Nadja Uhl (; born 23 May 1972, in Stralsund) is a German actress.

Uhl grew up near Stralsund, in the town of Franzburg.  She lived with her mother in a three-generation house, shared with aunts and her grandparents, who had moved in shortly after the war. Her father left the family home when she was two; she never got to know him.  Many years later, after setting up her own multi-generation multi-family house in Potsdam in 2005, with friends and relations ranging in age from 20 to 90, she told an interviewer that childhood experience of living with aunts and grandparents taught her that this type of extended family community in a single home was a challenge which could only succeed if each member was allowed some free space.

At school, Uhl tried shooting, ballet, table tennis, and gymnastics.   A perceptive school report noted that "Nadja likes to be part of a group".   An art teacher spotted her talent for entertaining others and arranged for her to take part in a weekly amateur drama group after school each Monday.   That became a weekly highlight.

Uhl studied at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy College of Music and Theatre in Leipzig between 1990 and 1994, beginning her career as a theatre actress at the Hans Otto Theater in Potsdam in 1994. There, she opened a music hall with her partner (and business manager) Kay Bockhold in 2006.

Uhl first appeared in a film in 1993 (Thomas Koerfer's Der Grüne Heinrich, playing Agnes' role), but in 2000 she attracted international attention acting in Volker Schlöndorff's The Legend of Rita (Die Stille nach dem Schuß). In this film she played Tatjana, an East German waitress who rebels against the system of her country. Due to her work in this film, she won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Deutscher Filmpreis (German Film Awards).

In 2002, Uhl appeared in Twin Sisters (De Tweeling), directed by Dutch director Ben Sombogaart and based on the novel The Twins, a bestseller by Tessa de Loo. Here she played Anna, Lotte's sister. They are separated from each other after the death of their parents; the Second World War and the Holocaust will consolidate their situation. The film was a 76th Academy Awards nominee for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film of 2003.

In 2005, Uhl played the role of Nicole in Summer in Berlin (Sommer vorm Balkon), directed by Andreas Dresen, and was nominated for Best Actress at the German Film Awards.

In 2006, Uhl played Katja Döbbelin in , directed by Jorgo Papavassiliou. This successful RTL TV miniseries focused on the North Sea flood of 1962, which left 315 dead.

In 2008, Uhl participated in Uli Edel's Der Baader Meinhof Komplex, based on the bestseller of the same title by Stefan Aust; the film and the book are based on real events. In the film, Uhl plays Brigitte Mohnhaupt, a member of the Red Army Faction (Rote Armee Fraktion or R.A.F., a German terrorist group of Marxist ideology active from the late 1960s to 1998), and leader of its second generation. Also in 2008, Uhl participated in a TV production, also based on real events, about the Lufthansa Flight 181 hijacking (during the German Autumn of 1977), which was perpetrated by four terrorists of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in collusion with the R.A.F. Here, Nadja Uhl plays flight attendant Gabriele Dillmann, who was one of the victims of the hijacking. Coincidentally, at the time of the hijacking, the R.A.F.'s leader was Brigitte Mohnhaupt. In the film Mogadischu she plays a flight attendant aboard hijacked Flight LH181.

In 2017, uhl told an interviewer that she still loves the land of her birth, the German Democratic Republik (GDR) "in spite of everything ... that happened with my family".   Although the family in which she grew up was not particularly politicised during her early childhood, they were forced to confront an uglier side of the socialist paradise when her uncle was arrested during the later 1980s and imprisoned at Bautzen in connection with his "environmental activism which at that time was not welcome [to the authorities] in the GDR  ... [Those activists] did nothing wrong.  They just pointed out the abuses.   That alone was enough to be seen as an attack on the system."

Uhl has two daughters, born in 2006  and in 2009.

Filmography and roles

 Der grüne Heinrich (1993) … Agnes
 Zerrissene Herzen (1996, TV film) … Britta
 Polizeiruf 110:  (1996, TV series episode) … Bibi
 Alarmcode 112: Haus im Grünen (1996, TV series episode)
 Tatort: Eiskalt (1997, TV series episode) … Petra Schächter
 Mein ist die Rache (1997, TV film) … Evi
 Beichtstuhl der Begierde (1997, TV film)
 First Love – Die große Liebe (1998, TV series, 1 episode) … Wolke
 Murderous Legacy (1998, TV film) … Helen Braddy
 Blutiger Ernst (1998, TV film) … Marysa Heeren
 Scent of Seduction (1998, TV film) … Sophie
 : Auf eigene Faust (1998, TV series episode) … Laura Basenius
 Ufos über Waterlow (1998, TV film)
 No Sex (1999, TV film) … Isabell Jacobi
 Snow on New Year's Eve (1999) … Nora
 Verrat (2000, short)
 The Legend of Rita (2000) … Tatjana
 Verhängnisvolles Glück (2000, TV film) … Gloria
 La Volpe a tre zampe (2001) … Doris
 My Sweet Home (2001) … Anke
 What to Do in Case of Fire? (2001) … Nele
  (2002) … Zitrone
 Twin Sisters (2002) … Anna
  (2003, TV film) … Helga Wolbert
 Soundless (2004) … Nina
  (2004, TV film) … Paula Reinhardt
 Summer in Berlin (2005) … Nicole "Nike" Pawelsky
 Artour (2006, TV series, 1 episode)
 Dornröschen erwacht (2006, TV film) … Juliane Meybach
  (2006, TV film) … Katja Döbbelin
 Four Minutes (2006) … Nadine Hoffmann
  (2006, TV film) … Anna Degen
 Cherry Blossoms (2008) … Franzi
 The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008) … Brigitte Mohnhaupt
 Mogadischu (2008, TV film) … flight attendant Gabriele Dillmann
 I've Never Been Happier (2009) … Tanja
 Men in the City (2009) … Susanne Feldberg
 Spreewaldkrimi: Der Tote im Spreewald (2009, TV series episode) … Tania Bartko
 Die Toten vom Schwarzwald (2009, TV film) … Inka
 Jungle Child (2011) … Doris Kuegler
  (2011) … Susanne Feldberg
 The Tower (2012, TV film) … Josta Fischer
 Der Kaktus (2013, TV) … Thea Cronpichel
  (2014) … Apple
 Tannbach (2015, TV series, 3 episodes) … Liesbeth Erler
 Ich werde nicht schweigen (2017, TV film) … Margarete Oelckers
  (2017, TV film)

References

External links

1972 births
Living people
People from Stralsund
German film actresses
German television actresses
University of Music and Theatre Leipzig alumni
Silver Bear for Best Actress winners
German stage actresses
20th-century German actresses
21st-century German actresses


The TBVfL Neustadt-Wildenheid is a German association football club from the city of Neustadt bei Coburg, Bavaria.

The club is a merger of TBV Wildenheid and VfL 07 Neustadt. The latter achieved notability by playing in the 2nd Oberliga Süd from 1954 to 1963.

History
While the TBV Wildenheid throughout its existence played as a lower amateur side, reaching the tier-four Landesliga Bayern-Nord for one season in 1968–69, the VfL Neustadt became quite a successful side during the 1950s and early 1960s. The club should not be mistaken with the VfL Neustadt/Weinstraße, a club from Rhineland-Palatinate.

VfL Neustadt

The VfL Neustadt was formed in 1907.

The club surfaced as a force in Bavarian football after the Second World War, earning promotion to the tier-two Landesliga Bayern (northern group) in 1946. It only lasted for two seasons at this level, in 1948, when the league was reduced to one single group it was relegated again.

The club made a return to Bavaria's highest league in 1950, winning the 2nd Amateurliga Oberfranken-Ost and coming second in the following promotion round. The Landesliga Bayern had been renamed to Amateurliga Bayern in 1950, along with the introduction of the 2nd Oberliga Süd as the new second division in Southern Germany. VfL took out the Amateurliga title in its first season there 1950–51 but failed in the promotion round to the 2nd Oberliga. Coming third on equal points with VfR Aalen and ASV Feudenheim, it lost 0–1 to the later in a decider.

The following season, VfL finished second in the league, one point behind champions FC Amberg. With Heinz Wittig, the club had a player selected for the German team that finished fourth at the 1952 Summer Olympics. After a seventh place in 1953, the league was once more divided into two regional groups, north and south and VfL became part of the northern group again. In 1953–54, it took out the title in this league. A Bavarian title game was not played and VfL advanced to the 2nd Oberliga promotion round. In this competition, the club came first and, alongside southern Bavarian champions SpVgg Weiden, won promotion to the second division.

VfL established itself as a mid-table side in its new league, staying out of relegation trouble. In its second season, 1955–56, the club set a home attendance record when 11,000 saw a 1–3 loss to FC Bayern Munich who would finish second in the league and earn promotion back to the Oberliga Süd.

In the 2nd Oberliga, considered a semi-professional league, VfL would pay its players DM 60 a month to play for the club. The rise of the club from the Easy German was made possible by employers like Siemens and local sponsors.

The 1957–58 season became the most successful for the club, finishing third and within four points of Oberliga promotion, which went to SV Waldhof Mannheim and TSG Ulm 1846. The next season was almost as successful, coming fourth but seven points clear of a promotion spot. After this, VfL declined somewhat.

In the 1959–60 season, the club finished twelfth and, to avoid relegation, Fritz Walter was hired temporarily as a coach. The club continued in the following year to struggle against the drop to the Amateurliga, with the gap to the relegation ranks getting smaller every season. In 1961–62, it saved itself by two points only.

Changes to the German league system in 1963, the introduction of the Fußball-Bundesliga and the Regionalligas below meant, VfL would have had to finish ninth or better to retain its second division status. This mark was missed by six points in twelfth place and the club had to return to the now single-division again Amateurliga Bayern.

