Career.

Early career.

Slavchev started his career at home-town club Septemvri Sofia, joining their youth system as a six-year-old. In the 2006–07 season, he became a goalscorer for their youth team. In 2007, Slavchev joined Slavia Sofia and was part of the side that won the Bulgarian U-15 Championship in the 2007–08 season.

Litex Lovech.

Slavchev joined the Litex's first team in October 2010. He made his debut during the 2010–11 season, on 31 October 2010 in a 2–0 home win over Slavia Sofia, coming on as a substitute for Hristo Yanev.  In July 2011, Slavchev joined Chavdar Etropole on a season-long loan deal. In the 2011–12 season, he earned 13 appearances in the B PFG(second division of Bulgarian football).  In the summer of 2012, he returned to Litex. On 4 November 2012, in the league match against Cherno More, he marked his first goal in the A PFG in a 4–1 victory.

Sporting CP.

On 19 May 2014, Slavchev signed with Portuguese side Sporting CP on a five-year deal, for a reported fee of 2,5 million euro.

Loans to Bolton, Apollon and Lechia.

On 2 February 2015 Slavchev joined Bolton Wanderers until the end of the season. He made his debut for the team in the English Championship on 7 February 2015 in a match against Derby County. It was his only match for Bolton after Slavchev got injured and was ruled out until the end of the season.  On 11 August 2015, Slavchev joined the Cypriot team Apollon Limassol on loan for the 2015–16 season. He made his debut on 23 August 2015, scoring the winning goal after added time. On 19 May 2016 Apollon won the Cypriot Cup.  Slavchev had an injury at the end of the 2015-2016 season. Sporting decided to loan him out in order for him to gain more experience and to reach full fitness. On 17 August 2016, Slavchev joined Polish club Lechia Gdańsk, on a season-long loan, where he would play alongside fellow Bulgarian footballer, Milen Gamakov. Slavchev made his debut for the team on 9 September 2016, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1-0 win against KS Cracovia. He scored his first goal for the team on 11 March 2018, in a 1-3 home loss against Legia Warszawa.  Slavchev spent a trial period at Birmingham City during the summer of 2017.

Qarabağ.

On 5 July 2018, Slavchev signed a three-year contract with Qarabağ FK.

Levski Sofia.

After agreeing to rescind his contract with the Azerbaijani side, Slavchev returned to his home country. On 22 December 2019 he signed a 3-year deal with Levski Sofia. He made his official debut for the "bluemen" on 15 February 2020, in the 0:0 league draw with CSKA Sofia in The Eternal Derby, coming on as an early substitute before being replaced himself towards the end of the match due to injury issues.

International career.

In September 2009, he was called for Bulgaria U17 by coach Atanas Zhelev and took part in the UEFA U-17 European championship. In 2011, he was called up for the UEFA U-19 European Championship. In 2012, he got his first call-up for the national youth team by coach Mihail Madanski.  In 2013, he was called up for Bulgaria by Lyuboslav Penev for the 2014 World Cup qualification games against Malta and Denmark. On 15 October 2013, in the last match for the qualifications for the 2014 FIFA World Cup against the Czech Republic, he made his debut for the first team as a substitute.  On 25 March 2016, Slavchev came on as a substitute during the magnificent 0-1 away win over Portugal. On 13 November 2016, he played the full 90 minutes in the 1:0 win over Belarus in a 2018 World Cup qualifier.

Simeon Slavchev (; born 25 September 1993) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bulgarian club Levski Sofia and the Bulgaria national football team.


Club career.

Guimarães.

Born in Vila Nova de Famalicão, Braga District, Oliveira was a youth product at Vitória de Guimarães, joining the club's ranks at the age of 13. He made his professional debut in the 2011–12 season, on loan to F.C. Penafiel in the second division.  Oliveira returned for the 2012–13 campaign, but started with the reserves also in the second level. His first official appearance with the main squad occurred on 5 January 2013, as he played the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 away draw against Gil Vicente F.C. for the Primeira Liga championship; he also contributed with four appearances in the Minho team's successful campaign in the Portuguese Cup, including the final win over S.L. Benfica.

Sporting.

On 19 May 2014, Oliveira signed a five-year deal with fellow league side Sporting CP. He appeared in 40 competitive games in his first year and scored three goals, helping to a third-place finish and the subsequent qualification to the UEFA Champions League; he made his debut in the competition on 30 September 2014, coming on as a 64th-minute substitute for Maurício in a 0–1 group stage home loss to Chelsea.  Subsequently, Oliveira was only third or fourth-choice stopper for the Jorge Jesus-led side.

Eibar.

On 17 July 2017, Oliveira moved to SD Eibar on a four-year contract; in the process, the €3.5 million transfer fee paid for his services became the Spanish club's highest ever, whilst Sporting remained entitled to 30% of his rights and a rebuy option after the first three years. He finished his first season in La Liga with 26 appearances, as his team finished in ninth place.  Oliveira scored his goal in the Spanish top division on 17 August 2019, but he also put on past his own net in the 1–2 away defeat against RCD Mallorca.

International career.

Oliveira earned 46 caps for Portugal at youth level, including 23 for the under-21s. He made his debut with the full side on 31 March 2015, starting in a 0–2 friendly defeat against Cape Verde in Estoril.

Honours.

Club.

Vitória Guimarães  Sporting

Paulo André Rodrigues de Oliveira (born 8 January 1992) is a Portuguese footballer who plays for Spanish club SD Eibar as a central defender.


Development.

Concept.

The season focuses on the misadventures of Gumball Watterson, a blue 12-year-old cat, along with his adopted brother, Darwin, a 10-year-old goldfish. Together, they cause mischief among their family, as well as with the wide array of students at Elmore Junior High, where they attend middle school. In a behind-the-scenes video documenting the production of the second season, creator Ben Bocquelet expanded on the development of some of the characters, and how they are based on interactions from his childhood.

Production.

The first season began filming on November 2, 2010 and ended filming on September 13, 2011. The first season premiered in the US on May 3, 2011 with the episode "The DVD" and ended March 12, 2012 with the episode "The Fight" almost a year later. The world premiere of the show was on May 11, 2011 on Cartoon Network UK with the episode "The Mystery".  Two episodes, entitled "The Mom" and "The Pizza", were written for this season, but never produced. However, the concept of the former was reused in the show's third season's episode "The Mothers"; and the concept of the latter was reused in the show's second season's episode "The Job" but then, it became an episode of the show's third season with the same name "The Pizza" and the second was later produced (but with some changes) in the show's third season. Two episodes more never produced like the aforementioned, but their plots and titles are still unknown.

Reception.

Ratings.

The season premiere "The DVD" was watched by 2.120 million viewers in the United States, and received a 0.4 rating in the 18–49 demographic Nielsen household rating. Nielsen ratings are audience measurement systems that determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States, which means that the episode was seen by 0.8 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds at the time of the broadcast. This season had an average of 2.00 million viewers per episode in the United States. The first episode was broadcast on a Tuesday at 8:30 P.M. All episodes from The Responsible to The Club were broadcast Mondays at 7:30 P.M. The remainder of the season, starting with The Wand, was broadcast Tuesdays at 7:30 P.M.

Critical reception.

"The A.V. Club"s Noel Murray graded the DVD release of the series' first 12 episodes a B+, writing that "what sets ["The Amazing World of Gumball"] apart from the many other super-silly, semi-anarchic cartoons on cable these days is that it features such a well-developed world, where even with the eclectic character designs, there are recognizable traits and tendencies." "Z." of GeekDad gave the first volume DVD a positive review; he praised the season for having "genuine heart even as the plots themselves transition from well-worn TV tropes to all out madness." He panned the lack of extra features on the disc, but said "[the disc] at least gives viewers the opportunity to experience the show's delightful theme song,... often truncated during television broadcasts".  Tyler Foster of DVD Talk gave the first season a lukewarm review. In reviewing the first DVD volume, he praised the "knockout" visuals but felt the animation was "relatively simple, even when it's going exaggerated for a gag." He was weary of the morals presented in the premiere, and found the comedy throughout the volume "anemic". He criticized the lack of extra features on the disk, saying the single character gallery "was so anemic I can't even give it half a star." DVD Verdict reviewer Paul Pritchard gave the first volume 88 out of 100. He praised the season for its visuals, which he felt complemented the series' "anarchic nature". He stated that while the moral lessons aimed toward family audiences, he stated that, "in something of a twist, such lessons are completely lost on Gumball and his pals—something I personally took great delight in." However, he wrote that the lack of a selection extras was "pretty poor." Mac McEntire of the same website also applauded the season's visuals but stated "laughs are hit or miss", and that the randomness of the humor was "its biggest detriment"; he gave the second volume 75 out of 100. Nancy Basile of About.com favored "The Ghost" out of the third DVD volume; she praised the series as a "smart, fast-paced, hilarious cartoon."

Episodes.

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The first season of the British-American animated comedy children's television series "The Amazing World of Gumball" originally aired from May 3, 2011 to March 13, 2012 on Cartoon Network. Consisting of 36 episodes, the season premiered with the episode "The DVD" and concluded with the episode "The Fight". The season premiere was watched by 2.120 million viewers in the United States.


History.

The Urban Music Awards recognise the achievement of urban-based artists, producers, club nights, DJs, radio stations, record labels and artist from the current R&B, hip hop, neo soul, jazz, and dance music scene.  The winners are selected by an online public vote.

The Urban Music Awards in USA.

The 2009 Urban Music Awards were held on 17 July 2009 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City and returning to London on 1 November for the UK version of the show. The 2009 return was covered by major international press, including "OK! Magazine", the "Daily Express", and the "Insider". 2009 also saw the launch of the Best Asian Act category to celebrate artists and musicians of Asian origin, which was widely covered within the Asian media worldwide.

2003: 1st Year.

The awards took place in Hammersmith Palais.

2004.

The awards took place at the Barbican.

2005.

The venue was Wembley Arena

2006.

The awards took place in the Grand Connaught Rooms.

2007.

2008.

Venue: 02 Arena

2009.

Location: Wembley Arena

2010.

Location: Grand Connaught

2011.

