Structure.

In humans there are two isoforms of PEPCK; a cytosolic form (SwissProt P35558) and a mitochondrial isoform (SwissProt Q16822) which have 63.4% sequence identity. The cytosolic form is important in gluconeogenesis. However, there is a known transport mechanism to move PEP from the mitochondria to the cytosol, using specific membrane transport proteins. PEP transport across the inner mitochondrial membrane involves the mitochondrial tricarboxylate transport protein and to a lesser extent the adenine nucleotide carrier. The possibility of a PEP/pyruvate transporter has also been put forward.  X-ray structures of PEPCK provide insight into the structure and the mechanism of PEPCK enzymatic activity. The mitochondrial isoform of chicken liver PEPCK complexed with Mn, Mn-phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), and Mn-GDP provides information about its structure and how this enzyme catalyzes reactions. Delbaere et al. (2004) resolved PEPCK in "E. coli" and found the active site sitting between a C-terminal domain and an N-terminal domain. The active site was observed to be closed upon rotation of these domains.  Phosphoryl groups are transferred during PEPCK action, which is likely facilitated by the eclipsed conformation of the phosphoryl groups when ATP is bound to PEPCK.  Since the eclipsed formation is one that is high in energy, phosphoryl group transfer has a decreased energy of activation, meaning that the groups will transfer more readily. This transfer likely happens via a mechanism similar to SN2 displacement.

In different species.

PEPCK gene transcription occurs in many species, and the amino acid sequence of PEPCK is distinct for each species.  For example, its structure and its specificity differ in humans, "Escherichia coli" ("E. coli"), and the parasite"Trypanosoma cruzi".

Mechanism.

PEPCase converts oxaloacetate into phosphoenolpyruvate and carbon dioxide.  As PEPCK acts at the junction between glycolysis and the Krebs cycle, it causes decarboxylation of a C4 molecule, creating a C3 molecule. As the first committed step in gluconeogenesis, PEPCK decarboxylates and phosphorylates oxaloacetate (OAA) for its conversion to PEP, when GTP is present. As a phosphate is transferred, the reaction results in a GDP molecule. When pyruvate kinase – the enzyme that normally catalyzes the reaction that converts PEP to pyruvate – is knocked out in mutants of "Bacillus subtilis", PEPCK participates in one of the replacement anaplerotic reactions, working in the reverse direction of its normal function, converting PEP to OAA. Although this reaction is possible, the kinetics are so unfavorable that the mutants grow at a very slow pace or do not grow at all.

Function.

Gluconeogenesis.

PEPCK-C catalyzes an irreversible step of gluconeogenesis, the process whereby glucose is synthesized. The enzyme has therefore been thought to be essential in glucose homeostasis, as evidenced by laboratory mice that contracted diabetes mellitus type 2 as a result of the overexpression of PEPCK-C.  The role that PEPCK-C plays in gluconeogenesis may be mediated by the citric acid cycle, the activity of which was found to be directly related to PEPCK-C abundance.  PEPCK-C levels alone were not highly correlated with gluconeogenesis in the mouse liver, as previous studies have suggested. While the mouse liver almost exclusively expresses PEPCK-C, humans equally present a mitochondrial isozyme (PEPCK-M). PEPCK-M has gluconeogenic potential per se. Therefore, the role of PEPCK-C and PEPCK-M in gluconeogenesis may be more complex and involve more factors than was previously believed.

Animals.

In animals, this is a rate-controlling step of gluconeogenesis, the process by which cells synthesize glucose from metabolic precursors. The blood glucose level is maintained within well-defined limits in part due to precise regulation of PEPCK gene expression. To emphasize the importance of PEPCK in glucose homeostasis, over expression of this enzyme in mice results in symptoms of type II diabetes mellitus, by far the most common form of diabetes in humans. Due to the importance of blood glucose homeostasis, a number of hormones regulate a set of genes (including PEPCK) in the liver that modulate the rate of glucose synthesis.  PEPCK-C is controlled by two different hormonal mechanisms. PEPCK-C activity is increased upon the secretion of both cortisol from the adrenal cortex and glucagon from the alpha cells of the pancreas. Glucagon indirectly elevates the expression of PEPCK-C by increasing the levels of cAMP (via activation of adenylyl cyclase) in the liver which consequently leads to the phosphorylation of S133 on a beta sheet in the CREB protein. CREB then binds upstream of the PEPCK-C gene at CRE (cAMP response element) and induces PEPCK-C transcription. Cortisol on the other hand, when released by the adrenal cortex, passes through the lipid membrane of liver cells (due to its hydrophobic nature it can pass directly through cell membranes) and then binds to a Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR). This receptor dimerizes and the cortisol/GR complex passes into the nucleus where it then binds to the Glucocorticoid Response Element (GRE) region in a similar manner to CREB and produces similar results (synthesis of more PEPCK-C).  Together, cortisol and glucagon can have huge synergistic results, activating the PEPCK-C gene to levels that neither cortisol or glucagon could reach on their own. PEPCK-C is most abundant in the liver, kidney, and adipose tissue.  A collaborative study between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the University of New Hampshire investigated the effect of DE-71, a commercial PBDE mixture, on PEPCK enzyme kinetics and determined that in vivo treatment of the environmental pollutant compromises liver glucose and lipid metabolism possibly by activation of the pregnane xenobiotic receptor (PXR), and may influence whole-body insulin sensitivity.  Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have discovered that overexpression of cytosolic PEPCK in skeletal muscle of mice causes them to be more active, more aggressive, and have longer lives than normal mice; see "metabolic supermice".

Plants.

PEPCK () is one of three decarboxylation enzymes used in the inorganic carbon concentrating mechanisms of C4 and CAM plants. The others are NADP-malic enzyme and NAD-malic enzyme. In C4 carbon fixation, carbon dioxide is first fixed by combination with phosphoenolpyruvate to form oxaloacetate in the mesophyll. In PEPCK-type C4 plants the oxaloacetate is then converted to aspartate, which travels to the bundle sheath. In the bundle sheath cells, aspartate is converted back to oxaloacetate. PEPCK decarboxylates the bundle sheath oxaloacetate, releasing carbon dioxide, which is then fixed by the enzyme Rubisco. For each molecule of carbon dioxide produced by PEPCK, a molecule of ATP is consumed.  PEPCK acts in plants that undergo C4 carbon fixation, where its action has been localized to the cytosol, in contrast to mammals, where it has been found that PEPCK works in mitochondria.  Although it is found in many different parts of plants, it has been seen only in specific cell types, including the areas of the phloem.  It has also been discovered that, in cucumber ("Cucumis sativus L".), PEPCK levels are increased by multiple effects that are known to decrease the cellular pH of plants, although these effects are specific to the part of the plant.  PEPCK levels rose in roots and stems when the plants were watered with ammonium chloride at a low pH (but not at high pH), or with butyric acid. However, PEPCK levels did not increase in leaves under these conditions.  In leaves, 5% CO2 content in the atmosphere leads to higher PEPCK abundance.

Bacteria.

In an effort to explore the role of PEPCK, researchers caused the overexpression of PEPCK in "E. coli" bacteria via recombinant DNA.  PEPCK of "Mycobacterium tuberculosis" has been shown to trigger the immune system in mice by increasing cytokine activity.  As a result, it has been found that PEPCK may be an appropriate ingredient in the development of an effective subunit vaccination for tuberculosis.

Clinical significance.

Activity in cancer.

PEPCK has not been considered in cancer research until recently. It has been shown that in human tumor samples and human cancer cell lines (breast, colon and lung cancer cells) PEPCK-M, and not PEPCK-C, was expressed at enough levels to play a relevant metabolic role. Therefore, PEPCK-M could have a role in cancer cells, especially under nutrient limitation or other stress conditions.

Regulation.

In humans.

PEPCK-C is enhanced, both in terms of its production and activation, by many factors. Transcription of the PEPCK-C gene is stimulated by glucagon, glucocorticoids, retinoic acid, and adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP), while it is inhibited by insulin. Of these factors, insulin, a hormone that is deficient in the case of type 1 diabetes mellitus, is considered dominant, as it inhibits the transcription of many of the stimulatory elements. PEPCK activity is also inhibited by hydrazine sulfate, and the inhibition therefore decreases the rate of gluconeogenesis.  In prolonged acidosis, PEPCK-C is upregulated in renal proximal tubule brush border cells, in order to secrete more NH and thus to produce more HCO.  The GTP-specific activity of PEPCK is highest when Mn and Mg are available. In addition, hyper-reactive cysteine (C307) is involved in the binding of Mn to the active site.

Plants.

As discussed previously, PEPCK abundance increased when plants were watered with low-pH ammonium chloride, though high pH did not have this effect.

Classification.

It is classified under EC number 4.1.1. There are three main types, distinguished by the source of the energy to drive the reaction:

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) is an enzyme in the lyase family used in the metabolic pathway of gluconeogenesis. It converts oxaloacetate into phosphoenolpyruvate and carbon dioxide.

磷酸烯醇丙酮酸羧化激酶(英语:Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase,或称为烯醇丙氨酸磷酸羧激酶或磷酸烯醇丙酮酸羧激酶,简称为PEPCK,)是以一条单一肽链构成,相对分子质量为740千道尔顿的一种激酶。在磷酸烯醇丙酮酸羧化激酶的催化下,草酰乙酸被转变为磷酸烯醇式丙酮酸和二氧化碳。该反应消耗一分子的鸟苷三磷酸以提供磷酰基。在糖异生作用中,此酶与丙酮酸羧化酶一起构成了从丙酮酸转化为磷酸烯醇丙酮酸的迂回步骤。


History.

First castle.

A Norman castle originally stood on the high ground within the wapentake of Framland, overlooking the adjacent wapentake of Winnibriggs. in Lincolnshire and dominating both. It was built on the land of Robert de Todeni of the Doomsday Book, and inherited from him by William d'Aubigny. It then eventually passed to William's granddaughter Isabel, who married Robert de Ros circa 1234.  Belvoir was a royal manor until it was granted to Robert de Ros in 1257. He was given a licence to crenellate in 1267. When the legitimate de Ros line died out in 1508, the manor and castle passed to George Manners, who inherited the castle and barony through his mother. His son was created Earl of Rutland in 1525.