Back in the third division, VfL finished sixth in its first year but then came only 16th in 1965 and was relegated to the tier-four Landesliga Bayern-Nord. It managed a second-place finish in this league in 1965–66 but then fell away to become a mid-table side until suffering another relegation, now to the Bezirksliga, in 1971. VfL immediately recovered and earned promotion back to the Landesliga, finishing fourth in this league in 1972–73. A period of upper-table finishes followed, culminating in a second place in 1978. From there, results declined and the club was relegated once more in 1981, never to return to this level of play.

Its glory years a thing of the past, the club played as a lower amateur side in the 1980s and 90s. In 1993, it made a return to the Bezirksliga, which was now the seventh tier, but lasted for only two seasons until 1995. It returned for another season in 1997–98.

Merger club
The new millennium saw VfL in desperate financial trouble with the real threat of having to declare insolvency. In 2003, it had to sell its stadium, the Stadion an der Sonneberger Straße, and clubhouse to SV Türk Gücü Neustadt to stay afloat. On 30 May 2005, the club had to merge with local amateur side TBV Wildenheid to survive, a step not universally accepted by all members, some of the older ones having left the club in protest. For a while after the merger, the club played under the name of Kickers Neustadt-Wildenheid, rising from the Kreisklasse back to the Bezirksliga.

The club played in the Bezirksliga Oberfanken-West (VIII) as a mid-table side in 2008–09, before winning the league the following year and earning promotion to the Bezirksoberliga Oberfranken.

At the end of the 2011–12 season the club dropped back to the Bezirksliga after finishing eleventh in the Bezirksoberliga but remained at the same tier as the Bezirksoberliga was disbanded. The club was relegated back to the Kreisliga at the end of the 2013–14 season.

Honours
The club's honours:

League
 Amateurliga Bayern (III)
 Champions: 1951
 Runners-up: 1952
 Amateurliga Nordbayern (III)
 Champions: 1954
 Landesliga Bayern-Nord
 Runners-up: (2) 1966, 1978
 Bezirksliga Oberfranken-West (V-VIII)
 Champions: (2) 1972, 2010

Recent seasons
The recent season-by-season performance of the club:

With the introduction of the Bezirksoberligas in 1988 as the new fifth tier, below the Landesligas, all leagues below dropped one tier. With the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 and the 3. Liga in 2008 as the new third tier, below the 2. Bundesliga, all leagues below dropped one tier. With the establishment of the Regionalliga Bayern as the new fourth tier in Bavaria in 2012 the Bayernliga was split into a northern and a southern division, the number of Landesligas expanded from three to five and the Bezirksoberligas abolished. All leagues from the Bezirksligas onwards were elevated one tier.

Further reading
 Festschrift zur 60-Jahrfeier des VfL 07 Neustadt bei Coburg  60th Anniversary book of the VfL Neustadt

References

Sources
Süddeutschlands Fussballgeschichte in Tabellenform 1897–1988  History of Southern German football in tables, author: Ludolf Hyll

External links
Official team site
Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv historical German domestic league tables

Football clubs in Germany
Football clubs in Bavaria
Association football clubs established in 2005
Football in Upper Franconia
2005 establishments in Germany


Before the introduction of the Metric system, one may divide the history of Indian systems of measurement into three main periods: the pre-Akbar's period, the period of the Akbar system, and the British colonial period.

During pre-Akbar period, weights and measure system varied from region to region, commodity to commodity, and rural to urban areas. The weights were based on the weight of various seeds (specially the wheat berry and Ratti) and lengths were based on the length of arms and width of fingers. Akbar realized a need for a uniform system. He elected the barley corn. This did not replace the existing system.  Instead, it just added another system.

British entered India as traders. They accepted barley corn as a unit 'grain' for weighing gold. Eventually, British introduced their own system for weighing gold (Troy ounce). In 1956, Government of India passed the Standards of Weights Act, that came into effect in 1958.The metric weight mandatory by October 1960, and the metric measures mandatory by April 1962.

Conversion

In 1956, for metrication, the Indian government defined the Standards of Measurements Act (No. 89 of 1956, amended 1960, 1964) as follows:

The current definitions as per the UN are:

Ancient system

These are the weights and measures popular in North India before the adoption of the metric system. There were different systems in Bengal, the Presidency of Madras, and Bombay. The following nomenclature was prevalent in North India till the metric system came in:-

4 Chawal (grain of rice) = 1 Dhan (weight of one wheat berry)

4 Dhan = 1 Ratti (Ratti is the seed of the 'Abrus precatorius'. It is a red seed with a black spot at one end. Abul Fazl refers to it as 'Surkh' in Ain-i-Akbari.).

8 Ratti = 1 Masha

12 Masha (96 Ratti) = 1 bhari

24 Ratti (96 Dhan) = 1 Tak

Conversion

1 Bhari = 11.66375 gram

3.75 Troy ounce = 10 bhari

Weight of 64 Dhan (Wheat berries) = Weight of 45 Jau (Barley corns)

Weight of 1 Barley corn = 64.79891 milligrams

Commodity Weight System

1 bhari = 4 Siki

1 Kancha = 5 Siki

1 Chhataank = 4 Kancha

1 Chhataank = 5 bhari

1 Adh-pav = 2 Chhatank = 1/8 Seer

1 Pav = 2 Adh-pav = ¼ Seer (Pav means ¼)

1 Adher = 2 Pav = ½ Seer

In Hindi ½ Seer = Adha (½) Seer, or Adher

1 Ser = 2 Adher = 4 Pav = 16 Chattank = 80 Tola = 933.1 grams

1 Savaser = 1 Ser + 1 Pav (1¼ Seer)

1 Savaser weighed 100 Imperial rupees

In Hindi 1¼ Seer = Sava (1¼) Seer, or Savaser

1 Dhaser = 2 Savaser = 2½ Seer

In Hindi 2½ Seer = Dhai (2½) Seer, or Dhaser

1 Paseri = 2 Adisari = 5 Seer

In Hindi 5 Seer = Panch (5) Seer, or Paseri for short

1 Daseri = 2 Pasri = 10 Seer

In Hindi 10 Seer = Das (10) Seer, or Daseri for short

1 Maund (maan or man[मण]) = 4 Daseri = 8 Pasri = 40 Seer

Rice and Grains Volume Measures

Grains were not weighed. Special hour-glass shaped measure were used to determine the volume.

Smallest unit = 1 Nilve

2 Nilve = 1 Kolve

2 Kolve = 1 Chipte (about quarter litre)

2 Chipte = 1 Mapte (about half litre)

2 Mapte = 1 Ser (about one litre)

Liquid Volume Measures

These were hour glass shaped measure used for Milk, Ghee, Oils. The bottom was round like an inverted dome, the top was like flared rim. This shape helped in pouring the liquids.

4 Chhataank = 1 Pav

4 Pav = 1 Seer

40 Seer = 1 Maund

Length Measure

Measure of length is Gaz. To interpret Gaz, depends on what one is measuring and where they are. Bengal: 36", Bombay: 27", Madras: 33", Government Average: 33". The hand measurements were used.

Anguli (width of 3 fingers) = 1 Girah

8 Girah = 1 Hath (elbow to the end of the middle finger, approximately 18" )

5 5/6 Hath = One Kathi

20 Kathi = One Pand

1 Pand= 1 Beesa

20 Pand = One Begah

2 Hath = 1 Gaz

3 Gaz = Two Karam

3 Karams = 1 Kan

3 Square Kans = 1 Marla

20 Marlas = 1 Kanal

8 Kanals = 1 Ghamaon

9 Kanals 12 Marlas = 1 Acre

4 Kanals = 1 Begah

Medieval system

Akbar weights and measures

Akbar standardised weights and measurements using a barley corn (Jau). For weights, he used the weight of a Jau, while the width of a Jau set the standard for length.

1. Length: Ilahi Gaz (); 1 Gaz = 16 Grehs; 1 Greh = 2 pais

At the time of Shah Jahan there existed three different Gaz:

a) Shahi gaz = 101.6 cm
b) Shahijahani or Lashkari = 95.85 cm
c) Aleppo gaz = 67.73 cm

2. Commodity weight: Ser = 637.74 grams

3. Commodity Spices: The Dam was a copper coin used as a weight as well as currency. 1 Dam = 20 grams

4. Gold and Expensive Spices: Misqal = 6.22 grams

Weights before 1833

8 rattīs = 1 māshā (= 0.907(2) gram)

12 māshās = 1 tolā (= 10.886227 gram)

80 tolas = 1 ser  (= 870.89816 gram)

40 sers = 1 maund (= 34 kg 8 hg 3 dag 5g 9 dg 2.6 cg /34.835926 kilograms)

1 rattī = 1.75 grains  (= 0.11339825 gram/113 milligrams 398 1/4 micrograms 4 attograms  )  (1 grain = 0.064799 gram)

From 1833 the rupee and tolā weight was fixed at 180 grains, i.e. 11.66382 grams. Hence the weight of 1 maund increased to 37.324224 kilogram.
Traditionally one maund represented the weight unit for goods which could be carried over some distance by porters or pack animals.

British system

References
1 coss= 2000 yards
Notes

Sources
 Prinsep, James (editor Edward Thomas): Essays on Indian Antqities, Historic, Numismatic, and Palaeographic, of the late James Prinsep, F.R.S., to which are added his Useful Tables illustrative of Indian History, Chronology, Modern Coinages, Weights, Measures etc. Two Volumes, Reprint, Indological Book House, Delhi and Varanasi, 1971. Originally published in London, 1858.

