1.
Rat
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Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. True rats are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, many members of other rodent genera and families are also referred to as rats, and share many characteristics with true rats. Rats are typically distinguished from mice by their size, generally, when someone discovers a large muroid rodent, its common name includes the term rat, while if it is smaller, the name includes the term mouse. The muroid family is broad and complex, and the common terms rat, scientifically, the terms are not confined to members of the Rattus and Mus genera, for example, the pack rat and cotton mouse. The best-known rat species are the black rat and the brown rat, the group is generally known as the Old World rats or true rats, and originated in Asia. Rats are bigger than most Old World mice, which are their relatives, the term rat is also used in the names of other small mammals which are not true rats. Examples include the North American pack rats, a number of species loosely called kangaroo rats, Rats such as the bandicoot rat are murine rodents related to true rats, but are not members of the genus Rattus. Male rats are called bucks, unmated females are called does, pregnant or parent females are called dams, a group of rats is referred to as a mischief. The common species are opportunistic survivors and often live with and near humans, therefore and they may cause substantial food losses, especially in developing countries. However, the distributed and problematic commensal species of rats are a minority in this diverse genus. Many species of rats are island endemics and some have become endangered due to loss or competition with the brown. Wild rodents, including rats, can carry many different zoonotic pathogens, such as Leptospira, Toxoplasma gondii, another zoonotic disease linked to the rat is the foot-and-mouth disease. The average lifespan of any given rat depends on species is being discussed. The black and brown rats diverged from other Old World rats during the beginning of the Pleistocene in the forests of Asia, specially bred rats have been kept as pets at least since the late 19th century. Pet rats are typically variants of the brown rat, but black rats. Pet rats behave differently from their wild counterparts depending on how many generations they have kept as pets. Pet rats do not pose any more of a risk than pets such as cats or dogs. Tamed rats are generally friendly and can be taught to perform selected behaviors, in 1895, Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts established a population of domestic albino brown rats to study the effects of diet and for other physiological studies
2.
Chinese zodiac
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The Chinese zodiac is a classification scheme that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating 12-year cycle. The 12-year cycle is an approximation to the 11. 86-year orbital period of Jupiter, nevertheless, there are major differences, the Chinese 12-part cycle corresponds to years, rather than months. The Chinese zodiac is represented by 12 animals, whereas some of the signs in the Western zodiac are not animals, the animals of the Chinese zodiac are not associated with constellations spanned by the ecliptic plane. The zodiac traditionally begins with the sign of the Rat, the following are the twelve zodiac signs in order and their characteristics. It is a misconception that the animals assigned by year are the only signs. In fact, there are also animal signs assigned by month, by day, while a person might appear to be a Dragon because they were born in the year of the Dragon, they might also be a Snake internally, an Ox truly, and a Goat secretively. A conflict between a persons zodiac sign and how they live is known as tai sui or kai sui, within the Four Pillars, the year is the pillar representing information about the persons family background and society or relationship with their grandparents. The persons age can also be deduced from the sign of the person, the current sign of the year. For example, a person who is a Tiger is either 12,24,36 or 48 years old in 2010, in 2011, the year of the Rabbit, that person is one year older. The following table shows the 60-year cycle matched up to the Western calendar for the years 1924–2043, the sexagenary cycle begins at lichun about February 4 according to some astrological sources. Within the Four Pillars, the month is the pillar representing information about the parents or childhood. Many Chinese astrologers consider the month pillar to be the most important one in determining the circumstances of ones adult life, the 12 animals are also linked to traditional Chinese agricultural calendar, which runs alongside the better known lunar calendar. Instead of months, this calendar is divided into 24 two week segments known as Solar Terms, each animal is linked to two of these solar terms for a period similar to the Western month. Again unlike the cycle of the years, which begins with the Rat. Around summer days are longer than days, because it occurs differences of perihelion and aphelion. As each sign is linked to a month of the solar year, each of the elements is also linked to a season, and the element that shares a season with a sign is known as that signs fixed element. In other words, that element is believed to some of its characteristics to the sign concerned. The fixed element of each sign applies also to the year and hour signs and it is important to note that the fixed element is separate from the cycle of elements which interact with the signs in the 60-year cycle
3.
