Sperm guidance is the process by which sperm cells (spermatozoa) are directed to the oocyte (egg) for the aim of fertilization. In the case of marine invertebrates the guidance is done by chemotaxis. In the case of mammals, it appears to be done by  chemotaxis, thermotaxis and rheotaxis.

Background

Since the discovery of sperm attraction to the female gametes in ferns over a century ago, sperm guidance in the form of sperm chemotaxis has been established in a large variety of species Although sperm chemotaxis is prevalent throughout the Metazoa kingdom, from marine species with external fertilization such as sea urchins and corals, to humans, much of the current information on sperm chemotaxis is derived from studies of marine invertebrates, primarily sea urchin and starfish.  As a matter of fact, until not too long ago, the dogma was that, in mammals, guidance of spermatozoa to the oocyte was unnecessary. This was due to the common belief that, following ejaculation into the female genital tract, large numbers of spermatozoa 'race' towards the oocyte and compete to fertilize it. This belief was taken apart when it became clear that only few of the ejaculated spermatozoa — in humans, only ~1 of every million spermatozoa — succeed in entering the oviducts (Fallopian tubes) and when more recent studies showed that mammalian spermatozoa employ at least three different mechanisms, each of which can potentially serve as a guidance mechanism: chemotaxis, thermotaxis and rheotaxis.

Sperm guidance in non-mammalian species

Sperm guidance in non-mammalian species is performed by chemotaxis. The oocyte secretes a chemoattractant, which, as it diffuses away, forms a concentration gradient: a high concentration close to the egg, and a gradually lower concentration as the distance from the oocyte increases. Spermatozoa can sense this chemoattractant and orient their swimming direction up the concentration gradient towards the oocyte. Sperm chemotaxis was demonstrated in a large number of non-mammalian species, from marine invertebrates to frogs.

Chemoattractants

The sperm chemoattractants in non-mammalian species vary to a large extent. Some examples are shown in Table 1. So far, most sperm chemoattractants that have been identified in non-mammalian species are peptides or low-molecular-weight proteins (1–20 kDa), which are heat stable and sensitive to proteases. Exceptions to this rule are the sperm chemoattractants of corals, ascidians, plants such as ferns, and algae (Table 1).

Table 1. Some sperm chemoattractants in non-mammalian species*

Taken from reference.

Species specificity

The variety of chemoattractants raises the question of species specificity with respect to the chemoattractant identity. There is no single rule for chemoattractant-related specificity. Thus, in some groups of marine invertebrates (e.g., hydromedusae and certain ophiuroids), the specificity is very high; in others (e.g., starfish), the specificity is at the family level and, within the family, there is no specificity. In mollusks, there appears to be no specificity at all. Likewise, in plants, a unique simple compound [e.g., fucoserratene — a linear, unsaturated alkene (1,3-trans 5-cis-octatriene)] might be a chemoattractant for various species.

Behavioral mechanism

Here, too, there is no single rule. In some species (for example, in hydroids like Campanularia or tunicate like Ciona), the swimming direction of the spermatozoa changes abruptly towards the chemoattractant source. In others (for example, in sea urchin, hydromedusa, fern, or fish such as Japanese bitterlings), the approach to the chemoattractant source is indirect and the movement is by repetitive loops of small radii. In some species (for example, herring or the ascidian Ciona) activation of motility precedes chemotaxis. In chemotaxis, cells may either sense a temporal gradient of the chemoattractant, comparing the occupancy of its receptors at different time points (as do bacteria), or they may detect a spatial gradient, comparing the occupancy of receptors at different locations along the cell (as do leukocytes). In the best-studied species, sea urchin, the spermatozoa sense a temporal gradient and respond to it with a transient increase in flagellar asymmetry. The outcome is a turn in the swimming path, followed by a period of straight swimming, leading to the observed epicycloid-like movements directed towards the chemoattractant source.

Molecular mechanism

The molecular mechanism of sperm chemotaxis is still not fully known. The current knowledge is mainly based on studies in the sea urchin Arbacia punctulata, where binding of the chemoattractant resact (Table 1) to its receptor, a guanylyl cyclase, activates cGMP synthesis (Figure 1). The resulting rise of cGMP possibly activates K+-selective ion channels. The consequential hyperpolarization activates hyperpolarization-activated and cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels. The depolarizing inward current through HCN channels possibly activates voltage-activated Ca2+ channels, resulting in elevation of intracellular Ca2+. This rise leads to flagellar asymmetry and, consequently, a turn of the sperm cell.

Figure 1. A model of the signal-transduction pathway during sperm chemotaxis of the sea urchin Arbacia punctulata. Binding of a chemoattractant (ligand) to the receptor — a membrane-bound guanylyl cyclase (GC) — activates the synthesis of cGMP from GTP. Cyclic GMP possibly opens cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) K+-selective channels, thereby causing hyperpolarization of the membrane. The cGMP signal is terminated by the hydrolysis of cGMP through phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity and inactivation of GC. On hyperpolarization, hyperpolarization-activated and cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels allow the influx of Na+ that leads to depolarization and thereby causes a rapid Ca2+ entry through voltage-activated Ca2+ channels (Cav), Ca2+ ions interact by unknown mechanisms with the axoneme of the flagellum and cause an increase of the asymmetry of flagellar beat and eventually a turn or bend in the swimming trajectory. Ca2+ is removed from the flagellum by a Na+/Ca2+ exchange mechanism. [Taken from ref.]

Sperm guidance in mammals

Three different guidance mechanisms have been proposed to occur in the mammalian oviduct: thermotaxis, rheotaxis, and chemotaxis. Indeed, due to obvious restrictions, all these mechanisms were demonstrated in vitro only. However, the discoveries of proper stimuli in the female – an ovulation-dependent temperature gradient in the oviduct, post-coitus oviductal fluid flow in female mice, and sperm chemoattractants secreted from the oocyte and its surrounding cumulus cells, respectively – strongly suggest the mutual occurrence of these mechanisms in vivo.

I. Chemotaxis

Following the findings that human spermatozoa accumulate in follicular fluid and that there is a remarkable correlation between this in vitro accumulation and oocyte fertilization, chemotaxis was substantiated as the cause of this accumulation. Sperm chemotaxis was later also demonstrated in mice and rabbits. In addition, sperm accumulation in follicular fluid (but without substantiating that it truly reflects chemotaxis) was demonstrated in horses and pigs. A key feature of sperm chemotaxis in humans is that this process is restricted to capacitated cells — the only cells that possess the ability to penetrate the oocyte and fertilize it. This raised the possibility that, in mammals, chemotaxis is not solely a guidance mechanism but it is also a mechanism of sperm selection. Importantly, the fraction of capacitated (and, hence, chemotactically responsive) spermatozoa is low (~10% in humans), the life span of the capacitated/chemotactic state is short (1–4 hours in humans), a spermatozoon can be at this state only once in its lifetime, and sperm individuals become capacitated/chemotactic at different time points, resulting in continuous replacement of capacitated/chemotactic cells within the sperm population, i.e., prolonged availability of capacitated cells. These sperm features raised the possibility that prolonging the time period, during which capacitated spermatozoa can be found in the female genital tract, is a mechanism, evolved in humans, to compensate for the lack of coordination between insemination and ovulation.

Chemotaxis is a short-range guidance mechanism. As such, it can guide spermatozoa for short distances only, estimated at the order of millimeters.

Chemoattractants

In humans, there are at least two different origins of sperm chemoattractants. One is the cumulus cells that surround the oocyte, and the other is the mature oocyte itself. The chemoattractant secreted from the cumulus cells is the steroid progesterone, shown to be effective at the picomolar range. The chemoattractant secreted from the oocyte is even more potent. It is a hydrophobic non-peptide molecule which, when secreted from the oocyte, is in complex with a carrier protein Additional compounds have been shown to act as chemoattractants for mammalian spermatozoa. They include the chemokine CCL20, atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), specific odorants,<ref>Spehr, M., Gisselmann, G., Poplawski, A., Riffell, J.A., Wetzel, C.H., Zimmer, R.K. and Hatt, H. (2003) Identification of a testicular odorant receptor mediating human sperm chemotaxis'. Science 299, 2054–2058.</ref> natriuretic peptide type C (NPPC), and allurin, to mention a few. It is reasonable to assume that not all of them are physiologically relevant.