Second castle.

The Norman castle had been in ruins since 1464 and in 1528, Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland started construction of a new castle. It was completed in 1555. Much of the stone for this building came from Croxton Abbey and Belvoir Priory following their dissolution.  In the early 17th century, castle servants Joan, Margaret and Phillipa Flower were accused of murdering the 6th Earl's two young sons by witchcraft. Joan died while in prison and Margaret and Phillipa were hanged.  During the English Civil War, it was one of the more notable strongholds of the king's supporters and King Charles spent a night here on his way into Lincolnshire.

Third castle.

In 1649, the castle was destroyed by Parliamentarians. A new building was started in 1654 which was designed as a large family home by the architect John Webb. Work was completed by 1668 and cost £11,730 (£ million today).  The 9th Earl was created Duke of Rutland in 1703. Belvoir Castle has been the home of the Manners family for five hundred years and seat of the Dukes of Rutland for over three centuries.

Fourth castle.

In 1799, the 5th Duke of Rutland married Lady Elizabeth Howard. The new Duchess of Rutland soon chose architect James Wyatt to rebuild the castle in the romantic Gothic Revival style. The Duke, one of the wealthiest landholders in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, sold seven assorted villages and their surrounding lands to fund the massive project. The project was nearing completion when, on 26 October 1816, it was almost destroyed by a fire. The loss - including pictures by Titian, Rubens, Van Dyck, and Reynolds - was estimated at £120,000 (£ million today).  Rebuilt, again, to largely the same designs, at a cost of an additional £82,000 (£ million today), the castle was largely completed by 1832. The architect Sir James Thornton (who was the Duke's friend and chaplain and Vicar of nearby Bottesford) was chiefly responsible for this rebuilding, and the result bears a superficial resemblance to a medieval castle, its central tower reminiscent of Windsor Castle.  Whilst visiting Belvoir castle in the 1840s, Anna, Duchess of Bedford, found that the normal time for dinner was between 7:00 and 8:30 p.m. An extra meal called luncheon had been created to fill the midday gap between breakfast and dinner, but as this new meal was very light, the long afternoon with no refreshment at all left people feeling hungry. She found a light meal of tea (usually Darjeeling) and cakes or sandwiches was the perfect balance. The Duchess found taking an afternoon snack to be such a perfect refreshment that she soon began inviting her friends to join her. Afternoon tea quickly became an established and convivial repast in many middle and upper class households.  The castle is open to the public and contains many works of art. The highlights of the tour are the lavish staterooms, the most famous being the Elizabeth Saloon (named after the wife of the 5th Duke), the Regents Gallery and the Roman-inspired State Dining Room.  The Queen's Royal Lancers regimental museum of the 17th and 21st Lancers was established here in 1964, but was required to leave in October 2007. The Queen's Royal Lancers and Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Museum is now at Thoresby Hall.

Estate.

The castle sits in an estate of almost.

Gardens.

Belvoir Gardens was designed and landscaped by Elizabeth Howard, 5th Duchess of Rutland, who was married to John Manners, the 5th Duke of Rutland. It was created in 1799, the year Belvoir Castle was built. There are many unusual features to the gardens, for example the natural amphitheatre which faces the estate was formed by the moraines of glaciers and a 'root house' or summer house which survives to this day. These natural amphitheatres are now embedded with fresh water springs to ensure blooming plants throughout the year.  Belvoir Gardens was also the first site of mass spring flower bedding, a concept developed by Mr. Divers, head gardener of the gardens at the time.  The once thriving gardens are now slowly being restored to its former glory. "Friends of Belvoir Gardens" is a programme which encourages enthusiasts with green fingers to volunteer to help manage this beautifully preserved garden.

Name.

The castle's name means "beautiful view". In 2018, the 11th Duchess of Rutland gave a televised tour of the castle to journalist Phil Spencer, explaining how the name "Belvoir" is a Norman import by the French-speaking invaders of the 11th century, but the native Anglo-Saxon population was unable to pronounce such a foreign word, preferring to call it "Beaver Castle"a usage which persists today.

Mausoleum.

The traditional burial place of the Manners family was St Mary the Virgin's Church, Bottesford. Since elevation to the dukedom in 1703 most Dukes have been buried in the grounds of the mausoleum at Belvoir Castle. The mausoleum at Belvoir Castle was built by The 5th Duke of Rutland, following the death of his wife, Elizabeth Howard (1780-1825), daughter of The 5th Earl of Carlisle. After its construction, most of the 18th century monuments in Belton Church were moved to the mausoleum which then became the family's main place of burial.

Present use.

A corner of the castle is still used as the family home of the Manners family. Several films and television programmes have used it as a location, notably the 1980 film "Little Lord Fauntleroy" starring Sir Alec Guinness and Ricky Schroder. The castle itself was used as a location for "The Da Vinci Code" — it represented Castel Gandolfo, the Pope's summer residence. It also featured in the 1985 film "Young Sherlock Holmes" starring Nicholas Rowe and Alan Cox. In September 2007, it was used as a location for "The Young Victoria". In the 2001 Jim Henson production of "", the castle is where the giant bones have been discovered. The kitchen scenes of Hill House were filmed here for the 1999 version of "The Haunting" which is a remake of the 1963 version. The castle was used as one of several stand-ins for Buckingham Palace for the 1991 comedy film "King Ralph".  Belvoir Castle is the host of Belvoir Fireworks, an annual pyrotechnic and firework competition that takes place in mid-August. The grounds also host Belvoir Cricket Club in Knipton, a village cricket club with teams playing in various leagues across Nottinghamshire. The 1st XI play in the Nottinghamshire Premier League.  In 2009, Belvoir Castle hosted the CLA Game Fair. In August 2010, the castle's website was mistakenly hacked and taken over by an Algerian group who blanked the pages and inserted anti-Semitic texts in Arabic. The hackers had mistaken Belvoir Castle for Belvoir Fortress, which is located in Israel.  In September 2010, the Belvoir Wassailers—the castle's own male voice choir—was reformed at the request of the Duchess. Directed by Robert-John Edwards, and accompanied on the piano by Paul Emmett, the Belvoir Wassailers performed at the castle's annual Belvoir by Candlelight celebration in December 2010. The choir is currently working on a variety of new material, including popular and folk music.  In November 2014, Emma Manners, Duchess of Rutland appointed Timothy Grayson as the castle's poet-in-residence.  Briery Wood Heronry is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in the grounds.  Belvoir Castle was used as a stand-in for Windsor Castle in the second series of British television series "The Crown".

Belvoir Castle ( ) is a stately home in the English county of Leicestershire, overlooking the Vale of Belvoir (). It is a Grade I listed building. A corner of the castle is still used as the family home of the Manners family and remains the seat of the Dukes of Rutland, most of whom are buried in the grounds of the mausoleum there. The castle remains privately owned, but is open to visitors.

贝尔沃城堡(Belvoir Castle,,)是位于英格兰莱斯特郡的一座英国乡村别墅,被列入英国一级登录建筑。城堡属拉特兰公爵所有,其中一部分至今仍被曼纳斯家族用作家庭住宅,但城堡目前对外开放参观。


Administrative divisions.

The county is responsible for the administration of one subdistrict and 13 towns.

Pingshan Subdistrict.

Pingshan Subdistrict is an area where people came to trade 40 years ago, now it is still functioning for this reason. And also because of historical reason, a road connecting Guangzhou to Shangtou was built like at least 30 years ago, the road was responsible for transportation the cargo from Guangzhou to Shangtou or vice versa, and due to this, drivers can take a rest in the middle of this long journey in Pingshan. They can have sleep in the automobile hotel, they can supply water to automobile engine, change the tires, etc. In those days, Pingshan is majorly growing foods, people from those time can trade their raw foods with whatever they need from the cargo buses. This area is near the Pacific Ocean, the climate feature to subtropical climate. Winds or storm come from ocean in the summer, sometimes it is very strong, if people live in this condition, they will not last for a long time, but thanks to god, there is mountain lying from east to west, and it can weaken the storm if there is such, so people can live peacefully and can have generations. We always say, water is the source of life. And indeed, if there is no water in the area, there will be no people or plant, and all of this living things should thank to the mountain.

Transportation.

There is a bus service from Huidong County to Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport in Shenzhen.

Huidong County () is a county of southeastern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, with some South China Sea coast in the south of the county. It is under the administration of Huizhou City.

惠东县,位于中国广东省惠州市之东,由惠阳县析置,故得名,属于惠州市管辖。惠东濒临大亚湾、红海湾,既是广东省的海洋大县、山区县,又属珠三角经济开发区和沿海经济开发区,享受山区县、海岛经济试验区和对台小额贸易等多种优惠政策。


Early life.

