Victor Amadeus II was Duke of Savoy from 1675 to 1730. He held the titles of marquis of Saluzzo, duke of Montferrat, prince of Piedmont and count of Aosta and Nice. Louis XIV organised his marriage in order to maintain French influence in the Duchy, but Victor Amadeus soon broke away from the influence of France. At his father's death in 1675, his mother took over a regency in the name of her nine-year-old son and would remain in de facto power till 1684 when Victor Amadeus banished her further involvement in the state. Having fought in the War of the Spanish Succession, he became king of Sicily in 1713, but he was forced to exchange this title and instead became king of Sardinia. Victor Amadeus left a considerable cultural influence in Turin, remodeling the Royal Palace of Turin, Palace of Venaria, Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi, as well as building the Basilica of Superga where he rests. Victor Amadeus was born in Turin to Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy and his second wife Marie Jeanne of Savoy.
Named after his paternal grandfather Victor Amadeus I he was their only child. As an infant he was styled as the Prince of Piedmont, traditional title of the heir apparent to the duchy of Savoy. A weak child, his health was monitored; as an infant he had a passion for soldiers and was noted as being intelligent. His father died in June 1675 in Turin at the age of forty after a series of convulsive fevers, his mother was declared Regent of Savoy and, took power. In 1677, during her regency, she tried to arrange a marriage between Victor Amadeus and his first cousin Infanta Isabel Luísa of Portugal, the presumptive heiress of her father, Peter II and Victor Amadeus' aunt, his mother urged him to agree to the marriage, as this would have left Marie Jeanne permanently in control of the Duchy of Savoy as Regent because her son would have had to live in Portugal with his new wife. The duchy would revert to the Kingdom of Portugal at her death. Victor Amadeus refused, a party was formed which refused to recognise his leaving Savoy.
Despite a marriage contract being signed between Portugal and Savoy on 15 May 1679, the marriage between Victor Amadeus and the Infanta came to nothing and was thus cancelled. Other candidates included Maria Antonia of Austria, a Countess Palatine of Neuburg and Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici. Victor Amadeus was keen on the match with Tuscany and negotiations were kept secret from France though the match never happened. Under the influence of Louis XIV and Marie Jeanne, Victor Amadeus was forced to marry a French princess Anne Marie d'Orléans, his mother was keen on the match and had always promoted French interests having been born in Paris a member of a cadet branch of the House of Savoy. He asked for Anne Marie's hand in March 1684, Victor Amadeus, using political allies to gain support to end his mother's grip on power, succeeded in 1684 when she was banished from further influence in the state. A significant event of his mother's regency was the Salt Wars of 1680; these rebellions were caused by the unpopular taxes on salt in all cities in Savoy.
The system had been put in place by Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy in order to raise money for the crown. The annual payment of a tax, in place for over 100 years caused great discontent and rebellion broke out in Mondovì, where the people refused to pay taxes to the emissary of Savoy, Andrea Cantatore di Breo; the unrest caused an army to be sent to stop the unrest in the town, pacified quickly. However, in the town of Montaldo, the unrest was more serious than before. 200 soldiers were killed in warfare. The news of these rebellions soon reached a wider scope and it became clear that soon the whole of Piedmont was on the verge of revolt. Power at this point still being with Victor Amadeus' mother, she ordered representatives of the town of Mondovì to go to Turin to conclude treaties and were cordially welcomed by the young Victor Amadeus, who agreed to the treaties; the event had allowed Victor Amadeus a chance to exert some power. Having succeeded in ending his mother's power in Savoy, Victor Amadeus looked to his oncoming marriage with the youngest child of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and Henrietta of England.
The contract of marriage between Anne Marie and the Duke of Savoy was signed at Versailles on 9 April. The couple were married in person on 6 May 1684. At the urging of Louis, Victor Amadeus II began a large scale persecution of the Vaudois in 1685; the state had been bankrupted due to various conflicts and a famine in 1679 which had used all last resources. Due to his alliances with England and the Dutch Republic during the Nine Years War, he was forced to cease this practice from 1688, in 1694 granted an Edict of Toleration. However, in 1698 Louis XIV forced him to expel all Protestant immigrants from Savoy in accordance with a treaty of 1696. During this period he became anxious to free himself of domination by Louis, his first sign of independence was his independent visit to Venice in 1687, where he conferred with Prince Eugene of Savoy and others. Louis discovered this and demanded that Victor Amadeus launch another expedition against the Vaudois. Victor Amadeus II undertook sweeping administrative reforms within Savoy.