 Species specificity

Species specificity was not detected in experiments that compared the chemotactic responsiveness of human and rabbit spermatozoa to follicular fluids or egg-conditioned media obtained from human, bovine, and rabbit. The subsequent findings that cumulus cells of both human and rabbit (and, probably, of other mammals as well) secrete the chemoattractant progesterone is sufficient to account for the lack of specificity in the chemotactic response of mammalian spermatozoa.

 Behavioral mechanism

Mammalian spermatozoa, like sea-urchin spermatozoa, appear to sense the chemoattractant gradient temporally (comparing receptor occupancy over time) rather than spatially (comparing receptor occupancy over space). This is because the establishment of a temporal gradient in the absence of spatial gradient, achieved by mixing human spermatozoa with a chemoattractant or by photorelease of a chemoattractant from its caged compound, results in delayed transient changes in swimming behavior that involve increased frequency of turns and hyperactivation events. On the basis of these observations and the finding that the level of hyperactivation events is reduced when chemotactically responsive spermatozoa swim in a spatial chemoattractant gradient it was proposed that turns and hyperactivation events are suppressed when capacitated spermatozoa swim up a chemoattractant gradient, and vice versa when they swim down a gradient. In other words, human spermatozoa approach chemoattractants by modulating the frequency of turns and hyperactivation events, similarly to Escherichia coli'' bacteria.

Molecular mechanism

As in non-mammalian species, the end signal in chemotaxis for changing the direction of swimming is Ca2+. The discovery of progesterone as a chemoattractant led to the identification of its receptor on the sperm surface – CatSper, a Ca2+ channel present exclusively in the tail of mammalian spermatozoa. (Note, though, that progesterone only stimulates human CatSper but not mouse CatSper. Consistently, sperm chemotaxis to progesterone was not found in mice.) However, the molecular steps subsequent to CatSper activation by progesterone are obscure, though the involvement of trans-membrane adenylyl cyclase, cAMP and protein kinase A as well as soluble guanylyl cyclase, cGMP, inositol trisphosphate receptor and store-operated Ca2+ channel was proposed.

II. Thermotaxis

The realization that sperm chemotaxis can guide spermatozoa for short distances only, triggered a search for potential long-range guidance mechanisms. The findings that, at least in rabbits and pigs, a temperature difference exists within the oviduct, and that this temperature difference is established at ovulation in rabbits due to a temperature drop in the oviduct near the junction with the uterus, creating a temperature gradient between the sperm storage site and the fertilization site in the oviduct, led to a study of whether mammalian spermatozoa can respond to a temperature gradient by thermotaxis.

Establishing sperm thermotaxis as an active process

Mammalian sperm thermotaxis was, hitherto, demonstrated in three species: humans, rabbits, and mice. This was done by two methods. One involved a Zigmond chamber, modified to make the temperature in each well separately controllable and measurable. A linear temperature gradient was established between the wells and the swimming of spermatozoa in this gradient was analyzed. A small fraction of the spermatozoa (at the order of ~10%), shown to be the capacitated cells, biased their swimming direction according to the gradient, moving towards the warmer temperature. The other method involved two- or three-compartment separation tube placed within a thermoseparation device that maintains a linear temperature gradient. Sperm accumulation at the warmer end of the separation tube was much higher than the accumulation at the same temperature but in the absence of a temperature gradient. This gradient-dependent sperm accumulation was observed over a wide temperature range (29-41 °C).
Since temperature affects almost every process, much attention has been devoted to the question of whether the measurements, mentioned just above, truly demonstrate thermotaxis or whether they reflect another temperature-dependent process. The most pronounced effect of temperature in liquid is convection, which raised the concern that the apparent thermotactic response could have been a reflection of a passive drift in the liquid current or a rheotactic response to the current (rather than to the temperature gradient per se). Another concern was that the temperature could have changed the local pH of the buffer solution in which the spermatozoa are suspended. This could generate a pH gradient along the temperature gradient, and the spermatozoa might have responded to the formed pH gradient by chemotaxis. However, careful experimental examinations of all these possibilities with proper controls demonstrated that the measured responses to temperature are true thermotactic responses and that they are not a reflection of any other temperature-sensitive process, including rheotaxis and chemotaxis.

Behavioral mechanism of mammalian sperm thermotaxis

The behavioral mechanism of sperm thermotaxis has been so far only investigated in human spermatozoa. Like the behavioral mechanisms of bacterial chemotaxis and human sperm chemotaxis, the behavioral mechanism of human sperm thermotaxis appears to be stochastic rather than deterministic. Capacitated human spermatozoa swim in rather straight lines interrupted by turns and brief episodes of hyperactivation. Each such episode results in swimming in a new direction. When the spermatozoa sense a decrease in temperature, the frequency of turns and hyperactivation events increases due to increased flagellar-wave amplitude that results in enhanced side-to-side head displacement. With time, this response undergoes partial adaptation. The opposite happens in response to an increase in temperature. This suggests that when capacitated spermatozoa swim up a temperature gradient, turns are repressed and the spermatozoa continue swimming in the gradient direction. When they happen to swim down the gradient, they turn again and again until their swimming direction is again up the gradient.

Temperature sensing

The response of spermatozoa to temporal temperature changes even when the temperature is kept constant spatially suggests that, as in the case of human sperm chemotaxis, sperm thermotaxis involves temporal gradient sensing. In other words, spermatozoa apparently compare the temperature (or a temperature-dependent function) between consecutive time points. This, however, does not exclude the occurrence of spatial temperature sensing in addition to temporal sensing.
Human spermatozoa can respond thermotactically within a wide temperature range (at least 29–41 °C). Within this range they preferentially accumulate in warmer temperatures rather than at a single specific, preferred temperature. Amazingly, they can sense and thermotactically respond to temperature gradients as low as <0.014 °C/mm. This means that when human spermatozoa swim a distance that equals their body length (~46 µm) they respond to a temperature difference of <0.0006 °C!

Molecular mechanism

The molecular mechanism underlying thermotaxis, in general, and thermosensing with such extreme sensitivity, in particular, is obscure. It is known that, unlike other recognized thermosensors in mammals, the thermosensors for sperm thermotaxis do not seem to be temperature-sensitive ion channels. They are rather opsins, known to be G-protein-coupled receptors that act as photosensors in vision. The opsins are present in spermatozoa at specific sites, which depend on the species and the opsin type. They are involved in sperm thermotaxis via at least two signaling pathways: a phospholipase C signaling pathway and a cyclic-nucleotide pathway. The former was shown by pharmacological means in human spermatozoa to involve the enzyme phospholipase C, an inositol trisphosphate receptor located on internal calcium stores, the calcium channel TRPC3, and intracellular calcium. The cyclic-nucleotide pathway was, hitherto, shown to involve phosphodiesterase. Blocking both pathways fully inhibits sperm thermotaxis.

III. Rheotaxis

When human and mouse spermatozoa are exposed to a fluid flow, roughly one half of them (i.e., both capacitated and noncapacitated spermatozoa) reorient and swim against the current. The flow, which is prolactin-triggered oviductal fluid secretion, is generated in female mice within 4 h of sexual stimulation and coitus. Thus, rheotaxis orients spermatozoa towards the fertilization site. It was proposed that capacitated spermatozoa might detach from the oviductal surface faster than non-capacitated spermatozoa, enabling them to swim into the main current. To understand the mechanism of sperm turning in rheotaxis, quantitative analysis of human sperm flagellar behavior during rheotaxis turning was carried out. The results revealed, both at the single cell and population levels, that there is no significant difference in flagellar beating between rheotaxis turning spermatozoa and free-swimming spermatozoa. This finding taken together with the constant internal Ca2+ signal, measured during rheotaxis turning, demonstrated that, in contrast to the active process of chemotaxis and thermotaxis, human sperm rheotaxis is a passive process and no flow sensing is involved.

