Anatomy.

The locus coeruleus (LC) is located in the posterior area of the rostral pons in the lateral floor of the fourth ventricle. It is composed of mostly medium-size neurons. Melanin granules inside the neurons of the LC contribute to its blue colour. Thus, it is also known as the nucleus pigmentosus pontis, meaning "heavily pigmented nucleus of the pons." The neuromelanin is formed by the polymerization of noradrenaline and is analogous to the black dopamine-based neuromelanin in the substantia nigra.  In adult humans (19-78) the locus coeruleus has 22,000 to 51,000 total pigmented neurons that range in size between 31,000 and 60,000 μm.

Connections.

The projections of this nucleus reach far and wide. For example, they innervate the spinal cord, the brain stem, cerebellum, hypothalamus, the thalamic relay nuclei, the amygdala, the basal telencephalon, and the cortex. The norepinephrine from the LC has an excitatory effect on most of the brain, mediating arousal and priming the brain's neurons to be activated by stimuli.  As an important homeostatic control center of the body, the locus coeruleus receives afferents from the hypothalamus. The cingulate gyrus and the amygdala also innervate the LC, allowing emotional pain and stressors to trigger noradrenergic responses. The cerebellum and afferents from the raphe nuclei also project to the LC, in particular the pontine raphe nucleus and dorsal raphe nucleus.

Inputs.

The locus coeruleus receives inputs from a number of other brain regions, primarily:

Outputs.

The projections from the locus coeruleus consist of neurons that utilize norepinephrine as their primary neurotransmitter. These projections include the following connections:

Function.

It is related to many functions via its widespread projections. The LC-NA system modulates cortical, subcortical, cerebellar, brainstem, and spinal cord circuits. Some of the most important functions influenced by this system are: The locus coeruleus is a part of the reticular activating system, and is almost completely inactivated in rapid eye movement sleep.

Pathophysiology.

The locus coeruleus may figure in clinical depression, panic disorder, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and anxiety. Some medications including norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (reboxetine, atomoxetine), serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (venlafaxine, duloxetine), and norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitors (bupropion) are believed to show efficacy by acting upon neurons in this area.  Research continues to reveal that norepinephrine (NE) is a critical regulator of numerous activities from stress response, the formation of memory to attention and arousal. Many neuropsychiatric disorders precipitate from alterations to NE modulated neurocircuitry: disorders of affect, anxiety disorders, PTSD, ADHD and Alzheimer's disease. Alterations in the locus coeruleus (LC) accompany dysregulation of NE function and likely play a key role in the pathophysiology of these neuropsychiatric disorders.

In stress.

The locus coeruleus is responsible for mediating many of the sympathetic effects during stress. The locus coeruleus is activated by stress, and will respond by increasing norepinephrine secretion, which in turn will alter cognitive function (through the prefrontal cortex), increase motivation (through nucleus accumbens), activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and increase the sympathetic discharge/inhibit parasympathetic tone (through the brainstem). Specific to the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis, norepinephrine will stimulate the secretion of corticotropin-releasing factor from the hypothalamus, that induces adrenocorticotropic hormone release from the anterior pituitary and subsequent cortisol synthesis in the adrenal glands. Norepinephrine released from locus coeruleus will feedback to inhibit its production, and corticotropin-releasing factor will feedback to inhibit its production, while positively feeding to the locus coeruleus to increase norepinephrine production.  The LC's role in cognitive function in relation to stress is complex and multi-modal. Norepinephrine released from the LC can act on α2 receptors to increase working memory, or an excess of NE may decrease working memory by binding to the lower-affinity α1 receptors.  Psychiatric research has documented that enhanced noradrenergic postsynaptic responsiveness in the neuronal pathway (brain circuit) that originates in the locus coeruleus and ends in the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala is a major factor in the pathophysiology of most stress-induced fear-circuitry disorders and especially in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The LC neurons are probably the origin of the first or second "leg" of the "PTSD circuit." An important 2005 study of deceased American army veterans from World War II has shown combat-related PTSD to be associated with a postmortem-diminished number of neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC) on the right side of the brain.

In opiate withdrawal.

Opioids inhibit the firing of neurons in the locus coeruleus. When opioid consumption is stopped, the increased activity of the locus coeruleus contributes to the symptoms of opiate withdrawal. The alpha2 adrenoceptor agonist clonidine is used to counteract this withdrawal effect by decreasing adrenergic neurotransmission from the locus coeruleus.

Rett syndrome.

The genetic defect of the transcriptional regulator MECP2 is responsible for Rett syndrome. A MECP2 deficiency has been associated to catecholaminergic dysfunctions related to autonomic and sympathoadrenergic system in mouse models of Rett Syndrome (RTT). The locus coeruleus is the major source of noradrenergic innervation in the brain and sends widespread connections to rostral (cerebral cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus) and caudal (cerebellum, brainstem nuclei) brain areas and. Indeed, an alteration of this structure could contribute to several symptoms observed in MECP2-deficient mice. Changes in the electrophysiological properties of cells in the locus ceruleus were shown. These Locus Coeruleus cell changes include hyperexcitability and decreased functioning of its noradrenergic innervation. A reduction of the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) mRNA level, the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine synthesis, was detected in the whole pons of MECP2-null male as well as in adult heterozygous female mice. Using immunoquantification techniques, a decrease of TH protein staining level, number of locus coeruleus TH-expressing neurons and density of dendritic arborization surrounding the structure was shown in symptomatic MECP2-deficient mice. However, locus coeruleus cells are not dying but are more likely losing their fully mature phenotype, since no apoptotic neurons in the pons were detected. Researchers have concluded that, "Because these neurons are a pivotal source of norepinephrine throughout the brainstem and forebrain and are involved in the regulation of diverse functions disrupted in Rett Syndrome, such as respiration and cognition, we hypothesize that the locus ceruleus is a critical site at which loss of MECP2 results in CNS dysfunction. Restoration of normal locus ceruleus function may therefore be of potential therapeutic value in the treatment of Rett Syndrome." This could explain why a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (desipramine, DMI), which enhances the extracellular NE levels at all noradrenergic synapses, ameliorated some Rett syndrome symptoms in a mouse model of Rett syndrome.

Neurodegenerative diseases.

The locus ceruleus is affected in many forms of neurodegenerative diseases: genetic and idiopathic Parkinson's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, Pick's disease or Alzheimer's disease. It is also affected in Down syndrome. For example, there is up to 80% loss of locus ceruleus neurons in Alzheimer's disease. Mouse models of Alzheimer's disease show accelerated progression after chemical destruction of the locus ceruleus The norepinephrine from locus ceruleus cells in addition to its neurotransmitter role locally diffuses from "varicosities". As such it provides an endogenous anti-inflammatory agent in the microenvironment around the neurons, glial cells, and blood vessels in the neocortex and hippocampus. It has been shown that norepinephrine stimulates mouse microglia to suppress Aβ-induced production of cytokines and promotes phagocytosis of Aβ. This suggests that degeneration of the locus ceruleus might be responsible for increased Aβ deposition in AD brains. Degeneration of pigmented neurons in this region in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease can be visualized in vivo with Neuromelanin MRI.

History.

It was discovered in 1784 by Félix Vicq-d'Azyr, redescribed later by Johann Christian Reil in 1809 and named by Joseph Wenzel and Karl Wenzel brothers in 1812. High monoamine oxidase activity in the rodent LC was found in 1959, monoamines were found in 1964 and noradrenergic ubiquitous projections in the 1970s.

Etymology.

"Coeruleus or caeruleus".

The 'English' name "locus coeruleus" is actually a Latin expression consisting of the noun, "locus", place or spot and the adjective "coeruleus", dark blue or sky-blue. This was aptly translated into English as "blue place" in 1907 in the English translation of the official Latin anatomic nomenclature of 1895, "Nomina Anatomica". The name of the "locus coeruleus" is derived from its azure appearance in unstained brain tissue. The color is due to light scattering from neuromelanin in noradrenergic (producing or activated by norepinephrine) nerve cell bodies. The phenomenon is magnified by the Falck-Hillarp technique, which combines freeze-dried tissue and formaldehyde to fluoresce the catecholamines and serotonin contained in the tissue.  The spelling "coeruleus" is actually considered incorrect with dictionaries of classical Latin preferring "caeruleus" instead. "Caeruleus" is derived from "caelum", hence the spelling with -ae, like caeluleus → caeruleus. "Caelum" in classical Latin could refer to "the sky", "the heaven" or "the vault of heaven".  In mediaeval Latin, orthographic variants like "coelum" for classical Latin "caelum" and "cerulans" for classical Latin "caerulans" can be spotted.  In English, the color adjective "cerulean" is derived from Latin "caeruleus". In addition, "ceiling" is ultimately derived from Latin "caelum" as well.

"Official Latin nomenclature".

The official Latin nomenclature, "Nomina Anatomica" as ratified in Basel in 1895 and in Jena in 1935 contained the orthographic correct form "locus caeruleus". The "Nomina Anatomica" published in 1955 inadvertently introduced the incorrect spelling "locus coeruleus", without any further explanation. The subsequent edition monophthongized the diphthong, resulting in "locus ceruleus", as they proclaimed that: "All diphthongs should be eliminated". This form was retained in the subsequent edition. The following two editions from 1977 and 1983 reverted the orthography back to the incorrect spelling "locus coeruleus", while the subsequent edition from 1989 eventually returned to the correct spelling "locus caeruleus". The current edition of the "Nomina Anatomica", rebaptized as "Terminologia Anatomica", dictates "locus caeruleus" in its list of Latin expressions and correspondingly mentions "locus caeruleus" in its list of English equivalents. This is in line with the statement made by the chairman of the "Terminologia Anatomica" that "the committee decided that Latin terms when used in English should be in correct Latin".

References.

A novel based upon real facts by Max Trasin, Pentian 2016

The locus coeruleus (\-si-ˈrü-lē-əs\, also spelled locus caeruleus or locus ceruleus) is a nucleus in the pons of the brainstem involved with physiological responses to stress and panic. It is a part of the reticular activating system.

Der Locus caeruleus (von lateinisch "locus" ‚Ort‘ und "caeruleus" ‚himmelblau‘) ist ein Kerngebiet im Bereich der dorsalen Brückenhaube des Metencephalon des Gehirns. Es besitzt eine schwarze Pigmentierung, die an der Hirnoberfläche bläulich durchschimmert. Andere synonym verwendete Bezeichnungen sind Locus coeruleus oder Nucleus caeruleus (TA).


History.

1986–1997.