In 1696 he established a system of intendants, based on the French model, responsible for collecting taxes and law enforcement. In 1697 he began a land survey, completed by 1711, the Perequazione, to examine t
Ikenga is a horned Alusi found among the Igbo people in southeastern Nigeria. It is one of the most common cultural artifact. Ikenga is maintained, kept or owned by men and by women of high reputation and integrity in the society, it comprises someone's Chi, his Ndichie, aka Ikenga, ike as well as spiritual activation through prayer and sacrifice. Ikenga is an Igbo symbol. Various peoples of Southern Nigeria have different notions of the components of an individual personality, but all agree that these various aspects can only be affected through ritual and personal effort; some variants of it are found in Ijaw, Isoko and Edo areas. Among the Isoko people, there are three types of personal shrine images: Oma, which represents the "spirit double" that resides in the other world. In the Urhobo areas it is regarded as Ivri and in the Edo areas it's called Ikegobo. Ikenga is a personal embodiment of human endeavor, achievement and victory. Ikenga is grounded in the belief, it governs over industry and blacksmithing, is celebrated every year with an annual Ikenga festival.
It is believed by its owners to bring fortune as well as protection. Two-faced Ikenga is the oldest concept of Ikenga in Igboland, it is a two-faced god, with one face looking at the old year. This is the basis of the most ancient Igbo calendar; as a god of beginnings, it has the praise name of Ikenga owa ota. Ikenga requires consecration before usage. An Ikenga is consecrated in the presence of one's kinsmen or agemates by lineage head. Offerings of things like yam, wine and alligator pepper are sacrificed to it. Consecrations are more elaborate and less depending on the financial strength of the owner. If the owner is devoted, he feeds his Ikenga on a daily basis with Kola and wine and periodically before an important undertaking, he offers sacrificial blood of a cock or ram to induce the spirit to help him succeed. Afterward, the owner offers thanksgiving to his Ikenga for helping him achieve success. Success as believed depends on their personal Chi, represented by Ikenga and the support of kinsmen.
According to M. D. W Jeffreys, there are three types of Ikenga: ikenga mmadụ, ikenga alusi, ntu aga; the first is a developed human figure with horns, seated on a stool. The second is a cylinder with horns; the divination objects are simple and come in different shapes. The most famous type of ikenga is the "warrior," depicting a well-developed human figure with horns and a fierce expression, it is seated on holding objects in both hands. The right hand holds a knife with a pronounced handle and a curved blade, the left hand a tusk or more a severed human head with eyes and mouth bulging out of the concave face; the warrior ikenga corresponds to the stage in life when men are expected to demonstrate their military prowess. Owned by many of the younger members of the age grade, it depicts the ideal young man: robust, wearing the warrior's grass skirt, holding a knife and a severed human head; this pose used to be seen in warrior groups. The knife is always held in the right hand, called aka ikenga, the ikenga is called a shrine to the right hand.
In recent times the overt violent element of the severed head and knife has been replaced by metaphorical way as symbols of aggression. The most characteristic of all the iconographic elements of the ikenga, the horns carries this lii carries this connotation; the Igbo proverb says, "The ram goes into a fight head first". A second major ikenga type, an elaboration of the warrior form, has a superstructure with human or animal images, or both; the seated figure displays a tusk in the left hand and a staff in the right. In many examples, ichi marks are represented on the face; some of these figures the large ones are more than a meter high, do not belong to an individual but to an age set or a lineage segment. These community Ikenga figures stand for group rather than individual achievements and prestige, demonstrate continuity between the individual and society, they are related to the display figures known as Ugo n'acho mma and display a great deal of artistic inventiveness. In the simpler examples of this group, the superstructure on a disk base supports animal figures.