Location: Porchester

2012.

Location: Grand Connaught

2013.

Location: Grand Connaught

2014.

Winners for the Urban Music Awards 2014 included:

2015.

In 2015 the UMA events returned in London. Over 770,000 votes were received online. The show was hosted by founder, Jordan Kensington and singer/songwriter, Kiera Weathers. The awards included performances from Big Narstie, Kid Army, Kym Mazell, Rough Copy, Kelvin Jones, Chos3n and Young Kings. The UMA official house band, the Dominos provided the backdrop to music performed on stage by Macklemoore and a collaboration of "Ready or Not" by Fugees featuring the hosts. Lady Leshurr won record three awards for UMA Best Music Video 2015, Best Female Act 2015, and Best HipHop Act 2015.  The winners of the 13th annual Urban Music Awards

The Urban Music Awards (UMA) is a hip-hop, R&B, dance, and soul music awards ceremony launched by Jordan Kensington in 2003 and now held in several countries.


Route description.

Cheyenne to Wheatland.

I-25 enters Laramie County concurrent with US 87 from Weld County, Colorado, southwest of Cheyenne and briefly runs parallel to a BNSF Railway line. The four-lane Interstate has its first interchange, a diamond interchange with Wyoming Highway 223 (WYO 223) (Terry Ranch Road), and crosses over the Union Pacific Railroad's Speer Subdivision rail line and over the BNSF rail line. I-25 meets High Plains Road at a dumbbell interchange, then has a diverging diamond interchange with WYO 212 (College Drive), a junction that serves as the southern end of Interstate 25 Business (I-25 Bus.). The freeway has a cloverleaf interchange with I-80, crosses over the Union Pacific's Laramie Subdivision and US 30 (Lincolnway), and has a four-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange with US 30, which here is also part of I-80 Bus..  I-25 continues north along the western edge of the city of Cheyenne and along the eastern edge of Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, which is served by the next three interchanges. The highway has a five-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange with Missile Drive, crosses over a BNSF rail yard, and has a diamond interchange with Randall Road, which leads to Pershing Boulevard. I-25 reconnects with its business route at Central Avenue, where US 85 joins the Interstate. The freeway has a dumbbell interchange with Vandehei Street before leaving the city of Cheyenne and passing through the unincorporated area of Ranchettes. I-25 has an interchange with WYO 211 (Horse Creek Road) before US 85 splits to the northeast. There is no direct access from southbound I-25 to northbound US 85 at the latter interchange; southbound traffic uses the WYO 211 interchange to turn around to access northbound US 85.  I-25 continues through sparsely populated northern Laramie County, where the Interstate crosses Lodgepole Creek and has five interchanges with minor roads: Ridley Road, an unnamed road only marked as Exit 25, Whitaker Road, Nimmo Road, and an unnamed road that serves the Little Bear Community. The Interstate enters Platte County at its interchange with Bear Creek Road. I-25's first population center north of Cheyenne is Chugwater, where the highway crosses over a BNSF rail line and Chugwater Creek, has an interchange with WYO 211 and WYO 313 in town, and has an interchange with WYO 321 (Ty Basin Road) north of town. Those two interchanges serve as the termini for Chugwater's I-25 Bus.. The Interstate meets the western end of WYO 314 (Slater Road) west of Slater; has minor interchanges with Hunton Road, Antelope Road, and Bordeaux Road; and meets the eastern end of WYO 34.

Wheatland to Casper.

I-25's next serves the town of Wheatland, the county seat of Platte County. Wheatland's I-25 Bus. splits off onto Mariposa Boulevard and provides access to WYO 310 and WYO 312. The Interstate and business route reconvene at the north end of town. I-25 has minor interchanges with Laramie River Road near its crossing of the Laramie River and with Johnson Road. The Interstate meets US 26 at a directional T interchange at Dwyer Junction, and the U.S. Highway joins I-25 and US 87 heading north. I-25 has minor interchanges with El Rancho Road and an unnamed access road to Middle Bear around a junction with the southern end of WYO 319 (Cassa Road). The Interstate has an interchange with WYO 319 Spur in the town of Glendo, then parallels WYO 319 and the BNSF rail line northwest into Converse County to the west of the Glendo Reservoir, an impoundment of the North Platte River. I-25 crosses over the North Platte River and a BNSF rail line at Orin, where the Interstate has an interchange with and is joined by US 20; this interchange serves as the western terminus of US 18.  I-25, US 87, US 20, and US 26 head west to Douglas, the county seat of Converse County. I-25 Bus. and its companion business routes—US 87 Bus., US 20 Bus., and US 26 Bus.—split northwest from a trumpet interchange into the city while I-25 and the mainline U.S. Highways pass to the south of the city. I-25 crosses over the BNSF rail line and the North Platte River, then curves northwest to meet the business routes at a trumpet interchange on the west side of the city near the business routes' intersection with WYO 59, which leads north to Gillette. I-25 continues west through interchanges with the western end of WYO 96 (La Prele Road), Inez Road, the road south to Ayres Natural Bridge, Barber Road, and Bixby Road. US 87, US 20, and US 26 diverge from I-25 east of Glenrock. I-25 Bus. joins the U.S. Highways in heading northwest toward the town, then reconnects with I-25 via WYO 95 (Deer Creek Road) south of town. I-25 enters Natrona County and has interchanges with WYO 253 (Hat Six Road) and WYO 258 (Wyoming Boulevard), which serves the town of Evansville to the north.

Casper to Buffalo.

I-25 briefly parallels US 87, US 20, and US 26 (Yellowstone Highway) and enters the city of Casper at a complex junction—the complexity is explained in the description for I-25 Bus.—where the Interstate crosses over Yellowstone Highway, the three U.S. Highways join I-25, I-25 Bus. splits from the Interstate to serve downtown Casper, and US 87 Bus., US 20 Bus., and US 26 Bus. split from the mainline U.S. Highways on Yellowstone Avenue. I-25, US 87, US 20, and US 26 cross over the BNSF rail line and are paralleled by a pair of frontage roads, F Street to the north and E Street to the south. There are several slip ramps between I-25 and the frontage roads serving the three streets that connect the portion of Casper north of the BNSF rail line to downtown Casper. The first street, which is Bryan Stock Trail north of the Interstate and Beverly Street to the south, is part of the complex junction between the mainline Interstate and U.S. Highways and their business routes. The second street is McKinley Street, and the third street, Center Street, which carries the northmost portion of I-25 Bus. and US 87 Bus. E Street begins from an exit ramp to Center Street as I-25 and F Street cross the North Platte River. West of the river, the freeway has a diamond interchange with WYO 220 (Poplar Street), then curves north and has a diamond interchange with US 20 and US 26, which split west toward Shoshoni and Casper–Natrona County International Airport, and the access road to the Casper Events Center.  I-25 leaves the city of Casper and has an interchange with WYO 254 (Wardwell Road) next to unincorporated Hartrandt and the town of Bar Nunn. The Interstate has an interchange with Ormsby Road in the Homa Hills area on the northern edge of the Casper populated area. I-25 has minor interchanges with Ranch Road and an unnamed road marketed as Exit 223, then connects with the south end of WYO 387, which serves Midwest to the east, before entering Johnson County. The freeway has interchanges with Tisdale Mountain Road and Powder River Road just north of the highway's crossing of the South Fork of the Powder River. I-25 meets the southern end of WYO 196 (TTT Road) and parallels the state highway to Kaycee, where the highway crosses the Middle Fork of the Powder River and has an interchange with WYO 191. North of Kaycee, I-25 crosses the North Fork of the Powder River and has minor interchanges with Reno Road, Middle Fork Road, and Trabing Road and a crossings of two branches of Crazy Woman Creek near the Middle Fork interchange. The final I-25 Bus. and its companion, US 87 Bus., split off to the south of the town of Buffalo, the county seat of Johnson County. East of the town, I-25 has an interchange with US 16, which also carries I-90 Bus.. The Interstate reaches its northern terminus at a directional T interchange with I-90. US 87 continues north along westbound I-90 toward Sheridan and Billings; I-90 also heads east toward Gillette. Buffalo's I-25 Bus. and US 87 Bus. have their northern termini at a partial interchange just west of the I-25–I-90 junction.

Business routes.

I-25 has seven Interstate business loops in Wyoming.

Interstate 25 (I-25) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Las Cruces, New Mexico, to Buffalo, Wyoming. In Wyoming, the Interstate Highway runs from the Colorado state line near Cheyenne north to its national terminus at I-90 near Buffalo. I-25 connects Wyoming's largest city and capital, Cheyenne, with its second largest city, Casper, and the smaller communities of Wheatland, Douglas, and Buffalo. The highway also connects those cities with Denver and Billings via I-90. I-25 runs concurrently with U.S. Route 87 (US 87) for almost its entire course in Wyoming. The highway also has extensive concurrencies with US 20 and US 26 along its east–west segment through the North Platte River valley. The Interstate has business loops through Cheyenne, Chugwater, Wheatland, Douglas, Glenrock, Casper, and Buffalo.


Davide Vannoni.

Davide Vannoni (7 June 1967 in Turin – 10 December 2019 in Turin) was an associate professor at the University of Udine for the communication program of the humanities department. In 2009, he founded Stamina Foundation, a self-declared nonprofit organization of which he was president. He also owned a market research company.  In 2015 he was convicted of criminal charges in relation to the Stamina therapy, receiving a 5.5-years prison sentence.  Vannoni died on 10 December 2019, at the age of 52, after a long illness.

Therapy.

The proposed method includes the conversion of mesenchymal stem cells (cells usually intended for generation of bones and adipose tissue) into neurons, after a short exposure to retinoic acid diluted in ethanol. The therapy consists in removing cells from the bone marrow of patients, their in vitro manipulation (incubation of stem cells for 2 hours in an 18 micromolar solution of retinoic acid), and finally their infusion into patients themselves.  Davide Vannoni, the lead researcher, repeatedly declined to reveal details of his method beyond those available in its patent application.

Supposed effectiveness.

