title: Computational neuroscience

text: Research in computational neuroscience can be roughly categorized into several lines of inquiry. Most computational neuroscientists collaborate closely with experimentalists in analyzing novel data and synthesizing new models of biological phenomena.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: Even a single neuron has complex biophysical characteristics and can perform computations (e.g.). Hodgkin and Huxley's original model only employed two voltage-sensitive currents (Voltage sensitive ion channels are glycoprotein molecules which extend through the lipid bilayer, allowing ions to traverse under certain conditions through the axolemma), the fast-acting sodium and the inward-rectifying potassium. Though successful in predicting the timing and qualitative features of the action potential, it nevertheless failed to predict a number of important features such as adaptation and shunting. Scientists now believe that there are a wide variety of voltage-sensitive currents, and the implications of the differing dynamics, modulations, and sensitivity of these currents is an important topic of computational neuroscience.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: The computational functions of complex dendrites are also under intense investigation. There is a large body of literature regarding how different currents interact with geometric properties of neurons.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: Some models are also tracking biochemical pathways at very small scales such as spines or synaptic clefts.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: There are many software packages, such as GENESIS and NEURON, that allow rapid and systematic "in silico" modeling of realistic neurons. Blue Brain, a project founded by Henry Markram from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, aims to construct a biophysically detailed simulation of a cortical column on the Blue Gene supercomputer.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: Modeling the richness of biophysical properties on the single-neuron scale can supply mechanisms that serve as the building blocks for network dynamics. However, detailed neuron descriptions are computationally expensive and this computing cost can limit the pursuit of realistic network investigations, where many neurons need to be simulated. As a result, researchers that study large neural circuits typically represent each neuron and synapse with an artificially simple model, ignoring much of the biological detail. Hence there is a drive to produce simplified neuron models that can retain significant biological fidelity at a low computational overhead. Algorithms have been developed to produce faithful, faster running, simplified surrogate neuron models from computationally expensive, detailed neuron models.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: Computational neuroscience aims to address a wide array of questions. How do axons and dendrites form during development? How do axons know where to target and how to reach these targets? How do neurons migrate to the proper position in the central and peripheral systems? How do synapses form? We know from molecular biology that distinct parts of the nervous system release distinct chemical cues, from growth factors to hormones that modulate and influence the growth and development of functional connections between neurons.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: Theoretical investigations into the formation and patterning of synaptic connection and morphology are still nascent. One hypothesis that has recently garnered some attention is the "minimal wiring hypothesis", which postulates that the formation of axons and dendrites effectively minimizes resource allocation while maintaining maximal information storage.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: Early models on sensory processing understood within a theoretical framework are credited to Horace Barlow. Somewhat similar to the minimal wiring hypothesis described in the preceding section, Barlow understood the processing of the early sensory systems to be a form of efficient coding, where the neurons encoded information which minimized the number of spikes. Experimental and computational work have since supported this hypothesis in one form or another. For the example of visual processing, efficient coding is manifested in the


title: Computational neuroscience

text: forms of efficient spatial coding, color coding, temporal/motion coding, stereo coding, and combinations of them.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: Further along the visual pathway, even the efficiently coded visual information is too much for the capacity of the information bottleneck, the visual attentional bottleneck. A subsequent theory, V1 Saliency Hypothesis (V1SH), has been developed on exogenous attentional selection of a fraction of visual input for further processing, guided by a bottom-up saliency map in the primary visual cortex.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: Current research in sensory processing is divided among a biophysical modelling of different subsystems and a more theoretical modelling of perception. Current models of perception have suggested that the brain performs some form of Bayesian inference and integration of different sensory information in generating our perception of the physical world.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: Many models of the way the brain controls movement have been developed. This includes models of processing in the brain such as the cerebellum's role for error correction, skill learning in motor cortex and the basal ganglia, or the control of the vestibulo ocular reflex. This also includes many normative models, such as those of the Bayesian or optimal control flavor which are built on the idea that the brain efficiently solves its problems.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: Earlier models of memory are primarily based on the postulates of Hebbian learning. Biologically relevant models such as Hopfield net have been developed to address the properties of associative (also known as "content-addressable") style of memory that occur in biological systems. These attempts are primarily focusing on the formation of medium- and long-term memory, localizing in the hippocampus. Models of working memory, relying on theories of network oscillations and persistent activity, have been built to capture some features of the prefrontal cortex in context-related memory. Additional models look at the close relationship between the basal ganglia and the prefrontal cortex and how that contributes to working memory.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: One of the major problems in neurophysiological memory is how it is maintained and changed through multiple time scales. Unstable synapses are easy to train but also prone to stochastic disruption. Stable synapses forget less easily, but they are also harder to consolidate. One recent computational hypothesis involves cascades of plasticity that allow synapses to function at multiple time scales. Stereochemically detailed models of the acetylcholine receptor-based synapse with the Monte Carlo method, working at the time scale of microseconds, have been built. It is likely that computational tools will contribute greatly to our understanding of how synapses function and change in relation to external stimulus in the coming decades.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: Biological neurons are connected to each other in a complex, recurrent fashion. These connections are, unlike most artificial neural networks, sparse and usually specific. It is not known how information is transmitted through such sparsely connected networks, although specific areas of the brain, such as the visual cortex, are understood in some detail. It is also unknown what the computational functions of these specific connectivity patterns are, if any.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: The interactions of neurons in a small network can be often reduced to simple models such as the Ising model. The statistical mechanics of such simple systems are well-characterized theoretically. Some recent evidence suggests that dynamics of arbitrary neuronal networks can be reduced to pairwise interactions. It is not known, however, whether such descriptive dynamics impart any important computational function. With the emergence of two-photon microscopy and calcium imaging, we now have powerful experimental methods with which to test the new theories regarding neuronal networks.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: In some cases the complex interactions between "inhibitory" and "excitatory" neurons can be simplified using mean-field theory, which gives rise to the population model of neural networks. While many neurotheorists prefer such models with reduced complexity, others argue that uncovering structural-functional relations depends on including as much neuronal and network structure as possible. Models of this type are typically built in large simulation platforms like GENESIS or NEURON. There have been some attempts to provide unified methods that bridge and integrate these levels of complexity.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: Visual attention can be described as a set of mechanisms that limit some processing to a subset of incoming stimuli. Attentional mechanisms shape what we see and what we can act upon. They allow for concurrent selection of some (preferably, relevant) information and inhibition of other information. In order to have a more concrete specification of the mechanism underlying visual attention and the binding of features, a number of computational models have been proposed aiming to explain psychophysical findings. In general, all models postulate the existence of a saliency or priority map for registering the potentially interesting areas of the retinal input, and a gating mechanism for reducing the amount of incoming visual information, so that the limited computational resources of the brain can handle it.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: An example theory that is being extensively tested behaviorally and physiologically is the V1 Saliency Hypothesis that a bottom-up saliency map is created in the primary visual cortex to guide attention exogenously. Computational neuroscience provides a mathematical framework for studying the mechanisms involved in brain function and allows complete simulation and prediction of neuropsychological syndromes.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: Computational modeling of higher cognitive functions has only recently begun. Experimental data comes primarily from single-unit recording in primates. The frontal lobe and parietal lobe function as integrators of information from multiple sensory modalities. There are some tentative ideas regarding how simple mutually inhibitory functional circuits in these areas may carry out biologically relevant computation.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: The brain seems to be able to discriminate and adapt particularly well in certain contexts. For instance, human beings seem to have an enormous capacity for memorizing and recognizing faces. One of the key goals of computational neuroscience is to dissect how biological systems carry out these complex computations efficiently and potentially replicate these processes in building intelligent machines.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: The brain's large-scale organizational principles are illuminated by many fields, including biology, psychology, and clinical practice. Integrative neuroscience attempts to consolidate these observations through unified descriptive models and databases of behavioral measures and recordings. These are the bases for some quantitative modeling of large-scale brain activity.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: The Computational Representational Understanding of Mind (CRUM) is another attempt at modeling human cognition through simulated processes like acquired rule-based systems in decision making and the manipulation of visual representations in decision making.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: One of the ultimate goals of psychology/neuroscience is to be able to explain the everyday experience of conscious life. Francis Crick, Giulio Tononi and Christof Koch made some attempts to formulate consistent frameworks for future work in neural correlates of consciousness (NCC), though much of the work in this field remains speculative. Specifically, Crick cautioned the field of neuroscience to not approach topics that are traditionally left to philosophy and religion.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: Computational clinical neuroscience is a field that brings together experts in neuroscience, neurology, psychiatry, decision sciences and computational modeling to quantitatively define and investigate problems in neurological and psychiatric diseases, and to train scientists and clinicians that wish to apply these models to diagnosis and treatment.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: Computational psychiatry is a new emerging field that brings together experts in machine learning, neuroscience, neurology, psychiatry, psychology to provide an understanding of psychiatric disorders.


title: Computational neuroscience

text: A neuromorphic computer/chip is any device that uses physical artificial neurons (made from silicon) to do computations (See: neuromorphic computing, physical neural network). One of the advantages of using a physical model computer such as this is that it takes the computational load of the processor (in the sense that the structural and some of the functional elements don't have to be programmed since they are in hardware). In recent times, neuromorphic technology has been used to build supercomputers which are used in international neuroscience collaborations. Examples include the Human Brain Project SpiNNaker supercomputer and the BrainScaleS computer.


title: Dionne Bromfield

text: Dionne Julia Bromfield (born 1 February 1996) is a British soul music singer, television presenter and television personality. Her debut album, "Introducing Dionne Bromfield", was released in 2009 by Amy Winehouse's Lioness Records label. She first came to public attention after performing on the British TV show "Strictly Come Dancing" with Amy Winehouse on backing vocals. She is known for being one of the former presenters on "Friday Download". On 15 July 2021, Bromfield released the single "Silly Love", nearly 10 years after the death of her godmother Amy Winehouse.


