History.

Founding years.

On March 26, 1931, Swissair – Schweizerische Luftverkehr AG (English: "Swissair – Swiss Air Transport") was founded through the fusion of the airlines Ad Astra Aero (founded in 1919) and Balair (1925). The founding fathers were Balz Zimmermann and the Swiss aviation pioneer Walter Mittelholzer. In contrast to other airlines, it did not receive support from the government. The name "Swissair" was the proposal of Dr. Alphonse Ehinger, president of the directorial board of the Balair, although "Swissair" was first deemed "un-Swiss". In the first operational year, 64 people were employed including ten pilots, seven radio operators, and eight mechanics. In total, their planes offered 85 seats and operation was maintained only from March to October. The route network had a length of.  On April 17, 1932, Swissair bought two Lockheed Orions, making them the second European airline to use American planes, after the Czechoslovak operator CSA purchased a Ford Trimotor in 1930. The Orion was the fastest commercial airplane of its time and was put to use on the "Express line", Zurich-Munich-Vienna. This led Lufthansa to ask Heinkel for a model that could top Orion's speed, leading to the Heinkel He 70. In 1933, the first trans-Alpine route was introduced in 1933: Zurich-Milan.  For the first time in Europe, flight attendants were employed aboard the Curtiss Condor beginning in 1934. Nelly Diener, the first flight attendant of Europe, became world-famous. She lost her life after just 79 flights in a crash near Wurmlingen, Germany, on July 27, 1934. The cause of the crash was material fatigue.  In 1936, Douglas DC-2s were acquired and London was added to the route network. In 1937, the bigger Douglas DC-3 was bought. In the same year, both founding fathers died: Walter Mittelholzer during mountaineering in the Steiermark, Austria, and Balz Zimmermann succumbed to an infectious disease.  On August 27, 1939, days before World War II broke out, the airspace over Germany and France was closed. Swissair was forced to suspend service to Amsterdam, Paris, and London. Two days later, Swissair service was closed completely. Of 180 employees, 131 had to serve in the army. In spite of the war, some routes were re-introduced, such as Munich, Berlin, Rome and Barcelona. In 1940, an invasion of Switzerland was feared, and Swissair moved their operations to the Magadino plains in Ticino. Operations were suspended definitively in August 1944, when a Swissair DC-2 was destroyed in Stuttgart during an American bombing raid.  On July 30, 1945, Swissair was able to resume commercial aviation.

Ascension.

In 1947 the rise of shareholder capital to 20 million Swiss francs enabled long haul flights to New York, South Africa, and South America with Douglas DC-4s. The modern Convair 240, the first Swissair plane with a pressurized cabin, was used for short- and medium-range flights from late 1948. The first Swissair DC-4 flight to New York was routed via Shannon, Ireland, and Stephenville, Newfoundland, on May 2, 1947, although it actually ended in Washington, D.C., due to fog at New York's LaGuardia Airport. The total elapsed time was 20 hours and 55 minutes.  The public, including the federal government, the states of Switzerland (Cantons), municipalities, the Swiss Federal Railways, and the Swiss postal services took over 30.6% of the shares and enabled Swissair to get a credit of 15 million Swiss Francs to purchase the airline's first two Douglas DC-6B airliners for delivery in 1951. By that act, Swissair became the national flag carrier of Switzerland. The new pressurized aircraft were to replace the DC-4 on transatlantic routes.  In 1948, the airport in Dübendorf, which served as the base of Swissair, was relocated to Zurich-Kloten. Military aviation continued in Dübendorf. The next year Swissair plunged into a financial crisis due to a sudden devaluation of the British Pound because fares, except traffic to the United States, were calculated in British currency. At that time, the traffic to England made up 40 percent of Swissair's revenue.  In June 1950, Walter Berchtold, manager of Swiss Federal Railways, was elected to the directorial board of Swissair and served as the director. Until 1971, he created the corporate culture of Swissair. He grasped the importance of corporate image and corporate identity, and after the example of BOAC's "Speedbird", he introduced the arrow-shaped Swissair logo. Giving flight personnel a distinct uniform was also an important move. At the time, flight attendants' uniforms resembled the gray-blue ones of the Swiss Women's Army Corps, so Berchtold introduced ones in a modish marine blue, and Swissair initiated a veritable fashion competition among European airlines.  In 1952, the cabin layout on northern trans-Atlantic routes was changed to one with a first and a tourist class. First class had comfortable chairs in which one could sleep, given the name "Slumberettes". Those sleeping chairs were soon succeeded by beds, modelled after the U.S. Pullman railway cars. Two adjacent seats were moved toward each other and formed a lower berth. The wall panel could be folded downward, forming the upper berth in which the other person could sleep. A year later, tourist class was introduced on Europe flights.  In 1953 Swissair, with the city of Basel, founded a charter company called Balair, reusing the name of one of its predecessors, a company which initially used older Swissair aircraft to fly to holiday destinations.  As the first European customer, Swissair bought the Douglas DC-7C which enabled the company to provide non-stop flights to the United States. For shorter-range routes, the Convair Metropolitan was used.  In 1957, the Far East was added to the route network. Direct flights to Tokyo had intermediate stops in Athens, Karachi, Bombay, Bangkok and Manila. In that same year, Swissair helped Aristotle Onassis form the new Greek airline, Olympic Airways.  While competitors first looked at turboprop airplanes to replace their piston-engined craft, Swissair introduced jet airplanes. Together with SAS, Swissair bought Douglas DC-8s, which were delivered beginning in 1960. For medium- and short-range routes the Sud Aviation Caravelle was purchased. The aircraft were maintained in concert with SAS, and manuals for operation and maintenance were co-written.  Swissair was one of the few companies to buy Convair 990 "Coronado" aircraft -in 1962- for its medium- and long-range routes. Although the aircraft did not initially fulfill contractual specifications, they were liked by employees and customers. They operated on the airline's routes to South America, West Africa, and the Middle and Far East.  1966 saw the introduction of the Douglas DC-9. That aircraft became the backbone of the short- and medium-range routes, and, after convincing Douglas, on behalf of Swissair the Douglas Corporation offered a stretched variant: the DC-9-32. For the first time, Swissair was the launch customer of an aircraft type.  In 1971, Armin Baltensweiler took over as the president of the directorial board and ran the enterprise for over two decades. In the same year, the first Boeing 747-200 jumbo jet was acquired, and in the next year, the first McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 followed. Both types shaped the long-haul fleet until the 1990s. Again, the specifications of both aircraft were developed in collaboration with SAS. Also in 1972, Switzerland introduced a prohibition of night flights, which led to the cessation of cheaper night fares.  In 1973, the company struggled with severe turbulence: currency crisis, collective chaos, an air traffic controllers' strike, the October War and the first oil crisis were weathered without too much damage. In that same year, the regional representative of Swissair in Buenos Aires was kidnapped by a revolutionary group. After 38 days in captivity, he was released after the payment of a CHF 12.4 million ransom. The airline also phased out the CV-990s during that time.  Swissair was the second European airline to offer a service to the People's Republic of China, introducing service to Beijing and Shanghai in 1975. In the same year, Swissair was the launch customer for the DC-9-51. In 1977, Swissair was the launch customer for the third DC-9 type, the DC-9-81 variant, now called the MD-80. Armin Baltensweiler had traveled to a meeting of McDonnell-Douglas' directorial board in St. Louis to convince them to further stretch the fuselage of the DC-9-51. Baltensweiler was called the “Father of the MD-80". In 1979, Swissair was the first company to order the Airbus A310-200, and the jumbo jet variant with a stretched upper deck, the Boeing 747-300. Also, the Fokker 100 short-range aircraft and the three-engined MD-11 were aircraft for which Swissair was the launch customer. 1983 saw the replacement of the older DC-9s by MD-83s.  Since the 1960s, Swissair had been a world leader in the development of cargo reservation systems (CRS). PARS and CARIDO were examples for booking passenger seats and freight space.

"The flying bank".

After the 1960s, air traffic increased quickly and allowed many airlines – many of which were quasi-monopolists on their routes – to yield high revenues. Especially Swissair profited from its excellent reputation as a quality airline and from the fact that the political neutrality of Switzerland allowed the company to fly to exotic, but lucrative destinations in Africa and the Middle East. In geographic terms, the central position of Switzerland in Europe helped it to generate revenue from transfer passengers. By the early 1970s, Swissair was thus called "The flying bank", appealing to the large hidden assets and the huge liquidity Swissair had. Secondary, the "flying bank" was the designation for a corporate group which cared more about financial management than about flying airplanes.  With the beginning of deregulation and liberalization, airlines felt growing financial pressure. In 1978, Moritz Suter founded a regional airline named Crossair, which put Swissair under additional stress. To counter these changes, Swissair invested their large financial reserves into takeovers and into flight-related trades like baggage handling, catering, aircraft maintenance, and duty-free stores. This strategy diversified economic risks at the expense of the core business of Swissair – commercial aviation.

Concentration.

Regarding the furthering liberalization of Europe's airline market, Swissair focused more on commercial aviation and extended its partnerships. As the first European airline, Swissair signed in 1989 a cooperation treaty with Delta Air Lines and Singapore Airlines to form the alliance "Global Excellence". In 1990, together with SAS, Austrian Airlines and Finnair, the "European Quality Alliance" was founded. The latter alliance was later renamed to "Qualiflyer". Because of the weak economy, the Gulf War and its aftermath, and rising operational costs, many airlines lost money in 1990 and 1991. Additionally, on-going liberalization of the industry strengthened the competition. Consequently, Swissair lost 99 million Swiss Francs in the first half-year and was unable to pay dividends to its shareholders. In the years 1991 and 1992 Swissair had to dissolve financial reserves to cushion the losses from the commercial aviation sector.  On January 1, 1991, commercial aviation in Europe was completely liberalized and the existing capacities led to aggressive competition among the airlines. In a national referendum on December 6, 1992, Swiss citizens rejected taking part in the European Economic Area, EEA. This referendum was a significant disservice to Swissair, an airline with a minute domestic market: Its planes were not allowed to take up passengers during intermediate landings in EEA countries (e.g., Zurich – "Frankfurt" – New York), and Swissair was not allowed to offer tickets for sections that fully lie in EEA member countries (e.g., Zurich – "Frankfurt – Paris"). "See also freedoms of the air".  Like other airlines of smaller countries, Swissair now was under significant pressure. More and more national airlines affiliated themselves with airline alliances to maintain a worldwide market presence. But to be interesting for American alliance partners, an airline must have a critical size in terms of passenger numbers. To meet that goal, in 1993 an alliance between Swissair, KLM, SAS, and Austrian Airlines was proposed. This project bore the name "Alcazar" to create a single Central European airline. But in various countries, this project was criticized. In Switzerland itself, it was thought that the huge financial assets were too precious to merge Swissair with the other airlines.