Valencia Basket was founded on 27 September 1986, after Valencia CF decided to fold its basketball section.  On 4 May 1988, while in its second season in the Primera División B, which was the second tier league of Spanish basketball at that time, the team won its first promotion to the Spanish top-tier level ACB, where the team remained until the 1994–95 season. In 1995, Valencia was relegated to the Spanish 2nd-tier level EBA League, after falling in the league's relegation playoff against Somontano Huesca. In the next season, after being the runner-up in Liga EBA, in a non-promoting season, Valencia BC bought Amway Zaragoza's ACB place to join the top league, where it has remained until nowadays.

1998–2014.

On 2 February 1998, Pamesa Valencia won its first Spanish national title, after beating Pinturas Bruguer Badalona, by a score of 89–75, in the final of the 1998 Copa del Rey, which was played in Valladolid. One year later, on 13 April 1999, the club played in the final of the 1998–99 FIBA Saporta Cup, but was defeated by Benetton Treviso, 64–60, in the final played in Zaragoza. Three years later, the club repeated the same success, but Montepaschi Siena won the final of the 2001–02 FIBA Saporta Cup, by a score of 81–71, in Lyon, France.  Continuing on with some of the club's best years, the 2001–02 ACB season was historic for the club, as it reached the Spanish ACB League finals, where they could not win any games in their series against FC Barcelona. Before this first success in reaching the finals of the Spanish league's playoffs, Pamesa Valencia won its first European-wide title, by defeating Krka Novo Mesto in the 2002–03 ULEB Cup, which would then also allow the club to make its debut in the European top-tier level EuroLeague.  In its first EuroLeague participation, Pamesa Valencia qualified for the Top 16, but was eliminated there, after not contesting its game at Nokia Arena against Maccabi Elite, adducing security issues in Israel.  On 18 April 2010, Power Electronics Valencia won its second European title, by beating Alba Berlin, 67–44, in the 2010 EuroCup Finals, which was played in Vitoria-Gasteiz. This allowed the club to come back to the top level EuroLeague, seven years after its first participation in the tournament. This time, Valencia reached the EuroLeague quarterfinals, where it was eliminated by Real Madrid, who won the playoff series by a 3–2 margin.  The club's third European-wide 2nd-tier level EuroCup title arrived on 7 May 2014, when Valencia beat UNICS Kazan, in the double-legged finals.

2015–present.

On 5 June 2017, Valencia Basket qualified for its second Spanish Liga ACB Finals series, after defeating Baskonia in the semifinals of the 2017 national league playoffs. This time, the club won its first ever Spanish national domestic league championship, on 16 June 2017, by defeating Real Madrid with a 3–1 series score in the ACB league's finals. In the same season, the club also reached the finals of both the Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup), and the EuroCup, but they lost those finals to Real Madrid, and fellow Spanish side, Unicaja, respectively. By winning the Spanish League championship, Valencia also sealed their return to the next season's top-tier level EuroLeague competition, for the 2017–18 season.  The club's fourth European-wide 2nd-tier level EuroCup title arrived on 16 April 2019, when Valencia beat Alba Berlin, in the double-legged finals.

Arena.

Valencia Basket plays its home games at the 8,500 seat Fuente de San Luis arena, however the arena is better known as "La Fonteta".

Sponsorship naming.

Valencia Basket has had several sponsorship names over the years:

Trophies and awards.

Individual awards.

ACB Most Valuable Player ACB Finals MVP Spanish Cup MVP Spanish Supercup MVP All-ACB First Team ACB Slam Dunk Champion EuroCup Finals MVP  EuroCup Rising Star Award EuroCup Coach of the Year All-EuroLeague Second Team All-EuroCup First Team All-EuroCup Second Team

Women's team.

The women's team of Valencia Basket was created in 2014 and promoted to Liga Femenina in 2018.

Valencia Basket Club S.A.D., commonly known as Valencia Basket (), is a professional basketball team based in Valencia, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague, with home games played at the Fuente de San Luis. The club is sponsored by the Spanish billionaire Juan Roig.

Der Valencia Basket Club ist ein spanischer Basketballverein aus Valencia, der in der spanischen Liga ACB spielt. Seine Heimspiele trägt der Club im Pabellón Fuente de San Luis mit 9.000 Plätzen aus.


Early life and career.

Hartmann was born on 11 December 1902 in Silstedt near Wernigerode in the Province of Saxony, a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in the German Empire. He was the third child of Albert Hartmann, an evangelic pastor in Wernigerode, and Helene Hartmann, née Wernicke. Hartmann had one older brother, Rudolf, and an older sister, Edith. From 1909 to 1914, he attended the "Volksschule", a primary school, in Silstedt and later the "Gymnasium", a secondary school, in the district of Magdeburg.  On 1 April 1914, Hartmann joined the "Königlich Preußischen Kadettenkorps" (Royal Prussian Cadet Corps) in Oranienstein near Diez. He initially served in the "Vorkorps" (pre corps) before he transferred to the "Hauptkadettenanstalt" (Main Military Academy) in Berlin-Lichterfelde on 1 April 1917. There he graduated with his "Abitur" (diploma) in 1921. Following his graduation he began his naval career with the "Reichsmarine" of the Weimar Republic on 1 April 1921 as a member of "Crew 21" (the incoming class of 1921).  Until 30 September 1925, he underwent a number of military and naval training courses. It began with basic military training (1 April – 30 September 1921) in Stralsund at the Baltic Sea and weapons courses at the Naval Academy at Mürwik. Hartmann was then transferred to the (1 October 1921 – April 1922) for onboard training and then to the training ship "Niobe" (April – 30 June 1922). During this timeframe, he advanced in rank to "Fähnrich zur See" (officer cadet) on 1 April 1923 and to "Oberfähnrich zur See" (Senior Ensign) on 4 April 1925.  He went on to serve as commander of the torpedo boats and, before transferring to the U-boat arm in 1935. During the Spanish civil war, he commanded that patrolled Spanish waters during the Civil War in 1937–38 with Günther Prien as his first watch officer.

World War II.

From January–May 1940 Hartmann was commander of both and "2nd U-boat Flotilla", but directing U-boats while at sea proved inefficient, and the Befehlshaber der U-Boote ("U-boat High Command") decided henceforth to direct the U-boats from land. After three patrols, and sinking 19 ships totalling, Hartmann received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. His senior officers on his four patrols on " U-37" were future Knight's Cross winners, first watch officer "Oberleutnant zur See" Ernst Bauer (two patrols) and later "Oberleutnant zur See" Nicolai Clausen (two patrols), second watch officer "Leutnant zur See" Gustav Poel and chief engineer "Oberleutnant" (Ing.) Gerd Suhren.

First patrol.

Hartmann's first patrol (19 August 1939 – 15 September 1939) on "U-37" left Wilhelmshaven almost two weeks before the outbreak of World War II on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. Commander of "U-37" on this patrol was "Kapitänleutnant" Heinrich Schuch.

Ashore.

Hartmann then moved to the BdU as a staff officer, and in November 1940 became commander of the 2nd ULD (U-boat Training Division). A year later he took command of the "27th U-boat Flotilla" in Gotenhafen. In November 1942 he took command of the large Type IXD for a patrol to the Indian Ocean lasting 200 days, the third longest patrol ever undertaken, and sank 7 ships totalling. Chief engineer was Johann-Friedrich Wessels who received the Knight's Cross for his services on this patrol. In 1944 Hartmann became "Führer der Unterseeboote Mittelmeer" ("Commander of U-boats in the Mediterranean") and in this post received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves.

Bundesmarine and later life.

After the war he joined the "Bundesmarine" on 1 July 1956, commanding the 1. "Schiffsstammregiment" (1st Naval training regiment) in Glückstadt, retiring on 1 April 1962. He died on 26 April 1963 in Usseln/Waldeck of pulmonary embolism. He was buried in a family grave in Glückstadt.

Summary of career.

Ships attacked.

As commander of and Werner Hartmann is credited with the sinking of 26 ships for a total of.

Werner Hartmann (11 December 1902 – 26 April 1963) was a German U-boat commander in World War II. He was credited with sinking 26 ships, amounting to over sunk, purportedly making him the 25th most successful U-boat commander of the war. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.

Werner Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf Hartmann (* 11. Dezember 1902 in Silstedt; † 26. April 1963 in Usseln) war ein deutscher Kapitän zur See im Zweiten Weltkrieg, Träger des Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes sowie Offizier der Bundesmarine. Als Kommandant von "U 26", "U 37" und "U 198" versenkte Hartmann insgesamt 26 Schiffe mit 115.332 BRT.


Biography.

Olweus was born on April 18, 1931, in Nässjö, Sweden. In 1969, he earned a PhD from Umeå University in Sweden, with a dissertation on aggressive behaviour among young boys. He joined the faculty at the University of Bergen, in Norway, in 1970. He was a professor of psychology from 1970 to 1995, and has been a research professor of psychology since 1996.  Olweus was a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University from 1986 to 1987. He served as president of the International Society for Research on Aggression from 1995 to 1996.

Research.

Bullying.

In the 1970s, Olweus conducted a systematic study of bullying among children. This work was published in Scandinavia in 1973, and in the United States in 1978 (as the book, "Aggression in the Schools: Bullies and Whipping Boys"); it is generally considered to be the first scientific study of bullying in the world. Olweus defined bullying as unwanted aggressive behaviour that is repeated over time and involves an imbalance of power or strength.  Olweus's 1993 book, "Bullying at School: What We Know and What We Can Do", has been translated into 20 languages. He published the first systematic study of bullying perpetrated by teachers towards students, published in 1996.

Olweus Bullying Prevention Program.

In the 1980s, Olweus conducted the first systematic study of a bullying intervention program. The success of the program led to a government-led initiative to implement the intervention (which would become known as the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program [OBPP]) throughout all Norwegian elementary and junior high schools. The program aims to reduce bullying through restructuring the school classroom and rewarding positive behaviours.  The OBPP has been systematically evaluated in a number of large-scale studies in Norway that have included more than 30,000 students. Studies have indicated a reduction in reports of being bullied and bullying others of about 35 to 45%, among students involved in the program.  One study, conducted by Olweus and Sue Limber of Clemson University in South Carolina, evaluated the effectiveness of the program in U.S. schools, including nearly 70,000 students, over the course of three years. The study found reductions in students' reports of being bullied and bullying others, as well as increases in students' expressions of empathy.  In addition to the Norway and the U.S., the OBPP has been implemented in Iceland, Sweden, and Lithuania, and is being piloted in Mexico, Brazil, and Germany.

Awards and honours.

