Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Athlete's foot

2007-09-18T17:04:54Z

Dcollier: de-orphan

'''Athlete's foot''' is a common [[infection]] caused by the tinea [[fungus]]. It is not serious. Symptoms include itching, burning and cracked, scaly skin between your [[toe]]s. Tinea grows best in damp, dark and warm places, which is why it often develops between your toes. It can spread to your toenails, as well, making them thick and crumbly.

You can get athlete's foot from damp surfaces, such as locker room floors. Treatments include over-the-counter [[antifungal]] creams for most cases and [[prescription]] medicines for more serious infections.<ref>http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/athletesfoot.html</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Medicine]]

Athlete's foot

2007-09-18T17:04:39Z

Dcollier: de-orphan

'''Athlete's foot''' is a common [[infection]] caused by the tinea [[fungus]]. It is not serious. Symptoms include itching, burning and cracked, scaly skin between your [[toe]]s. Tinea grows best in damp, dark and warm places, which is why it often develops between your toes. It can spread to your toenails, as well, making them thick and crumbly.

You can get athlete's foot from damp surfaces, such as locker room floors. Treatments include over-the-counter [[antifungal]] creams for most cases and [[prescription[[ medicines for more serious infections.<ref>http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/athletesfoot.html</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Medicine]]

Eukaryote

2007-09-18T16:59:22Z

Dcollier: de-orphan

'''Eukaryotes '''are are eukaryotes organisms whose cells are organized into complex structures by internal [[membrane|membranes]] and a [[cytoskeleton]]. [[animal|animals]], [[plant|plants]] and [[fungus|fungi]] are all eukaryotes, but [[bacteria]] are not.

The most characteristic feature of a eukaryotic cell, the nucleus, consists of a nucleoplasm surrounded by a double nuclear membrane pierced by nuclear pores. <ref>http://biotech.icmb.utexas.edu/search/dict-search.html</ref><ref>http://www.iscid.org/encyclopedia/Eukaryote</ref> The nucleoplasm contains the (linear) chromosomes of the cell, which are organised into heterochromatin, which stains only a little, and euchromatin, which stains more densely. The most important euchromatic area is the nucleolus, in which ribosomes are formed.

#εύ-καρυον (eu-karyon) - true kernel.
#Double-membrane bound nucleus containing linear chromosomes.
#Complex 9+2-type undulipodium, cytoskeleton, cytosis and mitosis.
#Many membrane-bound organelles and double membrane-bound endosymbionts.
#They can grow 'large' because cytoplasmic streaming allows rapid transport across the cell - 100 μm.

[[Image:Animal_cell.png‎ |center||Animal cell: eukaryotic cells are characterised by the possession of a nucleus and membrane bound organelles.]]

The role of the nucleus is three-fold:

#Storage and protection of the genome.
#Regulation of gene expression.
#Creation of ribosomes.

[[DNA]] storage takes up about 10% of the cell of both prokaryotes (nucleoid area) and eukaryotes (nucleus). However, don't forget that some of the genome lives elsewhere: plasmids, endosymbionts (mitochondria), etc. The nucleus of eukaryotes also protects the genome from the cytoskeleton. Condensation of genome during mitosis is required to withstand these stresses. This is not relevant in prokaryotes, as they lack a cytoskeleton. The existence of the nucleus permits processing of mRNA, and therefore defers translation. Alternative splicing can be performed to generate different proteins from the same RNA primary transcript. mRNA is capped and tailed to permit it to exit the nucleus. rRNA and tRNA are also heavily processed by RNA editing, i.e. base modification (this also occurs to some mRNA in trypanosomes). rRNA modification occurs in the nucleolus, where ribosomes are constructed.

The nucleus is bound by a double-membrane, which is contiguous through the nuclear pores, known as the nuclear envelope. The pores are required to allow RNA out and membrane lipids in (which is needed for growth during S phase).<ref> Berg, Jeremy M.; Tymoczko, John L.; and Stryer, Lubert."Biochemistry". W. H. Freeman and Co. ; c2002 </ref>

The inner face of the inner nuclear envelope (INE) is coated by the nuclear lamina, which contains intermediate fibres called lamins A, B and C (at least in mammals). Phosphorylation of lamins by kinases cause nuclear envelope breakdown during prometaphase. Chromosomes occupy definite positions within the nucleus because of the interaction between lamins and telomeres, for example the Rabl conformation in yeast.