External links

 http://www.indiacurry.com/Miscel/indiahistoricweightsmeasure.htm   **Not accessible 14/11/2022

Customary units in India
Economy of India


Auckland Council () is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a unitary authority, according to the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009, which established the council. The governing body consists of a mayor and 20 councillors, elected from 13 wards. There are also 149 members of 21 local boards who make decisions on matters local to their communities. It is the largest council in Oceania, with a $3 billion annual budget, $29 billion of ratepayer equity, and 9,870 full-time staff as of 30 June 2016. The council began operating on 1 November 2010, combining the functions of the previous regional council and the region's seven city and district councils into one "super council" or "super city".

The council was established by a number of Acts of Parliament, and an Auckland Transition Agency, also created by the central government. Both the means by which the council was established, and its structure came under repeated criticism from a broad spectrum during the establishment period.

Predecessors
The Auckland Council took over the functions of the Auckland Regional Council and the region's seven city and district councils: Auckland City Council, Manukau City Council, Waitakere City Council, North Shore City Council, Papakura District Council, Rodney District Council and most of Franklin District Council.

The Auckland Regional Council was formed in 1989, replacing the Auckland Regional Authority. One of the mainstays of its work was expanding the parks network, and it brought into the Auckland Council 26 regional parks with more than 40,000 hectares, including many restored natural habitats and sanctuaries developed in co-operation with the Department of Conservation and volunteers. A variety of often public transport-focused projects like the Northern Busway as well as significant rail and public transport investments were realised through the Auckland Regional Transport Authority, much of it supported by retaining Ports of Auckland in public hands (after the deregulation of the Auckland Harbour Board) to fund the improvements with the dividends.

History

Royal Commission
Until 2010, the Auckland Region had seven "City/District" authorities, plus one "Regional" authority. In the late 2000s, New Zealand's central government and parts of Auckland's society felt that this large number of Councils, and the lack of strong regional government (with the Auckland Regional Council only having limited powers) were hindering Auckland's progress, and that a form of stronger regional government, or an amalgamation under one local council, would be beneficial. Others pointed to the fact that a previous integration of the many much smaller Borough Councils did not bring the promised advantages either, and reduced local participation in politics, with editorialists pointing out that the (supposedly mainly Wellingtonian) proponents of the 'super city' have carefully not made any promises of savings in light of past rises in rates and utilities bills.

In 2007, the government set up a Royal Commission on Auckland Governance to report on what restructuring should be done. The report was released on 27 March 2009 and the government subsequently announced that a "super city" would be set up to include the full metropolitan area under an Auckland Council with a single mayor and 20–30 local boards, by the time of the local body elections in 2010, though it also changed some key recommendations of the Royal Commission.

Unimplemented recommendations
Some recommendations of the Royal Commission, which have not been adopted or implemented:
 6A The Auckland Council should include a vision for the region in its spatial plan.
 6B The Mayor of Auckland's annual "State of the Region" address should describe progress towards the attainment of the vision.
 19C: "Leadership support and development programmes for elected councillors should be strengthened."
 21D: Auckland Council CCOs and their statements of intent should be subject to performance review by the proposed Auckland Services Performance Auditor.
 21A 22A Two Māori members should be elected to the Auckland Council by voters who are on the parliamentary Māori Electoral Roll.

 22B There should be a Mana Whenua Forum, the members of which will be appointed by mana whenua from the district of the Auckland Council.
 22D The Auckland Council should ensure that each local council has adequate structures in place to enable proper engagement with Māori and consideration of their views in the local councils' decision-making processes. Where appropriate, current structures and/or memoranda of understanding should be transferred to local councils.
 24F Auckland Council should consider creating an Urban Development Agency, to operate at the direction of the Auckland Council, with compulsory acquisition powers.
 The Auckland Council should determine the extent to which responsibilities for the delivery of stormwater services are shared between local councils and Watercare Services Limited.
 26I Watercare Services Limited should be required by legislation to promote demand management.
 26M Watercare Services Limited should be required to prepare a stormwater action plan.
 27D The Auckland Council should prepare an e-government strategy as an intrinsic part of its proposed unified service delivery and information systems plan.
 28A The Auckland Council should work closely with consumers, the industry, and central government agencies to develop a climate change and energy strategy for the region, including monitoring and reviewing electricity security of supply performance, and industry planning and regulation impacting the Auckland region.
 30A The Auckland Council should develop a Regional Waste Management Strategy, including strategies for management of organic waste and integration of waste management with other environmental programmes.
 32F To promote the widespread adoption of the unified service delivery framework the Auckland Council should
a) give Auckland Council CCOs providing council services the opportunity to share the unified service facilities if they wish.
b) require Auckland Council CCOs providing council services to adopt the council's ICT infrastructure standards.
 32G A statutory position of an independent Auckland Services Performance Auditor (to be appointed by the elected Auckland Council on the joint recommendation of the Chair of the Commerce Commission and the Auditor-General) should be created to provide assurance to the council and the public that the Auckland Council is providing high-quality services in a cost-effective way. The role of the Performance Auditor will include
a) reviewing the adequacy and relevance of CCO performance targets.
b) protecting the consumer's interests and advocating for them in respect of the reliability and affordability of council services. This will include reviewing services in terms of established customer service standards.
c) in the case of Watercare Services Limited, undertaking three-yearly efficiency and effectiveness reviews, incorporating international comparative industry benchmarking and an evaluation of service levels, efficiency, affordability of water, and demand management performance.

Legislation
The council was set up by three pieces of legislation, the Local Government (Tamaki Makaurau Reorganisation) Act 2009, the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009 and the Local Government (Auckland Transitional Provisions) Act 2010.

Electoral history
The initial Council elections in October 2010 returned a mostly centre-left council, with Len Brown as mayor. Brown was re-elected in October 2013, again with a largely supportive council. The 2016 mayoral election was won by Labour MP Phil Goff, who had a landslide victory over his nearest rivals, Victoria Crone and future Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick. Goff won re-election in the 2019 mayoral election and chose not to run in the 2022 mayoral election, which was won by Wayne Brown.

Withdrawal from Local Government New Zealand
On 23 March 2023, the Auckland Council voted by a margin of ten to ten to leave Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ), the national representative body for local councils in New Zealand. Mayor Brown used his casting vote to break the deadlock during the Council's vote. Brown claimed that members of the body got drunk regularly during conference meetings and that the Auckland Council could negotiate with the New Zealand Government independently. Brown also claimed that exiting the LGNZ would save the Auckland Council NZ$64,000 a year, helping to reduce its debt. The Auckland Council's decision to leave LGNZ was criticised as detrimental to Auckland ratepayers and cooperation with other local councils by fellow councillors Richard Hills, Andy Baker, Julie Fairey, and LGNZ President Stuart Crosby.

Structure

Mayor

The mayor has significant executive powers, their own staff and the ability to appoint the chairpersons of the council's committees. Some columnists stated in 2010 that the post was the second most powerful public position in New Zealand, after the prime minister. However, when the Minister for the Rugby World Cup, Murray McCully, took control of the Rugby World Cup fan area on the Auckland waterfront in 2011 without first notifying mayor Len Brown, columnist John Armstrong declared the myth finished.

The mayor is directly elected by voters living in the Auckland Council area every three years by postal ballot using the first-past-the-post voting system. Len Brown was elected mayor in October 2010, and re-elected for a second term in 2013. Phil Goff won the 2016 election and was re-elected as mayor in 2019.

Governing body

The governing body of the Auckland Council consists of the mayor, deputy mayor, and 19 other members. The members of the governing body are elected from thirteen wards across the Council area using the first-past-the-post system every three years at the same time as the mayor. Decision-making for the governing body's areas of oversight is done by committees, a few of which consist of the whole governing body, and most of which consist of a chairperson appointed by the mayor and a subset of the governing body members. The following council took office during October 2022:

Wards and local boards

Council-controlled organisations
Auckland Council has substantive CCOs and a number of smaller ones.

Eke Panuku Development Auckland resulted from a merging of Auckland Council Property Ltd and Waterfront Auckland on 1 September 2015.

Tātaki Auckland Unlimited resulted from a merging of Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA) and Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) on 1 December 2020.

Auckland Council Investments Limited (ACIL) was disestablished in 2019 as part of the 10-year budget 2018–2028.

Michael Redman, formerly mayor, then chief executive of Hamilton City Council, was chief executive of Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development from November 2010 to October 2011.

Chief executive
In March 2010, Doug McKay was announced as the inaugural chief executive officer of the council by the Auckland Transition Agency. The 54-year-old was selected ahead of 27 other candidates, including several existing council chief executives. He had no experience in local government, but was described as having strong Auckland ties, and 30 years' corporate experience. He was to receive a salary of $675,000 and an incentive bonus of $67,500.

Left-wing political organiser Matt McCarten criticised his appointment, arguing McKay's previous tenure in the liquor industry was marked by failure to object to anti-union behaviour and strong advertising of alcohol to the youth market. McCarten argued McKay was to be paid three times the salary of the Prime Minister, had no local government or non-profit experience and was selected by an unelected transition authority.

Mayoral candidates John Banks and Len Brown were positive about McKay's appointment. Brown, who went on to become mayor, said McKay's business and restructuring experience was a "good fit", and would help improve economic performance as well as build links with businesses. McKay's contract ended in December 2013.

Stephen Town became chief executive on 15 January 2014. In early February 2020, Town announced he would not see out his term until December 2020, moving to the New Zealand Institute of Skills & Technology in early July.

Planning documents

Auckland Plan

It is intended that the Auckland Council, as one of the major tasks of its first years, will prepare a "spatial plan" to guide Auckland's growth. This plan will cover matters such as the limits of residential development and the zoning and densities of the suburbs and areas, and will assess how elements like transport and land use are to be linked. It is intended to be one of the main documents out of which a unified District Plan will eventually grow. Some critics have noted that this spatial plan will need years to develop and CCOs would fill the policy vacuum in the meantime. Apart from conflicting with Council's plans, this might also pit CCOs against each other.