Hunter Strategy.

In the late 1980s, as well as throughout the early 1990s, Swissair tried to merge with Air France, Lufthansa, and British Airways to get access to a wider European market. Finally, after deregulation, Swissair tried to expand beyond its home Swiss market; after the Alcazar project was cancelled, Swissair hoped to be a major force in European aviation.  In the 1990s Swissair initiated the disastrous “Hunter Strategy”, a major expansion programme devised by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. Using this strategy, Swissair aimed to grow its market share through the acquisition of small airlines rather than entering into alliance agreements. Swissair decided to acquire 49.5 percent of the very successful Italian charter airline Air Europe, the unprofitable Belgian flag carrier, Sabena, and significant stakes in the carriers Air Liberté, AOM, Air Littoral, Volare, LOT, Turkish Airlines, South African Airways, Portugália and LTU, and planned to acquire stakes in Aer Lingus, Finnair, Malév, as well as Brazilian carriers TAM and Transbrasil. By mid-2000, it was predicted that Swissair would lose between CHF 3.25 billion and 4.45 billion over the next three fiscal years. The management however maintained in classical restructuring, the Board approved the reorganization of LTU for approximately CHF 500 million. Also, there were plans to take over Alitalia.  In summer 2000, the CEO Philippe Bruggisser came under public pressure, as the press published the financial situation of the group. Swissair and Sabena were each losing one million francs per day, and another million were lost every day at LTU and the French investments. The Board for the first time began to consider scenarios for phasing out the existing participations in other airlines, as Swissair looked to withdraw from their foreign investments. In January 2001 Bruggisser was summarily dismissed. Moritz Suter, the founder of Crossair, was nominated as the new CEO of SAirLines and thus all Group airlines including Swissair. After only 44 days, Suter resigned.  In March 2001, two studies by consultants were presented to the Board, which showed the financial difficulties of SAirGroup. At this point, the Directors resigned, with only Mario Corti, former CFO of Nestlé, staying behind. The buying spree created a major cash flow crisis for parent company SAirGroup, and was exacerbated by the environment caused by the September 11 attacks. Unable to make payments to creditors on its large debt, and with the refusal of UBS AG to extend its line of credit, on 2 October 2001 the entire Swissair fleet was abruptly grounded. Many blamed UBS for the fiasco, causing demonstrators to take to the streets with signs referring to UBS chairman, Marcel Ospel as ""Bin Ospel"", in reference to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and redefining the bank's acronym, "UBS" as the "United Bandits of Switzerland".  Two large bridge loans from the Swiss government were required to finance the continuation of flight operations. This notwithstanding, with the resumption of flight service, it was necessary for flight crews to carry large sums of cash to purchase fuel at foreign airports.

Grounding.

On 1 October 2001, the public was informed, via a press conference, of project "Phoenix" and announced that parts of the group sought a payment delay. However, the continuation of service was secured by the Swiss federal authorities, as they were willing to pay half of the loan.  2 October 2001 saw an increased necessity for strong liquidity, as all suppliers insisted on cash payments of outstanding invoices following the request of payment delay announced the day before. Cash reserves of Swissair filed on this day were barely sufficient to carry out the first morning flights. During the morning, fuel suppliers refused to fuel the waiting aircraft. Other accounts were consolidated on the one hand because of the prior termination of the cash pooling facility from the UBS, on the other hand, due to the threat of favoritism regarding debts. The banks refused a credit increase before the sales proceeded, and insisted on a formal referral validity of the sale agreement.  At 15:45, CEO Mario Corti announced a cessation of flight operations due to the security risks caused by the crossing of the Flight Duty Regulations. This led to the cancellation of over 230 flights, and thousands of passengers, as well as flight crews, being stranded around the world. Flight crew corporate credit cards were blocked by the banks, with some hotels expelling the crews, and having them return home at their own expense. Also, all tickets sold were voided.  Crossair shares were only reissued on the evening of 2 October due to the rewriting of Crossair shares, with their purchase price not arriving until the following day – the setting of flight operations – into the SAirLines account.  4 October 2001 saw demonstrations by former Swissair employees before the UBS presentation held in Glattbrugg, and the following day saw demonstrations in Bern's Federal Square.  At around the same time, SAirGroup's stake in Crossair was sold to the Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse. Furthermore, Crossair took over various assets of former Swissair, including its employees, aircraft and most European routes. Swissair and the SAirGroup were handed over to the liquidation firm of Jürg Hoss Liquidators and ceased operations on 31 March 2002. Crossair was renamed Swiss International Air Lines, or Swiss for short, and took over Swissair's intercontinental routes on 1 April 2002, officially ending 71 years of Swissair Service.

Transition phase.

On 5 October, commercial flights on most routes were gradually resumed thanks to a federal emergency loan of over CHF 450 million. This occurred, in part, to ensure Switzerland's continued accessibility as a business location, and to establish a basis for the creation of Swiss. Through preventing the complete collapse of Swissair, the other airline-related businesses of the group were spared collapse.  Following another federal repayable funding commitment of one billion francs, each of the 26 long-haul aircraft (MD-11s and A330s) and 26 medium-haul aircraft (A321s, A320s and A319s) were able to be transferred to Crossair / Swiss at the end of the winter schedule of 2001/02. On Easter Monday, 1 April 2002, the last flight of Swissair, flight SR145 from São Paulo, landed in Zurich. A 71-year-long chapter of Swiss aviation history thus came to an end. Between 1931 and 2002, Swissair had transported more than 260 million passengers. The SwissairGroup (the name change from SAirGroup to SwissairGroup was announced in 2001 but never officially implemented) still existed as 'SAirGroup in Nachlassstundung' (German: "Swissair in Administration") for several years until all assets were liquidated, including a large auction where many of the remaining Swissair assets, such as historic items, were auctioned. Today, Gategourmet continues as a subsidiary under the parent firm Gate Group.

Factors behind collapse.

Like other airlines that flew to the United States, Swissair's operations and profitability were disrupted in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. As several politicians were amongst those included on Swissair's directors, commentators have pointed to potential conflicts of interest as fundamental to the demise of Swissair. Media have also suggested that the directorial board failed to oversee the actions of Philippe Bruggisser (Chief Operating Officer since 1996) and Eric Honegger (board member since 1993 and later board president), and that they left behind a convoluted corporate structure and financial commitments – among others a further purchase of 35.5 percent of Sabena's stocks – which would only come to light when Mario Corti was trying to save the airline.  The judiciary is continuing to examine why Swissair acquired counselling that supported the Hunter Strategy, and why Swissair continued to make certain payments despite nearing insolvency. Questions have also been raised about federal aid given to Swissair and the politicians involved. The highly competitive nature of the market during the business's final years also precipitated its demise: like rival company Sabena, Swissair fell victim to the competition of budget airlines such as Ryanair and EasyJet.  A "BBC" correspondent said regarding the collapse "Something did die in Switzerland that day: not just an airline but an image the Swiss had of themselves and, more importantly, of their business leaders" and "The Swiss financial community's reputation for good business sense was already seriously damaged by the Swissair disaster."  Due to continued civil proceedings are part of the causes of the collapse of SAirGroup subject of legal proceedings and are therefore legally unclear. The following causes are widely recognized as crucial factors:

Legacy.

In 2002 the successor Swiss International Air Lines commenced operations. First called Swiss Air Lines, this Company was based on the former Crossair, and was a merger of Crossair and former Swissair employees, routes and aircraft. The Company Swissair continued to exist (in liquidation) but had no further assets. Due to legal problems with Swissair, the name had to be changed to Swiss International Air Lines.  Swiss took over 26 long-haul and 26 medium-haul Aircraft from the defunct Swissair fleet and refurbished the liveries and interiors to turn it into the new Swiss fleet, together with the former Crossair Fleet consisting of Embraer 145, Saab 2000, MD-80 Series and Avro RJ. The remainder of the Swissair aircraft that were grounded and were not taken by Swiss were returned to their lessors.  After problems with the former Crossair pilot unions, who refused to accept different conditions than the former Swissair pilots within the same airline, a subsidiary called Swiss European Air Lines was founded which belongs 100% to Swiss International Air Lines.  In 2004, it appeared that Swiss was going to become a member of the Oneworld alliance. It had codeshares with Oneworld carriers British Airways, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Aer Lingus and Finnair, and held a strategic partnership and joint operation for all service to North America and AA-operated flights beyond U.S. gateways using American Airlines. Swiss started to terminate these codeshare agreements but did not terminate the AA alliance. A theory emerged that Swiss was planning to use its partnerships, the AA alliance, and its partnership with British Airways, a strong supportive member of Oneworld, to join Oneworld itself.  However, in 2005 Swiss was taken over by the German airline Lufthansa, the national airline of Germany. With the merger with Lufthansa, Swiss joined the Star Alliance in 2006, which Swissair planned to join before it failed. With this move, Swiss's frequent flyer club, Swiss TravelClub became part of Miles & More, which was originally the Lufthansa Group frequent flyer club. It acts as both airlines' frequent flyer programme, along with many other Lufthansa Group airlines.

Management trial.

The criminal trial began 16 January 2007 in Bülach. The entire Swissair management board stood facing criminal charges of mismanagement, false statements, and forgery of documents. Top defendants in the trial were Mario Corti, Philippe Bruggisser, George Schorderet, Jacqualyn Fouse, Eric Honegger, and Verena Spoerry. Corti, Honegger, and Spoerry entered statements proclaiming their innocence.  On 7 June 2007 the court in Bülach cleared the defendants of all criminal charges over the airline's 2001 bankruptcy.

Continued use of the "Swissair" brand.