In the Rabl conformation, the centromeres are at the pole closest to MTOC; and the telomeres at other, bound to the nuclear lamina. This orientation probably reduces tangling, and is inherited from mitosis. Later in interphase, the chromosomes may lose the Rabl conformation, but chromosomes still occupy discrete territories in the nucleus.

The outer nuclear envelope (ONE) is surrounded by other intermediate fibres, and is essentially just the RER surrounding the nucleus, and continuous with it. The space between the INE and ONE is termed the perinuclear space, and is continuous with the RER cisternae.

The cell wall of eukaryotes (when present) is usually composed of a β-(1→4)-glucan of some sort. In fungi, it is mostly chitin (N-acetylaminoglucan), in plants cellulose, but more exotic ingredients are common. Animal cells lack a wall, but may have a glycocalyx, which is a layer of thickened glycoproteins surrounding them and connecting them to the extracellular matrix.

Almost all eukaryotes have mitochondria, which are the remains of bacteria that became endosymbionts of the eukaryotic cell about a billion years ago. They perform oxidative phosphorylation and generate energy in the form of ATP for the cell. They have their own 70S ribosomes and some of their own DNA. Mitochondria have a double membrane surrounding them, the inner one is highly folded into cristae, surrounding a matrix space.

Photosynthetic eukaryotes also have chloroplasts, which are the remains of cyanobacteria that also became endosymbiotic. They have a triple membrane system. The outer membrane surrounds the inner membrane, which itself surrounds the stroma, in which are embedded a number of thylakoid membranes, some of which occur in stacks called grana. Those that are unstacked are termed intergrana. The thylakoids surround another compartment, termed the lumen. Chloroplasts are one of several different sorts of plastid. Others include proplasts (immature plastids), chromoplasts (full of pigments), etioplasts (formed in the dark) and amyloplasts (full of starch). Plastids carry out photosynthesis, converting light energy into ATP and NADH.

[[Image:Plant_cell.png|center||Plant cell: The cell wall vs the cell membrane found in animal cells.]]

Eukaryotes have a cytoskeleton, which is composed of a number of interacting fibre types. The first are the actin microfilaments, which, with the motor protein myosin, form the muscles of the cytoskeleton (and in sarcosomes, form actual muscles too). The actin cytoskeleton forms a cortex beneath the plasmalemma of most eukaryotic cells, which is involved in changes to the external shape of the cell (such as the formation of pseudopodia in [[amoebas]]).The second fibre type are intermediate filaments, composed of spectrin, keratin, vimentin, nuclear lamins and other proteins. The intermediate filaments help maintain the relative positions of organelles and give the cell mechanical strength. The third type of cytoskeletal filament are the microtubules, which form the spindle during cell divisions (meiosis and mitosis), and give structure to the cell membrane, forming microvilli. They also form undulipodia, which are waving structures with a typical 9+2 structure, found in cilia (short undulipodia) and flagella (longer ones). The microtubules are composed of tubulin, and are organised by a microtubule organising centre (the centrosome and centrioles in animals), in which the − ends of the microtubules (which grow more slowly than the + ends) are embedded. Vesicles traffic along the microtubules under the influence of motor proteins such as kinesin (which transports items from the −→+ ends, i.e. away from the MTOC) and dynein (which traffics items from +→−). Tubulin is homologous to the FtsZ protein that is involved in bacterial fission.

The body of the cell is composed of a heterogeneous mixture of proteins and solutes called the cytosol. The cytosol contains many 80S ribosomes, on which protein synthesis takes place.

