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5 May TFAs edit
Automatic number plate recognition is a mass surveillance method that uses optical character recognition on images to read the licence plates on vehicles. As of 2005 systems can scan number plates at around one per second on cars travelling up to 100 mph (160 km/h). They can either use existing closed-circuit television or road-rule enforcement cameras, or ones specifically designed for the task. They are implemented by various police forces and as a method of electronic toll collection on pay-per-use roads. ANPR can be used to store the images captured by the cameras as well as the text from the licence plate, with some configurable to store a photograph of the driver. Systems commonly use infrared lighting to allow the camera to take the picture at any time of day. They also tend to be country-specific due to the variation of plates internationally. Media reports of misidentification and high error rates have led to privacy fears, though, as the systems have developed, they have become much more accurate and reliable.
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A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring Earth's view of the Sun totally or partially. This configuration can only occur at the New Moon phase, when the Sun and Moon are in conjunction, as seen from Earth. In ancient times, and in some countries today, solar eclipses are attributed mythical properties. Total solar eclipses are very rare events for a given place on Earth. This is because totality is only visible where the umbra of the Moon touches the Earth's surface. Some people travel to the most remote places imaginable to observe eclipses. A total solar eclipse is considered by them to be the most spectacular natural phenomenon that one can observe. The 1999 total eclipse in Europe, which was without doubt the most watched eclipse in human history, helped to increase public awareness of the phenomenon. This was illustrated by many people willing to make the journey to witness the 2005 annular eclipse and the 2006 total eclipse. The next total solar eclipse will be the Solar eclipse of August 1, 2008. (continued...)
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The history of Tamil Nadu and the civilisation of the Tamil people are among the oldest in the world. Throughout its history, spanning from the early Palaeolithic age to the modern time, this region has coexisted with various external cultures. Except for relatively short periods in its history, the Tamil region has remained independent of external occupation. The three Tamil dynasties of Chera, Chola and Pandya were of ancient origins. With the decline of the three ancient dynasties during the fourteenth century, the Tamil country became part of the Vijayanagara Empire. Under this empire the Telugu speaking Nayak governors ruled the Tamil land. The brief appearance of the Marathas gave way to the European trading companies, who began to appear during the seventeenth century and eventually assumed greater sway over the indigenous rulers of the land. The Madras Presidency comprising of most of southern India was created in the eighteenth century and was ruled directly by the British East India Company. After the independence of India, the Tamil Nadu state was created based on linguistic boundaries. (more...)
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El Señor Presidente is a 1946 novel by Nobel Prize-winning Guatemalan writer Miguel Ángel Asturias. A landmark text in Latin American literature, El Señor Presidente explores the nature of political dictatorship and its effects on society. Asturias also makes early use of a literary technique that would come to be known as magic realism. One of the most notable works of the dictator novel genre, El Señor Presidente developed from an earlier Asturias short story, written to protest social injustice in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in the author's home town. Although El Señor Presidente does not explicitly identify its setting as early twentieth-century Guatemala, the novel's title character was inspired by the 1898–1920 presidency of Manuel Estrada Cabrera. Asturias began writing the novel in the 1920s and finished it in 1933, but the strict censorship policies of Guatemalan dictatorial governments delayed its publication for a further thirteen years. The character the President rarely appears in the story but Asturias creates a number of other characters to show the terrible effects of living under a dictatorship. The style of El Señor Presidente influenced a generation of Latin American authors. In 1967, Asturias received the Nobel Prize in Literature for his entire body of work. This international acknowledgment was celebrated throughout Latin America, where it was seen as a recognition of the region's literature as a whole. Since then, El Señor Presidente has been adapted for the screen three times. (more...)
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The exosome complex is a multi-protein complex, capable of degrading various types of RNAs. Exosome complexes can be found in both eukaryotic cells and archaea, while in bacteria a simpler complex called the degradosome carries out similar functions. The core of the complex has a six-membered ring structure, to which other proteins are attached. In eukaryotic cells, it is present in the cytoplasm, nucleus and especially the nucleolus, although different proteins interact with the complex in these compartments, in order to regulate the RNA degradation activity of the complex to substrates specific for these cell compartments. Substrates of the exosome include messenger RNA, ribosomal RNA, and many species of small RNAs. The exosome has an exoribonucleolytic function, meaning it degrades RNA starting at one side (the so-called 3' end in this case), rather than cleaving the RNA at specific sites. Although no causative relation between the complex and any disease is known, several proteins in the complex are the target of autoantibodies in patients with specific autoimmune diseases (especially the PM/Scl overlap syndrome) and some antimetabolitic chemotherapies for cancer function by blocking the activity of the complex. (more...)