Swiss retains the rights to the "Swissair" name, whose value was estimated at more than 10 million Swiss francs in 2010. In order to prevent the trademark from becoming void through disuse, Swiss licensed it to Hopscotch Air, which operates a fleet of Cirrus SR22 planes in the United States, for use from 2010 to 2013. In Switzerland, the trademark is protected through its use by an aviation sports club, "Sportfluggruppe Swissair".

Fleet.

Historic fleet.

In its 71 years of existence, Swissair operated the following aircraft:

Swissair Asia.

Swissair Asia was formed to serve Taipei, Taiwan, within the Republic of China, while Swissair was maintaining service to the People's Republic of China. It began operating a twice-weekly service between Zurich and Taipei via Bangkok in 1995. The airline had two MD-11 aircraft (HB-IWN and HB-IWG). Aircraft formerly used by Swissair Asia had the Chinese character "" (, from the Chinese translation of Switzerland, "" (), on the tail fin instead of the cross. The airline was one of a number of airline subsidiaries flying under the "Asia" name with the purpose of flying to Taiwan, which included Japan Asia Airways (a Japan Airlines subsidiary), KLM Asia, British Asia Airways, Lufthansa Asien, Air France Asie, and Australia Asia Airlines (a Qantas subsidiary).

Corporate affairs.

Swissair's head office was on the grounds of Zurich Airport and in Kloten.  KSG, Architects G.Müller + G.Berger designed the final head office complex for the airline. It was in proximity to the main airport facilities and area freeways. The first phase of the building included offices for 1,600 workers, computer rooms, printing rooms, and 500-seat restaurant facilities. The second phase included an open plan office room, another computer laboratory, and expansions of the restaurant facilities.  In the 1930s the head office was in the Dübendorf Aerodrome in Zürich.

Accidents and incidents.

Over the 71-year history of Swissair, there were eleven major incidents reported resulting in 414 fatalities.

Swissair AG/S.A. ( Schweizerische Luftverkehr-AG; : S.A. Suisse pour la Navigation Aérienne) was the national airline of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and bankruptcy in 2002.

Die Swissair (offizieller Name "Swissair Schweizerische Luftverkehr-Aktiengesellschaft") mit Sitz in Kloten war von 1931 bis zu ihrer Nachlassstundung im Oktober 2001 und Liquidation ab März 2002 die nationale Fluggesellschaft der Schweiz. In der Folge des Zusammenbruchs ihrer Konzernmutter "SAirGroup" wurde auf der Grundlage der Regionalfluggesellschaft Crossair die neue Schweizer Fluggesellschaft Swiss gegründet. Die heute zur Lufthansa gehörende Swiss nutzt einen Teil der Flugzeuge und bedient eine Vielzahl der Flugstrecken der ehemaligen Swissair.


Signs and symptoms.

People with pectus carinatum usually develop normal hearts and lungs, but the malformation may prevent these from functioning optimally. In moderate to severe cases of pectus carinatum, the chest wall is rigidly held in an outward position. Thus, respirations are inefficient and the individual needs to use the accessory muscles for respiration, rather than normal chest muscles, during strenuous exercise. This negatively affects gas exchange and causes a decrease in stamina. Children with pectus malformations often tire sooner than their peers, due to shortness of breath and fatigue. Commonly concurrent is mild to moderate asthma.  Some children with pectus carinatum also have scoliosis (i.e., curvature of the spine). Some have mitral valve prolapse, a condition in which the heart mitral valve functions abnormally. Connective tissue disorders involving structural abnormalities of the major blood vessels and heart valves are also seen. Although rarely seen, some children have other connective tissue disorders, including arthritis, visual impairment and healing impairment.  Apart from the possible physiologic consequences, pectus malformations can have a significant psychologic impact. Some people, especially those with milder cases, live happily with pectus carinatum. For others, though, the shape of the chest can damage their self-image and confidence, possibly disrupting social connections and causing them to feel uncomfortable throughout adolescence and adulthood. As the child grows older, bodybuilding techniques may be useful for balancing visual impact.  A less common variant of pectus carinatum is "pectus arcuatum" (also called type 2 pectus excavatum, chondromanubrial malformation or Currarino–Silverman syndrome or pouter pigeon malformation), which produces a manubrial and upper sternal protrusion, particularly also at the sternal angle. Pectus arcuatum is often confused with a combination of pectus carinatum and pectus excavatum, but in pectus arcuatum the visual appearance is characterized by a protrusion of the costal cartilages and there is no depression of the sternum.

Causes.

Pectus carinatum is an overgrowth of costal cartilage causing the sternum to protrude forward. It primarily occurs among four different patient groups, and males are more frequently affected than females. Most commonly, pectus carinatum develops in 11-to-14-year-old pubertal males undergoing a growth spurt. Some parents report that their child's pectus carinatum seemingly popped up overnight. Second most common is the presence of pectus carinatum at or shortly after birth. The condition may be evident in newborns as a rounded anterior chest wall. As the child reaches age 2 or 3 years of age, the outward sternal protrusion becomes more pronounced. Pectus carinatum can also be caused by vitamin D deficiency in children (Rickets) due to deposition of unmineralized osteoid. Least common is a pectus carinatum malformation following open-heart surgery or in children with poorly controlled bronchial asthma.  Pectus carinatum is generally a solitary, non-syndromic abnormality. However, the condition may be present in association with other syndromes: Turner syndrome, Noonan syndrome, Loeys–Dietz syndrome, Marfan syndrome, Ehlers–Danlos syndrome, Morquio syndrome, trisomy 18, trisomy 21, homocystinuria, osteogenesis imperfecta, multiple lentigines syndrome (LEOPARD syndrome), Sly syndrome (mucopolysaccharidosis type VII), and scoliosis.  In about 25% of cases of pectus carinatum, the patient has a family member with the condition.

Diagnosis.

The pectus carinatum can be easily diagnosed by certain tests like a CT scan (2D and 3D). It may then be found out that the rib cage is in normal structure. If there is more than average growth of sternum than pectus carinatum protrudes. Also it is of two types, as pectus carinatum is symmetrical or unsymmetrical. On the basis of that further treatment is given to the patient.

Treatment.

External bracing technique.

The use of orthotic bracing, pioneered by Sydney Haje as of 1977, is finding increasing acceptance as an alternative to surgery in select cases of pectus carinatum. In children, teenagers, and young adults who have pectus carinatum and are motivated to avoid surgery, the use of a customized chest-wall brace that applies direct pressure on the protruding area of the chest produces excellent outcomes. Willingness to wear the brace as required is essential for the success of this treatment approach. The brace works in much the same way as orthodontics (braces that correct the alignment of teeth). The brace consists of front and back compression plates that are anchored to aluminum bars. These bars are bound together by a tightening mechanism which varies from brace to brace. This device is easily hidden under clothing and must be worn from 14 to 24 hours a day. The wearing time varies with each brace manufacturer and the managing physicians protocol, which could be based on the severity of the carinatum malformation (mild moderate severe) and if it is symmetric or asymmetric.  Depending on the manufacturer and/or the patient's preference, the brace may be worn on the skin or it may be worn over a body'sock' or sleeve called a Bracemate, specifically designed to be worn under braces. A physician or orthotist or brace manufacturer's representative can show how to check to see if the brace is in correct position on the chest.  Bracing is becoming more popular over surgery for pectus carinatum, mostly because it eliminates the risks that accompany surgery. The prescribing of bracing as a treatment for pectus carinatum has 'trickled down' from both paediatric and thoracic surgeons to the family physician and pediatricians again due to its lower risks and well-documented very high success results. The pectus carinatum guideline of 2012 of the American Pediatric Surgical Association has stated: "As reconstructive therapy for the compliant pectus [carinatum] malformation, nonoperative compressive orthotic bracing is usually an appropriate first line of therapy as it does not preclude the operative option. For appropriate candidates, orthotic bracing of chest wall malformations can reasonably be expected to prevent worsening of the malformation and often results in a lasting correction of the malformation. Orthotic bracing is often successful in prepubertal children whose chest wall is compliant. Expert opinion suggests that the noncompliant chest wall malformation or significant asymmetry of the pectus carinatum malformation caused by a concomitant excavatum-type malformation may not respond to orthotic bracing."  Regular supervision during the bracing period is required for optimal results. Adjustments may be needed to the brace as the child grows and the pectus improves.

Surgical.

For patients with severe pectus carinatum, surgery may be necessary. However bracing could and may still be the first line of treatment. Some severe cases treated with bracing may result in just enough improvement that patient is happy with the outcome and may not want surgery afterwards.  If bracing should fail for whatever reason then surgery would be the next step. The two most common procedures are the Ravitch technique and the Reverse Nuss procedure.  A modified Ravitch technique uses bioabsorbable material and postoperative bracing, and in some cases a diced rib cartilage graft technique.  The Nuss was developed by Donald Nuss at the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk, Va. The Nuss is primarily used for Pectus Excavatum, but has recently been revised for use in some cases of PC, primarily when the malformation is symmetrical.

Other options.

After adolescence, some men and women use bodybuilding as a means to hide their malformation. Some women find that their breasts, if large enough, serve the same purpose. Some plastic surgeons perform breast augmentation to disguise mild to moderate cases in women. Bodybuilding is suggested for people with symmetrical pectus carinatum.

Prognosis.

Pectus malformations usually become more severe during adolescent growth years and may worsen throughout adult life. The secondary effects, such as scoliosis and cardiovascular and pulmonary conditions, may worsen with advancing age.  Body building exercises (often attempted to cover the defect with pectoral muscles) will not alter the ribs and cartilage of the chest wall, and are generally considered not harmful.  Most insurance companies no longer consider chest wall malformations like pectus carinatum to be purely cosmetic conditions. While the psychologic impact of any malformation is real and must be addressed, the physiological concerns must take precedence. The possibility of lifelong cardiopulmonary difficulties is serious enough to warrant a visit to a thoracic surgeon.

Epidemiology.

Pectus malformations are common; about 1 in 400 people have a pectus disorder.  Pectus carinatum is rarer than pectus excavatum, another pectus disorder, occurring in only about 20% of people with pectus malformations. About four out of five patients are males.

Pectus carinatum, also called pigeon chest, is a malformation of the chest characterized by a protrusion of the sternum and ribs. It is distinct from the related malformation pectus excavatum.

