Appearance and characteristics.

The Mediterranean moray has an elongated, eel-like body and can reach a length of 1.5 meters and weigh over 15 kilograms. Its coloration varies from dark grey to dark brown with fine dark spots. The skin is slimy and without scales. The dorsal fin begins behind its head and continues to the caudal fin (fused with the anal fin). Pectoral fins are absent, teeth are long and sharp-pointed (like other morays), the mouth is long and robust and reaches behind the gills.

Ecology.

The Mediterranean moray inhabits the coastal waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean from the British Isles to the coast of Senegal; the waters of the Canary Islands and the Azores; and the Mediterranean Sea. It prefers rocky bottoms and lives in depths of from 16.5 to 264 feet (5 to 80 meters). It is a solitary and territorial species. The Mediterranean moray spends most of the day in cavities and clefts between rocks and is more active at night. It hunts fish, crayfish and cephalopods, but also feeds on dead animals.  The Mediterranean moray's reproduction is not well known. They spawn about 60,000 eggs into open water, from which planktonic transparent leptocephali hatch.  One parasitic crustacean, the trematode "Folliculovarium mediterraneum" and the flatworm "Lecithochirium grandiporum" are parasites of the Mediterranean moray.

Human importance.

The bite of the Mediterranean moray can be dangerous mainly due to the mildly toxic slime of its skin. It can be utilized fresh and eaten broiled, boiled and baked. The skin can be used for leather.

The Mediterranean moray (sometimes also called Roman eel, "Muraena helena","زريمباية") is a fish of the moray eel family. It has a long eel-like body and is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Its bite can be dangerous to humans.

Muréna obecná ("Muraena helena" Linnaeus, 1758), též zvaná muréna římská, nebo jen murana, je druh mořské dravé ryby z čeledi murénovitých s typickým hadovitým tělem, který může dorůstat délky až 150 cm a hmotnosti 14 nebo 15 kg. Muréna obecná se nejčastěji vyskytuje v oblasti Středozemního moře, ale je možné ji potkat v oblasti rozprostírající se od Senegalu, přes Azory, Kanárské ostrovy až po Britské ostrovy.


By organ or system.

Sonography (ultrasonography) is widely used in medicine. It is possible to perform both diagnosis and therapeutic procedures, using ultrasound to guide interventional procedures such as biopsies or to drain collected fluid. Sonographers are medical professionals who perform scans which are then traditionally interpreted by radiologists, physicians who specialize in the application and interpretation of a wide variety of medical imaging modalities, or by cardiologists in the case of cardiac ultrasonography (echocardiography). Increasingly, clinicians (physicians and other healthcare professionals who provide direct patient care) are using the ultrasound in office and hospital practice (point-of-care ultrasound).  Sonography is effective for imaging soft tissues of the body. Superficial structures such as muscle, tendon, testis, breast, thyroid and parathyroid glands, and the neonatal brain are imaged at a higher frequency (7–18 MHz), which provides better linear (axial) and horizontal (lateral) resolution. Deeper structures such as liver and kidney are imaged at a lower frequency 1–6 MHz with lower axial and lateral resolution as a price of deeper tissue penetration.  A general-purpose ultrasound transducer may be used for most imaging purposes but specialty applications may require the use of a specialty transducer. Most ultrasound procedures are done using a transducer on the surface of the body, but improved diagnostic confidence is often possible if a transducer can be placed inside the body. For this purpose, specialty transducers, including endovaginal, endorectal, and transesophageal transducers are commonly employed. At the extreme, very small transducers can be mounted on small diameter catheters and placed into blood vessels to image the walls and disease of those vessels.

Anesthesiology.

In anesthesiology, ultrasound is commonly used to guide the placement of needles when placing local anaesthetic solutions near nerves. It is

Angiology (vascular).

In angiology or vascular medicine, duplex ultrasound (B Mode imaging combined with Doppler flow measurement) is used to diagnose arterial and venous disease. This is particularly important in neurology, where carotid ultrasound is used for assessing blood flow and stenoses in the carotid arteries, and transcranial Doppler is used for imaging flow in the intracerebral arteries.  Intravascular ultrasound ("IVUS") uses a specially designed catheter, with a miniaturized ultrasound probe

Cardiology (heart).

Echocardiography is an essential tool in cardiology, assisting in evaluation of heart valve function, such

Emergency medicine.

Point of care emergency ultrasound has many applications in emergency medicine. This includes differentiating cardiac causes of acute breathlessness from pulmonary causes, and the Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma

Gastroenterology/Colorectal surgery.

Abdominal and endoanal ultrasound are frequently used in gastroenterology and colorectal surgery. In abdominal sonography, the solid organs of the abdomen such as the pancreas, aorta, inferior vena cava, liver, gall bladder, bile ducts, kidneys, and spleen are imaged. However, sound waves are blocked by gas in the bowel and attenuated to differing degrees by fat, sometimes limiting diagnostic

Gynecology and obstetrics.

Gynecologic ultrasonography examines female pelvic organs (specifically the uterus, ovaries, and Fallopian tubes) as well as the bladder, adnexa, and Pouch of Douglas. It commonly uses transducers designed for approaches through the lower abdominal wall, curvilinear and sector, and specialty transducers such as endovaginal.  Obstetrical sonography was originally developed in the late 1950s and 1960s by Sir Ian Donald and is commonly used during pregnancy to check on the development and presentation of the fetus. It can be used to identify many conditions that could be potentially harmful to the mother and/or baby possibly remaining undiagnosed or with delayed diagnosis in the absence of sonography. It is currently believed that the risk of leaving these conditions undiagnosed is greater than the small risk, if any, associated with undergoing an ultrasound scan. But its use for non-medical purposes

Hemodynamics (blood circulation).

Blood velocity can be measured in various blood vessels, such as middle cerebral artery or descending aorta, by relatively inexpensive

Otolaryngology (head and neck).

Most structures of the neck, including the thyroid and parathyroid glands, lymph nodes, and salivary glands, are well-visualized by high-frequency ultrasound with exceptional anatomic detail. Ultrasound is the preferred imaging modality

Neonatology.

In neonatology, transcranial Doppler can be used for basic assessment of intracerebral structural abnormalities, bleeds, ventriculomegaly or hydrocephalus and anoxic insults (Periventricular leukomalacia). The ultrasound can be performed through the soft spots in

Ophthalmology ().

In ophthalmology and optometry, there are

Pulmonology (lungs).

Modern ultrasound is used to assess the lungs in a variety of settings including critical care, emergency medicine, trauma surgery, as well as

Urology (urinary).

Ultrasound is routinely used in urology to determine, for example, the amount of fluid retained in a patient's bladder. In a pelvic sonogram, organs of the pelvic region are imaged. This includes the uterus and ovaries or urinary bladder. Males are sometimes given a pelvic sonogram to check on the health of their bladder, the prostate, or their testicles (for example to distinguish epididymitis from testicular torsion). In young males, it is used to distinguish more

Scrotal.

Scrotal ultrasonography is used in the

Penile.

Ultrasound is an excellent method for the study of

Musculoskeletal.

Musculoskeletal ultrasound in used to examine tendons, muscles, nerves, ligaments, soft tissue masses, and bone surfaces. It is very helpful in diagnosing ligament sprains, muscles strains and joint pathology. Ultrasound is an alternative to x-ray imaging in detecting fractures of the wrist,

Nephrology (kidneys).

In nephrology, ultrasonography of the kidneys is essential in the diagnosis and management of kidney-related diseases. The kidneys are easily examined, and most pathological changes in the kidneys are distinguishable with ultrasound. US is an accessible, versatile, inexpensive, and fast aid for decision-making in patients with renal symptoms and for guidance in renal intervention.

From sound to image.

The creation of an image from sound is done in three steps – producing a sound wave, receiving echoes, and interpreting those echoes.

Producing a sound wave.

A sound wave is typically produced by a piezoelectric transducer encased in a plastic housing. Strong, short electrical pulses from the ultrasound machine drive the transducer at the desired frequency. The frequencies can be anywhere between 1 and 18 MHz, though frequencies up to 50–100 megahertz have been used experimentally in a technique known as biomicroscopy in special regions, such as the anterior chamber of the eye. Older technology transducers focused their beam with physical lenses. Newer technology transducers use phased array techniques to enable the ultrasound machine to change the direction and depth of focus.  The sound is

Receiving the echoes.

The return of the sound wave to the transducer results in the same process as sending the sound wave, except in reverse.

Forming the image.

To make an image, the ultrasound scanner must determine two things from each received echo:  Once the ultrasonic scanner determines these two things, it can locate which pixel in the image to light up and to what intensity.  Transforming the received signal into a digital image may be explained by using a blank spreadsheet as an analogy. First picture a long, flat

Displaying the image.

Images from the ultrasound scanner are transferred and displayed

Sound in the body.

Ultrasonography (sonography) uses a probe containing multiple acoustic transducers to send pulses of sound into a material. Whenever a sound wave encounters a material with a different density (acoustical impedance), part of the sound wave is reflected back to the probe and is detected as an echo. The time it takes for the echo to travel back to the probe is measured and used to calculate the depth of the tissue interface causing the echo. The greater the difference between acoustic impedances, the larger the echo is. If the pulse hits gases or solids, the density difference is so great that most of the acoustic energy is reflected and it becomes impossible to see deeper.  The frequencies used for medical imaging are generally in the range of 1 to 18 MHz. Higher frequencies have a correspondingly smaller wavelength, and can be used to make sonograms with smaller details. However, the attenuation of the sound wave is increased at higher frequencies, so in order to have better penetration of deeper tissues, a lower frequency (3–5 MHz) is used.  Seeing deep into the body with sonography is very difficult. Some

Modes.

