1990, G service was extended to 179th Street during late nights to replace the , which terminated at 36th Street and Fourth Avenue. On April 14, 1991, weekend service was extended from Queens Plaza to 71st Avenue. Weekend G service was cut back to Queens Plaza on July 26, 1992.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: Beginning on March 23, 1997, G trains started terminating at Court Square on weekends. On August 30, 1997, late night service was permanently cut back from 179th Street to Court Square, with the F running local east of Queens Plaza replacing G service, meaning that the G only ran along the Queens Boulevard Line on weekdays. Evening service between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. was cut back from Queens Plaza to Court Square. On December 16, 2001, the 63rd Street Connector opened and Court Square became the northern terminal for the G train during weekdays, while G service was extended to Forest Hills–71st Avenue at all other times, which represented the reverse of the previous pattern. Service along the IND Queens Boulevard Line was replaced by the new train during weekdays. The G was to be truncated to Court Square at all times to make room for the V, but due to rider opposition, it was cut back only on weekdays until 8:30 p.m. Several G trains terminated at Church Avenue.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: On July 5, 2009, the G was once again extended south at all times to Church Avenue. This was required for overhaul of the Culver Viaduct, which caused the express tracks at Smith–Ninth Streets and Fourth Avenue/Ninth Street—used to switch G trains between tracks after they terminated at Smith–Ninth Streets—to be temporarily taken out of service. This had several benefits. First, five stations previously served by only the F train had more frequent service. Additionally, riders from northern Brooklyn and Long Island City had a direct route to Kensington. Finally, since the Church Avenue terminal had four tracks to store terminating G trains, as opposed to only one storage track at Smith–9th Streets, this reduced delays on both services because terminating G trains could switch to the storage tracks without having to wait in the station for another train to leave, as had occurred at Smith–Ninth Street. On July 19, 2012, MTA officials made this extension permanent because it provided more direct connections between Kensington and north Brooklyn.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: Due to the MTA's financial crisis in the late 2000s, as well as continued capacity issues on the IND Queens Boulevard Line, the G was to be cut back from Forest Hills–71st Avenue to Court Square at all times beginning June 27, 2010. However, due to planned track repairs during the times the G normally ran on the Queens Boulevard Line, it ceased running on that line on April 19. In addition, train headways were increased, which inconvenienced about 201,000 weekly commuters since they had to wait longer for G trains.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: Flood waters from Hurricane Sandy caused significant damage to the Greenpoint Tubes under the Newtown Creek. Although the G was back in service days after the hurricane, the tube needed permanent repairs. To allow for these repairs, G service ran only between Nassau Avenue and Church Avenue for twelve weekends between July and December 2013. This schedule was also in effect daily between July 25 and September 2, 2014.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: The G suffers from a wide range of issues that has resulted in complaints by people living along the route. Historically, it has connected only Brooklyn and Queens, resulting in many people thinking of the G as the subway system's "outcast" and the "unwanted drunk uncle everyone has." One reporter wrote of the G, "[Riders] need it because it goes where no other train does, but they hate that they need it." Compounding to the G "outcast" reputation, some of the G stations along the Crosstown Line are in bad shape. Since 2001, however, a series of service cuts and missing connections to other lines has worsened public opinion of the G.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: On December 16, 2001, the G northern terminus was cut back from Forest Hills to Court Square during weekdays, and since April 2010, this service pattern has applied at all times. This service pattern not only puts more ridership pressure on the E route—already one of the system's busiest before 2001—but also resulted in G trains' lengths being shortened by one third, from or 6 cars to or 4. In addition, between 2001 and 2010, weekend service along the G to Forest Hills had been intermittent, with frequent service changes due to "track work". The 2010 route reduction did increase service frequency on the remainder of the route. Finally, the G has few transfers to other services, with missing transfer points to the at Broadway and the at Fulton Street, as well as a lack of an ADA-accessible transfer to the at Court Square.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: When the connector to the IND 63rd Street Line from the IND Queens Boulevard Line was put into regular passenger service in December 2001, it not only introduced the new V service, but also allowed up to nine additional trains to and from Manhattan on the Queens Boulevard Line during peak hours. However, to make room for the V train on Queens Boulevard, the G had to terminate at Court Square on weekdays. The reroute of the G was part of the original plans of the 63rd Street tunnel and connector, going back to the late 1960s. The service plan was designed to redistribute Queens-bound passenger loads on the crowded IND Queens Boulevard Line, which ran under 53rd Street while in Manhattan. In turn, this plan was intended to bring better service and transfer opportunities, as the V train allowed direct access to 53rd Street and the IND Sixth Avenue Line for Queens Boulevard Local customers. "The New York Times" prematurely described the service plan as "complex and heavily criticized" because it put more crowding on the E train.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: In response to complaints from G riders at public hearings about losing a major transfer point to Manhattan-bound trains at Queens Plaza, the MTA agreed to a number of compromises, including installing a moving sidewalk in the passageway between Court Square and 23rd Street–Ely Avenue (now served by the ) on the Queens Boulevard Line. In addition, a free out-of-system MetroCard transfer to 45th Road–Court House Square on the IRT Flushing Line was created at those two stations. This special transfer was discontinued on June 3, 2011, when an in-system transfer opened at the corner of 23rd Street and 45th Road, which made only the Flushing Line station ADA-accessible. The MTA provided $17 million in funding for making the Crosstown Line accessible as part of the 2015–2019 Capital Program.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: The MTA also agreed to extend the G to Forest Hills–71st Avenue during evenings and weekends (when the V was not running), and run more trains on that route. There was a four-hour period where the G, , and V, as well as the Queens Boulevard line's express services, the E and the F, were all running at once since the V stopped running at midnight and the G was extended to 71st Avenue at 8:00 p.m. The authority "had spent several hundred thousand dollars on tests, trying to figure out a way to keep the G train running past Court Square and farther into Queens on weekdays, but because of the addition of the V train, which shared space along the Queens Boulevard Line with the trains already there (the E, F and R trains), G trains could not fit during the daytime, when service is heaviest."


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: However, due to construction on the Queens Boulevard Line, the G train frequently terminated at Court Square even when the published timetable said it ran to 71st Avenue. Some riders were suspicious that the service disruptions were "simply a de facto way to implement the original plan of halving G train service." The original plans called for the G terminate at Court Square at all times; that plan was shelved in 2001 in the face of community opposition, but due to budget cuts, the MTA decided to implement it in 2010. An MTA spokesman said, "It's not personal…. If you want to keep the system up to date, you need to make sure the track and switching are all in good repair."


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: Community groups such as Save the G! and the Riders Alliance have been frequent activists for improvements of G service. Save the G! regularly lobbied the MTA for more G train service since the original cutbacks when the V was introduced in 2001. They made the restoration of service to the Queens Boulevard Line at all times an issue in the 2002 New York gubernatorial race, but the transit authority said, "Unfortunately, putting the G back to full service is just not an option, given our track capacity—and that's not likely to change."