Die Kielbrust oder Hühnerbrust (lateinisch Pectus carinatum) ist durch eine kielförmige Vorwölbung des Brustbeins gekennzeichnet, die für die Betroffenen – vor allem in der Pubertät – ein psychisch belastendes ästhetisches Problem darstellen kann.


Etymology.

The generic name "Archaeoindris", meaning "ancient indri-like lemur", is derived from the Greek word ἀρχαῖος (archaios, or "ancient") and "indris", a common variation of the generic name "Indri". The species name, "fontoynontii" (sometimes spelled "fontoynonti"), was selected in honor of Antoine Maurice Fontoynont, the president of the Académie Malgache (Malagasy Academy) at the time. Fontoynont was reported to have been supervising the excavation when it was discovered.

Evolutionary history.

"Archaeoindris" was a type of sloth lemur (family Palaeopropithecidae), a recently extinct family of giant lemurs (known as subfossil lemurs) native to Madagascar. Its ancestors were likely arboreal (tree-dwelling), and this giant sloth lemur has been compared to the extinct giant ground sloths of North and South America. "Archaeoindris" was most closely related to "Palaeopropithecus", a genus containing the second largest of the sloth lemurs and specialized for suspensory behavior in its arboreal habitat. Traits of the postcranium (skeleton below the skull) indicate that "Babakotia" was the next most closely related sloth lemur to "Archaeoindris" and "Palaeopropithecus", followed by "Mesopropithecus", the smallest of the sloth lemurs.  All four genera of sloth lemurs are known to be a sister taxon (close relatives) of family Indriidae, which includes the indri ("Indri"), sifakas ("Propithecus"), and woolly lemurs ("Avahi"). This relationship is supported by data from morphological, developmental, and molecular research. Another member of this clade (related group) is the family of monkey lemurs (Archaeolemuridae). Dental features, such as the morphology of their molar teeth and the modified number of teeth in their toothcomb (a specialized grooming structure found in lemuriforms), have long suggested a relationship. However, other anatomical and developmental traits suggested that monkey lemurs might be more closely related to family Lemuridae, which include five genera of lemur, including the ring-tailed lemur ("Lemur catta"). Molecular analysis has shown strong support for the former, placing the monkey lemurs in a clade with the sloth lemurs and indriids.

Taxonomic classification.

The family Palaeopropithecidae contained a large number of species compared to most other subfossil lemur families. It included four genera and seven species, all of which are now extinct. Among these was the genus "Archaeoindris", one of only a few monotypic lemur taxa.  "Archaeoindris fontoynontii" was first described by Herbert F. Standing in 1909 from two fragments of a maxilla (upper jaw) and a complete mandible (lower jaw). These type specimens—AM-6239 (maxillae) and AM-6237 (mandible)—are stored in the collection at the University of Antananarivo. The mandible contains a complete set of upper teeth, the left maxillary fragment contains the last premolar (P4) and all three molars (M1–M3), and the right maxillary fragment bears both premolars (P2 and P4) and the first molar (M1). At the time, Standing noted similarities with the dentition of "Palaeopropithecus". Sixteen years after Standing's discovery, Charles Lamberton discovered the first and only complete cranium (skull) and associated mandible for "Archaeoindris", both of which were well preserved. He published this find in 1934.  Only six postcranial specimens of "Archaeoindris" have been found. Two of these belonged to an adult and include a damaged humerus (upper arm bone) and an almost complete femur (thigh bone). The other four come from an immature individual and include a damaged humerus, a damaged ulna (lower arm bone), and two femurs, both lacking the epiphyses (rounded end of the bone) on both ends. "Archaeoindris" is one of the least common of the subfossil lemurs, and the few known specimens were all found at Ampasambazimba in the Central Highlands. Excavations run by a multi-disciplinary Malagasy-American team at this fossil site between 1983 and 1984 yielded no new subfossil remains, and no other potential sites are known for this species.  Historically, some remains from other subfossil lemurs have been mistakenly attributed to "Archaeoindris", resulting in incorrect interpretations of its anatomy and behavior. In 1934, Lamberton missed earlier attribution errors and incorrectly labeled a tibia and two fibulae (lower leg bones) from a species of koala lemur ("Megaladapis grandidieri") as belonging to "Archaeoindris". Because of these misattributions and Lamberton's use of the immature bones, his reconstruction was inaccurate. In 1936, Alice Carleton corrected Lamberton by identifying the tibia and fibulae as belonging to a koala lemur. Carleton's corrections were later confirmed and other misattributions were corrected in the 1960s and 1970s by Alan Walker and William L. Jungers.  In 1910, twenty-four years before Lamberton's monograph on "Archaeoindris", Standing identified a massive right femur from Ampasambazimba as a new species, "Lemuridotherium madagascariense". Although Standing recognized the strong similarities between "Lemuridotherium" and "Archaeoindris", he placed them in separate genera due to what he perceived as a great size difference. Lamberton was also persuaded by the size difference, partly because he failed to recognize the smaller tibia and fibulae as belonging to the smaller "Megaladapis grandidieri". Furthermore, Lamberton did not realize that the smaller femurs he assigned to "Archaeoindris" belonged to a juvenile. Although some later authors considered "Lemuridotherium" a synonym of "Archaeoindris", it was not until 1988 that Martine Vuillaume-Randriamanantena provided a definitive proof. Vuillaume-Randriamanantena also established associations between the postcrania and crania of "Archareoindris", summarized what is known about the postcranial skeleton, and documented the strong similarity with the genus "Palaeopropithecus".

Anatomy and physiology.

Though similar to "Palaeopropithecus", "Archaeoindris" was significantly larger and more robust. "Archaeoindris" was one of the largest primates to ever evolve, and was the largest-known strepsirrhine primate, weighing an estimated. It was roughly the size of an adult male gorilla, which was first noted by Lamberton.  Since its discovery, size estimates have varied from "larger than a human" to "possibly the largest primate ever". In a study by Jungers from 1990, the area of its molar teeth predicted a mass of, while the femoral head diameter predicted a mass of. In 1995, Laurie Godfrey estimated a mass of using the midshaft circumferences of the humerus and femur. Based on multiple regressions of the cortical area of the femur in 2008, Jungers and colleagues generated the current best estimate of with a possible range of. These estimates were considered to be more accurate since the harder cortical bone in the midshaft of the femur supported an animal's weight, and its thickness better correlated with the animal's mass than the midshaft diameter (which includes both hard cortex and spongy bone). The only fossil primate that was probably larger than "Archaeoindris" was "Gigantopithecus blacki", a close relative of orangutans.  Like all three species of "Palaeopropithecus", "Archaeoindris" exhibited derived traits not seen in the two other less specialized genera of sloth lemur. These traits included deflated auditory bullae and paired protrusions of bone around the nasal opening consisting of part of the premaxilla and the nasal bones. Its skull was wider than that of "Megaladapis", but shorter, measuring. Its face was shorter than that of "Palaeopropithecus", with its eyes directed further forward. The neurocranium (braincase) was small and elevated relative to the face, unlike "Palaeopropithecus". Postorbital constriction (narrowing of the skull behind the eye sockets) is pronounced. The skull also bore a low, broad sagittal crest (a ridge of bone on the top of the skull to which jaw muscles attach) and robust but smaller nuchal crests (ridges of bone on the back of the skull to which neck muscles attach). Unlike "Palaeopropithecus" the rims of the orbits (eye sockets) were not as thick. The area of the orbit was, comparable to that of gorillas. Based on the ratio of its orbit area to the size of its optic canal, "Archaeoindris" had low retinal summation, meaning its eyes were less sensitive to light (like living diurnal lemurs). Yet the ratio was not as low as in comparably sized apes, suggesting "Archaeoindris" had low visual acuity and lacked trichromatic color vision. The jaw exhibited a long, robust mandibular symphysis (joining of the two halves of the lower jaw), which fused early during development. Its palate (bones on the roof of the mouth) was rectangular. Like other sloth lemurs, it likely experienced accelerated dental development, and had an adult dental formula of. Its teeth were also similar to those of "Palaeopropithecus", both in morphology and proportions. The four lower incisors that would have made up the toothcomb were modified, being shorter and more robust, possibly for feeding purposes. The canines were short and stout, but sharp. Also, there was a diastema (gap) between the lower premolars (p2 and p4). Other dental similarities with "Palaeopropithecus" included small third upper and lower molars (M3 and m3), the first and second molars were narrow and long, and the enamel of its cheek teeth was crenulated (low and rounded), though not as wrinkled and slightly higher-crowned.  Most bones of the postcranial skeleton, including the bones of the hands, feet, vertebral column, ribs, radius (lower arm bone), tibia, and fibula, have not been found for "Archaeoindris". As with many cranial features, the postcranial bones that have been discovered are similar to that of "Palaeopropithecus", but significantly larger and more robust. The head of the femur was large and lacked a fovea capitis femoris (a small depression in the head of the femur). The femur was short and extremely robust, had a very high collodiaphyseal angle (the angle of the neck and shaft of the bone), and the greater trochanter was small. In the adult, the humerus was significantly longer than the femur, while in the immature specimen, both the humerus and ulna were much longer than the femur, making the arms considerably longer than the legs, as also seen in "Palaeopropithecus". The relative length of the arms to the legs was shorter in "Archaeoindris", so although its intermembral index was over 100, it was lower than that of "Palaeopropithecus".

Behavior.

"Archaeoindris" is thought to have been a leaf-eater (folivorous), a view supported by wear patterns on its teeth. Its fused mandibular symphyses and the likelihood of accelerated dental development suggest that it began processing fibrous foods in the mouth with thorough chewing. Its diet may also have included some fruits and seeds. Like most of the other giant lemurs, "Archaeoindris" is thought to have been diurnal because of its relatively small orbits, which are comparable to those of gorillas.  Both Standing and Lamberton assumed "Archaeoindris" to be a slow-moving tree-dweller like "Megaladapis", primarily due to the misattributed bones. Lamberton also speculated that it would have resembled a ground sloth—a view later supported by Jungers in 1980 after several misattributions had been corrected and having considered its gorilla-like size. Jungers went on to propose that it would have spent most of its time on the ground (terrestrial). However, the functional morphology of its hip joint indicates a degree of mobility typically seen in more arboreal animals. Other traits shared with "Palaeopropithecus", particularly seen in the femur, suggest that "Archaeoindris" spent considerable time in the trees for feeding and possibly nesting, although it also would have visited the ground to feed and travel. It is described as a deliberate, scansorial (climbing) browser, and it is unknown whether it was like "Palaeopropithecus" in performing hang-feeding since hand and foot bones are missing. Given its bulky size, this would be unexpected.