Vannoni has never produced scientific evidence concerning the efficacy of the method, but has always advocated its validity. These alleged benefits are highlighted by multiple videos, often self-produced, some of which were broadcast on television, most of the time showing children. From the investigations of the Prosecutor of Turin, the benefits shown in the videos were not measured scientifically and objectively and were the result of exaggeration or adjuvant therapies to which the children were subjected, or normal physical growth that continued despite the disease.

History.

Davide Vannoni reported that he had started the project as a result of personal experience: he has been hospitalized in 2007 in Ukraine for a facial palsy by transplantation of stem cells, getting partial health benefits. He then decided to propose the treatment in Italy too, collaborating, among others, with two Ukrainian biologists, Vyacheslav Klimenko and Olena Shchegelska, first settling in Turin, setting up a laboratory in the basement of his company, then moving to a beauty center in San Marino.  Between 2007 and 2009 the treatment began to be administered to patients with no control or authorization by the national health system, while it was being advertised in several hospitals by leaflets proclaiming that ""more than a thousand cases treated, a recovery of damages 70–100% (90 strokes with 72 recoveries [...]), a range of twenty diseases treated"", and by a video showing presumed miraculous healing obtained with stem cells. During this period, 68 persons (three were underage) were subjected to the alleged treatment; fourteen of them made payments from 4,000 to 55,000 Euros.  In 2009 an investigation was initiated by the magistrate Raffaele Guariniello after an article published in the Corriere della Sera newspaper. The investigation sought to clarify the position of Vannoni concerning the use of stem cells outside of the experimental protocols required by law. At the end of 2009, several newspaper articles were written regarding the activities of Vannoni. Press reports that Vannoni promised his treatment for many neurodegenerative diseases, getting payments ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 Euros, with unclear methodologies and sometimes causing harm and unintended consequences. The investigation of Guariniello also involved the beauty center of San Marino, which was not authorized to administer medical treatments.  While Vyacheslav Klimenko and Olena Shchegelska, both left Italy under investigation, Vannoni and his group continued to administer therapies in several Italian cities, often at "beauty" establishments or transplant centers, moving to Turin, Carmagnola, Trieste, Como and lastly Brescia.  Brescia is an important stage in the story of "Stamina": thanks to pediatrician Marino Andolina, a collaborator of Vannoni and now vice-president of "Stamina Foundation", the "Stamina" therapy was practiced as expanded access in the "Civilian Hospitals of Brescia", the second main Italian hospital, on patients (including several children) affected by serious neurodegenerative diseases.  In early 2012, the Carabinieri's Anti-Adulteration Group and the "Italian Pharmaceutical Agency" began an inspection, which revealed non-compliance with the requirements of safety and hygiene, and a lack of documents required by law. It was found that the cell preparations did not contain any relevant quantities of mesenchymal stem cells, which were not able to differentiate into neurons, and contained a significant amount of dangerous pollutants. According to the analysis of medical records of 36 patients, there was no improvement in the patients, except in three cases (two underage children and an adult), but only on the basis of subjective evaluations. After this, Stamina treatments carried out at the hospital of Brescia were suspended.

Media and political repercussions.

The Stamina method came under the media spotlight after a broadcast of the popular Italian television program "Le Iene", went on air in February 2013, which showed its use in some children with various neuro-degenerative diseases, including SMA type I. It was argued that the infusion of stem cells would have resulted in "significant improvements in few weeks" in the status of these diseases, and it was suggested, without any evidence, that it might alter the fatal course. The TV program was accused by many of scientific misinformation.  The "Stamina" case, now both as a media phenomenon and scientifically, was analyzed and criticized by, among others, the Accademia dei Lincei, by Nature and by the European Medicines Agency. In May 2013, thirteen scientists published a critical analysis of the method in the EMBO Journal, highlighting their concerns about the inconsistency of scientific evidence, the methodological shortcomings and the lack of publications.  2012 Medicine Nobel prize laureate Shinya Yamanaka published a public statement in which he expressed concern for permission for experimentation by the Italian authorities of a method about which the safety was not known and which lacked any evidence of efficacy, while Italian oncologist Umberto Veronesi compared the outcry over Stamina to the story of the Di Bella method, an ineffective cancer treatment administered in violation of treatment protocols.  In May 2013 the Italian Government unanimously approved the start of a clinical trial of the method developed by Vannoni, also allocating 3 million Euros for the years 2013–2014, and identifying two healthcare facilities in Abruzzo and Sicily where initiation of the treatment was authorized. In August, Vannoni gave to the National Institute of Health the protocol of the method "Stamina" in order to start the experiment.  On 11 July, the scientific journal Nature published an editorial calling on the Italian government not to proceed with the experimentation, as it was unjustified by any scientific reason, defining Vannoni as a ""psychologist transformed into businessman doctor"", while defining Stamina therapy as ""based on false data"" and ""plagiarized"".  2013 Medicine Nobel prize laureate Randy Schekman was cited by some "pro-stamina" families as a supporter of the therapy; the researcher had actually published an article critical of the editorial policies of major scientific journals and firmly denied the support of "Stamina", defining Vannoni "a quack".

Starting of experimentations.

The protocols proposed the method Stamina as suitable for the treatment of X-linked bulbospinal neuropathy, cerebral palsy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, but, surprisingly, the choice of diseases to be treated excluded SMA type I, the most treated pathology up to that point. Treatment of SMA patients was the main subject of the television program Le Iene, which introduced the Stamina method to the general public. For this condition, the inventors and supporters of "Stamina" stated excellent efficacy, so that even the "Stamina Foundation" argued that SMA 1 was the only disease for which ""certified improvements"" were documented. Paradoxically, Vannoni stated that SMA type I was not included because it was ""too complex in attesting improvements"".  In September, the Scientific Committee established by the Minister of Health, Beatrice Lorenzin, drew up a negative consultative report, according to which the method likely had low replicability; the report also highlighted a high risk of transmission of diseases such as AIDS and BSE (Mad cow disease). The reasons for such rejection were subjected to the study by the Ministry of Health, that on 10 October definitively rejected the Stamina therapy as ""dangerous to the health of patients"".  The report of the Ministry also stated that the doses of mesenchymal stem cells in the protocol of Vannoni were minimal, ""suitable for mice, not for humans""; the dose used for stem cell transplantation in humans is about two million per kilogram of body weight, while the protocol Stamina involved the transplantation of two million cells in total, without taking into account body weight. It was also discovered that the protocol delivered to the Civilian Hospitals of Brescia and the one delivered to the Ministry would be different.  After Vannoni appealed in court against the commission responsible for human experimentation, accusing them of an alleged lack of impartiality, a new scientific committee was appointed in December 2013. Ten months later, the committee of experts appointed by the Minister of Health Beatrice Lorenzin unanimously rejected the "Stamina" method, stating that there was no need for starting another scientific experimentation of the therapy.  Some tests were done outside of Italy, but in no case was the transformation of cells into neurons achieved.  In January 2014 Brescia Civilian Hospitals' medical staff officially declared that Stamina therapy was no longer practiced in the hospital, with the exception of those cases where treatment was ordered by the courts.

Patents.

In December 2009, just after Klimenko and Shchegelska left, Vannoni deposited four patent applications for the "Stamina" therapy, two in Italy, one in Canada, the last one in the US, stated Enrica Molino, one of his collaborators, as the sole inventor; several elements in the patent applications were taken from Shchegelska's researches published on "Ukrainian Neurosurgical Journal" in 2006, including the pictures of stem cells, but her name is never mentioned.  After submitting the applications to the various patent offices, Vannoni retired them before the official response could come. However, he could no longer withdraw the application at the U.S. Patent Office, the only one where it was possible to find documentation. In 2012, the Patent Office of the United States had partially rejected the patent application, with a procedure that allows the re-presentation: Vannoni has never resubmitted.  The rejection was due to the fact that the demand had insufficient details regarding the methodology, to the fact that it is unlikely that cell differentiation occurs during an incubation period so short (from 40 minutes to 2 hours) and that the appearance of the nerve cells in the cultivation might be the result of cytotoxic changes.  Substantially there is no official patent on the Stamina method, contrary to the claims of Vannoni, but only a formal application to the patent office of the U.S., however, refused.

Judicial cases.

In February 2014 Vannoni was accused of attempted fraud of the Piedmont regional authorities after he has applied for a loan of EUR 500,000 to fund a stem cell laboratory that never opened. In April 2014 he along with 20 other people was charged with criminal conspiracy, fraud, as well as trade and administration of hazardous medicines. Vannoni was also personally investigated for abusive exercise of the medical profession, defamation and substitution of person.  In August 2014 a court in Turin demanded that Stamina should stop operating and their equipment should be confiscated. This was supported by Professor Elena Cattaneo, a stem cell expert and an Italian senator. The Senate used its powers to request evidence that to-date had been denied to others. The eventual enquiry resulted in several recommendations, including that courts should always have scientific representatives in similar cases.  In October 2014, the Medical Association of Trieste suspended Marino Andolina from the exercise of the profession and in June 2015, he was placed under house arrest, facing trial for alleged exploitation of vulnerable patients and administration of unproven therapies in exchange for money. He was released in late 2016.  In 2015, Vannoni was convicted on criminal charges related to administering an unproven treatment and barred from carrying out medical profession in Italy.

Other controversies.

Vannoni has repeatedly stated that the medical care provided by his method is "no charge", and that the money he received would be "donations". Several ex-patients and relatives of former patients have argued that there is a definite price list.  In July 2013 Vannoni registered the trademark "Stamina". In the same period, "Stamina Foundation" signed an EUR 2 million commercial agreement with Medestea Biotech, an Italian biotechnology company focused on stem cell technologies, which has been accused of working towards getting a deregulation for the use of stem cells.  Suspicions were raised by the wealthy lifestyle of Vannoni: he owned a Porsche 911 registered in Switzerland and lived in a luxury mansion near Turin.  Vannoni announced his intention to move with the researchers and a cooperative of patients' families to Cape Verde or another country outside Italy, talking about an alleged conspiracy of the pharmaceutical lobbies, bureaucracy and politics against Stamina therapy in Italy. He also claimed that three US universities were willing to test his method.