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: To increase service and reduce waiting time due to the 63rd Street Connector cutbacks, the G would need more trains, but there were not enough cars available in the system. The solution was to reduce the length of trains in order to increase service frequency. Previously, the G line had run 8 car trains or 6 car trains; both were shorter than the typical length of B Division trains because ridership was deemed too low to justify running full-length G trains in frequent intervals. Under the 2001 plan, trains were shortened from six cars to four, sticking all the leftover cars together to make the extra trains for the G, and the additional trains needed for V service. Thus, G service now operates trains, half the length of normal B Division standards. It also operates One Person Train Operation (OPTO) service during late nights and weekends.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: This, however, meant that riders would be packed into smaller trains, and led some passengers to miss trains because they were standing at the wrong part of the platform. In the past, there have been signs indicating where the train stops at some stations, in addition to the "4" and "6" markers next to the tracks used by train operators as stop points. Still, the overall lack of visual identifiers of train stop points on the platforms, the differing stop points during different times of day, and the location of staircases, transfer passageways and platform benches have been cited as a cause of passengers missing trains or being bunched into single cars. Beginning in 2013, additional signs were installed along G train platforms. In 2014, several improvements were implemented due to an infusion of extra funding, with G trains to be lengthened in 2019 (see below).


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: Save the G!, the Riders Alliance, and other organizations have also lobbied for the creation of new free out-of-system transfers to nearby stations. The most prominent is between Broadway on the Crosstown Line and either Hewes Street or Lorimer Street on the BMT Jamaica Line, which are both about three blocks away; this transfer has been previously proposed. In 2005, an MTA spokesperson stated, "We have no intention of making that a permanent free transfer." This sentiment was repeated in 2013, with the MTA citing the loss of around $770,000 in revenue if the transfer were to become free.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: Temporary free transfers have been provided in the past, including one to Lorimer Street in 1999 due to suspended service over the Williamsburg Bridge on the , and again during the Summer 2014 G service suspension north of Nassau Avenue. A second transfer, from Fulton Street to the busy Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center complex in Downtown Brooklyn, was rejected by the MTA due to the long walking distance between the two stations, as well as the fact that there is a transfer to Manhattan-bound trains at Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: A temporary transfer between Broadway and Hewes Street or Lorimer Street (along the BMT Jamaica Line) was reinstated in April 2019 due to L train service changes associated with the 14th Street Tunnel shutdown. The transfer was in effect until May 31, 2020. A temporary, MetroCard-only transfer between 21st Street and Hunters Point Avenue (along the IRT Flushing Line) was proposed, but not implemented.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: Most stations along the IND Crosstown Line were built with multiple exits to the street. Over the years, many lower-use exits were closed (as they were in other parts of the subway), as the city was concerned that they were a magnet for criminals; this resulted in G trains along the Crosstown Line needing to stop at the locations closest to the exits. However, in July 2005, in response to community pressure, the MTA agreed to re-open an exit to the southwestern corner of South Portland Avenue to the southbound platform of the Fulton Street station. "The New York Times" described it as a "minor victory" for "a maligned line." Additionally, exits to the intersection of Powers Street, Hope Street, and Union Avenue at Metropolitan Avenue were reopened on February 28, 2019, to address possible capacity constraints due to the L train shutdown. In 2019, the Court Square station received several new stairways to accommodate increased ridership from L train riders during the reconstruction of the BMT Canarsie Line tunnels under the East River, which started in late April 2019.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: The G train's southern extension to Church Avenue, implemented in 2009 and confirmed permanently in 2012, was also seen as a service improvement. It reduced the need for riders from Park Slope and Kensington to make multiple train transfers to get to northern Brooklyn and Long Island City.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: In 2013, at the request of State Senators Daniel Squadron and Martin Malave Dilan, the MTA conducted a review of the entire G route. The route had been maligned by riders because of its unreliability, and the review recommended a few service changes for the G. On June 9, 2014, a budget surplus in the MTA allowed these improvements to be implemented. These improvements included an increase in the number of trains per hour, from six to trains per hour during evening rush hour; uniform stopping locations for trains, whereas previously, trains stopped at different places along the platform at different times of the day; public service announcement systems on platforms along the IND Crosstown Line; relocated benches; and new CCTV systems installed for OPTO. Such improvements eliminated the infamous "G train sprint," wherein riders ran for G trains that stopped at the other end of the platforms.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: From 2010 to 2015, ridership on the G has risen 17%, with approximately 150,000 riders per weekday in 2015. It is the route with the fastest growing ridership base in the entire system. These improvements will also have the additional benefit of being able to accommodate the growing ridership base in gentrified neighborhoods along the line, like Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Bedford–Stuyvesant, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and Long Island City. This is due in part to the G weekday frequencies having become more dependable as a result of the 2013 review. However, weekend service is still lacking, according to some riders.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: Despite the influx of ridership, train lengths did not change. However, in 2016, it was announced that the G was expected to receive longer trains to accommodate displaced L train riders in 2019, when the 14th Street Tunnel shutdown was supposed to limit direct L train access to Manhattan. As a result, riders in Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and Bushwick would need to use the G to transfer to other subway routes that travel to Manhattan. The delivery of new R179 subway cars to other routes would make it possible for older fleets from these other routes to be passed onto the G. In addition, three extra G trains per hour would run during peak periods, for a total of 11 trains per hour during the shutdown. A full-length G train would run every five to six minutes, more than doubling the route's total capacity. Since the G train's schedule is designed around that of the F train, train frequencies on both routes would have to be modified.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: In July 2018, the MTA published a report stating that the G route would have 15 full-length trains per hour between Court Square and Bedford–Nostrand Avenues, or a rate of one train every four minutes. South of Bedford–Nostrand Avenues, the G would have a headway of 12 trains per hour. The terminus for most of the remaining G trips would be Church Avenue, but some trains would continue two additional stops to 18th Avenue, because only a limited number of trains can terminate at Church Avenue without causing disruptions to F service. Other temporary improvements during the L train shutdown would include free-out-of-system transfers between the G at Broadway and the at Lorimer Street and Hewes Street, as well as between the G at 21st Street and the at Hunters Point Avenue. In addition, closed entrances would be reopened at Metropolitan Avenue, and the Nassau Avenue and Metropolitan Avenue stations' fare control areas would be reconfigured to accommodate increased ridership.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: The L train shutdown was curtailed in January 2019. Instead of being a full-time closure, it would only be a partial closure on nights and weekends. However, the station enhancements along the route were still implemented. The following month, the MTA decided that the G would not receive full-length trains, though it would still see an increase in train frequencies during nights and weekends.


title: G (New York City Subway service)

text: The G train is shown in the TV series "Girls", as the show's main character, Hannah, lives in Greenpoint (near a stop along the G) and sometimes uses the route. The G train is also the subject of the song "G Train" by Thirdstory, featuring Pusha T.