Distribution and habitat.

"Archaeoindris" is known from only one subfossil site, Ampasambazimba, in central Madagascar, and all remains date to the Late Quaternary. The area today is dominated by grasslands, particularly of the grass genus "Aristida". Prior to human arrival, the area around Ampasambazimba was not completely forested, but more of an open habitat, consisting of a mix of woodlands, bushlands, and savanna. Animal remains at this subfossil site have yielded about 20 species of lemur living in sympatry (sharing the same geographic area). In comparison, the nearby Ambohitantely Special Reserve today contains only four species, roughly 20% of the area's original lemur diversity.

Extinction.

Despite being the most species-rich family among the giant lemurs, all four genera of sloth lemur, including "Archaeoindris", have gone extinct. Radiocarbon dating of the stratigraphic level of some of the "Archaeoindris" remains were dated to 8000 BP, while two other specimens were dated to 2362–2149 BP (412–199 BCE) and 2711–2338 BP (761–388 BCE). From these dates, it is likely that "Archaeoindris" was still alive on the high plateau in 350 BCE when the first humans reached the west coast of Madagascar, despite being rare by that time. Consequently, it would have been especially vulnerable to hunting and habitat loss.

Archaeoindris fontoynontii is an extinct giant lemur and the largest primate known to have evolved on Madagascar, comparable in size to a male gorilla. It belonged to a family of extinct lemurs known as "sloth lemurs" (Palaeopropithecidae), and because of its extremely large size, it has been compared to the ground sloths that once roamed North and South America. It was most closely related to "Palaeopropithecus", the second largest type of sloth lemur. Along with the other sloth lemurs, "Archaeoindris" was related to the living indri, sifakas, and woolly lemurs, as well as the recently extinct monkey lemurs (Archaeolemuridae). The genus, "Archaeoindris", translates to "ancient indri-like lemur", even though it probably became extinct recently, around 350 BCE.

Archaeoindris ist eine ausgestorbene Primatengattung, die bis vor zumindest wenigen 1000 Jahren auf der Insel Madagaskar lebte. Sie erreichte ein Gewicht von rund 160 bis 200 Kilogramm, was etwa einem ausgewachsenen männlichen Gorilla entspricht, und war damit der größte bislang bekannte Feuchtnasenaffe. Einzig bekannte Art der Gattung ist "Archaeoindris fontoynonti".


Orbit and classification.

"Erda" is a non-family asteroid of the main belt's background population when applying the hierarchical clustering method to its proper orbital elements. It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.8–3.5 AU once every 5 years and 6 months (2,013 days; semi-major axis of 3.12 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.11 and an inclination of 13° with respect to the ecliptic. On 14 May 1907, the body's observation arc begins as () at Heidelberg; just two nights after its first observation, and more than 11 years prior to its official discovery observation.

Naming.

According to "The Names of the Minor Planets" by Paul Herget in 1955, and adopted by Lutz Schmadel in the "Dictionary of Minor Planet Names", this minor planet was named after the Norse goddess described as the "incarnation of the nature", and as "a seer who knows the origin and the destination of all things" ().  The discoverer, Max Wolf, likely adopted the name from Wagner's opera cycle "Der Ring des Nibelungen", which is loosely based on figures from the Norse sagas. In Wagner's "Ring", the character, named after the Old High German word for "Earth", is the goddess of wisdom, fate and Earth. She is the world's wisest woman, the mother of the three Norns and of the valkyrie (shieldmaid) Brunhild, whose father is the norse chief god Odin (Wotan). Wagner, in turn, adopted the name from the treatise "Deutsche Mythologie" by Jacob Grimm (1785–1863) and other sources. Erda combines attributes of both, Urðr (wisdom and fate) and Jörð (the personification of Earth).

Physical characteristics.

In both the Tholen- and SMASS-like taxonomy of the Small Solar System Objects Spectroscopic Survey (S3OS2), "Erda" is a X-type asteroid.

Rotation period.

In June 2006, a rotational lightcurve of "Erda" was obtained from photometric observations by David Higgins at Hunters Hill Observatory, Australia, and by Rui Gonçalves at Linhaceira Observatory in Portugal. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of hours with a brightness variation of magnitude, significantly higher than previous observations had measured (). The observers also found no indication of a previously speculated companion.  The result supersedes observations from July 2001, when both Robert Stephens and Laurent Bernasconi determined a period of and hours with an amplitude of and magnitude, respectively.

Diameter and albedo.

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, and the Japanese Akari satellite, "Erda" measures (), () and () kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of (), () and (), respectively. The "Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link" derives an albedo of 0.1942 and a diameter of 36.26 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 9.6. An alternative mean-diameter measurement published by the WISE team gives () with an albedo of (). On 17 April 2010, an asteroid occultation gave a best-fit ellipse dimension of 36.00 × 36.0 kilometers, while a second observation on 15 September 2014, measured an ellipse of 38.00 × 38.0 kilometers These timed observations are taken when the asteroid passes in front of a distant star.

894 Erda ("prov. designation": "or" ) is a bright background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 4 June 1918, by German astronomer Max Wolf at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory. The X-type asteroid has a short rotation period of 4.7 hours and measures approximately in diameter. It was likely named after a character in Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen", "Erda", who is the goddess of wisdom, fate and Earth, borrowed from the Norse sagas, and referring to both Urðr and Jörð in Norse mythology.

(894) Erda ist ein Asteroid des Hauptgürtels, der am 4. Juni 1918 vom deutschen Astronomen Max Wolf in Heidelberg entdeckt wurde.


History.

The church stands on the site of King Ine of Wessex's "Schola Saxonum", or "Saxon School", a charitable institution for West Saxon pilgrims. According to Roger of Wendover, Ine founded the Schola Saxonum in AD 727. It included a hostel and a chapel dedicated to Santa Maria. In mediaeval times a substantial number of pilgrims from Wessex, including fighting men, traveled the Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rome.  It was rebuilt in the 12th century and subsequently restored several times. In 1475 Pope Sixtus IV commissioned joining the church to the nearby Hospital of the Holy Spirit for foundlings (which Pope Innocent III had built and whose history is given in wall-paintings in the church's sacristy) and given a bell tower. In 1538–1545, Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, or Baldassare Peruzzi, rebuilt the church after it had been damaged during the Sack of Rome. An organ, which survives, was added in 1547. In 1585–1590, Pope Sixtus V had the exterior restored, giving the church its present façade by Ottavio Mascherino, inspired by a design of Sangallo. This facade has two stories, with Corinthian pillars dividing the lower one into five sections, and the upper divided into three sections. In the upper middle section is a circular window, and above that is the coat-of-arms of Pope Sixtus V. The façade is crowned by a pediment. It is a typical example of Renaissance architecture.  In the stational procession for the first Sunday after the Octave of the Epiphany, instituted by Pope Innocent III (1198–1216), a procession carried the veil of Saint Veronica from Saint Peter's Basilica, and the Pope celebrated Mass in this church. Indulgences were granted to those who took part, and money was distributed to the poor.  The inscriptions found in Santo Spirito in Sassia, a valuable source illustrating the history of the church, have been collected and published by Vincenzo Forcella.

Art and architecture.

The church has a single nave, and ten apsidal chapels along the sides. The counter-facade has a "Visitation" (1545) by Marco Pino, and a "Conversion of St. Paul" begun by Francesco Salviati and completed by Francesco Rubiale. The first chapel to the right in the apse, has a fresco of the "Pentecost" by the Florentine Jacopo Zucchi and his brother. The second chapel has an "Assumption" by Livio Agresti, who also painted the "Trinity" in the fourth chapel as well as frescoes in the third chapel. The fifth chapel has an "Annunciation" and an "Ascent" (1570) by Giuseppe Valeriano. The sacristy is decorated by stories of the "Schola Saxonum" by Guidobaldo Abbatini. The apse is frescoed (1583) by both Jacopo and Francesco Zucchi. The fifth chapel on the left has a "Martyrdom of St. John the Evangelist" by Marcello Venusti. The second and first chapels contain paintings by Cesare Nebbia, including a "Coronation of the Virgin".

Cardinal-Deacons.

Since the 1991 consistory of Pope John Paul II, the church has been used as a Deaconry with a Cardinal assigned as its Cardinal Protector (a term created by Pope Paul VI in 1966).

Church of the Holy Spirit in the Saxon District (Italian: "La chiesa di Santo Spirito in Sassia") is a 12th-century titular church in Rome, Italy. It is in "Borgo Santo Spirito", a street which got its name from the church, placed in the southern part of Rione Borgo. The current holder of the "titulus" is Cardinal-Deacon Dominique Mamberti. It has been the official sanctuary of Divine Mercy since 1994.

Santo Spirito in Sassia ist ein ehemaliges Hospiz in Rom. Es war eines der größten mittelalterlichen Krankenhäuser und eine bedeutende Forschungseinrichtung für die medizinischen Wissenschaften und die Pharmazie der frühen Neuzeit.


Species and habitats.

The two species of tarpons are "Megalops atlanticus" (Atlantic tarpon) and the "Megalops cyprinoides" (Indo-Pacific tarpon). "M. atlanticus" is found on the western Atlantic coast from Virginia to Brazil, throughout the Caribbean and the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Tarpons are also found along the eastern Atlantic coast from Senegal to South Angola. "M. cyprinoides" is found along the eastern African coast, throughout southeast Asia, Japan, Tahiti, and Australia. Both species are found in both saltwater and freshwater habitats, usually ascending rivers to access freshwater marshes. They are able to survive in brackish water, waters of varying pH, and habitats with low dissolved content due to their swim bladders, which they use primarily to breathe. They are also able to rise to the surface and take gulps of air, which gives them a short burst of energy. The habitats of tarpon vary greatly with their developmental stages. Stage-one larvae are usually found in clear, warm, oceanic waters, relatively close to the surface. Stage-two and -three larvae are found in salt marshes, tidal pools, creeks, and rivers. The habitats are characteristically warm, shallow, dark bodies of water with sandy mud bottoms. Tarpon commonly ascend rivers into freshwater. As they progress from the juvenile stage to adulthood, they move back to the open waters of the ocean, though many remain in freshwater habitats.