Donal Conor David Dermot Donat Cruise O'Brien was born at 44 Leinster Road, Rathmines, Dublin, to Francis ("Frank") Cruise O'Brien and Kathleen Sheehy. Frank was a journalist with the "Freeman's Journal" and "Irish Independent" newspapers, and had edited an essay written 50 years earlier by William Lecky concerning the influence of the clergy on Irish politics. Kathleen was an Irish language teacher. She was the daughter of David Sheehy, a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party and organiser of the Irish National Land League. She had two sisters, both of whom lost their husbands in 1916. Hanna's husband, the well-known pacifist and supporter of women's suffrage Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, was executed by firing squad on the orders of Captain J.C Bowen Colthurst during the 1916 Easter Rising. Soon afterwards Mary's husband, Thomas Kettle, an officer of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, was killed during the Battle of the Somme. These three women, Hanna and Kathleen in particular, were a major influence on Cruise O'Brien's upbringing alongside Hanna's son, Owen Sheehy-Skeffington.  Cruise O'Brien's father (who died in 1927) wanted Conor educated non-denominationally; Kathleen honoured that wish. Cruise O'Brien followed his cousin Owen into Sandford Park School that had a predominantly Protestant ethos, despite objections from Catholic clergy. Cruise O'Brien subsequently attended Trinity College Dublin, which played the British national anthem until 1939, though Cruise O'Brien and Sheehy-Skeffington sat in protest on such occasions. Cruise O'Brien was elected a scholar in Modern Languages at Trinity in 1937 and was editor of Trinity's weekly, "".  His first wife, Christine Foster, came from a Belfast Presbyterian family and was, like her father, a member of the Gaelic League. Her parents, Alexander (Alec) Roulston Foster and Mary Lynd, were Irish republicans and supporters of Irish reunification. Alec Foster was at the time headmaster of Belfast Royal Academy; he was later a founding member of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, and was a strong supporter of the Irish Anti-Apartheid movement. He was a former Ulster, Ireland and British & Irish Lions rugby player, having captained Ireland three times between 1912 and 1914. Cruise O'Brien and Christine Foster were married in a registry office in 1939. The couple had three children: Donal, Fedelma, and Kathleen (Kate), who died in 1998. The marriage ended in divorce after 20 years.  In 1962, Cruise O'Brien married the Irish-language writer and poet Máire Mhac an tSaoi in a Roman Catholic church. Cruise O'Brien's divorce, though contrary to Roman Catholic teaching, was not an issue because that church did not recognise the validity of Cruise O'Brien's 1939 civil wedding in the first place. Cruise O'Brien referred to this action, which in effect formally de-recognised the legitimacy of his former wife and children, as "hypocritical... and otherwise distasteful, but I took it, as preferable to the alternatives." Mac an tSaoi was five years his junior, and the daughter of Seán MacEntee, who was Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) at the time. They subsequently adopted two Congolese children, a son (Patrick) and a daughter (Margaret).  Cruise O'Brien's university education led to a career in the public service, most notably in the Department of External (now Foreign) Affairs. He achieved distinction as managing director of the state-run Irish News Agency and later as part of the fledgling Irish delegation to the United Nations. Cruise O'Brien later claimed he was something of an anomalous iconoclast in post-1922 Irish politics, particularly in the context of Fianna Fáil governments under Éamon de Valera.  He considered that those who did not conform to traditional Roman Catholic mores were generally ill-suited to the public service, though that does not appear to have impeded his ascent through it that ended officially at ambassadorial level. He observed, In the Department of External Affairs during the 1948–51 inter-party government, Cruise O'Brien served under Seán MacBride, son of John MacBride and Maud Gonne, republican and former IRA Chief of Staff, who would become the 1974 Nobel Peace Laureate. Cruise O'Brien was particularly vocal in opposition to partition during the 1940s and 1950s, as part of his official duties.

International posting.

Cruise O'Brien came to prominence in 1961, after his secondment from Ireland's UN delegation as a special representative to Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary General of the United Nations, in the Katanga region of the newly independent Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). A UN crisis ensued, and Cruise O'Brien was forced to step down, simultaneously, from his UN position and the Irish diplomatic service in late 1961. Michael Ignatieff asserted that Hammarskjöld, who was killed in Katanga in a suspicious plane crash prior to Cruise O'Brien's departure, had misjudged Cruise O'Brien's abilities as UN representative. He further observed that Cruise O'Brien's use of military force provided the Soviets and the U.S. with ammunition in their campaign against the UN Secretary General and against UN action opposed to the interests of the big powers. This thesis has been subsequently been shown to be inaccurate by the documentary "CONGO 1961", which shows that it was Hammarskjöld himself who ordered the military actions, leaving Cruise O'Brien to take the blame when they failed.

Siege of Jadotville.

In September 1961, a company of 157 Irish United Nations troops were surrounded by a force of heavily armed Gendarmerie and mercenaries outnumbering them 20-to-one in the jungle of central Africa. The Irish soldiers, many of them still in their teens, were lightly armed, short of ammunition and supplies, and unprepared for the situation. They had been sent to the newly independent Republic of Congo on what was supposed to be a peacekeeping mission. Instead, were ordered on to the offensive by the UN's most senior diplomat on the ground, Cruise O'Brien acting on the instructions of the Secretary General, who wanted the Katanga problem solved before the upcoming United Nations General Assembly, as his career was on the line.  The Irish troops held out for six days before they ran out of bullets and drinking water. When water finally reached them, it came in old petrol cans which hadn't been cleaned, making it undrinkable. They inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy force, but suffered no fatalities themselves. After their surrender, they spent just over one month in captivity, unsure of their fate, and when they arrived back in Ireland, they were dismayed and deeply hurt to learn that the UN and their own government were anxious to sweep the episode under the carpet so as to protect the reputation and conceal the failures of the UN in preparing for combat and liberating Company A.  Cruise O'Brien wrote immediately about his experiences in "The Observer" (London) and in "The New York Times" on 10 and 17 December 1961. Cruise O'Brien's version of events, set out in his 1962 book "To Katanga and Back", has been dismissed as highly selective and self-serving; while it deliberately excluded crucial items. However recent evidence from the UN archives suggests Cruise O'Brien was acting with the express approval of Hammarskjöld. Armed with the archive material, one expert concluded Hammarskjöld "knew in advance that the UN was about to take action in Katanga and he authorised that action".  A film based on the events, "The Siege of Jadotville", depicts Cruise O'Brien as pitying, but ultimately unregretful for the fate of the inexperienced Irish troops isolated in Jadotville as a result of his own instructions. A documentary, 'CONGO 1961', made for Irish television station TG4 challenged this, showing that the actions for which Cruise O'Brien was blamed were ordered by Hammarskjöld and subsequently covered up by the UN, who made Cruise O'Brien the scapegoat.

Irish politics.

Cruise O'Brien returned to Ireland and in the 1969 general election was elected to Dáil Éireann as a member of the opposition Labour Party, in the four-seat Dublin North-East constituency, alongside Charles Haughey, whose probity in financial matters he questioned. He was appointed a member of the short-lived first delegation from the Oireachtas to the European Parliament. Following the 1973 general election, Cruise O'Brien was appointed Minister for Posts and Telegraphs in the 1973–77 Labour-Fine Gael coalition under Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave.  During this period, after the outbreak of armed conflict in Northern Ireland in 1969, Cruise O'Brien developed a deep hostility to militant Irish republicanism and to Irish nationalists generally in Northern Ireland, reversing the views he articulated at the outset of the unrest. He also reversed his opposition to broadcasting censorship imposed by the previous government, by extending and vigorously enforcing censorship of Radio Teilefís Éireann (RTÉ) under Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act. In 1976 he specifically banned spokespersons for Sinn Féin and the Provisional Irish Republican Army from RTÉ. At the same time, he attempted unsuccessfully to get Britain's BBC 1 television channel broadcast on Ireland's proposed second television channel, instead of allowing RTÉ to run it.  Two additional notable incidents affected Cruise O'Brien's career as minister, besides his support for broadcasting censorship.  In August 1976 Bernard Nossiter of "The Washington Post" interviewed Cruise O'Brien regarding the passage of an Emergency Powers Bill. During the course of the interview Cruise O'Brien revealed an intention to extend censorship beyond broadcasting. He wished to "cleanse the culture" of republicanism and said he would like the bill to be used against teachers who allegedly glorified Irish revolutionaries. He also wanted it used against newspaper editors who published pro-republican or anti-British readers' letters. Cruise O'Brien mentioned "The Irish Press" as a newspaper which in particular he hoped to use the legislation against and produced a file of "Irish Press" letters to the editor to which he took exception. Nossiter immediately informed "The Irish Press" editor Tim Pat Coogan of Cruise O'Brien's intentions. Coogan printed Nossiter's report (as did "The Irish Times"), republished the letters to which Cruise O'Brien objected, and ran a number of strong editorials attacking Cruise O'Brien and the proposed legislation. The interview caused huge controversy, resulting in modification of the measure appearing to target newspapers.  Cruise O'Brien also supported Garda brutality during this 1973–77 period, though this was not revealed by Cruise O'Brien until 1998 in his "Memoir". In "Memoir: My Life and Themes", Cruise O'Brien recalled a conversation with a detective who told him how the Gardaí had found out, from a suspect, the location of businessman Tiede Herrema, who had been kidnapped by group of maverick republicans in October 1975: "[T]he escort started asking him questions and when at first he refused to answer, they beat the shit out of him. Then he told them where Herrema was." Cruise O'Brien explained, "I refrained from telling this story to [ministerial colleagues] Garret [FitzGerald] or Justin [Keating], because I thought it would worry them. It didn't worry me." Elements of the Garda Síochána that engaged in beating false confessions out of suspects quickly became known as the "Heavy Gang".  Cruise O'Brien's Dublin North-East constituency was abolished as part of a government-inspired redrawing of boundaries. In the 1977 general election he stood in Dublin Clontarf and was one of three ministers defeated in a general rout of the outgoing administration. He was, however, subsequently elected to Seanad Éireann in 1977 from the Trinity College Dublin constituency, though he resigned his seat in 1979 owing to his new commitments as editor-in-chief of "The Observer" newspaper in London.

Editor-in-Chief at "The Observer".

Between 1978 and 1981 Cruise O'Brien was editor-in-chief of "The Observer" newspaper in Britain. In 1979 he controversially pulped an "Observer" magazine with an article by Mary Holland, "The Observer"'s Ireland correspondent. Holland, whose reporting won her a Journalist of the Year award, had been one of the first journalists to explain discrimination in Northern Ireland to a British audience. The article was a profile of Mary Nelis of Derry and dealt with her radicalisation as a result of the conflict. Cruise O'Brien objected and sent Holland a memo stating that the "killing strain" of Irish republicanism, "has a very high propensity to run in families and the mother is most often the carrier." The memo continued, "It is a very serious weakness of your coverage of Irish affairs that you are a very poor judge of Irish Catholics. That gifted and talkative community includes some of the most expert conmen and conwomen in the world and I believe you have been conned." Holland was forced out of the newspaper by Cruise O'Brien. She later joined the "Irish Times" as a columnist. She also rejoined "The Observer" after Cruise O'Brien's departure in 1981.