title: Dionne Bromfield

text: Bromfield was born on 1 February 1996 in Tower Hamlets, East London to an English mother and a Jamaican father. She has two brothers, Bromfield grew up in Chislehurst, South London, and attended Gatehouse School in Victoria Park, London and later Beaverwood School for Girls in Chislehurst until 2009. Bromfield first appeared on YouTube singing a cover of Alicia Keys song "If I Ain't Got You" with (her godmother) Amy Winehouse.


title: Dionne Bromfield

text: In September 2009, Bromfield was the first artist to be signed to Winehouse's record label, Lioness Records. On 25 September 2009, Bromfield performed alongside Winehouse at the Prince's Trust End of the Summer Ball and, on 10 October, Bromfield performed a cover of The Shirelles' 1960s hit "Mama Said", while Winehouse appeared as a backing singer on the British television show "Strictly Come Dancing".


title: Dionne Bromfield

text: Her debut album, "Introducing Dionne Bromfield", was released on 12 October 2009, and the first single, "Mama Said", was released on 3 November 2009. On 10 December 2010, Bromfield performed at the Young Voices concerts at the Manchester M.E.N. Arena, on 12 January 2011 in London at the O2 Arena and the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield. The album also features the song "Foolish Little Girl", as well as the second single, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", which was released as a digital download featuring the b-side "I Saw Mummy Kissing Santa Claus". This album consisted of cover songs and contained no original material.


title: Dionne Bromfield

text: On 28 January 2011, it was announced that Bromfield has recorded a new single called "Yeah Right", co-written with Eg White, which features Diggy Simmons. The single, which was released as a digital download on 4 March and peaked at number 36 in the UK Singles Chart, is the lead single from her second album "Good for the Soul", which was released on 4 July 2011. The album is composed completely of original material, written by Bromfield and many songwriters. A second single featuring Lil Twist, "Foolin'", was released on 17 June. This album has been promoted by Bromfield appearing on television shows such as "Blue Peter" and "Fern".


title: Dionne Bromfield

text: Bromfield has uploaded two episodes of a web show with Will Manning called "Down With Dionne" on YouTube. Episode 1 – The first episode was uploaded to YouTube on 6 April 2011. In this episode, Will helps Bromfield hunt down her fashion favourites, and she performs an impromptu performance of her hit single "Yeah Right" on Oxford Street. Episode 2 – The second episode was uploaded to YouTube on 15 April 2011. In this episode, Bromfield is challenged to hunt the pockets of witting Londoners, she meets Jessie J, and Will does an Irish Jig.


title: Dionne Bromfield

text: It was announced that she would present a show called "Friday Download" on CBBC, which premiered from 6 May to 5 August. The 13-part series will address themes such as music, dance, TV, comedy, movies, and lifestyle. Bromfield said, ""I did the audition and there were loads of well-known actresses auditioning, too. I didn't think I stood a chance. I'd forgotten all about it until my mum came in to tell me I'd got the job! I didn't believe her at first! It's so exciting, and I can't wait to get started"!"


title: Dionne Bromfield

text: On 1 July 2011, Dionne Bromfield and Tinchy Stryder's collaboration, "Spinnin' for 2012", was confirmed as the first official song for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The lyrics for the song, originally written and recorded by Speech Debelle, have been re-written by Tinchy and Bromfield. The song was released 23 September 2011.


title: Dionne Bromfield

text: On 20 July 2011, while performing at London's Roundhouse with The Wanted, Bromfield was joined on stage by Amy Winehouse. This was Winehouse's last public performance before her death on 23 July 2011, aged 27.


title: Dionne Bromfield

text: On 23 July, two hours after the announcement of Winehouse's death, Bromfield sang at Ponty's Big Weekend in Pontypridd, supporting The Wanted. Bromfield sang for 20 minutes, only slightly short of the scheduled half-hour set and left Wales immediately after the concert.


title: Dionne Bromfield

text: On 5 October 2011, in her first award nomination, Bromfield was nominated for "Best R&B/Soul act", at the 2011 MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin), as well as performing in the Amy Winehouse tribute, singing "Love Is A Losing Game" at the awards ceremony.


title: Dionne Bromfield

text: On 17 October 2011, a remix of "Ouch That Hurt" – as featured on the soundtrack to the film "Demons Never Die" and featuring rapper Mz Bratt – was released in the UK.


title: Dionne Bromfield

text: On 24–26 January 2012, Bromfield performed for the first time outside the UK, at the Summer Soul Festival, at São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. That was the same festival that on 2011 brought Winehouse to Brazil. Her song "Move A Little Faster", from her second studio album "Good for the Soul", was featured as the opening track for the "Hawaii Five-0" episode "Lapa'au" ("Healing").


title: Dionne Bromfield

text: Bromfield recorded a new track, named 'Black Butterfly', in honour of Amy Winehouse. She told "Sunday Mirror", "I want to continue Amy's legacy. It's an awful lot of pressure but it's also a massive compliment to think that I can. I was the last person she was with on stage and automatically people felt like that was saying something... There was a black butterfly that flew in at Amy's funeral and it landed on Kelly Osbourne's shoulder. It stayed there for the whole service then flew out as soon as the service had finished. It's probably the best song I've ever written, and I was crying when I recorded it." Winehouse's father, Mitch Winehouse, has also written about seeing the same butterfly in "Amy, My Daughter."


title: Dionne Bromfield

text: In November 2015, she supported US girl group Fifth Harmony on their UK gigs in London and Manchester.


title: Dionne Bromfield

text: In 2021, Bromfield featured in the documentary "Amy Winehouse & Me: Dionne's Story" in regards to the tenth anniversary of Amy Winehouse's death. She also released a single called "Silly Love".


title: Presidency of the United Nations Security Council

text: The presidency of the United Nations Security Council is responsible for leading the United Nations Security Council. It rotates among the 15 member-states of the council monthly. The head of the country's delegation is known as the President of the United Nations Security Council. The presidency has rotated every month since its establishment in 1946, and the president serves to coordinate actions of the council, decide policy disputes, and sometimes functions as a diplomat or intermediary between conflicting groups.


text: The presidency derives responsibility from the Provisional Rules of Procedure of the United Nations Security Council as well as the council's practice. The role of the president involves calling the meetings of the Security Council, approving the provisional agenda (proposed by the secretary-general), presiding at its meetings, deciding questions relating to policy and overseeing any crisis. The president is authorized to issue both Presidential Statements (subject to consensus among Council members) and notes, which are used to make declarations of intent that the full Security Council can then pursue. The president is also responsible for reading statements of the Security Council to the press. The holder of the presidency is considered to be the 'face' and spokesperson of the UNSC. The holder of the presidency may appeal to parties in a conflict to "exercise restraint".


text: The president represents the Security Council before other United Nations organs and member states. They also call upon members to speak, send applicants for United Nations membership to a committee of the UNSC and decide voting order. Particularly after the end of the Cold War, the president has worked to coordinate the UNSC with other organs. The president has authority to rule upon points of order, which can be put to a vote if a member of the council challenges it. They also name members of various subsidiary organs, and are generally responsible for maintaining order. Since November 2000, the president has generally prepared background papers for on the topic being discussed.


text: The president also continues to represent their state. If their nation is involved in a conflict the UNSC is discussing, they are expected to temporarily step down. Conversely, because the presidency rotates monthly, all nations on the UNSC can evenly emphasize issues important to them. Most non-permanent states hold the presidency once or twice during their two-year terms; Burkina Faso changed its name from Upper Volta in August 1984 during its term, and held it three times. The president often makes a distinction between when they are speaking as the president and as the representative of their state.


text: The Permanent Representative (ambassador) of the state to the security council is usually the president of the council, but the presidency is technically given to a state and not a person. For example, in January 2000, a month in which the United States held the presidency of the Security Council, U.S. vice president Al Gore headed the United States delegation to the United Nations for a few days. As a result, Gore was the president of the Security Council during this time. Heads of state have met six times at the UNSC. All members of the council, including the president, must present credentials issued by either the head of state, the head of government, or the minister of foreign affairs of their respective states to the secretary-general, except if the representative is also the head of government or minister of foreign affairs.


text: The United Nations Charter mentions the presidency once, stating that the Security Council is empowered to establish rules of procedure, "including the method of selecting its president" in Article 30. At its first meeting on 17 January 1946, the UNSC adopted provisional rule 18 and established the following method of selecting the president: the presidency rotates monthly among the fifteen (1946: eleven) members of the Security Council. The rotation takes place in alphabetical order of the member states' official names in English. As such, Australia was the first nation to hold the presidency. Such rotation makes the presidency unique among all United Nations organs. Terms began and ended on the 17 of every month until a suggestion by Australia in December 1946 to change led to the term being extended so the presidency would rotate on the first of every month. The president is the only non-elected head of a United Nations organ.


text: In 1981, Sydney D. Bailey, an observer of the United Nations, divided the history of the UNSC into three eras; from 1946 to 1955, 1956–1965, and 1966 to 1981. In the first, presidents often acted on their own initiative without consulting the security council. During the second era, the security council was less involved in affairs relating to the Cold War, adopting the slogan "Leave it to Dag [Hammarskjöld]". From 1966 to 1981, the president began informally discussing matters before holding formal sessions and generally becoming more efficient.


text: In 1947 and 1948, the UNSC was involved in the independence of Israel and the ensuing 1947–1949 Palestine war. In July 1948, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic held the presidency. The council met on 7 July upon the request of a United Nations mediator, to consider whether it should promote peace. The UNSC had previously invited representatives of the Arab Higher Committee and the Jewish Agency of Palestine to discuss the issue.


text: Dmitry Manuilsky, the president in July, addressed the Jewish Agency as 'the representative of the State of Israel'. However, the UNSC had not formally recognized the state. Various member-states criticized his action, and only the United States supported it. In response, the Arab Higher Committee representatives left discussions, and did not return, hindering the UNSC's ability to negotiate the matter. Historian Istvan Pogany considers that "the President deliberately abused his office in order to further the objectives of his government."