United States foreign policy in the Middle East has its roots in the 19th-century Barbary Wars that occurred shortly after the 1776 establishment of the United States as an independent sovereign state, but became much more expansive in the aftermath of World War II. With the goal of preventing the Soviet Union from gaining influence in the region during the Cold War, American foreign policy saw the deliverance of extensive support in various forms to anti-communist and anti-Soviet regimes; among the top priorities for the U.S. with regards to this goal was its support for the State of Israel against its Soviet-backed neighbouring Arab countries during the peak of the Arab–Israeli conflict. The U.S. also came to replace the United Kingdom as the main security patron for Saudi Arabia as well as the other Arab states of the Persian Gulf in the 1960s and 1970s in order to ensure, among other goals, a stable flow of oil from the Persian Gulf. , the U.S. has diplomatic relations with every country in the Middle East except for Iran, with whom relations were severed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and Syria, with whom relations were suspended in 2012 following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War.


title: United States foreign policy in the Middle East

text: American influence in the Middle East has reduced in recent years, most significantly since the Arab Spring. Currently stated priorities of the U.S. government in the Middle East include resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and limiting the spread of weapons of mass destruction among regional states, particularly Iran.


text: The United States' relationship with the Middle East prior to World War I was limited, although commercial ties existed even in the early 19th century. President Andrew Jackson established formal ties with the Sultan of Muscat and Oman in 1833. (The Sultan saw the U.S. as a potential balance to Britain's overwhelming regional influence.) Commercial relations opened between the U.S. and Persia in 1857, after Britain persuaded the Persian government not to ratify a similar agreement in 1851.


text: Britain and France took control of most of the former Ottoman Empire after defeating it in World War I. They held mandates from the League of Nations. The United States refused to take any mandates in the region and was "popular and respected throughout the Middle East". Indeed, "Americans were seen as good people, untainted by the selfishness and duplicity associated with the Europeans." American Christian missionaries brought modern medicine and set up educational institutions all over the Middle East as an adjunct to their religious proselytizing. Moreover, the United States had provided the Middle East with highly skilled petroleum engineers. Thus, there were some connections made between the United States and the Middle East before the Second World War. Other examples of cooperation between the U.S. and the Middle East are the Red Line Agreement signed in 1928 and the Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement signed in 1944. Both of these agreements were legally binding and reflected an American interest in control of Middle Eastern energy resources, mainly oil, and moreover reflected an American "security imperative to prevent the (re)emergence of a powerful regional rival". The Red Line Agreement had been "part of a network of agreements made in the 1920s to restrict supply of petroleum and ensure that the major [mostly American] companies ... could control oil prices on world markets". The Red Line agreement governed the development of Middle East oil for the next two decades. The Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement of 1944 was based on negotiations between the United States and Britain over the control of Middle Eastern oil. Below is shown what the American President Franklin D. Roosevelt had in mind for to a British Ambassador in 1944:


text: On August 8, 1944, the Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement was signed, dividing Middle Eastern oil between the United States and Britain. Consequently, political scholar Fred H. Lawson remarks, that by the mid-1944, U.S. officials had buttressed their country's position on the peninsula by concluding an Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement that protected "all valid concession contracts and lawfully acquired rights" belonging to the signatories and established a principle of "equal opportunity" in those areas where no concession had yet been assigned. Furthermore, political scholar Irvine Anderson summarizes American interests in the Middle East in the late 19th century and the early 20th century noting that, "the most significant event of the period was the transition of the United States from the position of net exporter to one of net importer of petroleum."


text: By the end of the Second World War, Washington had come to consider the Middle East region as "the most strategically important area of the world." and "one of the greatest material prizes in world history," argues Noam Chomsky. For that reason, it was not until around the period of World War II that America became directly involved in the Middle East region. At this time the region was going through great social, economic, and political changes and as a result, internally the Middle East was in turmoil. Politically, the Middle East was experiencing an upsurge in the popularity of nationalistic politics and an increase in the number of nationalistic political groups across the region, which was causing great trouble for the English and French colonial powers.


text: Historian Jack Watson explains that "Europeans could not hold these lands indefinitely in the face of Arab nationalism". Watson then continues, stating that "by the end of 1946 Palestine was the last remaining mandate, but it posed a major problem". In truth, this nationalistic political trend clashed with American interests in the Middle East, which were, as Middle East scholar Louise Fawcett argues, "about the Soviet Union, access to oil and the project for a Jewish state in Palestine". Hence, Arabist Ambassador Raymond Hare described the Second World War, as "the great divide" in United States' relationship with the Middle East, because these three interests would later serve as a backdrop and reasoning for a great deal of American interventions in the Middle East and thus also come to be the cause of several future conflicts between the United States & the Middle East.


text: In 1947, the U.S. and the Truman administration, under domestic political pressure, pushed for a solution and resolution on the Arab–Israeli conflict, and in May 1948 the new state of Israel came into existence. This process was not without its fights and loss of lives. Nevertheless, "the first state to extend diplomatic recognition to Israel was the United States; the Soviet Union and several Western nations quickly followed suit. No Arab state, however, recognized Israel."


text: Syria became an independent republic in 1946, but the March 1949 Syrian coup d'état, led by Army Chief of Staff Husni al-Za'im, ended the initial period of civilian rule. Za'im met at least six times with CIA operatives in the months prior to the coup to discuss his plan to seize power. Za'im requested American funding or personnel, but it is not known whether this assistance was provided. Once in power, Za'im made several key decisions that benefitted the United States. He approved the Trans-Arabian Pipeline (TAPLINE), an American project designed to transport Saudi Arabian oil to Mediterranean ports. Construction of TAPLINE had been delayed due to Syrian intransigence. Za'im also improved relations with two American allies in the region: Israel and Turkey. He signed an armistice with Israel, formally ending the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and he renounced Syrian claims to Hatay Province, a major source of dispute between Syria and Turkey. Za'im also cracked down on local communists. However, Za'im's regime was short-lived. He was overthrown in August, just four and a half months after seizing power.


text: Opposed to foreign intervention in Iran and a keen nationalist, Mohammed Mosaddeq became the prime minister of Iran in 1951. Thus, when Mosaddeq was elected he chose to nationalize the Iranian oil industry, where previously British holdings had generated great profits for Britain through the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Furthermore, prior to the nationalization of Iranian oil, Mosaddeq had also cut all diplomatic ties with Britain. The Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was opposed to the nationalization of Iranian oil as he feared this would result in an oil embargo, which would destroy Iran's economy and thus, the Shah was very concerned with the effect of Mosaddeq's policies on Iran. Equally worried were workers in the Iranian oil industry, when they experienced the economic effect of the sanctions on Iranian oil exports which Mosaddeq's policies had resulted in, and riots were happening across Iran.