In 2002, Olweus received the Nordic Public Health Prize from the Nordic Council. In 2003, Olweus was given the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Public Policy for Children by the Society for Research in Child Development.  Olweus received the 2011 American Psychological Association (APA) Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology. In 2012, he received the APA Award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy. In 2018, he was awarded the Christie Prize from the University of Bergen.

Dan Olweus (born April 18, 1931) is a Swedish-Norwegian psychologist. He is a research professor of psychology at the University of Bergen, Norway. Olweus has been widely recognized as a pioneer of research on bullying.

Dan Åke Olweus (* 18. April 1931 in Kalmar) ist ein schwedisch-norwegischer Psychologe und Professor für Persönlichkeitspsychologie an der Universität Bergen (Norwegen).


History.

Origins.

Bob Albrecht edited an eccentric newspaper about computer games programmed in the BASIC computer language, with the same name as the tiny nonprofit educational corporation that he had founded, "People's Computer Company" (PCC). Dennis Allison was a longtime computer consultant on the San Francisco Peninsula and sometime instructor at Stanford University. The "Dobbs" title was based on a mashup of the first letters of their names: Dennis and Bob.

First issues.

In the first three quarterly issues of the PCC newspaper published in 1975, Albrecht had published articles written by Allison, describing how to design and implement a stripped-down version of an interpreter for the BASIC language, with limited features to be easier to implement. He called it Tiny BASIC. At the end of the final part, Allison asked computer hobbyists who implemented it to send their implementations to PCC, and they would circulate copies of any implementations to anyone who sent a self-addressed stamped envelope. Allison said, "Let us stand on each others' shoulders; not each others' toes."  The journal was originally intended to be a three-issue xerographed publication. Titled dr. dobb's journal of Tiny BASIC Calisthenics & Orthodontia (with the subtitle "Running Light Without Overbyte") it was created to distribute the implementations of Tiny BASIC. The original title was created by Eric Bakalinsky, who did occasional paste-up work for PCC. "Dobb's" was a contraction of "Dennis" and "Bob". It was at a time when computer memory was very expensive, so compact coding was important. Microcomputer hobbyists needed to avoid using too many bytes of memory.  After the first photocopies were mailed to those who had sent stamped addressed envelopes, PCC was flooded with requests that the publication become an ongoing periodical devoted to general microcomputer software.  PCC agreed, and hired Jim Warren as its first editor. He immediately changed the title to Dr. Dobb's Journal of Computer Calisthenics & Orthodontia prior to publishing the first issue in January 1976.

Early years.

Jim Warren was DDJ's editor for about a year and a half. While he went on to make a splash with his series of West Coast Computer Faires, subsequent DDJ editors like Marlin Ouverson, Hank Harrison, Michael Swaine and Jonathan Erickson appear to have focused on the journalistic and social aspects of the young but growing microcomputer industry. Eventually PCC, the non-profit corporation, sold DDJ to a commercial publisher.  The newsletter's content was originally pure enthusiast material. Initial interest circled around the Tiny BASIC interpreter, but Warren broadened that to include a variety of other programming topics, as well as a strong consumer bias, especially needed in the chaotic early days of microcomputing. All of the content came from volunteer contributors, with Steve Wozniak as one of the better known of them. Other contributors included Jef Raskin, later credited as a leader in the Macintosh development; Hal Hardenberg, the originator of DTACK Grounded an early newsletter for Motorola 68000 based software and hardware; and Gary Kildall, who had created CP/M, the first disk operating system for microcomputers which was not married to proprietary hardware.  Computer program source code published during the early years include:  The March 1985 issue "10(3)" printed Richard Stallman's "GNU Manifesto" a call for participation in the then-new free software movement.

Discontinuation of printed edition.

In later years, the magazine received contributions from developers all over the world working in application development and embedded systems across most programming languages and platforms. The magazine's focus became more professional. Columnists included Michael Swaine, Allen Holub and Verity Stob, the pseudonymous British programmer.  The title was later shortened to "Dr. Dobb's Journal", then changed to "Dr. Dobb's Journal of Software Tools" as it became more popular. The magazine later reverted to "Dr. Dobb's Journal" with the selling line, ""The World of Software Development"", with the abbreviation DDJ also used for the corresponding website. In January 2009 Jonathan Erickson, the editor-in-chief, announced the magazine would cease monthly print publication, become a section of "InformationWeek" called "Dr Dobb's Report.", a website and monthly digital PDF edition.

Later history.

The primary Dr. Dobb's content streams at the end were the Dr. Dobb's website, "Dr. Dobb's Journal" (the monthly PDF magazine, which had different content from the website) and a weekly newsletter, "Dr. Dobb's Update". In addition, Dr. Dobb's continued to run the Jolt Awards and, since 1995, the Dr. Dobb's Excellence in Programming Award. Regular bloggers include Scott Ambler, Walter Bright, Andrew Koenig, and Al Williams. Adrian Bridgwater edited the news section beginning in 2010.

End.

On December 16, 2014, an article by editor-in-chief Andrew Binstock announced that "Dr. Dobb's" would cease publication of new articles at the end of 2014. Archived articles are still available online. While no longer being distributed, Dr. Dobb's is now widely considered as an important and influential source for the history of the PC industry.

Dr. Dobb's Journal (DDJ) was a monthly magazine published in the United States by UBM Technology Group, part of UBM. It covered topics aimed at computer programmers. When launched in 1976, DDJ was the first regular periodical focused on microcomputer software, rather than hardware. In its last years of publication, it was distributed as a PDF monthly, although the principal delivery of "Dr. Dobb's" content was through the magazine's website. Publication ceased at the end of 2014, with the archived website continuing to be available online.

Dr. Dobb’s Journal (DDJ) war eine bis Januar 2009 monatlich erscheinende US-amerikanische Computerzeitschrift für Softwareentwickler. Das kurz oft auch als „Dr. Dobb’s“ bezeichnete Heft wurde von CMP Media verlegt und erstmals im Januar 1976 herausgegeben. Die erste Ausgabe trug den Titel „Dr. Dobb’s Journal of Computer Calisthenics and Orthodontia“.


History.

The area of the present town has been inhabited since ancient times, due to its good soil and proximity to rivers. After Hungarians conquered the area, Békés and its surroundings were the property of the "Csolt" clan. Békés (the name means "peaceful") was originally the name of the castle which gave its name to the comitatus, and, like many castles, was possibly named after its first steward. Many documents from the 13th century prove that Békés was the county seat. After 1403, when the area became the estate of the Maróthi family, Békés slowly lost its importance and the role of the centre of the comitatus was gradually taken over by Gyula.  In 1566, the castle of Gyula was occupied by the Ottoman army, and Békés fell under Ottoman rule too. The Ottomans built a motte castle in the town, but it was destroyed in 1595 when the Ottomans had to defend Gyula against the Hungarians who tried to get it back. The area became deserted. It was only exactly 100 years later, in 1695, that Békés was freed from Ottoman rule.  During the freedom fight led by Prince Francis II Rákóczi in the early 18th century the area of Békés was deserted again, for the last time. In 1720 John George Harruckern was granted Békés county via Royal Deed. He gave privileges to the serfs of the area, and gradually the population grew.  By the end of the 18th century, the town already had its present five districts and the Protestant, Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches and the Jewish Synagogue. The buildings of the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches and the Jewish Synagogue are all located within close proximity of each other. The annual floods of the Körös river meant a significant problem until the 1850s when the river was controlled.  In 1872, Békés was re-classified as a village. It was not until a hundred years later that it got its town status back. Around the start of the 20th century, Békés was rapidly developing and several new buildings were built. During the World Wars, there were no significant battles in the area. Békés was freed from the Nazis on October 6, 1944. After the war, industrialization quickened. On April 15, 1973, Békés was granted town status.  Today, Békés is made of several ethnic groups, including Hungarians, Roma, and with its near proximity to the Romanian border, Romanians who constitute approximately 5% of the population.

Békés (;, ) is a town in Békés county, Hungary. It lies about north of Békéscsaba and east of Budapest.

Békés [] (slowakisch "Békéš", rumänisch "Bichiș"; deutsch "Bekesch") ist eine ungarische Stadt im Komitat Békés mit knapp 20.000 Einwohnern (Stand 2011). Durch die Stadt führt die Hauptstraße 47.


Definitions.

Via the hypergeometric function.

The Jacobi polynomials are defined via the hypergeometric function as follows:  where formula_2 is Pochhammer's symbol (for the rising factorial). In this case, the series for the hypergeometric function is finite, therefore one obtains the following equivalent expression:

Rodrigues' formula.

An equivalent definition is given by Rodrigues' formula:  If formula_5, then it reduces to the Legendre polynomials:

Alternate expression for real argument.

For real "x" the Jacobi polynomial can alternatively be written as  and for integer "n"  where is the Gamma function.  In the special case that the four quantities, and are nonnegative integers, the Jacobi polynomial can be written as  The sum extends over all integer values of "s" for which the arguments of the factorials are nonnegative.

Basic properties.

Orthogonality.

The Jacobi polynomials satisfy the orthogonality condition  As defined, they do not have unit norm with respect to the weight. This can be corrected by dividing by the square root of the right hand side of the equation above, when formula_13.  Although it does not yield an orthonormal basis, an alternative normalization is sometimes preferred due to its simplicity:

Symmetry relation.

The polynomials have the symmetry relation  thus the other terminal value is

Derivatives.

The "k"th derivative of the explicit expression leads to

Differential equation.

The Jacobi polynomial is a solution of the second order linear homogeneous differential equation

Recurrence relations.

The recurrence relation for the Jacobi polynomials of fixed "α","β" is:  for "n" = 2, 3,...  Since the Jacobi polynomials can be described in terms of the hypergeometric function, recurrences of the hypergeometric function give equivalent recurrences of the Jacobi polynomials. In particular, Gauss' contiguous relations correspond to the identities

Generating function.

The generating function of the Jacobi polynomials is given by  where  and the branch of square root is chosen so that "R"("z", 0) = 1.

Asymptotics of Jacobi polynomials.

For "x" in the interior of, the asymptotics of for large "n" is given by the Darboux formula  where  and the ""O"" term is uniform on the interval [ε, -ε] for every ε > 0.  The asymptotics of the Jacobi polynomials near the points ±1 is given by the Mehler–Heine formula  where the limits are uniform for "z" in a bounded domain.  The asymptotics outside is less explicit.

Applications.

Wigner d-matrix.

The expression () allows the expression of the Wigner d-matrix "d"(φ) (for 0 ≤ φ ≤ 4) in terms of Jacobi polynomials:

In mathematics, Jacobi polynomials (occasionally called hypergeometric polynomials) are a class of classical orthogonal polynomials. They are orthogonal with respect to the weight on the interval. The Gegenbauer polynomials, and thus also the Legendre, Zernike and Chebyshev polynomials, are special cases of the Jacobi polynomials.