The endomembranes and plasmalemma form a continuous membrane system in the eukaryote cell. The cell contains a rich diversity of membranes, in addition to those found in the endosymbiotic organelles. The outer cell membrane or plasmalemma, controls what gets in and out of the cell by the use of pores, symports, antiports and pumps. It is composed of a fluid mosaic of proteins embedded in a phospholipid bilayer, as are all membranes. The plasmalemma also interacts with the extracellular space through receptors, gap junctions, plasmodesmata, and synapses.

The endomembranes include the nuclear membrane, already mentioned, and the rough and smooth endoplasmic reticula (RER and SER). The lamellae of the rough endoplasmic reticulum are continuous throughout the cell, and also contiguous with the nuclear membrane. They are the site of synthesis for proteins destined for the endomembrane system and the extracellular space, with which its lumen (the cisternal space) is topologically identical. The tubules of the SER are responsible for steroid and lipid synthesis. After translation on ribosomes attached to the RER, proteins are carried in small transport vesicles to the Golgi bodies (dictyosomes), where they go undergo modification to the glycosylation they received as they were imported into the RER. After modification, some proteins are exported from the trans-Golgi network in export vesicles to the extracellular space. The ER is continuous with the nuclear envelope, and probably evolved at the same time, possibly by invaginations of the sort seen in the mesosomes of bacteria.

[[Image:Endomembranes_evolution.png‎|center||Endomembranes probably evolved from invaginations of the plasmalemma, as seen in bacterial mesosomes, thylakoids and chromatophores.]]

The rough ER differs from the smooth ER morphologically. The RER's cytoplasmic surface is studded with ribosomes, and it has flattened cisternae (rather than tubular ones). The RER is denser than SER due to presence of ribosomes. Consequently, disrupted ER 'microsomes' can be separated using density gradient centrifugation.

[[Image:Density_gradient_er.png|center||SER microsomes are less dense than RER microsomes, so can be separated by centrifugation.]]

Other proteins are destined for the endolysosome system. Material engulfed from outside by phagocytosis (solids) and pinocytosis (liquids) are packaged into phagosomes, and internal organelles destined for destruction are packed into autophagosomes. Endolysosomes containing digestive enzymes fuse with the phagosomes and digest their contents. The fused organelles produced are the cells disposal system, and are called lysosomes. Very large lysosomes are found in plants where they help to bulk the cell with water. Here they are called vacuoles, and are surrounded by a membrane called to tonoplast. Other vacuoles are involved in osmoregulation: for example contractile vacuoles in Amoeba.

Finally, a number of smaller vesicles are found in the cytosol. They are called microsomes, and most seem to be peroxisomes, containing the enzyme catalase, which degrades hydrogen peroxide produced by respiration. In germinating plant seed, many glyoxysomes are present, which perform fat oxidation for growth. Some vesicles also contain food reserves, such as fat droplets.

Eukaryotic DNA is bound by histones, and requires some degree of unpacking for expression. Much of their genome is composed of parasitic DNA and introns. Three RNA polymerases exists, (approximately) one for each sort of major RNA product:

RNApol-I - rRNA.
RNApol-II - mRNA and snRNA.
RNApol-III - tRNA and 5S rRNA.
RNA is heavily processed in the nucleus, which allows deferred translation. They possess large 80S ribosomes.

==Eukaryotes and Evolution==
The [[Theory of Evolution]] does not have a good explanation for where eukaryotes come from. Some evolutionists tell a [[just-so tale]] that Eukaryotes arose by ingesting other microorganisms but rather than digesting the microorganisms they turned the organisms into the [[mitochrondria]]. The explanation that Eukaryotes were created by God is much simpler.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Molecular Biology]]
[[Category:Cellular Biology]]
[[Category:microbiology]]

Amoebocytes

2007-09-18T16:57:59Z

Dcollier:

'''Amoebocytes''' are [[cell]]s that live in the body of an [[animal]] and move using [[pseudopod]]s. They perform a variety of functions.

==See Also==
[[Amoebas]]

[[Category:Biology]]

Yin and Yang

2007-09-18T16:56:37Z

Dcollier: wikify

The '''"yin" and "yang"''' are the two aspects in [[Taoism (Daoism)|Daoist]] religious and later Daoist alchemical belief that exist in everything in the [[universe]]. Both originate from the "Dao" (The Way or Existence), and from the innate balance gave birth to the Three, from which everything originates.