Unionism.

In 1985, Cruise O'Brien supported unionist objections to the inter governmental Anglo-Irish Agreement. In 1996 he joined Robert McCartney's United Kingdom Unionist Party (UKUP) and was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum. In 1997, a successful libel action was brought against him by relatives of Bloody Sunday victims for alleging in a "Sunday Independent" article in 1997 that the marchers were "Sinn Féin activists operating for the IRA". Cruise O'Brien opposed the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and opposed allowing Sinn Féin into government in Northern Ireland. He later resigned from the UKUP after his book "Memoir: My Life and Themes" called on Unionists to consider the benefits of a united Ireland to thwart Sinn Féin. In 2005 he rejoined the Labour Party. Cruise O'Brien defended his harsh attitudes and actions towards Irish republicans, saying "We do right to condemn all violence but we have a special duty to condemn the violence which is committed in our name".

Writings.

Cruise O'Brien's many books include: "States of Ireland" (1972), where he first indicated his revised view of Irish nationalism, "The Great Melody" (1992), his unorthodox biography of Edmund Burke, and his autobiography "Memoir: My Life and Themes" (1999). He also published a collection of essays, "Passion and Cunning" (1988), which includes a substantial piece on the literary work of William Butler Yeats and some challenging views on the subject of terrorism, and "" (1986), a history of Zionism and the State of Israel. His books, particularly those on Irish issues, tend to be personalised, for example "States of Ireland", where he made the link between the political success of the republican Easter Rising and the consequent demise of his Home Rule family's position in society. His private papers have been deposited in the University College Dublin Archives.  In 1963, Cruise O'Brien's script for a Telefís Éireann programme on Charles Stewart Parnell won him a Jacob's Award.  He was a longtime columnist for the "Irish Independent". His articles were distinguished by hostility to the 'peace process' in Northern Ireland, regular predictions of civil war involving the Republic of Ireland, and a pro-Unionist stance.  Cruise O'Brien held visiting professorships and lectureships throughout the world, particularly in the United States, and controversially in apartheid South Africa, openly breaking the academic boycott. A persistent critic of Charles Haughey, Cruise O'Brien coined the acronym GUBU (Grotesque, Unbelievable, Bizarre and Unprecedented), based on a statement by Charles Haughey, who was then Taoiseach, commenting on the discovery of a murder suspect, Malcolm MacArthur, in the apartment of the Fianna Fáil Attorney General Patrick Connolly. Until 1994, Cruise O'Brien was a Pro-Chancellor of the University of Dublin.  Colm Tóibín claimed an endorsement by Conor Cruise O'Brien was effectively the "kiss of death" for the career prospects of the endorsed in Ireland. "The New Yorker" telephoned Conor Cruise O'Brien to confirm that this was so, but Cruise O'Brien disagreed and the statement could not be corroborated.

Conor Cruise O'Brien (3 November 1917 – 18 December 2008) often nicknamed "The Cruiser", was an Irish politician, writer, historian and academic who served as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs from 1973 to 1977, a Senator for University of Dublin from 1977 to 1979, a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin North-East constituency from 1969 to 1977 and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from January 1973 to March 1973.

康纳·克鲁斯·奥布赖恩(1917年-11月3日-2008年-12月18日)是一位爱尔兰政治人物、作家、历史学家和学者。1970年代至1980年代,他对于英国在北爱尔兰扮演的角色的看法常有反复,他通常承认两种不可调和的传统的价值。奥布赖恩观点激烈,先开始是左翼,后变为右翼;他关心南非的进展,在晚年采取了亲以色列的立场。


Etymology.

"Stot" is a common Scots and Northern England verb meaning "bounce" or "walk with a bounce". Uses in this sense include stotting a ball off a wall, and rain stotting off a pavement. Pronking comes from the Afrikaans verb "pronk-", which means "show off" or "strut", and is a cognate of the English verb "prance".

Occurrence.

Stotting occurs in several deer species of North America, including mule deer, pronghorn, and Columbian black-tailed deer, when a predator is particularly threatening, and in a variety of ungulate species from Africa, including Thomson's gazelle and springbok. It is also said to occur in the blackbuck, a species found in India.  Stotting occurs in domesticated livestock such as sheep and goats, where it is typically performed only by young animals.

Possible explanations.

Stotting makes a prey animal more visible, and uses up time and energy that could be spent on escaping from the predator. Since it is dangerous, the continued performance of stotting by prey animals must bring some benefit to the animal (or its family group) performing the behavior. A number of possible explanations have been proposed for stotting. Stotting may be:  The English evolutionary biologist John Maynard Smith concludes that "the natural explanation is that stotting is an index of condition and of escape capability", used as a signal especially to coursing predators. He also observes that "it is hard to see how it could be a handicap", unless perhaps it is a signal to other gazelles of the same species.

Stotting (also called pronking or pronging) is a behavior of quadrupeds, particularly gazelles, in which they spring into the air, lifting all four feet off the ground simultaneously. Usually, the legs are held in a relatively stiff position. Many explanations of stotting have been proposed; there is evidence that at least in some cases it is an honest signal to predators that the stotting animal would be difficult to catch.

四脚弹跳(英文:stotting、pronking或pronging)是四足动物的一种生活习性,尤其是瞪羚属,他们会四脚笔直地弹跳离开地面。通常,腿部都是相对僵直的,并且背部可以呈弓形,头部指向下。有证据表明,至少在某些情况下,它是一个告诉捕食者的诚实信号,告诉他自己不值得他们捕猎。


磷酸葡萄糖酸脱氢酶 (脱羧)

Enzyme Structure.

The general structure, as well as several critical residues, on 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase appear to be well conserved over various species. The enzyme is a dimer, with each subunit containing three domains. The N-terminal coenzyme binding domain contains a Rossmann fold with additional α/β units. The second domain consists of a number of alpha helical structures, and the C-terminal domain consists of a short tail. The tails of the two subunits interact with each other to form a mobile lid on the enzyme's active site.  As of late 2007, 11 structures have been solved for this class of enzymes, with PDB accession codes,,,,,,,,,, and.

Enzyme Mechanism.

The conversion of 6-phosphogluconate and NADP to ribulose 5-phosphate, carbon dioxide, and NADPH is believed to follow a sequential mechanism with ordered product release. 6-phosphogluconate is first oxidized to 3-keto-6-phosphogluconate and NADPH is formed and released. Then, the intermediate is decarboxylated, yielding a 1,2-enediol of ribulose 5-phosphate, which tautomerizes to form ribulose 5-phosphate. High levels of NADPH are believed to inhibit the enzyme, while 6-phosphogluconate acts to activate the enzyme.

Biological Function.

6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase is involved in the production of ribulose 5-phosphate, which is used in nucleotide synthesis, and functions in the pentose phosphate pathway as the main generator of cellular NADPH.

Disease Relevance.

Since NADPH is required by both thioredoxin reductase and glutathione reductase to reduce oxidized thioredoxin and glutathionine, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase is believed to be involved in protecting cells from oxidative damage. Several studies have linked oxidative stress to diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, as well as cancer, These studies have found phosphogluconate dehydrogenase activity to be up-regulated, both in tumor cells and in relevant cortical regions of Alzheimer's patient brains, most likely as a compensatory reaction to highly oxidative environments.  Recently, phosphogluconate dehydrogenase has been posited as a potential drug target for African sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis). The pentose phosphate pathway protects the trypanosomes from oxidative stress via the generation of NADPH and provides carbohydrate intermediates used in nucleotide synthesis. Structural differences between mammalian and trypanosome 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase have allowed for the development of selective inhibitors of the enzyme. Phosphorylated carbohydrate substrate and transition state analogues, non-carbohydrate substrate analogues and triphenylmethane-based compounds are currently being explored.

In enzymology, a phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (decarboxylating) () is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction

磷酸葡萄糖酸脱氢酶 (脱羧)(英语:phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (decarboxylating),EC 1.1.1.44)是一种以NAD或NADP为受体、作用于供体CH-OH基团上的氧化还原酶。这种酶能催化以下酶促反应:


Early life and education.

Greenwood was born in 1921 in Chelsea, London. Her parents were Ida (née Waller) and Sydney Earnshaw Greenwood (1887–1949), a portrait artist. Her education included studies at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Career.

Greenwood worked mainly on the stage, where she had a long career, appearing with Donald Wolfit's theatre company in the years following World War II. Later, after the war, her appearances in Ealing comedies are among her memorable screen appearances: "Whisky Galore!"; as the seductive Sibella in the black comedy "Kind Hearts and Coronets" (1949); and in "The Man in the White Suit" (1951). She opened "The Grass Is Greener" in the West End in 1952 and played Gwendolyn in a film version of "The Importance of Being Earnest" released in the same year.  She had leading roles in "Stage Struck" (1958) and then in "Mysterious Island", an adaptation of a Jules Verne novel; and was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for "Tom Jones" (1963).  In 1960, Greenwood appeared as the title character in a production of "Hedda Gabler" at the Oxford Playhouse. Starring opposite her as Judge Brack was the actor André Morell. They fell in love and flew in secret to Jamaica, where they were married, remaining together until his death in 1978.  Greenwood appeared as Olga, alongside Spike Milligan in Frank Dunlop's production of the play "Oblomov", based on the novel by Russian writer Ivan Goncharov. The play opened at London's Lyric Theatre on 6 October 1964. Greenwood was described as "a model of generosity and tolerance...the only person in the cast who could not be 'corpsed' by Milligan; although he tried very hard. She looked beautiful, and played the part of Oblomov's unfortunate lady with total integrity. 'She never left the script', says Milligan with a guilty smile of something between irritation and admiration. 'I just couldn't make her crack up. All the rest of us did. She never lost her dignity for a moment.'"  She played Lady Carlton, a quirky romance novelist and the landlady to the main characters, in the British sitcom "Girls on Top" (1985–86). Her last film was "Little Dorrit" (1988), released posthumously.