Fossil species.

Fossils of this genus go back to the Cretaceous during the Albian stage 113.0 mya.

Physical characteristics.

Tarpons grow to about long and weigh. They have dorsal and anal soft rays and have bluish or greenish backs. Tarpons possess shiny, silvery scales that cover most of their bodies, excluding the head. They have large eyes with adipose eyelids and broad mouths with prominent lower jaws that jut out farther than the rest of the face.

Reproduction and life cycle.

Tarpons breed offshore in warm, isolated areas. Females have high fecundity and can lay up to 12 million eggs at once. They reach sexual maturity once they are about in length. Spawning usually occurs in late spring to early summer. Their three distinct levels of development usually occur in varying habitats. The first stage, the leptocephalus stage, or stage one, is completed after 20–30 days. It takes place in clear, warm oceanic waters, usually within 10–20 m of the surface. The leptocephalus shrinks as it develops into a larva; the most shrunken larva, stage two, develops by day 70. This is due to a negative growth phase followed by a sluggish growth phase. By day 70, the juvenile growth phase, stage three, begins and the fish begins to rapidly grow until it reaches sexual maturity.

Diet.

Stage-one developing" Megalops" do not forage for food, but instead absorb nutrients from seawater using integumentary absorption. Stage-two and -three juveniles feed primarily on zooplankton, but also feed on insects and small fish. As they progress in juvenile development, especially those developing in freshwater environments, their consumption of insects, fish, crabs, and grass shrimp increases. Adults are strictly carnivorous and feed on midwater prey; they swallow their food whole and hunt nocturnally.

Predation.

The main predators of "Megalops" during stage one and early stage-two development are other fish, depending on their size. Juveniles are subject to predation by other juvenile "Megalops" and piscivorous birds. They are especially vulnerable to birds like osprey or other raptors when they come to the surface for air, due to the rolling manner in which they move to take in air, as well as the silver scales lining their sides. Adults occasionally fall prey to sharks, porpoises, crocodiles and alligators.

Swim bladder.

One of the unique features of" Megalops" is the swim bladder, which functions as a respiratory pseudo-organ. This gas structure can be used for buoyancy, as an accessory respiratory organ, or both. In "Megalops", this unpaired air-holding structure arises dorsally from the posterior pharynx. "Megalops" uses the swim bladder as a respiratory organ and the respiratory surface is coated with blood capillaries with a thin epithelium over the top. This is the basis of the alveolar tissue found in the swim bladder, and is believed to be one of the primary methods by which" Megalops" "breathes". These fish are obligate air breathers, and if they are not allowed to access the surface, they will die. The exchange of gas occurs at the surface through a rolling motion that is commonly associated with "Megalops" sightings. This "breathing" is believed to be mediated by visual cues, and the frequency of breathing is inversely correlated to the dissolved content of the water in which they live.

Megalops and humans.

"Megalops" is considered one of the great saltwater game fishes. They are prized not only because of their great size, but also because of the fight they put up and their spectacular leaping ability. They are bony fish and their meat is not desirable, so most are released after they are caught. Numerous tournaments around the year are focused on catching tarpon.

Geographical distribution and migration.

Since tarpons are not commercially valuable as a food fish, very little has been documented concerning their geographical distribution and migrations. They inhabit both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and their range in the eastern Atlantic has been reliably established from Senegal to the Congo. Tarpons inhabiting the western Atlantic are principally found to populate warmer coastal waters primarily in the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, and the West Indies. Nonetheless, tarpons are regularly caught by anglers at Cape Hatteras and as far north as Nova Scotia, Bermuda, and south to Argentina. Scientific studies indicate schools of tarpons have routinely migrated through the Panama Canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific and back for over 70 years. However, they have not been found to breed in the Pacific Ocean. Nevertheless, anecdotal evidence by tarpon fishing guides and anglers would tend to validate this notion, as over the last 60 years, many small juvenile tarpons, as well as mature giants, have been caught and documented principally on the Pacific side of Panama at the Bayano River, the Gulf of San Miguel and its tributaries, Coiba Island in the Gulf of Chiriquí, and Piñas Bay in the Gulf of Panama. Since tarpons tolerate wide ranges in salinity throughout their lives and will eat almost anything dead or alive, their migrations seemingly are only limited by water temperatures.  Tarpons prefer water temperatures of ; below they become inactive, and temperatures under can be lethal.

Tarpons are large fish of the genus Megalops; one species is native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific Seas. They are the only members of the family Megalopidae.

Die Tarpune ("Megalops") sind eine Gattung großer, urtümlicher Echter Knochenfische (Teleostei), die mit zwei Arten weltweit in allen warmen Ozeanen leben.


Early history.

In 1780, Prince Dmitri Mikhailovich Galitzin, the Russian ambassador in Vienna, acquired forested property from Field Marshal Count Franz Moritz von Lacy, situated uphill of what was then the village of Ottakring. He ordered a small "Jagdschloss" to be erected, which soon became famous for its social events. By 1824, when the building was already in disrepair, ownership of the estate had passed on to Prince Julius de Montléart (1787–1865) and his wife Princess Maria Christina of Saxony. In 1838, the castle was expanded by adding two side wings.  When Julius' son, Prince Moritz de Montléart, acquired the property after considerable legal battles, he gave it to his wife Wilhelmine ("née" von Arnold) and named the castle "Wilhelminenberg". Upon their deaths in 1887 and 1895, respectively, both were interred in a small mausoleum which was built in the "neo-gothic" style close to the castle. Because of her generosity towards the poor, Wilhelmine de Montléart became known as the "Angel of Ottakring." In 1895, their nephew Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria, son of the half-sister of Moritz de Montleart, inherited the estate.

The current palace.

In 1903, Archduke Leopold Salvator had the dilapidated building demolished and in the years to 1908, a palace in the Second Empire style was built according to plans of the architects Eduard Frauenfeld and Ignaz Sowinski. The construction costs, including the park and the ancillary buildings, amounted to 1.4 million Kronen.  In 1918, when World War I drew to its close, the castle became a military hospital and was subsequently used as a rehabilitation center for veterans. In 1927, the City of Vienna purchased the entire estate from the Zurich banker Wilhelm Ammann and established an orphanage there. From 1934 to 1938, the castle served as the home base for the world-famous Vienna Boys' Choir.  Following Austria's "Anschluss" to Nazi Germany in March 1938, Wilhelminenberg was confiscated and transferred to the "Österreichische Legion", a paramilitary unit of exiled Austrian National Socialists. During World War II, it was once again made an army hospital. When the war had ended, the City of Vienna used parts of the building to accommodate former concentration camp inmates, and again as an orphanage. A special education facility for girls with behavioral problems was operated from the 1950s until 1977. After that, representation rooms were opened on special occasions such as the annual Vienna Festival, but in general, little use was made of the castle until 1988, when it was reopened as a hotel.  Since May 2003, Wilhelminenberg ranks as a four-star hotel. It boasts 87 elegant rooms, a restaurant and library, a terrace offering a panoramic view of Vienna, and a 120,000 m2 park. Conferences with up to 2,000 participants can be accommodated.  Wilhelminenberg has become a popular location for large wedding parties and other celebrations. On such occasions, splendid fireworks are frequently visible across the western parts of Vienna. In winter, a section of the park can be used for skating.

Child abuse scandal.

In 2011, several former inmates of the castle reported massive and systematic cases of child abuse during the time the castle was used as an orphanage for girls. The allegations include widespread beatings, systematic rape, and even murder.. The Vienna city authorities conducted an investigation that lasted six years, and was essentially concluded in 2016, with cumulated settlement payments to victims amounting to EUR 52.5 million.

Sources.

Klusacek C, Stimmer K: Ottakring. Vom Brunnenmarkt zum Liebhartstal. pp. 121–124. Kurt Mohl Verlag, Vienna 1983.

Wilhelminenberg Castle () is a former palace dating from the early 20th century, which is now a four-star hotel, restaurant and conference facility. It is situated on the eastern slopes of the Gallitzinberg, in the Wienerwald western parts of the Austrian capital, Vienna.

Das Schloss Wilhelminenberg liegt am westlichen Stadtrand Wiens im 16. Gemeindebezirk, Ottakring, auf dem Gallitzinberg. Es wird heute als Hotel genutzt und befindet sich inmitten einer 120.000 m2 großen Parkanlage, die von der nach Südsüdost gerichteten Vorderseite des Schlosses sanft ins Liebhartstal abfällt.


Wines.

Red wines account for 80% of the production and are made from Grenache noir minimum 30%, and Syrah, minimum 40% with carignan at less than 10% (until the harvest of 2017), and Cinsault at less than 10% (from the harvest of 2018) as secondary varieties.  Rosé wines account for 15% of the production and are made from Grenache noir, Syrah and Cinsault at.  White wines comprise 5% of the production and are made from Clairette blanche, Grenache blanc, Marsanne.

Economy.

Wines have been produced in the region for over 2,000 years. In the region extending from the Rhône valley to the Cévennes and the Ardèche mountains - both foothills of the Massif Central - vines were cultivated by the Helvians, an ancient Gallic tribe. Pliny the Elder reported about a vine in Helvie “that flowers in a day, which protects it from accidents”; the region would wait however, until the Middle Ages before the production was well established and the wine became well known. With the planting of the traditional Rhône valley varieties of Grenache noir, Syrah, Grenache blanc and Marsanne in the early second half of the 20th century, cooperative wineries were formed to increase production to a commercial scale. The Côtes du Vivarais wines are produced on a total of 554 hectares by 149 concerns which include 138 growers, 22 small private wineries, and the 11 cooperative wineries which cater for about 90% of the production.  The vineyards are at an altitude of 250 metres on either side of the gorge and are located in the Ardèche communes of Bidon, Gras, Labastide-de-Virac, Lagorce, Larnas, Orgnac-l'Aven, Saint-Montan, Saint-Remèze, and Vinezac, and in the Gard communes of Barjac, Le Garn, Issirac, Montclus, and Saint-Privat-de-Champclos.