Several modes of ultrasound

Expansions.

An additional expansion or additional technique of ultrasound is bi-planar ultrasound, in which the probe has two 2D planes that are perpendicular to each other, providing more efficient localization and detection. Furthermore, an omniplane probe is one that can rotate 180° to obtain multiple images. In 3D ultrasound, many 2D planes are digitally added together to create a 3-dimensional image of the object.

Doppler ultrasonography.

Doppler ultrasonography employs the Doppler effect to assess whether structures (usually blood) are moving towards or away from the probe, and its relative velocity. By calculating the frequency shift of a particular sample volume, for

Contrast ultrasonography (ultrasound contrast imaging).

A contrast medium for medical ultrasonography is a formulation of encapsulated gaseous microbubbles to increase echogenicity of blood, discovered by Dr Raymond Gramiak in 1968 and named contrast-enhanced ultrasound. This contrast medical imaging modality is clinically used throughout the world, in particular for echocardiography in the United States and for ultrasound radiology in Europe and Asia.  Microbubbles-based contrast media is administrated intravenously in patient blood stream during the medical ultrasonography examination. Thanks to their size, the microbubbles remain confined in blood vessels without extravasating towards the interstitial fluid. An ultrasound contrast media is therefore purely intravascular, making it an ideal agent to image organ microvascularization for diagnostic purposes. A typical clinical use of contrast ultrasonography is detection of a hypervascular metastatic tumor, which exhibits a contrast uptake (kinetics of microbubbles concentration in blood circulation) faster than healthy biological tissue surrounding the tumor. Other clinical applications using contrast exist, such as in echocardiography to improve delineation of left ventricle for visually checking contractibility of heart after a myocardial infarction. Finally, applications in quantitative perfusion (relative measurement of blood flow) emerge for identifying early patient response to an anti-cancerous drug treatment (methodology and clinical study

Molecular ultrasonography (ultrasound molecular imaging).

The future of contrast ultrasonography is in molecular imaging with potential clinical applications expected in cancer screening to detect malignant tumors at their earliest stage of appearance. Molecular ultrasonography (or ultrasound molecular imaging) uses targeted microbubbles originally designed by Dr Alexander Klibanov in 1997; such targeted microbubbles specifically bind or adhere to tumoral microvessels by targeting biomolecular cancer expression (overexpression of certain biomolecules occurs during neo-angiogenesis or inflammation processes in malignant tumors). As a result, a few minutes after their injection in blood circulation, the targeted microbubbles accumulate in

Elastography (ultrasound elasticity imaging).

Ultrasound is also used for elastography, which is a relatively new imaging modality that maps the elastic properties of soft tissue. This modality emerged in the last two decades.

Interventional ultrasonography.

Interventional ultrasonography involves biopsy, emptying fluids,

Compression ultrasonography.

Compression ultrasonography is when the probe is pressed against the skin. This can bring the target structure closer to the probe, increasing spatial resolution of it. Comparison of the shape of the target structure before and after compression can aid in diagnosis.

Panoramic ultrasonography.

Panoramic ultrasonography is the digital stitching of multiple ultrasound images into a

Attributes.

As with all imaging modalities, ultrasonography

Risks and side-effects.

Ultrasonography is generally considered safe imaging, with the World Health Organizations saying:  Diagnostic ultrasound studies of the fetus are generally considered to be safe during pregnancy. This diagnostic procedure should be performed only when there is a valid

Regulation.

Diagnostic and therapeutic ultrasound equipment is regulated in the USA by the Food and Drug Administration, and worldwide by other national regulatory agencies. The FDA limits acoustic output using several metrics; generally, other agencies accept the FDA-established guidelines.  Currently, New Mexico, Oregon, and North Dakota are the only US states that regulate diagnostic medical sonographers. Certification examinations for sonographers are available in the US from three organizations: the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography, Cardiovascular Credentialing International and the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists.  The primary regulated metrics are Mechanical Index (MI), a metric associated with the cavitation bio-effect,

History.

After the French physicist Pierre Curie’s discovery of piezoelectricity in 1880, ultrasonic waves could be deliberately generated for industry. Thereafter, in 1940, the American acoustical physicist Floyd Firestone devised the first ultrasonic echo imaging device, the Supersonic Reflectoscope, to detect internal flaws in metal castings. In 1941, the Austrian neurologist Karl Theo Dussik was in collaboration with his brother, Friedreich, a physicist, likely the first person to ultrasonically echo image the human body, outlining thereby the ventricles of a human brain. Ultrasonic energy was first applied to the human body for medical purposes by Dr George Ludwig at the Naval Medical Research Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, in the late 1940s. English-born physicist John Wild (1914–2009) first used ultrasound to assess the thickness of bowel tissue as early as 1949; he has been described as the "father of medical ultrasound". Subsequent advances in the field took place concurrently in several countries. It was not until 1961 when David Robinson and George Kossoff's work at the Australian Department of Health resulted in the first commercially practical water path ultrasonic scanner. Then in 1963 Meyerdirk & Wright launched production of the first commercial hand-held articulated arm compound contact B-mode scanner, which made ultrasound generally available for medical use.

France.

Léandre Pourcelot, who was a researcher and teacher at INSA (Institut National des Sciences Appliquées) Lyon copublished in 1965 a report

Scotland.

Parallel developments in Glasgow, Scotland by Professor Ian Donald and colleagues at the Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital (GRMH) led to the first diagnostic applications of the technique. Donald was an obstetrician with a self-confessed "childish interest in machines, electronic and otherwise", who, having treated the wife of one of the company's directors, was invited to visit the Research Department of boilermakers Babcock & Wilcox at Renfrew, where he used their industrial ultrasound equipment to conduct experiments on various morbid anatomical specimens and assess their ultrasonic characteristics. Together with the medical physicist. and fellow obstetrician Dr John MacVicar, Donald refined the equipment to enable differentiation of pathology in

Sweden.

Medical ultrasonography was used in 1953 at Lund University by cardiologist Inge Edler and Gustav Ludwig Hertz's son Carl Hellmuth Hertz, who was then a graduate student at the University's department of nuclear physics.  Edler had asked Hertz if it was possible to use radar to look into the body, but Hertz said this was impossible. However, he said, it

United States.

In 1962, after about two years of work, Joseph Holmes, William Wright, and Ralph Meyerdirk developed the first compound contact B-mode scanner. Their work had been supported by U.S. Public Health Services and the University of Colorado. Wright and Meyerdirk left the University to form Physionic Engineering Inc., which launched the first commercial hand-held articulated arm compound contact B-mode scanner in 1963. This

Manufacturers.

The leading manufacturers of Ultrasound Equipment are Hitachi, Siemens Healthineers, FUJIFILM SonoSite, GE Healthcare, and Philips. Companies like Usono design, develop and sell accessories and solutions to make the use of ultrasound easier.

Medical ultrasound (also known as diagnostic sonography or ultrasonography) is a diagnostic imaging technique, or therapeutic application of ultrasound. It is used to create an image of internal body structures such as tendons, muscles, joints, blood vessels, and internal organs. Its aim is often to find a source of a disease or to exclude pathology. The practice of examining pregnant women using ultrasound is called obstetric ultrasound, and was an early development and application of clinical ultrasonography. Ultrasound are sound waves with frequencies which are higher than those audible to humans (>20,000 Hz). Ultrasonic images, also known as sonograms, are made by sending pulses of ultrasound into tissue using a probe. The ultrasound pulses echo off tissues with different reflection properties and are recorded and displayed as an image.

Lékařská sonografie je diagnostická zobrazovací technika založená na registraci ultrazvuku odraženého od tkání. Typicky se používají piezoelektrické sondy o frekvencích 2-18 MHz.


Background.

Indian mystic Meher Baba (1894–1969) often used the expression "Don't worry, be happy" when cabling his followers in the West, and the expression was printed on inspirational cards and posters during the 1960s. In 1988, McFerrin noticed a similar poster in the apartment of jazz duo Tuck & Patti in San Francisco, and he was inspired by the expression's charm and simplicity. He wrote the song that was included in the soundtrack of the movie "Cocktail" and became a hit single the next year.

Composition.

The "instruments" in the "a cappella" song are entirely overdubbed voice parts and other sounds made by McFerrin, using no instruments at all; McFerrin also sings with an affected accent.

Music video.

The comedic original music video for the song stars McFerrin, Robin Williams, and Bill Irwin, and is somewhat shorter than the album version.

Awards.

The song is ranked No. 31 on VH1's "100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s" and also appears on "Rolling Stone"s list of the 15 Best Whistling Songs of All Time. At the 1989 Grammy Awards, "Don't Worry, Be Happy" won the awards for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Cover versions.