[[China|Chinese]] theory says that everything in the world can be identified as yin and yang in relation to one another. For instance, a light shower is more yin than a patch of [[sun]], but is less yin, and more yang, than a [[storm]]. The basis of much of Chinese [[science]] in the [[Pre Modern Era|pre-modern era]] was about the changes of yin and yang, and the Daoist religion is based around the concept in many senses.

The Yin and Yang diagram shows a dark side (yin) and a light side (yang) each separate but flowing with the other, each containing a small amount of the other (shown as a "dot" of the opposite color).

[[Image:Yin_yang.jpg]] The diagram of the yin and yang.

Yin represents: dark, secret, passive, receptive, yielding, cool, soft, and feminine.

Yang represents: clear, bright, illuminated, evident, active, [[aggressive]], controlling, hard, and masculine.

Neither side is seen as [[good]] or [[evil]], both are considered necessary, the preferable state is when yin & yang remain in balance.

Yin and Yang are divided by the line which represents [[Qi]], which is life force, the essence of being.

==See also==

[[Taoism (Daoism)]]

[[Lao Tzu]]

[[Category: Philosophy]]

Maribavir

2007-09-18T16:44:01Z

Dcollier:

maribavir (mar-I-buh-veer) is a substance that blocks the ability of viruses to make new viruses and infect cells. It is being studied in the prevention of cytomegalovirus infection in cancer patients who have had a donor stem cell transplant. It is a type of [[antiviral]] agent.
[[category:medicine]]

Herpes Simplex Virus

2007-09-18T16:43:08Z

Dcollier:

[[Image:Hgr6simpex virus.jpg|right|thumb|Microscopy image of a herpes simplex virus (NASA)]]
== Biology ==
Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) is a member of the Herpesviridae family of viruses, a family of DNA viruses important in human disease. These include Human herpesviruses (HHV)1-8 (see [[Herpes Viruses]]). HSV 1 and 2 correspond to HHV 1 and 2. HSV 1 and 2 are very prevalent in the human population, with as many as 30-70% of people testing positive for antibodies in their lifetime.
== Pathology ==

HSV 1 and 2 are DNA viruses that cause common human illnesses, and infection is life-long. In general, HSV 1 is more commonly seen on the face, and HSV 2 is more commonly seen on the genitalia. The virus is spread by simple person-to-person contact and can occur when sores are visible, and when the virus is dormant, although this is less effective. These viruses generally cause mucocutaneous infection. This can manifest as cold sores on the lips, or as genital sores. The typical rash is described as "dew drops on a rose pedal". These are generally painful. Initial infection can be accompanied by systemic systems such as fever and muscle aches. After resolution of the initial infection, the virus becomes dormant in the human host. Under certain conditions that are not well understood, the virus is reactivated, with a recurrence of mucocutaneous infection. These recurrent attacks are unpredictable and can be frequent or infrequent.
In addition to the common mucocutaneous infection, HSV 1 and 2 can also cause keratitis (inflammation in the eye), encephalitis (brain infection), and severe neonatal disease if acquired during pregnancy.

== Prevention and Treatment ==

Because HSV 2 is spread more commonly by sexual contact, it is easier to prevent than HSV 1. There is currently no vaccine available for either virus. Avoiding contact with people who have obvious sores helps reduce infection, and prophylaxis with commonly available [[antiviral]] drugs can help prevent transmission during the latent phase of the illness. Prophylaxis can also be given to reduce frequency and severity of attacks.