text: Thus, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi asked Mosaddeq to resign, as was the Shah's constitutional right, but Mosaddeq refused, which resulted in national uprisings. The Shah, fearing for his personal security, fled the country but nominated General Fazlollah Zahedi as the new Prime Minister. Although General Fazlollah Zahedi was a nationalist, he did not agree with the Mosaddeq's lenient attitude towards the communist Tudeh party, which the United States had also become increasingly concerned with, fearing Soviet influence spreading in the Middle East. Therefore, in late 1952, the British government asked the U.S. administration for help with the removal of Mohammed Mosaddeq. President Harry S. Truman thought Mossadeq was a valuable bulwark against Soviet influence. However, Truman left office in January 1953, and the new administration of Dwight Eisenhower shared British concern over Mossadeq. Allen Dulles, the director of the CIA, approved one million dollars on April 4, 1953, to be used "in any way that would bring about the fall of Mossadegh" Consequently, after a failed attempt on August 15, "on August 19, 1953, General Fazlollah Zahedi succeeded [with the help of the United States and Britain] and Mossadegh was overthrown. The CIA covertly funneled five million dollars to General Zahedi's regime on August 21, 1953."


text: This CIA operation, often referred to as Operation Ajax and led by CIA officer Kermit Roosevelt Jr., ensured the return of the Shah on August 22, 1953.


text: Although accepting large sums of military aid from the United States in 1954, by 1956 Egyptian leader Nasser had grown tired of the American influence in the country. The involvement that the U.S. would take in Egyptian business and politics in return for aid, Nasser thought "smacked of colonialism." Indeed, as political scholar B.M. Bleckman argued in 1978, "Nasser had ambivalent feelings toward the United States. From 1952 to 1954 he was on close terms with U.S. officials and was viewed in Washington as a promising moderate Arab leader. The conclusion of an arms deal with the USSR in 1955, however, had cooled the relationship between Cairo and Washington considerably, and the Dulles-Eisenhower decision to withdraw the offer to finance the Aswan High Dam in mid-1956 was a further blow to the chances of maintaining friendly ties. Eisenhower's stand against the British, French and Israeli attack on Egypt in October 1956 created a momentary sense of gratitude on the part of Nasser, but the subsequent development of the Eisenhower Doctrine, so clearly aimed at 'containing' Nasserism, undermined what little goodwill existed toward the United States in Cairo." "The Suez Crisis of 1956 marked the demise of British power and its gradual replacement by USA as the dominant power in the Middle East." The Eisenhower Doctrine became a manifestation of this process. "The general objective of the Eisenhower Doctrine, like that of the Truman Doctrine formulated ten years earlier, was the containment of Soviet expansion." Furthermore, when the Doctrine was finalized on March 9, 1957, it "essentially gave the president the latitude to intervene militarily in the Middle East ... without having to resort to Congress." indeed as, Middle East scholar Irene L. Gerdzier explains "that with the Eisenhower Doctrine the United States emerged "as the uncontested Western power ... in the Middle East."


text: In response to the power vacuum in the Middle East following the Suez Crisis, the Eisenhower administration developed a new policy designed to stabilize the region against Soviet threats or internal turmoil. Given the collapse of British prestige and the rise of Soviet interest in the region, the president informed Congress on January 5, 1957, that it was essential for the U.S. to accept new responsibilities for the security of the Middle East. Under the policy, known as the Eisenhower Doctrine, any Middle Eastern country could request American economic assistance or aid from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression. Though Eisenhower found it difficult to convince leading Arab states or Israel to endorse the doctrine, but he applied the new doctrine by dispensing economic aid to shore up the Kingdom of Jordan, encouraging Syria's neighbors to consider military operations against it, and sending U.S. troops into Lebanon to prevent a radical revolution from sweeping over that country. The troops sent to Lebanon never saw any fighting, but the deployment marked the only time during Eisenhower's presidency when U.S. troops were sent abroad into a potential combat situation.


text: Though U.S. aid helped Lebanon and Jordan avoid revolution, the Eisenhower doctrine enhanced Nasser's prestige as the preeminent Arab nationalist. Partly as a result of the bungled U.S. intervention in Syria, Nasser established the short-lived United Arab Republic, a political union between Egypt and Syria. The U.S. also lost a sympathetic Middle Eastern government due to the 1958 Iraqi coup d'état, which saw King Faisal I replaced by General Abd al-Karim Qasim as the leader of Iraq.


text: Meanwhile, in Jordan nationalistic anti-government rioting broke out and the United States decided to send a battalion of marines to nearby Lebanon prepared to intervene in Jordan later that year. Douglas Little argues that Washington's decision to use the military resulted from a determination to support a beleaguered, conservative pro-Western regime in Lebanon, repel Nasser's pan-Arabism, and limit Soviet influence in the oil-rich region. However Little concludes that the unnecessary American action brought negative long-term consequences, notably the undermining of Lebanon's fragile, multi-ethnic political coalition and the alienation of Arab nationalism throughout the region. To keep the pro-American King Hussein of Jordan in power, the CIA sent millions of dollars a year of subsidies. In the mid-1950s the U.S. supported allies in Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia and sent fleets to be near Syria. However, 1958 was to become a difficult year in U.S. foreign policy; in 1958 Syria and Egypt were merged into the "United Arab Republic", anti-American and anti-government revolts started occurring in Lebanon, causing the Lebanese president Chamoun to ask America for help, and the very pro-American King Feisal the 2nd of Iraq was overthrown by a group of nationalistic military officers. It was quite "commonly believed that [Nasser] ... stirred up the unrest in Lebanon and, perhaps, had helped to plan the Iraqi revolution."


text: In June 1967 Israel fought with Egypt, Jordan, and Syria in the Six-Day War. As a result of the war, Israel captured the West Bank, Golan Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula. The U.S. supported Israel with weapons and continued to support Israel financially throughout the 1970s. On September 17, 1970, with U.S. and Israeli help, Jordanian troops attacked PLO guerrilla camps, while Jordan's U.S.-supplied air force dropped napalm from above. The U.S. deployed the aircraft carrier "Independence" and six destroyers off the coast of Lebanon and readied troops in Turkey to support the assault.


text: The American interventions in the years before the Iranian revolution have all proven to be based in part on economic considerations, but more so have been influenced and led by the international Cold War context.


text: The Gulf War in 1991 opposes a coalition of 35 countries led by the United States against Iraq after it invades Kuwait. Iraq had been an ally of the Soviet Union during the Cold war, resulting in little relation with the US. After Iraq threatened to invade Kuwait, the US said they would also protect their allies in the region against Iraq's invasion. After the invasion in 1990, economic sanctions are implemented when the US request a meeting of the United Nations Security Council and adopt Resolution 660. The US rejected the proposal of the Iraqi army to leave Kuwait if a solution for Palestine is found. Military means are employed by the US in 1991, as Resolution 678 allows. Also, the coalition is created, with 73% of the armed force being American. The United States armed forces lead many attacks on the Iraqi army in several battles, through air strikes and land battles.


text: On 22 September 1980, Saddam Hussein's Iraq attacked Ayatollah Khomeini ruled Iran, starting bombing 10 military airfields.