Die Jacobi-Polynome (nach Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi), auch "hypergeometrische Polynome" sind eine Menge polynomieller Lösungen des Sturm-Liouville-Problems, die einen Satz orthogonaler Polynome bilden, und zwar auf dem Intervall formula_1 bezüglich der Gewichtsfunktion formula_2 mit formula_3. Sie haben die explizite Form


Motivation.

Since the 1960s computers have been shared between users. Especially in the early days of computing when computers were extremely expensive the usual paradigm was a central mainframe computer connected to numerous terminals. With the advent of personal computing this paradigm has been largely replaced by personal computers (or one computer per user).  Multiseat setups are a return to this multiuser paradigm but based around a PC which supports a number of zero-clients usually consisting of a terminal per user (screen, keyboard, mouse).  In some situations such multiseat are cost-effective because it is not necessary to buy separate motherboards, microprocessors, RAM, hard disks and other components for each user. For example, buying one high speed CPU usually costs less than buying several slower CPUs.

History.

In the 1970s, it was very commonplace to connect multiple computer terminals to a single mainframe computer, even graphical terminals. Early terminals were connected with RS-232 type serial connections, either directly, or through modems. With the advent of Internet Protocol based networking, it became possible for multiple users to log into a host using telnet or – for a graphic environment – an X Window System "server". These systems would retain a physically secure "root console" for system administration and direct access to the host machine.  Support for multiple consoles in a PC running the X interface was implemented in 2001 by Miguel Freitas, using the Linux operating system and the X11 graphical system (at the time maintained by XFree86). This was done using a patch in the display server to execute several instances of X at the same time such that each one captures specific mouse and keyboard events and the graphical content. This method received the name of multiseat or multiterminal.  In 2002 a Canadian company, Userful Corporation, released Userful Multiplier, a multiseat Linux software solution that enables up to 10 users to simultaneously share one computer. Earlier they worked on a kernel-based approach to a multi-station platform computer, but abandoned the idea due to a problem with multiple video card support.  Other solutions appeared in 2003, such Svetoslav Slavtchev, Aivils Stoss and James Simmons worked, with the evdev and Faketty approach modifying the kernel Linux and letting more than one user independently use the same machine. In that time, the Linux Console Project also proposed an idea to use multiple independent consoles and then multiple independent keyboards and mice in a project called "Backstreet Ruby". Backstreet Ruby is a kernel patch for the Linux kernel. It is a back port to Linux-2.4 of the Ruby kernel tree. The aim of the Linux Console developers is to enhance and reorganize the input, the console and the framebuffer subsystems in the Linux kernel, so they can work independent from each other and to allow multi-desktop operation. The Backstreet Ruby idea was never finished.  In 2005, the C3SL team (Center for Scientific Computing and Free Software), from the Federal University of Parana in Brazil, created a solution based on nested display servers, such as Xnest and Xephyr. With this solution, each nested display server runs in each screen of a host display server (e.g. Xorg) and a modification to the nested servers let each one exclusively acquire its mouse and keyboard. In 2008, the C3SL group released the Multiseat Display Manager (MDM) to ease the process of installation and configuration of a multiseat box. This group, also in 2008, conceived a live-CD for test purposes.  Automatic multiseat with USB docking stations is a feature of Fedora 17.

Requirements.

Hardware requirements.

Each monitor will need to be connected to a graphics output from a video card. For example, to make a "four-head" (four users), would require four monitors, four keyboards, four mice and two dual or one quad output video card. USB keyboards and mice are typically recommended instead of PS/2 connections, as they can be connected to a USB hub. Additional devices and peripherals such as cameras, flash storage drives, card readers and touch screens could also be assigned to each seat. An alternative to multiple physical video cards and connections is DisplayLink over USB.

Software requirements.

GNU/Linux.

The VT system in the Linux kernel dates back to 1993 and does not understand the concept of multiple "seats". kmscon and systemd-consoled do.  There are different solutions to set up a multiseat and others are constantly being developed. The X.Org Foundation maintains a wiki page with the latest news concerning the solutions. Currently the most pointed solutions by X.Org's wiki are the solutions using either multiple Xephyr servers with deprecated evdev support over a host Xorg, or run several instances of Xorg using multiple video devices. It is quite easy to configure popular distributions such as Ubuntu to provide multiseat environments as documented on the Ubuntu MultiseatX wiki page.  The Multi-seat Display Manager automseat tool is an open source tool which helps to automatize the process of installation and configuration. Users that want to try multiseat are encouraged to try such a tool and avoid the old and hard way to set it up through these howtos (, ), as stated by foundation's wiki page. On the other hand, MDM suffers from lack of updates and releases beyond the initial announcement. Another open source tool that aims to help simplify the creation of multiseat, mainly for the Ubuntu distribution, is the Bicefalo wizard.  Userful offers a commercially supported multiseat Linux solution called Userful Multiplier. It enables up to 10 users to simultaneously share one computer. It works with most graphics cards supported by X.Org/XFree86 as well as USB multiseat devices. It is available in 64-bit and 32-bit packages in both RPM and DEB formats, and has been tested on most major distributions, including Debian, Fedora, Mandriva Linux, SLED, SuSE and Ubuntu. A free two-user version of Userful Multiplier software for personal or trial use is available from their website.

Microsoft Windows.

For Windows 2000, XP and Vista operating systems, there are several commercial products to implement multiseat configurations for two or more seats.  An operating system designed specifically for multiseat setups entitled Windows MultiPoint Server was announced on February 24, 2010. It uses Remote Desktop (Terminal Services) technologies in Windows Server 2008 R2 to provide multiseat functionality. This functionality was incorporated into Windows Server proper as of Windows Server 2016 in a new server role entitled MultiPoint Services, but this server role was removed in Windows Server 2019 owing to Microsoft ceasing development of the service in 2018.

Virtualization-based setup.

Instead of relying on operating system support for multiseat configuration, a hypervisor can be configured to run multiple virtual machines, each configured to interface one connected seat by I/O virtualization methods. Input devices can be attached to the virtual machines through USB Redirection, and entire GPUs can be attached through Intel VT-d.  The YouTube channel "LinusTechTips" has demonstrated virtualization-based 2-seat and 7-seat systems with UnRAID as the host operating system. Each seat has exclusive control of one of the Windows guest operating systems running on the host. There is a dedicated high-end graphics card for each guest, which it takes full advantage of via the use of VT-d, making the system capable of hosting demanding video game sessions at full quality simultaneously on all seats.

Case studies.

World's largest multiseat computer deployment.

In February, 2009, The Brazil Ministry of Education committed to deploy 350,000 Linux-based multiseat computing stations in more than 45,000 rural and urban schools across the country. The chosen companies to implement this project were the Canadian multiseat Linux software company Userful Corporation, and its Brazilian IT partner ThinNetworks.

Paraná Digital project.

One of multiterminal's successful cases is happening at Paraná Digital project. It is creating multiterminal laboratories on 2000 public schools of the state of Paraná (Brazil). More than 1.5 million users will benefit from the 40,000 terminals when the project is finished. The laboratories have four-head multiterminals running Debian. The cost of all the hardware is 50% less than the normal price, and there is absolutely no cost with software. This project developer is C3SL (Center for Scientific Computing and Free Software).

Michigan State University research in Tanzania.

Since 2008, electrical and computer engineering students from Michigan State University have installed multiterminal systems with internet access in three schools in Mto wa Mbu, Tanzania. The purpose of the project is to study the impact of having computer systems with internet access in an education system that cannot afford other educational resources such as books. The computer systems run Ubuntu 8.04 32-bit and utilize the open source Multiseat Display Manager created by C3SL. The research will eventually be used to present to government officials of third world countries in effort to showcase the positive impact of having cost-effective computing systems in schools. The project is sponsored by George and Vickie Rock and the Dow Chemical Company.

A multiseat, multi-station or multiterminal configuration is a single computer which supports multiple independent local users at the same time.

Ein Mehrplatzrechner oder eine Multiterminalkonfiguration ist ein einzelner Computer, an dem mehrere Benutzer gleichzeitig arbeiten können. Die Konfiguration bestehen gewöhnlich aus einem Monitor, einer Tastatur und aus einer Maus für jeden einzelnen Benutzer, die gemeinsam an einen einzigen Rechner angeschlossen sind.


Physical and chemical properties.

Glucuronolactone is a white solid odorless compound, soluble in hot and cold water. Its melting point ranges from 176 to 178 °C. The compound can exist in a monocyclic aldehyde form or in a bicyclic hemiacetal (lactol) form.

History.

Glucuronolactone has received some notoriety due to an urban legend that it was a Vietnam War-era drug manufactured by the American government and since banned due to brain tumor-related deaths. However, the quoted "British Medical Journal" article does not exist; furthermore, no warnings appear on the Food and Drug Administration website regarding its potential to cause brain tumors or other maladies. Moreover, glucuronolactone is hydrolyzed in the body (like butyrolactone) to glucuronic acid, which may be oxidized to glucaric acid, or isomerized to another hexuronic acid, so there is no reasonable toxicity mechanism.

Uses.

Glucuronolactone is metabolized to glucaric acid, xylitol, and L-xylulose, and humans may also be able to use glucuronolactone as a precursor for ascorbic acid synthesis. According to "The Merck Index", it is also used as a detoxicant. The liver uses glucose to create glucuronolactone, which inhibits the enzyme B-glucuronidase (metabolizes glucuronides), which should cause blood-glucuronide levels to rise. Glucuronides combine with toxic substances, such as morphine and depot medroxyprogesterone acetate, by converting them to water-soluble glucuronide-conjugates which are excreted in the urine. Theoretically, higher blood-glucuronides should help remove toxins from the body, leading to the claim that energy drinks are detoxifying. Free glucuronic acid (or its self-ester glucuronolactone) has less effect on detoxification than glucose, because the body synthesizes UDP-glucuronic acid from glucose. Therefore, sufficient carbohydrate intake provides enough UDP-glucuronic acid for detoxication, and foods rich in glucose are usually abundant in developed nations.  Glucuronolactone is a popular ingredient in energy drinks with claims that it detoxifies the body. Although levels of glucuronolactone in energy drinks can far exceed those found in the rest of the diet, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has concluded that exposure to glucuronolactone from regular consumption of energy drinks is not a safety concern. The no-observed-adverse-effect level of glucuronolactone is 1000 mg/kg/day.

Glucuronolactone is a naturally occurring substance that is an important structural component of nearly all connective tissues. Glucuronolactone is also found in many plant gums.