== References ==

Goldman: Cecil Textbook of Medicine, 22nd ed., Copyright © 2004 W. B. Saunders Company

Cohen & Powderly: Infectious Diseases, 2nd ed., Copyright © 2004 Mosby, An Imprint of Elsevier
[[category:Virology]]

Air Traffic Controllers

2007-09-18T16:37:13Z

Dcollier: Redirecting to Air Traffic Control

#REDIRECT [[Air Traffic Control]]

Air Traffic Controllers

2007-09-18T16:35:25Z

Dcollier: de-orphan

#redirect Air Traffic Control

William Shakespeare

2007-09-18T16:27:56Z

Dcollier: fix link

[[Image:Foliou.jpg|right|thumb|Portrait of William Shakespeare on the cover of the First Folio (1623), the first collected edition of his plays]]
'''William Shakespeare''' (1564-1616) is regarded as the greatest English-language playwright of all time. Many of his plays are required reading in many U. S. school curricula; those taught in schools often include ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'', ''[[Macbeth]]'', ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' and ''[[Hamlet]]''.

All told, Shakespeare wrote 17 comedies, 10 tragedies, 10 historical plays, and many love [[sonnet]]s. All his plays are freely available on the internet.<ref>
http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/</ref>

Shakespeare lived in Stratford-upon-Avon and is sometimes called "the bard of Avon." Because of sharing the name "Stratford," the towns of Stratford, Ontario in Canada and Stratford, Connecticut have become the homes of Shakespeare festivals where his plays are performed on a regular basis.

Because Shakespeare was not a member of the upper class and did not become famous until late in his life, historians and biographers don't know very much about his life. There are only a few pictures of him, and nobody is sure how accurate they are.

The idea of an ill-educated (to his contemporaries) person coming among them and making a success was upsetting to the University-educated playwrights of the time. It is believed that the poet, Philip Green, was referring to Shakespeare when he wrote
"There is an upstart crow beautified with our feathers
that, with his '''tiger's heart wrapped in a player's hide'','
supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse
as the best of you; being an absolute Johannes Factotum,
in his conceit the only ''shake-scene'' in a country."

The 'tiger's heart wrapped in a player's hide' is a reference to one of Shakespeare's plays, ''[[The Third Part of King Henry VI]]'', <ref> [[Great Books, Shakespeare: I]], Edited by Mortimer J. Adler, 1952. </ref> while 'shake-scene' is a pun or play on words on Shakespeare's name.

His plays seem to show so much education and erudition that there are even theories that they must have been written by someone else, famous candidates being the Earl of Oxford and Sir Francis Bacon. Like Kennedy assassination theories, most scholars do not believe them, but there are enough questions that new books promoting new theories of Shakespearean authorship continue to keep coming out over the years.

A longstanding theatrical superstition holds that it is bad luck to refer to ''Macbeth'' directly by its name, and accordingly, actors traditionally refer to it obliquely as "the Scottish play."

Because Shakespeare's plays are so familiar, there are innumerable references to them in English literature. Sometimes his stories are recast into a different form. Audiences are expected to recognize the musical ''West Side Story'' as a retelling of ''Romeo and Juliet,'' and the classic science-fiction movie ''Forbidden Planet'' as a transformed version of ''The Tempest.'' The motion picture ''Shakespeare in Love,'' which won the 1998 Academy Award as Best Picture is not a history or biography, but is enjoyed for evoking a sense of what Shakespeare's time and place might have been like.

The reverence in which Shakespeare is held, and the language of his plays (which come from the same era as the King James translation of the Bible) should not obscure the fact that his plays were (and still are) fabulously successful commercial entertainment.

He is also famous for his one hundred and fifty-four sonnets, short poems written in a very strict rhyme scheme. The sonnets fall into series or sequences. Most of them are usually read as expressions of romantic or platonic love; some appear to be written to a married woman known in the sonnets as the "Dark Lady," some to a young man known as the "Fair Lord."

In his will, Shakespeare wrote, "I commend my soul into the hands of God, my Creator, hoping and assuredly believing, through the only merits of Jesus Christ, my Saviour, to be made partaker of life everlasting."<ref>http://www.amerisearch.net/index.php?date=2004-04-23&view=View</ref>

His tomb in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-on-Avon, England, reads as follows:<ref>''Id.''</ref>

:Good Friend For Jesus Sake Forbeare, To Digg The Dust Enclosed Heare. Blese Be Ye Man Spares Thes Stones, And Curst Be He Moves My Bones.