Snake (zodiac)
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The Snake is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac and related to the Chinese calendar, as well as in related East Asian zodiacal or calendrical systems. The Year of the Snake is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 巳, according to one mythical legend, there is a reason for the order of the 12 animals in the 12-year cycle. The story goes that a race was held to cross a river. The same 12 animals are used to symbolize the cycle of hours in the day. The hour of the Snake is 9,00 to 11,00 a. m. the time when the sun warms up the earth, the month of the Snake is May 5 to June 5. In Chinese symbology, Snakes are regarded as intelligent, but with a tendency to be somewhat unscrupulous, the Snake is the 6th of the 12 signs and belongs to the Second Trine, together with the Ox and the Rooster, with which it is most compatible. Depictions of zodiacal Snakes either solo or in context with the other eleven zodiacal creatures shows how they have been imagined in the calendrical context. Snakes in Chinese mythology Snakes in mythology Serpent Eberhard, Wolfram, A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols, Hidden Symbols in Chinese Life and Thought
4.
Lilium
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Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world, most species are native to the temperate northern hemisphere, though their range extends into the northern subtropics. Many other plants have lily in their name but are not related to true lilies. Lilies are tall perennials ranging in height from 2–6 ft and they form naked or tunicless scaly underground bulbs which are their overwintering organs. In some North American species the base of the bulb develops into rhizomes, most bulbs are deeply buried, but a few species form bulbs near the soil surface. With these, the bulb grows naturally at some depth in the soil and these roots are in addition to the basal roots that develop at the base of the bulb. The flowers are large, often fragrant, and come in a range of colours including whites, yellows, oranges, pinks, reds, markings include spots and brush strokes. The plants are late spring- or summer-flowering, flowers are borne in racemes or umbels at the tip of the stem, with six tepals spreading or reflexed, to give flowers varying from funnel shape to a Turks cap. The tepals are free from other, and bear a nectary at the base of each flower. The ovary is superior, borne above the point of attachment of the anthers, the fruit is a three-celled capsule. They exhibit varying and sometimes complex patterns, many adapted to cool temperate climates. Naturally most cool temperate species are deciduous and dormant in winter in their native environment, the basic chromosome number is twelve. 2007, the taxonomy of Chinese species follows the Flora of China and these genera include Cardiocrinum, Notholirion, Nomocharis and Fritillaria. The botanic name Lilium is the Latin form and is a Linnaean name, the Latin name is derived from the Greek λείριον, leírion, generally assumed to refer to true, white lilies as exemplified by the Madonna lily. The word was borrowed from Coptic hleri, from standard hreri, from Demotic hrry, meillet maintains that both the Egyptian and the Greek word are possible loans from an extinct, substratum language of the Eastern Mediterranean. The Greeks also used the word κρῖνον, krīnon, albeit for non-white lilies, all English translations of the Bible render the Hebrew shūshan, shōshan, shōshannā as lily, but the lily among the thorns of Song of Solomon, for instance, may be the honeysuckle. For a list of species described as lilies, see Lily. The range of lilies in the Old World extends across much of Europe, across most of Asia to Japan, south to India, and east to Indochina, in the New World they extend from southern Canada through much of the United States
5.