Stamina therapy (also known as "Stamina method", or simply "Stamina") is a controversial and unproven treatment invented by Davide Vannoni in Italy. This "therapy", mainly aimed at neurodegenerative diseases, would rely on the conversion of mesenchymal stem cells into neurons and it is currently kept secret by its promoters and lacking in scientific validation proving any therapeutic effectiveness; it does not appear, moreover, that Vannoni ever published any article about Stamina therapy in scientific journals thus subjecting it to the usual peer review processes. Faced with pro-Stamina street demonstrations and intense pressure from the media, the Italian government decided in May 2013 to allow the Stamina therapy to be provided in public hospitals despite the protests of the Italian and international scientific community. The experimental treatment was discontinued in October 2014.


Background.

In May 2012, Currensy announced that he had finished a joint mixtape with Wiz Khalifa, saying: "It’s done, but we not calling it out. You’re not going to get a "How Fly 2", that’s corny, You’ll hear a collection of music from me and the homie when it’s necessary, but it’s done. We just chilling. I’m still listening to dude’s verses and shit still. We just chilling. We’ll put it out in a minute." He also explained the collaborative process between him and Wiz Khalifa working on the EP, saying: "We like what we doing. It’s just about music. We like what we do, If I’ma be in the studio anyway, he gonna be in the studio wherever he at, we fuckin’ genuinely will fuckin’ kick it. So we might as well fuckin’ kick it in the studio. But if we in the studio, we might as well make songs. We gonna hang out and smoke, smoke in the studio. If you in the studio, you might as well record. So we just kick it and turn it into money, so it's just a good deal." The EP was originally scheduled to be released as a mixtape on August 9, 2012, the 3 year anniversary of their 2009 mixtape "How Fly". On August 9, 2012, the day of the planned release, Currensy announced they would have to delay the release of the EP to allow more time to clear samples, saying: "We wouldn't feel comfortable droppin #"LiveInConcert" until we get the samples cleared. With how these suits keep poppin up.. Mixtapes ain’t safe, Lots of law suits being handed out to folks for makin free mixtape jams..Wiz,Mac,myself even..We gotta play this one smart..We got it tho. So don’t trip it’ll be out soons the legal beagles handle it.... Crazy how the game gets huh? I never imagined a time like this.... came up off mixtapes in 08 not financially but they put me on so2speak..Sucks that this may be a lane made unavailable to the next mcs.. But when one door closes, another one opens....We will do the due diligence and have it cleared in its entirety...When u hear it you’ll see what we built.... And it will last forever." In November 2012, Currensy gave an update on the EP, saying: "We're fighting so hard for the "Live in Concert" [project], We're trying got hurry up and pay them for clearances and put it out, 'cus that shit was done when my leg was broken. It's like, we got so much shit done, I'm going through songs on the hard drive to complete New Jet City. That's gonna be the next project. I'm debating - I might put it out for free. I was gonna put it out retail, but I'm figuring since everything's going with "Live in Concert" and there's been so many hold-ups...[I might] give them a record...[it'll drop] probably in the next couple of weeks. I just gotta think of a cool date, that's all." On January 9, 2013, Currensy hinted on his Twitter account that "Live In Concert" may have to be released to retail, saying: "Honestly with the way the legal beagles r Finna tax us... #liveinconcert is gonna have to be a retail project... Y'all still down??". On April 17, 2013, Wiz Khalifa and Currensy announced after a long delay they that they would be releasing the EP on April 20, 2013. On April 19, 2013, it was revealed that the mixtape would be released on iTunes as a 6 track EP.

Recording and production.

In April 2013, in an interview with "XXL", Currensy spoke about the incorporation of flutes on the EP, saying: "Let’s think about what Ron Burgundy’s jazz flute did to Mrs. Corningstone. Ron Burgundy mastered that flute and it made him able to bring her to Pleasure Town on animated horses and they were fuckin’ out in the solar system and all of that. So how could we not employ the talents of Ron Burgundy and his jazz flute on as many cuts as possible for Live in Concert. Nah, man. Honestly, that is the genius that is Bobbi Humphrey and his album that was put together long before me and my brother Wiz ever thought about rapping. [Laughs] I think at one point there's maybe like two minutes of flute and nothing else. It's for everybody's soul, man. Some people don't understand it immediately, but after they give it a second and third listen, they understand the music." He went on to explain the sample clearance issues with the EP, saying: "These are them sans one record that we didn’t put on because the person who owned the rights to that record...See we have no problem paying for clearances. I got no problem with that. But this guy, not only were we going to pay him for the sample clearance but he was trying to change lyrics. Things he didn’t like that Wiz said about a chick and shit he didn’t like that I said about weed. Basically we were like “Fam, if you don’t wanna make the bread then cool. We just won’t put the record out.” So homie chose not to pick up the bread and that's fine. We’re not gonna jump through all these hoops on someone's behalf when I feel like what we’re doing is going to put some more light on a body of work that our listeners don't know shit about. We want them to know about it. That's why we went through the proper channels to do it that way, so people who do their due diligence will see what this project sampled and want to hear that whole album. Then you pick up more money. You pick up the money ’cause we paid you to clear it and then you pick up the money from the kids who go to get the original album."  He also talked about when they originally recorded the EP, saying: "We had already recorded this shit all the way back when my foot was broken. This is last year when we did this. I was on crutches. So we were originally going to put it out August 9th, the three-year anniversary of How Fly, but we realized the publishing company might come for us. Not so much on my part, because I feel like I’m still underground, but my brother done got so far up I thought they might feel some kind of way. If it was just me, it might fly under the radar, but to protect my brother we had to do it the right way. So it just took forever to get it right. This shit had been done. The only reason we went back in the studio and you’re seeing these pieces of video of us in the studio is because we recently went back in the studio like two weeks ago out in Cali just to listen to everything ’cause you know, I don’t listen to nothing that I record. So [Wiz] was like “Come on, let’s go listen to this in the studio and make sure everything’s gravy." He also spoke about how it was recording the EP with Wiz Khalifa, saying: "Honestly, it’s exactly the same. It’s just we got way more trees to twist up and way more for everything. It used to be we got X-amount for pizza, X-amount for bud, X-amount for drink and then we gotta pay for studio time. But now it’s like... [Laughs] We just do whatever we want. It’s really the same, but we just put the cheat code in. So now we got like infinite bullets and 30 lives." On May 10, 2013, the music video for "Toast" was released.

Critical reception.

"Live in Concert" was met with generally mixed reviews from music critics. Bruce Smith of HipHopDX gave the album three out of five stars, saying "While you only get so much Curren$y on "Live In Concert", on “Toast,” which features another Humphrey sample (this time, it's “Mestizo Eyes”), he displays a little of his talents, with wordplay and car talk for the whip fanatics, rhyming, “Get it done when the time is crunch like sit-ups / To the challenge I rise, Lamborghini doors / ‘85 Countach never seen a real road / From the show room floor, to my seven car garage / Got a storage cross town, with like seven more rides, tucked inside / The Grand Theft Auto life / Rolling up in my safe house, I’m looking down / Done it by my design, refusing to compromise...” If the goal of Live In Concert was simply to set the mood for April 20, the sample choices probably accomplished the goal for most. Those looking for "How Fly 2", or simply a project showcasing what Khalifa and Curren$y do best are bound to be let down. The two rappers aren't even present for most of the EP, and when they are, it's not their best showing." Christian Mordi of "XXL" gave the EP an L, saying "Clocking in at under 25 minutes, "Live in Concert" is on the short side but is potent nevertheless, giving fans exactly what was expected (with the exception of these flute solos). It’s predictable, enjoyable, warm-weather music that will be embraced with open arms by Jet Life and Taylor Gang fans alike."

Commercial performance.

"Live in Concert" debuted at number 30 on the US "Billboard" 200 selling 13,000 copies in its first week of release. In its second week, the EP sold 4,200 more copies bringing its total sales to 18,000.

Live in Concert is a collaborative EP by American rappers Wiz Khalifa and Currensy. The EP was released on April 20, 2013, by Jet Life Recordings and Rostrum Records. The EP was originally planned to be released as a free mixtape, but was released to retail due to sample clearance issues.


Early life.

Originally from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, Oscar Taveras grew up in a town called Sosúa. He began taking interest in baseball early in life. According to his father, Francisco Taveras, at about age five, he started to call himself ""El Fenómeno,"" which is Spanish for "The Phenomenon". "He would say, 'I’m going to make you the happiest dad in the world. I want to be a star. I want to be a major leaguer. I’m the phenomenon. I’m the best,'" recounted his father.  Taveras' father was an outfielder in the Milwaukee Brewers' minor league system. Taveras lived in Montreal from ages 12 to 16 and obtained Canadian citizenship. Afterwards, he returned to the Dominican Republic; had he stayed in Canada, he would have entered the draft after high school.

Professional career.

Minor leagues.

DSL Cardinals, Johnson City, and Quad Cities (2009–11).

The St. Louis Cardinals signed Taveras as an international amateur free agent on November 25, 2008 for $145,000. They assigned him to the rookie league Dominican Summer League Cardinals the next season. Although he hit just.265 with one home run (HR) and 42 runs batted in (RBI) in 65 games, Taveras earned a promotion to the Johnson City Cardinals of the Rookie-level Appalachian League in 2010. The talent which scouts had discovered in the Dominican Republic quickly actualized, as he hit.322 with eight HR and 43 RBI in 53 games.  Taveras earned another promotion to the Quad Cities River Bandits of the Class A Midwest League (MWL) in 2011 and spent the entire season there. From May 11 to June 11, he was out of action due to a hamstring injury. Despite missing a full month, his hitting continued to improve by obtaining 33 multi-hit games, 17 three-hit contests and five four-hit games. Further, he earned two MWL Player of the Week (PoW) awards. The first was for the week of July 17, after batting.600 (15 hits in 25 at bats) with five multi-hit games, 10 runs scored and five RBI.  The second PoW award Taveras earned with the River Bandits was for the week ending August 28. He batted.581 (18–31) with another five multi-hit games, two home runs and 11 RBI. That week, he also achieved three three-hit games and two four-hit games. After coming off the bench in the August 28 game against Burlington, he went 3-for-3 with a home run and missed hitting for the cycle by a double. For the season, Taveras batted.386 with a.444 on-base percentage (OBP),.584 slugging percentage (SLG), eight HR and 62 RBI in 78 games. He earned the Midwest League batting title with the highest average in the league since 1956. He was actually 31 plate appearances short of qualifying; however, his adjusted batting average after adding the hitless at-bats still gave him the title. He was the first Cardinals minor leaguer to win the MWL batting title since Brendan Ryan in 2004.