== List of Plays by Shakespeare[http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/bibliography/bibliography.htm] ==

=== Comedies ===
*[[Two Gentlemen of Verona]] (1589)
*[[A Comedy of Errors]] (1589)
*[[The Taming of the Shrew]] (1593)
*[[Love's Labour's Lost]] (1594)
*[[A Midsummer-Night's Dream]] (1595)
*[[The Merchant of Venice]] (1596)
*[[The Merry Wives of Windsor]] (1597)
*[[Much Ado About Nothing]] (1598)
*[[As You Like It]] (1599)
*[[Twelfth Night]] (1601)
*[[All's Well That Ends Well]] (1602)
*[[Measure for Measure]] (1603)
*[[Pericles, Prince of Tyre]] (1607)
*[[Cymbeline]] (1609)
*[[A Winter's Tale]] (1609)
*[[The Tempest]] (1610)
*[[The Two Noble Kinsmen]] (1611)

=== Histories ===
*[[The Life and Death of King John]] (1590)
*[[The First Part of King Henry VI]] (1590)
*[[The Second Part of King Henry VI]] (1592)
*[[The Third Part of King Henry VI]] (1593)
*[[The Tragedy of King Richard III]] (1593)
*[[The Tragedy of King Richard II]] (1595)
*[[The First Part of King Henry IV]] (1596)
*[[The Second Part of King Henry IV]] (1597)
*[[The Famous Life of King Henry V]] (1599)
*[[The Famous Life of King Henry VIII]] (1613)

=== Tragedies ===
*[[Titus Andronicus]] (1591)
*[[Romeo and Juliet]] (1594)
*[[Julius Caesar (Play)]] (1599)
*[[Troilus and Cressida]] (1600)
*[[Hamlet]] (1600)
*[[Othello]] (1603)
*[[Timon of Athens]] (1604)
*[[King Lear]] (1605)
*[[Macbeth]] (1606)
*[[Coriolanus]] (1608)
*[[Antony and Cleopatra]] (1608)

== Trivia ==
* "Shakespeare" was spelled many ways before English spelling was standardized. Some of the more unexpected forms are "Shaxper," "Shaxberd," and "Shaksper."<ref>http://shakespeareauthorship.com/name1.html</ref>

== See also ==

*[[Leo Tolstoy]]
*[[Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra]]

==References==
<references/>

-----

[[Category:Authors|Shakespeare, William]]
[[category:poets|Shakespeare, William]]

HTML

2007-09-18T16:24:02Z

Dcollier: /* See also */

'''HTML''' or '''Hypertext Markup Language''' is a system of tags mostly used to create, design and format webpages. A Internet Browser will take the HTML and other scripting language, and create a graphical page. Unlike some programming languages, HTML is viewable by the user. HTML is a base language, accompanied or created dynamically by numerous other scripting languages such as CSS, JavaScript, VBScript, [[PHP]], [[Perl]], and many more.

The HTML standard is maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium.

'''HTML''' stands for Hypertext Markup Language. This is how web pages get structure, appearance and interactivity beyond being a string of plain words. [http://www.visibone.com/html/foldouts.html]

==Versions of HTML and XHTML==

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! <big>'''Version'''</big>

! <big>'''Date'''</big>

! <big>'''Description'''</big>

|-

| HTML 1.0

| <center>1989</center>

| The first public version of HTML which included browser support for inline images and text controls.

|-

| HTML 2.0

| <center>1995</center>

| The first version supported by all graphical [[Web browser|browsers]]. It introduced interactive form elements such as option buttons and text boxes. A document written to the HTML 2.0 specification is compatible with almost all browsers on the [[World Wide Web]].

|-

| HTML 3.0

| <center>1996</center>

| A prosed replacement for HTML 2.0 that was never widely adopted.

|-

| HTML 3.2

| <center>1997</center>

| This version included additional support for creating and formatting tables and expended the options for interactive form elements. It also supported limited programming using scripts.

|-

| HTML 4.01

| <center>1999</center>

| This version added support for style sheets (such as Cascading Style Sheets or [[CSS]]) to give web designers greater control over page layout. It added new features to tables and forms and provided support for international features. This version also expanded HTML's scripting capability and added increased support for [[multimedia]] elements.