Other large Ikenga have intricate superstructures consisting of two horns that circle the sides of the head and continue upward to form another circle terminating in snake heads. Pointed protrusions occur on the lower part of the horns. Above the head are one or more leopards at the top; the motifs on the community Ikenga tend to have complex head dress signifying collective ownership. The motifs depicts what the community is known for, for instance whether they are known as warriors, traders or predominantly farmers. During the annual festival, all male born during the previous year are brought before the community Ikenga and thus are validated as community numbers; the elaborate ikenga figures those with superstructures, seem to correspond to the more advanced, title-taking stages in a man's life. The thr
Leland Grove is a city in Sangamon County, United States, located adjacent to Springfield. It is part of the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area; the population was 1,503 at the 2010 census. Leland Grove is located at 39°46′38″N 89°41′4″W. According to the 2010 census, Leland Grove has a total area of all land; as of the census of 2000, there were 1,592 people, 693 households, 501 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,540.3 people per square mile. There were 724 housing units at an average density of 1,155.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 97.30% White, 0.44% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.88% Asian, 0.31% from other races, 0.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.01% of the population. There were 693 households out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.5% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 27.7% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older.
The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.73. In the city the population was spread out with 21.0% under the age of 18, 3.5% from 18 to 24, 20.9% from 25 to 44, 33.7% from 45 to 64, 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $75,437, the median income for a family was $92,245. Males had a median income of $62,308 versus $45,673 for females; the per capita income for the city was $51,714. It has the highest per-capita income of any city outside the Chicago metropolitan area. None of the families and 2.7% of the population were living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 5.0% of those over 64
Fetal adenocarcinoma of the lung is a rare subtype of pulmonary adenocarcinoma that exhibits tissue architecture and cell characteristics that resemble fetal lung tissue upon microscopic examination. It is considered a variant of solid adenocarcinoma with mucin production. FA can produce repeated hemoptysis related to cavitation of the tumor. Other presenting symptoms described have included: flu-like syndrome with cough and fever, Due to its rarity, little is known of the genetics of FA. One small series of 6 cases showed that MDM2 protein was expressed in 5 of them, p53 protein was overexpressed in 50%. However, a larger series of 12 cases revealed no p53 gene mutations; the details of the histogenesis of FA remain unknown and debated. Adenocarcinomas are most highly heterogeneous peripheral tumors, are thought to arise from malignant transformation of primitive cells that can exhibit differentiation characteristics of Club cells, Type II pneumocytes, bronchiolar surface cells, bronchial gland cells, or goblet cells.
Most FA's are well or moderately differentiated tumors, although high-grade, poorly differentiated variants have been described. Tissue resembling FA can be found admixed with a component made up of primitive blastoma-like cells. In such cases, these biphasic tumors are classified as a form of pulmonary blastoma because the presence of the blastomatous cells worsens the prognosis. FA can occur in combination with other forms of lung cancer other variants of adenocarcinoma. There seems to be an association with clear cell lung cancer variants. A case of combined small cell lung carcinoma featuring components of FA and cells resembling those from carcinoid tumor has been reported, illustrating the unique complexity and heterogeneity of divergent histogenesis and cell differentiation in lung cancer. FA is an epithelial tumor whose cells and architecture resemble that of fetal lung tissues in the pseudoglandular stage of development, with complex glandular structures and morules with cell nuclei that appear clear due to the accumulation of biotin.
While FA can be diagnosed via biopsy, bronchial brushings, immunocytochemistry, examination of the whole tumor is required to rule out biphasic pulmonary blastoma, a mixed tumor of higher aggressiveness, wherein FA occurs admixed with primitive blastoma cells. Although it is not considered a fast-growing malignant neoplasm, FA can exhibit high uptake on FDG-PET scanning. Identification of aberrant nuclear localization of a mutated protein product of the beta-catenin gene has been proposed as a diagnostic tool for FA. Although FA's occur as nodules or masses, they can sometimes present as a multifocal disease; because of its extreme rarity, there have been no controlled clinical trials of treatment regimens for FA and, as a result, there are no evidence-based treatment guidelines. Complete surgical resection is the treatment of choice in FA, as it is in nearly all forms of lung cancer. Anecdotal reports suggest that FA is highly sensitive to cytotoxic drugs or radiation. Case reports suggest that chemotherapy with UFT may be useful in FA.