text: Ted Koppel's ABC News broadcast of July 1992 points out the US cooperation with Iraq, by sending money, armaments, dual-use technology and if necessary, the provision of emergency action plans against Iran. According to revealed CIA files, the United States supported Hussein's Iraq even to the point of a US awareness of Iraqi use of chemical armaments. This violated the 1925 Geneva Protocol, which Iraq did not approve. Moreover, the US Defense Intelligence Agency provided Iraq with satellite positions of Iranian troops to help keep track of the enemies. American position in the war played "a secretly but unambiguously" pro-Iraq support. Several scholars have argued the US gave a "green light" to Hussein's attack on Iran. Yet, considering now available US and Iraqi papers, the "green light" hypothesis is "more a myth than reality". US did not provide an initial encouragement to let the war begin as well as Hussein's attack was independent of the US.


text: US-Iran relations drastically changed since the Iranian 1979 revolution. It marked the fall of the Shah and its closeness with the Western world and the takeover of Khomeini with a return to Islamic law. In 1979 the US Embassy in Teheran was caught by protesters, and American civilians were taken hostages. In 1980, the US changed policy to allow Israel to sell American armament to Iran during the war. The deal between US and Israel was coordinated by the State Department Counselor, McFarlane, with US Secretary of State Alexander Haig Jr. and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin agreeing to a 6 to 18 months period weapons' provision. This support to Iran was first explained as a way to have back the American hostages. Yet, the hostages were delivered before the US supply of weapons to Iran. In addition, this armament provision lasts for more than the established period. Indeed, this was later known as the Iran-Contra Affair publicly divulgated in November 1985. US supplied weapons to Iran through Israel, and the profit gained went to finance the Contra rebels, opponents to the Nicaragua Sandinista Front.


text: Saudi Arabia and the United States are strategic allies, but relations with the U.S. became strained following September 11 attacks.*


text: Foreign policies of the US in Saudi Arabia started with the Pact of Quincyin 1945, which engages the US in protecting the Saud family in exchange for providing oil to the US. Also, military aid was provided to Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War with almost 500 000 soldiers sent to Saudi Arabia to protect from Iraq. These events contributed to making the Saud Family dependent on US protection


text: In March 2015, President Barack Obama declared that he had authorized U.S. forces to provide logistical and intelligence support to the Saudis in their military intervention in Yemen, establishing a "Joint Planning Cell" with Saudi Arabia. The report by Human Rights Watch stated that US-made bombs were being used in attacks indiscriminately targeting civilians and violating the laws of war.


text: Both countries have an interest in fighting terrorism and are allies. In 2017, an agreement aiming to provide Saudi Arabia with $115 billion of weapons containing tanks, combat ships and missile defence systems is announced by President Donald Trump. In 2018, the Saudi Government had purchased over $14.5 billion of weapons to the US. Also in 2018, the Saudi-led coalition fighting terrorism in Yemen bombed a school bus killing 40 children, with a bomb provided by the United States. Many criticized the United States' support for Saudi intervention in Yemen which contributed to the killing of 10 000 children. In december 2018, the end of American assistance to Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen in voted by senators.


text: The lack of support from the US for the Saudi-led coalition interventions in Yemen stained the relationship of the two countries, causing Saudi Arabia to refuse the US's request of increasing oil production.


text: The US established diplomatic relations with Yemen in 1947 when it becomes a member of the United Nations. The Yemen Arab Republic is created in 1962 and recognized by the US the same year. In 1967, the US recognize the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. The 20th century's Us policies in Yemen support the unification and are largely concentrated on humanitarian aid and some military operations. In the 1990s, the US develop a $42 million program in Yemen subsidizing agriculture, education and health. In return, the Yemeni government cooperates with US oil companies. US-Yemen relationship deteriorates when both take different sides during the Kuwait crisis


text: Al-Qaeda's terrorist attacks in the United States have transformed US's policies in Yemen. The US has engaged in many military actions against the terrorist group but also humanitarian help and cooperation with other actors. Also, the Yemeni government improved its cooperation in dismantling the terrorist group with the US government after this event.


text: Over the last decades, the US has responded to Yemen's humanitarian crisis caused by the war. The reported funding in the country from the US has increased this past decade from $115m in 2012 to almost a billion in 2019. It funds sectors like the supply of food security, health, education and protection. But the blockade of access to the country by the Saudi-led coalition, which has received support from the United States, prevents humanitarian aid to be fully applied.


text: Military policies in Yemen have increased since the replacement of the previous president Ali Abdullah Saleh by Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, far more cooperative in fighting terrorism in Yemen. Military policies are characterized by the training of the military by the US forces, the supply of weapons but also air strikes. The US also concluded an agreement with Saudi Arabia in 2015 which engages the US in supplying weapons to Saudi Arabia for counterterrorist actions in Yemen.


text: 2011 saw several anti-governmental protests arising in many Arab countries, known as the Arab Spring. Syria opposed the Assad government through demonstrations which were put down fomenting a civil war.


text: US involvement in the Syrian civil war started under the Obama presidency, with the involvement of US troops in 2015. US troops' involvement continued under the Trump presidency, although Trump stated on several occasions that he did not want "boots on the ground" in Syria for much longer, asking the army to retire altogether, which never happened. US continued to lead an alliance of up to 74 countries to fight against ISIS terrorist organization, but also with peacekeeping and patrolling of oilfields missions. The situation became more complicated in 2019, after Turkey struck an agreement with Russia, whose army also got directly involved. The US and the Western coalition got involved in multiple fights, mostly on the side of the Kurdish led YPG and SDF liberation army, causing therefore tensions with Turkey, which fundamentally never stopped fighting Kurds in Syria. Trump's presidency has not made things any easier for US troops deployed in Syria, moving from showing little interest to showing interest in the oilfields located in the North-Eastern province of Syria, to finally showing signs of appropriating a victory that did not really happen. But the situation remains far from clear for the US army in Syria with its presence continuing under the Biden presidency, with focus on military operations and airstrikes shifting towards the East, to better fight Iran supported militias.


text: On 15 July 2016, a "coup d'état" was attempted in Turkey by a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces against state institutions, including, but not limited to the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.


text: The Turkish government accused the coup leaders of being linked to the Gülen movement, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the Republic of Turkey and led by Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish businessman and cleric who lives in Pennsylvania, United States. Erdoğan accuses Gülen of being behind the coup—a claim that Gülen denies—and accused the United States of harboring him. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused the head of United States Central Command, chief General Joseph Votel of "siding with coup plotters," (after Votel accused the Turkish government of arresting the Pentagon's contacts in Turkey).


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: The Araneta Coliseum, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Smart Araneta Coliseum, is an indoor multi-purpose sports arena that is part of the Araneta City in the Cubao area of Quezon City, Philippines. Nicknamed as "the Big Dome", it is one of the largest indoor arenas in Asia, and it is also one of the largest clear span domes in the world. The dome measures approximately making it the largest dome in Asia from its opening in 1960 until 2001 when it was surpassed by the Ōita Stadium in Japan with a dome measuring .