text: In 1948, the president informally engaged in diplomacy several times, the first in January 1948, when the Belgian president requested that India and Pakistan "refrain from any step incompatible with the Charter and liable to result in an aggravation of the situation’'. In April, the Colombian president met with representatives of the Jewish Agency and Arab Higher Committee to discuss possible terms for peace. Later that year, the Argentinian president established a 'Technical Committee on Berlin Currency and Trade'. In August 1950, Sydney D. Bailey writes that the holder of the presidency, the Soviet Union, manipulated "the procedure of the Council for partisan purposes during debates on Korea".


text: The president has also formally negotiated on behalf of the UNSC several times. In February 1957, upon the request of the UNSC, then-president Gunnar Jarring of Sweden prepared a report on India–Pakistan relations. He consulted with both nations and discussed many potential solutions to their disagreements, none of which were agreed upon. Such actions have generally not been requested since the 1970s. The president will also manage less formal negotiations upon request of the council.


text: In a 31 March 1976 meeting discussing South African aggression against Angola, the meeting continued past midnight and it was technically 1 April. Thomas S. Boya, the representative of Benin and president for March, offered to pass the presidency on to China. Though the meeting was adjourned before a decision was reached, it became established procedure for the president to step down exactly when the month elapsed. A similar case on 31 May 2010 resulted in Nawaf Salam of Lebanon giving the presidency to Claude Heller of Mexico.


text: In September 1994, during the Rwandan genocide, Rwanda was supposed to hold the presidency, but had not been present at Security Council meetings from 14 July. On 25 August, the Council decided to allow Spain to hold the position for September. A Rwandan delegation was again present on 16 September, and it was decided that the nation would hold the presidency in December. The presidency has been ceded several times. The first was from 10 to 12 January 1950, when the representative of Taiwan ceded to Cuba. The United States ceded in 1948, China in 1950, India in 1951, Lebanon in 1956, and the United Kingdom in 1968. On 10 November 1993 the representative of Cape Verde, José Luís Jesus, ceded to China as he was a candidate for election to the International Court of Justice; and on 15 December 1994 the Rwandan representative ceded to Argentina. Both the United States and Soviet Union refused requests to cede the presidency, the US during the Cold War and USSR during the Congo Crisis.


text: Taieb Slim, the Tunisian holder of the presidency in September 1980, asked Iran and Iraq to "desist from all armed activity and all acts that might worsen the dangerous situation and to settle their dispute by peaceful means. The presidency was reformed in a 2010 note revised its function, largely focusing on increasing transparency. Efforts at such reform had begun in the 1990s. There have been various other efforts to reform the position, such as allowing terms to be extended during times of war.


text: Numerous people have served multiple times as president. The most times anyone has held the position is sixteen, by T. F. Tsiang, a representative of the Republic of China; the second-most was held by Yakov Malik, a representative of the USSR, ten.


title: Folk Catholicism

text: Folk Catholicism can be broadly described as various ethnic expressions and practices of Catholicism intermingled with aspects of folk religion. Practices have varied from place to place, and may at times contradict the official doctrines and practices of the Roman Catholic Church as well as overall Christianity.


title: Folk Catholicism

text: Some forms of folk Catholic practices are based on syncretism with non-Catholic or non-Christian beliefs or religions. Some of these folk Catholic forms have come to be identified as separate religions, as is the case with Caribbean and Brazilian syncretisms between Catholicism and West African religions, which include Haitian Vodou, Cuban Santería, and Brazilian Candomblé.


title: Folk Catholicism

text: Similarly complex syncretisms between Catholic practice and indigenous or Native American belief systems, as are common in Maya communities of Guatemala and Quechua communities of Peru to give just two examples, are typically not named as separate religions; their practitioners generally regard themselves as good Catholics even while worshiping non-Christian gods.


title: Folk Catholicism

text: Other folk Catholic practices are local elaborations of Catholic custom which do not contradict Catholic doctrine and practice. Examples include compadrazgo in modern Iberia, Latin America and the Philippines, which developed from standard medieval European Catholic practices that fell out of favor in Europe after the seventeenth century; the veneration of some local saints, and pilgrimages in medieval and modern Europe. Folk Catholic practices occur where Catholicism is a major religion, not only in the often-cited cases of Latin America and the West Indies. Folk accommodations between Catholicism and local beliefs can be found in Gaelic Scotland, the Philippines, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Poland, and southern India.


title: Folk Catholicism

text: In Ireland, openly Catholic worship was banned due to the Penal Laws. This led to storytellers inventing their own tales so as to teach the Gospel or add further lessons. These further lessons however often ended up contradicting the teaching of the Catholic Church. Within these stories a variety of recurring characters and themes appear such as the Virgin Mary, priests, Paul the Apostle, Satan and Jesus himself.


title: Folk Catholicism

text: In the Philippines, the custom of Simbang Gabi developed from the farming community. Simbang Gabi is a devotional nine-day series of Masses leading up to Christmas. On the last day of the Simbang Gabi, which is Christmas Eve, the service is instead called "Misa de Gallo" (Spanish for "Rooster's Mass"). It has an important role in Philippine culture. It has its origins in the early days of Spanish rule over the Philippines as a practical compromise for farmers, who began work before sunrise to avoid the noonday heat out in the fields. Despite being exhausted by a long day's labor, the people would still attend the customary evening novenas. In 1669, the priests began to say Mass in the early mornings instead of the evening novenas more common in the rest of the Hispanic world. This cherished Christmas custom eventually became a distinct feature of Philippine culture and became a symbol of sharing.


title: Folk Catholicism

text: The Roman Catholic Church takes a pragmatic and patient stance towards folk Catholicism. For example, it may permit pilgrimages to the site of reported apparitions (e.g. Međugorje) without endorsing or condemning belief in the reported apparitions, and will often declare Marian apparitions and similar miracles "worthy of belief" (e.g. Our Lady of Fatima), or will confirm the cult of local saints without actually endorsing or recommending belief. When the Roman Catholic Church considers that there is a blatant heresy occurring, it actively rejects it and tells Catholics to stay away from such practices. This is the case of the cult of Santa Muerte (Saint Death, a personification and veneration of death). The Church has condemned the cult as blasphemous, calling it a "degeneration of religion".


title: Folk Catholicism

text: One of the biggest and well-known folk religions is Vodou. Vodou and the African slave trade go hand-in-hand. It wouldn't exist without the long history of the pain and suffering of slavery in the western world.


title: Folk Catholicism

text: Vodou has a rich history full of culture, color, magic, zombies and more. It first appeared in Haiti in the 17th century and has grown to a large religion which has over 60 million worshippers.


title: Folk Catholicism

text: Vodu is from the Fon language of Dahomey and means 'god' or 'spirit.' Because of its isolation in the area, Vodu grew quickly and was the religion for many people in this part of West Africa. It is also the origination of the rhythmic drum beating which became a big part of worship and lwa.


title: Folk Catholicism

text: Once they arrived in Haiti, the enslaved people's beliefs became a religion, but their enslavers did not allow worship of anything but Christianity. Many enslaved people were even baptized. In order to continue worship, they adopted Catholic saints and traditions. The saints became stand-ins for their lwa; St. Peter, for instance, was Legba. In this manner, they were able to practice their faith and please the enslaver at the same time.


title: Folk Catholicism

text: Events that contributed to the formation of popular Italian Catholicism include the Counter-Reformation, the Council of Trent, and then the social and civil commitment of the Catholic movement between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.


title: Folk Catholicism

text: Among the most popular saints and patrons in Italy are San Pio (Padre Pio), Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint Francis of Assisi (San Francesco), Santa Rita of Cascia, St. Joseph, St. Michael, Mother Teresa, Saint Clare of Assisi, Saint Rosalia, Januarius, St. Agatha, St. Ambrose, and St. Catherine of Siena. Simon of Trent is also amongst popular figures of italian folk catholicism.


title: Folk Catholicism

text: To the Italian peasantry, the presence of the sacred was associated with rites of traditional magic called "benedicaria." This form of magic was practiced by the (, 'witches'), combining knowledge of herbs, formulas and spells with the sacraments and prayers of the Catholic Church.


title: Folk Catholicism

text: In the Philippines, among the most relevant celebration of popular Catholicism is the novena Christmas known as "Simbang Gabi", which arose within the farming community and consists of a nine-day devotional gesture of masses in preparation for Christmas. On the last day of Simbang Gabi, which coincides with Christmas Eve, the most important service is held, called in Spanish "Misa de Gallo" ("Mass of the Rooster").


title: Folk Catholicism

text: This is an ancient tradition celebrated since 1669, brought to the Philippines by Spanish missionaries: originally, the nine masses were held very early in the morning, because most of the country's inhabitants were farmers who had to go to work before dawn, to avoid being in the fields during the hottest hours of the day.


title: Folk Catholicism

text: While evening novenas were more common in the rest of the Hispanic world, this Christmas custom eventually became a distinctive feature of Philippine culture and a symbol of shared participation of popular faith.


title: Arthur Hiller

text: Arthur Hiller, (November 22, 1923 – August 17, 2016) was a Canadian-American television and film director with over 33 films to his credit during a 50-year career. He began his career directing television in Canada and later in the U.S. By the late 1950s he began directing films, most often comedies. He also directed dramas and romantic subjects, such as "Love Story" (1970), which was nominated for seven Oscars.


title: Arthur Hiller

text: Hiller collaborated on films with screenwriters Paddy Chayefsky and Neil Simon. Among his other films were "The Americanization of Emily" (1964), "Tobruk" (1967), "The Hospital" (1971), "The Out-of-Towners" (1970), "Plaza Suite" (1971), "The Man in the Glass Booth" (1975), "Silver Streak" (1976), "The In-Laws" (1979) and "Outrageous Fortune" (1987).


title: Arthur Hiller

text: Hiller served as president of the Directors Guild of America from 1989 to 1993 and president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1993 to 1997. He was the recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 2002. An annual film festival in Hiller's honor was held from 2006 until 2009 at his alma mater, Victoria School of Performing and Visual Arts.