Springfield and Memphis (2012–14).

After winning the Midwest League batting title at age 19, Taveras began to garner notice outside the Cardinals organization. "Baseball America" named him the Cardinals' third-best prospect prior to the 2012 season and ranked him 74th in all of baseball. The Cardinals assigned him to play for the Springfield Cardinals of the Class AA Texas League. He spent the entire season there, playing 124 games before participating in winter league play.  Taveras won his first of two Cardinals Minor League Player of the Month awards in 2012 for April after batting.340 (32–94) with six HR and 21 RBI. On June 4, he achieved his first career five-hit game against Corpus Christi with four runs scored. He earned PoW honors for the week ending June 10 – which included the five-hit game – after batting.500 (14–28) with two home runs, four RBI and 11 runs scored. Taveras won his second organizational Player of the Month award of 2012 – and third of his career – for June after totaling a.347 average (34–98), six HR and 19 RBI. Beginning June 8, he amassed a 12-game hitting streak.  Selected to the Texas League All-Star team, Taveras started in center field and batted fourth. His 3-for-4, home run, double and two-RBI effort helped earn him unanimous Most Valuable Player honors for the game. He also played in the Major League Baseball All-Star Futures Game for the World squad. He started in right field and batted third, collecting one hit in three at-bats. He ended the season with a 22-game on-base streak that spanned from August 4 to September 3. Taveras logged 43 multi-hit games, including 12 three-hit games, five four-hit games and one five-hit game. In his 124 total games, he played 93 in center field, 15 in right and one in left. He hit safely in 94 games and reached base in 107. He batted.346 (47 of 136) with eight HR and 72 RBI with runners in scoring position (RISP) and.321 with RISP and two outs, including 17 RBI. He also hit.372 (73 of 196) with 12 HR and 49 RBI in the sixth inning and later.  Taveras' season totals for 2012 included 23 HR, 94 RBI and a league-leading.321 batting average, his second minor league batting title. In addition, he led the Texas League in extra base hits (67), doubles (37), total bases (273) and intentional walks (10). He ranked second in hits (153), RBI and slugging percentage (.572), and tied for fourth both in home runs and triples (7). In nine playoff games, he hit.235 with four doubles and two RBI as Springfield won the Texas League championship. "Baseball America" conferred the club with their Minor League Team of the Year award. Taveras was named the Texas League Player of the Year.  Further, Taveras led all Cardinals minor leaguers in hits, doubles, triples, home runs, RBI, SLG and on-base plus slugging (.953), while also finishing in the top five in batting average and runs. He was named the Cardinals' Minor League Player of the Year. He played another 39 games in the after-season Dominican Professional Baseball League for the Águilas Cibaeñas. He won the league Rookie of the Year award after batting.316 with five home runs and 17 RBI as the Águilas clinched the league's best record. In a skills ("Best Tools") survey, "Baseball America" found Taveras the "Best Hitter for Average".  Entering the 2013 season, "Baseball America" ranked Taveras as the Cardinals' best prospect and the third-best prospect in all of baseball. MLB.com also ranked Taveras as the Cardinals' number-one prospect, and the number-three prospect in its Top 50 Prospects. Prior to the 2013 World Baseball Classic, Taveras' agent was approached about him playing for the Canadian national baseball team. The Cardinals promoted him to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds of the Pacific Coast League.  In each game from May 6–10, Taveras collected at least one RBI. He batted.362 with 17 hits in 47 at bats for the month of May. However, injury obstructed his in-game action. While sliding into second base in a May 12 game, his ankle caught and pronated awkwardly on the bag, resulting in a high-ankle sprain. He played in just 15 games after that for the season and in 46 total. Surgery to correct the sprain, performed by Dr. Robert Anderson, ended his season in August.  For the season, Taveras rendered a.306 batting average with 12 doubles, five home runs and 32 RBI. It was the fourth consecutive season in which he batted at least.300. Especially productive against right-handed pitching, he forged a.366 batting average (37-for-101) with four HR and 24 RBI. Further, he generated three four-hit games and 15 multi-hit games while hitting safely in 31 overall. In 18 games, he provided at least one RBI, and in nine, recorded multiple runners driven in. In "Baseball America"'s "Best Tools" survey, he was rated the "Best Hitter for Average" in the Cardinals organization. The Cardinals added Taveras to their 40-man roster on November 20, 2013.

St. Louis Cardinals (2014).

Beginning in the 2014 season, MLB.com ranked Taveras as the second-best prospect in all of MLB, behind only Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins organization. The Cardinals invited him to spring training. Although team officials believed that his ankle had fully healed in time for 2014 spring training, he hesitated to fully trust the ankle in performance. A hamstring injury followed, limiting him to just six at-bats. The Cardinals optioned him to minor league camp on March 14.  On May 30, 2014, the Cardinals called Taveras up to their MLB roster in one of the most anticipated promotions in all MLB. He became the first from Sosúa to reach the major leagues. At that point, he had been batting.325 with a.373 OBP and a.524 SLG at Memphis. Other totals included seven HR and 40 RBI in 49 games and 191 at-bats. Taveras was held hitless in consecutive games just once. In his last 10 games, he collected hits in all but one, batting.462. During those same 10 games, he fashioned two three-hit games and one four-hit outing. In 209 plate appearances, he walked just 14 times, but also struck out just 25 for a 12.1% strikeout rate.  Making his MLB debut at Busch Stadium on the afternoon of Saturday, May 31, against the San Francisco Giants, Taveras flied out in his first at-bat. However, he launched his first hit and home run, which traveled, in his next at-bat. It occurred with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning against starting pitcher Yusmeiro Petit. He became the youngest to hit a home run in his major league debut for the Cardinals since Eddie Morgan in 1936. It also started to rain, immediately forcing a 47-minute delay. The home run proved to be the game-winning run as the Cardinals won, 2–0.  Taveras hit his first MLB single the next day, June 1. When Matt Adams came off the DL June 19, Taveras' 22nd birthday, the Cardinals optioned him back to Memphis after batting.189 with a.225 OBP and.297 SLG in 40 PA. Despite the low rate statistics, he showed a marked ability to get contact on MLB pitching. His contact rate of 92.3% on pitches outside of the strike zone surpassed the MLB average of 65.7% for all non-pitchers. His miss rate of 2.5% on swinging strikes was significantly lower than the MLB average of 9.1%.  One month after his first call-up, the Cardinals recalled Taveras on June 30. He was batting.318 with a.502 SLG at Memphis. To allow him more playing opportunities, the Cardinals traded slumping incumbent right fielder Allen Craig to the Boston Red Sox on the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. His first career three-hit game was on September 7 against the Milwaukee Brewers. That series, he played three of the four games, collecting five hits in eight at-bats with a home run and four RBI. It was one of eight multi-hit games on the year. Taveras finished the 2014 season with a batting average of.239 in 80 major league games. He appeared on the postseason roster for the Cardinals, playing exclusively as a pinch hitter, and collected three hits and two runs scored in seven total at bats. His postseason debut was in the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. One hit was a home run that tied the score in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series against the Giants, the only game the Cardinals won in the series; as it turned out, it was the final hit in his career. His final tweet was "Thanks for all the fan support!" on October 13.

Skills profile.

Regarded as a left-handed hitting version of Vladimir Guerrero (also a native of the Dominican Republic), one of Taveras' prized skills was an ability that few possess to square the bat on—and effectively hit—pitches that are out of the strike zone, much as the case was with Guerrero. Because of his bat speed and the wide range of pitch locations of which he could hit, Taveras successfully unraveled what are termed as "pitcher's pitches", which helped contribute to his high batting average. An aggressive hitter, Taveras maintained control with his smooth swing.  With a wide batting stance and slight leg kick that "allows him to maintain both incredible balance and timing", he shifted his weight on his left (back) leg "before connecting with the ball with an explosive, quick swing." His combination of strong, quick hands and excellent hand-eye coordination allowed him to assert considerable bat control to make constant, square contact with the incoming pitch. With an ability to drive the ball to all fields, his power ceiling was high, projected with 25 to 30 home runs in his peak. His preparation also received high marks. Through 2013, Taveras' career minor league batting average was.320 with 45 home runs and 275 RBIs in 374 games.  Although Taveras' defensive skills were not as prodigious as his hitting abilities, he ran routes well and had solid instincts. Earlier in his professional career, he gained a reputation for concentrating too heavily on hitting at the expense of his fielding. However, Taveras worked to increase his abilities in the outfield. With a strong throwing arm, his defensive skills projected him to be a corner outfielder, particularly in right field. However, the Cardinals believed that Taveras showed the range and skill to be an effective center fielder so he began taking an apprenticeship to learn the position.

Death.

On October 26, 2014, Taveras and his girlfriend, Edilia Arvelo, both died in a car accident on the Sosúa-Cabarete freeway in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, in which his red Chevrolet Camaro ran off the road and hit a tree. Taveras suffered multiple injuries and was pronounced dead while receiving care at Sosúa Cabarete Medical Center. Arvelo suffered injuries to the head and to the chest. The accident occurred at 7:40 PM ET, just before the start of Game 5 of the 2014 World Series. Cardinals chairman William DeWitt, Jr. issued the following statement: Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak made a statement saying: Cardinals Manager Mike Matheny stated "there is not a more accurate word ("love") for how a group of men share a deep and genuine concern for each other. We loved Oscar, and he loved us. That is what a team does. That is what a family does." Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig stated "With heavy hearts, tonight we play Game 5 of the 2014 World Series in the memory of these two young people."

Aftermath and legacy.