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: The Smart Araneta Coliseum is mostly used for indoor sports such as basketball and volleyball. It is a main venue of the Philippine Basketball Association and for the basketball games of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the University Athletic Association of the Philippines throughout various game seasons. The Big Dome is also used for other sports and events such as boxing, cockfighting, local and international concerts, circuses, religious gatherings, and beauty pageants.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: In 1952, J. Amado Araneta, a member of the Araneta family, purchased from Radio Corporation of America (RCA) of land in Cubao which includes the Araneta family home and is bounded by Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue or EDSA, Aurora Boulevard, P. Tuazon and 15th Avenue.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: The Araneta Coliseum was constructed from 1957 to late 1959, and designed and built by Architect Dominador Lacson Lugtu and Engineer Leonardo Onjunco Lugtu. From 1960 to 1963, the Coliseum received international recognition and was recognized as the largest covered coliseum in the world. Today, it remains one of the largest clear span domes in the world with a dome diameter of 108 meters. It occupies a total land area of almost and has a floor area of .


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: The coliseum opened on March 16, 1960, with Gabriel "Flash" Elorde boxing for the World Junior Lightweight crown against Harold Gomes. General admission then was 80 centavos and the reserve section was five pesos. The coliseum also featured a swimming pool and a gazebo during its opening, located to the current site of the Araneta City Parking Garage South and the Novotel Manila Araneta City. However, the featured facilities closed down a few years later.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: Among the notable events to take place at the arena were the 11th and 34th FAMAS Awards, the 1975 "Thrilla in Manila" boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, in which the arena was renamed into the "Philippine Coliseum", and the annual Binibining Pilipinas beauty pageant. The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has played more than a thousand games at the Araneta Coliseum as of today. Other basketball events hosted by the arena were the 1978 FIBA World Championship, a game between the 1978 NBA champions Washington Bullets and a PBA selection in 1979, and the 1982 Asian Youth Basketball Championship where the Philippines defeated China in the final.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: In the third quarter of 1998, the Aranetas and Pilipinas Shell (local arm of Royal Dutch Shell) started negotiations for a naming rights deal that would have lasted until 2008. The Aranetas, who wanted to retain their name at the arena rejected the proposed name ""Shell Coliseum at the Araneta Center"". Instead, the parties agreed on a contract where Shell's name and logo will be painted at the arena's basketball court, a move that was almost shelved due to objections from other PBA teams because Shell owned the then-PBA team, the Shell Turbo Chargers.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: In 1999, the coliseum underwent its first major renovation at the cost of ₱200 million. The major changes include the renovation of the lower box area, replacement of seats for the patron and lower box sections, and installation of a four-sided center-hung scoreboard. The section names were also given numerical designations: 100 for Patron section, 200 for Lower Box, 300 for Upper Box A, and 400 for Upper Box B. In 2006, an LED display was added to the scoreboard.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: From 2001 to 2008, the highest-grossing event at the arena is the Pacquiao vs. Larios boxing fight between Manny Pacquiao and Óscar Larios, earning 96.2 million Philippine pesos. A concert by Westlife was attended by 17,887 people and earned ₱18.5 million, while a Cliff Richard concert earned ₱17.2 million despite being watched by 5,647 spectators.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: Prior to the Ultimate All-Star Weekend in July 2011, it was announced that the Aranetas entered into a naming rights deal with mobile network operator Smart Communications, Inc. (a subsidiary of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company), renaming the arena into "Smart Araneta Coliseum". The 5-year naming rights deal includes improvements and renovations to the arena such as the installation of curved escalators to improve access in the upper box and general admission areas (the plan was subsequently cancelled due to undisclosed reasons), and the construction of a parking lot that can accommodate up to 2,000 cars. The overall renovation project of the coliseum costed ₱1 billion.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: Additional improvements for the renovation of the coliseum were made in 2012, including the renovation of the Red Gate entrance and the Green Gate side facade, landscaped surroundings, and the replacement of Upper Box level seats, thus increasing its seating capacity. The Lower Box and Patron sections were combined to make a new Patron section (100 and 200 level seats). A pathway between the former Patron and Lower Box sections was also made. The former Upper Box A section (300 level seats) was renamed as Box section and the former Upper Box B section (400 level seats) is now referred to as the "Upper Box" section. The renovation project of the coliseum was completed in June 2014.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: On January 7, 2015, the Hydra-Rib basketball backboards first used in 1995 were replaced with Spalding ones. The backboards were first used in Game 1 of the 2014–15 PBA Philippine Cup Finals. On June 9, 2017, the OES SHOTS-14G7 shot clocks were replaced. The newer clocks were first used in Game 3 of the 2017 PBA Commissioner's Cup Quarterfinals match between the TNT Katropa and Meralco Bolts.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: The arena is primarily the home arena for the Philippine Basketball Association and the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) basketball leagues. It annually hosts every PBA Basketball Championship, NCAA Basketball Championship, as well as the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Basketball and Volleyball championships, UNTV Cup regular season and off season opening games and championships, and also the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League and Premier Volleyball League.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: The facility has also hosted the 1975 world heavyweight championship boxing contest, the Thrilla in Manila between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, the 1978 FIBA World Championship, the 2007 Philippines World Pool Championship and the 2017 SEABA Championship.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: The coliseum also hosts concerts, shows, graduations, seminars, ice shows, circuses, and beauty pageants.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: During its early years in the 1960s, international acts included Holiday on Ice, Harlem Globetrotters, Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Neil Sedaka, Jo Ann Campbell, Ricky Nelson, Paul Anka, The Ventures, The Everly Brothers, The Dave Clark Five, and more.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: To date, the TNT BOYS are the youngest performers to stage a concert in the Coliseum between the ages of 12 and 14 with their Listen: The Big Shot Concert held on November 30, 2018.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: Eat Bulaga!, the longest running noontime show of the Philippines, also used the coliseum for some special events such as its TV special "Eat... Bulaga!: Moving On" on February 18, 1989, and its 10th anniversary on September 23, 1989, in ABS-CBN and "Eat...Bulaga!: The Moving" held on January 28, 1995, on its new home, GMA Network.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: The coliseum has hosted the "Binibining Pilipinas" pageants annually. From 1990 until 2016, the coliseum hosted Disney on Ice productions during the holiday season; since 2016, the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay began hosting these productions. It also serves as a venue for different reality show finales, including "Pinoy Big Brother", "Pilipinas Got Talent", "Philippine Idol", "Starstruck", and "Artista Academy" (which held its one-time grand audition at the coliseum).