After the first round of plan development and public consultation, the draft plan was launched mid-2011. Commentators noted that one of the strongest discrepancies between Auckland Council's vision for Auckland and that of the John Key-led Wellington government was that the draft Auckland Plan envisaged a more contained growth (combatting sprawl by having 75% of population growth occur in existing settlement areas), while National is more favourable of relaxing constraints on new greenfields development. Auckland Council later changed the plan to allow 30–40% of growth in greenfield areas and satellite towns.

Long Term Council Community Plan

The first Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP), the longer-term financial budget of the city, will not be produced until July 2012. Until that time, longer-term finances will be decided by the council, guided by the existing LTCCPs of the subsumed bodies.

City Centre and Waterfront Plans

Another big focus of the planning work in the first year of the council is planning for the Auckland CBD (now called 'City Centre') and the Auckland waterfront. Including the under construction City Rail Link, these two transformations are costed at approximately $5.5 billion over 20 years. Projects proposed in the draft plans include partial or full pedestrianisation of a number of city centre streets, light rail possibilities for the Waterfront and Queen Street, turning Nelson and Hobson Street from wide one-way roads into two-way roads with more trees and urban amenity, and a waterfront walk- and cycleway.

Assets

The Council owns approximately $34 billion of assets (2010), including over 100,000 hectares of open space, parks and reserves, as well as the large transport assets administered by the Auckland Transport CCO (see that article for more detail).

Auckland Council Investments Limited (ACIL), the CCO responsible for non-transport investment assets, manages Council investments worth $2.54 billion, including a 22.4% stake in Auckland Airport worth $1.13 billion, as well as a 100% share of Ports of Auckland Limited worth $1.08 billion, and Auckland Film Studios, worth $8 million (values at May 2014).

Regional parks

The council owns and manages 28 regional parks around the region. Most of the parks were inherited from Auckland Regional Council.

 Ambury Regional Park
 Ātiu Creek Regional Park
 Auckland Botanic Gardens
 Āwhitu Regional Park
 Duder Regional Park
 Glenfern Sanctuary Regional Park
 Hunua Ranges Regional Park
 Long Bay Regional Park
 Mahurangi Regional Park
 Motukorea Browns Island Regional Park
 Muriwai Regional Park
 Mutukaroa / Hamlins Hill Regional Park
 Ōmana Regional Park
 Orere Point Regional Park
 Pākiri Regional Park
 Scandrett Regional Park
 Shakespear Regional Park
 Tāpapakanga Regional Park
 Tāwharanui Regional Park
 Tawhitokino Regional Park
 Te Ārai Regional Park
 Te Rau Pūriri Regional Park
 Waharau Regional Park
 Waitākere Ranges Regional Park
 Waitawa Regional Park
 Wenderholm Regional Park
 Whakanewha Regional Park
 Whakatīwai Regional Park

Finances

Rates
Auckland Council rates combine the rates of the various amalgamated local councils and the Auckland Regional Council rates. For the 2011–2012 year, ratepayers are being charged the same rate as before the amalgamation, plus a 3.94% increase, with Council noting that they had achieved a much lower rates increase than originally foreseen. Rates made up 53% of the Council's income in 2011, with the remainder being "grants, subsidies, development and financial contributions, user charges and fees".

As of 2011, 24% of the Council's money was spent on "Art services and galleries, events, museums, parks, recreation facilities and the zoo", while 22% was spent on "transport management". Further big elements were "Planning and regulation" at 14.5% and "Community services, libraries, emergency management and cemeteries" at 11.5%.

As of 2016, 38% of rates were spent on "transport", 27% on "parks, community and lifestyle", 16% on "environmental management and regulation", 8% on "Auckland development", 6% on "Economic and cultural development" and 5% on "governance and support".

Controversies
Some aspects of the reorganisation were contentious, such as whether all of the Auckland Region should be integrated into the super city, and whether the new structure allowed sufficient local democracy.

Local board powers
Critics argued that there was little space for "local" democracy in the new "local government" setup for Auckland, with the proposed "local boards" having little power, such as having no funding or staff of their own, and being forbidden from undertaking numerous government roles, especially where those roles might clash with regional functions such as transport or utilities. Local Government Minister Rodney Hide, in the opinion of The New Zealand Herald, ignored concerns about the "powerlessness" of the local boards. Hide argued that "local boards will engage like never before" and "represent their local communities and make decisions on local issues, activities and facilities".

A further concern was that candidates for local boards would have to campaign without knowing the scope of the local board's financial resources, and that a salary for a local board member of around $37,100 was insufficient for what amounted to a full-time position.

Inclusion of rural areas
Numerous residents of and (to some degree) the councils of the Franklin and Rodney Districts opposed their inclusion in the new supercity, and instead campaigned for retention of their councils, or inclusion with other, more rural-focused councils in the north (such as merging the areas north of Puhoi with the Kaipara District area) or the south.

There was a perception that these rural areas would receive very little benefit in terms of infrastructure for their rates' money, and that they would be swallowed up by an Auckland that has different interests and character than their communities. Politicians such as Rodney Hide answered that inclusion is necessary to allow a regional approach to the wider interests of the region, and that tangible benefits would ensue for all of Auckland's communities. Also, that changing the boundaries in 2010 would have a domino effect on the restructuring of the ward system for the future Auckland councillors. In turn, the opponents of inclusion argued that big-city developers preferred the inclusion of the rural areas in the Auckland Council boundaries to make development and new subdivision of rural land easier.

Ward sizes and boundaries
Several editorialists criticised the size and composition of wards for the election of Auckland Council councillors. The criticism ranged from the wards being too big (and thus throwing together communities with few common interests), to some ward boundary lines being drawn against the local understanding of what constituted their community.

More serious criticism was centred around the fact that urban wards contained significantly more people than some rural wards (and thus received less influence in the future Council per person) and regarding the small number of Councillors for all of Auckland (with fewer Councillors per head than Aucklanders have MPs representing them in Parliament), and the institution of two-member wards (meaning that contenders would have to field much larger and more costly election campaigns). Editorialist Brian Rudman accused the Local Government Commission of attempted gerrymandering in its draft proposal for one particular ward.

Controversies over council-controlled organisations
In early 2010 a further dispute emerged. As set out in the third bill establishing the future Auckland Council, major functions (such as transport, water services and Auckland waterfront development) were to be devolved into council-controlled organisations (CCOs) controlled by unelected boards, operating at "arm's length" from Council. This separation, as argued by backers of the move, had become necessary due to "local politicians [having] failed to deliver the results expected of them."

The Government's plan to outsource the majority of the council's functions was decried by numerous people (including the main mayoral contenders, Len Brown, and to a lesser degree, John Banks) and groups across the political and societal spectrum – from the Auckland Regional Council and many community boards, to Local Government New Zealand, and organisations considered to be National Party-friendly such as the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Employers & Manufacturers Association. Supporters included the New Zealand Council for Infrastructure Development, a right-wing think tank.

The introduction of Auckland Transport, the CCO for transport functions (with more than half the city's future rate spend), was discouraged even by the government's own Treasury and Department of Internal Affairs, as well as other departments.

The main proponents of the CCO system, Prime Minister John Key, Local Government Minister Rodney Hide and Transport Minister Steven Joyce, remained adamant about the introduction (and the appropriateness) of the system. Others, like the New Zealand Council for Infrastructure Development called the claim that the mayor and council would have no ability to hold the CCOs accountable "farcial nonsense".

The New Zealand Herald, Auckland's largest newspaper, ran a series of articles and editorials in March 2010 criticising the proposed move, which was described as "The lockout of Auckland", arguing that elected councillors would have little control over the day-to-day decisions, and potentially even over massive changes such as Auckland's waterfront development or the city's transport focus. The main Herald editorials noted that the CCO concept introduced "undemocratic elements" in a number of ways, and "could not stand". They also noted that saddling the super city with this system would be the most serious handicap, and a recipe for a "frustrated and disappointed citizenry".

Several editorialists went even further and accused the ACT party, and especially Rodney Hide, of preparing Auckland's assets for a sell-off, and of setting up the structure to allow it even before Aucklanders got to vote on the matter – all under the guise of a "manufactured crisis". Others, while criticising the lack of democratic oversight, dismissed concerns about asset sales, noting that amalgamation was likely to result in surplus real estate.

The Sunday Star-Times noted in an editorial that "we'll merely end up trading in political dysfunction for a quasi-commercial dysfunction forced on us by the National-led government." It also criticised, in the case of Auckland Transport, that with most of the expertise, staff and planning ability being held in the "semi-autonomous" CCO, the council would not have the central planning and policy role as claimed by the proponents of the system, but would instead have to share (or compete for) this role with Auckland Transport. It also argued that the Royal Commission suggested a strong council and subservient CCOs, not vice versa.

New Zealand Local Government magazine followed the story, and criticised the lack of transparency that would ensue from establishing independent CCOs.

The changes were seen as a potential "neutering" of the power of the new Auckland mayor to implement the policies on which he would be elected. Further criticism was the lack of accountability of the proposed CCOs, which would not have to hold public board meetings, or provide agendas or minutes. Groups such as 'Heart of the City' (the Auckland CBD business association) also called for stronger oversight and mayoral powers over the CCOs.

Unelected Māori representation

One of the proposals that was hotly criticised by some during the initial Royal Commission proposal was the provision of elected Māori members of the council (analogous to the Māori seat representation in Parliament).