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The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were influential in initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians. Although their initial career lasted just two-and-a-half years and produced only four singles and one studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, they are regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of popular music. The Sex Pistols originally comprised vocalist Johnny Rotten, guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook and bassist Glen Matlock. Matlock was replaced by Sid Vicious in early 1977. Under the management of impresario Malcolm McLaren, the band created controversies which captivated Britain. Their concerts repeatedly faced difficulties with organisers and authorities, and public appearances often ended in mayhem. Their 1977 single "God Save the Queen", attacking Britons' social conformity and deference to the crown, precipitated the "last and greatest outbreak of pop-based moral pandemonium". In January 1978, at the end of a turbulent US tour, Rotten left the band and announced its breakup. Over the next several months, the three other band members recorded songs for McLaren's film version of the Sex Pistols' story, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle. Vicious died of a heroin overdose in February 1979. In 1996, Rotten, Jones, Cook and Matlock reunited for the Filthy Lucre Tour; since 2002, they have staged further reunion shows and tours. (more...)
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William Garrow (1760–1840) was a British barrister, politician and judge known for his indirect reform of the advocacy system, which helped usher in the adversarial court system used in most common law nations today. He introduced the phrase "innocent until proven guilty", insisting that defendants' accusers and their evidence be thoroughly tested in court. Garrow is best known for his criminal defence work and the example he set with his aggressive defence of clients. Garrow joined Lincoln's Inn in November 1778, and was called to the Bar on 27 November 1783. He quickly established a reputation as a criminal law barrister, particularly for the defendants, and in February 1793 was made a King's Counsel by HM Government to prosecute cases involving treason and felonies. Garrow is also known for his impact on the rules of evidence, coining the best evidence rule. His work was cited as recently as 1982 in the Supreme Court of Canada and 2006 in the Irish Court of Criminal Appeal. In 2009, BBC One broadcast Garrow's Law, a four-part fictionalised drama of Garrow's beginnings at the Old Bailey; a second series aired in late 2010. (more...)
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Ram Narayan (born 1927) is an Indian musician who popularized the bowed instrument sarangi as a solo concert instrument in Hindustani classical music and became the first internationally successful sarangi player. Narayan was born in Udaipur and learned to play the sarangi at an early age. He studied under sarangi players and singers and, as a teenager, worked as a music teacher and traveling musician. All India Radio, Lahore, hired Narayan as an accompanist for vocalists in 1944. He moved to Delhi following the partition of India in 1947, but wishing to go beyond accompaniment and frustrated with his supporting role, Narayan moved to Mumbai in 1949 to work in Indian cinema. After an unsuccessful attempt in 1954, Narayan became a concert solo artist in 1956, and later gave up accompaniment. He recorded solo albums and began to tour America and Europe in the 1960s. Narayan taught Indian and foreign students and performed, frequently outside of India, into the 2000s. He was awarded India's second highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2005. (more...)
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Elephants are large mammals found in sub-Saharan Africa, and South and Southeast Asia. Traditionally, two species are recognised, the African elephant (pictured) and the Asian elephant, although some evidence suggests that African bush elephants and African forest elephants are separate species. The largest living terrestrial animals, male African elephants can reach a height of 4 m (13 ft) and weigh 7,000 kg (15,000 lb). Distinctive features include the trunk, used for many purposes, and tusks, which serve as tools and weapons. Females (or "cows") tend to live in family groups; males (or "bulls") leave their family groups when they reach puberty, and may live alone or with other males. Adult bulls mostly interact with family groups when looking for a mate. Elephants can live up to 70 years in the wild, and their intelligence has been compared to primates and cetaceans. African elephants are classed as vulnerable, while the Asian elephant is classed as endangered. Elephants are threatened by poaching for the ivory trade, habitat destruction and conflicts with local people. They are highly recognisable and have been featured in art, folklore, religion, literature and popular culture. (Full article...)
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Roekiah (1917–1945) was a kroncong singer and film actress from the Dutch East Indies. Born to two actors, she began her career at the age of seven, and by 1932 had become well-known in Batavia. Around this time she met her husband Kartolo. The two acted in the 1937 hit Terang Boelan, with Roekiah starring alongside Rd Mochtar; after the film's commercial success, Roekiah, Kartolo, and most of the cast and crew of Terang Boelan were signed to Tan's Film. They appeared in three films for the company, beginning with Fatima in 1938, before Mochtar left in 1940; his departure ended a partnership which had spawned numerous imitators. Mochtar's replacement, Djoemala, acted with Roekiah in four films, beginning with Sorga Ka Toedjoe, although these were less successful. During the peak of her career, Roekiah was a fashion and beauty icon, featuring in advertisements and drawing comparisons to Dorothy Lamour and Janet Gaynor. After the Japanese invaded the Indies in 1942, Roekiah took only one more film role before her death. Of her five children with Kartolo, one – Rachmat Kartolo – entered acting. Roekiah has often been cited as one of Indonesia's film pioneers. (Full article...)