Versions of "Don't Worry, Be Happy" have been recorded by several artists. The Katsimiha Brothers made a Greek cover of the song with original lyrics, and Montenegrin musician Rambo Amadeus made a parody titled "Don't Happy, Be Worry", as a critique to the optimism of the music scene in the former Yugoslavia in the face of war and economic depression. In addition, the lyrics of "Fight the Power" by hip hop artists Public Enemy refer critically to "Don't Worry, Be Happy". A version of this song sung by The Hit Crew is also added into the Big Mouth Billy Bass, a very popular animatronic singing toy. Hermes House Band covered the song on their "Rhythm of the Nineties" album in 2009. Reggae artist Cas Haley covered the song as a hidden bonus track on his "Favorites" album (together with former Jah Roots lead singer, Josh Heinrichs). Also in 1989 Dutch rock DJ Alfred Lagarde recorded a version in Dutch with a heavy Surinam accent under the name Johnny Camaro. Spanish Ska band The Locos covered this song in a similar style, ska.

"Don't Worry, Be Happy" is a song by American musician Bobby McFerrin released in September 1988. It was the first "a cappella" song to reach number-one on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart, which was a position it held for two weeks. Originally released in conjunction with the film "Cocktail" in 1988, the song originally peaked at No. 88 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The song was re-released the same year and peaked at No. 1 on September 24, 1988, displacing "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Guns N' Roses.

Don't Worry, Be Happy je nejznámější píseň Bobbyho McFerrina. Vyšla v roce 1988 v albu Simple Pleasures a velmi brzy obsadila přední příčky mnoha hitparád. Bobby McFerrin díky ní získal 3 ceny Grammy – za nejlepší nahrávku roku, nejlepší skladbu roku a nejlepší popový zpěv mezi muži.


History.

While digital photography has only relatively recently become mainstream, the late 20th century saw many small developments leading to its creation. The history of digital photography as we know it began in the 1950s. In 1951, the first digital signals were saved to magnetic tape via the first video tape recorder. Six years later, in 1957, the first digital image was produced through a computer by Russell Kirsch. It was an image of his son.  The metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) process, invented by engineers Mohamed Atalla and Dawon Kahng at Bell Labs in 1959, led to the development of digital semiconductor image sensors, including the charge-coupled device (CCD) and later the CMOS sensor. The first semiconductor image sensor was the CCD, invented by physicists Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith at Bell Labs in 1969. While researching the MOS process, they realized that an electric charge was the analogy of the magnetic bubble and that it could be stored on a tiny MOS capacitor. As it was fairly straighforward to fabricate a series of MOS capacitors in a row, they connected a suitable voltage to them so that the charge could be stepped along from one to the next. The CCD is a semiconductor circuit that was later used in the first digital video cameras for television broadcasting, and its invention was recognized by a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2009.  The first image of Mars was taken as the Mariner 4 flew by it on July 15, 1965, with a camera system designed by NASA/JPL. Later, in 1976 the Mars Viking Lander produced digital images from the surface of Mars. While not what we usually define as a digital camera, it used a comparable process. It used a video camera tube, followed by a digitizer, rather than a mosaic of solid state sensor elements. This produced a digital image that was stored on tape for later slow transmission back to Earth.  The first published color digital photograph was produced in 1972 by Michael Francis Tompsett using CCD sensor technology and was featured on the cover of "Electronics Magazine". It was a picture of his wife, Margaret Thompsett. The Cromemco Cyclops, a digital camera developed as a commercial product and interfaced to a microcomputer, was featured in the February 1975 issue of "Popular Electronics" magazine. It used metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) technology for its image sensor.  An important development in digital image compression technology was the discrete cosine transform (DCT), a lossy compression technique first proposed by Nasir Ahmed while he was working at the University of Texas in 1972. DCT compression later became the basis for JPEG image standard, which was introduced by the Joint Photographic Experts Group in 1992. JPEG compresses images down to much smaller file sizes, and has become the most widely used image file format. The JPEG standard was largely responsible for popularizing digital photography.  The first self-contained (portable) digital camera was created later in 1975 by Steven Sasson of Eastman Kodak. Sasson's camera used CCD image sensor chips developed by Fairchild Semiconductor in 1973. The camera weighed 8 pounds (3.6 kg), recorded black and white images to a cassette tape, had a resolution of 0.01 megapixels (10,000 pixels), and took 23 seconds to capture its first image in December 1975. The prototype camera was a technical exercise, not intended for production. While it was not until 1981 that the first consumer camera was produced by Sony, Inc., the groundwork for digital imaging and photography had been laid.  The first digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera was the Nikon SVC prototype demonstrated in 1986, followed by the commercial Nikon QV-1000C released in 1988. The first widely commercially available digital camera was the 1990 Dycam Model 1; it also sold as the Logitech Fotoman. It used a CCD image sensor, stored pictures digitally, and connected directly to a computer for downloading images. Originally offered to professional photographers for a hefty price, by the mid-to-late 1990s, due to technology advancements, digital cameras were commonly available to the general public.  The advent of digital photography also gave way to cultural changes in the field of photography. Unlike with traditional photography, dark rooms and hazardous chemicals were no longer required for post-production of an image – images could now be processed and enhanced from behind a computer screen in one's own home. This allowed for photographers to be more creative with their processing and editing techniques. As the field became more popular, types of digital photography and photographers diversified. Digital photography took photography itself from a small somewhat elite circle, to one that encompassed many people.  The camera phone helped popularize digital photography, along with the Internet, social media, and the JPEG image format. The first cell phones with built-in digital cameras were produced in 2000 by Sharp and Samsung. Small, convenient, and easy to use, camera phones have made digital photography ubiquitous in the daily life of the general public.

Number of photos taken.

According to research from KeyPoint Intelligence/InfoTrends, an estimated 400 billion digital photos were taken globally in 2011 and this will rise to 1.2 trillion photos in 2017. Several billion JPEG images are produced every day as of 2015. An estimated 85 percent of the photos taken in 2017 will be done with the smartphone rather than a traditional digital camera.

Digital camera.

Sensors.

Image sensors read the intensity of light, and digital memory devices store the digital image information as RGB color space or as raw data.  The two main types of sensors are charge-coupled devices (CCD), in which the photocharge is shifted to a central charge-to-voltage converter, and CMOS or active pixel sensors.

Multifunctionality and connectivity.

Except for some linear array type of cameras at the highest-end and simple webcams at the lowest-end, a digital memory device (usually a memory card; floppy disks and CD-RWs are less common) is used for storing images, which may be transferred to a computer later.  Digital cameras can take pictures, and may also record sound and video. Some can be used as webcams, some can use the PictBridge standard to connect to a printer without using a computer, and some can display pictures directly on a television set. Similarly, many camcorders can take still photographs, and store them on videotape or on flash memory cards with the same functionality as digital cameras.  Digital photography is one of the most exceptional instances of the shift from converting conventional analog information to digital information. This shift is so tremendous because it was a chemical and mechanical process and became an all digital process with a built in computer in all digital cameras.

Performance metrics.

The quality of a digital image is a composite of various factors, many of which are similar to those of film cameras. Pixel count (typically listed in megapixels, millions of pixels) is only one of the major factors, though it is the most heavily marketed figure of merit. Digital camera manufacturers advertise this figure because consumers can use it to easily compare camera capabilities. It is not, however, the major factor in evaluating a digital camera for most applications. The processing system inside the camera that turns the raw data into a color-balanced and pleasing photograph is usually more critical, which is why some 4+ megapixel cameras perform better than higher-end cameras. Resolution in pixels is not the only measure of image quality. A larger sensor with the same number of pixels generally produces a better image than a smaller one. One of the most important differences is an improvement in image noise. This is one of the advantages of digital SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras, which have larger sensors than simpler cameras (so-called point and shoot cameras) of the same resolution.

Pixel counts.

The number of pixels "n" for a given maximum resolution ("w" horizontal pixels by "h" vertical pixels) is the product "n"= "w × h". This yields e. g. 1.92 megapixels (1,920,000 pixels) for an image of 1600 × 1200.  The pixel count quoted by manufacturers can be misleading as it may not be the number of full-color pixels. For cameras using single-chip image sensors the number claimed is the total number of single-color-sensitive photosensors, whether they have different locations in the plane, as with the Bayer sensor, or in stacks of three co-located photosensors as in the Foveon X3 sensor. However, the images have different numbers of RGB pixels: Bayer-sensor cameras produce as many RGB pixels as photosensors via demosaicing (interpolation), while Foveon sensors produce uninterpolated image files with one-third as many RGB pixels as photosensors. Comparisons of megapixel ratings of these two types of sensors are sometimes a subject of dispute.  The relative increase in detail resulting from an increase in resolution is better compared by looking at the number of pixels across (or down) the picture, rather than the total number of pixels in the picture area. For example, a sensor of 2560 × 1600 sensor elements is described as "4 megapixels" (2560 × 1600= 4,096,000). Increasing to 3200 × 2048 increases the pixels in the picture to 6,553,600 (6.5 megapixels), a factor of 1.6, but the pixels per cm in the picture (at the same image size) increases by only 1.25 times. A measure of the comparative increase in linear resolution is the square root of the increase in area resolution, i.e., megapixels in the entire image.

Dynamic range.