This was later dropped from the relevant establishing laws. However, it later became clear that instead, the city's new Māori Statutory Board, appointed by the Maori Affairs Department, would receive "broadly ordained powers". These included the right to send one or two delegates, with full voting powers, to any council committee meeting, and dealing with "the management and stewardship of natural and physical resources". This unelected representation of Māori on committees voting on matters such as transport and infrastructure, as well as the fact that the advisory board requested (and initially received) a $3.4 million yearly budget (called "exorbitant" by some), created significant public concern and debate.

Proposed Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux speaking event
In early July 2018, Mayor Phil Goff announced that the far-right Canadian speakers Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux would not be allowed to speak at any Auckland Council premises on the grounds that their presence would stir up religious and ethnic tensions. The two Canadian speakers are known for their controversial views on feminism, gender, Islam, and migration. Southern and Molyneux had booked the Bruce Mason Centre in the North Shore for a speaking event on 3 August 2018.

In response to the Mayor's decision, a group calling themselves the Free Speech Coalition initiated a fundraising campaign to mount a judicial review of the Auckland Council's decision, raising NZ$50,000 within 24 hours of their launch. This group consisted of several business leaders, academics, lawyers, and journalists, including the former Labour President Michael Bassett, former National and ACT parties leader Don Brash, Property Institute chief executive Ashley Church, Auckland University of Technology historian Paul Moon, left-wing commentator Chris Trotter, and New Zealand Taxpayers' Union Jordan Williams. On 18 July, the Free Speech Coalition filed legal proceedings against Mayor Goff and the Auckland Council after a failed attempt to broker a deal with Goff and the council to reinstate Southern and Molyneux's speaking event.

See also

References

External links
Auckland Council official website
Auckland Transition Agency

Politics of the Auckland Region
City councils in New Zealand
Regional councils of New Zealand


The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American musical project and band led by Anton Newcombe.

BJM may also refer to:

 Being John Malkovich, a 1999 American black comedy-fantasy film
 "Big" John McCarthy
 Bujumbura International Airport (IATA code: BJM), an airport in Bujumbura (the former capital of Burundi)


Fingal is a rural locality on the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, approximately  south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Mornington Peninsula local government area. Fingal recorded a population of 637 at the 2021 census.

Fingal abuts Bass Strait along Gunnamatta Beach and is located between the suburbs of Rye and St Andrews Beach.

Fingal is home to many family friendly attractions such as the Peninsula Hot Springs, Moonah Links Golf Course. There are great walking tracks along the beaches to explore.

See also
 Shire of Flinders – Fingal was previously within this former local government area.
 List of Melbourne suburbs
 Mornington Peninsula

References

Shire of Mornington Peninsula
Coastal towns in Victoria (state)


Vasectomy reversal is a term used for surgical procedures that reconnect the male reproductive tract after interruption by a vasectomy. Two procedures are possible at the time of vasectomy reversal: vasovasostomy (vas deferens to vas deferens connection) and vasoepididymostomy (epididymis to vas deferens connection). Although vasectomy is considered a permanent form of contraception, advances in microsurgery have improved the success of vasectomy reversal procedures. The procedures remain technically demanding and may not restore the pre-vasectomy condition.

Procedure

Preparation
A general or regional anesthetic is most commonly used, as this offers the least interruption by patient movement for microsurgery. Local anesthesia, with or without sedation, can also be used. The procedure is generally done on a “come and go” basis. The actual operating time can range from 1–4 hours, depending on the anatomical complexity, skill of the surgeon and the kind of procedure performed.

Assessing biology
After anesthesia and scrubbing the scrotum with soap and water, the vas deferens is exposed through a small, 1–2 cm incision in the upper scrotum on each side. The vas deferens is cut sharply in half, both above and below the vasectomy site. A special bipolar microcautery is used to judiciously control any bleeding. One end of the vas deferens, termed the abdominal end, is inspected and flushed with salt solution to ensure that it is not blocked as it courses from the scrotum to the prostate (a “saline vasogram”). In order to assess for the presence of possible obstruction above the vasectomy site the testicular end of the vas deferens can be compressed and inspected for fluid. This fluid is examined with a microscope for color, consistency and for sperm. This information is used by some surgeons to decide whether or not a secondary epididymal obstruction is present (see Table below).

{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Grade
! Vasal Fluid Findings
! Procedure Suggested
|-
| 1
| Normal appearing sperm with motility
| Vasovasostomy
|-
| 2
| Mostly normal appearing, nonmotile
| Vasovasostomy
|-
| 3
| Mostly sperm heads without tails, nonmotile
| Vasovasostomy
|-
| 4
| Only sperm heads
| Vasovasostomy
|-
| 5
| No sperm, creamy fluid
| Vasoepididymostomy
|-
| 6
| No fluid
| Vasoepididymostomy
|-
| 7
| Clear fluid, no sperm
| It depends
|-
|}

If sperm are found at the testicular end of the vas deferens, then it is assumed that a secondary epididymal obstruction has not occurred and a vas deferens-to-vas deferens reconnection (vasovasostomy) is planned. If sperm are not found, then some surgeon consider this to be prime facie evidence that an epididymal obstruction is present and that an epididymis to vas deferens connection (vasoepididymostomy) should be considered to restore sperm flow. Other, more subtle findings that can be observed in the fluid—including the presence of sperm fragments and clear, good quality fluid without any sperm—require surgical decision-making to successfully treat. There are however, no large randomised prospective controlled trials comparing patency or pregnancy rates following the decision to perform either microsurgical vasovasostomy to microsurgical vasoepididymosty as determined by this paradigm.

Vasovasostomy

For a vasovasostomy, two microsurgical approaches are most commonly used. Neither has proven superior to the other. What has been shown to be important, however, is that the surgeon use optical magnification to perform the vasectomy reversal. One approach is the modified 1-layer vasovasostomy and the other is a formal, 2-layer vasovasostomy.

Vasoepididymostomy

A vasoepididymostomy involves a connection of the vas deferens to the epididymis. This is necessary when there is no sperm present in the vas deferens.

Success Rates

Success rates: patency

With vasectomy reversal surgery, there are two typical measures of success: patency rate, or return of some moving sperm to the ejaculate after vasectomy reversal, and pregnancy rates. In one study 95% of men with a vasovasostomy were found to have motile sperm in the ejaculate within 1 year after vasectomy reversal. Almost 80% of these men achieved sperm motility within 3 months of vasectomy reversal. The case for vasoepididymostomy is different. Fewer men will eventually achieve motile sperm counts and the time to achieve motile sperm counts is longer.

Additional information:
 The age of the patient at the time of vasectomy reversal does not appear to matter. Using different age cut-offs, including <35, 36-45, and > 45 years old, no differences in patency rates were detected in a recent vasectomy reversal series.
 The patency rates after vasovasostomy appear equivalent when performed in the straight or convoluted segments of the vas deferens

Another issue to consider is the likelihood of vasoepididymostomy at the time of vasectomy reversal, as this technique is generally associated with lower patency and pregnancy rates than vasovasostomy. Web-based, computer models and calculations have been proposed and published that described the chance of needing an vasoepididymostomy at reversal surgery.

Success rates: pregnancy
The pregnancy rate is often seen as a more reliable way of measuring the success of a vasectomy reversal than the patency rates, as they measure the real-life success of whether the man succeeds in the aim of having a new child.

It is important to appreciate that female age is the single most powerful factor determining the pregnancy rate following any fertility treatment and vasectomy reversal is no exception. No large studies have stratified the results of vasectomy reversal by female age and hence assessing outcomes is confounded by this issue.

Pregnancy rates range widely in published series, with a large study in 1991 observing the best outcome of 76% pregnancy success rate with vasectomy reversals performed within 3 years or less of the original vasectomy, dropping to 53% for reversals 3–8 years out from the vasectomy, 44% for reversals 9–14 years out from the vasectomy, and 30% for reversals 15 or more years after the vasectomy. BPAS cites the average pregnancy success rate of a vasectomy reversal is around 55% if performed within 10 years, and drops to 25% if performed over 10 years. Higher success rates are found with reversal of  vasovasostomy than those with a vasoepididymostomy, and factors such as antisperm antibodies and epididymal dysfunction are also implicated in success rates.

Failure and complications

Failure

The current measure of success in vasectomy reversal surgery is achievement of a pregnancy. There are several reasons why a vasectomy reversal may fail to achieve this:

 A pregnancy involves two partners. Although the count and quality of sperm may be sufficiently high after vasectomy reversal surgery, female fertility factors may play an indirect role in pregnancy success. If the female partner’s age is >35 years old, the couple should consider a female factor evaluation to determine if they have adequate reproductive potential before a vasectomy reversal is undertaken. This evaluation can be done by a gynecologist and should include a cycle day 3 FSH and estradiol levels, an assessment of menstrual cycle regularity, and a hysterosalpingogram to evaluate for fibroids.
 Approximately 50%-80% of men who have had vasectomies develop a reaction against their own sperm (i.e., antisperm antibodies). High levels of these proteins directed against sperm may impair fertility, either by making it hard for sperm to swim to the egg or by interrupting the way the sperm must interact with the egg. Sperm-bound antibodies are usually assessed >6 months after the vasectomy reversal if no pregnancy has ensued. Treatment options include steroid treatment, intrauterine insemination (IUI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF) techniques.
 Occasionally, scar tissue develops at the site where the vas deferens is reconnected, causing a blockage. Depending on the physician, this occurs in 5-10% of vasovasostomies and up to 35% of vasoepididymostomies. Depending on when it occurs, it may be treated with anti-inflammatory medication or could necessitate repeat vasectomy reversal surgery.
 If an epididymal blowout has occurred and is not discovered at the time of vasectomy reversal surgery, the vasectomy reversal will probably fail. In this case, a vasoepididymostomy would need to be performed.
 When the vas deferens has been blocked for a long time, the epididymis is adversely affected by elevated pressure. As sperm are nurtured to maturity within the normal epididymis, sperm counts may be sufficiently high to achieve a pregnancy, but sperm movement may be poor. Antioxidants, vitamins (A, C and E), or other supplements are recommended by some centers after vasectomy reversal for this reason. Some patients gradually recover from this epididymal dysfunction. Those patients whose sperm continue to have problems may require IVF to achieve a pregnancy.

