Vitamin deficiency is the condition of a long-term lack of a vitamin. When caused by not enough vitamin intake it is classified as a primary deficiency, whereas when due to an underlying disorder such as malabsorption it is called a secondary deficiency. An underlying disorder may be metabolic – as in a genetic defect for converting tryptophan to niacin – or from lifestyle choices that increase vitamin needs, such as smoking or drinking alcohol. Governments guidelines on vitamin deficiencies advise certain intakes for healthy people, with specific values for women, babies, the elderly, during pregnancy or breastfeeding. Many countries have mandated vitamin food fortification programs to prevent occurring vitamin deficiencies. Conversely hypervitaminosis refers to symptoms caused by vitamin intakes in excess of needs for fat-soluble vitamins that can accumulate in body tissues; the history of the discovery of vitamin deficiencies progressed over centuries from observations that certain conditions – for example, scurvy – could be prevented or treated with certain foods having high content of a necessary vitamin, to the identification and description of specific molecules essential for life and health.

During the 20th century, several scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine or the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their roles in the discovery of vitamins. A number of regions have published guidelines defining vitamin deficiencies and advising specific intakes for healthy people, with different recommendations for women, infants, the elderly, during pregnancy and breast feeding including Japan, the European Union, the United States, Canada; these documents have been updated. In the US, Recommended Dietary Allowances were first set in 1941 by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences. There were periodic updates. Updated in 2016, the US Food and Drug Administration published a set of tables that define Estimated Average Requirements and. RDAs are higher to cover people with higher than average needs. Together, these are part of Dietary Reference Intakes. For a few vitamins, there is not sufficient information to set RDAs. For these, an Adequate Intake is shown, based on an assumption that what healthy people consume is sufficient.

Countries do not always agree on the amounts of vitamins needed to safeguard against deficiency. For example, for vitamin C, the RDAs for women for Japan, the European Union and the US are 100, 95 and 75 mg/day, respectively. India sets its recommendation at 40 mg/day. Thiamine deficiency is common in countries that do not require fortification of wheat and maize flour and rice to replace the occurring thiamine content lost to milling and other processing. Severe deficiency causes beriberi, which became prevalent in Asia as more people adopted a diet of white rice. Wernicke encephalopathy and Korsakoff syndrome are forms of beriberi. Alcoholism can cause vitamin deficiency. Symptoms of deficiency include weight loss, emotional disturbances, impaired sensory perception and pain in the limbs, periods of irregular heart beat. Long-term deficiencies can be life-threatening. Deficiency is assessed by red blood cell urinary output. Riboflavin deficiency is common in countries that do not require fortification of wheat and maize flour and rice to replace the occurring riboflavin lost during processing.

Deficiency causes painful red tongue with sore throat and cracked lips, inflammation at the corners of the mouth. Eyes can be itchy, watery and sensitive to light. Riboflavin deficiency causes anemia with red blood cells that are normal in size and hemoglobin content, but reduced in number; this is distinct from anemia caused by deficiency of folic vitamin B12, which cause anemia. Niacin deficiency causes pellagra, a reversible nutritional wasting disease characterized by four classic symptoms referred to as the four Ds: diarrhea, dermatitis and death; the dermatitis occurs on areas of skin exposed to sunlight, such as backs of hands and neck. Niacin deficiency is a consequence of a diet low in both niacin and the amino acid tryptophan, a precursor for the vitamin. Chronic alcoholism is a contributing risk factor. Low plasma tryptophan is a non-specific indicator; the signs and symptoms of niacin deficiency start to revert within days of oral supplementation with large amounts of the vitamin. Pantothenic acid deficiency is rare.

Symptoms include irritability and apathy. Vitamin B6 deficiency is uncommon, although it may be observed in certain conditions, such as end-stage kidney diseases or malabsorption syndromes, such as celiac disease, Crohn disease or ulcerative colitis. Signs and symptoms include microcytic anemia, electroencephalographic abnormalities, dermatitis and confusion. Biotin deficiency is rare, although biotin status can be compromised in alcoholics and during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Decreased urinary excretion of biotin and increased urinary excretion of 3-hydroxyisovaleric acid are better indicators of biotin deficiency than concentration in the blood. Deficiency affects skin health. Folate deficiency is common, associated with numerous health problems, but with neural tube defects in infants when the mother's plasma concentrations were low during the first third of pregnancies. Government-mandated fortification of foods with folic acid has reduced the incidence of NTDs by 25% to 50% in