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Kosta Pećanac (1879–1944) was a Serbian Chetnik commander during both of the Balkan Wars, World War I, and World War II. Pećanac (pictured, second from left) fought on the Serbian side in the Balkan Wars and World War I, joining the Toplica uprising of 1917. After the war he was an important leader of Chetnik veteran associations, known for his strong hostility to the Yugoslav Communist Party, which made him popular with conservatives. As president of the Chetnik Association, he transformed the association during the 1930s into an aggressively partisan Serb political organisation with over half a million members. During World War II, Pećanac collaborated with the German military administration and with their Serbian puppet government in the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia. In July 1942, rival Chetnik leader Draža Mihailović arranged for the Yugoslav government-in-exile to denounce Pećanac as a traitor, and his continuing collaboration with the Germans ruined what remained of the reputation he had developed in the Balkan Wars and World War I. By March 1943, the Germans saw Pećanac's Chetniks as inefficient and unreliable, and disbanded them. He was interned, then killed in May or June 1944 by agents of Mihailović. (Full article...)
The Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge is a historic bridge across the Cacapon River in Capon Lake, West Virginia. The bridge's Whipple truss technology was developed by civil engineer Squire Whipple in 1847, and modified by J. W. Murphy in 1859 to include pinned eyebar connections. The bridge is West Virginia's oldest remaining Whipple truss bridge and its oldest intact metal truss bridge. The structure was originally built in a different location in 1874 as part of a larger two-span bridge conveying the Northwestern Turnpike across the South Branch Potomac River near Romney. When a new bridge was constructed at this site in 1937, the old bridge was dismantled and relocated to the current site in Capon Lake in southeastern Hampshire County to carry Capon Springs Road between West Virginia Route 259 and Capon Springs. The bridge was dedicated on August 20, 1938. In 1991 a new bridge was completed to the south, and the existing bridge was preserved in place by the West Virginia Division of Highways, due to its rarity, age, and engineering significance. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. (Full article...)
Wolfenstein 3D is a first-person shooter video game developed by id Software, published by Apogee Software and FormGen, and originally released on May 5, 1992, for MS-DOS. Its innovative, ray casting-based game engine (illustration shown) was designed by John Carmack. The player assumes the role of Allied spy William "B.J." Blazkowicz during World War II as he escapes from the Nazi German prison Castle Wolfenstein and carries out a series of crucial missions against the Nazis. Wolfenstein 3D was the second major release by id Software, and was released through Apogee in two sets of three episodes as shareware; the first episode was available free of charge, to drive interest in purchasing the rest. An additional episode, Spear of Destiny, was released as a standalone retail title through FormGen. Wolfenstein 3D was a critical and commercial success, garnering numerous awards and selling over 200,000 copies by the end of 1993. The game popularized the first-person shooter genre, established standards of fast-paced action and technical prowess for subsequent games in the genre, and showcased the viability of the shareware publishing model. (Full article...)
The CMLL World Middleweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship of the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. While lighter weight classes are regularly ignored in wrestling promotions in the United States, more emphasis is placed on the lighter classes in Mexico. The middleweight division range in Mexico is between 82 kg (181 lb) and 87 kg (192 lb), but the weight limits are not strictly adhered to. As it is a professional wrestling championship, it is not won by actual competition, but by a scripted ending to a match or storyline. Dragón Rojo Jr., the longest reigning CMLL champion, was defeated on March 25, 2017, by Ángel de Oro, the current champion. Since its creation in 1991, the championship has been held by 12 wrestlers for a total of 17 individual reigns. El Dandy is the only three-time champion; he also has the shortest reign of any champion (his first reign) at 63 days. (Full article...)
Part of the Current Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre championships featured topic.
SMS Grosser Kurfürst was the second battleship of the four-ship König class of the German Imperial Navy. Her name refers to Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg. Launched on 5 May 1913, she served during World War I. She was armed with ten 30.5-centimeter (12.0 in) guns in five twin turrets. Along with her three sister ships, König, Markgraf, and Kronprinz, Grosser Kurfürst took part in most of the fleet actions during the war, including the Battle of Jutland on 31 May and 1 June 1916. The ship was subjected to heavy fire at Jutland, but was not seriously damaged. She shelled Russian positions during Operation Albion in September and October 1917. In her service career, she collided with König and Kronprinz, grounded several times, was torpedoed once, and hit a mine. After the war, Grosser Kurfürst and most of the capital ships of the High Seas Fleet were interned by the Royal Navy in Scapa Flow, and later scuttled by their German crews. (Full article...)
Part of the Battleships of Germany featured topic.
God of War: Ascension is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3 console. Loosely based on Greek mythology, it is the seventh installment in the God of War series and prequel to the entire series. The player controls Kratos, the former servant of the Greek god of war Ares, who tricked Kratos into killing his own wife and daughter. In response to this tragedy, Kratos renounced Ares, breaking his blood oath to the god. He was then imprisoned and tortured by the three Furies, the guardians of honor and enforcers of punishment, who he confronts after escaping with the aid of Orkos. The gameplay is similar to previous installments, focusing on combo-based combat and quick time events. The game also features magical attacks, puzzles, and platforming elements. It is the only installment to include a multiplayer mode, which is online-only for both competitive and cooperative play. Ascension received generally favorable reviews from critics, although the story was deemed to be less compelling than previous entries. (This article is part of a featured topic: God of War franchise.)