title: Arthur Hiller

text: Hiller was born in November 1923 in Edmonton, Alberta, the son of Rose (Garfin) and Harry Hiller. His family was Jewish, and had emigrated from Poland in 1912. He had two sisters, one thirteen years older and one eleven years older. His father operated a second-hand musical instruments store in Edmonton. Hiller recalled that when he occasionally traveled home while he was in college, the black people he met with "treated me like a king. Why? Because they loved my father. They told me that unlike other shopkeepers, he treated them like normal folks when they went to his store. He didn't look down on them".


title: Arthur Hiller

text: Although his parents were not professionals in theater or had much money, notes Hiller, they enjoyed putting on a Jewish play once or twice a year for the Jewish community of 450 people, mainly to keep in touch with their heritage. Hiller recalls they started up the Yiddish theater when he was seven or eight years old; he helped set carpenters build and decorate the sets. When he was eleven, he got a role acting as an old man, wearing a long beard and the payot. He says that "the love of theater and music and literature my parents instilled in me" contributed to his later choosing to direct TV and films.


title: Arthur Hiller

text: After he graduated from high school, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941 during World War II. He served as a navigator on four-engine Handley Page Halifax heavy bombers on night missions over Nazi-controlled territory in Europe. After he returned from serving in the military, Hiller enrolled in and later graduated from University College, Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1947. After Israel was declared a state in 1948, he and his wife unsuccessfully tried to join its army since it came under attack. He continued in college and received a Master of Arts degree in psychology in 1950. One of his first jobs after graduating was with Canadian radio directing various public affairs programs.


title: Arthur Hiller

text: Hiller began his career as a television director with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. NBC, one of the main networks in the United States, seeing his work in Canada, offered him positions directing television dramas. Over the next few years, his work for the small screen included episodes of "Thriller", "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "The Rifleman, Gunsmoke", "Naked City", Perry Mason, and "Playhouse 90".


title: Arthur Hiller

text: Hiller directed his first film, "The Careless Years" (1957), the story of young couple eloping. This was followed by "This Rugged Land" (1962), originally made for television but then released as a film, and then "Miracle of the White Stallions" (1963), a Disney film. With these first films, Hiller already showed competence in directing unrelated subjects successfully.


title: Arthur Hiller

text: He next directed a satirical anti-war comedy by screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky, "The Americanization of Emily" (1964), starring James Garner and Julie Andrews. It was the first of two film collaborations with Chayefsky. The film, nominated for two Academy Awards, would establish Hiller as a notable Hollywood director and, according to critics, "earned him a reputation for flair with sophisticated comedy." "The New York Times" critic Bosley Crowther wrote that Hiller's "brisk direction" of Chayefsky's script included some "remarkably good writing with some slashing irreverence."


title: Arthur Hiller

text: In 1964 Hiller also directed the first episode of the television series "The Addams Family". This was followed by the comedy "Promise Her Anything" (1965), with Warren Beatty and Leslie Caron and "Penelope" (1966), starring Natalie Wood. In a move away from comedy, he directed the desert warfare drama, "Tobruk" (1967), starring Rock Hudson and George Peppard, about a North African Campaign during World War II. The film was nominated for one Academy Award and showed Hiller capable of handling action films as well as comedy. Around the same time, he returned to comedy with "The Tiger Makes Out" (also 1967), starring Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson, and featured Dustin Hoffman's film debut. "Popi" (1969), recounts the tale of a Puerto Rican widower, starring Alan Arkin, struggling to raise his two young sons in the New York City neighborhood known as Spanish Harlem. Arkin was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.


title: Arthur Hiller

text: Hiller directed "Love Story" (1970), his best known work and most successful at the box-office. The film stars Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw in a romantic tragedy, and it was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Director. The American Film Institute ranks it No. 9 in their list of the greatest love stories. Critic Roger Ebert disagreed with some critics who felt the story was too contrived: "Why shouldn't we get a little misty during a story about young lovers separated by death? Hiller earns our emotional response because of the way he's directed the movie [...] The movie is mostly about life, however, not death. And because Hiller makes the lovers into individuals, of course we're moved by the film's conclusion. Why not?"


title: Arthur Hiller

text: The following year Hiller again collaborated with screenwriter Paddy Chayevsky in directing "The Hospital" (1971), a satire starring George C. Scott which has been described as being his best film. It is a black comedy about disillusionment and chaos within a hospital setting. Chayevsky received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. In directing the film, Hiller tried to create a sense of action and movement by keeping the camera mobile and using handheld cameras as much as possible. His goal was to have the camera reflect the chaos and confusion taking place in the hospital. "I've always liked that sort of realistic feel," he states. "I wanted the feeling that the audience was peeking around the corner."


title: Arthur Hiller

text: Hiller directed two comedy films in collaboration with playwright Neil Simon. The first film was "The Out-of-Towners" (1970), starring Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis, who were both nominated for Golden Globe awards for their roles. Their next collaboration was "Plaza Suite" (1971), starring Walter Matthau, which was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture. Both films were driven by intense comedy dialogue and were considered "crisply directed" by reviewers.


title: Arthur Hiller

text: Hiller returned to directing serious drama with "The Man in the Glass Booth" (1975), starring Maximilian Schell, in a screen adaptation of a stage play written by Robert Shaw. Schell played the role of a man trying to deal with questions of self-identity and guilt as a survivor of the Holocaust during World War II. For his highly emotional role, Schell was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and the Golden Globe Award.


title: Arthur Hiller

text: Returning to comedy, Hiller directed "Silver Streak" (1976), starring Gene Wilder, Jill Clayburgh and


title: Arthur Hiller

text: Richard Pryor. The film was well received by critics and is rated No. 95 on the AFI's best comedy films. He directed another comedy, "The In-Laws" (1979), with Peter Falk and Alan Arkin, which was also a critical and commercial success.


title: Arthur Hiller

text: Hiller directed the film "Making Love", which was released in February 1982, a story of a married man coming to terms with his homosexuality. "Author! Author!" (also 1982), starred Al Pacino. The following year Hiller directed "Romantic Comedy" (1983), starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen. His next comedy, "The Lonely Guy" (1984), starred Steve Martin as a greeting card writer and was followed by "Teachers" (1984), a comedy-drama film starring Nick Nolte.


title: Arthur Hiller

text: "Outrageous Fortune" (1987) stars Shelley Long and Bette Midler. The film was successful at the box office, with Midler being nominated or winning various awards. The film was followed by "See No Evil, Hear No Evil" (1989), another comedy again starring Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. Pryor plays a blind man and Wilder a deaf man who work together to thwart a trio of murderous thieves.


title: Arthur Hiller

text: The 1990s saw Hiller directing a number of films, most of which received negative or mixed reviews: "Taking Care of Business" (1990); "The Babe" (1992), a biographical film about Babe Ruth, portrayed by John Goodman; "Married to It" (1993) and "Carpool" (1996). In 1997, Hiller helmed the infamous flop "", which wound up living up to its title when Hiller requested his name be removed from the picture – thus truly making it an Alan Smithee film. Nine years later, when he was in his eighties, Hiller directed his last film, "National Lampoon's Pucked" (2006), starring rock star Jon Bon Jovi.


title: Arthur Hiller

text: In an interview with journalist Robert K. Elder for "The Film That Changed My Life", Hiller states that the film "Rome, Open City" (1945) had had a strong influence on his career because he saw it right after leaving the military where he was a bomber navigator in the Canadian Air Force. The film is set during the Nazi occupation of Italy and shows the priesthood and the Communists teaming up against the enemy forces. Hiller commented, "You just get the strongest emotional feelings about what happened to people in Italy."


title: Arthur Hiller

text: Hiller preferred his scripts to contain "good moral values," a preference which he says came from his upbringing. He wanted high quality screenplays whenever possible, which partly explains why he collaborated on multiple films with both Paddy Chayefsky and Neil Simon. Hiller explains his rationale:


title: Arthur Hiller

text: Hiller served as President of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) from 1989 to 1993 DGA presented Hiller with the Robert B. Aldrich Award in 1999 and the DGA Honorary Life Member Award in 1993. In 1970 he received a DGA Award nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for "Love Story". He was also a member of the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress from 1989 to 2005 and President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1993 to 1997. He also served on the board of the National Student Film Institute.


title: Arthur Hiller

text: He received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 2002 Academy Awards ceremony in recognition of his humanitarian, charitable and philanthropic efforts. In 2002, he was honoured with a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto. In 2006, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Writer and producer William Froug said that "Hiller is that rare and hugely successful gentleman who has remained humble all his life."


title: Arthur Hiller

text: He received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Fine Arts (DFA) from the University of Victoria in June 1995. He received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D) from the University of Toronto in November 1995.


title: Arthur Hiller

text: In 1948, he married Gwen Pechet, who was also Jewish; they had two children and two grandchildren. His wife died on June 24, 2016. They were married for 68 years. Hiller died almost two months later in Los Angeles on August 17, 2016, at the age of 92 from natural causes.


title: Westlife discography

text: Irish pop vocal group Westlife have released twelve studio albums, sixteen video albums, one live album, three karaoke albums, thirty-eight singles, twenty-one promotional singles, nine compilation albums and fifty-four music videos. Formed on 3 July 1998, the group was made up of singers Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden (who quit the band on 9 March 2004). The band was signed under Simon Cowell, Clive Davis, and Jordan Jay and under record labels' BMG, S Records, Arista Records, Sony BMG, Syco Music, Sony Music Entertainment and RCA Records from 1998 to 2012 and currently on Universal Music Group and Virgin EMI Records from 2018. The last four members remained active until their last live concert performance in the Europe's third largest stadium Croke Park on 23 June 2012 and have reunited on 3 October 2018 for new music and tour. Based on the British Phonographic Industry certifications, the group have sold more than 25 million records and videos in the United Kingdom alone across their 20-year career–10.6 million singles, 13.2 million albums and 1.3 million videos. Their biggest selling album is their first "Greatest Hits" compilation, followed by "Coast to Coast", with seven of their albums selling one million copies or more. Their biggest selling video is "Where Dreams Come True", which has sold 240,000 copies to date.