Species
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In biology, a species is the basic unit of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is defined as the largest group of organisms in which two individuals can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. While this definition is often adequate, looked at more closely it is problematic, for example, with hybridisation, in a species complex of hundreds of similar microspecies, or in a ring species, the boundaries between closely related species become unclear. Other ways of defining species include similarity of DNA, morphology, all species are given a two-part name, a binomial. The first part of a binomial is the genus to which the species belongs, the second part is called the specific name or the specific epithet. For example, Boa constrictor is one of four species of the Boa genus, Species were seen from the time of Aristotle until the 18th century as fixed kinds that could be arranged in a hierarchy, the great chain of being. In the 19th century, biologists grasped that species could evolve given sufficient time, Charles Darwins 1859 book The Origin of Species explained how species could arise by natural selection. Genes can sometimes be exchanged between species by horizontal transfer, and species may become extinct for a variety of reasons. In his biology, Aristotle used the term γένος to mean a kind, such as a bird or fish, a kind was distinguished by its attributes, for instance, a bird has feathers, a beak, wings, a hard-shelled egg, and warm blood. A form was distinguished by being shared by all its members, Aristotle believed all kinds and forms to be distinct and unchanging. His approach remained influential until the Renaissance, when observers in the Early Modern period began to develop systems of organization for living things, they placed each kind of animal or plant into a context. Many of these early delineation schemes would now be considered whimsical, animals likewise that differ specifically preserve their distinct species permanently, one species never springs from the seed of another nor vice versa. In the 18th century, the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus classified organisms according to shared physical characteristics and he established the idea of a taxonomic hierarchy of classification based upon observable characteristics and intended to reflect natural relationships. At the time, however, it was widely believed that there was no organic connection between species, no matter how similar they appeared. However, whether or not it was supposed to be fixed, by the 19th century, naturalists understood that species could change form over time, and that the history of the planet provided enough time for major changes. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, in his 1809 Zoological Philosophy, described the transmutation of species, proposing that a species could change over time, in 1859, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace provided a compelling account of evolution and the formation of new species. Darwin argued that it was populations that evolved, not individuals and this required a new definition of species. Darwin concluded that species are what appear to be, ideas
6.
Chart
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A chart, also called a graph, is a graphical representation of data, in which the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart. A chart can represent tabular numeric data, functions or some kinds of qualitative structure, the term chart as a graphical representation of data has multiple meanings, A data chart is a type of diagram or graph, that organizes and represents a set of numerical or qualitative data. Maps that are adorned with extra information for a purpose are often known as charts, such as a nautical chart or aeronautical chart. Other domain specific constructs are sometimes called charts, such as the chart in music notation or a record chart for album popularity. Charts are often used to understanding of large quantities of data. Charts can usually be more quickly than the raw data. They are used in a variety of fields, and can be created by hand or by computer using a charting application. Certain types of charts are useful for presenting a given data set than others. For example, data that presents percentages in different groups are displayed in a pie chart. On the other hand, data that represents numbers that change over a period of time might be best shown as a line chart. A chart can take a variety of forms, however there are common features that provide the chart with its ability to extract meaning from data. Typically the data in a chart is represented graphically, since humans are able to infer meaning from pictures quicker than from text. Text is generally used only to annotate the data, one of the most important uses of text in a graph is the title. A graphs title usually appears above the graphic and provides a succinct description of what the data in the graph refers to. Dimensions in the data are displayed on axes. If a horizontal and an axis are used, they are usually referred to as the x-axis and y-axis respectively. Each axis will have a scale, denoted by periodic graduations, each axis will typically also have a label displayed outside or beside it, briefly describing the dimension represented. If the scale is numerical, the label will often be suffixed with the unit of scale in parentheses
7.