Côtes du Vivarais is a wine-growing AOC in the northwestern extreme of the southern Rhône wine region of France. The wines are produced in 9 communes of the Ardèche department, and in 5 communes of the department of the Gard. The region is bisected by the deep Gorges of the Ardèche and is shares the same latitudes as the Coteaux de Tricastin AOC on the left bank of the Rhône. The wine became a VDQS in 1962 and was awarded the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée in 1999.

Das Weinbaugebiet Côtes du Vivarais liegt im nördlich Abschnitt des Weinbaugebiets Rhône auf der orographisch rechten Seite der Rhône gegenüber der am anderen Flussufer liegenden AOC Grignan-les-Adhémar. Zentral im Anbaugebiet liegt der Fluss Ardèche mit vielfältigen touristischen Möglichkeiten.


Origin and construction.

Buddhist kāṣāya are said to have originated in ancient India as a set of robes for the devotees of Gautama Buddha. A notable variant has a pattern reminiscent of an Asian rice field. Original kāṣāya were constructed of discarded fabric. These were stitched together to form three rectangular pieces of cloth, which were then fitted over the body in a specific manner. The three main pieces of cloth are the "antarvāsa", the "uttarāsaṅga", and the "". Together they form the "triple robe," or "ticīvara". The ticīvara is described more fully in the Theravāda Vinaya (Vin 1:94 289).

Antarvāsa (Antaravāsaka).

The antarvāsa is the inner robe covering the lower body. It is the undergarment that flows underneath the other layers of clothing. It has a large top, and almost entirely covers the torso. In representations of the Buddha, the bottom of the antarvāsa usually protrudes, and appears in the rough shape of a triangle. This garment is essentially a skirt, which was common enough as ancient menswear. When needed, its height could be adjusted so it did not hang as low as the ankles.

Uttarāsaṅga.

A robe covering the upper body. It comes over the undergarment, or antarvāsa. In representations of the Buddha, the uttarāsaṅga rarely appears as the uppermost garment, since it is often covered by the outer robe, or saṃghāti.

Saṃghāti.

The saṃghāti is a double layers robe of Bhikkhus or Bhikkhunis used as an outer cloak for various occasions. It comes over the upper robe (""), and the undergarment ("antarvāsa"). In representations of the Buddha, the saṃghāti is usually the most visible garment, with the undergarment or uttarāsaṅga protruding at the bottom. It is quite similar in shape to the Greek himation, and its shape and folds have been treated in Greek style in the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhāra.

Additions.

Other items that may have been worn with the triple robe were:

Indian Buddhism.

In India, variations of the kāṣāya robe distinguished different types of monastics. These represented the different schools that they belonged to, and their robes ranged widely from red and ochre, to blue and black.  Between 148 and 170 CE, the Parthian monk An Shigao came to China and translated a work which describes the color of monastic robes used in five major Indian Buddhist sects, called "Da Biqiu Sanqian Weiyi" (Ch. 大比丘三千威儀). Another text translated at a later date, the "Śāriputraparipṛcchā", contains a very similar passage corroborating this information, but the colors for the Sarvāstivāda and Dharmaguptaka sects are reversed.  In traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, which follow the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, red robes are regarded as characteristic of the Mūlasarvāstivādins.  According to Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, the robes of fully ordained Mahāsāṃghika monastics were to be sewn out of more than seven but no more than twenty-three sections. The symbols sewn on the robes were the endless knot (Skt. "śrīvatsa") and the conch (Skt. "śaṅkha"), two of the aṣṭamaṅgala, auspicious symbols in Buddhism.

Jiāshā in Chinese Buddhism.

In Chinese Buddhism, the kāṣāya is called "jiāshā" (). During the early period of Chinese Buddhism, the most common color was red. Later, the color of the robes came to serve as a way to distinguish monastics, just as they did in India. However, the colors of a Chinese Buddhist monastic's robes often corresponded to their geographical region rather than to any specific schools. By the maturation of Chinese Buddhism, only the Dharmaguptaka ordination lineage was still in use, and therefore the color of robes served no useful purpose as a designation for sects, the way that it had in India.  During the Tang dynasty, Chinese Buddhist monastics typically wore grayish-black robes, and were even colloquially referred to as "Ziyi" (), "those of the black robes." However, the Song dynasty monk Zanning (919–1001 CE) writes that during the earlier Han-Wei period, the Chinese monks typically wore red.

Kesa in Japanese Buddhism.

Japanese buddhism had used to be worn covering the entire body beneath the head, including both shoulders, but now it is worn with the right shoulder exposed, except in special cases(=偏袒右肩 Hendan-uken). This is to show the worship and reverence for Buddha, as opposed to the ones worn by Tathāgata covering both shoulders(=通肩 Tsuken).

Kāṣāya (; ; ;, ) are the robes of fully ordained Buddhist monks and nuns, named after a brown or saffron dye. In Sanskrit and Pali, these robes are also given the more general term "cīvara", which references the robes without regard to color.

Der Kesa ist eine Mönchsrobe, ein Kleidungsstück, das die Zugehörigkeit zu einem buddhistischen Orden ausdrückt. Ein Kesa besteht aus Stoffstreifen, die von Hand zusammengenäht sind. Der Tradition nach haben die ersten buddhistischen Wandermönche ihre Gewänder aus weggeworfenen Stoffresten, Leichentüchern usw. gefertigt und ockerfarben eingefärbt. Durch das Verwerten von alten Kleidern, Stoffspenden, Stoffen bestimmter Anwendungen und dem Nähen und Einfärben von Hand erhält der Kesa seine geistige Bedeutung. Besonders im Zen-Buddhismus legt man Wert auf das Fertigen eines Kesa vor der Ordination zum Mönch oder zur Nonne.


Synopsis.

The first tale, titled "Early Spring", follows Knulp just after he had been discharged from a hospital due to his waning health. An old friend of his, a tanner named Emil Rothfuss, shelters him while Knulp spends his days aimlessly. During the tale he gains the affection of the tanner's wife, though he does not welcome her advances. He attempts to court a girl named Barbra Flick who had recently arrived in the town as a household servant. The chapter culminates after Knulp convinces Barbra to abandon her post in the night and dance with him. In the last words of "Early Spring", Knulp decides to leave the town despite a commitment with the tanner and his wife scheduled the following day.  The second tale, "My Recollections of Knulp", is told from the point of view of another vagrant who is not identified but is the only of the three tales written in first person giving the impression as possibly being Hermann Hesse himself. The story focuses on his interactions with Knulp as they wander through the forests and meadows of Germany. The second half of the section takes place during a day which unfolded as joy-filled and carefree. It ends, however, on the following day when Knulp has abandoned the narrator. The narrator is bewildered, wondering if possibly Knulp left him out of disgust due to his excessive drinking, the previous night. The Third tale, "The End", follows Knulp as he is taken in for a growing illness by Dr. Machold—a childhood friend from Latin school. Dr. Machold, who once learned from Knulp, is now a grown up respectable individual. He helps Knulp to recover as they reminiscent on their brief time together, during their childhood, while, Dr. Machold prepares to send him to a hospital in the town of their youth. Upon arriving, Knulp wanders around his home town remembering what once was. He greets a stone-breaker who, after recognizing Knulp from his childhood days, questions why he never put his God given gifts and abilities to good use. Towards the end of the novel, Knulp wanders into the forest. He begins a conversation with God, which poetically connects the three tales. In this conversation, Knulp asks God why he, Knulp, has not done anything of consequence in life. Knulp questions about the purpose of his life and why the longevity. Throughout the conversation, Knulp slowly comes to terms with himself and then accepts his life.  "See," said God, "I did not need you to be any other than you. In my name, you have wandered and have always brought the sedentary people a little homesickness for freedom. In my name you have done stupid things and made yourself a mockery; I am mocked in you and loved in you. You are my child and my brother and a piece of me, and you have tasted nothing and suffered nothing that I have not experienced with you." "Yes," Knulp said, nodding heavily. "Yes, it is so, I always knew it."

Knulp is a 1915 novel written by Hermann Hesse. It was Hesse's most popular book in the years before he published "Demian". The novel is split up into three separate tales which are centered on the life of the main character: Knulp. Knulp, who was once a gifted and promising youth, is depicted as an amiable vagabond perpetually wandering from town to town, staying with friends. He is liked by almost everyone he encounters in the novel for his manners and charming demeanour. He often receives charity from those sympathetic with him.

Knulp (Untertitel "Drei Geschichten aus dem Leben Knulps") ist eine Erzählung von Hermann Hesse, erschienen 1915 im S. Fischer Verlag. Die drei Geschichten über einen Landstreicher, die Hesse in den Jahren von 1907 bis 1914 schrieb, gehören zu seinen „Gerbersau“-Erzählungen.


Structure.

Phytochromes consist of a protein, covalently linked to a light-sensing bilin chromophore. The protein part comprises two identical chains (A and B). Each chain has a PAS domain, GAF domain and PHY domain. Domain arrangements in plant, bacterial and fungal phytochromes are comparable insofar, as the three N-terminal domains are always PAS, GAF and PHY domains. However C-terminal domains are more divergent. The PAS domain serves as a signal sensor and the GAF domain is responsible for binding to cGMP and also senses light signals. Together, these subunits form the phytochrome region, which regulates physiological changes in plants to changes in red and far red light conditions. In plants, red light changes phytochrome to its biologically active form, while far red light changes the protein to its biologically inactive form.

Isoforms or states.