Practical imaging systems both digital and film, have a limited "dynamic range": the range of luminosity that can be reproduced accurately. Highlights of the subject that are too bright are rendered as white, with no detail; shadows that are too dark are rendered as black. The loss of detail in the highlights is not abrupt with film, or in dark shadows with digital sensors. "Highlight burn-out" of digital sensors, is not usually abrupt in output images due to the tone mapping required to fit their large dynamic range into the more limited dynamic range of the output (be it SDR display or printing). Because sensor elements for different colours saturate in turn, there can be hue or saturation shift in burnt-out highlights.  Some digital cameras can show these blown highlights in the image review, allowing the photographer to re-shoot the picture with a modified exposure. Others compensate for the total contrast of a scene by selectively exposing darker pixels longer. A third technique is used by Fujifilm in its FinePix S3 Pro digital SLR. The image sensor contains additional photodiodes of lower sensitivity than the main ones; these retain detail in parts of the image too bright for the main sensor.  High-dynamic-range imaging (HDR) addresses this problem by increasing the dynamic range of images by either

Storage.

Many camera phones and most digital cameras use memory cards having flash memory to store image data. The majority of cards for separate cameras are Secure Digital (SD) format; many are CompactFlash (CF) and the other formats are rare. XQD card format was the last new form of card, targeted at high-definition camcorders and high-resolution digital photo cameras. Most modern digital cameras also use internal memory for a limited capacity for pictures that can be transferred to or from the card or through the camera's connections; even without a memory card inserted into the camera.  Memory cards can hold vast numbers of photos, requiring attention only when the memory card is full. For most users, this means hundreds of quality photos stored on the same memory card. Images may be transferred to other media for archival or personal use. Cards with high speed and capacity are suited to video and burst mode (capture several photographs in a quick succession).  Because photographers rely on the integrity of image files, it is important to take proper care of memory cards. Common advocacy calls for formatting of the cards after transferring the images onto a computer. However, since all cameras only do quick formatting of cards, it is advisable to carry out a more thorough formatting using appropriate software on a PC once in a while. Effectively, this involves scanning of the cards to search for possible errors.

Market impact.

In late 2002, the cheapest digital cameras were available in the United States for around $100. At the same time, many discount stores with photo labs introduced a "digital front end", allowing consumers to obtain true chemical prints (as opposed to ink-jet prints) in an hour. These prices were similar to those of prints made from film negatives.  In July 2003, digital cameras entered the disposable camera market with the release of the Ritz Dakota Digital, a 1.2-megapixel (1280 x 960) CMOS-based digital camera costing only $11 (USD). Following the familiar single-use concept long in use with film cameras, Ritz intended the Dakota Digital for single use. When the pre-programmed 25-picture limit is reached, the camera is returned to the store, and the consumer receives back prints and a CD-ROM with their photos. The camera is then refurbished and resold.  Since the introduction of the Dakota Digital, a number of similar single-use digital cameras have appeared. Most single-use digital cameras are nearly identical to the original Dakota Digital in specifications and function, though a few include superior specifications and more advanced functions (such as higher image resolutions and LCD screens). Most, if not all these single-use digital cameras cost less than $20 (USD), not including processing. However, the huge demand for complex digital cameras at competitive prices has often caused manufacturing shortcuts, evidenced by a large increase in customer complaints over camera malfunctions, high parts prices, and short service life. Some digital cameras offer only a 90-day warranty.  Since 2003, digital cameras have outsold film cameras. Prices of 35mm compact cameras have dropped with manufacturers further outsourcing to countries such as China. Kodak announced in January 2004 that they would no longer sell Kodak-branded film cameras in the developed world. In January 2006, Nikon followed suit and announced they would stop production of all but two models of their film cameras. They will continue to produce the low-end Nikon FM10, and the high-end Nikon F6. In the same month, Konica Minolta announced it was pulling out of the camera business altogether. The price of 35mm and APS (Advanced Photo System) compact cameras have dropped, probably due to direct competition from digital and the resulting growth of the offer of second-hand film cameras. Pentax have reduced production of film cameras but not halted it. The technology has improved so rapidly that one of Kodak's film cameras was discontinued before it was awarded a "camera of the year" award later in the year. The decline in film camera sales has also led to a decline in purchases of film for such cameras. In November 2004, a German division of Agfa-Gevaert, AgfaPhoto, split off. Within six months it filed for bankruptcy. Konica Minolta Photo Imaging, Inc. ended production of Color film and paper worldwide by March 31, 2007. In addition, by 2005, Kodak employed less than a third of the employees it had twenty years earlier. It is not known if these job losses in the film industry have been offset in the digital image industry. Digital cameras have decimated the film photography industry through declining use of the expensive film rolls and development chemicals previously required to develop the photos. This has had a dramatic effect on companies such as Fuji, Kodak, and Agfa. Many stores that formerly offered photofinishing services or sold film no longer do, or have seen a tremendous decline. In 2012, Kodak filed for bankruptcy after struggling to adapt to the changing industry. (See Photographic film.)  In addition, digital photography has resulted in some positive market impacts as well. The increasing popularity of products such as digital photo frames and canvas prints is a direct result of the increasing popularity of digital photography. Digital camera sales peaked in March 2012 averaging about 11 million units a month, but sales have declined significantly ever since. By March 2014, about 3 million were purchased each month, about 30 percent of the peak sales total. The decline may have bottomed out, with sales average hovering around 3 million a month. The main competitor is smartphones, most of which have built-in digital cameras, which routinely get better. Like most digital cameras, they also offer the ability to record videos. While smartphones continue to improve on a technical level, their form factor is not optimized for use as a camera and battery life is typically more limited compared to a digital camera.

Social impact.

Digital photography has made photography available to a larger group of people. The new technology and editing programs available to photographers has changed the way photographs are presented to the public. There are photographs that are so heavily manipulated ("photoshopped") that they end up looking nothing like the original photograph and this changes the way they are perceived. Until the advent of the digital camera, amateur photographers used either print or slide film for their cameras. Slides are developed and shown to an audience using a slide projector. Digital photography revolutionized the industry by eliminating the delay and cost. The ease of viewing, transferring, editing and distributing digital images allowed consumers to manage their digital photos with ordinary home computers rather than specialized equipment.  Camera phones, being the majority of cameras, have arguably the largest impact. The user can set their smartphones to upload their products to the Internet, preserving them even if the camera is destroyed or the images deleted. Some high street photography shops have self-service kiosks that allow images to be printed directly from smartphones via Bluetooth technology.  Archivists and historians have noticed the transitory nature of digital media. Unlike film and print, which are tangible and immediately accessible to a person, digital image storage is ever-changing, with old media and decoding software becoming obsolete or inaccessible by new technologies. Historians are concerned that we are creating a historical void where information and details about an era would have been lost within either failed or inaccessible digital media. They recommend that professional and amateur users develop strategies for digital preservation by migrating stored digital images from old technologies to new. Scrapbookers who may have used film for creating artistic and personal memoirs may need to modify their approach to digital photo books to personalize them and retain the special qualities of traditional photo albums.  The web has been a popular medium for storing and sharing photos ever since the first photograph was published on the web by Tim Berners-Lee in 1992 (an image of the CERN house band Les Horribles Cernettes). Today photo sharing sites such as Flickr, Picasa, and PhotoBucket, as well as social Web sites, are used by millions of people to share their pictures. In today's world digital photography and social media websites allow organizations and corporations to make photographs more accessible to a greater and more diverse population. For example, National Geographic Magazine has a Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram accounts and each one includes content aimed for the type of audience that are part of each social media community. It is also important to remember that digital photography has also had an impact in other fields, such as medicine. It has allowed doctors to help diagnose diabetic retinopathy and it is used in hospitals to diagnose and treat other diseases.

Digitally altered imagery.

New technology with digital cameras and computer editing affects the way we perceive photographic images today. The ability to create and fabricate realistic imagery digitally as opposed to untouched photos changes the audience's perception of ‘truth’ in digital photography Manipulation in the digital era allows us to brush up our pictures, shape our memories to be picture perfect and therefore shape our identities.

Recent research and innovation.

Research and development continues to refine the lighting, optics, sensors, processing, storage, display, and software used in digital photography. Here are a few examples.  Other areas of progress include improved sensors, more powerful software, advanced camera processors (sometimes using more than one processor, e.g., the Canon 7d camera has 2 Digic 4 processors), enlarged gamut displays, built in GPS and WiFi, and computer-controlled lighting.

Comparison with film photography.

Advantages already in consumer level cameras.

The primary advantage of consumer-level digital cameras is the low recurring cost, as users need not purchase photographic film. Processing costs may be reduced or even eliminated. Digicams tend also to be easier to carry and to use, than comparable film cameras. They more easily adapt to modern use of pictures. Some, particularly those that are smartphones, can send their pictures directly to e-mail or web pages or other electronic distribution.

Advantages of professional digital cameras.

Manufacturers such as Nikon and Canon have promoted the adoption of digital single-lens reflex cameras (DSLRs) by photojournalists. Images captured at 2+ megapixels are deemed of sufficient quality for small images in newspaper or magazine reproduction. Eight- to 24-megapixel images, found in modern digital SLRs, when combined with high-end lenses, can approximate the detail of film prints from 35 mm film based SLRs.  A large number of mechanical film camera existed, such as the Leica M2. These battery-less devices had advantages over digital devices in harsh or remote conditions.

Equivalent features.