title: Westlife discography

text: In 2012, the Official Charts Company listed Westlife 34th amongst the biggest-selling singles artists in British music history. They are currently the sixteenth overall biggest group of all time. As of April 2018, the group has sold more than 55 million records worldwide.


title: Westlife discography

text: They accumulated a total of 26 top ten hits including 16 number one singles as lead artist and as featured artist, 8 number one albums and 13 top 5 albums in the United Kingdom alone. 20 out of 29 singles as lead artist and as featured artist they have released in the United Kingdom have certifications from 1999 to 2022. They are also currently ranked twenty-fourth with most number ones albums of all time. They have had 36 number-one albums worldwide. This earned them the following "Guinness World Records": first to achieve seven consecutive number-one singles in the UK, most singles to debut at number one on the UK chart and top selling album group in the United Kingdom in the 21st century. Despite their success, Westlife never managed to break into the United States, achieving only one hit single in 2000, their debut single "Swear It Again", which peaked at number 20 on "Billboard" Hot 100 and was certified Gold.


title: Westlife discography

text: However, "Swear It Again" was the band's first number-one single in the United Kingdom and Ireland followed by seventeen more number-ones from their succeeding singles "If I Let You Go", "Flying Without Wings", "I Have A Dream/Seasons in the Sun", "Fool Again", "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)", "My Love", "Uptown Girl", "Queen of My Heart"/"When You're Looking Like That", "World of Our Own", "Unbreakable", "Tonight"/"Miss You Nights", "Mandy", "Everybody Hurts", "You Raise Me Up", "The Rose", "Hello My Love", and "Dynamite" from 1999 to 2019.


title: Westlife discography

text: The group's debut international self-titled studio album, "Westlife" (1999) was number-one in several countries which was followed by succeeding studio albums "Coast to Coast" (2000), "World of Our Own" (2001), "Unbreakable - The Greatest Hits Vol. 1" (2002) and "Turnaround" (2003), which continued the group's success worldwide. The four remaining member continued as a group to release their cover albums "Allow Us to Be Frank" (2004) and "The Love Album" (2006) and the studio albums "Face to Face" (2005) and "Back Home" (2007). After a one-year hiatus in 2008, they regrouped and released studio albums "Where We Are" (2009), and "Gravity" (2010) and compilation album "Greatest Hits" (2011). After eight years, the group reformed and released "Spectrum" (2019), followed by "Wild Dreams" (2021).


title: Rice hulls

text: Rice hulls (or rice husks) are the hard protecting coverings of grains of rice. In addition to protecting rice during the growing season, rice hulls can be put to use as building material, fertilizer, insulation material, or fuel. Rice hulls are part of the chaff of the rice.


title: Rice hulls

text: Rice hulls are part of the rice seed. The hull protects the grain during the growing season from pests. The hull is formed from hard materials, including opaline silica and lignin. The hull is hard to eat or swallow (unless finely ground) and mostly indigestible to humans because of its enriched fibre components. However, during times of food scarcity in ancient China, a common daily meal was a pastry made from rice husks, wild vegetables, and soybean powder. This led to the idiom "meals of cereal, hulls, and vegetables for half a year," indicating poverty and food insecurity. Testing and commercialization of human grade anti-caking agents were done in the early 2000s. The material is approved for use in USDA Certified Organic products to replace silicon dioxide.


title: Rice hulls

text: Winnowing, used to separate the rice from hulls, is to put the whole rice into a pan and throw it into the air while the wind blows. The light hulls are blown away while the heavy rice fall back into the pan. Later pestles and a simple machine called a rice pounder were developed to remove hulls. In 1885 the modern rice hulling machine was invented in Brazil. During the milling processes, the hulls are removed from the raw grain to reveal whole brown rice, which is then usually milled further to remove the bran layer, resulting in white rice.


title: Rice hulls

text: Combustion of rice hulls affords rice husk ash (acronym RHA). This ash is a potential source of amorphous reactive silica, which has a variety of applications in materials science. Most of the ash is used in the production of Portland cement. When burnt completely, the ash can have a Blaine number of as much as 3,600 compared to the Blaine number of cement (between 2,800 and 3,000), meaning it is finer than cement. Silica is the basic component of sand, which is used with cement for plastering and concreting. This fine silica will provide a very compact concrete. The ash also is a very good thermal insulation material. The fineness of the ash also makes it a very good candidate for sealing fine cracks in civil structures, where it can penetrate deeper than the conventional cement sand mixture.


title: Rice hulls

text: Rice husk ash has long been used in ceramic glazes in rice growing regions in the Far East, e.g. China and Japan. Being about 95% silica, it is an easy way of introducing the necessary silica into the glaze, and the small particle size helps with an early melt of the glaze.


title: Rice hulls

text: A number of possible uses for RHA include absorbents for oils and chemicals, soil ameliorants, a source of silicon, insulation powder in steel mills, as repellents in the form of "vinegar-tar" release agent in the ceramics industry, as an insulation material.


title: Rice hulls

text: Rice hulls are a low-cost material from which silicon carbide "whiskers" can be manufactured. The SiC whiskers are then used to reinforce ceramic cutting tools, increasing their strength tenfold.


title: Rice hulls

text: In Kerala, India, charcoal from Rice husks ("Umikari" in Malayalam) were universally used for over centuries in cleaning teeth, before toothpaste replaced it.


title: Rice hulls

text: Rice bran oil is the oil extracted from the hard outer brown layer of rice called chaff (rice husk). It is popular as a cooking oil in the Indian subcontinent and East Asian countries, including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, Southern China and Malaysia.


title: Rice hulls

text: Rice hulls can be used in brewing beer to increase the lautering ability of a mash. Rice husk is also used in one step of traditional preparation processes of Kaoliang (Sorghum) liquid. After fermentation, rice husk can be added into the wine tank to increase the void, which is advantageous for distillation.


title: Rice hulls

text: Rice hulls can be composted, but their high lignin content can make this a slow process. Sometimes earthworms are used to accelerate the process. Using vermicomposting techniques, hulls can be converted to fertilizer in about four months.


title: Rice hulls

text: Rice hulls that are parboiled (PBH) are used as a substrate or medium for gardening, including certain hydrocultures. The hulls decay over time. Rice hulls allow drainage, and retain less water than growstones. It has been shown that rice hulls do not affect plant growth regulation.


title: Rice hulls

text: Rice hulls are coated with fine-grained gunpowder and used as the main bursting charge in aerial fireworks shells.


title: Rice hulls

text: With proper techniques, rice hulls can be burned and used to power steam engines. Some rice mills originally disposed of hulls in this way.


title: Rice hulls

text: Unfortunately the direct combustion of rice hulls produces large quantities of smoke. An alternative is gasification. Rice hulls are easily gasified in top-lit updraft gasifiers. The combustion of this rice hull gas produces a blue flame, and rice hull biochar makes a good soil amendment.


title: Rice hulls

text: Rice hulls are an inexpensive byproduct of human food processing, serving as a source of fiber that is considered a filler ingredient in pet foods.


title: Rice hulls

text: Rice hulls are used as pillow stuffing. The pillows are loosely stuffed and considered therapeutic as they retain the shape of the head.


title: Rice hulls

text: Rice hulls themselves are a class A thermal insulating material because they are difficult to burn and less likely to allow moisture to propagate mold or fungi. It is also used as roofing after mixing it with mud and water.


title: Rice hulls

text: Rice hulls are also used to make particle boards and cardboard. The silica in rice husk make the particle boards less attractive to termites.


title: Rice hulls

text: Due to high amorphous silica content, the RHA (rice husk ash) can be used as a precursor material for geopolymer concrete.


title: Rice hulls

text: To achieve the best pozzolanic properties the combustion of the husks has to be carefully controlled by keeping the temperature below 700°C and to create conditions to minimize carbon formation by feeding sufficient air.


title: Rice hulls

text: At a given water-cement ratio, the addition of small amounts of rice hull ash (2 to 3 % of cement mass) may be useful to improve the workability of concrete mixtures by reducing the cement milk separation and segregation and increasing the strength and durability of concrete. However, the introduction of large quantities of this additive may result in poor workability of the concrete mixture if strong water reducing additives are not used.


title: Pulicat Lake

text: Pulicat Lagoon is the second largest brackish water lagoon in India, (after Chilika Lake), measuring . Major part of the lagoon comes under Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh. The lagoon is one of the three important wetlands to attract northeast monsoon rain clouds during the October to December season. The lagoon comprises the following regions, which adds up according to Andhra Pradesh Forest Department:


title: Pulicat Lake

text: The lagoon was cut across in the middle by the Sriharikota Link Road, which divided the water body into lagoon and marshy land. The lagoon encompasses the Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary. The barrier island of Sriharikota separates the lagoon from the Bay of Bengal and is home to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.


title: Pulicat Lake

text: In the 1st century, the anonymous mariner who wrote "Periplus of the Erythraean Sea" listed Podouke (Pulicat) as one of the three ports on the east coast of India. In the 2nd century, Ptolemy's list of ports on this coast included Podouke Emporion.


title: Pulicat Lake

text: In the 13th century, Arabs migrated to the shores of the lagoon after they were banished from Mecca for refusing to pay tributes to a new caliph. Streets with dilapidated masonry houses once occupied by these Arabian Muslims are still found in the area and resident families claim records in Arabic testifying the migration.


title: Pulicat Lake

text: Portuguese colonized the lagoon in 16th century followed by the Dutch. The Dutch drifted to the lagoon as their ships got stuck on the shores of Karimanal village on the opposite side of the mouth of the lagoon. During the Dutch occupation, Pulicat was known by the name "Pallaicatta". Fort Geldria dating to 1609, a church, a cemetery with tombs and mausoleums constructed by the Dutch are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The Dutch transacted business with the British East India Company and other countries in the region.


title: Pulicat Lake

text: A scientific study of the palynological characteristics of the lagoon was conducted by taking sedimentary soil samples from four test pits. It shows that the vegetational reconstruction from peat beds at a.m.s.l. and (a.m.s.l.) in the west at Sullurpeta and Kasdredinilem, respectively, is indicative of a palaeoshoreline. The sea level reached its maximum around 6650 plus or minus 110 yrs BP in Sullurpeta, west from the present shoreline. The radiocarbon dates of peat bed at Kasdreddinilem reveals an age of 4608 plus or minus 122 yrs BP, indicating the shift in mangrove line eastwards during the regressive phase.