Complications
In general, vasectomy reversal is a safe procedure and complication rates are low. There are small chances of infection or bleeding, the latter of which can result in a hematoma or blood clot in the scrotum that needs surgical drainage. If there is significant scar tissue encountered during the vasectomy reversal, fluid other than blood (seroma) can also accumulate in a small number of cases.  Painful granulomas, caused by leaking sperm, can develop near the surgical site in some cases. Very rare complications include compartment syndrome or deep venous thrombosis from prolonged positioning, testis atrophy due to damaged blood supply, and reactions to anesthesia.

Alternatives: assisted reproduction
Assisted reproduction uses “test tube baby” technology (also called in vitro fertilization, IVF) for the female partner along with sperm retrieval techniques for the male partner to help build a family. This technology, including intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), has been available since 1992 and became available as an alternative to vasectomy reversal soon after. This alternative should be discussed with couples during a consultation for vasectomy reversal.

Procedure to extract sperm for IVF include percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA procedure), testicular sperm extraction (TESE procedure) and open testicular biopsy. Needle aspiration in a PESA procedure invariably causes trauma to the epididymal tubule and TESE procedures may damage the intra testicular collecting system (rete testis). Both potentially compromise the prospect of successful vasectomy reversal. Conversely, because in most circumstances vasectomy reversal leads to the restoration of sperm in the semen, it reduces the need for sperm retrieval procedures in association with IVF.

Published research attempts to identify the issues that matter most as couples decide between IVF-ICSI and vasectomy reversal, two very different approaches to family building. This  research has generally taken the form of cost-effectiveness or cost-benefit analyses and decision analyses and Markov modeling. Since it is difficult to perform randomized, blinded prospective trials on couples in this situation, analytic modeling can help uncover what variables affect outcomes the most. From this body of work, it has been observed that vasectomy reversal can be the most cost-effective way to build a family if: (a) the female partner is reproductively healthy, and (b) the surgeon can achieve good vasectomy reversal outcomes. If the surgeon can achieve high “patency” rates (moving sperm in the ejaculate) after vasectomy reversal, then vasectomy reversal is competitive with IVF-ICSI. In the special instance of couples with advanced maternal age (defined as a female partner > 38 years old), case series’ have reported that pregnancy rates with vasectomy reversal are competitive with IVF-ICSI. When Markov modeling was applied to probe the issue of pregnancy rates after reversal surgery in more depth, the results revealed that female reproductive health is far more important than: (a) the age of the vasectomy, (b) the age of the man, or (c) the vasectomy reversal patency rate. Ultimately the decision to pursue a vasectomy reversal is a personal one for each couple.

Patient expectations
Every patient who is considering vasectomy reversal should undergo a screening visit before the procedure to learn as much as possible about his current fertility potential. At this visit, the patient can decide whether he is a good candidate for vasectomy reversal and assess if it is right for him. Issues to be discussed at this visit include:

Female partner’s history of past pregnancies
Male’s medical and surgical history
Complications during or after the vasectomy
Female partner’s age, menstrual cycle and fertility
Brief physical examination to assess male reproductive tract anatomy
A review of the vasectomy reversal procedure, its nature, benefits and risks, and complications
Alternatives to vasectomy reversal
Freezing of sperm at the time of vasectomy reversal
Questions about the surgery, the success rates, and recovery
Analysis of hormones such as testosterone or FSH in selected cases to better determine whether sperm production is normal

Immediately before the procedure, the following information is important for patients:

They should eat normally the night before the vasectomy reversal, but follow the directions that anesthesia recommends for the morning of the reversal. If no specific directions are given, all food and drink should be withheld after midnight and on the morning of the surgery.
Stop taking aspirin, or any medications containing ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, Aleve), at least 10 days prior to vasectomy reversal, as these medications have a side effect that can reduce platelet function and therefore lower blood clotting ability.
Be prepared to be driven home or to a hotel after the vasectomy reversal

After the procedure, patients should perform the following tasks:

Remove dressings from inside the athletic supporter in 48 hours; continue with the scrotal support for 1 week. Shower once the dressings are removed.
Wear athletic supporter at all times for the first 4 weeks.
Apply frequent ice packs (or frozen peas, any brand) to the scrotum the evening after the vasectomy reversal and the day after that for 24 hours to reduce swelling.
Take prescribed pain medication as directed.
Resume a normal, well-balanced diet upon returning home or to the hotel. Drinks plenty of fluids.
Normal, non-vigorous activity can be restarted after 48 hours or when feeling better. Activities that cause discomfort should be stopped for the time being. Heavy activities such as jogging and weight lifting can be resumed in 2 to 4 weeks depending on the particular procedure.
Refrain from sexual intercourse for 4 weeks depending on the procedure and the surgeon’s recommendations.
The semen is checked for sperm at between 6 and 12 weeks post-operatively and then depending on the results may be requested monthly semen analyses are then obtained for about 6 months or until the semen quality stabilizes.
You may experience discomfort after the vasectomy reversal. Symptoms that may not require a doctor's attention are: (a) light bruising and discoloration of the scrotal skin and base of penis. This will take one week to go away. b) limited scrotal swelling (a grapefruit is too large); (c) small amounts of thin, clear, pinkish fluid may drain from the incision for a few days after reversal surgery. Keep the area clean and dry and it will stop.
If you received general anesthesia, a sore throat, nausea, constipation, and general "body ache" may occur. These problems should resolve within 48 hours.
Consider calling  a provider  for the following issues: (a) wound infection as suggested by a fever, a warm, swollen, red and painful incision area, with pus draining from the site. Antibiotics are necessary to treat this. (b) scrotal hematoma as suggested  by extreme discoloration (black and blue) of the skin and continuing scrotal enlargement from bleeding underneath. This can cause throbbing pain and a bulging of the wound. If the scrotum continues to hurt more and continues to enlarge after 72 hours, then it may need to be drained.

Biological considerations
Sperm are produced in the male sex gland or testicle. From there they travel through tubes (efferent tubules), exit the testes and enter a “storage site” or epididymis. The epididymis is a single, , tightly coiled, small tube, within which sperm mature to the point where they can move, swim and fertilize eggs. Testicular sperm are not able to fertilize eggs naturally (but can if they are injected directly into the egg in the laboratory), as the ability to fertilize eggs is developed slowly over several months of storage in the epididymis. From the epididymis, a 14-inch, 3 mm-thick muscular tube called the vas deferens carries the sperm to the urethra near the base of the penis. The urethra then carries the sperm through the penis during ejaculation. A vasectomy interrupts sperm flow within the vas deferens. After a vasectomy, the testes still make sperm, but because the exit is blocked, the sperm die and eventually are reabsorbed by the body.

A problem in the delicate tubes of epididymis can develop over time after vasectomy.  The longer the time since the vasectomy, the greater the “back-pressure” behind the vasectomy. This “back-pressure” may cause a “blowout” in the delicate epididymal tubule, the weakest point in the system. The blowout may or may not cause symptoms, but will probably scar the epididymal tubule, thus blocking sperm flow at second point. To summarize, with time, a man with a vasectomy can develop a second obstruction deeper in the reproductive tract that can make the vasectomy more difficult to reverse. Having the skill to detect and fix this problem during vasectomy reversal is the essence of a skilled surgeon. If the surgeon simply reconnects the two freshened ends of the vas deferens without examining for a second, deeper obstruction, then the procedure can fail, as sperm-containing fluids are still unable to flow to the place of the connection. In this case, the vas deferens must be connected to the epididymis in front of the second blockage, to bypass both blockages and allow the sperm to reenter the urethra in the ejaculate. Since the epididymal tubule is much smaller (0.3 mm diameter) than the vas deferens (3 mm diameter, 10-fold larger), epididymal surgery is far more complicated and precise than the simple vas deferens-to-vas deferens connection.

Prevalence
Vasectomy is a common method of contraception worldwide, with an estimated 40-60 million individuals having the procedure and 5-10% of couples choosing it as a birth control method. In the USA, about 2% of men later go on to have a vasectomy reversal afterwards. However the number of men inquiring about vasectomy reversals is significantly higher - from 3% to 8% - with many "put off" by the high costs of the procedure and pregnancy success rates (as opposed to "patency rates") only being around 55%. 90% of men are satisfied with having had the procedure.

While there are a number of reasons that men seek a vasectomy reversal, some of these include wanting a family with a new partner following a relationship breakdown / divorce, their original wife/partner dying and subsequently going on re-partner and to want children, the unexpected death of a child (or children - such as by car accident), or a long-standing couple changing their mind some time later often by situations such as improved finances or existing children approaching the age of school or leaving home. Patients often comment that they never anticipated such situations as a relationship breakdown or death (of their partner or child) may affect their situation. A small number of vasectomy reversals are also performed in attempts to relieve post-vasectomy pain syndrome.

In the UK, 16% of all men under 70 have had a vasectomy, and with remarriages accounting for 40% of all marriages, there are a significant proportion of men finding themselves in a new relationship and regretting their decision to have a vasectomy. Combined with longer life histories, the rate of divorce and remarriage is thought to be driving the increase in vasectomy reversals and inquiries for vasectomy reversals in recent times.