All mechanisms combined

Like in any other highly essential system in biology, mammalian sperm guidance is expected to involve redundancy. Indeed, at least three guidance mechanisms are likely to act in the female genital tract, two active mechanisms — chemotaxis and thermotaxis, and a passive mechanism — rheotaxis. When one of these mechanisms is not functional for any reason, guidance is not expected to be lost and the cells should still be able to navigate to the oocyte. This resembles guidance of migrating birds, where the birds’ navigation is unaffected when one of the guidance mechanisms is not functional.
It has been suggested that capacitated spermatozoa, released from the sperm storage site at the isthmus, may be first actively guided by thermotaxis from the cooler sperm storage site towards the warmer fertilization site (Figure 2). Two passive processes, rheotaxis and contractions of the oviduct may assist the spermatozoa to reach there. At this location, the spermatozoa may be chemotactically guided to the oocyte-cumulus complex by the gradient of progesterone, secreted from the cumulus cells. In addition, progesterone may inwardly guide spermatozoa, already present within the periphery of the cumulus oophorus. Spermatozoa that are already deep within the cumulus oophorus may sense the more potent chemoattractant that is secreted from the oocyte and chemotactically guide themselves to the oocyte according to the gradient of this chemoattractant. It should be borne in mind, however, that this is only a model.

Figure 2. A simplified scheme describing the suggested sequence of active sperm guidance mechanisms in mammals. In addition, two passive processes, sperm rheotaxis and contractions of the oviduct, may assist sperm movement towards the fertilization site.

A number of observations point to the possibility that chemotaxis and thermotaxis also occur at lower parts of the female genital tract. For example, small, gradual estrus cycle-correlated temperature increase was measured in cows from the vagina towards the uterine horns, and a gradient of natriuretic peptide precursor A, shown to be a chemoattractant for mouse spermatozoa, was found, in decreasing concentration order, in the ampulla, isthmus, and uterotubal junction. The physiological functions, if any, of these chemical and temperature gradients are yet to be resolved.

Potential clinical applications

Sperm guidance by either chemotaxis or thermotaxis can potentially be used to obtain sperm populations that are enriched with capacitated spermatozoa for in vitro fertilization procedures. Indeed, sperm populations selected by thermotaxis were recently shown to have much higher DNA integrity and lower chromatin compaction than unselected spermatozoa and, in mice, to give rise to more and better embryos through intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), doubling the number of successful pregnancies. Chemotaxis and thermotaxis can also be exploited possibly as a diagnostic tool to assess sperm quality. In addition, these processes can potentially be used, in the long run, as a means of contraception by interfering with the normal process of fertilization.

References

Semen
Cell biology


Dheena Chandra Dhas (born in Madras (now Chennai), India, on 1 August 1956) is an actor, singer, voice over artist and sound engineer. He is the youngest of 4 brothers and the younger brother of the well-known 70s musician Madhukar C. Dhas. He lives in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, India, and does Voice Overs in his home-studio.

Music
His musical career is varied, with over three decades of experience in radio, studio sound mixing, live concert mixing, and performing on stage. He has been a part of a number of notable Indian bands from the 70s to the 90s, notable also for having popular musicians such as A R Rahman, Sivamani, Jojo, Sudhin Prabhakar, and others among their ranks.

Bands
Over the years he has been the lead vocalist in multiple rock bands in India and Abroad.
 Magic (Chennai)
 Desire (Chennai)
 Commandoes (Madras)
 Atomic Forest (Bombay) (multiple stints)
 Hope (Bombay)
 Rage (Chennai)
 Culture Lynx (Chennai)
 Storm (Chennai)
 The 2nd Chapter (Chennai)
 The Phantom Revival (Bombay) and
 Satin (Dubai)

He was also a childhood friend of Rahman, and played along with Rahman, Sivamani, Jojo etc.

Playback Singing
He has performed playback singing for multiple films over the years, a few among them are Daud, Trinetrudu, Idu Saadhya.
He sang "Zahreela Zahreela Pyar" for the film Daud, composed by A R Rahman, alongside Asha Bhonsle.

Stage Acting
He has also performed for a number of musicals in Madras and elsewhere in India, singing and acting on stage in productions such as Jesus Christ Superstar as Judas, Cats (the musical),  Tommy, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Starlight Express, and Witness.

Acting
His film acting career began when he was offered the role of "Raju" in both the Hindi and Tamil versions of Kamal Haasan's Mumbai Xpress. He also plays the Lungiman in Peter Yesley's short film, Lungiman Takes a Ride.

On television, he has acted in some Tamil soap operas, Kolangal being one of them.

Voice, Voice Acting & Narration
Dheena's signature, a deep voice, has been used many times in the media. In addition to being the narrator in various plays over the years, he has also dubbed for a number of Indian movies, including dubbing for various British characters in the film 1921 by I. V. Sasi, and various ad jingles. He currently provides voice over services from his studio in Kodaikanal.

References

External links
 Dheena Chandra Dhas Voice Over Samples

 Lungiman Takes a Ride
 Credited as Narrator for Tommy

1956 births
Living people
Indian voice actors
Indian male voice actors
Indian male film actors
Indian male playback singers
Male actors from Chennai
Actors from Chennai
Singers from Chennai
Musicians from Chennai
Musicians from Tamil Nadu
Indian male musicians
People from Chennai
Indian Tamil people


Sunday Best is a reality television series on BET.

Kirk Franklin, BeBe Winans and Tina and Erica Campbell of Mary Mary returned as Host and judges, respectively.

For Season Two, episode tapings were moved from Los Angeles, CA, to Atlanta, GA.

During the finale on May 11, 2009, Y'Anna Crawley was announced as Season 2's winner while Jessica Reedy was determined to be the runner up .

External links
 BET Shows - Sunday Best

References

2009 American television seasons


The men's triple jump event  at the 1989 IAAF World Indoor Championships was held at the Budapest Sportcsarnok in Budapest on 3 and 4 March.

Medallists

Results

Qualification
Qualification: 16.60 (Q) or at least 12 best performers (q) qualified for the final.

Final

References

Triple jump
Triple jump at the World Athletics Indoor Championships
1989 in men's athletics


The 1996 Speedway Grand Prix of Italy was the second race of the 1996 Speedway Grand Prix season. It took place on 1 June in the Santa Marina Stadium in Lonigo, Italy It was the first Italian SGP and was won by Danish rider Hans Nielsen. It was the second win of his career.

Starting positions draw

The Speedway Grand Prix Commission nominated Stefano Alfonso as Wild Card.

Heat details

The intermediate classification

See also
 Speedway Grand Prix
 List of Speedway Grand Prix riders

References

External links
 FIM-live.com
 SpeedwayWorld.tv

Speedway Grand Prix of Italy
I
1996


Abe is a musical in two acts based on the life of President Abraham Lincoln with book & lyrics by Lee Goldsmith, music by Roger Anderson and orchestration by Greg Anthony.  The musical covers the life of Abraham Lincoln from his earliest attempts at self-improvement through the 1860 election which made him the 16th president of an already fracturing United States.  Also explored is Lincoln's youth as a flatboat pilot on the Mississippi, his early love for Ann Rutledge, his troubled marriage to the difficult and mentally fragile Mary Todd, and his attempt to be a good father to his sons.

Premiere
During the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial Year, Muddy River Opera Company in Quincy, Illinois (a city which hosted one of the historic Lincoln-Douglas debates) produced the World Premiere of Abe.  The production team included stage director Mark Meier, musical director/conductor Scott Schoonover and choreographer Drew Quintero.  In advance of the work's premiere on February 20, publishing house Samuel French added Abe to its catalog of dramatic works.

Theatre in the Park of New Salem, Illinois, mounted a second production at the New Salem State Historic Site that same year as part of its season celebrating Lincoln and the Civil War Era.

Recognition
The Lincoln Bicentennial Commission recognized the creative team of Abe along with a select group of artists inspired by Lincoln's life. The Hannibal Courier-Post cited the musical as "an entertaining evening, merging history and insight into the personalities of people in Lincoln’s life."

Principal Roles

Other roles include: Jim Rutledge, Denton Offutt, Jack Armstrong, Mrs. Cameron, Elizabeth Edwards, and Lincoln's sons Robert, Willie and Tad.

Synopsis & Musical Numbers
Place: Illinois.
Time: 1800s.

Act One
Scene 1 (Prelude)
In 1829 New Orleans a nineteen-year-old Abe Lincoln witnesses a slave auction.

Scene 2
Three years later Abe is working as a store clerk in the struggling river town of New Salem, Illinois (Fifteen Houses).  Abe feels close to the tavern owner's daughter, Ann Rutledge, and tells her of his origins (Hardin County, Kentucky). He also finds a friend and tutor in Mentor Graham, the town schoolteacher.