|-

| XHTML 1.0

| <center>2001</center>

| This version is a reformulation of HTML 4.01 in XML and combines the strength of HTML 4.0 with the power of XML (Extensible Markup Language). XHTML brings the rigor of XML to web pages and provides standards for more robust web content on a wide range of browser platforms.

|-

| XHTML 1.1

| <center>2002</center>

| This version is a minor update to XHTML 1.0 that allows for modularity and simplifies writing extensions for the language.

|-

| XHTML 2.0

| <center>2004 onwards</center>

| The latest version, which was designed to remove most of the presentational features left in HTML.

|-

|}
<ref>Table adopted from ''New Perspectives: HTML and XHTML'', Carey P. - Course Technology, United States. pg. 7 ISBN 0-619-26747-X</ref>

==Special codes==

You can include a comment in your HTML code but prevent it from displaying or having any effect, by enclosing it in strange brackets like this:

<nowiki></nowiki>

Note that the opening and closing codes are not symmetrical. If you end it with <nowiki>--!></nowiki> by mistake, it won't really end, and everything else after that on the page will be hidden.

==See also==
*[[HTML table formatting]]
*[[CSS]] - Cascading Style Sheets
*[[AJAX]] - Asynchronous JavaScript and XML

==References==
<references/>
==External Links==
*[http://www.w3.org/html/ W3C HTML]
*[http://www.w3schools.com/html W3 Schools HTML]
[[category:information technology]]

.net runtime environment

2007-09-18T16:18:51Z

Dcollier: de-ophan

'''.Net runtime environment''' is a byte-code interpreter for software written in [[.Net framework|.Net]] programming languages such as [[C#]] and [[Visual Basic.net]].

[[category:information technology]]

Harry Potter

2007-09-18T16:11:24Z

Dcollier: Removing redundant text

[[Image:67486ruy.jpg|right|thumb|British edition of '''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'''.]]
'''Harry Potter''' is the [[protagonist]] in a series of seven popular fantasy novels by [[J.K. Rowling]]. Although the books are generally directed to children and teenagers, they have widespread appeal. The plot focuses on Harry's adolescence and fight against the [[antagonist]] wizard Lord Voldemort. The books combine elements of whimsy reminiscent of [[Alice in Wonderland]], the strange adult immaturity of [[Through the Looking Glass]], and the implacable good vs. evil fight of [[Lord of the Rings]].

When Harry was a mere baby, he was orphaned, and he never found out that his parents were [[wizard (fiction)|wizard]]s until his 11th birthday (it came as a giant surprise). [[Hagrid]] took him to [[Diagon Alley]] for robes, books and wand; then on to [[Hogwarts]], a boarding school for wizards and witches. He had many adventures there learning [[magic]] and using it to fight the forces of the [[Voldemort|wizard]] who killed his [[parent]]s when he was an [[infant]]. Along the way, Harry learns about life and [[death]] and grapples with questions of [[morality]] and [[friendship]]. There are seven books in total to the series.

The books have been fabulously successful, selling 300 million copies, and [[Forbes]] estimates that they have made Rowling the first billion-dollar [[author]] in history.<ref>[http://www.forbes.com/maserati/billionaires2004/cx_jw_0226rowlingbill04.html J. K. Rowling And The Billion-Dollar Empire].</ref> To date, five of them have been made into movies, the sixth to begin filming September 2007.

The Harry Potter series of [[book]]s are sizable volumes. The 870 pages of ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,'' even though printed in large type, contain 255,000 words—about twice as long as ''A Tale of Two Cities.'' The "Lexile" measure of reading level puts the series between 880L and 950L,<ref>For comparison: Charlotte's Web 680L, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 890L, Moby Dick 1200L</ref> comparable to sixth-grade texts<ref>[http://www.lexile.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?view=fa&tabindex=4&tabid=22 The Lexile framework for reading].</ref>

== Christian Themes in Harry Potter ==

This section contains information and spoilers that should not be read by someone who wants to be "surprised" by the end of the series in '''''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'''''.