title: Pulicat Lake

text: The lagoon's boundary limits range between 13.33° to 13.66° N and 80.23° to 80.25°E, with a dried part of the lagoon extending up to 14.0°N.; with about 96% of the lagoon in Andhra Pradesh and 3% in Tamil Nadu. The lagoon is aligned parallel to the coast line with its western and eastern parts covered with sand ridges. Area of the lagoon varies with the tide; in high tide and in low tide. Its length is about with width varying from to . Climate of the lagoon coast line is dominated by tropical monsoons. Air temperature varies from to . The large spindle-shaped barrier island named Sriharikota separates the lagoon from the Bay of Bengal. The sandy barrier islands of Irkam and Venad and smaller islands in the north are aligned north–south and divide the lagoon into eastern and western sectors. The morphology of the lagoons is categorized under four types with large areas under mudflats and sandflats. The fishing village of Pulicat is at the south end of the lake. The Satish Dhawan Space Center is located on the north end of the island. Pulicat, Dugarājupatnam and Sullurpeta are villages located on the periphery of the lagoon.


title: Pulicat Lake

text: Two rivers which feed the lagoon are the Arani River at the southern tip and the Kalangi River from the northwest, in addition to some smaller streams. The Buckingham Canal, a navigation channel, is part of the lagoon on its western side. The lagoon's water exchange with the Bay of Bengal is through an inlet channel at the north end of Sriharikota and out flow channel of about width at its southern end, both of which carry flows only during the rainy season. The lagoon acts as buffer to retain the accumulated flood water till the flood water is discharged gradually to the sea during the monsoon period and cyclones. The lagoon and its river basins are located both in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu states. The lagoon and its drainage river basins become interstate river basin as per Interstate River Water Disputes Act 1956. Most of the lagoon area including its water outlet to the sea is located in Andhra Pradesh.


title: Pulicat Lake

text: The water quality of the lagoon varies widely during various seasons – summer, pre–monsoon, monsoon and post–monsoon – as the depth and width of the lagoon mouth varies causing a dynamic situation of mixing and circulation of waters. The resultant salinity variation and DO (dissolved oxygen) affects the primary production, plankton, biodiversity and fisheries in this lagoon. Salinity values vary from zero during the monsoon to about 52,000 ppm (hyper saline) during post and pre–monsoon seasons. Adjustment to this wide variation is difficult for sessile and sedentary species in the lagoon. However, euryhaline species still dwell in the lagoon. The benthic or the bottom habitat of this lagoon is classified into three zones. The southern zone, the first zone, is dominated by sand with some admixture of mud. The second zone at the northern region is wholly muddy. The third zone with sand and mud in equal parts is overgrown with patches of weeds and is reported to be rich in benthic biodiversity. Toxicity levels of heavy metals such as magnesium, lead, zinc, nickel, cadmium, aluminum and copper and chemicals such as ammonia, sulphate and fluoride in the lagoon are well within permissible limits. Recently, the lagoon likely experienced up to 40% desalination due to the impact of freshwater floods from the 2015 South India floods


title: Pulicat Lake

text: The lagoon has rich flora and fauna diversity, which supports active commercial fisheries and a large and varied bird population.


title: Pulicat Lake

text: Fishing is the major occupation in the many villages located around the lagoon periphery and on the islands. The lagoon has rich fish diversity, mostly marine species, some truly brackish water and a few freshwater species. Mullets and catfish are the major brackish water fish, which have supported sustenance fishing for the lagoon fishermen. The lagoon is a nursery for several species of fish. Two thirds of the settlements in the lagoon area are in Tamil Nadu and the balance in Andhra Pradesh. 12,370 fishermen live on full-time fishery in the lagoon (6,000 in Andhra Pradesh and 6,370 in Tamil Nadu).


title: Pulicat Lake

text: An average 1200 tonnes of fish and crustaceans are harvested annually, of which prawns constitute 60%, followed by mullets. Seafood exports of white and tiger prawns, jellyfish, finfish and live lagoon green crabs are also economic benefits from the lagoon. 168 total fish species are reported. The frequently found ones are the mullets: "M. cunnesius", "M. jerdoni", "M. dussumieri", "M. cephalus", "M. bornensis" and blowfish "T. nigropunctatus", "T. leopardus", "Barbus dorsalis", catfish "Macrones vittatus", sardines, "Sardinella fimbriata" and milk fish. Finfish, green crabs, clams and prawns are the most commercially exploited fishes of the lagoon. Endangered green sea turtles are found on the beaches of Sriharikota beach. Salt is also produced from the lagoon.


title: Pulicat Lake

text: The shallow lagoon is known for its diversity of aquatic birds and is an important stopover on migration routes and is reported to be the third most important wetland on the eastern coast of India for migratory shorebirds, particularly during the spring and autumn migration seasons. In view of the rich avifauna of the lagoon, two bird sanctuaries are established in the lagoon, one in each of the two states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The Andhra Pradesh portion of Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary, established in September 1976, has an area of within the lagoon's total area in the state in the Tada Taluk of Nellore district. The Wildlife Division of the state has listed 115 species of water and land birds in the sanctuary. Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary is also located nearby in its catchment area. The Tamil Nadu part of the lagoon of area, extending over the Ponneri and Gummidipundi taluks of Thiruvallur district was declared a bird sanctuary in October 1980.


title: Pulicat Lake

text: Every year approximately 15,000 greater flamingos are reported to visit the lagoon along with pelicans, kingfishers, herons, painted storks, spoonbills and ducks. The highest concentrations of flamingo are found in the periphery of the lagoon where the water level is below. The concentrations of flamingos are also associated with high algal, fish and benthic diversity. Other water birds in the area include spot-billed pelican, seven species of herons and egrets, painted stork, greater flamingos, ducks, 20 species of shorebirds, gulls, terns, little grebe, Indian cormorant, little cormorant, Asian openbill stork, black-headed ibis, Eurasian spoonbill, lesser whistling teal, Indian spot-billed duck, great thick-knee and stone curlew. Several species of wintering waterfowl have been noted including bar-headed goose, ruddy shelduck, Eurasian wigeon, common teal, northern pintail, garganey, northern shoveller, common pochard, brown-headed gull, black-headed gull, whiskered tern, gull-billed tern and Caspian tern. Birds of prey which appear in winter are the: white-bellied sea eagle, harriers and peregrine falcons. The largest concentrations of flamingos occur in the Andhra Pradesh part of the sanctuary, around the islands of Vendadu and Irukkam.


title: Pulicat Lake

text: There are 59 species of aquatic vegetation, eight of Cyanophyceae, seven Chlorophyceae and two Rhodophyceae. Patches of residual, dry, evergreen forest and large areas of littoral scrub in woodlands in fishing villages bordering the lagoon are seen. Invasive phytoplankton species of "Prosopis juliflora", "Spirulina major", "Oscillatoria" spp., "Anabaena" spp., "Rhizosolenia castracanei", "Eucampia cornuta" and "Climacodium frauenfeldianum" in the plains on the periphery of the lake have been recorded.


title: Pulicat Lake

text: Due to climate change and delay in the northeast monsoons quite often, lack of dredging activities in the estuaries region like Duggarajapatanam, Mulapadava and Tupilipalem. Diversity of the lake looks like the semi salt desert of what was the Aral Sea. It directly impacts wildlife conversation in those area and livelyhoods of the people of the coastal community. Evidence of these changes were inevitable, bird migrations has decreased rapidly due to lack of maintenance of the lake beds. It affects the almost 160 km of the lake. Almost 40% of the lake was dried up by 2020. Recent trends and data show that Pullicat Lake is in the verge of destruction due to the lack of dredging activities. If same trends continuous it would be like another Aral Sea.


title: Pulicat Lake

text: In the Andhra Pradesh part of the lagoon, several threats to the lagoon have been identified. These are: pollution from sewage, pesticides, agricultural chemicals and industrial effluents from Arani and Kalangi rivers draining into the lagoon bringing fertilizers and pesticides with the runoff from the agricultural field into the drainage basin; domestic sewage; effluents and wastes from numerous fish-processing units; oil spills from the mechanized boats. Release of of marine chemicals, and salt-manufacturing industry and shrimp farming in more than on the eastern part of the lagoon, have affected the Pulicat Bird Sanctuary; the livelihood of 30,000 fishermen and 20,000 agricultural labourers (for whom fishing is an off-season economic activity) have also been disturbed. This activity is also reported to have serious impact on aquaculture development.


title: Pulicat Lake

text: Siltation and periodic closure of the bar mouth due to the dynamic process of sediment transport has caused reduction of size and seasonal closure of the mouth of the lagoon. It has reduced fresh sea-water exchange and made the lagoon shallow and turbid. It is reported that average depth, in the early 20th century, has been reduced to less than in the lagoon. This has caused difficulties such as the bar mouth getting silted up and being closed during the summer season (June–July to Oct–Nov), and an increase in flood levels during the rainy season. The lagoon acts as a large evaporating basin when the bar is closed resulting in salinity levels remaining low or high subject to the flood discharge into the lagoon during the north east monsoon. Fluctuation of water levels in the lagoon (above or below the sea level) is affecting flora, fauna and fisheries; siltation has caused variation of the lagoon mouth resulting in reduction of tidal inflows and consequent decline in stocking of commercially important species of prawns and mullets. The flood plains reclamation in Arani River basin for industrial and residential purposes is also increasing lagoon maximum water level during the floods.


title: Pulicat Lake

text: Runoff from agricultural fields in the drainage basins of the Arani and Kalangi rivers into the lagoon has increased pollution load from fertilizers and pesticides; pollution from domestic sewage is also being released to the lagoon. A petrochemical complex, power plant and a satellite port on Ennore creek have further aggravated the problem; there is threat of flooding of 14 island – villages of the lagoon; subsequent to the tsunami in 2004, the number of fishing boats have increased resulting in the "Catch Per Unit Effort" of fish, prawns and crabs declined from 1000 tonnes to about 700 tonnes; and this has increased the social and fishing rights conflicts between marine based fishermen and the lagoon fishermen.