Scene 3
Visiting the Rutledge tavern one night, Abe realizes that he has fallen in love with Ann (A Girl Like Her) yet cannot imagine her ever returning his feelings.  Abe is challenged to wrestle by one of the town's bullies and surprises everyone by pinning the challenger to the tavern floor.   In order to make peace with his customers, Jim Rutledge buys everyone a round of drinks (Corn).

Scene 4
Abe has become a voracious reader and particularly taken with Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England.  Though many people in New Salem recognize his brilliance, Abe struggles to find his purpose (Who Are You?).  Ignoring Abe's insecurity, Ann can't help but fall in love with someone she so admires (A Man Like Him).

Scene 5
Since the store where he worked is out of business, Abe takes the townspeople's suggestion and runs for the Illinois Legislature.  Though he's defeated, Abe carries nearly all of New Salem's votes (277 to 3).

Scene 6
Three years later, Abe is now an Illinois legislator and visits New Salem to ask for Ann's hand.  She accepts but wishes to wait until Abe has finished his law degree (A Girl Like Her reprise).

Scene 7
Three months later Ann is dead; Abe suffers a bout of melancholy that darkens the rest of his life.

Scene 8
Five years pass and Abe is still in the State Legislature while running a successful law practice.  Attending a Cotillion Ball Abe is pursued by Mary Todd, a visitor from Kentucky.  Mary envisions Abe's great political future, which she intends to cultivate and become part of (Mrs. Abraham Lincoln).   Abe's friend and colleague, Billy Herndon, a staunch abolitionist, introduces a game to the Cotillion guests (What Am I Bid?).  The seemingly innocent entertainment turns into a riot, underscoring the slavery conflict that is consuming the nation.

Act Two

Scene 1
Though Mary continues to pursue Abe, her family believes the match is not suitable.  Abe proposes to her in December 1840 and agrees to a New Year's Day wedding, but never appears.  Mary remains steadfast in her hopes; two years later they are finally wed (Mrs. Abraham Lincoln reprise).

Scene 2
Elected to one term in the United States House of Representatives in 1846, Abe finds it impossible, despite attempts from family and friends, to compromise his ideals (Someone).

Scene 3
Years later Abe and Mary with their sons Bob, Willie and Tad celebrate Christmas Eve. Tad, the youngest, questions his father how life would be different had one of the boys been a girl (What Would I Do With Daughters?).  Soon after Mary criticizes Abe on the manner in which he treats her in public, but admits to being overly sensitive since he lost the election to the United States Senate the previous year.  They discuss the good things they share in marriage and family (A Moment Like This One).  Billy Herndon, now Abe's law partner, arrives with presents and news that Abe is in consideration for the presidential nomination of 1860.  After he leaves, Mary launches into a tirade against Billy, revealing signs of emotional instability that will plague her for the rest of her life.

Scene 4
Abe visits the photography studio of Mathew Brady in February 1860 where he encounters a boy who has memorized his “House Divided” speech.

Scene 5
In May 1860 at Chicago's Convention Hall, Abe wins the nomination for President (Who Abe? You, Abe!).

Scene 6
In November, he is elected the 16th President of the United States of America.

Scene 7
On February 11, 1861, the Lincolns are packed and ready to leave for Washington, D.C.  Abe finds himself left alone (Who Are You? reprise).  Abe's oldest son Bob enters to say he has heard that the nation is coming apart and asks if his father can stop it.  “I can try,” Abe responds.  Alone again, Abe remembers Ann.  Mary enters.  Together, arm in arm, they leave for the train station.

Sources

Muddy River Opera Company Program
Official Website of Abe

External links
Official Website of Abe

Cultural depictions of Abraham Lincoln
2009 musicals
Biographical musicals
Musicals set in Illinois
American musicals


The Bigamist () is a 1956 Italian comedy film directed by Luciano Emmer.

Plot
Mario De Santis, an enterprising trade representative who sells toothpastes, regularly married to Valeria, sees his life upset by the accusation of being bigamous. Accompanied to the police station, he is confronted with a certain Isolina Fornaciari, whom he would have married in Forlimpopoli a few years earlier. Mario, furious at the accusation, goes into de facto ways with Isolina's father, with whom he has a fight so much that he is put under arrest. Moreover, no one seems to believe in his innocence, not even his wife, who lets herself be negatively influenced by her sister and the family lawyer.

When Mario is granted bail, his case is entrusted to an eccentric prince of the forum, talkative and extravagant. A friend of Mario's, met in prison, realizes that it could be a case of the same name and sets out to travel all over Rome in search of Isolina's real husband. When he finds him, he manages to drag him to court where, in the meantime, Mario - following the advice of his defender - has pleaded guilty. Thus the court, while recognizing him innocent of the charge of bigamy, condemns him for self-malignancy; and Isolina, who, complicated by her condition as an elderly single girl, had exploited the circumstance to try to frame a handsome man, is in turn condemned for perjury. Having served the small sentence inflicted on him, Mario can finally return to the arms of his family, who are waiting for him at the exit of the prison.

Cast
 Marcello Mastroianni - Mario De Santis
 Franca Valeri - Isolina Fornaciari
 Giovanna Ralli - Valeria Masetti
 Marisa Merlini - Enza Masetti
 Vittorio De Sica - L'onorevole Principe / Attorney Principe
 Memmo Carotenuto - Quirino Proietti
 Ave Ninchi - La signora Masetti / Missis Masetti
 Vincenzo Talarico - L'avvocato di parte civile
 Guglielmo Inglese - Don Vincenzino
 Mario Passante
 Fernando Milani
 Ruggero Marchi
 Salvo Randone
 Anita Durante - Amalia

References

External links

1956 films
1950s Italian-language films
1956 comedy films
Italian black-and-white films
Films directed by Luciano Emmer
Films set in Rome
Films with screenplays by Age & Scarpelli
Italian comedy films
Films scored by Alessandro Cicognini
1950s Italian films


The women's long jump event  at the 1989 IAAF World Indoor Championships was held at the Budapest Sportcsarnok in Budapest on 4 March.

Results

References

Long jump
Long jump at the World Athletics Indoor Championships


Nicolas Bonnet  (born 6 November 1984) is a French ski mountaineer, runner, mountain guide and coach of the national team.

Bonnet was born in Briançon. He started ski mountaineering in 1998 and competed first in 2002. He holds several national titles in different age classes. In 2006, he was also 2006 "junior" class World champion of vertical race, and placed 1st in the "junior" class at the Patrouille des Glaciers as well as at the short distance race of the Pierra Menta. On 12 April 2007 he broke his own course record on the Pelvoux course with a total time of 3 hours 18 minutes. Together with the Germans Benedikt Böhm and Sebastian Haag he planned a speed ski mountaineering tour on the Manaslu, but had to withdraw due to the bad weather conditions and danger of avalanches. He is member of the Team Ecrins Hautes-Alpes and belongs to the national selection since 2007.

Selected results
 2008:
 4th, World Championship relay race (together with Martial Premat, Sébastien Perrier and Adrien Piccot)
 10th, World Championship team race (together with Martial Premat)
 2009:
 5th, European Championship relay race (together with Didier Blanc, Martial Premat and Tony Sbalbi)
 7th, Pierra Menta (together with William Bon Mardion)
 2011:
 6th, World Championship team race (together with Alexis Sévennec-Verdier)
 8th, World Championship sprint

References

External links
 Nicolas Bonnet at skimountaineering.org

1984 births
Living people
French male ski mountaineers
Alpine guides
People from Briançon
Sportspeople from Hautes-Alpes


The Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) is a civilian body of the Government of Hong Kong, part of the two-tier system in which the Hong Kong Police Force investigates complaints made by the public against its members and the IPCC monitors those investigations.

The IPCC acts as an independent body to monitor the review by the Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO) of complaints against members of the Police Force. Unlike CAPO, which is a unit of the police force, the IPCC is a civilian body not linked with the police that reports directly to the office of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong. There have been criticisms in LegCo that the IPCC has limited monitoring power.

History
The IPCC was set up in 1986 as the Police Complaints Committee or PCC, which reported to the then-Governor of Hong Kong. The PCC was preceded by the UMELCO Police Group, a body within the Office of the Unofficial Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils. The PCC was renamed to its current name in 1994.