Noise in a digital camera's image may sometimes be visually similar to film grain in a film camera.  Turn of the century digital cameras had a long start-up delay compared to film cameras, i.e., the delay from when they are turned on until they are ready to take the first shot, but this is no longer the case for modern digital cameras with start-up times under 1/4 seconds.  While some film cameras could reach up to 14 fps, like the Canon F-1 with rare high speed motor drive., professional digital SLR cameras can take still photographs at highest frame rates. While the Sony SLT technology allows rates of up to 12 fps, the Canon EOS-1Dx can take stills at a 14 fps rate. The Nikon F5 is limited to 36 continuous frames (the length of the film) without the cumbersome bulk film back, while the digital Nikon D5 is able to capture over 100 14-bit RAW images before its buffer must be cleared and the remaining space on the storage media can be used.  Depending on the materials and how they are stored, analog photographic film and prints may fade as they age. Similarly, the media on which digital images are stored or printed can decay or become corrupt, leading to a loss of image integrity.  Colour reproduction (gamut) is dependent on the type and quality of film or sensor used and the quality of the optical system and film processing. Different films and sensors have different color sensitivity; the photographer needs to understand his equipment, the light conditions, and the media used to ensure accurate colour reproduction. Many digital cameras offer RAW format (sensor data), which makes it possible to choose color space in the development stage regardless of camera settings.  Even in RAW format, however, the sensor and the camera's dynamics can only capture colors within the gamut supported by the hardware. When that image is transferred for reproduction on any device, the widest achievable gamut is the gamut that the end device supports. For a monitor, it is the gamut of the display device. For a photographic print, it is the gamut of the device that prints the image on a specific type of paper. Color gamut or Color space is an area where points of color fit in a three-dimensional space.  Professional photographers often use specially designed and calibrated monitors that help them to reproduce color accurately and consistently.

Frame aspect ratios.

Most digital point & shoot cameras have an aspect ratio of 1.33 (4:3), the same as analog television or early movies. However, a 35 mm picture's aspect ratio is 1.5 (3:2). Several digital cameras take photos in either ratio, and nearly all digital SLRs take pictures in a 3:2 ratio, as most can use lenses designed for 35 mm film. Some photo labs print photos on 4:3 ratio paper, as well as the existing 3:2. In 2005 Panasonic launched the first consumer camera with a native aspect ratio of 16:9, matching HDTV. This is similar to a 7:4 aspect ratio, which was a common size for APS film. Different aspect ratios is one of the reasons consumers have issues when cropping photos. An aspect ratio of 4:3 translates to a size of 4.5"x6.0". This loses half an inch when printing on the "standard" size of 4"x6", an aspect ratio of 3:2. Similar cropping occurs when printing on other sizes, i.e., 5"x7", 8"x10", or 11"x14".

Digital photography uses cameras containing arrays of electronic photodetectors to produce images focused by a lens, as opposed to an exposure on photographic film. The captured images are digitized and stored as a computer file ready for further digital processing, viewing, electronic publishing, or digital printing.

Digitální fotografie je typ fotografie, která používá digitální technologii pro zhotovení digitálních obrazů předmětů. Na rozdíl od klasické fotografie, používá miniaturní tiskárnu na záznam obrázků v papírové formě. To umožňuje jejich zobrazení, uložení, tisk, úpravu, přenášení a archivaci na osobních počítačích bez chemického procesu.


Early life.

Firstborn daughter of Juan de Borbón y Battenberg and María de las Mercedes de Borbón y Orleans, Counts of Barcelona, she was born in Ville Saint Blaise, home of the counts of Barcelona in Cannes (Alpes-Maritimes, France), on 30 July 1936. She was baptized in Cannes, in the church of Rins, with the name of "María del Pilar Alfonsa Juana Victoria Luisa Ignacia de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Borbón". Her godparents were her paternal grandfather, King Alfonso XIII and her maternal grandmother the Princess Louise of Orléans, although Alfonso XIII acted by delegation as he didn't want to meet his wife Queen Victoria Eugenia. From her birth, as the daughter of the heir to the Crown of Spain she was given the title of Infanta of Spain with treatment of Royal Highness. However, the official recognition of that title came when her brother was already King of Spain.  When she was months old, the family moved to Rome where the Spanish Royal Family settled in exile. In 1941, after the resignation of Alfonso XIII, her father became the holder of the dynastic rights of the Spanish Crown in exile. During World War II she lived at Lausanne in Switzerland, where her grandmother, Queen Victoria Eugenia, lived. In 1946 the family resettled at Estoril in Portugal.  Her family tried to marry her to Baudouin of Belgium, who ended up marrying Queen Fabiola. Fabiola accompanied the Infanta to the meeting with the future king of Belgium that organized the Queen Victoria Eugenia.  At the wedding of her brother Juan Carlos I of Spain with Princess Sofia of Greece, in 1962, she was one of eight bridesmaids.

Marriage and family.

Pilar needed to renounce her rights of succession to the Spanish throne to marry a commoner as stipulated by the Pragmatic Sanction of Charles III on marriages of members of the royal family; later in 1987 she was made Infanta by her brother King Juan Carlos with the style of "Royal Highness".  She married Don Luis Gómez-Acebo y Duque de Estrada, 2nd Viscount of La Torre, Grandee of Spain (23 December 1934 – 9 March 1991) on 5 May 1967 in Lisbon, Portugal at Jerónimos Monastery. They had five children:  Her husband died of lymphatic cancer in 1991.

Equestrian sport.

Pilar de Borbón had been supporting international equestrian sport. She was President of the International Equestrian Federation from 1994 to 2006, succeeded by HRH Princess Haya bint al Hussein. She wrote the foreword of the official Spanish translation of the national instruction handbook of the German National Equestrian Federation, Técnicas Avanzadas de Equitación - Manual Oficial de Instrucción de la Federación Ecuestre Alemana.  From 1996 to 2006 she was a member of the International Olympic Committee for Spain, when she became an honorary member, and Member of the Executive Board of the Spanish Olympic Committee.

Philanthropic and other activities.

Pilar de Borbón was one of the founders of "Asociación Nuevo Futuro" ("New Future Association") in 1968, an international child support organization, and was its president and then president of honor. Until her death, she was one of the leaders and supporters of the Rastrillo Nuevo Futuro event, which provided part of the income that financed Asociación. The event even received the visit of the Queens of Spain, Letzia and Sofia. "Rastrillo has always been a place of meeting, solidarity and enjoyment for her", wrote "¡Hola! magazine" in January 2019. Her last public appearance was in "Rastrillo" on 23 November 2019.  Pilar de Borbón was also a member of the board of directors of the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute in New York City, president of the World Monuments Fund España and, from 2007 to 2009, president of Europa Nostra, the European Federation for the Defense of Cultural Heritage. She was also a music fan and accompanied her brother, King Juan Carlos of Spain, and nephews to bullfighting matches.

Financial holdings.

Mossack Fonseca files document that in August 1974, Pilar de Borbón became president and director of the Panama-registered company Delantera Financiera SA (registered May 1969) with her husband as secretary-treasurer and director. In 1993, London-based Timothy Lloyd who had represented the undisclosed owner of the company said that Pilar de Borbón owned it. After March 1993, the intermediary representing the company was Madrid-based Abogados, a law firm founded by Pilar de Borbón's brother-in-law. From July 2006 until its dissolution in June 2014, five days before the installation of her nephew Felipe VI, Pilar de Borbón's son Bruno Alejandro Gómez-Acebo Borbón was director and treasurer of the company. On 7 April 2016 she admitted the accusations but making clear that she never evaded.

Illness and death.

Pilar was operated for an intestinal obstruction on 2 February 2019 in Madrid was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2019, being made public in May of the same year. On 5 January 2020, she was admitted to the hospital as her condition worsened. She died on 8 January 2020 at the Ruber International Hospital in Madrid, with her family at her side.  She was cremated on 9 January 2020 and her ashes were buried alongside her husband in Saint Isidore Cemetery, Madrid, in a private ceremony. On 28 January 2020, a funeral was held in her honor in El Escorial basilica, with the presence of the King of Spain, of Emeritus Queen of the Netherlands Beatrix, Juan Carlos I and Sofia of Spain, the Duke of Braganza Duarte Pio and with Spanish political authorities represented by Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo, Mayor of Madrid José Luis Martínez-Almeida and President of the Congress of Deputies Meritxell Batet.

Infanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of Badajoz and Viscountess of La Torre (Spanish: "María del Pilar Alfonsa Juana Victoria Luisa Ignacia y Todos los Santos de Borbón y Borbón"; 30 July 1936 – 8 January 2020), sometimes known more simply as Pilar de Borbón, was the elder daughter of Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona and Princess María Mercedes of the Two Sicilies, and older sister of King Juan Carlos I.

Maria del Pilar, vévodkyně z Badajozu (30. července 1936 Cannes, Francie – 8. ledna 2020, Madrid, Španělsko) byla španělská infantka, dcera Juana de Borbón, hraběte barcelonského (1913–1993) a Marie Mercedes Bourbonsko-Sicilské (1910–2000), a tedy teta současného španělského krále Filipa (starší sestra Juana Carlose I.).


Description.