History
Technical advances in vasectomy reversal mirror those in microsurgery over the past 100 years.  As a discipline, microsurgery was first performed by Carl Nylen in Sweden for middle ear surgery in 1910, but grew most rapidly as a discipline in the 20th century stimulated by its success in microvascular reconstruction of war-injured soldiers. The first microsurgical vasectomy reversal was performed by Earl Owen in 1971.

References

External links
 Vasectomy Reversal : Video of microsurgical vasovasostomy

Urologic surgery
Male genital surgery


Thomas Alexander Boyd (July 3, 1898 – January 27, 1935) was an American journalist and novelist, born in Defiance, Ohio.

Boyd was raised by his mother's family due to his father's death before he was born. While still in school, he and a friend enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and saw service in France during World War I, where he was gassed in 1918.

Upon discharge from the occupation forces in 1919, Boyd tried several occupations before becoming a writer for newspapers in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.  He opened a bookstore, Kilmarnock Books, in St. Paul, which became the locus of literary figures, including Sinclair Lewis.  He was urged to write and produced the 1923 novel Through the Wheat, based in part on his own war experiences and set partly during the Battle of Belleau Wood. Another war novel, The Dark Cloud, followed in 1924, and a book of short stories, Point of Honor, in 1925.
Boyd later remarried and became interested in Socialist causes during the Depression, eventually running as the Communist candidate for governor of Vermont.

He died suddenly in 1935 of a stroke.

Selected works
 Through the Wheat (1923) novel
 The Dark Cloud (1924) novel
 Points of Honor (1925) stories
 Shadow of the Long Knives (1928) novel
 Simon Girty, the White Savage (1928) biography
 Mad Anthony Wayne (1929) biography
 Light-Horse Harry Lee (1931) biography
 Poor John Fitch (1935) biography
 In Time of Peace (1935) novel

References

External links

 Thomas Boyd Research Notes for Poor John Fitch at Dartmouth College Library

1898 births
1935 deaths
20th-century American novelists
20th-century American male writers
Novelists from Minnesota
American male novelists
People from Defiance, Ohio
United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I
United States Marines


SS München was the name of a number of ships.

 , a Norddeutscher Lloyd liner which was sunk on 9 February 1945  by  with the loss of over 2,000 lives.
 , a cargo ship which was scuttled by her crew on 2 April 1941 after being intercepted by .

See also:

Ship names


The  frazione San Pelino is a medieval town in the Avezzano comune. It lies within the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo region, in the Apennine Mountain Range of central Italy.

The population is about 1,800.

Frazioni of Avezzano


Build It Up is a full-length album released by indie rock band One for the Team based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The album was recorded in April 2008 at Fur Seal Studios with Rob Skoro and Joe Johnson and subsequently released jointly on Militia Group and Afternoon Records labels in 2008.

Track listing
"Apples"
"Best Supporting Actor"
"Dress Up Party"
"A Better Job"
"Build It Up"
"Hey Kid"
"Questions and Panthers"
"You Know Culture"
"Deconstruction Site"
"What Are You Gonna Cry About?"
"Oh No"
"We Can Work It Out"

2008 albums

References


It's a Game may refer to:

Music
It's a Game (Bay City Rollers album), 1977
It's a Game (Les McKeown album), 1988
 It's a Game (Edith Frost album), 2005

Songs
"It's a Game", song from It's a Game (Bay City Rollers album), 1977, originally by String Driven Thing (1973)
"It's a Game", song from It's a Game (Les McKeown album), 1988


Manuel Gnana Muthu (1935 – 23 May 2018) was the founder and first chairman of the MGM Group of Companies.

Biography
Manuel Gnana Muthu was born in Thisayanvilai, a small village in Tirunelveli district of present-day Tamil Nadu into a family belonging to the Nadar caste who converted to Christianity. He was born into a poor family and started his career in 1952, working in the port of Chennai in a very low position. He went on to start the MGM Group of Companies with interest in logistics, hospitality and the popular MGM Dizzee World theme park in Chennai. He has written an account of his life in a book titled Rags To Riches: Chevalier Seva Ratna Dr. M. G. Muthu: An Autobiography, published in 1999.

References

External links
MGM Group of Companies website

1935 births
2018 deaths
Tamil businesspeople


My First Gig is an Australian music television series that first aired on MAX on Monday, 13 April 2009 at 9:30pm.

The show is presented by Australian singer Jimmy Barnes, who interviews artists who have had a major impact on Australian music about their influences and events of their careers, as well as reflecting on their earliest performances. The ten-part series was filmed at Barnes' home and includes a duet between Barnes and the guest at the end of each episode. The series is narrated by Clare Bowditch.

Episodes
 Episode 1 – Neil Finn (13 April 2009)
 Episode 2 – Mark Seymour (20 April 2009)
 Episode 3 – Peter Garrett (27 April 2009)
 Episode 4 – Marcia Hines (4 May 2009)
 Episode 5 – Tex Perkins (11 May 2009)
 Episode 6 – Diesel (18 May 2009)
 Episode 7 – Richard Clapton (25 May 2009)
 Episode 8 – Joe Camilleri (1 June 2009)
 Episode 9 – Stephen Cummings (8 June 2009)
 Episode 10 – Ross Wilson (15 June 2009)

References

External links
 Official website

Max (Australian TV channel) original programming
2009 Australian television series debuts
2009 Australian television series endings
Australian music television series


Wollombi ( ) is a small village in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is within the Cessnock City Council LGA, situated  southwest of Cessnock and  north of Sydney. To the south is the village of Laguna, to the east, the village of Millfield and to the north, the village of Broke.

The valley is bordered to the west by the World Heritage listed Yengo National Park (and Yengo State Forest) and the main road, the convict-built Great North Road (GNR) forms one of the major legs of the Greater Blue Mountains Drive.  To the east lie Watagans National Park along with Corrabare and Olney State Forests.

Wollombi's modest modern size is offset by its 19th-century sandstone buildings and timber slab constructed cottages and sheds in a narrow valley junction containing Wollombi Brook and Congewai Creek. Narone and Yango Creeks also join these waterways near the village.

The area is home to an abundance of native birds, reptiles and other animals including kangaroos, wallabies, wallaroos and wombats and is surrounded by imposing tree-lined mountains.

History

Indigenous history
The traditional custodians of the locality are believed to be the Darkinjung people, though the Awabakal and Wonnarua nations are also mentioned.

The town's name is an Aboriginal term said to mean 'meeting place of the waters' or simply 'meeting place' ("Derived from Awabakal Aboriginal term for 'meeting of waters', but this cannot be linguistically verified. (Appleton; 1992). Also: meeting of the waters. (McCarthy; 1963)."). It was apparently pronounced  'Wu-lum-bee', though today it is pronounced Wo (as in wok) - lum (as in thumb) - bi (as in buy).

There is a vast number of historic Aboriginal sites in the surrounding countryside which is thought to have been used as a ceremonial meeting place as people from hundreds of kilometres visited the area and made their way to Mount Yengo - a place of great significance throughout the ancient nations of eastern Australia.

There are rock engravings, sharpening grooves, hand stencils, tribal markings and other images in caves and outcrops, frequent evidence of camping sites along the Brook and its tributary creeks, and two major mapping sites containing many engravings.

European history
The establishment, development and significance of the township of Wollombi was directly connected with the construction and importance of the Great Northern Road in the early 19th century. The Howes Valley Rd (Putty Road) was completed in 1823, but travel along it was thought to be too difficult to be a success commercially.

Major Thomas Mitchell - Surveyor-General - formulated the idea of an inland route to open up transport to regions in northern NSW. Heneage Finch, who later settled in Laguna, surveyed the route for the Great Northern Road via Castle Hill, Wisemans Ferry, St Albans, Laguna and Wollombi.

At Wollombi, the road diverged toward Singleton and Muswellbrook to the north, and Cessnock and Maitland to the north east.

Hundreds of convicts began building the road from Castle Hill to Wollombi. One group was headquartered at Castle Hill where over 380 men were organised in seven road parties. They began work on the section of road south of the Hawkesbury. A second group, of 119 men, worked from Newcastle in two road parties, one between Newcastle and Wallis Plains (Maitland) and the other between Wallis Plains and Wollombi.

Road construction commenced in 1826 and was completed in 1831. Remnants such as stone culverts, bridges and retaining walls remain, particularly in the area between Wisemans Ferry and Wollombi, and are catalogued and cared for by The Convict Trail Project.

During the years before the GNR was commenced, only a few large land grants () were allocated along Cockfighter's Creek or the lower Wollombi Brook, to John Blaxland and - Rodd at Fordwich, Heneage Finch at Laguna and Thomas Crawford at Congewai. Richard Wiseman received  near Wollombi. After 1830 the holdings in the Wollombi Valley were about .

Surveyor GB White surveyed the village reserve at Wollombi into sections and allotments in 1833.

A horseman who travelled from Sydney to Patrick's Plains in 1827 along the line of road in progress took three days for the journey – the first day to Wiseman's Ferry - . The second day to 'the head of the Wollombi' (about  south of the future Wollombi village reserve) - , and the third day to Patrick's Plains - , made a total of .

The settlement developed as a centre for the farming community and for travellers on the Great North Road. Then, on 12 June 1831, the steamship 'Sophie Jane' sailed from Sydney to the port of Morpeth on the Hunter River in eleven and a half hours. With the speed and carrying capacity of the ship far surpassing that of road transport to the Hunter region, the commercial significance of the Great Northern Road immediately diminished.