Glucuronolacton oder Glukuronolakton (-Glucuronsäure-γ-lacton, auch Glucuronlacton genannt) ist ein natürlich vorkommender intramolekularer Ester (Lacton) der -Glucuronsäure. Letztere ist ein Oxidationsprodukt der -Glucose und zählt zu den Zuckersäuren. Aus -Glucuronsäure kann sich alternativ -Glucurono-δ-lacton bilden, allerdings ist das -Glucuronsäure-γ-lacton thermodynamisch bevorzugt.


Life.

Early years.

Born in Burgos, Urraca was the eldest and only surviving child of Alfonso VI of León with his second wife Constance of Burgundy; for this, she was heir presumptive of the Kingdoms of Castile and León until 1107, when her father recognized his illegitimate son Sancho as his heir.  Urraca’s place in the line of succession made her the focus of dynastic politics, and she became a child bride at age eight (1087) to Raymond of Burgundy, a mercenary adventurer. Urraca's marriage to Raymond was part of Alfonso VI's diplomatic strategy to attract cross-Pyrenees alliances. Author Bernard F. Reilly suggests that, rather than a betrothal, the eight-year-old Urraca was fully wedded to Raymond of Burgundy, as he almost immediately appears in protocol documents as Alfonso VI's son-in-law, a distinction that would not have been made without the marriage. Reilly doubts that the marriage was consummated until Urraca was 13, as she was placed under the protective guardianship of a trusted magnate. Her pregnancy and stillbirth at age 14 suggest that the marriage was indeed consummated when she was 13 or 14 years old.  In addition to this stillborn child, Urraca gave birth to two more children by Raymond: a daughter, Sancha Raimúndez (born after 11 November 1095 and before 1102) and a son, Alfonso Raimúndez, who would become Alfonso VII (born 1 March 1105). Raymond died in 1107, leaving Urraca a widow with two small children.  Urraca became again an heir presumptive after the death of her half-brother Sancho at the Battle of Uclés in 1108. Alfonso VI reunited the nobles of the Kingdom in Toledo and announced that his widowed daughter was the chosen one to succeeded him. The nobles agreed with the royal designation but demanded that Urraca should marry again. Several candidates for the hand of the heiress to the thrones of León and Castile appeared immediately, including counts Gómez González and Pedro González de Lara. Alfonso VI feared that the rivalries between Castilian and Leonese nobles would be increased if she married any of these suitors and decided that his daughter should wed Alfonso I of Aragon, known as the Battler, opening the opportunity for uniting León-Castile with Aragon.

Reign.

Marriage negotiations were still underway when Alfonso VI died on 29 June/1 July 1109 and Urraca became queen. Many of Alfonso VI’s advisers and leading magnates in the kingdom formed a “quiet opposition” to the marriage of the queen to the King of Aragon. According to Bernard F. Reilly, these magnates feared the influence the King of Aragon might attempt to wield over Urraca and over Leonese politics.  Urraca protested against the marriage but honoured her late father's wishes (and the Royal Council's advice) and continued with the marriage negotiations, though she and her father’s closest advisers were growing weary of Alfonso I's demands. Despite the advisers' opposition, the prospect of Count Henry of Portugal filling any power vacuum led them to go ahead with the marriage which took place in early October 1109 at the Castle of Monzón de Campos, with the major of the fortress, Pedro Ansúrez, acting as godfather of the wedding. As events unfolded, these advisers underestimated Urraca's political prowess, and later advised her to end the marriage. The marriage of Urraca and Alfonso I almost immediately sparked rebellions in Galicia and scheming by her illegitimate half-sister Theresa and brother-in-law Henry, the Countess and Count of Portugal. Also, they believed that the new marriage of Urraca could put in jeopardy the rights of the son of her first marriage, Alfonso Raimúndez. One of the first acts of the new spouses was to sign a pact under which the monarchs granted to each other "soberana potestas" over the other's kingdom, declaring heir of both their future children, and in the case that the union was childless, the surviving spouse would succeed the other one in the throne. From the start, the Galician faction was divided in two tendencies: one headed by Diego Gelmírez, Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela (who defended the position of Alfonso Raimúndez as Urraca's successor) and another led by Count Pedro Fróilaz de Traba, tutor of the young prince (who was inclined to the complete independence of Galicia under the rule of Alfonso).  A third group of opposition to the royal marriage was at the court and was headed by Count Gómez González, whose motivation against Urraca and Alfonso I of Aragon could have been his fear of losing power, a sensation soon confirmed when Alfonso I appointed Aragonese and Navarrese nobles for important public posts and as holders of fortresses.  From Galicia, the count of Traba began the first aggressive movement against the monarchs reclaiming the hereditary rights of Alfonso Raimúndez. In response to the Galician rebellion, Alfonso I of Aragon marched with his army to Galicia and in 1110, reestablished the order there after defeating the local troops in Monterroso Castle.  The Galician rebellion against the royal power was only the beginning of a series of political and military conflicts which, with the complete opposite personalities of Urraca and Alfonso I and their mutual dislike, gave rise to a continuous civil war in the Hispanic kingdoms over the following years. Urraca did not share the governance of her realms with her husband.  As their relationship soured, Urraca accused Alfonso of physical abuse, and by May 1110 she separated from Alfonso. In addition to her objections to Alfonso's handling of rebels, the couple had a falling-out over his execution of one of the rebels who had surrendered to the queen, to whom the queen was inclined to be merciful. Additionally, as Urraca was married to someone many in the kingdom objected to, the queen's son and heir became a rallying point for opponents to the marriage.  Estrangement between husband and wife escalated from discrete and simmering hostilities into open armed warfare between the Leonese-Castilians and the Aragonese. An alliance between Alfonso of Aragon and Henry of Portugal culminated in the 1111 Battle of Candespina in which Urraca's lover and chief supporter Gómez González was killed. He was soon replaced in both roles by another count, Pedro González de Lara, who took up the fight and would father at least two further children by Urraca: a daughter, Elvira Pérez de Lara (c.1112-1174), who would wed twice, first to García Pérez de Traba, lord of Trastámara and son of Pedro Fróilaz de Traba, then to count Beltrán de Risnel, and a son, Fernando Pérez Hurtado (c.1114-1156). By the fall of 1112 a truce was brokered between Urraca and Alfonso with their marriage annulled. Though Urraca recovered Asturias, Leon, and Galicia, Alfonso occupied a significant portion of Castile (where Urraca enjoyed large support), while her half-sister Theresa and her husband Count Henry of Portugal occupied Zamora and Extremadura. Recovering these regions and expanding into Muslim lands would occupy much of Urraca's foreign policy. Despite the annulment of their marriage (on the grounds of consanguinity), Alfonso continued his efforts for political control. While Urraca was engaged in this battle, she also had to contend with the schemes of her sister, who promoted a plan to replace the queen by her son. This particular incident, ended in a compromise between the two sisters where Theresa was granted a vast territory in Leon in exchange for agreeing that she was Urraca's vassal.  According to author Bernard F. Reilly, the measure of success for Urraca’s rule was her ability to restore and protect the integrity of her inheritance – that is, the kingdom of her father – and transmit that inheritance in full to her own heir. Policies and events pursued by Alfonso VI – namely legitimizing her brother and thereby providing an opportunity for her illegitimate half-sister to claim a portion of the patrimony, as well as the forced marriage with Alfonso I of Aragon – contributed in large part to the challenges Urraca faced upon her succession. Additionally, the circumstance of Urraca’s gender added a distinctive role-reversal dimension to diplomacy and politics, which Urraca used to her advantage.

Character.

Urraca is characterized in the "Historia Compostelana" as prudent, modest, and with good sense. According to Reilly, the "Historia Compostelana" also attributes her "failings" to her gender, "the weakness and changeability of women, feminine perversity, and calls her a Jezebel" for her liaisons with her leading magnates, with at least one relationship producing an illegitimate son. These observations were hardly neutral or dispassionate, according to Reilly, who wrote: "[T]here is no question that the queen is in control, perhaps all too much in control, of events." Urraca's use of sex in politics should be viewed more as a strategy that provided the queen with allies but without any masters.

Death and legacy.

As queen, Urraca rose to the challenges presented to her and her solutions were pragmatic ones, according to Reilly, and laid the foundation for the reign of her son Alfonso VII, who in spite of the opposition of Urraca's lover Pedro González de Lara succeeded to the throne of a kingdom whole and at peace at Urraca’s death in 1126. The queen's reign also served as the legal precedent for the reigns of future queens.

Urraca (April 1079 – 8 March 1126) called the Reckless ("la Temeraria"), was Queen of León, Castile, and Galicia from 1109 until her death. She claimed the imperial title as suo jure "Empress of All Spain" and "Empress of All Galicia".

Urraca (* um 1080; † 8. März 1126 wohl bei Saldaña, Provinz Palencia) war von 1109 bis zu ihrem Tode eine Königin von León, Galicien und Kastilien aus dem Haus Jiménez. Sie war die erste aus eigenem Geburtsrecht heraus herrschende Königin des mittelalterlichen Europas.


Publication history.

Homeschooled by his parents, Christopher Paolini graduated from high school at the age of fifteen, but felt he was not yet mature enough for college, so he wrote "Eragon" in his spare time. After writing the first draft for a year, he spent a second year rewriting it and fleshing out the story and characters, and then presented it to his parents. They had it self-published by the family publishing company, Paolini International, and Paolini then travelled to various schools advertising his novel. In 2002, author Carl Hiaasen discovered the book while his stepson was reading it, and brought it to the attention of his publisher, Alfred A. Knopf. It was republished by Knopf in 2003.  "Brisingr"—a word that means "fire" in Alagaësia's ancient language, taken from Old Norse—was published on September 20, 2008. Paolini's announcement of the book's publishing date included the revelation that the Inheritance Trilogy would now contain four books instead of three, thus resulting in the renaming of the series to the Inheritance Cycle.  "Inheritance" was announced by Random House on March 23, 2011 with the cover artwork. It was released on November 8, 2011 in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

Synopsis.