The genus "Plasmodium" consists of all eukaryotes in the phylum Apicomplexa that both undergo the asexual replication process of merogony inside host red blood cells and produce the crystalline pigment hemozoin as a byproduct of digesting host hemoglobin. "Plasmodium" species contain many features that are common to other eukaryotes, and some that are unique to their phylum or genus. The "Plasmodium" genome is separated into 14 chromosomes contained in the nucleus. "Plasmodium" parasites maintain a single copy of their genome through much of the life cycle, doubling the genome only for a brief sexual exchange within the midgut of the insect host. Attached to the nucleus is the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), which functions similarly to the ER in other eukaryotes. Proteins are trafficked from the ER to the Golgi apparatus which generally consists of a single membrane-bound compartment in Apicomplexans. From here proteins are trafficked to various cellular compartments or to the cell surface.  Like other apicomplexans, "Plasmodium" species have several cellular structures at the apical end of the parasite that serve as specialized organelles for secreting effectors into the host. The most prominent are the bulbous rhoptries which contain parasite proteins involved in invading the host cell and modifying the host once inside. Adjacent to the rhoptries are smaller structures termed micronemes that contain parasite proteins required for motility as well as recognizing and attaching to host cells. Spread throughout the parasite are secretory vesicles called dense granules that contain parasite proteins involved in modifying the membrane that separates the parasite from the host, termed the parasitophorous vacuole.  Species of "Plasmodium" also contain two large membrane-bound organelles of endosymbiotic origin, the mitochondrion and the apicoplast, both of which play key roles in the parasite's metabolism. Unlike mammalian cells which contain many mitochondria, "Plasmodium" cells contain a single large mitochondrion that coordinates its division with that of the "Plasmodium" cell. Like in other eukaryotes, the "Plasmodium" mitochondrion is capable of generating energy in the form of ATP via the citric acid cycle; however, this function is only required for parasite survival in the insect host, and is not needed for growth in red blood cells. A second organelle, the apicoplast, is derived from a secondary endosymbiosis event, in this case the acquisition of a red alga by the "Plasmodium" ancestor. The apicoplast is involved in the synthesis of various metabolic precursors, including fatty acids, isoprenoids, iron-sulphur clusters, and components of the heme biosynthesis pathway.

Life cycle.

The life cycle of "Plasmodium" involves several distinct stages in the insect and vertebrate hosts. Parasites are generally introduced into a vertebrate host by the bite of an insect host (generally a mosquito, with the exception of some "Plasmodium" species of reptiles). Parasites first infect the liver or other tissue, where they undergo a single large round of replication before exiting the host cell to infect erythrocytes. At this point, some species of "Plasmodium" of primates can form a long-lived dormant stage called a hypnozoite. It can remain in the liver for more than a year. However, for most "Plasmodium" species, the parasites in infected liver cells are only what are called merozoites. After emerging from the liver, they enter red blood cells, as explained above. They then go through continuous cycles of erythrocyte infection, while a small percentage of parasites differentiate into a sexual stage called a gametocyte which is picked up by an insect host taking a blood meal. In some hosts, invasion of erythrocytes by "Plasmodium" species can result in disease, called malaria. This can sometimes be severe, rapidly followed by death of the host (e.g. "P. falciparum" in humans). In other hosts, "Plasmodium" infection can apparently be asymptomatic.  Within the red blood cells, the merozoites grow first to a ring-shaped form and then to a larger form called a trophozoite. Trophozoites then mature to schizonts which divide several times to produce new merozoites. The infected red blood cell eventually bursts, allowing the new merozoites to travel within the bloodstream to infect new red blood cells. Most merozoites continue this replicative cycle, however some merozoites upon infecting red blood cells differentiate into male or female sexual forms called gametocytes. These gametocytes circulate in the blood until they are taken up when a mosquito feeds on the infected vertebrate host, taking up blood which includes the gametocytes.  In the mosquito, the gametocytes move along with the blood meal to the mosquito's midgut. Here the gametocytes develop into male and female gametes which fertilize each other, forming a zygote. Zygotes then develop into a motile form called an ookinete, which penetrates the wall of the midgut. Upon traversing the midgut wall, the ookinete embeds into the gut's exterior membrane and develops into an oocyst. Oocysts divide many times to produce large numbers of small elongated sporozoites. These sporozoites migrate to the salivary glands of the mosquito where they can be injected into the blood of the next host the mosquito bites, repeating the cycle.

Evolution and taxonomy.

Taxonomy.

"Plasmodium" belongs to the phylum Apicomplexa, a taxonomic group of single-celled parasites with characteristic secretory organelles at one end of the cell. Within Apicomplexa, "Plasmodium" is within the order Haemosporida, a group that includes all apicomplexans that live within blood cells. Based on the presence of the pigment hemozoin and the method of asexual reproduction, the order is further split into four families, of which "Plasmodium" is in the family Plasmodiidae.  The genus "Plasmodium" consists of over 200 species, generally described on the basis of their appearance in blood smears of infected vertebrates. These species have been categorized on the basis of their morphology and host range into 14 subgenera:  Species infecting monkeys and apes with the exceptions of "P. falciparum" and "P. reichenowi" (which together make up the subgenus "Laverania") are classified in the subgenus "Plasmodium". Parasites infecting other mammals including some primates (lemurs and others) are classified in the subgenus "Vinckeia". The five subgenera "Bennettinia", "Giovannolaia", "Haemamoeba", "Huffia", and "Novyella" contain the known avian malarial species. The remaining subgenera: "Asiamoeba", "Carinamoeba", "Lacertamoeba", "Ophidiella", "Paraplasmodium", and "Sauramoeba" contain the diverse groups of parasites found to infect reptiles.

Phylogeny.

More recent studies of "Plasmodium" species using molecular methods have implied that the group's evolution has not perfectly followed taxonomy. Many "Plasmodium" species that are morphologically similar or infect the same hosts turn out to be only distantly related. In the 1990s, several studies sought to evaluate evolutionary relationships of "Plasmodium" species by comparing ribosomal RNA and a surface protein gene from various species, finding the human parasite "P. falciparum" to be more closely related to avian parasites than to other parasites of primates. However, later studies sampling more "Plasmodium" species found the parasites of mammals to form a clade along with the genus "Hepatocystis", while the parasites of birds or lizards appear to form a separate clade with evolutionary relationships not following the subgenera:  Estimates for when different "Plasmodium" lineages diverged have differed broadly. Estimates for the diversification of the order Haemosporida range from around 16.2 million to 100 million years ago. There has been particular interest in dating the divergence of the human parasite "P. falciparum" from other "Plasmodium" lineages due to its medical importance. For this, estimated dates range from 110,000 to 2.5 million years ago.

Distribution.

"Plasmodium" species are distributed globally. All "Plasmodium" species are parasitic and must pass between a vertebrate host and an insect host to complete their life cycles. Different species of "Plasmodium" display different host ranges, with some species restricted to a single vertebrate and insect host, while other species can infect several species of vertebrates and/or insects.

Vertebrates.

"Plasmodium" parasites have been described in a broad array of vertebrate hosts including reptiles, birds, and mammals. While many species can infect more than one vertebrate host, they are generally specific to one of these classes (such as birds).  Humans are primarily infected by five species of "Plasmodium", with the overwhelming majority of severe disease and death caused by "Plasmodium falciparum". Some species that infect humans can also infect other primates, and zoonoses of certain species (e.g. "P. knowlesi") from other primates to humans are common. Non-human primates also contain a variety of "Plasmodium" species that do not generally infect humans. Some of these can cause severe disease in primates, while others can remain in the host for prolonged periods without causing disease. Many other mammals also carry "Plasmodium" species, such as a variety of rodents, ungulates, and bats. Again, some species of "Plasmodium" can cause severe disease in some of these hosts, while many appear not to.  Over 150 species of "Plasmodium" infect a broad variety of birds. In general each species of "Plasmodium" infects one to a few species of birds. "Plasmodium" parasites that infect birds tend to persist in a given host for years or for the life time of the host, although in some cases "Plasmodium" infections can result in severe illness and rapid death. Unlike with "Plasmodium" species infecting mammals, those infecting birds are distributed across the globe.  Species from several subgenera of "Plasmodium" infect diverse reptiles. "Plasmodium" parasites have been described in most lizard families and, like avian parasites, are spread worldwide. Again, parasites can result either in severe disease or be apparently asymptomatic depending on the parasite and the host.  A number of drugs have been developed over the years to control "Plasmodium" infection in vertebrate hosts, particularly in humans. Quinine was used as a frontline antimalarial from the 17th century until widespread resistance emerged in the early 20th century. Resistance to quinine spurred the development of a broad array of antimalarial medications through the 20th century including chloroquine, proguanil, atovaquone, sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine, mefloquine, and artemisinin. In all cases, parasites resistant to a given drug have emerged within a few decades of the drugs deployment. To combat this, antimalarial drugs are frequently used in combination, with artemisinin combination therapies currently the gold standard for treatment. In general, antimalarial drugs target the life stages of "Plasmodium" parasites that reside within vertebrate red blood cells, as these are the stages that tend to cause disease. However, drugs targeting other stages of the parasite life cycle are under development in order to prevent infection in travelers and to prevent transmission of sexual stages to insect hosts.

Insects.