Phytochromes are characterized by a red/far-red photochromicity. Photochromic pigments change their "color" (spectral absorbance properties) upon light absorption. In the case of phytochrome the ground state is P, the indicating that it absorbs red light particularly strongly. The absorbance maximum is a sharp peak 650–670 nm, so concentrated phytochrome solutions look turquoise-blue to the human eye. But once a red photon has been absorbed, the pigment undergoes a rapid conformational change to form the P state. Here indicates that now not red but far-red (also called "near infra-red"; 705–740 nm) is preferentially absorbed. This shift in absorbance is apparent to the human eye as a slightly more greenish color. When P absorbs far-red light it is converted back to P. Hence, red light makes P, far-red light makes P. In plants at least P is the physiologically active or "signalling" state.  Phytochromes effect on Phototropism  Phytochromes also have the ability to sense light, and cause the plant to grow towards the light this is called phototropism. Janoudi and his fellow coworkers wanted to see what phytochrome was responsible for causing phototropism to occur. So they performed a series of experiments to figure this out that had to start at the beginning. They found that blue light causes the plant Arabidopsis thaliana to exhibit a phototropic response, this curvature is heightened with the addition of red light. They found that five phytochromes are present in the plant, they also found a variety of mutants in which the phytochromes do not function properly. Two of these mutant were very important for this study they are phyA-101 and phyB-1. These are the mutants of phytochrome A and B respectively. The normally functional phytochrome A causes a sensitivity to far red light, and it causes a regulation in the expression of curvature toward the light. Whereas phytochrome B is more sensitive to the red light.  The experiment consisted in the wild-type form of Arabidopsis, phyA-101(phytochrome A (phyA) null mutant), phyB-1 (phytochrome B deficient mutant). They were then exposed to white light as a control blue and red light at different fluences of light, the curvature was measured. It was determined that in order to achieve a phenotype of that of the wild-type phyA-101 must be exposed to four orders of higher magnitude or about 100umol m fluence. However, the fluence that causes phyB-1 to exhibit the same curvature as the wild-type is identical to that of the wild-type. The phytochrome that expressed more than normal amounts of phytochrome A it was found that as the fluence increased the curvature also increased up to 10umol-m the curvature was similar to the wild-type. The phytochrome expressing more than normal amounts of phytochrome B exhibited curvatures similar to that of the wild type at different fluences of red light up until the fluence of 100umol-m at fluences higher than this curvature was much higher than the wild-type.  Thus, the experiment resulted in the finding that another phytochrome than just phytochrome A acts in influencing the curvature since the mutant is not that far off from the wild-type, and phyA is not expressed at all. Thus leading to the conclusion that two phases must be responsible for phototropism. They determined that the response occurs at low fluences, and at high fluences. This is because for phyA-101 the threshold for curvature occurred at higher fluences, but curvature also occurs at low fluence values. Since the threshold of the mutant occurs at high fluence values it has been determined that phytochrome A is not responsible for curvature at high fluence values. Since the mutant for phytochrome B exhibited a response similar to that of the wild-type, it had been concluded that phytochrome B is not needed for low or high fluence exposure enhancement. It was predicted that the mutants that over expressed phytochrome A and B would be more sensitive. However, it is shown that an over expression of phy A does not really effect the curvature, thus there is enough of the phytochrome in the wild-type to achieve maximum curvature. For the phytochrome B over expression mutant higher curvature than normal at higher fluences of light indicated that phy B controls curvature at high fluences. Overall, they concluded that phytochrome A controls curvature at low fluences of light.  Phytochrome effect on root growth  Phytochromes can also affect root growth. It has been well documented that gravitropism is the main tropism in roots. However, a recent study has shown that phototropism also plays a role. A red light induced positive phototropism has been recently recorded in an experiment that used Arabidopsis to test where in the plant had the most effect on a positive phototropic response. The experimenters utilized an apparatus that allowed for root apex to be zero degrees so that gravitropism could not be a competing factor. When placed in red light, Arabidopsis roots displayed a curvature of 30 to 40 degrees. This showed a positive phototropic response in the red light. They then wanted to pinpoint exactly where in the plant light is received. When roots were covered there was little to no curvature of the roots when exposed to red light. In contrast, when shoots were covered, there was a positive phototropic response to the red light. This proves that lateral roots is where light sensing takes place. In order to further gather information regarding the phytochromes involved in this activity, phtochrome A, B, D and E mutants, and WT roots were exposed to red light. Phytochrome A and B mutants were severely impaired. There was no significant difference in the response of "phyD" and "phyE" compared with the wildtype, proving that "phyA" and "phyB" are responsible for positive phototropism in roots.

Biochemistry.

Chemically, phytochrome consists of a "chromophore", a single bilin molecule consisting of an open chain of four pyrrole rings, covalently bonded to the protein moiety via highly conserved cysteine amino acid. It is the chromophore that absorbs light, and as a result changes the conformation of bilin and subsequently that of the attached protein, changing it from one state or isoform to the other.  The phytochrome chromophore is usually phytochromobilin, and is closely related to phycocyanobilin (the chromophore of the phycobiliproteins used by cyanobacteria and red algae to capture light for photosynthesis) and to the bile pigment bilirubin (whose structure is also affected by light exposure, a fact exploited in the phototherapy of jaundiced newborns). The term "bili" in all these names refers to bile. Bilins are derived from the closed tetrapyrrole ring of haem by an oxidative reaction catalyzed by haem oxygenase to yield their characteristic open chain. Chlorophyll too is derived from haem (Heme). In contrast to bilins, haem and chlorophyll carry a metal atom in the center of the ring, iron or magnesium, respectively.  The P state passes on a signal to other biological systems in the cell, such as the mechanisms responsible for gene expression. Although this mechanism is almost certainly a biochemical process, it is still the subject of much debate. It is known that although phytochromes are synthesized in the cytosol and the P form is localized there, the P form, when generated by light illumination, is translocated to the cell nucleus. This implies a role of phytochrome in controlling gene expression, and many genes are known to be regulated by phytochrome, but the exact mechanism has still to be fully discovered. It has been proposed that phytochrome, in the P form, may act as a kinase, and it has been demonstrated that phytochrome in the P form can interact directly with transcription factors.

Discovery.

The phytochrome pigment was discovered by Sterling Hendricks and Harry Borthwick at the USDA-ARS Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Maryland during a period from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Using a spectrograph built from borrowed and war-surplus parts, they discovered that red light was very effective for promoting germination or triggering flowering responses. The red light responses were reversible by far-red light, indicating the presence of a photoreversible pigment.  The phytochrome pigment was identified using a spectrophotometer in 1959 by biophysicist Warren Butler and biochemist Harold Siegelman. Butler was also responsible for the name, phytochrome.  In 1983 the laboratories of Peter Quail and Clark Lagarias reported the chemical purification of the intact phytochrome molecule, and in 1985 the first phytochrome gene sequence was published by Howard Hershey and Peter Quail. By 1989, molecular genetics and work with monoclonal antibodies that more than one type of phytochrome existed; for example, the pea plant was shown to have at least two phytochrome types (then called type I (found predominantly in dark-grown seedlings) and type II (predominant in green plants)). It is now known by genome sequencing that "Arabidopsis" has five phytochrome genes (PHYA - E) but that rice has only three (PHYA - C). While this probably represents the condition in several di- and monocotyledonous plants, many plants are polyploid. Hence maize, for example, has six phytochromes - phyA1, phyA2, phyB1, phyB2, phyC1 and phyC2. While all these phytochromes have significantly different protein components, they all use phytochromobilin as their light-absorbing chromophore. Phytochrome A or phyA is rapidly degraded in the Pfr form - much more so than the other members of the family. In the late 1980s, the Vierstra lab showed that phyA is degraded by the ubiquitin system, the first natural target of the system to be identified in eukaryotes.  In 1996 David Kehoe and Arthur Grossman at the Carnegie Institution at Stanford University identified the proteins, in the filamentous cyanobacterium Fremyella diplosiphon called RcaE with similarly to plant phytochrome that controlled a red-green photoreversible response called chromatic acclimation and identified a gene in the sequenced, published genome of the cyanobacterium "Synechocystis" with closer similarity to those of plant phytochrome. This was the first evidence of phytochromes outside the plant kingdom. Jon Hughes in Berlin and Clark Lagarias at UC Davis subsequently showed that this Synechocystis gene indeed encoded a "bona fide" phytochrome (named Cph1) in the sense that it is a red/far-red reversible chromoprotein. Presumably plant phytochromes are derived from an ancestral cyanobacterial phytochrome, perhaps by gene migration from the chloroplast to the nucleus. Subsequently, phytochromes have been found in other prokaryotes including "Deinococcus radiodurans" and "Agrobacterium tumefaciens". In "Deinococcus" phytochrome regulates the production of light-protective pigments, however in "Synechocystis" and "Agrobacterium" the biological function of these pigments is still unknown.  In 2005, the Vierstra and Forest labs at the University of Wisconsin published a three-dimensional structure of a truncated "Deinococcus" phytochrome (PAS/GAF domains). This paper revealed that the protein chain forms a knot - a highly unusual structure for a protein. In 2008, two groups around Essen and Hughes in Germany and Yang and Moffat in the US published the three-dimensional structures of the entire photosensory domain. One structures was for the "Synechocystis sp. (strain PCC 6803)" phytochrome in Pr and the other one for the "Pseudomonas aeruginosa" phytochrome in the P state. The structures showed that a conserved part of the PHY domain, the so-called PHY tongue, adopts different folds. In 2014 it was confirmed by Takala et al that the refolding occurs even for the same phytochrome (from "Deinococcus)" as a function of illumination conditions.

Genetic engineering.

Around 1989, several laboratories were successful in producing "transgenic plants" which produced elevated amounts of different phytochromes ("overexpression"). In all cases the resulting plants had conspicuously short stems and dark green leaves. Harry Smith and co-workers at Leicester University in England showed that by increasing the expression level of phytochrome A (which responds to far-red light), shade avoidance responses can be altered. As a result, plants can expend less energy on growing as tall as possible and have more resources for growing seeds and expanding their root systems. This could have many practical benefits: for example, grass blades that would grow more slowly than regular grass would not require mowing as frequently, or crop plants might transfer more energy to the grain instead of growing taller.

Phytochromes are a class of photoreceptor in plants, bacteria and fungi used to detect light. They are sensitive to light in the red and far-red region of the visible spectrum and can be classed as either Type I, which are activated by far-red light, or Type II that are activated by red light. Recent advances have suggested that phytochromes also act as temperature sensors, as warmer temperatures enhance their de-activation. All of these factors contribute to the plant's ability to germinate.

Phytochrome sind eine Klasse von weitverbreiteten Photorezeptor-Proteinen, die in Pflanzen, Algen, Bakterien, Cyanobakterien und Pilzen vorkommen. Sie messen das Verhältnis von hellrotem zu dunkelrotem Licht und steuern ein breites Spektrum von Antworten auf Lichtreize, wie etwa die Ergrünung von Pflanzenteilen, die Schattenflucht oder die Samenkeimung bei Pflanzen. Neben den Cryptochromen und den Phototropinen sind sie die wichtigste Klasse an Photorezeptoren.