The IPCC is headed by a Secretariat and is governed by the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) Ordinance, which was enacted in July 2008. On 1 June 2009, after the ordinance came into operation, the Chinese official name of IPCC was changed from "投訴警方獨立監察委員會" to "獨立監察警方處理投訴委員會" while the English name remained the same.

Organisation
 Secretariat
 Secretary
 Deputy Secretary
 Legal Adviser
 Transitional Arrangements Team
 Senior PR Officer
 Case Teams (3)
 Planning and Support Teams

Composition
The IPCC Ordinance stipulates that the IPCC shall be formed by a chairman, three vice-chairmen, and no fewer than eight other members. All members are appointed by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong. Persons holding an "office of emolument" within a government bureau or department, as well as former members of the police force, are not eligible to be appointed to the IPCC.

As of 4 September 2019, the IPCC had 29 members:

 Chairman
 Anthony Neoh
 Vice-chairmen
 Christopher Cheung
 Tony Tse
 Frankie Yick
 Members
 Lisa LAU Man-man
 SO Lai-chun
 Eric CHENG Kam-chung
 Richard HO Kam-wing
 Herman Hui
 Edgar KWAN Chi-ping
 Barry CHIN Chi-yung
 José-Antonio MAURELLET
 Clement CHAN Kam-wing
 Wilson KWONG Wing-tsuen
 Ann AU Chor-kwan
 Alex CHU Wing-yiu
 Douglas LAM Tak-yip
 Sylvia LEE Hiu-wah
 David LEE Ka-yan
 Melissa Kaye PANG
 Shalini Shivan SUJANANI
 Martin WONG Chi-sang
 Johnny YU Wah-yung
 Anissa Chan
 Roland WONG Ka-yeung
 LEE Man-bun
 Jane Curzon LO
 Paul Lam Ting-kwok
 Helen Yu Lai Ching-ping

List of chairmen

Chen Shou-lum, CBE, JP (1986–1987)
Daniel Tse Chi-wai, GBS, CBE, JP (1987–1993)
Rosanna Wong Yick-ming, DBE, JP (1993)
Denis Chang Khen-lee, CBE, QC, SC, JP (1993–1998)
Robert Tang Kwok-ching, GBM, SBS, QC, SC, JP (2000–2004)
 Ronny Wong Fook-hum, SBS, MBE, QC, SC, JP (2004–2008)
 Jat Sew-tong, SBS, SC, JP (2008–2014)
 Larry Kwok Lam-kwong, SBS, JP (2014–2018)
Anthony Francis Neoh, QC, SC, JP (2018–2021)
Priscilla Wong Pui-sze, BBS, JP (2021– )

Criticism
The IPCC, as noted by the UN Human Rights Committee in its Concluding Observations in 2013, has limited powers and lacks independence. It only has "advisory and oversight functions to monitor and review the activities of the CAPO" and its members are political appointees chosen by the Chief Executive. It neither has legal power to summon witnesses nor offers protection to the victims and witnesses.

Despite a considerable number of reportable complaints filed with the CAPO, only a small percentage of them were classified as substantiated. Between 2004 and 2018, CAPO received 6,412 complaints alleging police assault. Only four cases were substantiated by CAPO, while over half of the cases were dismissed without actionable conclusions. Between 2010 and 2018, among all of the cases on police misconduct substantiated by the IPCC, the police responded by referring only one case for prosecution, while officers in the majority of cases were only given "advice".

As members of the IPCC are directly appointed by the Chief Executive, the council is generally aligned with pro-establishment figures. The former Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, for instance, drew criticism for appointing Barry Chin Chi-yung, a member of the pro-Beijing political group Silent Majority for Hong Kong, to the council. Where Chin was an outspoken critic of the 2014 pro-democracy protests, which saw allegations of police brutality.  In 2017, Chief Executive Carrie Lam sought to enhance the credibility of the IPCC by appointing Anthony Francis Neoh, a heavyweight in the legal sector, as its chairman.

Clifford Stott, one of five members of an expert panel recruited for the IPCC in September during the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, has reaffirmed that the powers, capacity, and independent investigative capability of the body was not commensurate with the "standards required of an international police watchdog operating in a society that values freedoms and rights". According to Stott, "structural limitations in the scope and powers of the IPCC inquiry [inhibit] its ability to establish a coherent and representative body of evidence". In its resignation statement in December, the panel said the IPCC "needs to substantially enhance its capacity" so as to be able to "assemble a coherent account of the facts from police and other bodies; to access important documents and validate accounts supplied by police and others in a timely fashion; and to significantly improve its capability to identify and secure evidence from key witnesses outside policing".

In response, Carrie Lam remarked that Stott had "only spent 10 days or a week in Hong Kong. His stay in Hong Kong was quite short compared to the year-long review of so much information by the IPCC. Therefore everyone can tell which side was able to obtain the truth and have a better understanding of Hong Kong" regarding the latest IPCC thematic report on the 2019-20 Hong Kong protests.  Lam added that the IPCC is made up of members with varying backgrounds and expertise, and their objectiveness is reliable.

The Court of First Instance reported on November 20 that the IPCC and the Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO) cannot effectively conduct investigation into misconduct unless new powers were given.

In September 2022, Helen Yu Lai Ching-ping, an IPCC member, blamed Hong Kong's child abuse cases on "widespread" sexual and violent content on TV. Yu also blamed the TVB Miss Hong Kong Pageant, to which TVB said that the pageant should not be associated with child abuse. TVB also said that it reserved the right to pursue legal action against false accusations.

Report on 2019 Hong Kong protests

The IPCC released a thousand-page report on policing during the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests in which the police was generally exonerated. It concluded that officers generally acted within guidelines but there was "room for improvement".

Findings mirrored police assertions that force was only in reaction to the violent unrest, but said there were "areas for improvement" when officers interacted with protesters. While Chief executive Lam praised the "comprehensive and objective" report,
Rights groups and pro democracy parties universally pointed to the lack of independence of the IPCC and the absence of police accountability, and expressed outrage at the report as an absurd and preposterous whitewash. Lam said priority for implementation were a code of practice for journalists covering protests; more powers to monitor social media and tackle misinformation; reviewing internal police command structures; and identification of police officers with clear numbers. Clifford Stott, who quit the IPCC foreign experts panel, said: "It would seem the release of the IPCC report is part of a wider set of coordinated announcements designed to deliver the new 'truth'".

FactWire performed fact-checking on the report. It reviewed the videos during the police's kettling of protesters into the CITIC Tower on 12 June 2019, and rebutted the report's claim that Tim Mei Avenue was unobstructed for the crowd to leave. It also pointed out the report denied the fact that the 21 July 2019 Yuen Long attack was an indiscriminate attack by inappropriately labelling it as clashes between black and white-clad crowds.

See also
 Ontario Police Commission

References

External links

Hong Kong Government
Civilian regulating boards
1986 establishments in Hong Kong
Police oversight organizations
Organizations established in 1986


Ghassan Elias Rahbani (born 13 May 1964) is a Lebanese producer, lyricist, composer, arranger, orchestra conductor, pianist, and singer. He is a member of the prominent Rahbani family well known for their musical contributions to Lebanese music, including inspiring and nurturing singer Fairuz, married to Assi Rahbani.

Discography

Studio Albums

Main Singles

References

External links
Official site

1964 births
Living people
Eastern Orthodox Christians from Lebanon
Lebanese composers
Lebanese musicians


John Oldham (June 22, 1923 – November 23, 2020) was an American college and professional basketball player, college basketball coach and athletic director.  Oldham interrupted his studies at Western Kentucky University (WKU) to serve in the US Navy during World War II.   He was on the university's basketball team and after graduation in 1949 played for the Fort Wayne Pistons.  Oldham went into coaching in 1952 at College High School in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  In 1955 he became coach of the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles men's basketball and led the team to three conference championships.  He returned to WKU in 1964 to coach the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team, leading them to four NCAA tournaments, one NIT, and winning four Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) championships.  In 1971 Oldham was promoted to  athletic director at WKU, a position he held until 1986.  During his tenure the university won six OVC and one Sun Belt Conference All-Sports Championship.  After retirement he was elected to the Bowling Green City Commission.