Erich Johannes Bruno Ponto was a German film and stage actor. Erich Ponto was born in Lübeck as the son of a merchant. After his family had moved to Hamburg-Eimsbüttel, he attended the gymnasium secondary school in Altona and upon his Abitur exam began a study of pharmacy at the University of Munich, where he went to lectures delivered by Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen. Passionate about acting during his studying, he took drama lessons from 1906. Ponto gave his debut on stage at the Stadttheater Passau in 1908, followed by engagements in Nordhausen, Düsseldorf. From 1914 to 1947 he was a member of the Hoftheater Dresden ensemble, in the season 1946/47 as intendant. On stage his best known role was that of J. J. Peachum in the original production of Bertolt Brecht's The Threepenny Opera in 1928. During the Third Reich he won the title of a Staatsschauspieler in 1938, the highest title that could be awarded to a stage actor in Nazi-Germany. Ponto's film career only took off when he was over 50 years old, but he became a well-known character actor in German cinema of the 1930s and 1940s in eccentric or villanous roles.

Among his roles were Mayer Amschel Rothschild in the anti-semitic Nazi film The Rothschilds and a stuffy school teacher in Die Feuerzangenbowle with Heinz Rühmann regarded as a film classic in Germany. After World War II he appeared in Carol Reed's British thriller The Third Man, he played the sinister doctor of Orson Welles in a supporting role. In 1955 Ponto won a "Film Award in Silver" as the best male actor in a supporting role for Himmel ohne Sterne, he worked until his death. In 1916 he married Tony Kresse, they had two children. Ponto worked as an acting teacher, among his students was Gert Fröbe of Goldfinger fame, his final film was Der Stern von Afrika, released in the year of his death. He died at the age of 72 after a long cancer illness. Erich Ponto was the uncle of Dresdner Bank general director Jürgen Ponto, murdered by members of the RAF in 1977. Erich Ponto on IMDb

The Centennial of the Restored State of Lithuania marks the 100th anniversary of the Act of Independence of Lithuania, signed on 16 February 1918. Lithuania's statehood dates to the 13th-century Grand Duchy of Lithuania. On 6 July 1253, Mindaugas was crowned as the King of Lithuania. In 1385, Lithuania joined Poland in a union that grew into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1569. Between 1772 and 1795, most of Lithuania was annexed by the Russian Empire. Towards the end of World War I, on 16 February 1918, twenty people signed the Act of Independence of Lithuania, which proclaimed the restoration of an Independent State of Lithuania, creating a modern state. During World War II, Lithuania was forcibly occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940, followed by Nazi Germany in 1941, again by the Soviets in 1944 as one of its constituent republics. During the late 1980s and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Lithuania fought to restore its independence which culminated in the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania signed on 11 March 1990.

In order to have every Lithuanian citizen experience the significance of this jubilee, the Government of Lithuania has initiated a celebration of the centenary of the restoration of Lithuania. The intention of the celebration is to: "Bring... together Lithuanian people and Lithuanians living abroad to celebrate the birthday of restored Lithuania, encouraging to be proud of their country, becoming important and active participants in Lithuania’s life. To achieve this, the government has been planning to increase Lithuania's reputation abroad. February 16 has been pronounced as the most important jubilee date, but the Centennial is intended to last all year; the National Flag and Vytis have been chosen as symbols of the celebration of the centenary. Three main focuses of activity have been identified by the government: Discover – activities aimed at the past and present: an invitation to know the country, its achievements, heroes. Celebrate – activities aimed at the present-day invite the society to meaningfully celebrate on 16 February.

Create – activities aimed at the future by emphasizing the idea that every person who contributes to the prosperity of Lithuania is an important hero of the Centennial and by encouraging active involvement and participation in creating the present and the future. 6 July 2017, the Statehood Day, marked the official start of the Centennial. On that day, the national anthem was sung at the same time at 100 Lithuania's hillforts and around the world; the main events of the celebration of the centennial are scheduled for 2018. The most important of them will be the commemoration of the 16 February; the largest event will be the 20th Song Festival "Vardan tos..." to be held in Vilnius on 30 June – 6 July 2018. The name of the festival comes from the Lithuanian anthem. A lot of attention will be given to the presentation of Lithuania and its cultural and scientific achievements abroad. Many smaller initiatives have been or will be implemented in the near future; the Lithuanian Council for Culture alone has received fifty applications for “The Centennial of the State of Lithuania” program.

Hundreds of initiatives have been supported by other cultural and scientific programs and foundations. In 2018, tens of scientific conferences, symposiums, educational programs and performances will take place. Public holidays in Lithuania 100th anniversary of the Latvian Republic 100th Anniversary of Estonian Republic Official website for Lithuania's centennial Misija Lietuva 100 Schedule of centennial celebrations'