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: At the turn of the new millennium, Regine Velasquez held her iconic two-night sold-out concert entitled , in support of her album "R2K", on April 7 and 8, 2000. R2K The Concert became the most attended concert at the coliseum with over 37,000 attendees, was center staged and has used the seating capacity to its 360-degree maximum.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: Some notable international performers include Air Supply on 2008, Akon (on July 4, 2009), Kelly Clarkson as part of her All I Ever Wanted World Tour on May 1, 2010, Incubus (in 2008 and 2011), Carly Rae Jepsen (in 2013 and 2015), Lady Gaga as part of her The Fame Ball Tour on August 11, 2009, Avril Lavigne as part of her The Best Damn Tour on September 3, 2008, The Black Star Tour on February 16, 2012 and the Avril Lavigne On Tour on February 17, 2014, Kylie Minogue as part of her on July 5, 2011, Bruno Mars as part of his The Doo-Wops and Hooligans Tour on April 8, 2011, The Script (in 2011 and 2013), Snow Patrol (on August 9, 2012), Taylor Swift as part of her Speak Now Tour on February 19, 2011, and Westlife in 2001, 2006, 2011, and 2019. as well as the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2011 (on September 21 and 22, 2011), and the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2012 (on September 21, 2012). Following her performance with the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2012 five months prior, Filipino-American "American Idol" runner-up Jessica Sanchez had her first sold out solo concert at the coliseum on February 14, 2013. American singer-songwriter Lauv performed at the coliseum as part of his How I'm Feeling tour, on May 20, 2019. Additionally, Lauv also premiered his new single, Sad Forever during his concert.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: The coliseum also housed K-pop artists like Super Junior's Super Show-the first Korean to perform in the arena, 2NE1, SS501, CNBLUE, Beast and EXO. K-Pop group U-KISS also had their concert at the big dome and later released into a concert DVD dubbed as U-KISS 1st Kiss Tour in Manila DVD. It was the first time that an international artist released a concert DVD featuring the coliseum. GOT7's first fan meeting in Manila was also held in the Coliseum last November 14, 2015.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: On April 14, 2018, Sarah Geronimo held her 15th showbiz anniversary concert called "This Is Me" stylized as "This 15 Me" at the Araneta Coliseum. The sold-out concert was reported as the "Highest Grossing Local Concert of All-time." The concert's official hashtag was also the number one trending topic on Twitter Philippines on the day of the concert with over 200,000 tweets. Netflix acquired the rights to stream the concert film starting in August 2019 making Geronimo the first Southeast Asian artist to have a concert film on the said platform.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: The Coliseum was also home to the annual ABS-CBN Christmas special from 2008 to 2013 and from 2015 to 2019, which is typically held during the early weekdays of the second week of December.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: Filipina female supergroup DIVAS, which is composed of Kyla, Yeng Constantino, KZ Tandingan and Angeline Quinto staged two concerts at the Araneta, their first concert titled DIVAS Live in Manila, and another one in 2018 with Boyz II Men titled Boyz II Men with DIVAS.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: The Coliseum has hosted the A Song of Praise Music Festival (ASOP) Grand Finals Night from 2012 to 2017, and the Wish 107.5 Music Awards (WMA) annually every January since 2016.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: However, as the coronavirus pandemic continued to rage across the country, events across the Araneta were postponed/cancelled to prevent further spread of the disease. The venue later resumed hosting events through the 6th Wish 107.5 Music Awards. However, due to the protocols imposed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, the event was held without any live audience.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: The Big Dome also hosted a praise and worship concerts like Israel Houghton, Parachute Band, Don Moen, Bethel Music, Hillsong Worship, Sonicflood, Planetshakers, Planetboom, Hillsong Young & Free and Hillsong UNITED.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: The Big Dome is also the venue of religious gatherings like the anniversary celebration of "Ang Dating Daan" (English: The Old Path, the flagship program of the Members Church of God International), Christ's Commission Fellowship, "Iglesia ni Cristo", International Convention of Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ (4th Watch), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Philippines, Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide, Jesus Miracle Crusade, Kingdom of Jesus Christ: The Name Above Every Name (during early years), Shalom CCFI (Every Holy Week), the Special Assembly of Jehovah's Witnesses and Victory Christian Fellowship.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: On October 12, 2014, the main celebration of the 75th Diamond Anniversary of Quezon City was held at the coliseum.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: On May 1, 2022, Labor Day, a rally was held at the coliseum organized by supporters of Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Francis Pangilinan. This was part of their campaign as president and vice president, respectively for the 2022 Philippine presidential election.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: The Coliseum was used as a Mega Vaccination Center for the rollout of the Quezon City Vaccination Drive against the COVID-19 pandemic, capable of vaccinating 1,000 to 1,500 people daily. The vaccination center began its operations on May 15, 2021, and it is also one of the largest vaccination sites in the country, following the opening of The Galeón vaccination center, located at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: On October 1, 1975, when the Thrilla in Manila took place, the Coliseum was filled with more than 50,000 people despite the hot & humid temperatures, and breaching the total design capacity back then of the Coliseum, consisting of over 36,000 people.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: On October 15, 2014, the third game of the UAAP Season 77 Men's Basketball Tournament Finals Series between the FEU Tamaraws and NU Bulldogs set the all-time basketball attendance record of 25,138 which broke the previous record last October 8, 2014, the second game of the series (one week before the third game) attendance of 24,896. For the PBA, On February 12, 2014, the seventh game of the 2013–14 PBA Philippine Cup Semifinals series between Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and San Mig Super Coffee Mixers set the record of 24,883.


title: Araneta Coliseum

text: On April 20, 2022, during the preliminary round of the 2021 PBA 3x3 2nd conference grand finals, a fire broke out in the arena. This resulted in the postponement of the game between Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Platinum Karaoke, the last in the preliminary round, and all subsequent games thereafter. Game 6 of the 2021 PBA Governors' Cup Finals, which was scheduled in the arena, was also postponed to April 22, in which it was held at the Mall of Asia Arena. The PBA 3x3 Grand Finals resumed on April 27 in the Ynares Sports Arena.


title: Sex selection

text: Sex selection is the attempt to control the sex of the offspring to achieve a desired sex. It can be accomplished in several ways, both pre- and post-implantation of an embryo, as well as at childbirth. It has been marketed under the title family balancing.


title: Sex selection

text: According to the United Nations Population Fund, the reasons behind sex selection are due to three factors and provide an understanding for sex ratio imbalances as well as to project future trends. These factors are:


title: Sex selection

text: The United Nations Population Fund states that "Local fertility restrictions and spontaneous rapid fertility decline below replacement levels tend to compel parents who want both a son and a small family size to resort to sex selection."


title: Sex selection

text: In many cultures, male offspring are desired in order to inherit property, carry on the family name and to provide support for parents in old age.


title: Sex selection

text: In countries such as India, China, Indonesia and Nepal sons have been favored over daughters. According to a 2018 Gallup poll, American parents favor boys by a 36% to 28% margin. The results were similar to a survey in 1941, when Americans preferred a boy to a girl by a 38% to 24% margin. The overall preference was driven by men, of whom 43% preferred a son compared to 24% who preferred a daughter. Men's preference for sons was most pronounced among men aged 18 to 29. Women, on the other hand, showed no preference for either sex, with 31% stating that they preferred a girl and 30% responding that they favored a boy.


title: Sex selection

text: A 2009 study at the University of Ulster found that having sisters, as compared to brothers, can enhance the quality of an adult's life.


title: Sex selection

text: There is a preference of parents to have a son over a daughter in many countries. This can be observed through sex ratios of children in various countries. Although biologically the sex ratio of children is around 95 girls to every 100 boys, this number generally evens out due to the higher infant mortality rate of boy infants. Scholars argue that the expected birth sex ratio in a normal population is in the range of 103 to 107 males to females at birth.