Career

Oldham came to Western Kentucky University in 1942 after earning All-State honors at Hartford High School.  In 1943 he left college to serve in the United States Navy during World War II.  He returned to the college in 1946, graduating in 1949.  The teams he played on at Western were nationally ranked, participated in three National Invitation Tournaments, including a 3rd-place finish in 1948, won three KIAC titles, one SIAA championship, and the first Ohio Valley Conference title.  He was a United Press and Associated Press All-American in 1949. After college, he played for the Fort Wayne Pistons of the National Basketball Association.

In 1952 he began his coaching career at College High School in Bowling Green, KY.  In his first year as coach, he led the boys' basketball team to the state tournament.

Oldham was hired to coach Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles men's basketball in 1955.  He led the school to three conference championships and its first two appearances in the NCAA tournament.  Oldham returned to coach his alma mater, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, in 1964, taking over for his former coach Edgar Diddle who retired after 42 years at the school. In seven seasons, he finished 146–41 with a 78% winning percentage, leading them to four NCAA tournaments and an NIT berth while winning five Ohio Valley Conference championships.  He led the Hilltoppers to the 1971 NCAA tournament to the Final Four and finished third overall. Their third-place finish was later vacated by the NCAA due to allegations that one of their players, Jim McDaniels, had signed a professional contract prior to the end of the season. He was named Ohio Valley Conference coach of the year four times.

In 1971 Oldham was named Athletic Director for WKU, and served in that position until his retirement in 1986.  During his tenure as AD, WKU won six OVC All-Sports Championships and one Sun Belt Conference All-Sports Championship. He oversaw the football program upgrading from NCAA Division 2 to Division 1AA in 1978, the school leaving the OVC and joining the Sun Belt Conference in 1982, and the Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball team becoming one of the top programs in the country.  He also hired the school's first African American Head Coach, Clem Haskins as men's basketball coach, in 1980.  He has been inducted into the Lions Club Kentucky High School Hall of Fame (1969), Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame (1986), Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame (1989), Kentucky High School Hall of Fame (1990), Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame (1990) and WKU Athletic Hall of Fame (1991).

In 1991 Oldham was elected to the Bowling Green City Commission and was re-elected twice, serving as Commissioner through December 1998.

Oldham died at Bowling Green on November 23, 2020 at the age of 97.  He was due to be buried in the city's Fairview Cemetery with military honours on November 30.

Cultural impact
The 1971 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers NCAA Final-4 basketball team was the first non-historically black Kentucky collegiate basketball team to start five African-American players. Coach Oldham started Clarence Glover, Jim McDaniels,  Jim Rose, Jerry Dunn and Rex Bailey. Oldham was pressured not to start all five together, but said "they are my best five players."

The concept of WKU's Red Towel athletics logo was developed by John Oldham in 1971, based on Ed Diddle's use of a red towel while coaching games.

In 1980 Oldham hired the first African-American head coach in school history, when he named Clem Haskins basketball coach.

On December 27, 2012, WKU honored Oldham in a pregame ceremony in which the court at EA Diddle Arena was named "John Oldham Court." Oldham was a player, basketball coach, and athletic director during his time at WKU.

Career statistics

NBA
Source

Regular season

Playoffs

Head coaching record

* 1971 NCAA Tournament participation later vacated by the NCAA

See also
 List of NCAA Division I Men's Final Four appearances by coach

References

External links
Western Kentucky profile

1923 births
2020 deaths
All-American college men's basketball players
American men's basketball coaches
American men's basketball players
Basketball coaches from Kentucky
Basketball players from Kentucky
Fort Wayne Pistons draft picks
Fort Wayne Pistons players
Guards (basketball)
High school basketball coaches in the United States
Kentucky city council members
Military personnel from Kentucky
People from Beaver Dam, Kentucky
People from Hartford, Kentucky
Sportspeople from Bowling Green, Kentucky
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles men's basketball coaches
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers athletic directors
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball coaches
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball players
United States Navy personnel of World War II


The Sir Sandford Range is a subrange of the Big Bend Ranges of the Selkirk Mountains of the Columbia Mountains in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, located between Gold (river) and Palmer Creek just southwest of the Gold Arm of Kinbasket Lake.

The range is named for Sir Sandford Fleming, who was engineer-in-chief of the Canadian Pacific Railway. He was the first to advocate twenty-four-hour day standard time for railways.

References

Big Bend Ranges


Umkumiute is a small unincorporated community  on Nelson Island in the bay,  from Toksook Bay. It is located in the Bethel Census Area.

History
This region was inhabited by the Yupik Eskimos for thousands of years. During the 1950s it was founded as a community. It was later annexed by Toksook bay and is now a neighborhood of Toksook bay Alaska. Long ago Umkumiut is where some people lived for the summer.

Population
The population is estimated at 100.

References

External links
 Explore North website

Unincorporated communities in Bethel Census Area, Alaska
Unincorporated communities in Alaska
Unincorporated communities in Unorganized Borough, Alaska


The Communauté de communes du Pays de Châtenois is a former administrative association of communes in the Vosges département of eastern France and in the region of Lorraine. It was merged into the new Communauté de communes de l'Ouest Vosgien in January 2017.

Created in 1994, the association had its administrative offices at Châtenois.

Member communes
The Communauté de communes comprised the following communes:

Aouze
Balléville
Châtenois
Darney-aux-Chênes
Dolaincourt
Dommartin-sur-Vraine
Gironcourt-sur-Vraine
Longchamp-sous-Châtenois
Morelmaison
La Neuveville-sous-Châtenois
Ollainville
Rainville
Removille
Saint-Paul
Viocourt
Vouxey

References

Chatenois Country


The Bigamist can refer to the following films:

 The Bigamist (1921 film), a silent British film directed by Guy Newall
 The Bigamist (1953 film), starring Edmond O'Brien and Joan Fontaine and Ida Lupino, who also directed
 The Bigamist (1956 film), an Italian film featuring Marcello Mastroianni


Samuel Harshany (April 24, 1910 – February 1, 2001) was a Major League Baseball catcher. He played all or part of four seasons, from  until , for the St. Louis Browns. After his playing career, Harshany managed several years in the minors in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

His surname has also been spelled Harshaney.

Sources

Major League Baseball catchers
St. Louis Browns players
San Antonio Missions players
Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players
Toledo Mud Hens players
Austin Pioneers players
Del Rio Cowboys players
San Angelo Colts players
Harlingen Capitals players
Minor league baseball managers
Baseball players from Illinois
1910 births
2001 deaths
People from Madison, Illinois


Preston Quick (born March 10, 1978 in Colorado) is a professional male squash player who represented the United States during his career. He reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 97 in January 2003 after having joined the Professional Squash Association in 2000.

His sister, Meredeth Quick, is also a squash player.

External links

References

1978 births
Living people
American male squash players
Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States
Pan American Games medalists in squash
Squash players at the 2003 Pan American Games
Trinity Bantams men's squash players
Sportspeople from Colorado
Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games


Bobby Austin may refer to:

Bobby Austin (musician) (born 1933), American country musician.
Bobby William Austin (born 1944), American sociologist, lecturer, and writer

See also
Robert Austin (disambiguation)
Rob Austin (born 1981), English racing driver


Podengo Canario may refer to:
 Podenco Canario, a hunting dog from the Canary Islands
 Portuguese Podengo, a hunting dog from Portugal


SunLine Transit Agency is a transit operator in Riverside County, California, providing bus service to more than 3.5 million passengers per year in the Palm Springs Area. Service extends into San Bernardino Transit Center during peak hours. In , the system had a ridership of , or about  per weekday as of .

History and description
SunLine Transit Agency (STA) was established under a Joint Powers Agreement, initially between Riverside County and Coachella Valley cities (Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indio, Palm Desert, and Palm Springs) on July 1, 1977. Cathedral City, Indian Wells, La Quinta, and Rancho Mirage were added later. Each of the nine member cities selects one member of the SunLine Board of Directors, with the tenth provided by Riverside County.

The service area covers , bounded approximately by the San Gorgonio Pass on the west and the Salton Sea on the southeast. In addition to its transit operations, SunLine regulates local taxi services (as the SunLine Regulatory Administration, a division of the SunLine Services Group) and sells CNG and hydrogen to the public from dispensers at its Thousand Palms and Indio operations facilities, under the brand SunFuels.