The prognosis of patients with FA as a whole is considered to be better than that of most other forms of non-small cell carcinoma, including biphasic pulmonary blastoma. FA is a rare tumor, with a relative incidence estimated to be no more than 0.5% of all lung cancers. FA is exceptionally rare in children, with only a handful of cases reported to date, several case reports have involved FA's in pregnant women or the early postnatal period. Synonyms for FA include well differentiated fetal adenocarcinoma, high-grade fetal adenocarcinoma, pulmonary adenocarcinoma of fetal type, pulmonary endodermal tumour resembling fetal lung. "Pathology and Genetics of Tumours of the Lung, Pleura and Heart". World Health Organization Classification of Tumours
Mostafa Mahamed, known as Sheikh Abu Sulayman al-Muhajir is an Egyptian-born Australian Muslim, a senior member of al-Qaeda's Al Nusra Front. He is a 32-year-old from Sydney's southern suburbs now living in Syria, he is believed to be the highest ranking Australian member of al-Qaeda. Abu Sulayman was born Mostafa Mohamed in Egypt and migrated with his family to Australia soon after his birth. In 1985 he was granted an Australian passport, he was raised in Sydney's predominantly Anglophone southern suburbs and was the only Muslim at his primary school. Abu Sulayman was devoted to Islam from early in his life and set up the first students' Islamic society at his school, he became a preacher in Bankstown in Sydney's Western Suburbs, at the now defunct Al-Risalah centre. By the early 2000s, he was associated with a small group of fundamentalists within Sydney's Muslim community. In 2003 those associations brought him to the attention of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, he was approached by ASIO officers and asked to provide information about a small group of Sydney men he knew, but he refused.
Two years those men were arrested in Operation Pendennis. He was seen appearing at court to support some of the men. Abu Sulayman was close to Bilal Khazal, an Al-Qaeda member who had travelled to Afghanistan and met Osama bin Laden; this supports what is supposed, that he was associated with Al-Qaeda long before his travel to Syria. When Khazal returned to Australia he became a key facilitator for Australians who wanted to join Al Qaeda, he was an associate of Houssam Sabbagh, a Lebanese al-Qaeda leader in Tripoli, Lebanon who lived in Sydney from 1989 to 2005. Abu Sulayman arrived in Syria in late 2012 and soon after was appointed as one of the most senior religious scholars within Jabhat al-Nusra. According to The Australian, Abu Sulayman was threatened by Australian Jihadist Khaled Sharrouf. Sulayman has three children and a wife, whom he left behind in Sydney. In May 2016, the United States declared Abu Sulayman a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist." However, The Australian reported. In August 2015, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop included Abu Sulayman on Australia's counter-terrorism sanctions list.
In a statement released by the Australian Foreign Minister's office, Bishop maintains that Abu Sulayman has solicited funds to finance Al-Nusrah Front’s terrorist activities and has recruited Australians to travel to Syria to join the terror organisation. Jabhat al-Nusra Terrorism in Australia
Stenopelmatus cahuilaensis is a species of insect in family Stenopelmatidae. The species was found in the Coachella Valley and first published by Ernest R. Tinkham in September 1968, in The Great Basin Naturalist; the holotype specimen is at the California Academy of Sciences. According to Tinkham, the species can be distinguished from other Jerusalem crickets as follows: Foretibiae bearing only two ventral apical spurs posterioradly of the third and fourth calcars. Caudal tibiae with three dorsal subapical teeth on each margin. Size large, coloration orangish, it is endemic to the United States the Coachella Valley of California. They have been found from the Snow Creek to the sand dune areas surrounding the Palm Springs airport, their preference are considered a sand obligate species. They are found associated with the roots of Ambrosia sp. and Encelia sp.. Despite the arid environments in which they are found, they prefer high humidity and are most observed following winter or spring rainstorms.beneath surface debris.
During the hot and dry summer they pass daylight hours in deep burrows, only being found on the surface at night. Their preference for the western edge of the valley, cooler and more moist than the eastern part, may mean that they have a restricted range, their food preference is for tubers and various plant detritus, but have been observed consuming dead animals and are cannibalistic. The females lay small clusters of large eggs in soil pockets, their life cycle may extend for three or more years, Orthopteroid Specialist Group 1996. Stenopelmatus cahuilaensis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 10 August 2007