title: Pulicat Lake

text: Due to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, lagoon fishery was adversely affected, with many fishing communities losing all means of livelihood until the middle of April 2005, as the loss of lives, homes and boats prevented them from going fishing in the sea and the lagoon. They subsisted on relief supplies provided by the government and other agencies. Many people in fish related trades were also affected. However, a beneficial effect of the tsunami has been the widening of the opening to the lagoon.


title: Pulicat Lake

text: Various groups and non governmental organizations are active in the area. The AARDE Foundation maintains Pulicat Museum at Pazhaverkadu to create awareness among inhabitants and city dwellers. AARDE Foundation represented Pulicat at United Nation's World Urban Forum and Habitat III as an associate-partner. Pulicat Day, part of Ramsar's World Wetlands Day, is celebrated every February by AARDE to bring attention to this fragile environment. An expert plan on "Wildlife Action Plan for Conservation Measures on the Pulicat lagoon Sanctuary" has envisaged to set up a hydro biological research station, visitor center, provide shallow-bottomed boats to enable sanctuary staff to patrol the lagoon and to prepare a management plan and conservation strategy for the entire area. COPDANET is striving to implement traditional "Paadu system" and regular desilting to ensure adequate salt and fresh water mix in the lagoon which could enhance fish resources. Centre for Research on New International Economic Order (CReNIEO) has been promoting welfare of fishermen and management of the natural resources of the lagoon. A research study by Loyola College, Chennai reported in 2007 that the lagoon that bore the brunt of industrial pollution has made an ecological turnaround, recording toxicity levels well within permissible limits. Under the Tsunami Emergency Assistance Project (TEAP), construction of a high level bridge across Pulicat lagoon along with approach roads on both sides of the lagoon has been constructed providing a safe escape route for people residing on the islands and also access for emergency response operations.


title: Pulicat Lake

text: The southern part of the lagoon in Tamil Nadu from the estuary is rich in fishes and the fishing is controlled by a traditional "Paadu system". Paadu is a traditional system of getting entitlements to eligible members of a particular community for undertaking specified fishing activity in certain designated areas. The fishing grounds fall within a radius of from the mouth of the lagoon with a salinity well maintained without much drying even during low tides. However, this traditional practice is based on caste control of the access rights to the high productive areas and is opposed by eastern fishermen and ocean-side villages. As a result, conflicts leading to violence have been reported.


title: Pulicat Lake

text: The Tamil Nadu part of the lagoon is north of Chennai and the nearest airport and major railway station are in Chennai. The nearest suburban railway station is at Ponneri. To reach Pulicat on the National Highway 16 from Chennai, drive north toward Nellore, after , turn right towards Ponneri village and continue to Pulicat village. Sullurpeta station is from Sriharikota. The Buckingham Canal on the western side of the lagoon is the navigation route through the lagoon used by cargo and passenger vessels.


title: Nail Polish (film)

text: Nail Polish is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language legal thriller drama film written and directed by Bugs Bhargava Krishna. Produced by Pradeep Uppoor, Seema Mohaptra, Jahanara Bhagava and Dhirajj Vinodd Kapoor with the production house as Ten Years Younger Production. Starring Arjun Rampal, Manav Kaul, Madhoo, Rajit Kapur, Anand Tiwari and Samreen Kaur the film follows the trial of a famous social activist who is accused of raping and murdering two migrant children while also suspected of killing others. "Nail Polish" premiered on ZEE5 on 1 January 2021.


title: Nail Polish (film)

text: Anna M. M. Vetticad gave a positive review and said that the film "touches upon aspects of sexual violence rarely discussed in Hindi cinema or in Indian society at large." Shrikanth Venkatesh of Sify wrote: ""Nail Polish" is a gritty film and is gripping for the most part. The acting is generally top notch, with Arjun Rampal and Manav Kaul especially in fine form. Archika Khurana of "The Times of India" called it a "a compelling thriller which can be watched for its story and most importantly the outstanding performances."


title: Nail Polish (film)

text: Shubhra Gupta of "The Indian Express" praised the film and wrote: "A few things are overstated, a couple of facts are fuzzily presented, but despite the occasional eye-roll, "Nail Polish", buoyed by a wonderful performance from Manav Kaul, and ably supported by the rest, keep us engaged." Prathyush Parasuraman of Film Companion wrote: "If nothing else, this movie is a testament to how well-framed and well-acted films can elevate even the banal writing, even if it cannot entirely transcend the banality."


title: Desus Nice

text: Daniel Baker (born May 18, 1981), known professionally as Desus Nice (), is an American television, YouTube, and Twitter personality. He rose to prominence with Complex TV's "Desus vs. Mero", which was a 46-episode podcast that was first released on December 18, 2013. He was the co-host of Viceland's "Desus & Mero" talk show alongside The Kid Mero until June 2018, and co-hosted "Desus & Mero" which premiered on February 21, 2019 on Showtime.


title: Desus Nice

text: Baker was born on May 18, 1981 in The Bronx, New York City to Jamaican immigrant parents. He was raised in the Wakefield section of The Bronx with his three siblings. Growing up, his mother was the senior librarian at the New York Public Library's Soundview Library branch. His father is a landlord.


title: Desus Nice

text: Baker attended the nearby Pablo Casals Middle School in Co-op City, where he met Chris Hayes in the gifted program, before going on to attend Herbert H. Lehman High School. He earned a degree in Literature from the College of Mount Saint Vincent.


title: Desus Nice

text: Baker enjoyed working with computers from a young age. His ability to fix his family's computer during his childhood earned him the nickname "Jesus," which he changed to Desus to reflect his first name.


title: Desus Nice

text: He worked several jobs before joining "Black Enterprise" as a small business columnist, where he remained until 2014 before leaving to pursue a career in television.


title: Desus Nice

text: In December 2014, MTV announced that Desus Nice and The Kid Mero would be joining the cast of "Guy Code" for season 5, along with eleven other new cast members. They appeared on the first episode of season 5 which aired on January 14, 2015. After building a relationship with MTV and MTV2, Desus and Mero appeared on other shows including "Uncommon Sense" and "Joking Off."


title: Desus Nice

text: On September 12, 2015, Desus along with co-host The Kid Mero released the first episode of their Bodega Boys podcast. They recorded their comedic takes on all things pop culture weekly at Red Bull Studios New York for several years before making the move to the "jam room" in Milk Studios.


title: Desus Nice

text: On August 30, 2016, Viceland announced "Desus & Mero" which premiered on October 17, 2016. The half-hour show ran Monday through Thursday hosted by the Bronx-reared comedic duo. Its finale aired on June 28, 2018. Desus co-hosted "Desus & Mero", which premiered on February 21, 2019 on Showtime and ran until June 2022.


title: Sant Nirankari Mission

text: Sant Nirankari Mission is a Nirankari spiritual organisation based in Delhi, India. It was founded in 1929 by Buta Singh. Mata Sudiksha, the daughter of Satguru Baba Hardev Singh, is the sixth spiritual head of the Mission since 17 July 2018.


title: Sant Nirankari Mission

text: Nirankari Mission had its formal beginning on 25 May 1929, the day when Avtar Singh met Buta Singh. In 1943, Baba Buta Singh passed on his position to Shenshah Baba Avtar Singh. Baba Avtar Singh moved to Delhi after partition, where the "Sant Nirankari Mission" was created in 1948 (in 1947). He was succeeded by his son Gurbachan Singh in 1962.


title: Sant Nirankari Mission

text: Baba Gurbachan Singh was assassinated in cold blood on 24 April 1980. With Baba Gurbachan Singh's last breath, he appointed his son Hardev Singh was as the next Satguru.


title: Sant Nirankari Mission

text: In 2016, Mata Savinder Hardev succeeded her husband Hardev Singh after a fatal accident. In 2018, she declared her daughter Sudiksha Savinder Hardev as the sixth spiritual leader of the organization, days before she succumbed to her deteriorating health.


title: Sant Nirankari Mission

text: In 1929, Baba Buta Singh established the Sant Nirankari Mission. Before his death in 1943 at Kohmari, Baba Buta Singh handed over the responsibility of spreading the holy gyan to Shehnshah Baba Avtar Singh.


title: Sant Nirankari Mission

text: Shehnshah Avtar Singh was born on 31 December 1899 in Latifal village of present-day Pakistan. In May 1929 he met Baba Buta Singh. In 1943, Buta Singh named Avtar Singh as successor before his death.


title: Sant Nirankari Mission

text: After the 1947 Indo-Pak partition, Baba Avtar Singh established the Sant Nirankari Mandal in Delhi, India. In 1962, Baba Avtar Singh entrusted it to Baba Gurbachan Singh. Shehnshah Avtar Singh became one with Nirankari on 17 September 1969.


title: Sant Nirankari Mission

text: Gurbachan Singh was born on 10 December 1930 to Baba Avtar Singh and Mata Budhwanti Kaur, in Peshawar, a city in present-day Pakistan. He was married to Kulwant Kaur (Nirankari Raj Mata).


title: Sant Nirankari Mission

text: Baba Gurbachan Singh took over the organization in 1962. Following a clash with Sikhs, he was assassinated in cold blood in April of 1980.


title: Sant Nirankari Mission

text: Hardev Singh was born on 23 February 1954 in Delhi to Baba Gurbachan Singh and Nirankari Raj Mata Kulwant Kaur as parents. After the cold blooded assassination of Baba Gurbachan Singh in 1980, he became the next Satguru. He was honored by the United Nations (U.N.O.) with special consultative status in 2012, which was later upgraded to general consultative status in 2018.


title: Sant Nirankari Mission

text: He died on 13 May 2016 in an automobile accident, when he was travelling to attend a spiritual gathering in Canada with both of his son-in-laws. One of them succumbed to his injuries. The other son in law was driving the vehicle when the accident occurred. Details are still vague around the exact cause of the accident.