In addition to a vertebrate host, all "Plasmodium" species also infect a bloodsucking insect host, generally a mosquito (although some reptile-infecting parasites are transmitted by sandflies). Mosquitoes of the genera "Culex", "Anopheles", "Culiseta", "Mansonia" and "Aedes" act as insect hosts for various "Plasmodium" species. The best studied of these are the "Anopheles" mosquitoes which host the "Plasmodium" parasites of human malaria, as well as "Culex" mosquitoes which host the "Plasmodium" species that cause malaria in birds. Only female mosquitoes are infected with "Plasmodium", since only they feed on the blood of vertebrate hosts. Different species affect their insect hosts differently. Sometimes, insects infected with "Plasmodium" have reduced lifespan and reduced ability to produce offspring. Further, some species of "Plasmodium" appear to cause insects to prefer to bite infected vertebrate hosts over non-infected hosts.

History.

"Plasmodium" was first identified when Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran described parasites in the blood of malaria patients in 1880. He named the parasite "Oscillaria malariae". In 1885, zoologists Ettore Marchiafava and Angelo Celli reexamined the parasite and termed it a member of a new genus, "Plasmodium", named for the resemblance to the multinucleate cells of slime molds of the same name. The fact that several species may be involved in causing different forms of malaria was first recognized by Camillo Golgi in 1886. Soon thereafter, Giovanni Batista Grassi and Raimondo Filetti named the parasites causing two different types of human malaria "Plasmodium vivax" and "Plasmodium malariae". In 1897, William Welch identified and named "Plasmodium falciparum". This was followed by the recognition of the other two species of "Plasmodium" which infect humans: "Plasmodium ovale" (1922) and "Plasmodium knowlesi" (identified in long-tailed macaques in 1931; in humans in 1965). The contribution of insect hosts to the "Plasmodium" life cycle was described in 1897 by Ronald Ross and in 1899 by Giovanni Batista Grassi, Amico Bignami and Giuseppe Bastianelli.  In 1966, Cyril Garnham proposed separating "Plasmodium" into nine subgenera based on host specificity and parasite morphology. This included four subgenera that had previously been proposed for bird-infecting "Plasmodium" species by A. Corradetti in 1963. This scheme was expanded upon by Sam R. Telford in 1988 when he reclassified "Plasmodium" parasites that infect reptiles, adding five subgenera. In 1997, G. Valkiunas reclassified the bird-infecting "Plasmodium" species adding a fifth subgenus: "Bennettinia".

Plasmodium is a genus of unicellular eukaryotes that are obligate parasites of vertebrates and insects. The life cycles of "Plasmodium" species involve development in a blood-feeding insect host which then injects parasites into a vertebrate host during a blood meal. Parasites grow within a vertebrate body tissue (often the liver) before entering the bloodstream to infect red blood cells. The ensuing destruction of host red blood cells can result in disease, called malaria. During this infection, some parasites are picked up by a blood-feeding insect, continuing the life cycle.

Plasmodium (česky zimnička) je rod prvoků z kmene výtrusovci (Apicomplexa) a třídy krvinkovky (Haematozoea), jehož někteří zástupci jsou známí především jako původci malárie. Má složitý životní cyklus: mezihostitelem jsou různí plazi, ptáci či savci (včetně člověka), definitivním hostitelem jsou komáři rodů Aedes, Anopheles, a Culex.


Agriculture.

Farmers cultivate grapes, apricots, cherries, figs and other fruits.  Deir Atiyah benefits from groundwater located in its valley.  Deir Atiyah has a number of windmills (sometimes referred to as Air Wheels). The power generated by the windmills is used to pump water from deep wells. The origins of the windmills are not known, but they are reported to be a major source of power to pump water for agriculture for more than a hundred years.

Culture.

Deir Atiyah has a museum, a sports center and cultural center.  In 2003, the first private university in Syria, University of Kalamoon, was opened in Deir Atiyah.  People in Deir Atiyah consume a hot drink called Mate, which Syrian expatriates brought and introduced from South America. The invitation "Come and drink Mate" is typical of this region's hospitality. The invitation implies not only the sharing of a drink, but also a meal.

History.

Historians match the name of this city with a supposed Roman or Byzantine official, Theodorus Paulus, whose first name means "Gift of God" (). This name has been associated in minds of successive generations in Dair Atiah for more than thousand years.  A number of ancient Roman channels can be found in Yabroud, close to Deir Atiyah.

Civil War.

Deir Atiyah was affected by the Syrian civil war, like any Syrian town and city in Damascus suburbs. It underwent multiple attacks from both the Syrian armed forces, and opposition groups (jabhat al nusra. The major impact was in 2013 and 2014.

Deir Atiyah or Dayr Atiyah () is a city in Syria, located between the Qalamoun Mountains and the Eastern Lebanon Mountains Series, north of the capital Damascus and on the road to the city of Homs. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Deir Atiyah had a population of 10,984 in the 2004 census.

Dajr Atíja ( arabsky : ديرعطية, výslovnost: dejr atýja, lokálně též: Dhaeaa الضيعة, "deajá") je město v Sýrii nacházející se mezi pohořím Qalamoun a Antilibanon 88 km severovýchodně od hlavního města Damašku na cestě do města Homs. Současná populace se odhaduje na 29 254 obyvatel.


2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

Summary.

For the first time, a host nation was chosen ahead of the competition – the Netherlands, who were also the defending champions, were exempt from qualifying. The host nation was chosen on 15 December 2005. England, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, and Sweden also submitted bids. Of UEFA's 52 member countries, only the Faroe Islands did not compete in the qualification round for the tournament. That left 50 nations attempting to qualify for the seven remaining spots at the finals.  This was the first time that the competition's final matches took place in an odd-numbered year. UEFA took this decision with the will to give more visibility to the tournament, since during even-numbered years the competition was clouded by the approaching FIFA World Cup or the UEFA European Championship.  The tournament also served as the European qualifying tournament for the 2008 Summer Olympics, with a place for the four semi-finalists of the tournament. However, as England is not an Olympic nation, their team was ineligible for the Olympics. Therefore, with the event of England reaching the semi-finals, a fifth-place playoff was necessary.  In this competition, a new UEFA penalty shootout record was established. The semi final between The Netherlands U21 and England U21 finished in 1-1. No less than 32 penalties had to be taken before the tie was decided. The Netherlands U21 won 13-12, and went on to win the tournament by defeating Serbia U21 4-1 in the final.  After the final, some commotion arose in the Netherlands because several Dutch internationals with Surinamese roots carried the flag of Suriname with them during the ceremony of the European Champion in the Euroborg. Dutch coach Foppe de Haan expressed the actions of these players as "inappropriate".

Qualification.

In order to make the switch from even to odd-numbered years, the 2007 edition was a shortened version, condensed from a two-year campaign into a one-year campaign. Therefore, a completely new qualification format was devised to eliminate the weaker nations early, and saw a decrease in the size and duration of qualification groups.

Finals tournament.

Draw.

The draw for the finals took place in Arnhem on 24 November 2006, putting the eight qualifying nations into two groups. The provisional dates for the group games are 10 June to 17 June 2007, with Heerenveen and Arnhem each staging a semi-final on 20 June. The final took place on Saturday 23 June at the Euroborg stadium in Groningen.  The opening game was between the Netherlands and Israel at 10 June.

Finals group stage.

In the following tables:

Group A.

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Group B.

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Olympic Qualifying Play-Off.

The 2007 European Under-21 Championship also doubled up as the European qualifying round for the 2008 Olympic football tournament. Europe's four places at the Olympic tournament were to be filled by the four semi-finalists. However, because England, one of the semi-finalists, do not compete independently at the Olympics, a play-off between Portugal and Italy, the two third-placed teams in each group, decided the fourth European qualifier. Italy defeated Portugal through a penalty shoot-out booking their Olympic place in Beijing.

The UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2007 were held from 10 June 2007 to 23 June 2007. It was the 16th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship.

Mistrovství Evropy ve fotbale hráčů do 21 let 2007 se konalo v Nizozemsku od 10. do 23. června a bylo jeho 16. ročníkem. Turnaj hrálo osm týmů, které byly rozlosovány do dvou skupin po čtyřech. Sedm týmů (Anglie, Belgie, Česko, Itálie, Izrael, Portugalsko a Srbsko) prošlo do turnaje kvalifikací, Nizozemsko mělo účast jistou jako hostitelská země.


General characteristics.

Though there is diversity among hot Jupiters, they do share some common properties.

Formation and evolution.

There are two general schools of thought regarding the origin of hot Jupiters: formation at a distance followed by inward migration and in-situ formation at the distances at which they're currently observed. The prevalent view is formation via orbital migration.

Migration.

In the migration hypothesis, a hot Jupiter forms beyond the frost line, from rock, ice, and gases via the core accretion method of planetary formation. The planet then migrates inwards to the star where it eventually forms a stable orbit. The planet may have migrated inward smoothly via type II orbital migration. Or it may have migrated more suddenly due to gravitational scattering onto eccentric orbits during an encounter with another massive planet, followed by the circularization and shrinking of the orbits due to tidal interactions with the star. A hot Jupiter's orbit could also have been altered via the Kozai mechanism, causing an exchange of inclination for eccentricity resulting in a high eccentricity low perihelion orbit, in combination with tidal friction. This requires a massive body—another planet or a stellar companion—on a more distant and inclined orbit; approximately 50% of hot Jupiters have distant Jupiter-mass or larger companions, which can leave the hot Jupiter with an orbit inclined relative to the star's rotation.  The type II migration happens during the solar nebula phase, i.e. when gas is still present. Energetic stellar photons and strong stellar winds at this time remove most of the remaining nebula. Migration via the other mechanism can happen after the loss of the gas disk.