Personal life and death.

Greenwood married André Morell in 1960. Their son, Jason Morell, is an actor, writer and film/theatre director. In 1987, nine years after her husband's death, Greenwood died of a heart attack in London, less than a week before her 66th birthday.

Joan Mary Waller Greenwood (4 March 1921 – 28 February 1987) was an English actress. Her husky voice, coupled with her slow, precise elocution, was her trademark. She is perhaps best remembered for her role as Sibella in "Kind Hearts and Coronets" (1949). Her other film appearances included "The Man in the White Suit" (1951), "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1952), "Stage Struck" (1958), "Tom Jones" (1963) and "Little Dorrit" (1987).

琼·格林伍德(1921年-3月4日-1987年-2月27日)是一位英国女演员。她生于切尔西,就读于皇家戏剧艺术学院。她主要活跃于戏剧舞台,二战之后在唐纳德·沃尔菲特的戏剧公司演出。曾与斯派克·密立根合作演出过弗兰克·邓洛普导演的《奥勃罗莫夫》。琼也出演过一些电影,包括《仁心与冠冕》(1949)和《不可儿戏》。


Early life and career.

Ahmed Aboutaleb was born on 29 August 1961 in Beni Sidel in Morocco. He grew up as a son of a Riffian Berber Sunni imam in a small village in the Nador Province, Rif region. Together with his mother and brothers he moved to the Netherlands in 1976, when he was 15 years old. Aboutaleb had already noticed how he differed from other kids. As he says in an interview: 'I was so different, such a school dork. I wanted to learn, I wanted to know everything.' Aboutaleb then studied Electrical engineering with a specialisation in Telecommunication at different schools up to the Hogere Technische School where he obtained a Bachelor of Engineering degree.  After graduating he found work as reporter for Veronica TV, NOS-radio and "RTL Nieuws". He also worked at the public relations department of the Dutch health ministry. In 1998, Aboutaleb became director of the "Forum" organisation, an institute dealing with multiculturalism in the Netherlands. He also obtained a post as civil servant with the municipality of Amsterdam.

Politics.

In January 2004, Aboutaleb succeeded the scandal-plagued Rob Oudkerk as alderman in Amsterdam. Labour Party leader Wouter Bos in his book "Wat Wouter Wil" () said that if the Labour Party was involved in forming the next cabinet after the 2006 election, Aboutaleb would be offered a ministerial post. Aboutaleb himself claimed at the time he wanted to focus on his work as alderman and that it was "important first that the PvdA wins the election."  When the Labour Party really did become part of a new coalition, Aboutaleb was just offered the position of State Secretary for Social Affairs, but said that he did not mind the lesser function, and believed he could learn a lot from Piet Hein Donner, the Minister of Social Affairs.  Along with another deputy minister, Nebahat Albayrak, of Turkish descent, Aboutaleb was criticised by Geert Wilders at the time of their announced appointments for holding dual passports. According to Wilders and his party, government ministers should not have dual citizenship, which they say implies dual allegiance.  On 31 October 2008 Aboutaleb was appointed (in the Netherlands, mayors are not elected) Mayor of Rotterdam. He succeeded the former mayor, Ivo Opstelten on 5 January 2009. Jetta Klijnsma succeeded him as State Secretary. Aboutaleb, who came to the Netherlands from Morocco is the first mayor of a large city in the Netherlands who is of both immigrant origin and the Muslim faith. He is of Riffian Berber ancestry, and a dual citizen of the Netherlands and Morocco.

Translator.

Aboutaleb is also a great fan of poetry, especially Arabic poetry. He translated poetry of Adunis, the most famous living poet of the Arabic language, very little of whose work had been previously translated into Dutch. In June 2010, he presented a few of his translated poems in Arabic in Rotterdam during the festival, 'Poetry International'.

Ahmed Aboutaleb (; ; born 29 August 1961) is a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and journalist. He is the Mayor of Rotterdam since 5 January 2009.

亚米德·阿包达勒(,,,1961年-8月29日)是荷兰工党(PvdA)政治人物,现任鹿特丹市长。他曾于2007年2月至2008年12月间在巴尔克嫩德政府担任社会事务及就业部副局长。


History.

On July 31, 1995, CICC was incorporated by China Construction Bank, Morgan Stanley, China National Investment and Guaranty Co Ltd, GIC, and the Mingly Corporation, as the first Sino-foreign joint venture investment bank. At the time of CICC’s incorporation, China Construction Bank and Morgan Stanley were its largest shareholders, with a 42.5% and 35% interest, respectively.  In 1997, CICC established its first overseas subsidiary in Hong Kong, through which CICC became the first Chinese investment bank conducting securities underwriting business in Hong Kong. CICC completed its first overseas initial public offering project, the IPO of China Mobile on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which marked the beginning of the restructuring and overseas listing of large state-owned enterprises directly under the State Council of China, and was also the largest IPO in Asia in 1997 as well as the largest IPO of China-based companies ever up until the end of 1997.  In 2004, China Construction Bank transferred its equity interest to China Jianyin Investment, which later transferred that to China Central Huijin, a wholly owned subsidiary of China Investment Corporation. In 2010, Morgan Stanley sold its holdings to TPG, KKR, GIC and Great Eastern. CICC established its FICC division, and was one of the earliest investment banks to conduct fixed income business in China.  In 2007, CICC set up its wealth management division, and was one of the earliest investment banks to engage in wealth management business in China.  In 2010, CICC became the first investment bank to obtain approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to raise and manage private equity funds.  In 2015, CICC was converted into a joint stock company with limited liability whose top three shareholders were Huijin, GIC and TPG. In November 2015, CICC completed its own IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.  In 2016 CICC acquired China Investment Securities from Central Huijin in an all-share deal. In 2017, CICC acquired a majority stake (50+%) in US KraneShares, a leading electronic trading fund that focuses on Chinese listed companies, with its biggest fund (KWEB) focused on Chinese Internet companies. In 2017, giant Chinese internet company, Tencent acquired a 5% stake in CICC.

China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC; 中国国际金融股份有限公司) is one of China's leading investment banking firms that engages in investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients.

中国国际金融股份有限公司(英语:China International Capital Corporation Limited,缩写英语:CICC,),简称中金公司,是中国大陆首家中国公司与外国公司合资组建的投资银行,由实际上国营的中国建设银行(现由建银投资持有股权)与摩根士丹利及其他股东与1995年共同发起设立,主营业务为为中国大陆大型国企提供海内外融资上市服务。2015年,作为中国大陆最大的本土投资银行,该公司表示已改制,以为首次公开募股进行准备。2015年11月9日,中金公司在香港联交所正式挂牌上市,共发售约6.114亿股,集资62.85亿港元。


History.

The League Against Cruel Sports was founded in 1924 by Ernest Bell and Henry Amos.

Motto.

The League's motto is: Investigate, Educate, Protect.

Key campaigns.

Hunting.

Foxes, hare and deer continue to be hunted by packs of hounds in the United Kingdom, despite the passing of the Hunting Act 2004. 268 incidents of suspected illegal fox hunting were reported to the League's Animal Crimewatch service during the 2018 – 2019 hunting season. This included foxes being chased to exhaustion across the countryside before, on some occasions, being torn apart in the jaws of the hunt's hounds. Badger setts have also been blocked up near hunt meets to stop foxes taking refuge during the chase and horses and hounds trespassed in pursuit of wild animals. Hunting packs claim to be practicing 'trail hunting', which is said to involve hunting hounds chasing an animal-based scent, but the League argues this is just a cover for illegal hunting. The League is campaigning to maintain and strengthen the Hunting Act, by adding a provision for custodial sentences, a ban on use of dogs underground and a provision directed against recklessness. The organisation is also pressing landowners to ban hunts from their land. 532 people have been prosecuted for illegal hunting since the legislation was passed – including in private prosecutions brought by the League.

Game Bird Shooting.

Over 35 million pheasants and partridges are released into the British countryside each year to be shot for sport – around half of these birds are imported as live chicks or ready-to-hatch eggs from factory-farms in France, Spain and Portugal. In addition, over 750,000 red grouse are shot for sport on moorland in the North of England and Scotland. Wild animals which compete with game birds – including fox, hare, corvids, stoats and weasels – are eradicated on shooting estates across the UK by trap, snare and gun. There is a strong link between bird of prey persecution and land managed for game bird shooting, with hen harrier, buzzards, red kite, peregrine falcon and goshawks illegally disturbed or killed by gamekeepers. Grouse moors are also managed in a way which causes damage to peatland habitat – including by gamekeepers burning heather to increase red grouse populations. The League is lobbying public and corporate landowners to ban game bird shooting on their land. Transport industry is also being pressed to not ship game birds or ready-to-hatch eggs from Continental Europe to the United Kingdom.

Animal fighting.

Despite being made illegal in Britain in 1835, dog and other animal fighting has been taking place underground in the UK. A survey by the Royal Veterinary College in 2018 showed that 15 per cent of veterinary professionals suspected they had treated at least one dog that was engaged in illegal dog fighting. Dogs used in fighting suffer injuries including puncture wounds, typically to the head, neck, chest and forelimbs; marks around the neck from weighted collars used in fight training; crudely treated wounds; and often death. The League operates an Animal Crimewatch service where people – including veterinary professionals – can anonymously report their suspicions of dog and other animal fighting. The League recently provided intelligence for a two-year long investigation by the BBC into a global network which bred, transported and organised dog fights around the world – including in the UK.

Sanctuaries.