In the fictional land of Alagaësia, an order was originally created to oversee the countries and bring peace to the world. This group was known as the Dragon Riders, for they rode dragons, at the birth of which a bond was formed in accordance with a pact made between elves and dragons millennia earlier. Later, humans were involved in the Riders too. One Dragon Rider named Galbatorix suffered the death of his dragon, Jarnunvösk, at the hands of a group of Urgals (a species of brutish humanoids); the dragon's death pushed him to insanity. Denied another dragon by the Council of Elder Riders, Galbatorix blamed the Council for the death of his dragon and sought to destroy the order. He made an alliance with an ambitious young rider, Morzan, and with his help slew another rider and took his dragon captive, Shruikan. Using magic, he broke Shruikan's will and forced the dragon to serve him. Gathering more Riders to his cause, he created the Thirteen Forsworn and with their help took over Ilirea, the capital of the Broddring Kingdom, and destroyed Doru Araeba, the center of the Dragon Riders. Galbatorix slew the Elders, their leader Vrael, taking his sword, Islingr, and most of the Dragon Riders, along with their dragons, taking many Eldunarí, or the Heart of Hearts, which is a gem inside dragons that their consciousness can remain in even after they die. When the remaining dragons found out that the betrayal was aided by their own species, they collectively cast a spell on the Forsworns' dragons, which prevents them from being named.  Elder Rider Oromis and his Dragon Glaedr fled to Ellesméra, the capital of the elves' kingdom in the forest Du Weldenvarden, while Morzan confronted his old friend Brom, slaying his dragon Saphira. However, Morzan showed mercy to Brom, who later escaped. After the fall of the Riders, Galbatorix declared himself King over all of Alagaësia. He then focused his efforts onto going after the elves and the dwarfs but he couldn't find them.  Over the next century, several of the Forsworn were killed either from battle or power struggles, or committed suicide after going mad. Galbatorix shut himself up for more than forty years, bending the Eldunarí to his will. His negligence allowed Surda to gain independence from the Empire and become its own country. Brom created the Varden, a rebellion meant to oppose the Empire. He killed three of the Forsworn personally, including Morzan; and orchestrated the deaths of five more. Brom and Morzan's wife, Selena, fell in love while Brom was working undercover in Morzan's staff (though this is revealed in the third book). Selena, who already had borne Morzan's son, became pregnant with Brom's child. She returned to Carvahall, her brother Garrow's home, to give birth to the child. After begging her brother and his wife to raise her son, Eragon, as their own, she left Carvahall to return to Morzan and her first son. She died soon afterward. When Brom needed to disappear, he travelled to Carvahall, disguised as a storyteller to be near his son, who was not aware of his relationship to Brom.  The first book in the series started when a Shade named Durza (servant of Galbatorix) ambushed three elves named Fäolin, Glewin and Arya, who was carrying a dragon egg. Only two other dragon eggs remained, in the citadel in Ilirea, renamed Urû'baen by Galbatorix. Arya attempted to send the egg to Brom, but the remaining Eldunarí, which were hidden in the Vault of Souls, a secret cave hidden on the island Vroengard, near Doru Araeba, altered the spell making the egg go to Eragon, because they believed that the egg might hatch for him (revealed in the final book), who finds the egg while on a hunting trip. A few days later, the egg hatches and Eragon touches the dragon that was inside of the egg, giving him a silver mark on his palm (the gëdwey ignasia) and making Eragon a Dragon Rider through their bond. The hatchling chooses the name Saphira from a list of dragon names Eragon recites, from Brom, to her. Eragon's cousin, Roran, leaves for a job in the next town Therinsford, to earn money so he can start a family with his beloved, Katrina. His uncle, Garrow, is killed by King Galbatorix's servants, the Ra'zac, and Eragon flees Carvahall with Brom to hunt down the Ra'zac, unaware that Brom is his father. Brom gives Morzan's sword, Zar'roc, to Eragon.  On the journey, Brom teaches Eragon sword fighting, magic, a minimal understanding of the ancient language, and the ways of the Dragon Riders. On the journey they become close friends. Once again the Eldunarí decide to act, sending Eragon dreams of Arya, who is imprisoned in Gil'ead. Halfway through their journey, their camp is ambushed by the Ra'zac and a stranger named Murtagh rescues them, but Brom is mortally wounded. In his dying breath, Brom reveals to Eragon that he once was a Dragon Rider and his dragon was also named Saphira.  Eragon decides to follow his dream of Arya to Gil'ead, and Murtagh and Eragon rescue her, though Eragon has to battle Durza. When Arya remains unconscious for days on end, Eragon decides to take a risk and communicate with their thoughts. Arya tells him how to find the Varden. They flee to the Varden as they are being chased by Kull (overlarge Urgals). As they are trapped by the Kull, Murtagh is revealed to be Morzan's son. A dwarf named Orik saves them with the help of some of the Varden. One of The Twins, two nasty bald men, examines Eragon's memories, but Murtagh refuses to let anyone into his head. Eragon and Murtagh are taken to Tronjheim, the city-mountain at the center of the hollow mountain Farthen Dûr. The leader of the Varden, Ajihad, imprisons Murtagh after he refuses again to allow his mind to be read, even though Ajihad recognizes Murtagh's voice. Eragon is properly introduced to Ajihad, his daughter Nasuada, the dwarf King Hrothgar, and his foster son Orik. The Varden are attacked by an army of Urgals. In the ensuing battle, Eragon gets separated from the main fighting and finds himself in a one-on-one duel with Durza. In the duel, Eragon receives a large cursed scar on his back, but Arya and Saphira break Isidar Mithrim, the Star Rose, creating a distraction long enough for Eragon to stab Durza through the heart. In the aftermath, Ajihad is killed by a band of stray Urgals, and Murtagh and The Twins are captured.  Meanwhile, Roran is wanted by the Empire. His supporters help him fortify and defend Carvahall. He later evacuates to Surda along with most of the villagers, intending to join the Varden.  Eragon, Saphira, Orik and Arya set off to Ellesméra, the capital of the elves, to finish Eragon’s training. When they arrived, they met Queen Islanzadí, who they find out was Arya's mother. Eragon was tutored by a rider called Oromis who had a dragon named Glaedr. During an elvish Agaetí Blödhren, or Blood-Oath Celebration, honoring the pact between elves and dragons, Eragon is changed by a symbolic dragon, giving him elf-like abilities and completely healing his back as well as all of his other injuries. Eragon then reveals his true feelings to Arya. After much persistence, Arya angrily rejects Eragon's suit. Meanwhile, Nasuada moves the Varden to the separate country of Surda which is ruled by King Orrin, and Roran moves the villagers of Carvahall to Surda, after their village was destroyed by the Ra'zac, who also captured Katrina. Eragon returns to the Varden, and Nasuada allows the Urgals to join the ranks of the Varden, even though her decision is opposed by many. The next day there is a great battle against Galbatorix's minions. During the battle, a ship arrives with Roran and the entire village of Carvahall. Roran kills The Twins, who are revealed to have planned the death of Ajihad. Meanwhile, Eragon and Saphira confront an enemy Rider, who kills King Hrothgar, and turns out to be Murtagh, and Thorn, who hatched from the second egg and whose growth was accelerated by Galbatorix, making him almost as large as Saphira. Murtagh says that he is sworn to Galbatorix, who extracted oaths of fealty from him and Thorn, and that he and Eragon are brothers. This he says in the ancient language, meaning he can't lie. He takes Zar'roc from Eragon, but shows him mercy, interpreting Galbatorix's orders in a different way.  Eragon, Saphira, and Roran arrive at Helgrind, the Gates of Death, near Dras-Leona, where they free Katrina. Eragon and Roran slay the Raz'ac while Saphira kills the Lethrblaka, the Ra'zac's adult form. Eragon stays behind because he finds Katrina's father Sloan, who betrayed the villagers of Carvahall to the Ra'zac. He finds out Sloan's true name, and uses it to make him go to Ellesméra. Then Eragon catches up with the rest of the Varden. He then goes to the Beor mountains and helps Orik become king of the dwarves, and Saphira fulfills her promise to mend Isidar Mithrim. After that, Eragon goes back to Du Weldenvarden and creates his own sword Brisingr, which bursts into flames each time Eragon speaks its name, and learns from Oromis and Glaedr that Brom is his real father (Eragon and Murtagh are actually only half brothers) and of the Eldunarí, which are also the source of Galbatorix's power.  The Varden capture several cities of the Empire, and Oromis and Glaedr are killed by Murtagh and Thorn, though Glaedr has given his Eldunarí to Eragon and Saphira to further their training. After the defeat of one of the Empire's cities, Nasuada is captured by Murtagh, who becomes attached to her and heals her of her injuries, which causes an identity switch, breaking his oath to Galbatorix. Eragon travels to the Vault of Souls, which has a massive amount of secret Eldunarí and dragon eggs hidden from Galbatorix. Taking the Eldunarí, he faces Galbatorix, who uses the true name of the ancient language against Eragon. Eragon duels Murtagh, besting him. Then Eragon and Galbatorix have a fierce mental battle, where Eragon accidentally forces Galbatorix to commit suicide with an improvised spell.  Murtagh and Thorn retreat to somewhere in the north to have some time to themselves, but Eragon tracks him down. Murtagh tells him the name of the ancient language. Nasuada, after a heated debate with the other leaders of the rebellion, becomes the High Queen of Alagaësia, and changes Urû'baen back to Ilirea. Arya returns to Du Weldenvarden to help choose a new monarch for the elves after the death of Queen Islanzadí in battle, and is chosen herself. She takes with her the rescued green dragon egg, which soon hatches for her. Thus, Arya becomes a Rider with her dragon named Fírnen. Near the end of the book, Arya reveals this to Eragon, as well as her True Name, while Saphira decides to test Fírnen "to see if he has the iron in his bones, and the fire in his belly to match [her]". The two dragons become mates shortly thereafter.  Eragon reworks the magic of the original pact between elves and dragons to include both dwarves and Urgals, allowing the dragon eggs to hatch for members of their races. Eragon, coming to the conclusion that there is no safe place to raise the dragons and train new Riders in Alagaësia, begins planning transport of the Eldunarí and the eggs to a region far from Alagaësia, save for two eggs which are kept in Alagaësia: one is to be sent to the dwarves, and the other to the Urgals. Those future Riders will travel to Eragon's new home for training, while new eggs will be sent back to Alagaësia to hatch for new Riders. At the end of the book, Eragon & Saphira departs Alagaësia forever.

Setting.

The series is set on the mythical continent of Alagaësia. Its name was invented by the author, although other place names in the series are drawn from real-world examples.

Geography.