Wu Xing
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The Five Phases are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. This order of presentation is known as the generation sequence. In the order of mutual overcoming, they are Wood, Earth, Water, Fire, the system of five phases was used for describing interactions and relationships between phenomena. The system is used as a reference in some forms of complementary and alternative medicine. Xing of Wu Xing means moving, a planet is called a star in Chinese. Wu Xing originally refers to the five planets that create five dimensions of earth life. Wu Xing is also translated as Five Elements and this is used extensively by many including practitioners of Five Element acupuncture. This translation arose by analogy with the Western system of the four elements. By the same token, Mù is thought of as Tree rather than Wood, the word element is thus used within the context of Chinese medicine with a different meaning to its usual meaning. It should be recognized that the phase, although commonly preferred, is not perfect. Phase is a translation for the five seasons mentioned below. Manfred Porkert attempts to resolve this by using Evolutive Phase for 五行 Wǔ Xíng and Circuit Phase for 五運 Wǔ Yùn, some of the Mawangdui Silk Texts also present the Wu Xing as five virtues or types of activities. Within Chinese medicine texts the Wu Xing are also referred to as Wu Yun or a combination of the two characters these emphasise the correspondence of five elements to five seasons, another tradition refers to the Wǔ Xíng as Wǔ Dé, the Five Virtues. Wood parts Earth Earth dams Water Water extinguishes Fire Fire melts Metal Metal chops Wood This cycle might also be called controls, according to Wu Xing theory, the structure of the cosmos mirrors the five phases. Each phase has a series of associations with different aspects of nature. In the ancient Chinese form of known as Feng Shui practitioners all based their art. All of these phases are represented within the trigrams, associated with these phases are colors, seasons and shapes, all of which are interacting with each other. Based on a directional energy flow from one phase to the next
8.
Pig (zodiac)
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The Pig is the twelfth and the last sign of the Earthly Branches. In the continuous Sexagenary cycle, every twelfth year corresponds to Hai, there are five types of Pigs, named after the Chinese elements. In order, they are, Metal, Water, Wood, Fire, in the Japanese zodiac and Tibetan zodiac, the Pig is replaced by the boar. In the Dai zodiac, the Pig is replaced by the elephant, in the Gurung zodiac, the Pig is replaced by the deer. According to the myths, the Pig was the last to arrive when the Jade Emperor called for the great meeting, other sources said that Buddha called for a great meeting when he was about to leave the earth. Legend has it that just as the emperor was about to call it a day, the term lazy Pig is due here as the Pig got hungry during the race, promptly stopped for a feast then fell asleep. After the nap, the Pig continued the race and was named the 12th, other sources say that given his very stout form, he was just too slow a swimmer, and thus he could not do anything against the other animals. The natural element of the Pig is water, thus it is commonly associated with emotions and intuitions. Yet, given that along with the elements, the animal zodiac also follows a cycle, however, the Pig is yin, and this only the negative aspects of the elements can be attached to them, thus only 5 kinds of Pigs are found in the zodiac. Thus, a person born on 9 February 1899 still belongs to the preceding zodiac while those born on 31 January 1900 already belongs to the following zodiac, aside from being assigned a year, the Pig is also assigned to govern a month in the Lunar Calendar. As the Lunar month begins on Spring, the Pig is assigned to the 10th month and this lunar month corresponds to the Gregorian calendar as beginning from 7 November and ending at 6 December. The first half of the month is called 立冬, literally, it means the start of winter. It begins when the Sun reaches the longitude of 225°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the longitude of 225°. In the Gregorian calendar, it begins around 7 November. The second half of the month is called 小雪, literally, the time of the Little Snow. It begins when the Sun reaches the longitude of 240°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the longitude of 240°
9.