In situ.

Instead of being gas giants that migrated inward, in an alternate hypothesis the cores of the hot Jupiters began as more common super-Earths which accreted their gas envelopes at their current locations, becoming gas giants "in situ". The super-Earths providing the cores in this hypothesis could have formed either "in situ" or at greater distances and have undergone migration before acquiring their gas envelopes. Since super-Earths are often found with companions, the hot Jupiters formed "in situ" could also be expected to have companions. The increase of the mass of the locally growing hot Jupiter has a number of possible effects on neighboring planets. If the hot Jupiter maintains an eccentricity greater than 0.01, sweeping secular resonances can increase the eccentricity of a companion planet, causing it to collide with the hot Jupiter. The core of the hot Jupiter in this case would be unusually large. If the hot Jupiter's eccentricity remains small the sweeping secular resonances could also tilt the orbit of the companion. Traditionally, the "in situ" mode of conglomeration has been disfavored because the assembly of massive cores, which is necessary for the formation of hot Jupiters, requires surface densities of solids ≈ 10 g/cm, or larger. Recent surveys, however, have found that the inner regions of planetary systems are frequently occupied by super-Earth type planets. If these super-Earths formed at greater distances and migrated closer, the formation of "in situ" hot Jupiters is not entirely "in situ".

Atmospheric loss.

If the atmosphere of a hot Jupiter is stripped away via hydrodynamic escape, its core may become a chthonian planet. The amount of gas removed from the outermost layers depends on the planet's size, the gases forming the envelope, the orbital distance from the star, and the star's luminosity. In a typical system, a gas giant orbiting at 0.02 AU around its parent star loses 5–7% of its mass during its lifetime, but orbiting closer than 0.015 AU can mean evaporation of a substantially larger fraction of the planet's mass. No such objects have been found yet and they are still hypothetical.

Terrestrial planets in systems with hot Jupiters.

Simulations have shown that the migration of a Jupiter-sized planet through the inner protoplanetary disk (the region between 5 and 0.1 AU from the star) is not as destructive as one might assume. More than 60% of the solid disk materials in that region are scattered outward, including planetesimals and protoplanets, allowing the planet-forming disk to reform in the gas giant's wake. In the simulation, planets up to two Earth masses were able to form in the habitable zone after the hot Jupiter passed through and its orbit stabilized at 0.1 AU. Due to the mixing of inner-planetary-system material with outer-planetary-system material from beyond the frost line, simulations indicated that the terrestrial planets that formed after a hot Jupiter's passage would be particularly water-rich. According to a 2011 study, hot Jupiters may become disrupted planets while migrating inwards; this could explain an abundance of "hot" Earth-sized to Neptune-sized planets within 0.2 AU of their host star.  In 2015, two planets were discovered around WASP-47. One was potentially a large terrestrial planet, of less than 22 Earth masses and 1.8 Earth radii. The other is of similar mass at 15.2 Earth masses, but with 3.6 Earth radii it is almost certainly a gas giant. They orbit on either side of a previously discovered hot Jupiter, with the smaller, terrestrial planet closer in. A similar orbital architecture is also exhibited by the Kepler-30 system.

Retrograde orbit.

It has been found that several hot Jupiters have retrograde orbits, in stark contrast to what would be expected from most theories on planetary formation, though it is possible that the star itself flipped over early in their system's formation due to interactions between the star's magnetic field and the planet-forming disc, rather than the planet's orbit being disturbed. By combining new observations with the old data it was found that more than half of all the hot Jupiters studied have orbits that are misaligned with the rotation axis of their parent stars, and six exoplanets in this study have retrograde motion.  Recent research has found that several hot Jupiters are in misaligned systems. This misalignment may be related to the heat of the photosphere the hot Jupiter is orbiting. There are many proposed theories as to why this might occur. One such theory involves tidal dissipation and suggests there is a single mechanism for producing hot Jupiters and this mechanism yields a range of obliquities. Cooler stars with higher tidal dissipation damps the obliquity (explaining why hot Jupiters orbiting cooler stars are well aligned) while hotter stars do not damp the obliquity (explaining the observed misalignment).

Ultra-hot Jupiters.

Ultra-hot Jupiters are hot Jupiters with a dayside temperature greater than 2200K. In such dayside atmospheres most molecules dissociate into their consituent atoms and circulate to the nightside where they recombine into molecules again.

Ultra-short period planets.

Ultra-short period planets (USP) are a class of planets with orbital periods below one day and occur only around stars of less than about 1.25 solar masses.  Confirmed transiting hot Jupiters that have orbital periods of less than one day include WASP-18b, WASP-19b, WASP-43b, and WASP-103b.

Puffy planets.

Gas giants with a large radius and very low density are sometimes called "puffy planets" or "hot Saturns", due to their density being similar to Saturn's. Puffy planets orbit close to their stars so that the intense heat from the star combined with internal heating within the planet will help inflate the atmosphere. Six large-radius low-density planets have been detected by the transit method. In order of discovery they are: HAT-P-1b, COROT-1b, TrES-4, WASP-12b, WASP-17b, and Kepler-7b. Some hot Jupiters detected by the radial-velocity method may be puffy planets. Most of these planets are below two Jupiter masses as more massive planets have stronger gravity keeping them at roughly Jupiter's size.  Even when taking surface heating from the star into account, many transiting hot Jupiters have a larger radius than expected. This could be caused by the interaction between atmospheric winds and the planet's magnetosphere creating an electric current through the planet that heats it up, causing it to expand. The hotter the planet, the greater the atmospheric ionization, and thus the greater the magnitude of the interaction and the larger the electric current, leading to more heating and expansion of the planet. This theory matches the observation that planetary temperature is correlated with inflated planetary radii.

Moons.

Theoretical research suggests that hot Jupiters are unlikely to have moons, due to both a small Hill sphere and the tidal forces of the stars they orbit, which would destabilize any satellite's orbit, the latter process being stronger for larger moons. This means that for most hot Jupiters, stable satellites would be small asteroid-sized bodies. Furthermore, the physical evolution of hot Jupiters can determine the final fate of their moons: stall them in semi-asymptotic semimajor axes, or eject them from the system where they may undergo other unknown processes. In spite of this, observations of WASP-12b suggest that it is orbited by at least 1 large exomoon.

Hot Jupiters around red giants.

It has been proposed that gas giants orbiting red giants at distances similar to that of Jupiter could be hot Jupiters due to the intense irradiation they would receive from their stars. It is very likely that in the Solar System Jupiter will become a hot Jupiter after the transformation of the Sun into a red giant. The recent discovery of particularly low density gas giants orbiting red giant stars supports this theory.  Hot Jupiters orbiting red giants would differ from those orbiting main-sequence stars in a number of ways, most notably the possibility of accreting material from the stellar winds of their stars and, assuming a fast rotation (not tidally locked to their stars), a much more evenly distributed heat with many narrow-banded jets. Their detection using the transit method would be much more difficult due to their tiny size compared to the stars they orbit, as well as the long time needed (months or even years) for one to transit their star as well as to be occulted by it.

Star-planet interactions.

Theoretical research since 2000 suggested that "hot Jupiters" may cause increased flaring due to the interaction of the magnetic fields of the star and its orbiting exoplanet, or because of tidal forces between them. These effects are called "star-planet interactions" or SPIs. The HD 189733 system is the best-studied exoplant system where this effect was thought to occur.  In 2008, a team of astronomers first described how as the exoplanet orbiting HD 189733 A reaches a certain place in its orbit, it causes increased stellar flaring. In 2010, a different team found that every time they observe the exoplanet at a certain position in its orbit, they also detected X-ray flares. In 2019, astronomers analyzed data from Arecibo Observatory, MOST, and the Automated Photoelectric Telescope, in addition to historical observations of the star at radio, optical, ultraviolet, and X-ray wavelengths to examine these claims. They found that the previous claims were exaggerated and the host star failed to display many of the brightness and spectral characteristics associated with stellar flaring and solar active regions, including sunspots. Their statistical analysis also found that many stellar flares are seen regardless of the position of the exoplanet, therefore debunking the earlier claims. The magnetic fields of the host star and exoplanet do not interact, and this system is no longer believed to have a "star-planet interaction." Some researchers had also suggested that HD 189733 accretes, or pulls, material from its orbiting exoplanet at a rate similar to those found around young protostars in T Tauri star systems. Later analysis demonstrated that very little, if any, gas was accreted from the "hot Jupiter" companion.

Hot Jupiters are a class of gas giant exoplanets that are inferred to be physically similar to Jupiter but that have very short orbital periods (). The close proximity to their stars and high surface-atmosphere temperatures resulted in the moniker "hot Jupiters".

Horké Jupitery jsou zvláštní třídou exoplanet, jejichž hmotnost je podobná nebo vyšší než je hmotnost Jupiteru (1,9×10 kg). Na rozdíl od našeho Jupiteru, který Slunce obíhá ve vzdálenosti 5 AU, však horké Jupitery obíhají svou mateřskou hvězdu ve vzdálenosti přibližně 0,05 AU, což je pouhá 1/8 vzdálenosti mezi Merkurem a Sluncem.