The Beor Mountains are a vast and incredibly tall mountain range in the southeast of Alagaësia. Within this area is the Az Ragni (The River) and Beartooth River, as well as multiple dwarf cities. The city of Tronjheim is located inside the hollow mountain Farthen Dûr. Northwest of Farthen Dûr is Tarnag, the home of Celbedeil, a great dwarven temple, and Dûrgrimstnz Quan and Ragni Hefthyn.  Du Weldenvarden (The Guarding Forest) is a dense forest which covers the north of Alagaësia. The elves live in Du Weldenvarden, and their cities of Ceris and Ellesméra (named after Ellesmere Island) are located within the forest, as well as other cities, the Gaena River, and Lake Ardwen.  The Empire covers the west of Alagaësia and is the area under the control of King Galbatorix. The area is populated by humans living in cities and towns including Aroughs, Belatona, Bullridge, Carvahall, Ceunon, Daret, Dras-Leona, Eastcroft, Feinster, Furnost, Gil'ead, Kuasta, Melian, Narda, Therinsford, Teirm, Urû'baen, and Yazuac. The Empire is split by an untamed mountain range known as The Spine. One peak, named Utgard (from the Norse language), contains the Rider's sanctuary where Vrael died. The Palancar Valley, a major valley of The Spine, is the location of Eragon's hometown Carvahall and Therinsford and is thus where the Inheritance Cycle begins. It was named for the artist John Jude Palencar before he was chosen as the series' cover artist. Helgrind is a large black bare rock mountain known as the Gates of Death, near Dras-Leona. It is where the Ra'zac live.  South of The Empire is the country of Surda which seceded from The Empire while Galbatorix was learning to use the dragons' Eldunari. Surda is home to the cities of Aberon, Cithrí, Dauth, Lithgow, Petrøvya, and Reavstone.  The Hadarac Desert is a giant desert which covers the middle of Alagaësia.  Northwest of the mainland lies the island of Vroengard, containing the city of Doru Araeba. This used to be the home of the Riders before they fell. Now, it is inhabited by strange creatures - later named by Eragon - and is almost completely abandoned except for a few strange people that Eragon saw.

Inhabitants.

Alagaësia is populated by various sentient races, including humans, elves (the Fair Folk), dwarves, Urgals (Urgals who grow over 8 feet tall are referred to as Kull), dragons, werecats, weredogs/werewolves (mentioned in "Eldest" was a Weredog and as a woman with a cloak on (the hood and rest would cover ears and tail) who turned into a she-wolf. They have the ability to turn into any canine and appear as a human with a tail and wolf ears. She may or may not be an elf), spirits (beings of pure energy), Shades (a human that is possessed by a spirit or spirits that are stronger than the human vessel), and Ra'zac. Alagaësia was once host to a now extinct race or people known as the Grey Folk.

Languages.

There are multiple languages in the world of Alagaësia; many races have their own, and the ancient language—which is used to control magic—is spoken mainly by the elves. No one knows the true name of the ancient language, except for Eragon, Arya, Murtagh, and Galbatorix. It is impossible to lie while speaking the ancient language, but one can still write lies through the Liduen Kvaedhí. The common is spoken by all, but mainly humans. Many races can speak Common, including the dragons (through thought), though they more often communicate through the ancient language and through feelings and images. Dwarvish is spoken by the dwarves. The huge, gray-skinned Urgals speak their own guttural language, as well as more primitive Common. The Nomadic language is spoken by the various tribes that wander throughout Alagaësia. The Ra'zac and the Lethrblaka have their own form of communication—a series of clicks, hisses and rattles that no others have been able to speak or decipher. Werecats speak like any other cats.

"Eragon's Guide to Alagaësia".

"Eragon's Guide to Alagaësia" is a supplemental book to the Inheritance Cycle, published in November 2009. The book takes the appearance of being written by Eragon after the events of "Inheritance", and is directed at a "young Dragon Rider" (the reader). It is a collection of information about the characters, settings and objects referred to in the Inheritance novels, and offers some hints as to the ending of Inheritance, Paolini's fourth book. Fully in color, the book features fifteen pieces of artwork depicting cities and the various races of Alagaësia. The illustrations were created by Fred Gambino, Larry McDougal, Ian Miller, and David Wyatt. According to the Publishers Weekly Children's Hardcover Frontlist, more than 100,000 copies of the book were sold in 2009.

Potential sequels.

In an interview, Christopher Paolini stated that he was considering writing more stories set in Alagaësia. He plans for one of them to be a continuation of the Inheritance Cycle, and the others to be for new story lines (such as a possible prequel centering on Brom). A new book was published December 31, 2018 named "The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm".

Reception.

The books have been criticized for their derivative nature. The two most commonly discussed sources are "Star Wars" (because of numerous similarities in the plots) and "The Lord of the Rings" (because of the setting, elf and dwarven races, the language and character and place names). However, there were also many positive reviews.  The reviews of "Eldest" were similar. Paolini was cited as having developed as a writer from "Eragon", but also noted were strong use of "The Empire Strikes Back" as source material, as well as "The Two Towers" and "Dune".

"Eragon" film adaptation.

On December 15, 2006, a film adaptation of "Eragon" was released. The movie, starring Ed Speleers in the title role of Eragon, as well as Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Rachel Weisz, Sienna Guillory, Djimon Hounsou and Robert Carlyle, was produced by 20th Century Fox. Stefen Fangmeier made his directorial debut with "Eragon." The screenplay was written by Peter Buchman. Principal photography for the film took place in Hungary and Slovakia. A DVD of the movie was released March 20, 2007. The film received negative reviews due to complaints of amateur writing and of borrowing from "Star Wars" and "Lord of the Rings." Despite being a box office success, a planned sequels to the film are cancelled.

The Inheritance Cycle is a tetralogy of young adult high fantasy novels written by American author Christopher Paolini. Set in the fictional world of Alagaësia (), the novels focus on the adventures of a teenage boy named Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, as they struggle to overthrow the evil king Galbatorix. The series was originally intended to be a trilogy (named the "Inheritance Trilogy") until Paolini announced on October 30, 2007, while working on the third novel, that he believed the story was too complex to conclude in just three books.

Die Eragon-Tetralogie (Originaltitel: "Inheritance Cycle" = Vermächtnis-Zyklus) ist eine Fantasy-Buchreihe des US-amerikanischen Schriftstellers Christopher Paolini für Jugendliche. Die Handlung spielt in einer fiktiven Welt namens Alagaësia und konzentriert sich auf die Abenteuer des Drachenreiters Eragon und seines Drachen Saphira.


Biography.

Born of very humble parents at Laon before the middle of the 11th century, he is said to have studied under Saint Anselm at Bec, though this is almost certainly incorrect. Other potential teachers of Anselm have been identified, including Bruno of Cologne and Manegold of Lautenbach. By around 1080, he had moved back to his place of birth and was teaching at the cathedral school of Laon, with his brother Ralph. Around 1109, he became dean and chancellor of the cathedral, and in 1115 he was one of Laon's two archdeacons. His school for theology and exegesis rapidly became the most well known in Europe. Famously, in 1113, he expelled Peter Abelard from his school.  The "Liber Pancrisi" () names him, with his brother Ralph, Ivo of Chartres, and William of Champeaux, as one of the four modern masters.

Works.

Anselm's greatest work, an interlinear and marginal gloss on the 'Scriptures', the Glossa ordinaria, now attributed to him and his followers, was one of the great intellectual achievements of the Middle Ages. It has been frequently reprinted. The significance of the gloss, which was most likely assembled after Anselm's death by his students, such as Gilbert de la Porrée, and based on Anselm's teaching, is that it marked a new way of learning — it represented the birth of efforts to present discrete patristic and earlier medieval interpretations of individual verses of Scripture in a readily accessible, easily referenced way. This theme was subsequently adopted and extended by the likes of Hugh of St. Victor, Peter Lombard and later Thomas Aquinas, who gave us 'handbooks' for what we would now call theology.  Other commentaries apparently by Anselm have been ascribed to various writers, principally to Anselm of Canterbury.  The works are collected in Migne. Some of his "Sententiae" were edited at Milan by G. Lefevre in 1894. The commentary on the Psalms attributed to Haymo of Halberstadt by Migne has also been identified as possibly being the work of Anselm.

Anselm of Laon (; 1117), properly Ansel (""), was a French theologian and founder of a school of scholars who helped to pioneer biblical hermeneutics.

Anselm von Laon (auch "Anselme de Laon", latinisiert "Anselmus von Laon"; * um 1050; † 15. Juli 1117) war ein katholischer Theologe und Frühscholastiker.


Participants.

Until 1995, Welsh clubs playing in the Welsh or English leagues were invited to play in the Welsh Cup. On occasion some English clubs, mostly those from border areas such as Shrewsbury, Hereford and Chester, were also invited to participate. However, in the event of an English club winning the Welsh Cup, they were not allowed to progress to the European Cup Winners' Cup. Instead, the best placed Welsh club in the Welsh Cup competition would take the European place.  From 1996 to 2011, only clubs playing in the Welsh football league system were allowed to enter the Welsh Cup. This rule excluded the six Welsh clubs who played in the English football league system: Cardiff City, Colwyn Bay, Merthyr Town, Newport County, Swansea City and Wrexham. On 20 April 2011, the Football Association of Wales invited these six clubs to rejoin the Welsh Cup for the 2011–12 season, but only Merthyr Town, Newport County and Wrexham accepted. In March 2012, UEFA stated that Welsh clubs playing in the English football league system could not qualify for European competitions via the Welsh Cup but they could qualify via the English league and cup competitions, hence they were subsequently again excluded from the Welsh Cup.

History.

Between the 1961–62 and 1984–85 seasons, the final was played as a two-leg match, originally on a points basis rather than aggregate score. In the 1985–86 season, it reverted to a single game, to be decided by extra time and penalties as necessary.  Shrewsbury Town hold the record for the most times an English team has won the Cup, a record that will remain unbroken because English teams have not been allowed to compete in the cup since 1995. The last English winner of the Welsh Cup was Hereford United in 1990.

The Welsh Football Association Cup () is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions in domestic Welsh association football.

Der Welsh Cup (walisisch "Cwpan Cymreig") ist ein Pokalwettbewerb, der jährlich zwischen Fußballvereinen aus dem walisischen Ligasystem ausgespielt wird. Er wurde 1877/78 zum ersten Mal ausgespielt und ist damit einer der ältesten Fußball-Wettbewerbe der Welt.


First construction and service.