Observances on behalf of Arvelos and Taveras were held for Game 6 of the World Series, including a moment of silence before the first pitch. Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Yordano Ventura wrote "R.I.P. O.T #18" on his hat along with other tributes on his cleats and glove. His hat was turned in for display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. On October 28, the Cardinals left the right field lights on at Busch Stadium and released a Twitter photo of the scene the next day.  More than an estimated 5,000 gathered for Taveras's funeral in Sosúa, including about 40 who gathered on the rooftop of a cemetery church. Many of the mourners wore jerseys with ""El Fenómeno"" printed on their backs. "He was like Superman here. He was here to uplift kids and put the town on the map. He was the hope," said teammate Carlos Martínez. Martínez requested to change his uniform number from 44 to 18 (Taveras's number) to honor him in part because they were also friends. The team granted his request. Taveras had left behind a one-year-old son, Oscar Yadier Taveras.  Questions arose as to whether he was intoxicated in that fatal crash on the Sosúa-Cabarete freeway. On November 11, press releases confirmed that his blood alcohol content was 0.287, nearly six times the legal limit for the Dominican Republic. After the second alcohol-related fatality to a Cardinals player in a decade — following that of Josh Hancock in 2007, John Mozeliak lamented the circumstances of the player's death. He declared that the team would take a greater role in educating young players to "avoid reckless actions".  In January 2015, DeWitt announced plans for the Cardinals to renovate a baseball field in Sosúa in Taveras's honor, modeled after the Cardinals Care facilities in Greater St. Louis. The team would also wear black circular patches inscribed with OT (Taveras's initials) inside a white circle on their jerseys. The patch will omit Taveras's No. 18 because Martínez is already wearing it as his uniform number as a tribute. A large decal in his memorial was posted in the home team bullpen of Busch Stadium along with the ones of Hancock and former pitcher Darryl Kile, who died of coronary artery disease during the 2002 season while still active.

Oscar Francisco Taveras (June 19, 1992 October 26, 2014) was a Dominican–Canadian professional baseball outfielder who played one season for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Known as "El Fenómeno" (Spanish for "The Phenomenon") in the Dominican Republic, the Cardinals signed him at age 16 in 2008 as an international amateur free agent and he made his MLB debut in 2014. Over six minor league seasons, he batted.321 with a.519 slugging percentage. He played all three outfield positions while spending most of the time in center field.


Plot.

Ricardo Guglielmini is the mayor of Colonia Vela, a small country village in an undisclosed province of central Argentina. He plots with Héctor Suprino, a local Peronist spin doctor, and Reinaldo, a union leader, to get the town's deputy mayor, Ignacio Fuentes, kicked out of office, due to his increasing popularity, which threatens Guglilemini's decades-long hold on the mayorship.  Fuentes is told that he has to fire his assistant Mateo because of his Marxist sympathies. Fuentes, despite disagreeing with Marxist ideals himself, declines, refusing to be politically strong-armed. Taking advantage of this, Guglilemini publicly accuses Fuentes of aiding communist guerillas as an excuse to fire him or get him to resign. When Fuentes refuses, Gugliemini sends the police to arrest him, but Fuentes, rather than cave in to the pressure, takes to arms and then barricades himself in the town hall, along with his allies and friends; Mateo, Corporal García, Juan, Rodrigo, Moyito and Crazy Ceres. Guglielmini orders the police to storm the building, which leads to a massive stand-off between the local police force and Fuentes' men. The counter-Fuentes operation, led by Chief Llanos and Sub-Chief Rossi, initially only attempts to threaten Fuentes into surrendering, but soon evolves into a real shootout when members of the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance, led by Rogelio Almeido, show up and intervene. During the shootout with the AAA, Moyito is killed and several police officers are wounded, which leads to a temporary ceasefire and a deadlock. Juan sneaks out through the back to look for the local crop duster pilot, Cerviño, in order to convince him to help Fuentes by conducting an aerial attack as a distraction so he can sneak more ammo and explosives into the building.  As night falls, a group of delusional local leftist guerrilla youths, led by Matilda Gómez, gather in an abandoned warehouse and make a completely unrealistic and blatantly flawed plan to use the conflict as a means to start a civil war in Argentina, take over the government and convert the country into a communist state. They start out by kidnapping Chief Llanos and holding him for a ransom of several tons of explosives and weaponry. Not wanting to give more resources to the communists, Guglielmini abandons Llanos and declares Rossi the new police chief. Rossi leads a new attack on Fuentes, this time using bulldozers as cover to advance on the town hall. Rodrigo and Crazy Ceres are killed during this attack and Fuentes, García and Mateo are barely saved because Cerviño arrives in the nick of time and sprays pesticides all over the police with his plane, causing them to temporarily disperse.  The guerrillas attack the local union with a pipe bomb, killing Reinaldo, which prompts the AAA agents to abandon the fight against Fuentes and instead attempt to kill the guerrilla troopers. Famed local Radical former senator Prudencio Gúzman attempts to negotiate with the communists for Llanos' release, but the peace talks fall through and Llanos is ultimately executed.  The police regroup and prepare for a third attack. In order to buy some time and distract Rossi, Mateo turns himself in while Fuentes, García and Juan prepare a bomb with the explosives the latter had previously brought in. Regardless of Mateo's surrender, the raid proceeds and, when the police storms the town hall, the bomb goes off, killing several police officers and giving Fuentes, García and Juan enough time to escape through the back. In retaliation, Almeido kills Mateo. Despite managing to escape the town hall, the trio are soon found by the police and Fuentes and García are taken captive. Juan, however, manages to escape. Desperate, he contacts the guerrillas, who promise to help free Fuentes and García if Juan shows them where he keeps his explosives stash. Juan additionally convinces Cerviño to cause one more diversion with his plane.  Juan and the guerrillas, this time led by Matilda Gómez herself, carry out an attack on the school. First, Cerviño uses his plane to drop manure on the police, distracting them long enough to allow Juan and Matilda to sneak into the building. Once inside, they bust García free, but due to AAA reinforcements, they're forced to leave Fuentes behind. The AAA and the communists face off in a massive shootout inside the school, which ends with most people on both sides dead.  Cerviño and his plane are followed by one of the few surviving AAA members, who shoots him when he lands. While fleeing the shootout at the school, Matilda and the other three surviving guerrillas get blown up by Almeido, who finishes them off in a suicide bombing. Suprino severely beats Fuentes and then Guglielmini tries to talk him into taking the blame for the whole ordeal. When he refuses, Guglielmini and Suprino leave, letting Rossi execute Fuentes. While leaving town, Suprino realizes Guglielmini plans to frame him for inciting the whole incident, so he runs him over with his truck before escaping.  When morning finally dawns, García and Juan go to Cerviño's house, where they find him, wounded but still alive. To comfort him in his dying moments, they tell him Fuentes won the battle. Cerviño makes them promise to tell General Perón about him if he ever returns to the country, after which he dies. Once they've buried Cerviño, Juan and García begin to head into the countryside while discussing the many ways they could convince Perón to return. The song ""Mi Buenos Aires Querido"" begins to play as the credits start rolling.

Background.

The film is based on real political event that took place in Argentina in the mid-1970s. The film depicts, "sub silentio," the struggle between the Montoneros political movement and the right-wing Peronist forces.  The Montonero Peronist Movement () was an Argentine left-wing Peronist guerrilla group, active during the 1970s. Its motto was "venceremos" ("we will conquer").  After Juan Perón's return from 20 years of exile and the June 20, 1973 Ezeiza massacre, which marked the definitive split between left and right-wing Peronism, the Montoneros were expelled from the Justicialist party in May 1974 by Perón. The group was almost completely dismantled in 1977, during Jorge Rafael Videla's dictatorship.

Distribution.

"Funny Dirty Little War" first opened in Argentina on September 22, 1983. It has been featured at various film festivals including the Toronto Festival of Festivals; the Berlin International Film Festival; the Cognac Festival du Film Policier, Cognac, France; and the New Directors/New Films Festival in New York City.

Reception.

Critical response.

Vincent Canby, writing for "The New York Times," complimented the acting, pacing, and Héctor Olivera's directorial style, and wrote, "The film has also been so cannily paced - and is so well acted - that there's never much time to consider larger meanings while the mayhem is going on. Though "Funny Dirty Little War" ends bleakly, the existence of the film itself - the fact that it could be made at all, and with such style - is ultimately invigorating."

Accolades.

Wins  Nominated

Funny Dirty Little War (; original title translatable as "There will be no more sorrow or forgetfulness", a line from "Mi Buenos Aires Querido" tango lyrics) is a 1983 Argentine comedy drama film directed by Héctor Olivera, written by Olivera and Roberto Cossa, based on a novel of the same name by Osvaldo Soriano. It was produced by Fernando Ayala and Luis O. Repetto, and stars Federico Luppi, Miguel Ángel Solá, Ulises Dumont, Héctor Bidonde and Víctor Laplace.


In the oceans.

Typical ocean forage fish are small, silvery schooling oily fish such as herring, anchovies and menhaden, and other small, schooling baitfish like capelin, smelts, sand lance, halfbeaks, pollock, butterfish and juvenile rockfish. Herrings are a preeminent forage fish, often marketed as sardines or pilchards.  The term “forage fish” is a term used in fisheries, and is applied also to forage species that are not true fish, but play a significant role as prey for predators. Thus invertebrates such as squid and shrimp are also referred to as "forage fish". Even the tiny shrimp-like creatures called krill, small enough to be eaten by other forage fish, yet large enough to eat the same zooplankton as forage fish, are often classified as "forage fish".  Forage fish utilise the biomass of copepods, mysids and krill in the pelagic zone to become the dominant converters of the enormous ocean production of zooplankton. They are, in turn, central prey items for higher trophic levels. Forage fish may have achieved their dominance because of the way they live in huge, and often extremely fast cruising schools.  Though forage fish are abundant, there are relatively few species. There are more species of primary producers and apex predators in the ocean than there are forage fish.

Ocean food webs.