HarperCollins
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The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Corp. The worldwide CEO of HarperCollins is Brian Murray, HarperCollins has publishing groups in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and India and China. As of 2017 China provides as the source of manufacturing. The company publishes many different imprints, both former independent publishing houses and new imprints, in 1989, Collins was bought by Rupert Murdochs News Corporation, and the publisher was combined with Harper & Row, which NewsCorp had acquired two years earlier. In 1999, News Corporation purchased the Hearst Book Group, consisting of William Morrow & Company and these imprints are now published under the rubric of HarperCollins. HarperCollins bought educational publisher Letts and Lonsdale in March 2010, in 2011, HarperCollins announced they had agreed to acquire the publisher Thomas Nelson. The purchase was completed on July 11,2012, with an announcement that Thomas Nelson would operate independently given the position it has in Christian book publishing. Both Thomas Nelson and Zondervan were then organized as imprints, or keystone publishing programs, under a new division, key roles in the reorganization were awarded to former Thomas Nelson executives. Brian Murray, the current CEO of HarperCollins, succeeded Jane Friedman who was CEO from 1997 to 2008, notable management figures include Lisa Sharkey, current senior vice president and director of creative development and Barry Winkleman from 1989 to 1994. In April 2012, the United States Department of Justice filed United States v. Apple Inc. naming Apple, HarperCollins, the suit alleged that they conspired to fix prices for e-books, and weaken Amazon. coms position in the market, in violation of antitrust law. The Scranton, PA warehouse closed in September 2013 and a Nashville, TN warehouse, under the name Thomas Nelson, several office positions and departments continued to work for HarperCollins in Scranton, but in a new location. Company officials attribute the closings and mergers to the growing demand for e-book formats. HarperCollins maintains the backlist of many of the originally published by their many merged imprints. Authors published originally by Harper include Mark Twain, the Brontë sisters, authors published originally by Collins include H. G. Wells, Agatha Christie and J. R. R. Tolkien. This is a list of some of the more noted books, N. D. Gone, Clive Barker The Children of Húrin, J. R. R. R. R. They were the home of Maurice Sendak, Shel Silverstein. In 1998, Nordstroms personal correspondence was published as Dear Genius, The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom, Zolotow later became head of the Childrens Books Department, and went on to become the companys first female Vice-President. The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis, HarperCollins has published the following notable childrens books, the I Can Read
10.
Chinese calendar
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Traditional Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar which reckons years, months and days according to astronomical phenomena. It is used for activities in China and overseas Chinese communities. It depictures and lists the dates of traditional Chinese holidays, and guides Chinese people in selecting the most auspicious days for weddings, funerals, moving, in the Chinese calendar, the days begin and end at midnight. The months begin on the day with the dark moon, the years begin with the dark moon near the midpoint between winter solstice and spring equinox. The solar terms are the important components of the Chinese calendar, in a month, there are one to three solar terms. The currently used traditional Chinese calendar is the end result of centuries of evolution, many astronomical and seasonal factors were added by ancient scientists, and people can reckon the date of natural phenomena such as the moon phase and tide upon the Chinese calendar. The Chinese calendar has over 100 variants, whose characteristics reflect the evolutionary path. As with Chinese characters, different variants are used in different parts of the Chinese cultural sphere, calendars in Mongolia and Tibet have absorbed elements from the Chinese calendar and elements from other systems, but they are not direct descendants of the Chinese calendar. The official calendar in China is the Gregorian calendar, but the traditional Chinese calendar still plays an important role there. The Chinese calendar is known officially as the Rural Calendar, but is referred to by other names, such as the Former Calendar. The Chinese calendar preserves traditional East Asian culture, although the month sequences of Chinese calendar is decided by the solar term, the Chinese calendar is not an agriculture calendar. The Chinese calendar has greatly influenced the traditional calendars around Asia, the calendar has a year, month and date frame. The key elements are the day, synodic month and solar year, the Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar, similar to the Hindu and Hebrew calendars. The concepts in the Chinese, Hindu, and Hebrew calendars, day, in the Chinese calendar, a day starts from the midnight, in the Hindu calendars, a day starts from sunrise, and in the Hebrew calendar, a day starts from sunset. Month, the time is based on the obliquity of the moon path, a month is about 29 17/32 days. Phase, 1/30 month, 12° obliquity of the moon path, a unique concept of dating method in the Hindu calendar, a phase is about 63/64 day, which derived out the 64 divinatory symbols. Date, the day number in a month, in the Chinese and Hebrew calendars, days are numbered in sequence from 1 to 29 or 30, and in the Hindu calendars, the days are numbered according to the number of the phase in the days. In the Hindu calendars, some dates may be vacant, Year, the time based on the earths revolution