By the early 1840s, the inns operating at intervals along the Great North Road and its branch toward Maitland were (Solomon) Wiseman's at the Ferry, (Richard) Wiseman's Inn at the head of the Wollombi Valley (from 1827), Traveller's Test at Laguna (1835), Governor Gipps at Wollombi (1840), Rising Sun at Millfield (1840s) and the Cock Inn on Cockfighter Creek (c1840s).

The foundation stone of Saint Michael's Catholic Church was laid near the Congewai Creek crossing (Cunneens Bridge) in 1840 but the church was moved to its present location following severe damage in the 1893 flood. St John's Anglican Church was built in 1846. The Wollombi Telegraph Office opened in 1860, the former Police station and Courthouse (now Endeavour Museum) was built c1866, the stone School building c1881 (the original school opened in 1852) and the timber General Store is well over a century old.

By 1850 the village had an Anglican and Catholic Church, a flour mill, a village cemetery and its own District Council. By 1851 the population was recorded as 105. By 1862 there were 1655 people living in the district with 233 in the village itself and by 1867 there were 1800 people in the area.

The 1860s were the years of greatest development. The production figures for 1867 were 26,856 bushels of wheat, 23,042 bushels of maize, 398 of barley, 680 of oats, 88 tons of potatoes, 7,502 lbs of tobacco and 180 gallons of wine. The livestock numbers in the valley were as follows: 5,853 head of cattle, 3,543 sheep and 1,449 pigs.

Rust devastated the area in the 1870s causing wheat crop failures. This undermined the economic base of the region and along with overfarming of the land causing a loss of productivity and severe floods removing topsoil, the district entered a period of decline which continues to the present time.

By 1911 the population of the village had reached a high of 406 but it had declined to 151 in 1961. In the , the population of Wollombi was 264, consisting of 136 male and 128 female residents.

Wollombi Public School was closed at the end of 2014 despite a long-running campaign by parents to keep the school operating.

Saint Michael the Archangel
It is a Gothic-style  Catholic church made out of sandstone opened on 30 September 1840.  It is located between the Old Post Office and the Forge.  Australia's first Catholic bishop and the first Archbishop of Sydney Rev John Bede Polding rode into Wollombi on horseback to lay the first foundation stone. Polding bought the stone for 5 pounds near Cunnenn's Bridge on the Wollombi Brook   with mass beginning in 1843.

It was heavily damaged by flooding in 1893. The new foundation stone was laid by Reverend James Murray on 22 October 1893. The 1840 foundation began the church western wall.  The cost of the removal  and reconstruction was 850 pounds. The 1893 restoration was completed by architect Frederick Menekens.

The church was damaged by the  Newcastle Earthquake In 1991 the church was put off auction which the community bought back for $120,000 with pews purchased for $3,400 returned to the community.  Australian Catholic Historical Society  gifted  the Friends of St Michaels was gifted a portrait of John Bede Polding in 1992.  On 3 October 1999  Rev Michael Malone reopended the church to mass. The friends of St Michaels was formed as the official of the church with appointed trustees. Government -assisted grants enabled  the Friends of St Michael to begin renovations. In 2005 local artist Margaret Ella  was commissioned to design and craft a series of windows based on Creation as described in the Book of Genesis. Australian Catholic University  commissioned a book about the  church by Alison Plummer was published in 2019.

Heritage listings
Wollombi has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
 Great North Road (Mount Manning to Wollombi Section)
 St John the Evangelist Church
 Wollombi Endeavour Museum (former court house)

Gallery

Footnotes

References

 Wollombi Valley Online - Wollombi History (Used with permission)
 Explore the Convict Trail: Great North Road -
 D Mahony and J Whitehead, eds, The Way of the River Environmental Perspectives on the Wollombi, Wollombi Valley Landcare Group - University of Newcastle Department of Community Programmes 1994

External links

 Wollombi Valley Community Website
 Greater Blue Mountains Area at UNESCO World Heritage Centre
 Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute
 Wollombi Valley Arts Council

Towns in the Hunter Region
Suburbs of City of Cessnock
Hunter River (New South Wales)


Caloscypha is a fungal genus in the family Caloscyphaceae (order Pezizales). A monotypic genus, it contains the single species Caloscypha fulgens, commonly known as the spring orange peel fungus, the golden cup, or the dazzling cup. It is a cup fungus, typically up to  in diameter, with a bright to pale orange interior and orange; specimens that are old or bruised often have an olive-green discoloration, especially around the edges. In North America, it is usually found on the ground in forest litter near conifers. Fruiting occurs in early spring following snow melt. The asexual (imperfect), or conidial stage of C. fulgens is the plant pathogenic species Geniculodendron pyriforme, known to infect dormant seeds of the Sitka spruce.

Taxonomy
This species was first described by Christian Hendrik Persoon in 1822 as Peziza fulgens, and has been grouped in several different genera since its original description. Phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequence data shows that within the order Pezizales, Caloscypha fulgens belongs in an evolutionary lineage with the families Helvellaceae, Morchellaceae, and Tuberaceae. Since 1968, Caloscypha had been placed in the family Pyronemataceae, a small grouping of fungi distinguished from other Pezizales by their relatively undeveloped peridium. In 2002, the new family Caloscyphaceae was described to contain the monotypic genus Caloscypha.

The distinctive orange-yellow color of the fungus has earned it the common names "spring orange peel fungus", the "golden cup", and the "dazzling cup". The specific epithet means "bright colored", while the genus name Caloscypha means "beautiful cup".

Description

The fruiting body of C. fulgens is roughly cup-shaped, although the cup may be somewhat flattened, lopsided or split; the size is up to  in diameter. The inner surface of the cup is orange-yellow, while the external surface is pale yellow. Either the margin around the rim or the entire outer surface may be stained olive-green. The green or bluish staining that occurs upon injury or with age is unique within the order Pezizales. The stem, if present, is rather short. The spore deposit is white.

A single specimen of an albino form,  in diameter, was discovered in Northern Idaho; it was found to be lacking the pigment responsible for staining the outer surface olive-green.

The spores are translucent (hyaline), roughly spherical, thin-walled and smooth, with dimensions of 6–8 µm in diameter. The asci, the spore-bearing cells, are cylindrical and 80–100 by 7–8 µm; the paraphyses are thin and filamentous and contain orange granules. This fungus is considered nonpoisonous but inedible.

Habitat and distribution

This species is usually found in the spring, often on duff under conifers shortly after the snow melts. In North America, where it has been noted to occur only between March and July, it is widespread in the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest. C. fulgens has been collected in Britain, and possibly arrived there from imported infected seeds. It has also been collected from Japan, Sweden, The Netherlands, and Turkey. It is listed on the Red List of protected species in Slovakia.

Imperfect state
The life cycle of this fungus allows for both an imperfect (making asexual spores, or conidia ) or perfect (making sexual spores) form; as has often happened in fungal taxonomy, the imperfect form was given a different name, because the relationship between the perfect and imperfect forms of the same species was not then known. The imperfect, or conidial stage of this fungus is the plant pathogen Geniculodendron pyrofirme, first reported in 1964, and known to infect dormant seeds of the Sitka spruce, Picea sitchensis. A 1978 study showed that about a third of Sitka spruce seed lots stored by the British Columbia Forest Service (Canada) contained diseased seeds, and these diseased seeds failed to germinate when sown in local nurseries. The fungus can grow at low temperatures, contributing to its ability to kill seeds before they have a chance to germinate. Infected seeds tend to shrivel and dry up rather than rot. It was also demonstrated that seed lots from squirrel seed caches have increased incidence of C. fulgens infection. Squirrels tend to cache pinecones repeatedly in the same location, and in cool, moist conditions favorable for fungus growth. In 2002, G. pyriforme was found on imported conifer seeds in Germany, the first such report in continental Europe.

Similar species
Caloscypha fulgens bears some resemblance to the orange-peel fungus (Aleuria aurantia); however, A. aurantia does not have the characteristic bluing reaction upon bruising or with age, and it fruits later in the season (usually in autumn).

References

Fungi described in 1822
Pezizales
Fungi of Asia
Fungi of Europe
Fungi of North America
Inedible fungi
Monotypic Ascomycota genera
Snowbank fungi
Taxa named by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon


The Koffler Student Centre is the main student centre at the University of Toronto, located at 214 College Street. The centre houses a number of different student services, including the main campus bookstore, career centre, and health clinic. The ornate building is located at the northwest corner of St. George and College Street streets in a building that was formerly the home of the Toronto Reference Library.

History
The building was opened in 1909 as the Toronto Public Library's Central Reference Library, Ontario's largest Carnegie library. It remained the home of the reference library until 1977, when it relocated to its current home at Bloor and Yonge.

The building was then acquired by the University of Toronto, converted into the student services centre, and renamed after university supporter Murray Koffler of Shoppers Drug Mart.

Architecture

Designed by Alfred H. Chapman, the Beaux Arts building features a grand entrance fronting College Street by St. George Street, with stairs rising to the former library's piano nobile. A second, less prominent ground level entrance, located towards the western part of the College Street façade, balances the composition. This main façade fronting College Street is characterized by a sequence of lower paired windows set in a smooth grey stone wall. Its contrasting yellow brick upper section features six two-storey windows set between Corinthian columns.

The original library's reading and reference room overlooked College Street through the large front windows. An addition by Chapman and Oxley in association with Wickson and Gregg was completed along St. George Street in 1930, the theatre was renovated in 1961 by Irving Grossman, and 1985 marked the renovation and restoration of the building headed by Howard D. Chapman (son of Alfred H. Chapman) and Howard V. Walker.

The building was listed a heritage structure in Toronto's inventory of heritage properties in 1973.

References

External links
Toronto Public Library page about the building

University of Toronto buildings
Beaux-Arts architecture in Canada
City of Toronto Heritage Properties
Chapman and Oxley buildings