Forage fish occupy central positions in the ocean food webs. The position that a fish occupies in a food web is called its trophic level (Greek "trophē" = food). The organisms it eats are at a lower trophic level, and the organisms that eat it are at a higher trophic level. Forage fish occupy middle levels in the food web, serving as a dominant prey to higher level fish, seabirds and mammals.  Ecological pyramids are graphical representations, along the lines of the diagram at the right, which show how biomass or productivity changes at each trophic level in an ecosystem. The first or bottom level is occupied by primary producers or autotrophs (Greek "autos" = self and "trophe" = food). These are the names given to organisms that do not feed on other organisms, but produce biomass from inorganic compounds, mostly by a process of photosynthesis.  In oceans, most primary production is performed by algae. This is a contrast to land, where most primary production is performed by vascular plants. Algae ranges from single floating cells to attached seaweeds, while vascular plants are represented in the ocean by groups such as the seagrasses. Larger producers, such as seagrasses and seaweeds, are mostly confined to the littoral zone and shallow waters, where they attach to the underlying substrate and are still within the photic zone. Most primary production in the ocean is performed by microscopic organisms, the phytoplankton.  Thus, in ocean environments, the first bottom trophic level is occupied principally by phytoplankton, microscopic drifting organisms, mostly one-celled algae, that float in the sea. Most phytoplankton are too small to be seen individually with the unaided eye. They can appear as a green discoloration of the water when they are present in high enough numbers. Since they increase their biomass mostly through photosynthesis they live in the sun-lit surface layer (euphotic zone) of the sea.  The most important groups of phytoplankton include the diatoms and dinoflagellates. Diatoms are especially important in oceans, where they are estimated to contribute up to 45% of the total ocean's primary production. Diatoms are usually microscopic, although some species can reach up to 2 millimetres in length.  The second trophic level (primary consumers) is occupied by zooplankton which feed off the phytoplankton. Together with the phytoplankton, they form the base of the food pyramid that supports most of the world's great fishing grounds. Zooplankton are tiny animals found with the phytoplankton in oceanic surface waters, and include tiny crustaceans, and fish larvae and fry (recently hatched fish). Most zooplankton are filter feeders, and they use appendages to strain the phytoplankton in the water. Some larger zooplankton also feed on smaller zooplankton. Some zooplankton can jump about a bit to avoid predators, but they can't really swim. Like phytoplankton, they float with the currents, tides and winds instead. Zooplanktons can reproduce rapidly, their populations can increase up to thirty percent a day under favourable conditions. Many live short and productive lives and reach maturity quickly.  Particularly important groups of zooplankton are the copepods and krill. These are not shown in the images above, but are discussed in more detail later. Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in ocean and freshwater habitats. They are the biggest source of protein in the sea, and are important prey for forage fish. Krill constitute the next biggest source of protein. Krill are particularly large predator zooplankton which feed on smaller zooplankton. This means they really belong to the third trophic level, secondary consumers, along with the forage fish.  Together, phytoplankton and zooplankton make up most of the plankton in the sea. Plankton is the term applied to any small drifting organisms that float in the sea (Greek "planktos" = wanderer or drifter). By definition, organisms classified as plankton are unable to swim against ocean currents; they cannot resist the ambient current and control their position. In ocean environments, the first two trophic levels are occupied mainly by plankton. Plankton are divided into producers and consumers. The producers are the phytoplankton (Greek "phyton" = plant) and the consumers, who eat the phytoplankton, are the zooplankton (Greek "zoon" = animal).

Diet.

Forage fish feed on plankton. When they are eaten by larger predators, they transfer this energy from the bottom of the food chain to the top and in this way are the central link between trophic levels.  Forage fish are usually filter feeders, meaning that they feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water. They usually travel in large, slow moving, tightly packed schools with their mouths open. They are typically omnivorous. Their diet is usually based primarily on zooplankton, although, since they are omnivorous, they also take in some phytoplankton.  Young forage fish, such as herring, mostly feed on phytoplankton and as they mature they start to consume larger organisms. Older herrings feed on zooplankton, tiny animals that are found in oceanic surface waters, and fish larvae and fry (recently hatched fish). Copepods and other tiny crustaceans are common zooplankton eaten by forage fish. During daylight, many forage fish stay in the safety of deep water, feeding at the surface only at night when there is less chance of predation. They swim with their mouths open, filtering plankton from the water as it passes through their gills.  Ocean halfbeaks are omnivores which feed on algae, plankton, marine plants like seagrass, invertebrates like pteropods and crustaceans and smaller fishes. Some tropical species feed on animals during the day and plants at night, while others alternate summer carnivory with winter herbivory. They are in turn eaten by billfish, mackerel, and sharks.

Predators.

Forage fish are the food that sustains larger predators above them in the ocean food chain. The superabundance they present in their schools make them ideal food sources for top predator fish such as tuna, striped bass, cod, salmon, barracuda and swordfish, as well as sharks, whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, sea lions, and seabirds.

Schooling.

Forage fish compensate for their small size by forming schools. These sometimes immense gatherings fuel the ocean food web. Most forage fish are pelagic fish, which means they form their schools in open water, and not on the bottom (benthic fish) or near the bottom (benthopelagic fish). They are short-lived, and go mostly unnoticed by humans, apart from an occasional support role in a documentary about a great ocean predator. While we may not pay them much attention, the great marine predators are keenly focused on them, acutely aware of their numbers and whereabouts, and make migrations that can span thousands of miles to connect with them. After all, forage fish are their food.  Herring are among the most spectacular schooling fish. They aggregate together in huge numbers. Schools have been measured at over four cubic kilometres in size, containing about four billion fish. These schools move along coastlines and traverse the open oceans. Herring schools in general have very precise arrangements which allow the school to maintain relatively constant cruising speeds. Herrings have excellent hearing, and their schools react very fast to a predator. The herrings keep a certain distance from a moving scuba diver or cruising predator like a killer whale, forming a vacuole which can look like a doughnut from a spotter plane. The intricacies of schooling is far from fully understood, especially the swimming and feeding energetics. Many hypotheses to explain the function of schooling have been suggested, such as better orientation, synchronized hunting, predator confusion and reduced risk of being found. Schooling also has disadvantages, such as excretion buildup in the breathing media and oxygen and food depletion. The way the fish array in the school probably gives energy saving advantages, though this is controversial.  On calm days, schools of herring can be detected at the surface a mile away by little waves they form, or from several meters at night when they trigger bioluminescence in surrounding plankton. Underwater recordings show herring constantly cruising at high speeds up to 108 cm per second, with much higher escape speeds.  They are fragile fish, and because of their adaptation to schooling behaviour they are rarely displayed in aquaria. Even with the best facilities aquaria can offer they become sluggish compared to their quivering energy in wild schools.

Hunting copepods.

Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in ocean and freshwater habitats. Many species are planktonic (drifting in the ocean water), while others are benthic (living on the sea floor). Copepods are typically one millimetre (0.04 in) to two millimetres (0.08 in) long, with a teardrop shaped body. Like other crustaceans they have an armoured exoskeleton, but they are so small that this armour, and the entire body, is usually transparent.  Copepods are usually the dominant zooplankton. Some scientists say they form the largest animal biomass on the planet. The other contender is the Antarctic krill. But copepods are smaller than krill, with faster growth rates, and they are more evenly distributed throughout the oceans. This means copepods almost certainly contribute more secondary production to the world's oceans than krill, and perhaps more than all other groups of marine organisms together. They are a major item on the forage fish menu.  Copepods are very alert and evasive. They have large antennae. When they spread their antennae they can sense the pressure wave from an approaching fish and jump with great speed over a few centimeters.  Herrings are pelagic feeders. Their prey consists of a wide spectrum of phytoplankton and zooplankton, amongst which copepods are the dominant prey. Young herring usually capture small copepods by hunting them individually— they approach them from below. The (half speed) video loop at the left shows a juvenile herring feeding on copepods. In the middle of the image a copepod escapes successfully to the left. The opercula (hard bony flaps covering the gills) are spread wide open to compensate the pressure wave which would alert the copepod to trigger a jump.  If prey concentrations reach very high levels, the herrings adopt a method called "ram feeding". They swim with their mouth wide open and their opercula fully expanded. Every several feet, they close and clean their gill rakers for a few milliseconds (filter feeding). In the photo on the right, herring ram feed on a school of copepods. The fish all open their mouths and opercula wide at the same time (the red gills are visible—click to enlarge). The fish swim in a grid where the distance between them is the same as the jump length of their prey, as indicated in the animation below.  In the animation, juvenile herring hunt the copepods in synchronization: The copepods sense with their antennae the pressure-wave of an approaching herring and react with a fast escape jump. The length of the jump is fairly constant. The fish align themselves in a grid with this characteristic jump length. A copepod can dart about 80 times before it tires out. After a jump, it takes it 60 milliseconds to spread its antennae again, and this time delay becomes its undoing, as the almost endless stream of herrings allows a herring to eventually snap the copepod. A single juvenile herring could never catch a large copepod.

Migrations.

Forage fish often make great migrations between their spawning, feeding and nursery grounds. Schools of a particular stock usually travel in a triangle between these grounds. For example, one stock of herrings have their spawning ground in southern Norway, their feeding ground in Iceland, and their nursery ground in northern Norway. Wide triangular journeys such as these may be important because forage fish, when feeding, cannot distinguish their own offspring.  Fertile feeding grounds for forage fish are provided by ocean upwellings. Oceanic gyres are large-scale ocean currents caused by the Coriolis effect. Wind-driven surface currents interact with these gyres and the underwater topography, such as seamounts and the edge of continental shelves, to produce downwellings and upwellings. These can transport nutrients which plankton thrive on. The result can be rich feeding grounds attractive to the plankton feeding forage fish. In turn, the forage fish themselves become a feeding ground for larger predator fish. Most upwellings are coastal, and many of them support some of the most productive fisheries in the world. Regions of notable upwelling include coastal Peru, Chile, Arabian Sea, western South Africa, eastern New Zealand and the California coast.  Capelin are a forage fish of the smelt family found in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. In summer, they graze on dense swarms of plankton at the edge of the ice shelf. Larger capelin also eat krill and other crustaceans. The capelin move inshore in large schools to spawn and migrate in spring and summer to feed in plankton rich areas between Iceland, Greenland, and Jan Mayen. The migration is affected by ocean currents. Around Iceland maturing capelin make large northward feeding migrations in spring and summer. The return migration takes place in September to November. The spawning migration starts north of Iceland in December or January.  The diagram on the right shows the main spawning grounds and larval drift routes. Capelin on the way to feeding grounds is coloured green, capelin on the way back is blue, and the breeding grounds are red. In a paper published in 2009, researchers from Iceland recount their application of an interacting particle model to the capelin stock around Iceland, successfully predicting the spawning migration route for 2008.

