Loir-et-Cher is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Its name is originated from two rivers which cross it, the Loir in its northern part and the Cher in its southern part, its prefecture is Blois. The INSEE and La Poste gave it the number 41; the department of Loir-et-Cher covers a territory which had a substantial population during the prehistoric period. However it was not until the Middle Ages that local inhabitants built various castles and other fortifications to enable them to withstand a series of invasions of Normans, the English and others; the economy is quite flourishing: there are shops in valley, agriculture is prominent in the region of the Beauce and the Perche to the Sologne which were prosperous until the 17th century. However, the region remained quartered between the neighboring earldoms and duchies. In 1397, the House of Orleans became the possession of the Comté of Blois. In 1497, Louis d’Orleans was crowned with the name of Louis XII, it was the beginning of the importance of Blois and of the Blaisois in the politic life of the French, impressive under the last Valois.

At this time and important financiers competed to build castles and elegant abodes which are today an important part of the French national heritage due to their quantity and worth. After that, there were religious wars which were ferocious under Charles IX's reign. In 1576 and 1588, the General Estates convened in Blois. L’Orléanais, le Berry, la Touraine, le Perche et le Maine occupied le Loir-et-Cher and its provinces in 1970; the Loir-et-Cher’s birth as a department was difficult and laborious. On 29 September 1789, the constitution’s advisory board made a report in which he wanted to attribute one of the 80 departments to Blois. However, some cities and canton capitals disagreed, such as Orleans. Inside of the department, Montrichard turns to Amboise and Tours, Saint-Aignan wants to turn to the Berry and Salbris to Vierzon. Orleans gives Blois an important part of the Sologne except Beaugency and Tours doesn’t give Amboise; the department is founded 4 March 1790, in accordance with the law of 22 December 1789.

It is constituted of some old provinces of the Orleanais and of the Touraine along with a Berry’s plot. The department’s constriction in its centre and the maximum stretching out in its surface area beyond the Loir on the North and the Cher on the South is due to these tribulations. After the victory of the Coalises during the Waterloo’s battle, the Prussian’s troops occupied the department from June 1815 to November 1818; the poet Pierre de Ronsard, the inventor Denis Papin, the historian Augustin Thierry come from here. Other well-known people are associated with this department, such as François the First, Gaston d’Orleans, the Marshall Maunoury, the abbot Gregoire. In the artistic domain, there is the compositor Antoine Boesset, musician in the Louis XII de France’s court, the head of the Music of the King’s Bedroom from 1623 to 1643; the Loir-et-Cher’s department is a part of the Centre Region. It is adjacent of these departments: the Eure-et-Loir, the Loiret, the Cher, the Indre, the Indre-et-Loire and the Sarthe.

Due to its surface area of 6 343 km², it is the 31st largest department in the nation. It has a privileged geographical situation because it is in the center of the Centre region and near the Paris basin. An axe lively and dynamic, brings Blois closer of the both tall urban conglomerations near it: Orleans and Tours. Located on the boundaries of the Perche, the Beauce, the Sologne and the Touraine, it finds its territorial identity in the diversity of its geography and its landscapes. Cut in its middle by the Loire, it shows an image of diversity. In 1989, American-based animators Andreas Deja, Glen Keane, Tom Sito, draftsmen Jean Gillmore, Thom Enriquez, Hans Bacher launched an expedition to the chateau to do their research for the animated adaptation of "Beauty and the Beast". Loir-et-Cher is a part of the modern region of Centre-Val de Loire. Adjacent departments are Eure-et-Loir to the north, Loiret to the north-east, Cher to the south-east, Indre to the south, Indre-et-Loire to the south-west, Sarthe to the west.

The department comprises 6,314 km2, which makes it the 31st largest of the French departments in terms of area. The line of the river Loire traverses the land, ensuring easy communication between its own capital and the vibrant cultural and commercial centres of Tours to the west and the fringes of the Seine-Paris basin at Orléans to the east, its main rivers are the Loir and the Cher. The inhabitants of the department are called the Loir-et-Chériens. Loir-et-Cher has an important number of historic châteaux, including the following: Château de Blois Château de Chaumont Château de Chambord Château de Cheverny Cantons of the Loir-et-Cher department Communes of the Loir-et-Cher department Arrondissements of the Loir-et-Cher department Prefecture website General Council website Loir-et-Cher at Curlie

Phidippus otiosus is a species of jumping spider, found in southeastern North America. It is a tree-living species. Females reach a body length of about 16 mm, its iridescent fangs can range in color from purple to green. Females position their single egg sac under the bark of pine trees; these are laid from December to February in South Carolina, from January to June in Florida. The spiderlings mature during fall. P. otiosus is grouped with the related species P. californicus, P. pius and P. regius in the otiosus group. Phidippus otiosus occurs in the southeastern United States from Florida and Texas to North Carolina. However, this species is sometimes exported with plants such as Tillandsia, has been found in countries as remote as Sweden and Germany; the species name is derived from Latin otium "leisure, quiet" + the suffix -osus "full of, prone to", or from Ancient Greek oto- "ear", referring to the tufts of black hair. A common name for this species is Canopy Jumping Spider. Roach, Stephen H.: Reproductive Periods of Phidippus Species in South Carolina.

Journal of Arachnology 16: 95-101. PDF Edwards, G. B.: Revision of the jumping spiders of the genus Phidippus. Occasional Papers of the Florida State Collection of Arthropoda. Platnick, Norman I.: The world spider catalog, version 8.5. American Museum of Natural History. Edwards, G. B.: Taxonomy and ecology of Phidippus in eastern North America. Ph. D. dissertation, University of Florida, Gainesville.: Metabolic rates of resting salticid and thomisid spiders. Journal of Arachnology 24: 129-134. PDF Salticidae.org: Photographs Salticidae.org: Diagnostic drawings

Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust runs Worthing Hospital, Southlands Hospital in Shoreham-by-Sea and St Richard's Hospital in Chichester, West Sussex and serves a population of around 450,000 people across a catchment area covering most of West Sussex. It was formed through a merger in 2009 and started with a substantial inherited deficit, mortality issues and poor performance. In April 2014 the maternity unit at Worthing and St Richard's was awarded the "level three" award by the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts. Stroke services are provided at both sites. NHS England want to see them centralised on one site. In 2016 Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was rated as'Outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission. At the time it was one of only three acute trusts in the country to receive the health watchdog’s highest rating by the Care Quality Commission. Marianne Griffiths, the chief executive, was named chief executive of the year at the Health Service Journal awards in November 2016, the top chief executive 2018. and again in 2019.

In 2019 Marianne Griffiths was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire In 2019 Western Sussex Hospitals was the first non-specialist acute trust in the country to be rated ‘Outstanding’ in all the six key inspection areas assessed by the Care Quality Commission. Healthcare in Sussex List of NHS trusts