title: Sex selection

text: However, in a number of countries of South Asia, East Asia and the Caucasus, the sex ratio of children is severely distorted. The problem is particularly severe in China and India. The preference for sons over daughters can be connected to a number of reasons. In these countries, it is argued that son preference is linked to factors including economics, religion, and culture. Having a son ensures that families are more economically secure by not having to provide dowry payments, but rather being on the receiving end of this practice. In China, the one child policy has contributed to the sex imbalance, while the dowry system in India is responsible for a strong son preference. Furthermore, in countries where there are discriminatory practices regarding women inheriting, owning, or controlling land by law, having a son ensures that the family will not have to worry about the legal aftermath if something were to happen to them. It can also be argued that parents in these countries are aware of the potential hardship their daughter would have to endure in her lifetime, and therefore prefer to have a son in order not to see their daughter endure such difficulties. Many times this son preference results in female foeticide and pre-natal sex selection.


title: Sex selection

text: Two major types of pre-implantation methods can be used for social sex selection. Both of them are based on actively rendering the second sex chromosome to be either a Y chromosome (resulting in a male), or an X chromosome (resulting in a female).


title: Sex selection

text: The Ericsson method, first applied in a clinical setting in the 1970s by Dr. Ronald J. Ericsson, uses higher concentrations of sperm of the desired sex to increase the likelihood of conceiving that sex.


title: Sex selection

text: When used to increase the likelihood of a female child, studies have resulted in between 70% and 80% female children.


title: Sex selection

text: When used to increase the likelihood of a male child, studies have resulted in between 50% to 75% male children.


title: Sex selection

text: Currently, approximately 50 gender selection centers in the United States use the Ericsson Method for artificial gender selection.


title: Sex selection

text: The Ericsson method separates male and female sperm by passing them through a column filled with blood protein, human serum albumin. As the sperms enter the human serum albumin, the differences in mass between the X and Y chromosomes manifest as the lighter male sperms push deeper into the protein than the females dragged down by the weight of the extra "leg" of the X sex chromosome. This tiny difference creates separate layers of concentrated male and female sperm. The layers of gender-selected sperm are of higher concentrations but not pure. This lack of purity explains the 30% chance of gender selection failure of the Ericsson method.


title: Sex selection

text: After ovarian stimulation, multiple eggs are removed from the mother. The eggs are fertilized in the laboratory using the father's sperm in a technique called in vitro fertilization (IVF). "In vitro" is Latin for "within glass". Fertilized eggs are called embryos. As the embryos develop through mitosis, they are separated by sex. Embryos of the desired sex are implanted back in the mother's uterus.


title: Sex selection

text: Prior to fertilization with IVF, the fertilized eggs can be genetically biopsied with preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to increase fertilization success. Once an embryo grows to a 6-8 cell size, a small laser incision in the egg membrane (zona pellucida) allows safe removal of one of the cells. Every cell in the embryo contains an identical copy of the genome of the entire person. Removal of one of these cells does not harm the developing embryo. A Geneticist then studies the chromosomes in the extracted cells for genetic defects and for a definite analysis of the embryo's sex. Embryos of the desired sex and with acceptable genetics are then placed back into the mother.


title: Sex selection

text: The IVF/PGD technique is favored over the Ericsson method because of the stricter control of the sex of the offspring in the laboratory. Since only embryos of the desired sex are transferred to the mother, IVF/PGD avoids the small likelihood present in the Ericsson method of an undesired sperm fertilizing the egg. Sex selection success rates for IVF/PGD are very high. The technique is recommended for couples who will not accept a child of the undesired sex.


title: Sex selection

text: Timing methods aim to affect the sex ratio of the resultant children by having sexual intercourse at specific times as related to ovulation. Studies have not been consistent about whether timing methods have any influence on the sex of the baby, with some showing no correlation and others showing just the opposite.


title: Sex selection

text: Sperm sorting is an advanced technique that sorts sperm "in vitro" by flow cytometry. This shines a laser at the sperm to distinguish X and Y chromosomes, and can automatically separate the sperm out into different samples. During the early to mid 1980s, Dr. Glenn Spaulding was the first to sort viable whole human and animal spermatozoa using a flow cytometer, and utilized the sorted motile rabbit sperm for artificial insemination. Subsequently, the first patent application disclosing the method to sort "two viable subpopulations enriched for x- or y- sperm" was filed in April 1987 as US Application Serial Number 35,986 and later became part of US Patent 5,021,244; and the patent included the discovery of haploid expression (sex-associated membrane proteins, or SAM proteins) and the development of monoclonal antibodies to those proteins. Additional applications and methods were added, including antibodies, from 1987 through 1997. At the time of the patent filing, both Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories and the USDA were only sorting fixed sperm nuclei, after the Application Serial Number 35,986 patent filing a new technique was utilized by the USDA where "sperm were briefly sonicated to remove tails". USDA in conjunction with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, 'Beltsfield Sperm Sexing Technology' relies on the DNA difference between the X- and Y- chromosomes. Prior to flow cytometric sorting, semen is labeled with a fluorescent dye called Hoechst 33342 which binds to the DNA of each spermatozoon. As the X chromosome is larger (i.e. has more DNA) than the Y chromosome, the "female" (X-chromosome bearing) spermatozoa will absorb a greater amount of dye than its male (Y-chromosome bearing) counterpart. As a consequence, when exposed to UV light during flow cytometry, X spermatozoa fluoresce brighter than Y- spermatozoa. As the spermatozoa pass through the flow cytometer in single file, each spermatozoon is encased by a single droplet of fluid and assigned an electric charge corresponding to its chromosome status (e.g. X-positive charge, Y-negative charge). The stream of X- and Y- droplets is then separated by means of electrostatic deflection and collected into separate collection tubes for subsequent processing. The technology is already in commercial use for animal farming. It is currently being trialed on humans in the US under the trademark MicroSort; it claims a 90% success rate but is still considered experimental by the FDA.


title: Sex selection

text: Sex selection after implantation can be performed by prenatal sex discernment, followed by sex-selective abortion of any offspring of the unwanted sex. For prenatal sex discernment, a blood test can be taken from the mother for testing of small amounts of fetal DNA within it, and has been estimated to be reliable more than 98% of the time, as long as the samples are taken after the seventh week of pregnancy.


title: Sex selection

text: Sex-selective infanticide - Killing children of the unwanted sex. Though illegal in most parts of the world, it is still practiced.


title: Sex selection

text: Sex-selective child abandonment - Abandoning children of the unwanted sex. Though illegal in most parts of the world, it is still practiced.


title: Sex selection

text: Sex-selective adoption - Placing children of the unwanted sex up for adoption. Less commonly viewed as a method of social sex selection, adoption affords families that have a gender preference a legal means of choosing offspring of a particular sex.


title: Sex selection

text: The application of these techniques to humans creates moral and ethical concerns in the opinion of some, while the advantages of sensible use of selected technologies is favored by others.