Predator attacks.

Schooling forage fish are subject to constant attacks by predators. An example is the attacks that take place during the African sardine run. The African sardine run is a spectacular migration by millions of silvery sardines along the southern coastline of Africa. In terms of biomass, the sardine run could rival East Africa's great wildebeest migration.  Sardines have a short life-cycle, living only two or three years. Adult sardines, about two years old, mass on the Agulhas Bank where they spawn during spring and summer, releasing tens of thousands of eggs into the water. The adult sardines then make their way in hundreds of shoals towards the sub-tropical waters of the Indian Ocean. A larger shoal might be long, wide and deep. Huge numbers of sharks, dolphins, tuna, sailfish, Cape fur seals and even killer whales congregate and follow the shoals, creating a feeding frenzy along the coastline.  When threatened, sardines instinctively group together and create massive bait balls. Bait balls can be up to in diameter. They are short lived, seldom lasting longer than 20 minutes. As many as 18,000 dolphins, behaving like sheepdogs, round the sardines into these bait balls, or herd them to shallow water (corralling) where they are easier to catch. Once rounded up, the dolphins and other predators take turns plowing through the bait balls, gorging on the fish as they sweep through. Seabirds also attack them from above, flocks of gannets, cormorants, terns and gulls. Some of these seabirds plummet from heights of, plunging through the water leaving vapour-like trails behind like fighter planes.  The eggs, left behind at the Agulhas Banks, drift northwest with the current into waters off the west coast, where the larvae develop into juvenile fish. When they are old enough, they aggregate into dense shoals and migrate southwards, returning to the Agulhas banks in order to restart the cycle.

Forage fisheries.

History.

Herring has been known as a staple food source since 3000 B.C. In Roman times, anchovies were the base for the fermented fish sauce called "garum." This staple of cuisine was produced in industrial quantities and transported over long distances.  Fishing for sardela or sardina ("Sardina pilchardus") is an ongoing activity on the Croatian Adriatic coasts of Dalmatia and Istria. It traces its roots back thousands of years. The region was then largely a Venetian dominion, part of the Roman Empire. The area has always been sustained through fishing mainly sardines. Along the coast towns still promote the traditional practice of fishing by lateen sail boats for tourism and festivals.  Pilchard fishing and processing thrived in Cornwall between 1750 and 1880, after which stocks went into an almost terminal decline. Recently (2007) stocks have been improving. The industry has featured in many works of art, including Stanhope Forbes and other Newlyn School artists.

Contemporary.

Traditional commercial fisheries were directed towards high value ocean predators such as cod, rockfish and tuna, rather than forage fish. As technologies developed, fisheries became so effective at locating and catching predator fish that many of the stocks collapsed. The industry compensated by turning to species lower in the food chain.  In former times, forage fish were more difficult to fish profitably, and were a small part of the global marine fisheries. But modern industrial fishing technologies have enabled the removal of increasing quantities. Industrial-scale forage fish fisheries need large scale landings of fish to return profits. They are dominated by a small number of corporate fishing and processing companies.  Forage fish populations are very vulnerable when faced with modern fishing equipment. They swim near the surface in compacted schools, so they are relatively easy to locate at the surface with sophisticated electronic fishfinders and from above with spotter planes. Once located, they are scooped out of the water using highly efficient nets, such as purse seines, which remove most of the school.  Spawning patterns in forage fish are highly predictable. Some fisheries use knowledge of these patterns to harvest the forage species as they come together to spawn, removing the fish before they have actually spawned. Fishing during spawning periods or at other times when forage fish amass in large numbers can also be a blow to predators. Many predators, such as whales, tuna and sharks, have evolved to migrate long distances to specific sites for feeding and breeding. Their survival hinges on their finding these forage schools at their feeding grounds. The great ocean predators find that, no matter how they are adapted for speed, size, endurance or stealth, they are on the losing side when faced with the machinery of contemporary industrial fishing.  Altogether, forage fish account for 37 percent (31.5 million tonnes) of all fish taken from the world's oceans each year. However, because there are fewer species of forage fish compared to predator fish, forage species fisheries are the largest in the world. Seven of the top ten fisheries target forage fish. The total world catch of herrings, sardines and anchovies alone in 2005 was 22.4 million tonnes, 24 percent of the total world catch.  The Peruvian anchoveta fishery is now the biggest in the world (10.7 million tonnes in 2004), while the Alaskan pollock fishery in the Bering Sea is the largest single species fishery in the world (3 million tonnes). The Alaskan pollock is said to be the largest remaining single species source of palatable fish in the world. However, the biomass of pollock has declined in recent years, perhaps spelling trouble for both the Bering Sea ecosystem and the commercial fishery it supports. Acoustic surveys by NOAA indicate that the 2008 pollock population is almost 50 percent lower than last year's survey levels. Some scientists think this decline in Alaska pollock could repeat the collapse experienced by Atlantic cod, which could have negative consequences for the entire Bering Sea ecosystem. Salmon, halibut, endangered Steller sea lions, fur seals, and humpback whales eat pollock and depend on healthy populations to sustain themselves.

Use as animal feed.

Eighty percent of the forage fish caught are fed to animals, in large part due to the high content of beneficial long chain omega-3 fatty acids in their flesh. Ninety percent is processed into fishmeal and fish oil. Of this, 46 percent was fed to farmed fish, 24 percent to pigs, and 22 percent to poultry (2002). Six times the weight of forage fish is fed to pigs and poultry alone than the entire seafood consumption of the U.S. market. One of the most promising alternatives to fish oil as a source of long chain omega-3 fatty acids and certain amino acids is algal oil from microalgae, the original source of these fatty acids in forage fish.  According to Turchini and De Silva (2008), another 2.5 million tonnes of the annual forage fish catch is consumed by the global cat food industry. In Australia, pet cats eat 13.7 kilograms of fish a year compared to the 11 kilograms eaten by the average Australian. The pet food industry is increasingly marketing premium and super-premium products, when different raw materials, such as the by-products of the fish filleting industry, could be used instead.

Environmental issues.

In 2008 the Sea Around Us Project completed a nine-year study of forage fish led by the fisheries scientists Jacqueline Alder and Daniel Pauly. They concluded that... In 2015 sardine populations crashed along the west coast of the United States, causing the fishery to close early and remain closed through the 2015–2016 season. A key reason for the population crash, was overfishing due to the demand of fish meals and fish oil used in feed for aquaculture and for human nutritional supplements. In an effort to provide some relief from the pressure put on forage fish populations, the World Bank along with the University of Arizona, Monterey Bay Aquarium and the New England Aquarium has sponsored a competition called the F3 (Fish-Free Feed) Challenge, which will award $200,000 to the most successful fish feed manufacturer who develops aquaculture feeds not made from fish.

In lakes and rivers.

Forage fish also inhabit freshwater habitats, such as lakes and rivers, where they serve as food for larger freshwater predators. Usually smaller than 15 centimetres (6 in) in length, these small bait fish make up most of the fish found in lakes and rivers. The minnow family alone, consisting of minnows, chubs, shiners and daces, consists of more than fifty species. Other freshwater forage fish include suckers, killifish, shad, bony fish as well as fish of the sunfish family, excluding black basses and crappie, and smaller species of the carp family. There are also anadromous forage fish, such as eulachon.  In the context of human activity, within any fresh or saltwater ecosystem, there will always be both desirable and undesirable fishes, and this varies from country to country, and often from region to region within a country. Sport fishermen divide freshwater predators of forage fish into those:  "Rough or coarse fish" usually refers to fish that are not commonly eaten, not sought after for sporting reasons, or have become invasive species reducing the populations of desirable fish. They compete for forage fish with the more popular sport fish. They are often regarded as a nuisance, and are not usually protected by game laws. Forage fish generally are not considered rough or coarse fish because of their usefulness as bait.  The term "rough fish" is used by U.S. state agencies and anglers to describe undesirable predator fish. In North America, anglers fish for salmon, trout, bass, pike, catfish, walleye and muskellunge. The smallest fish are called panfish, because they can fit in a standard cooking pan. Some examples are crappies, rock bass, perch, bluegill and sunfish.  The term "coarse fish" originated in the United Kingdom in the early 19th century. Prior to that time, recreational fishing was the sport of the gentry, who angled for trout and salmon which they called "game fish". Fish other than game fish were disdained as "coarse fish". These days, "game fish" refers to Salmonids (other than grayling) — that is, salmon, trout and char. Coarse fish are made up mostly of the larger species of Cyprinids (carp, roach, bream) as well as pike, catfish, gar and lamprey. Coarse fish are no longer disdained; indeed, fishing for coarse fish has become a popular pastime.

Bait and feeder fish.

Forage fish are sometimes referred to as "bait fish" or "feeder fish". Bait fish is a term used particularly by recreational fishermen, although commercial fisherman also catch fish to bait longlines and traps. Forage fish is a fisheries term, and is used in the context of fisheries. Bait fish, by contrast, are fish that are caught by humans to use as bait for other fish. The terms overlap in the sense that most bait fish are also forage fish, and vice versa. Feeder fish is a term used particularly in the context of fish aquariums. It refers essentially to the same concept as forage fish, small fish that are eaten by larger fish, but the term is adapted to the particular requirements of working with fish in aquariums.

Forage fish, also called prey fish or bait fish, are small pelagic fish which are preyed on by larger predators for food. Predators include other larger fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Typical ocean forage fish feed near the base of the food chain on plankton, often by filter feeding. They include particularly fishes of the family Clupeidae (herrings, sardines, shad, hilsa, menhaden, anchovies, and sprats), but also other small fish, including halfbeaks, silversides, smelt such as capelin and goldband fusiliers.