Alcohol proof is a measure of the content of ethanol in an alcoholic beverage. The term was used in England and was equal to about 1.821 times the alcohol by volume. The UK now uses the ABV standard instead of alcohol proof. In the United States, alcohol proof is defined as twice the percentage of ABV; the measurement of alcohol content and the statement of content on bottles of alcoholic beverages is regulated by law in many countries. The term proof dates back to 16th century England, when spirits were taxed at different rates depending on their alcohol content. Spirits were tested by soaking a pellet of gunpowder in them. If the gunpowder could still burn, the spirits were taxed at a higher rate; as gunpowder would not burn if soaked in rum that contained less than 57.15% ABV, rum that contained this percentage of alcohol was defined as having 100 degrees proof. The gunpowder test was replaced by a specific gravity test in 1816. From the 19th century until 1 January 1980, the UK measured alcohol content by proof spirit, defined as spirit with a gravity of ​12⁄13 that of water, or 923 kg/m3, equivalent to 57.15% ABV.

The value 57.15% is close to the fraction ​4⁄7 ≈ 0.5714. This led to the definition that 100° proof spirit has an ABV of ​4⁄7. From this it follows that, to convert the ABV expressed as a percentage to degrees proof, it is only necessary to multiply the ABV by ​7⁄4, thus pure 100% alcohol will have 100× = 175° proof, a spirit containing 40% ABV will have 40× = 70° proof. The proof system in the United States was established around 1848 and was based on percent alcohol rather than specific gravity. 50% alcohol by volume was defined as 100 proof. Note that this is different from 50% volume fraction. To make 50% ABV from pure alcohol, one would take 50 parts of alcohol and dilute to 100 parts of solution with water, all the while mixing the solution. To make 50% alcohol by volume fraction, one would take 50 parts alcohol and 50 parts water, measured separately, mix them together; the resulting volume will not be 100 parts, but between 96 and 97 parts, since the smaller water molecules can take up some of the space between the larger alcohol molecules.

The use of proof as a measure of alcohol content is now historical. Today liquor is sold in most locations with labels that state its alcohol content as a percentage of alcohol by volume; the European Union follows recommendations of the International Organization of Legal Metrology. OIML's International Recommendation No. 22 provides standards for measuring alcohol strength by volume and by mass. A preference for one method over the other is not stated in the document, but if alcohol strength by volume is used, it must be expressed as a percentage of total volume, the water/alcohol mixture must have a temperature of 20 °C when measurement is done; the document does not address the labeling of bottles. Since 1 January 1980, the United Kingdom has used the ABV standard to measure alcohol content, as prescribed by the European Union. In common with other EU countries, on 1 January 1980, Britain adopted the system of measurement recommended by the International Organisation of Legal Metrology, a body with most major nations among its members.

The OIML system measures alcohol strength as a percentage of alcohol by volume at a temperature of 20 °C. It replaced the Sikes system of measuring the proof strength of spirits, used in Britain for over 160 years. Britain, which used to use the Sikes scale to display proof, now uses the European scale set down by the International Organization of Legal Metrology; this scale, for all intents and purposes the same as the Gay-Lussac scale used by much of mainland Europe, was adopted by all the countries in the European Community in 1980. Using the OIML scale or the GL scale is the same as measuring alcohol by volume except that the figures in the latter case are expressed in degrees, not percentages and measured at a temperature of 15 °C. In the United States alcohol content is specified as ABV percentage. For bottled spirits over 100 mL containing no solids, actual alcohol content is allowed to vary within 0.15% of ABV stated on the label. Proof, defined as twice the percentage of alcohol by volume, may be stated.

For example, whiskey may be labeled as containing 50% alcohol by volume, as 100-proof. The Code of Federal Regulations requires that liquor labels must state the percentage of ABV; the regulation permits, but does not require, a statement of the proof provided that it is printed close to the ABV number. Canada labels by percentage of alcohol by volume; the old UK proof standard was still in use as late as 1972. Cask strength Volume percent

Kalotermitidae is a family of termites known as drywood termites. Kalotermitidae includes 419 species; the family has a cosmopolitan circumtropical distribution, is found in functionally arid environments. The Kalotermitidae are "primitive" in morphology, nesting behavior, social organization. Unlike other termite species, they have no need to make contact with soil and live within excavations in wood, lacking elaborate nesting architecture. Drywood termites have an adaptive mechanism for conserving water. Undigested matter in the alimentary canal passes through specialized rectal glands in the hindgut; these glands reabsorb water from the feces. They can tolerate dry conditions for long periods of time, receiving all of the moisture they need from the wood they live in and consume, their mandibles are fortified with zinc, as an adaptation to the mechanically difficult food source of dry wood. Their diet of dry wood makes many of them economic and urban pests, causing damage to furniture, utility towers, stored wood, buildings.

Kalotermitids' global distribution may be attributable to rafting and timber movement. The species Cryptotermes brevis is prevalent as a pest in the United States, is found in Hawaii and along the southeastern coast. Like other termites, the Kalotermitidae are eusocial. However, their caste distinction is flexible and they lack a true worker caste; the appearance of immature workers in the Kalotermitidae is possible because of their hemimetabolous lifecycle. Pseudergates can be differentiated from other categories of immatures by the absence of wing buds and are not the only constituent of the general work force in a kalotermitid colony. Alates fly during warm, sunny days, when temperatures range from 80 to 100 °F, they take off in all directions. They exhibit phototropic behavior during dispersal flights aggregating at lights, with at least one species showing a preference for light with a wavelength between 460 and 550 nm. After landing, they break off their wings which they do by holding their wingtips against a substrate and turning until the wing breaks off at the base.

Dealates engage in courtship activity. King and Queen mate for life; the Kalotermitidae belong to the "lower termites", a now-defunct paraphyletic assemblage which classifies termites based on the presence or absence of endosymbiotic gut flagellates in addition to bacteria. The "lower" termites include all termite families except the Termitidae, which alone constitute the "higher" termites. Recent phylogenetic studies have supported the Kalotermitidae as a monophyletic group; the Kalotermitidae have no recognized classification above genera, the relationships between which are still unknown and poorly studied. Limited molecular evidence supports the genus Kalotermes as a basal lineage within the family, so is one of the most anciently diversifying, as well as having two major branches, in which Kalotermes is sister to Ceratokalotermes. However, this contradicts older morphological phylogenies, is the result of a study limited to eight genera. Description of an early Cretaceous termite and its associated intestinal protozoa, with comments on their co-evolution.

Drywood Termite Fact Sheet from the National Pest Management Association with information on habits and prevention Kalotermitidae on BugGuide.net Kalotermitidae on the Tree of Life web project

Jim Sweeney is a Scottish actor. Over the years, Sweeney has starred in a variety of productions for both television. Starting with a small role in River City, he went on to play Mick Turner in The Crews opposite actors such as David Hayman. In film he has appeared in The Wee Man as well as a variety of short films. In 2013, he took part in a tribute video to Quentin Tarintino's Reservoir Dogs to make the 21st birthday of the film; the film recreated the opening scene of the original picture with Sweeney playing the role of Joe Cabot. The film was directed by Colin Ross Smith. Sweeney has starred in the starred in the Outlander television series and the short film The Groundsman, nominated for the'Best Fiction' accolade at the 2014 British Academy Scotland New Talent Awards; the Groundsman Jim Sweeney on IMDb Jim Sweeney Homepage Jim Sweeney Spotlight Profile