The League has owned land and sporting rights since 1959, purchased to provide a safe haven for hunted animals. Concentrated around Exmoor and the Quantock Hills in South West England, the 3,000 acres of sanctuary land include Baronsdown, near Dulverton and Alfoxton in Holford, where stags have escaped when chased by hunts. Wildlfie sanctuaries managed by the charity are home to a diverse range of species, a number of which are threatened – such as red deer, badgers, foxes, buzzards, peregrine falcon, pied flycatcher and wood warbler. The River Exe, which passed through the Baronsdown sanctuary, also hosts otters. Visitors to the League's sanctuaries are encouraged to engage in wildlife conservation and learn about the animals which make the land their homes.

Recent activities.

The League supported the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act, passed in 2002 by the Scottish Parliament, and the Hunting Act 2004. Both laws make it illegal to chase a mammal with more than two dogs, but allow the use of two dogs (England) or a pack of dogs (Scotland) to flush an animal out of its lair to be shot. Both laws allow the use of one terrier at a time below ground to flush a fox to be shot, if the owner of the terrier has written permission from the land owner or occupier to reduce fox populations in order to prevent or reducing serious damage to game birds or wild birds being kept on the land. The Hunting Act requires that the terrier is fitted with an electronic locator collar.  The league is currently campaigning against commercial breeding of non-native game birds for shooting, and against hunts that it believes are continuing to hunt wild mammals contrary to the 2004 ban.  It also campaigns to extend hunting legislation from Scotland, England and Wales to Northern Ireland. Between 2006 and 2008, it successfully undertook private prosecutions against four hunt officials under the Hunting Act, because the police would not take action, and argued that this showed that the Hunting Act was clear in its meaning. The first prosecution led to a conviction, but this was overturned on appeal, and the second conviction was upheld in the Crown Court.

Political links.

The League as a charity is politically neutral. Complaints from opponents attacking the league's neutrality have all been dismissed by the Charity Commission. Several League staff have previously had political links. Former Chief Executive Joe Duckworth is a former trade union leader. Former CEO Douglas Batchelor was at one time a Liberal. Labour member and ex hunt saboteur Chris Williamson was a member of the board of trustees League Against Cruel Sports (2013) Board of Trustees, whilst several other board members are Labour Party members. Lorraine Platt, organizer of 'Conservatives Against Fox Hunting', is a member of the Conservative Party. Vice-Presidents include Labour politicians Robert Evans and Kerry McCarthy. Former President Professor John Cooper QC, once stood as a Labour party candidate.

The League Against Cruel Sports is an animal welfare charity which campaigns to stop blood sports such as fox, hare and deer hunting, game bird shooting and animal fighting.

反残酷运动联盟(英语:League Against Cruel Sports)是一个反对血腥运动的动物福利组织。它也活跃于禁止动物陷阱的制造、销售和使用,最终目的禁止商业性的狩猎运动。其著名的支持者包括素食主义者保罗·麦卡特尼、 比尔·奥迪、乌力·杰勒和杰玛·阿特金森。


Taxonomy.

Formerly the Borneo river shark ("Glyphis fowlerae") and the Irrawaddy river shark ("Glyphis siamensis") were considered to represent two other species in the genus "Glyphus". They have recently been reclassified as "G. gangeticus" based on genetic studies, and their scientific names are treated as synonyms.  The Borneo river shark is known only from the Kinabatangan River in Borneo. It can reach a length of. Only 13 specimens are known to science, all collected in 1996. Expeditions in 2010 and 2011 failed to find any, and while fishermen recognised the shark, they have not been seen for many years.  The Irrawaddy river shark is known only from a single museum specimen originally caught at the mouth of the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar, a brackish-water locality in a large, heavily silt-laden river lined with mangrove forests. It was collected in the 19th century and described as "Carcharias siamensis" by Austrian ichthyologist Franz Steindachner, in "Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien" (volume 11, 1896). However, subsequent authors doubted the validity of this species, regarding it as an abnormal bull shark ("Carcharhinus leucas"), until in 2005 shark systematist Leonard Compagno recognized it as distinct member of the genus "Glyphis". The specimen is a 60-cm-long immature male. It closely resembles the Ganges shark, but has more vertebrae (209 versus 169) and fewer teeth (29/29 versus 32–37/31–34).  A possibly undescribed species of "Glyphis" is known from Mukah in Borneo, as well as Bangladesh. The status of a Borneo specimen from Sampit remains unclear.

Physical appearance.

"G. gangeticus" is a little-known species that is yet to be adequately described. Its size at birth is, growing to an estimated at maturity, with a maximum size of about. The size at birth or maturity is unknown for any other "Glyphis" species.  A typical requiem shark in its external appearance, it is stocky, with two spineless dorsal fins and an anal fin. The first dorsal fin originates over the last third of the pectoral fins, with a free rear tip that is well in front of the pelvic fins. The second dorsal fin is relatively large, but much smaller than the first (about half the height). The anal fin is slightly smaller than the second dorsal fin and the pectoral fins are broad. A longitudinal upper precaudal pit is seen, but no interdorsal ridge. It is uniformly grey to brownish in color, with no discernible markings.  Its snout is broadly rounded and much shorter than the width of its mouth. The mouth is long, broad, and extends back and up towards the eyes.  Its eyes are minute, suggesting that it may be adapted to turbid water with poor visibility, such as occurs in the Ganges River and the Bay of Bengal. It has internal nictitating eyelids.  The upper teeth have high, broad, serrated, triangular cusps and the labial furrows are very short. The lower front teeth have long, hooked, protruding cusps with unserrated cutting edges along the entire cusp, but without spear-like tips and with low cusplets on feet of crowns. The tooth row counts are 32–37/31–34.

Diagnostic features.

"G. gangeticus" can be identified by the first few lower front teeth, which have cutting edges along entire cusp, giving the cusps a claw-like shape, and low cusplets. Also, a second dorsal fin that is about half the height of first dorsal is distinct to this species.

Distribution.

The Ganges shark, as its name suggests, is largely restricted to the rivers of eastern and northeastern India, particularly the Hooghly River of West Bengal, and the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Mahanadi in Bihar, Assam, and Odisha, respectively. It is typically found in the middle to lower reaches of a river. One found in 2018 in a Mumbai fish market may have come from somewhere along the banks of the Arabian Sea.  In theory, "G. gangeticus" could occur in shallow marine estuaries; however, no marine records of the species have been verified to date. Originally, the species was assigned a wide range in the Indo-West Pacific, but this was found to be mostly based on other species of requiem sharks, particularly members of the genus "Carcharhinus".  Most literature records and specimens labelled as this species are in fact bull sharks ("Carcharhinus leucas") or other carcharhinid species. An extensive 10-year search produced only a few specimens, caught in 1996 in the Ganges River.

Habitat and ecology.

"G. gangeticus" is known to inhabit only freshwater, inshore marine, and estuarine systems in the lower reaches of the Ganges-Hooghly River system. Their feeding habits are mostly unknown. The shark's small eyes and slender teeth suggest that it is primarily a fish-eater and is adapted to turbid water. With such limited visibility typical of many tropical rivers and estuaries, other senses − such as hearing, smell, and electroreception − are likely used for predation. Because its eyes are tilted towards its back rather than to the sides or bottom (as is the case in most carcharhinids), the shark may swim along the bottom and scan the water above it for potential prey back-lit by the sun. However, in the Bay of Bengal, "G. gangeticus" was found to feed heavily on dasyatid stingrays, which spend much of their time on the bottom.

Reproduction.

It is probably viviparous, with a yolk-sac placenta (speculation through analogy to related species of carcharhinids). The litter size and gestation period are unknown. However, their life history cycle is probably similar to other river sharks, characterized by long gestation, slow growth, delayed maturity, and small litter size. These factors make the Ganges shark populations vulnerable to even relatively low levels of exploitation, such as sport angling or gill netting.

Possibility of migration.

Some researchers consider "G. gangeticus" to be amphidromous, covering more than 100 km in both directions. However, this is not thought to be for breeding, as the case in anadromous and catadromous species. The presence of newborn individuals in the Hooghly River suggests that the young may be born in fresh water.  A specimen photographed in 2011 by natural history journalist Malaka Rodrigo at Negombo fish market in Sri Lanka prompted researcher Rex de Silva to speculate on whether the species could occasionally be carried south of its normal range by ocean currents. However, only the head of the shark appears in the photo. Leading shark expert Leonard Compagno emphasised the need to check the dentition and the dorsal fin proportions to confirm the specimen as "G. gangeticus", stating that it could also be one of the four other named species.

Specimens.

"G. gangeticus" was originally known only from three 19th-century museum specimens, one each in the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris, Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, and Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta. No records exist between 1867 and 1996, and the 1996 records have not been confirmed as "G. gangeticus". A specimen collected 84 km upstream of the mouth of the Hooghly River at Mahishadal in 2001 was identified as "G. gangeticus", but on photographs of the jaw only. If "Carcharias murrayi" (Günter, 1887) can be considered a junior synonym of this species, one was found near Karachi, Pakistan. However, the holotype was apparently lost or misplaced in the British Museum of Natural History.

Molecular biology.

"Glyphis" species, like other sharks, exhibit a very slow rate of genetic change. This makes them even more vulnerable to becoming extinct, as they are unable to adapt to the rapid and extreme changes caused by humans to their environment.  As only a few specimens exist, naturally little material available is for genetic sampling. However, two websites list records for "G. gangeticus":  The Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats website lists one record: Public Records: 0 Specimens with Barcodes: 1 Species With Barcodes: 1  The NCBI Taxonomy database has one record of mitochondrial genetic material (1,044 base pairs of linear DNA): "Glyphis gangeticus" bio-material GN2669, reported in a 2012 paper on DNA sequencing in shark and ray species.

Conservation.

"G. gangeticus" is one of 20 sharks on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red List of endangered shark species. The species is currently classified as critically endangered. The need is urgent for a detailed survey of the shark fisheries of the Bay of Bengal.

Major threats.