In 1882, Thomas L. Kane, president of the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railway (NYLE&W), was faced with the challenge of building a branch line off the main line in Pennsylvania, from Bradford south to the coal fields in Elk County. The fastest way to do so was to build a bridge to cross the Kinzua Valley. The only other alternative to building a bridge would have been to lay an additional of track over rough terrain. When built, the bridge was larger than any that had been attempted, and over twice as large as the largest similar structure at the time: the Portage Bridge over the Genesee River in western New York.  The first Kinzua Bridge was built by a crew of 40 from of wrought iron in just 94 working days, between May 10 and August 29, 1882. The reason for the short construction time was that scaffolding was not used in the bridge's construction; instead a gin pole was used to build the first tower, then a traveling crane was built atop it and used in building the second tower. The process was then repeated across all 20 towers.  The bridge was designed by the engineer Octave Chanute and was built by the Phoenix Iron Works, which specialized in producing patented, hollow iron tubes called "Phoenix columns". Because of the design of these columns, it was often mistakenly believed that the bridge had been built out of wooden poles. The bridge's 110 sandstone masonry piers were quarried from the hillside used for the foundation of the bridge. The tallest tower had a base that was wide. The bridge was designed to support a load of, and was estimated to cost between $167,000 and $275,000.  On completion, the bridge was the tallest and longest railroad bridge in the world and was advertised as the "Eighth Wonder of the World". Six of the bridge's 20 towers were taller than the Brooklyn Bridge. Excursion trains from as far away as Buffalo, New York, and Pittsburgh would come just to cross the Kinzua Bridge, which held the height record until the Garabit viaduct, tall, was completed in France in 1884. Trains crossing the bridge were restricted to a speed of because the locomotive, and sometimes the wind, caused the bridge to vibrate. People sometimes visited the bridge in hopes of finding the loot of a bank robber, who supposedly hid $40,000 in gold and currency under or near it.

Second construction and service.

By 1893, the NYLE&W had gone bankrupt and was merged with the Erie Railroad, which became the owner of the bridge. By the start of the 20th century, locomotives were almost 85 percent heavier, and the iron bridge could no longer safely carry trains. The last traffic crossed the old bridge on May 14, 1900, and removal of the old iron began on May 24.  The new bridge was designed by C.R. Grimm and was built by the Elmira Bridge Company out of of steel, at a cost of $275,000. Construction began on May 26, starting from both ends of the old bridge. A crew of between 100 and 150 worked 10-hour days for almost four months to complete the new steel frame. Two Howe truss "timber travelers", each long and deep, were used to build the towers. Each "traveler" was supported by a pair of the original wrought-iron towers, separated by the one that was to be replaced. After the middle tower was demolished and a new steel one built in its place, the traveler was moved down the line by one tower and the process was repeated. Construction of each new tower and the spans adjoining it took one week to complete. The bolts used to hold the towers to the anchor blocks were reused from the first bridge, which would eventually play a major role in the bridge's demise. Grimm, the designer of the bridge, later admitted that the bolts should have been replaced.  The Kinzua Viaduct reopened to traffic on September 25, 1900. The new bridge was able to safely accommodate one of the largest steam locomotives in the world, the Big Boy. The Erie Railroad maintained a station at the Kinzua Viaduct. Constructed between 1911 and 1916, the station was not manned by an agent. The station was closed sometime between 1923 and 1927.  Train crews would sometimes play a trick on a brakeman on his first journey on the line. When the train was a short distance from the bridge, the crew would send the brakeman over the rooftops of the cars to check on a small supposed problem. As the train crossed the bridge, the rookie "suddenly found himself terrified, staring down from the roof of a rocking boxcar". Even after being reconstructed the bridge still had a speed limit of. As the bridge aged, heavy trains pulled by two steam locomotives had to stop so the engines could cross the bridge one at a time. Diesel locomotives were lighter and did not face that limit; the bridge was last crossed by a steam locomotive on October 5, 1950.  The Erie Railroad obtained trackage rights on the nearby Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) line in the late 1950s, which allowed it to bypass the aging Kinzua Bridge. Regular commercial service ended on June 21, 1959, and the Erie sold the bridge to the Kovalchick Salvage Company of Indiana, Pennsylvania, for $76,000. The bridge was reopened for one day in October 1959 when a wreck on the B&O line forced trains to be rerouted across the bridge. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Kinzua Bridge "was a critical structure in facilitating the transport of coal from Northwestern Pennsylvania to the Eastern Great Lakes region, and is credited with causing an increase in coal mining that led to significant economic growth."

State park.

Nick Kovalchick, head of the Kovalchick Salvage Company, which then owned the bridge, was reluctant to dismantle it. On seeing it for the first time he is supposed to have said "There will never be another bridge like this." Kovalchick worked with local groups who wanted to save the structure, and Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton signed a bill into law on August 12, 1963, to purchase the bridge and nearby land for $50,000 and create Kinzua Bridge State Park. The deed for the park's was recorded on January 20, 1965, and the park was opened to the public in 1970.  An access road to the park was built in 1974, and new facilities there included a parking lot, drinking water and toilets, and installation of a fence on the bridge deck. There was an official ribbon cutting ceremony on July 5, 1975, for the park, which "was and is unique in the park system" since "its centerpiece is a man-made structure". The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 29, 1977, and was named to the National Register of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks by the American Society of Civil Engineers on June 26, 1982.  The Knox and Kane Railroad (KKRR) operated sightseeing trips from Kane through the Allegheny National Forest and over the Kinzua Bridge from 1987 until the bridge was closed in 2002. In 1988 it operated the longest steam train excursion in the United States, a round trip to the bridge from the village of Marienville in Forest County, with a stop in Kane. "The New York Times" described being on the bridge as "more akin to ballooning than railroading" and noted "You stare straight out with nothing between you and an immense sea of verdure a hundred yards [91 m] below." The railroad still operated excursions through the forest and stopped at the bridge's western approach until October 2004.  As of 2009, Kinzua Bridge State Park is a Pennsylvania state park surrounding the bridge and the Kinzua Valley. The park is located off of U.S. Route 6 north of Mount Jewett in Hamlin and Keating Townships. A scenic overlook within the park allows views of the fallen bridge and of the valley, and is also a prime location to view the fall foliage in mid-October. The park has a shaded picnic area with a centrally located modern restroom. Before the bridge's collapse, visitors were allowed on or under the bridge and hiking was allowed in the valley around the bridge. In September 2002 the bridge was closed even to pedestrian traffic. About of Kinzua Bridge State Park are open to hunting. Common game species are turkey, bear and deer.

Destruction.

Since 2002, the Kinzua Bridge had been closed to all "recreational pedestrian and railroad usage" after it was determined that the structure was at risk to high winds. Engineers had determined that during high winds, the bridge's center of gravity could shift, putting weight onto only one side of the bridge and causing it to fail. An Ohio-based bridge construction and repair company had started work on restoring the Kinzua Bridge in February 2003.  On July 21, 2003, construction workers had packed up and were starting to leave for the day when a storm arrived. A tornado within the storm struck the Kinzua Bridge, snapping and uprooting nearby trees, as well as causing 11 of the 20 bridge towers to collapse. There were no human deaths or injuries. The tornado was produced by a mesoscale convective system (MCS), a complex of strong thunderstorms, that had formed over an area that included eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, western New York, and southern Ontario. The MCS traveled east at around. As the MCS crossed northwestern Pennsylvania, it formed into a distinctive comma shape. The northern portion of the MCS contained a long-lived mesocyclone, a thunderstorm with a rotating updraft that is often conducive to tornados.  At approximately 15:20 EDT (19:20 UTC), the tornado touched down in Kinzua Bridge State Park, from the Kinzua Bridge. The tornado, classified as F1 on the Fujita scale, passed by the bridge and continued another before it lifted. It touched down again from Smethport and traveled another before finally dissipating. It was estimated to have been wide and it left a path long. The same storm also spawned an F3 tornado in nearby Potter County.  When the tornado touched down, the winds had increased to at least and were coming from the east, perpendicular to the bridge, which ran north–south. An investigation determined that Towers 10 and 11 had collapsed first, in a westerly direction. Meanwhile, Towers 12 through 14 had actually been picked up off their foundations, moved slightly to the northwest and set back down intact and upright, held together by only the railroad tracks on the bridge. Next towers four through nine collapsed to the west, twisting clockwise, as the tornado started to move northward. As it moved north, inflow winds came in from the south and caused Towers 12, 13, and 14 to finally collapse towards the north, twisting counterclockwise.  The failures were caused by the badly rusted base bolts holding the bases of the towers to concrete anchor blocks embedded into the ground. An investigation determined that the tornado had a wind speed of at least, which applied an estimated of lateral force against the bridge. The investigation also hypothesized that the whole structure oscillated laterally four to five times before fatigue started to cause the base bolts to fail. The towers fell intact in sections and suffered damage upon impact with the ground. The century-old bridge was destroyed in less than 30 seconds.

Aftermath.

The state decided not to rebuild the Kinzua Bridge, which would have cost an estimated $45 million. Instead, it was proposed that the ruins be used as a visitor attraction to show the forces of nature at work. Kinzua Bridge State Park had attracted 215,000 visitors annually before the bridge collapsed, and was chosen by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Parks for its list of "Twenty Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks". The viaduct and its collapse were featured in the History Channel's "Life After People" as an example of how corrosion and high winds would eventually lead to the collapse of any steel structure. The bridge was removed from the National Register of Historic Places on July 21, 2004.  The Knox and Kane Railroad was forced to suspend operations in October 2004 after a 75 percent decline in the number of passengers, possibly brought about by the collapse of the Kinzua Bridge. The Kovalchick Corporation bought the Knox and Kane's tracks and all other property owned by the railroad, including the locomotives and rolling stock. The Kovalchick Corporation also owns the East Broad Top Railroad and was the company that owned the Kinzua Bridge before selling it to the state in 1963. The company disclosed plans in 2008 to remove the tracks and sell them for scrap. The right-of-way would then be used to establish a rail trail.  Pennsylvania released $700,000 to design repairs on the remaining towers and plan development of the new park facilities in June 2005. In late 2005, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) put forward an $8 million proposal for a new observation deck and visitors' center, with plans to allow access to the bridge and a hiking trail giving views of the fallen towers. The Kinzua Sky Walk was opened on September 15, 2011 in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The Sky Walk consists of a pedestrian walkway to an observation deck with a glass floor at the end of the bridge that allows views of the bridge and the valley directly below. The walkway cost $4.3 million to construct, but is estimated to bring in $11.5 million in tourism revenue for the region.

References.

Notes Sources

The Kinzua Bridge or the Kinzua Viaduct (, ) was a railroad trestle that spanned Kinzua Creek in McKean County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The bridge was tall and long. Most of its structure collapsed during a tornado in July 2003.

Die Kinzua-Brücke (englisch "Kinzua Bridge") der Erie Railroad im Norden des Bundesstaates Pennsylvania in den Vereinigten Staaten im Allegheny National Forest war 92 m hoch und 625 m lang und galt als die zweithöchste Brücke in den Vereinigten Staaten (nach der Pecos River High Bridge). Sie wurde bei einem Tornado am 21. Juli 2003 zerstört.