title: Sant Nirankari Mission

text: Savinder Hardev was born on 12 January 1957. She was the wife of Hardev Singh. After the death of her husband, she became the fifth head of the organization.


title: Sant Nirankari Mission

text: Before her death, she handed over the organization to her daughter Sudiksha. She died on 5 August 2018


title: Sant Nirankari Mission

text: Sudiksha was born on 13 March 1985. She was named as the Satguru of the Nirankari Mission on 17 July 2018.


title: Sant Nirankari Mission

text: The organization teaches "self-realization through God-realization". Being born as a human being through the cycles of reincarnation has been described as superior to all other species of animal created by God. Nirankaris believe that it is "meaningless to worship" until one has a sight of God. Simply repeating the word "water" does not quench your thirst. One must experience "water" and consume it in order to truly quench your thirst. It focuses on the FACT that God is formless yet exists in all forms.


title: Sant Nirankari Mission

text: The Nirankari Museum was inaugurated by fourth satguru of the Mission, Satguru Baba Hardev Singh , on 22 February 2005. The museum is located within the Nirankari Sarovar Complex in New Delhi. It depicts the history and key teachings of the Mission through audio-visuals and pictures.


title: Shauna Sand

text: Shauna Sand (born September 2, 1971) is an American actress and "Playboy" magazine's Playmate of the Month for May 1996.


title: Shauna Sand

text: Starting at age five, Sand studied ballet, jazz, and theatre. At 11, she enrolled in the School of Creative and Performing Arts in San Diego, California, and by 13, she received a dance scholarship with Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah.


title: Shauna Sand

text: She began modeling at the age of nine. She took time off from modeling and went to Paris and enrolled briefly at the American University of Paris but dropped out.


title: Shauna Sand

text: Sand became "Playboy" Playmate of the Month for May 1996. Sand began her acting career with a guest appearance on the TV show "Renegade". She appeared in TV shows such as "Charmed", and in movies such as the comedy "The Deviants" (2004). She played the main antagonist in the first three seasons of "Hollywood Girls" (2012 to 2014). Sand starred in "Shauna Exposed", released by Vivid Entertainment.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: Prisoners of War (original title in ) is an Israeli television drama series made by Keshet and originally aired on Israel's Channel 2 from March to May 2010. A second season aired in Israel from October to December 2012. The series was created by Israeli director, screenwriter and producer Gideon Raff. In 2010 it won the Israeli Academy Award for Television for Best Drama Series. In 2013, Raff stated that a third season was planned, but in 2015 stated that a third season did not look likely.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: The programme was acquired by 20th Century Fox Television before it aired in Israel, and was adapted into the eight seasons and 96 episodes of the series "Homeland" for Showtime in the United States from 2011 to 2020. In India it was officially adapted as the 110 episode television series "P.O.W. - Bandi Yuddh Ke" by Nikhil Advani in 2016 and 2017 with Raff consulting for the series. In Russia it was adapted into the TV series "Rodina" in 2015.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: The series, set in 2008, depicts three Israeli soldiers who were captured 17 years previously while on a secret mission with their unit in Lebanon.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: The story begins with the soldiers' return home after years of negotiations for their freedom. Nimrode Klein and Uri Zach return alive, along with the remains of Amiel Ben-Horin.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: The series explores the reintegration of Nimrode and Uri into a society which has made them national icons, and into an interrupted family life, while working through the trauma of having been held captive and tortured. They must deal with partners who waited or moved on, children who have grown up without them, and parents who have died.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: They also have to undergo psychiatric evaluations and military debriefings. When a military psychiatrist finds discrepancies in their stories, an investigation is launched to discover what they are hiding.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: After flashbacks to events at a school in Metula in 1990, and to the period shortly after Nimrode and Uri's release, the second season rejoins the story a few days after the events at the end of the first season.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: Initially disagreeing on what to do with their discovery that Amiel may still be alive, Nimrode and Uri take the information to Haim and Iris, who start to pursue their own (unofficial) investigation into what happened to Amiel—with unanticipated consequences.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: Alongside this, the series continues to follow Nimrode and Uri (and the soldiers' families) as they pick up the pieces of their lives post-release. It also depicts Amiel for the first time as a living character—rather than in the visions experienced by Amiel's younger sister, Yael—and follows his new life as Yusuf, a Muslim, in Syria.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: Filming commenced on the first season of "Hatufim" in August 2009. First season episodes had a budget of $200,000 each.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: The second season of "Hatufim" was filmed between May and October 2011. It was originally due to be broadcast in Israel from December 2011 but the premiere was put back to June 2012 and then October 2012 due to the state of the local advertising market.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: Though Gideon Raff had stated, in 2013, that he intended to write a third season of "Hatufim", but in 2015 it was announced that the plans for season three had been frozen, with Raff stating that his ongoing work with other projects meant that "There's no third season in sight".


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: At the time of broadcast, the first season of "Hatufim" was Israel's highest-rated TV drama of all time. It also achieved critical acclaim and was awarded Best Drama Series of 2010 by the Israeli Academy of Film and Television. For their work on the show, Gideon Raff won Best Directing for a Drama Series, Ishai Golan won Best Actor in a Drama Series, and Yael Abecassis won Best Actress in a Drama Series.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: The series was not without controversy. It was criticized by family members of soldiers held prisoner, including Miriam Groff, mother of one of the men released in the Jibril Agreement. She suggested that the series might encourage the kidnapping of soldiers.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: Viewing figures for the second season of "Hatufim" were even higher than for the first, with an average audience share of 40% (rising to 47.9% for the final episode) making it the highest-rated drama in Israel in 2012. Online viewing reached 3 million.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: At the 2013 Seoul International Drama Awards, "Hatufim" (season 2) was awarded the festival's Grand Prize, out of a total of 225 entries from 48 countries. Other series nominated included "Homeland" (season 2) and "House" (season 8).


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: At the 2013 Israeli Academy Television Awards, season 2 of "Hatufim" was nominated in 9 categories, including (for Drama Series) Best Series, Best Directing (Gideon Raff), Best Screenplay (Gideon Raff) and Best Actor (Assi Cohen).


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: In December 2009, three months before "Hatufim" premiered in Israel, it was reported that the rights to develop an American version of the series had been sold to 20th Century Fox Television. It was sold on the strength of the script alone, before the series had even begun shooting. The result was the series "Homeland", developed in cooperation with Raff and broadcast on cable channel Showtime.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: Following on from the success of "Hatufim" in Israel, and the worldwide success of "Homeland", Keshet has sold the original series (in Hebrew with subtitles) in a number of territories internationally, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, the United States and several European countries. The rights to produce local versions of the series have been sold in Russia (due to start filming in March 2014), Colombia and Mexico Turkey and South Korea. A version with dubbing of the Hebrew dialogue, but undertitles for the Arabic dialogue, has been produced for the German market and broadcast by ARTE.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: "The New York Times" placed "Hatufim" (season 2) at number 2 in its top 12 TV shows of 2013, and in 2020 ranked it as the best show of the 2010s.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: "Hatufim" in its original format (in Hebrew with subtitles) has been sold internationally for broadcast on network and pay television, for download via VOD, and for DVD release.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: In the UK it was shown on Sky Arts from 10 May to 12 July 2012. It was Hulu's first foreign language exclusive series in the United States, with episodes released weekly from 14 July to 15 September 2012. In Australia it was broadcast from 19 January to 23 March 2013 on SBS. In Canada it was aired on Super Channel, two episodes at a time, from 10 July to 7 August 2013.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: The second season (14 episodes) aired in Israel from 15 October to 25 December 2012. The majority of episodes were released a week in advance for online viewing (rental service) via mako VOD.


title: Prisoners of War (TV series)

text: In the United States, episodes were released weekly from 28 May to 20 August 2013 on Hulu. In Canada, season 2 was shown on Super Channel immediately after the end of season 1, from 14 August to 25 September 2013 (two episodes at a time). In Australia it was broadcast on SBS from 2 October 2013 to 15 January 2014. Having initially said that it had no plans to show Season 2, Sky Arts aired it in the UK from 22 April to 22 July 2014.


title: F.E.A.R. 3

text: F.E.A.R. 3 (stylized as F.3.A.R.) is a first-person shooter psychological horror video game for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. It is the third game in the "F.E.A.R." series. Developed by Day 1 Studios and published by Warner Bros. Games, it was released on all platforms in June 2011. In 2015, it was released on GOG.com, and in 2021, it was added to Microsoft's backward compatibility program, making it playable on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. Filmmaker John Carpenter consulted on the cutscenes and script, which was written by comic writer and novelist Steve Niles. It is the only "F.E.A.R." game to feature co-op gameplay.


title: F.E.A.R. 3

text: The game takes place nine months after the conclusion of "", with Alma Wade's pregnancy nearing its end. When a resurrected Paxton Fettel rescues Point Man from captivity by Armacham Technology Corporation (ATC) in a Brazilian prison, the two distrustful brothers head back to Fairport. Point Man plans to save the still-missing Jin Sun-Kwon and prevent Alma giving birth. Fettel, however, has an entirely different motive. Meanwhile, a new threat emerges, one of which even Alma herself is terrified.


title: F.E.A.R. 3

text: Beginning life as "F.E.A.R. 2", the game was initially to be published by Vivendi Games as direct competition to Monolith Productions' "Project Origin". However, when Warner acquired the rights to the entire franchise, the game was reconstituted as "F.E.A.R. 3". Subsequently, a difficult development cycle saw Day 1 and Warner clashing over multiple gameplay and tonal elements, with Warner forcing Day 1 to build the game as a co-op. Enamoured of the success of the "Call of Duty" games, Warner also mandated more focus on action and less on horror, the exact opposite of what Day 1 had originally planned for the game. Forced to crunch, many of Day 1's staff left the project before it was completed. After three postponements, the game was eventually released, but few at Day 1 were happy with it, feeling that although it was a satisfactory first-person shooter, it was not a "F.E.A.R." game.