River sharks are thought to be particularly vulnerable to habitat changes. The Ganges shark is restricted to a very narrow band of habitat that is heavily affected by human activity. Overfishing, habitat degradation from pollution, increasing river use, and management, including construction of dams and barrages, are the principal threats. Thought to be consumed locally for its meat, the Ganges shark is caught by gillnet, and its oil, along with that of the South Asian river dolphin, is highly sought after as a fish attractant. It is also believed to be part of the Asian shark fin trade. After a sighting in 2006, the species was not seen again for over a decade until one was found at a Mumbai fish market in 2016.  The single Irrawaddy river shark specimen stems from an area of intensive artisanal fishing, mainly gillnetting, but also line and electrofishing. Habitat degradation may pose a further threat to this shark, including water pollution and the clearing of mangrove trees for fuel, construction materials, and other products. The shark may be naturally rare in this area and highly restricted in its range. Despite fishing and scientific surveys in the area, no more Irrawaddy river sharks have been recorded in the 100-plus years since the first.

Conservation actions.

In 2001, the Indian government banned the landing of all species of chondrichthyan fish in its ports. However, shortly afterwards, this ban was amended to cover only 10 species of chondrichthyans. These, including "G. gangeticus", are protected under Schedule I, Part II A of the Wildlife Protection Act of India. Doubt exists about the effectiveness of this measure, however, because of difficulties in enforcement. A widespread, albeit widely dispersed, artisanal fishery exists for both local consumption and international trade. Compagno (1997) recommends an in-depth survey of fishing camps and landing sites, along with a sampling program in the Ganges system to determine the current status of this shark along with other gangetic elasmobranchs such as stingrays and sawfish.

Human interaction.

The Ganges shark is widely feared as a ferocious man-eater, but most of the attacks attributed to it are probably the result of confusion with the bull shark "Carcharhinus leucas". This is likely because bull sharks are known to travel long distances into freshwater systems and may co-exist in the same waters as the Ganges shark. Since little is known about the behaviour of genuine freshwater river sharks, and since "G. gangeticus" is critically endangered, contact with humans is very rare.  The biological differences between the Ganges shark and bull shark also point to a lower likelihood of attacks on humans by the Ganges shark. "G. gangeticus" has much narrower, higher, upper teeth and slender-cusped, less heavily built lower teeth than "C. leucas". Such small sharp teeth are more suitable for fish-impaling and less useful for dismembering tough mammalian prey than the stout teeth of the bull shark.

Etymology.

"Glyphis": from Greek "glyphe", means "carving".

The Ganges shark ("Glyphis gangeticus") is a critically endangered species of requiem shark found in the Ganges River (Padma River) and the Brahmaputra River of Bangladesh and India. It is often confused with the more common bull shark ("Carcharhinus leucas"), which also inhabits the Ganges River and is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Ganges shark. Unlike bull sharks, which need to migrate to salt water to reproduce, species in the genus "Glyphis" are true river sharks. The genus is currently considered to contain three recent species; genetic evidence has shown that both the Borneo river shark ("G. fowlerae") and Irrawaddy river shark ("G. siamensis") should be regarded as synonyms of the Ganges shark, expanding the range of the species to Pakistan, Myanmar, Borneo, and Java. The species remains poorly known and very rare.

恒河露齿鲨(学名:"Glyphis gangeticus")又名印度露齿鲨、恒河真鲨、恒河白眼鲛、大沙、恒河鲨,为真鲨科露齿鲨属的鱼类,属于极危物种。印度和孟加拉部分的布拉马普特拉河、恒河、博多河流域,该物种的模式产地主要在印度恒河。本种容易与同样分布于恒河的公牛鲨误认,但与公牛鲨不一样,恒河露齿鲨与他的另外两个近亲露齿鲨("Glyphis glyphis")、北河露齿鲨("Glyphis garricki")才是真正的淡水鲨鱼,而公牛鲨仍然需要游到海中进行繁殖。


History.

The origins of this route go back to the "Western Camino Real", which was used since the colonial era. The Western Camino Real started at Buenos Aires, ran through San Luis and Mendoza, and ended at Santiago de Chile. The road decreased in importance with the introduction of railways at the end of the 19th Century.  New settlements sprang up along the route, that were only served by the railway.  With the improvements in automotive travel, the National Congress created the National Highway Directorate in 1932. In 1935, that organisation started work on a new road parallel to a railroad operated by Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway (which later became Ferrocarril General San Martín). This route was given the number 7.  In June 1942, work finished with the paving of the route between Chacabuco and Junín. They built the paved section between Junín and Laboulaye using a slightly different route (a little to the south), which separated the railway from the towns, and sped up the transport on that section. On 2 October 1969, the 67 km between Rufino and Laboulaye was opened, and then the 165 km between Junín and Rufino followed on 28 October of the same year. The paving reached Villa Mercedes in 1975. Here it formed a junction with National Route 8. Route 8 gives the republic's capital access to the east of the country, and has been paved since 1940. To reach Mendoza and Uspallata, the road goes through the "Caracoles de Villavicencio", a mountain section with altitudes of around 3000m, and 365 bends. Due to the danger of this part, they decided to create a new route in 1950. This would run along the banks of the Mendoza River, i.e. to the south of the existing route. The Directorate of National Highways tentatively started work on the new section in 1961, and it was completed in 1971. This took the paved section of road as far as Uspallata.  The next step was to upgrade the road to a highway for the section uniting the cities of San Martín and Mendoza. The work was carried out in two sections of 25 km (Mendoza - Las Margaritas) and 17 km (Las Margaritas - San Martín). The first section was completed in 1977 and the second during 1979. The second stretch included the construction of a new bridge, allowing the road to cross the Mendoza River.  They also designed and build a modification of the original section of the road starting near the Mendozan city of La Paz, diverting it approximately 1.5 km to the north, to pass nearer some towns. These had been considered to be on the old route by the less demanding criteria of the time. The original 140 km section was transferred to the jurisdiction of Mendoza Province, and is now called Provincial Route 50.  In 1979, National Directive 1595 transferred jurisdiction of the old Las Heras - Villavicencio - Uspallata (97.2 km) section to Mendoza Province, and it now forms Provincial Route 52. They also handed over the 53 km section from Luján de Cuyo to Potrerillos which is now Provincial Route 82, and the national orbit road linking the Mendoza section of Route 7 to Uspallata by way of Potrerillos.  The road to the west of Uspallata and its bridges that are in use today was completed between 1978 and 1979. Another old section of Route 7 is the part leading to the Chilean border. This is a zigzagging road from Las Cuevas to La Cumbre Pass, where you can see the statue Christ the Redeemer of the Andes. There is a tunnel along the route belonging to the Transandine Railway, dating from 5 April 1910. This opened to mixed traffic in 1977, with the capacity to carry road transport as well as trains. A second tunnel (the Paso Internacional Los Libertadores) opened on 23 May 1980, parallel to the first. Since the new tunnel opened, the road to La Cumbre Pass has only been used for tourist traffic and only opens during the summer. Its current name is National Route A006 (Argentina).  Access from the city of Buenos Aires to Luján was formerly by an avenue circling parallel to the tracks forming part of Ferrocarril Domingo Faustino Sarmiento. The road was known as Avenida Rivadavia as far as Merlo. The government decided to hand this 52.55 km road over to Buenos Aires Province and to construct the Autopista Acceso Oeste to the north. This formed part of the Decree 1595 mentioned above. Buenos Aires Province eventually took it over in 1988, and the section of road became Provincial Route 7.  "Access West", the highway joining Avenida General Paz with Luján, was built in various stages over more than 20 years. It was finally completed on 1 September 1998. The last section joined Avenida General Paz with Morón. Building the road involved demolishing several kilometres of houses, because the road had to pass through the urban zones of Greater Buenos Aires. In May 2001, construction started on the 212 km expressway (incorrectly known as a highway) in San Luis Province. It was funded by the province. It opened on 16 April 2003 and has the distinction of having lights along its entire length. It takes a slightly different route to the original road around the provincial capital and passes further south, i.e. further from the city centre. San Luis Provincial Law No. VIII-0258-2004 calls it "Autopista de las Serranías Puntanas" "("The Foothills of San Luis Highway")". The old 11.6 km section of road that it replaced passed into provincial jurisdiction. The government of San Luis converted it into an expressway which opened on 27 July 2007 as "Avenida Parque Gobernador José Santos Ortiz.  Due to the construction of the Potrerillos Dam to the southwest of the city of Mendoza, they decided to build 10 km of road in a higher zone with two road bridges. This section opened on 23 August 2004. This part of the route generated controversy during the planning period because it passed through an important paleontological deposit.

The Santa Fe section.

Due to the growth of Laguna La Picasa () between 1998 and 1999, 14.5 km of the road was flooded. The affected area was between Aarón Castellanos and Diego de Alvear, along the border between the provinces of Santa Fe and Buenos Aires. This prompted the road to be rerouted on 19 April 1999.  The vehicles used a gravel track for 32 km, adding 17 km on to the original length of the road. Then they started to lower the water level in the lake by means of a pumping station in Rufino. That station will be complemented by another (not yet built) to the south of the lake. Work started to repair the damaged section of road on 1 February 2006. It used stones brought from a quarry in San Luis Province. The stones were coated with mesh. By July 2006, they had joined up to the basalt stones on both sides of the lake. This allowed trucks to use the track, allowing them to continue with the work of raising the road. The road was to be raised 2 metres above the lake's maximum water level. In normal conditions it would be 6 metres above the lake's surface. The work includes a 60 m bridge in the centre of the lake. It is built in three 20 m sections, each with a lane for both directions of traffic.  This 10.5 km section came into use by traffic on 10 June 2007.  The construction was given the "'2007 Road Engineering Works" award by the Argentina Road Association, which covers all the provinces, industry and National Government sector.

Cities.

National Route 7 passes through several cities with a population of greater than 5000. These are listed below.

Buenos Aires Province.

The route runs through 364 km of the north of Buenos Aires Province for km 12 - 376 of its total length. The road passes through the following partidos:

Santa Fe Province.