Routes

Destinations
Destinations served include:

 Agua Caliente Casino
 Agua Caliente Cultural Museum
 National Date Festival Fairgrounds
 Indian Wells Tennis Garden
 Palm Springs Air Museum
 Indio High School
 La Quinta High School
 Palm Desert High School
 Palm Springs High School
 Cathedral City High School
 Rancho Mirage High School
 Desert Memorial Park
 Eisenhower Medical Center
 Westfield Palm Desert
 McCallum Theater
 College of the Desert
 Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
 California State University, San Bernardino
 San Bernardino Transit Center

Governance
SunLine is governed by a board of directors with 10 members
 1 City Council member From Palm Springs
 1 City Council member from the 9 cities in the Palm Springs Area that are not Palm Springs City.
 1 from the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, that represents the Palm Springs Area (District 4)

Chair

Glenn Miller

Vice Chair

Lisa Middleton

Chief Executive Officer

Lauren Skiver

Facilities and bus fleet

The initial fleet included 22 buses in 1977. SunDial paratransit operations started in 1991.
The SunLine Board of Directors adopted a resolution in 1992 to convert their fleet to alternative fuel, and became the first transit agency in the United States to do so in 1994, using compressed natural gas (CNG) buses.

Starting in 2000, SunLine began limited operations with hydrogen fuel cell buses, installing a hydrogen fuel station using a Stuart Energy electrolyzer to supply the XCELLSiS ZEbus for a 13-month trial. The first revenue operations were conducted with the Thor/ISE ThunderPower fuel cell bus, using an ElDorado National EZ-Rider II chassis, between November 2002 to February 2003. By that time, SunLine also had installed a HyRadix methane reformer to generate hydrogen. SunLine tested a hydrogen hybrid internal combustion engine (HHICE) bus in early 2005; the bus was subsequently sent to Winnipeg Transit for cold weather testing.

STA plans to convert their fleet to zero-emission buses (ZEB) by 2035, with only ZEBs purchased starting in 2021. Due to the relatively long fixed routes, the final mix of ZEBs is expected to be mostly hydrogen fuel-cell buses.

Active fleet

SunLine has two operations and maintenance facilities: one (including the administrative offices) in Thousand Palms, and another in Indio. , on-site refueling and charging capabilities include an electrolyzer that can produce  of hydrogen at Thousand Palms, which came online in 2019, and six 80 kW AC/DC battery-electric bus chargers, three each at both Thousand Palms and Indio. Hydrogen dispensers (using delivered liquid ) and additional chargers are planned for both facilities.

Hydrogen production started in November 2000. Two electrolyzers and a natural gas reformer were part of the initial installation. One electrolyzer, supplied by Teledyne Brown, generated  per hour using 7.5 kW of electricity, supplied by solar panels; the other electrolyzer, supplied by Stuart Energy, produced  per hour. The reformer produced  per hour. The HyRadix Adéo reformer was installed at the end of 2003.

References

External links
 Official SunLine Transit Agency website

Public transportation in Riverside County, California
Coachella Valley
Bus transportation in California
Transit agencies in California
Cathedral City, California
Coachella, California
Desert Hot Springs, California
Indio, California
La Quinta, California
Palm Springs, California
Transit authorities with natural gas buses


Exit Wounds: The Album is the soundtrack to Andrzej Bartkowiak's 2001 film Exit Wounds. It was released on March 20, 2001, four days after the film, through Blackground Records and Virgin Records with distribution via Warner Bros. Records, and consists primarily of hip hop music. The album composed of seventeen songs and features performances by the film star DMX, as well as Black Child, Drag-On, Ja Rule, Lady Luck, Mack 10, Memphis Bleek, Nas, Redman, Sheek Louch, Styles P, Three 6 Mafia, Trick Daddy, Trina, and WC among others. American rapper Christian "Yung Berg" Ward, then known as Iceberg, made his debut on this soundtrack on the track "Dog 4 Life".

The album peaked at number 8 on the Billboard 200 and at number 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States. It spawned a one charting single, "No Sunshine", which made it to #67 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

Track listing

Notes
Track #1 contains an interpolation of "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers

Charts

References

External links

2001 soundtrack albums
Action film soundtracks
Hip hop soundtracks
Virgin Records soundtracks
Albums produced by Bud'da
Albums produced by DJ Paul
Albums produced by Juicy J
Albums produced by Irv Gotti
Albums produced by Timbaland
Albums produced by Dame Grease


Knives is the fourth studio album by American punk rock band Aiden.

Recording and composition
On January 15, 2009, it was announced that the band had begun recording their next album. It was recorded and produced by WiL at his own studio, Sleepy Hollow, in Seattle. The album is a return to Aiden's horror punk style, after the lighter style of the album Conviction.

Release
On March 14, 2009, Knives was announced for release in May. On April 1, "Scavengers of the Damned" was announced as the first single from the album and was made available to buy on iTunes as well as uploaded to the band's MySpace page. The album was released on May 11 in the UK and a day later in the US through Victory Records. The band has described this album as, "raw, it's fast, it's pissed". Between late June and late August, the band performed on the Warped Tour.

Track listing

Personnel

Aiden
 Wil Francis – vocals, production, engineering, mixing, collage art
 Angel Ibarra – guitars, production
 Nick Wiggins – bass guitar, production
 Jake Davison – drums, production

Production and additional personnel
 Justin Armstrong – production, engineering, mixing
 Ryann Donnelly – backing vocals; vocals (on "Portrait")
 Rick Kern – backing vocals
 Jeremy Beddingfield – backing vocals
 Anna Ivarra – backing vocals, photography
 Chad Michael Ward – artwork
 Doublej – artwork
 Michael Cortada – logo

Chart positions

References

2009 albums
Victory Records albums
Aiden albums


Svēte may refer to:

Svēte River, a river that flows through the northern part of Lithuania and the southern part of Latvia
Svēte parish, an administrative unit of the Jelgava District, Latvia
Svēte, a populated place in Svēte parish
Svēte Manor, a manor in Svēte parish, in the region of Zemgale, Latvia


Champange may refer to:

Séverine Champange-Gerfaux (b. 1978), French ski mountaineer

See also
Champagne (disambiguation)
Champanges, a commune in southern France


Catoca Airport  is an airport in the Lunda Sul Province of Angola. It serves the Catoca diamond mine.

The runway is  north of the city of Saurimo, and is 17 nautical miles from the Saurimo VOR-DME (Ident: VSA), located on the Saurimo Airport.

The runway had recently been asphalted by Fidens under contract to the Catoca Mine. The usable runway had been shortened slightly and received twice weekly flights from Luanda by TAAG Angolan Airlines on a Monday and a Friday. While these flights were operated by TAAG, they were charter flights reserved for Catoca Mine employees only.

See also
 List of airports in Angola
 Transport in Angola

References

External links
OurAirports - Saurimo North
OpenStreetMap - Saurimo North

Airports in Angola
Lunda Sul Province


Jack Gordon may refer to:

Government
Jack Gordon (Mississippi politician) (1944–2011), American politician in Mississippi
John F. (Jack) Gordon (1921–2010), American civic promoter in Seattle
Jack Murphy Gordon (1931–1982), U.S. federal judge

Sports
Jack Gordon (footballer, born 1863) (1861–1941), Scottish footballer (Preston North End)
Jack Gordon (footballer, born 1899) (1899–1964), Scottish footballer (Port Vale, Luton Town)
Jack Gordon (footballer, born 1911) (1911–?), English footballer for Rochdale A.F.C
Jack Gordon (ice hockey) (1928–2022), Canadian ice hockey coach

Others
Jack Gordon (entertainment manager) (1939–2005), American former manager and husband of singer La Toya Jackson
Jack Gordon (Peter Worthington) (1822–1864), American renegade, soldier, and outlaw (also known as "Apache Jack" Gordon)
Jack Gordon (actor), English actor

See also
John Gordon (disambiguation)


Viktor Berg (born October 8, 1977 in Edmonton, Alberta) technically in Estonia and Finland count Viktor Berg de Sangaste, is a Finnish-origin professional male squash player who represented Canada during his career. He reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 44 in June 2003 after having joined the Professional Squash Association in 1996.

His grandfather fled from the early 1940s problems (and coming communist rule) in the Baltic countries, and settled to Canada, where he served in the grain development institute's research. He in his turn was a grandson of the Finnish baroness Maria Bruun and count Fredrik Berg, the famous improver of Baltic agriculture, particularly rye. Ancestors include also baron Theodor Bruun, Minister Secretary of State of the Grand Duchy of Finland.