The road runs for 56 km in the extreme south-east of this province. This stretch starts 376 km into the total length, and leaves the province at 432 km.

Córdoba Province.

The road runs for 222 km in the south of Córdoba Province, for kilometres 432-654.

San Luis Province.

The road runs through San Luis Province for 221 km. It passes through the centre of the province for km 654 to 865.

Mendoza Province.

The route runs through 372 km of the north of Mendoza Province for km 865-1237.  In the section overlapping National Route 40, the road passes through Dorrego in Guaymallén Department and Luján de Cuyo in the department of the same name.

Tollbooths and services.

The road carries heavy traffic, so there are a lot of service stations along its length. But until 2004, the Junín - Villa Mercedes section did not have any service stations selling compressed natural gas (CNG), so vehicles that relied on this fuel diverted along National Route 8 instead.

Road conditions.

Route 7 is a highway or expressway over the following sections:  The project of converting the road into a highway will complete with the section from Luján (km 75) to Junín (km 263). Construction is hoped to finish on this section in the next few years.  In various sections between Agrelo and Potrerillos, and between Uspallata and Las Cuevas, only the uphill lane has two carriageways. This makes it easier for motorists to overtake trucks driving up the mountains.  Ice and snow tend to accumulate on the roads during the winter, so tyre chains are given out. At these times the maximum speed is. The chains must be removed when the car is driving on asphalt, because this ruins the chains and risks puncturing the tyres. Before setting off on the Andes crossing, road users are advised to check up on the state of the road. The National Gendarmarie run an AM and FM radio station that gives information on road conditions, plays music and reads the day's news headlines. There are 14 tunnels between Luján de Cuyo and Las Cuevas. The maximum speed here is because there are hidden bends coming out of many of these tunnels.  The table on the right shows the tunnels in 2004. Work started on tunnels 2 and 8 on 1 October 2003 and finished on 31 July 2005. Between them they cover 500 m.  Tunnel 1 is on the outskirts of Cacheuta, on Provincial Route 82 (an old stretch of National Route 7) and it is closed. The route now passes outside the mountain next to Mendoza River.  There are dangerous bends with their own names up in the high mountain stretches of road. East of Uspallata you can find "Curva de Guido" and "Curva de los Chilenos", while to the west there are some called "Curva de la Mirian", the "Curva del Tiempo", the "Curva del Yeso" and the "Curva de la Soberanía Nacional".

Management.

In 1990, the country's highest-traffic roads were granted the right to collect tolls, and were divided into Road Corridors for this purpose. The same right was granted to the Buenos Aires Access Network in 1993. Through this scheme, the company New Routes took charge of Road Corridor 5, which included Route 7 km 69-490, from Luján (Buenos Aires) as far as Laboulaye (Córdoba). They installed tollbooths at Villa Espil (km 87) and Junín (km 272).  At the same time, the company Caminos del Oeste took charge of Road Corridor 3, which included Route 7 km 490-999, from Laboulaye as far as San Martín (Mendoza). They installed tollbooths at Vicuña Mackenna (Córdoba) (km 591), La Cumbre (San Luis) (km 762) and La Paz (Mendoza) (km 900).  In 1993 companies were invited to place bids to extend Access West from Avenida General Paz to Luján. Grupo Concesionario del Oeste won the contract in 1994. Work finished on 2 September 1998.  In an agreement between the national government and San Luis Province, the province constructed a 214 km expressway running across the province, and in exchange the government granted all revenue from that road to the province for 30 years. The agreement was signed on 6 October 2000. This agreement meant that Camino del Oeste would not receive the revenue from this road. Work started on 16 April 2003.  The road corridor contracts expired in 2003. This meant that some highways could be renumbered and new tenders were offered. Autovía Oeste put in the winning bid for Road Corridor 3. They said they would extend the corridor with two sections from 63–654 km and from 865–999 km, corresponding to Luján - San Martín excluding San Luis Province. In 2010 they took over the joint venture of building a highway from Buenos Aires to the Andes.  The expressway between San Martín and Mendoza is maintained by a modular system.  The 180 km stretch between National Route 40 and the Chilean border has been managed by recovery and maintenance contracts since 1 January 2007. Prior to that, this section had been maintained directly by the National Highways Directorate.

Transit.

Speed limits.

The maximum speed limit for cars and motorcycles is 120 km/h on the expressway sections and 100 km/h on the dual carriageway sections outside urban areas. In the mountain zones the maximum speed is 80 km/h in some sections and 60 km/h in others. The speed limit in tunnels is 40 km/h.  The maximum speed for buses is 90 km/h or the maximum for cars on that section, whichever is lowest. For trucks it is either 80 km/h or the maximum for trucks, whichever is lowest.

Transport measurements.

In order to prioritise which roads to improve and which road junctions to build, the National Highways Directorate have divided the national road network into 1,200 sections of uniform traffic.  Route 7 is divided into 20 sections in Buenos Aires, 2 in Santa Fe, 5 in Córdoba, 13 in San Luis and 15 in Mendoza.  The annual daily average traffic is calculated for each section. This is done by dividing the total number of vehicles travelling there each year by the number of days in the year (either 365 or 366).  The graph shows the annual average daily traffic for 2001. The graph is not continuous and does not show the urban areas. Neither does it show the section of Route 7 that is contiguous with National Route 40 in the outskirts of Mendoza city.  The section with the highest traffic is the most eastern 10 km of the route, with an annual average daily load of 82,500 vehicles per day in 2001. This value decreases as the distance to Buenos Aires city increases. There were only 6,550 vehicles per day in that year to the west of the former National Route 192, 60 km from the start of the route, where the rural zone begins. The lowest volume of traffic occurs around La Picasa Lake where the route has been cut off by water since the measurements began. Here there are 1,150 purely local vehicles.  Around 3,000 vehicles per day travel through the rural areas of Córdoba, while San Luis has 4,000 vehicles per day due to the Villa Mercedes junction with National Route 8.  From the city of San Martín in Mendoza province, on the edge of the rural zone, to the outskirts of Mendoza city, the traffic ranges between 5,400 and 63,400 vehicles per day.  Finally, the section between the superposition with National Route 40 and the national border, the value is around 1,500 vehicles per day.

Geography.

The graph on the right shows the height of the road as it runs through Mendoza Province.  On the west of the province, the route runs through the main and front ranges, and passes only 18 km south of Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Americas. You can see the mountain from a viewpoint at 1222 km.  From the east of Uspallata to the city of Mendoza, the route runs through the foothills.  Until the construction of the Túnel del Cristo Redentor in 1980, the route finished at 3,832 msnm at Paso Internacional de la Cumbre, where it ended at the statue of Christ the Redeemer of the Andes.  Due to the extreme height, the mountain pass is cut off for several days during the winter months because of snowdrifts on the road. To relieve the situation, they started to pave National Route 145 in the southwest of Mendoza Province, which joins the neighbouring republic to the Pehuenche passage lower down so it doesn't have the same problem.  The graph on the left shows the height of the road between the junction with National Route 40 on the outskirts of Mendoza city and Avenida General Paz.  From the eastern part of Mendoza province, the route runs through the Great Plain of Travesia. The plain slopes down towards the Desaguadero River, which is the provincial border with San Luis. In that province there are some higher sections near the Sierras pampeanas. This part doesn't cause any traffic problems because this part of Route 7 is an autopista.  After running through some frequently flooded areas in Córdoba and Santa Fe provinces (mainly the latter), it runs past several lakes in Santa Fe province and the east of Buenos Aires province. Then it continues through the Ondulada pampas until it reaches the republic's capital.

Tourism.

National Route 7 passes through several places of interest to tourists.  In Luján you can visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján, built between 1887 and 1935. This is one of the most important in the country. It is the focus of annual pilgrimages along the old section of the road (now Provincial Route 7) from the barrio Liniers. The city also has a municipal spa on the river of the same name, the museum of transport and Enrique Udaondo Museum Complex, along with several other museums.  Junín is the main tourist centre in the lake district of Buenos Aires. The biggest attraction is the Lake Gómez natural park, which is ideal for water sports, relaxation and fishing. The Chiquita Sea, El Carpincho Lake and Lake Gómez all lie within 10 km of the city. Junín is also the home of numerous cultural and sporting events, such as the Pejerrey Provincial Festival, the Fiambre Casero Regional Festival and the Spring Festival.  Rufina holds the National Livestock Festival in the second half of October. The best examples of animals from the region are exhibited there.  Villa Mercedes has the Santiago Betbeder Museum, with an exhibition containing old carriages, a grocery store and a chapel.  In the outskirts of San Luis there is a mountain circuit, with the La Florida and Cruz de Piedra reservoirs and a waterfall at Potrero de los Funes.  You can visit vineyards around Mendoza, with visitor guides and several wineries.  In the city of Mendoza itself, there are various museums, the foundation area (the old city centre before the 1861 Mendoza earthquake) and the General San Martín Park. The park has a lake, a zoo and the estate of the City University. It also contains Cerro de la Gloria which can be accessed by vehicles and has a statue of General San Martín. The whole city can be viewed from the top of this mountain.  There is a ski resort at Los Penitentes in the high mountain zones. There is a natural bridge over Las Cuevas River at Puente del Inca. The bridge was uncrossable in 2006 because of the risk of collapse. There is also the Andinista Cemetery, the entrance to Aconcagua Provincial Park, several viewpoints, and a zigzag road leading to the Chilean border where the Cristo Redentor statue stands.

National Route 7 (full name in Spanish: Ruta Nacional 7 Carretera Libertador General San Martín) is a road in Argentina. It crosses the country from east to west, from the capital (Buenos Aires) to the border with Chile, thus linking the Atlantic coast with the Andes, crossing the provinces of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Córdoba, San Luis and Mendoza. It has a total length of, of which (30%) are freeways.

国道7号(),正式名称为解放者圣马丁将军公路走廊国道7号(),是阿根廷的一条国道,全长1224公里。