References
 Suomen Aateliskalenteri - Finlands Adels Kalender, 2007 edition, sub: Berg, counts of Sangaste

External links

1977 births
Living people
Canadian male squash players
Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada
Pan American Games medalists in squash
Squash players at the 2003 Pan American Games
Canadian people of Finnish descent
Sportspeople from Edmonton
Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games


Lucapa Airport  is an airport serving Lucapa (also spelled Lukapa), the capital of the Lunda Norte Province in northeastern Angola.

See also

 List of airports in Angola
 Transport in Angola

References

External links
OpenStreetMap - Lucapa
OurAirports - Lucapa

Airports in Angola
Lunda Norte Province


William Andrew MacKay  (March 20, 1929 –  January 12, 2013) was a Canadian lawyer and former judge, civil servant, legal academic, and university president.

Education and early career
Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the son of Robert Alexander MacKay and Mary Kathleen Junkin, MacKay received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1950, a Bachelor of Law degree in 1953, and a Master of Law degree in 1954 from Dalhousie University. He was called to the Nova Scotia Bar in 1954 and was created a Queen's Counsel in 1973.

He joined the Department of External Affairs in 1954 where he worked as a Foreign Services Officer. From 1955 to 1957, he was an Assistant Secretary of the Royal Commission on Canada's Economic Prospects.

Academic career
In 1957, he became an assistant professor at Dalhousie University. He was an associate professor from 1959 to 1961 and was made a professor in 1961. From 1960 to 1961, he received a Ford Foundation Fellowship to study at Harvard University. In 1963, he became the George Munro Professor of Law. From 1964 to 1969, he was the dean of the Faculty of Law and the Weldon Professor of Law. From 1969 to 1988, he was professor. From 1969 to 1980, he was a vice-president at Dalhousie University. From 1980 to 1986, he was the eighth president and vice-chancellor.

Judicial career
From 1967 to 1986, he chaired the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission. In 1988, he was appointed Justice of the Federal Court of Canada (Trial Division). He retired in 2004. From 2004 to 2007, he was as a Deputy Judge of the Federal Court. In 2008, he was appointed an ad hoc Information Commissioner.

Death
Local newspapers reported that Dr. Mackay died suddenly on January 12, 2013.

References

1929 births
2013 deaths
20th-century Canadian civil servants
Canadian legal scholars
Canadian university and college chief executives
Canadian university and college faculty deans
Canadian university and college vice-presidents
Dalhousie University alumni
Academic staff of the Dalhousie University
Harvard University alumni
Judges in Nova Scotia
Lawyers in Nova Scotia
People from Halifax, Nova Scotia
Canadian King's Counsel


Myron Gordon may refer to:
Myron Gordon (biologist) (1899–1959), American ichthyologist
Myron J. Gordon (1920–2010), American economist
Myron L. Gordon (1918–2009), U.S. federal judge


Michael Gough (1916–2011) was an English actor.

Michael Gough may also refer to:
 Michael Gough (voice actor) (born 1956), American voice actor
 Michael Gough (cricketer) (born 1979), English cricketer and umpire
 Michael Gough (archaeologist), British archaeologist
 Michael Gough, Men's World Ice Hockey Championship player

See also
 Michael Goff (disambiguation)


Melanie Jans (born July 3, 1973) is a Canadian professional female squash player who represented Canada during her career. She reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 25 in March 1999 after having joined the Women's International Squash Players Association in 1991.

After retiring from professional sport, JANS joined Club Meadowvale in Mississauga as the Club Pro. Since January 2018 Melanie has been the Oakville Club squash professional.

In 2015 JANS was inducted in to the Ontario Squash Hall of Fame, and subsequently inducted in the Canadian Squash Hall of Fame in 2022.

References

External links

1973 births
Living people
Canadian female squash players
Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada
Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada
Pan American Games medalists in squash
Squash players at the 1999 Pan American Games
Squash players at the 2003 Pan American Games
Sportspeople from Montreal
Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games


A theachtaire tig ón Róimh ("Messenger, come from Rome") is a poem "somewhat doubtfully attributed to Giolla Brighde Mac Con Midhe"

The poem insists upon the need for genealogy to "preserve due class distinctions in Irish society, while the versifying of battle deeds guarantees immortal fame for the chieftains concerned."

Extracts

The suppression of encounters and battles of the men of Ireland would be a faulty matter:
there would be no interest shown in prince nor noble descendants after their death, though their courage had been good ...
If poems did not preserve all that they had done, even though they were noble heroes,
there would long since have been a cloak of silence upon Niall, Conn and Cormac ...

(i.e., Niall Noígíallach, Conn Cétchathach and Cormac mac Art)

Were it not for poetry, sweet-tongued harp of psaltery would not know of a goodly hero after his death
nor of his reputation nor his prowess.

References
 Katherine Simms (1990) "Images of Warfare in Bardic Poetry", Celtica 21.
 Nicholas Williams (ed.) (1980) The poems of Giolla Brighde Mac Con Midhe, Irish Texts Society, 210-13

Irish literature
Irish poems
Medieval texts in Irish
Early Irish poetry
Irish-language literature
Medieval poetry


Saint-Étienne-de-Beauharnois is a municipality of Quebec, Canada, located within the Beauharnois-Salaberry Regional County Municipality in the Montérégie administrative region. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 1,099.

The town is located on the banks of the Saint-Louis River.

History
Settlement began in the early 19th century. In 1831, its first mill was built. In 1852, residents of the Saint-Clément and Saint-Louis parishes petitioned the Archbishop of Montreal for the creation of a new parish, which was granted after land was offered in the new settlement for a church. It construction began in 1863 and completed a year later.

Its post office opened in 1865, and 2 years later, on January 1, 1867, the municipality was established out of territory from Saint-Clément (since 1957 part of Beauharnois) and Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague. It was named after Saint Stephen and Beauharnois County in which it is located. On October 26, 1869, it changed statutes and became the Parish Municipality of Saint-Etienne. This reverted back to Municipality of Saint-Étienne-de-Beauharnois on March 15, 1969.

Demographics

Population

Language

Local government

List of former mayors:

 Gaétan Ménard (...–2009, 2013–2021)
 Louis Pouliot (2009–2013)
 Martin Dumaresq (2021–present)

Education
Centre de services scolaire de la Vallée-des-Tisserands operates Francophone public schools:
 École Saint-Étienne

New Frontiers School Board operates Anglophone public schools:
 Howick Elementary School in Howick
 Chateauguay Valley Regional High School in Ormstown

See also
 List of municipalities in Quebec

References

External links

Saint-Étienne-de-Beauharnois official website

Municipalities in Quebec
Incorporated places in Beauharnois-Salaberry Regional County Municipality


Michael Goff is a publisher and entrepreneur.

Michael Goff is also the name of:
Mike Goff (baseball) (born 1962), baseball coach
Mike Goff (American football) (born 1976), American football guard

See also
Michael Gough (disambiguation)


The Big Bend Ranges are a subrange of the Selkirk Mountains of the Columbia Mountains in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, located in Big Bend of the Columbia River north of the Illecillewaet River.

Sub-ranges
Adamant Range
Sir Sandford Range
Windy Range

References

Big Bend Ranges in the Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia


Marnie Baizley (born July 24, 1975 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian professional squash player. She reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 30 in July 1999 after having joined the Women's International Squash Players Association in 1997.

External links

1975 births
Living people
Canadian female squash players
Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada
Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada
Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada
Pan American Games medalists in squash
Squash players at the 1999 Pan American Games
Squash players at the 2003 Pan American Games
Sportspeople from Winnipeg
Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games


The Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO) is a unit within the Hong Kong Police Force that handles complaints against the force's officers. The Office is part of the Complaints and Internal Investigations Branch of the force's Service Quality Wing.

All reviews conducted by CAPO are monitored by the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC).

In 2006 to 2008, 325 police officers were disciplined on substantiation of the complaints against them.  Of these, 292 were given advice, 12 given warnings, 12 cautioned, two reprimanded, six severely reprimanded and one dismissed subsequent to criminal conviction.

There have been criticisms that CAPO lacks credibility and transparency in handling complaints against the police, and also that the IPCC has limited monitoring power.

References

Hong Kong Government
Hong Kong government departments and agencies
Hong Kong Police Force