Despite some criticism from mainline Christians who oppose Harry Potter for allegedly endorsing witchcraft, the series includes some demonstrably Christian themes. Specifically, Harry's death and rebirth at the end of Book VII ("Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows") is reminiscent of the rebirth of Christ: just as the savior of humanity was reborn, so Harry Potter, as the fictional savior of the magical world, is reborn. Further, this rebirth carries a special, significant guardianship trait: as Christ died to forgive the sins of humanity, resulting in salvation for all mankind, so Harry's death grants a protective magic to himself and to his friends, not unlike the "Deep Magic" written of in [[C.S. Lewis|Lewis']] [[Chronicles of Narnia]]. Harry Potter, then, teaches the nobility of sacrifice, and the underlying importance of love, two deeply Christian themes.

==Criticisms==

The English "public" schools Hogwarts resembles are ostensibly Anglican institutions; but at Hogwarts, chapel is conspicuously absent. A failure to mention [[Christianity]], other than a celebration of [[Christmas]], combined with the presence of wizardry, have led some to wonder whether Rowling is substituting [[paganism]] for Christianity. The books have also been accused of promoting witchcraft or [[wicca]].<ref>[http://www.chick.com/catalog/videos/potter.asp]</ref> <ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/1735623.stm]</ref> <ref>[http://www.chick.com/catalog/videos/0127.asp]</ref> <ref>[http://www.cesnur.org/recens/potter_06.htm]</ref>

In 2002, a Presbyterian publishing house published ''The Gospel According to Harry Potter: Spirituality in the Stories of the World's Most Famous Seeker,'' in which "glimmers of the Gospel" are illustrated by reference to the Potter books. The author acknowledges she was "replicating the techniques used by anti-Potter critics to look for exactly the opposite of what they were looking for." She notes that Rowling, although "reserved" in announcing her religious beliefs, "openly declares her faith in God and attends the Church of Scotland."<ref>Neal, Connie (2002), ''The Gospel According to Harry Potter: Spirituality in the Stories of the World's Most Famous Seeker,'' Westminster John Knox Press (an imprint of Presbyterian Publishing, Inc.), ISBN 0-664-22601-9; "replicating the techniques of anti-Potter critics," p. xiv; Rowling's beliefs, p. xii.</ref>

In 2003, a [[Vatican]] representative said the books, "aren't serving as the banner for an anti-Christian theology.... I don't think there's anyone in this room who grew up without fairies, magic, and angels in their imaginary world." <ref>Sink, Mindy (2003), "The Split Verdict on Harry Potter,"
''The New York Times,'' March 8, 2003, p. B6; representative quoted is Rev. Don Peter Fleetwood, who "helped draft a Vatican document on New Age phenomena."</ref>

Some expect children's' literature to present characters that are idealized role models, and to teach simple, explicit life lessons. However, the world of Harry Potter is one in which adult authority figures are complex, imperfect, and occasionally ludicrous (as they are in ''Alice in Wonderland.''). Some teachers in the series are boring, or outright incompetent, while others are supportive and protective (like [[Dumbledore]] and [[Lupin]]).

==Notable Ban Attempts==

On the week of April 10, 2006, Georgia mother of four, Laura Mallory, filed an appeal with the Gwinnett Board of Education in an attempt to remove the Harry Potter series from Gwinnett schools. Ms. Mallory (Who, by her own admission, has never read any of the Harry Potter books) stated on the appeal form that she wished the books removed due to their "evil themes, witchcraft, demonic activity, murder, evil blood sacrifice, spells and teaching children all of this.".<ref>[http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=32&url_subchannel_id=&url_article_id=14074&change_well_id=2]</ref> The local board of education denied the request, as they felt the banning of Harry Potter would necessitate the banning of all books with reference to witches, including plays like [[Macbeth]] and even stories like [[Cinderella]].<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15127464/ Georgia mom seeks ban on Harry Potter]</ref> Ms. Mallory has since appealed the ruling twice to no avail.<ref>[http://www.wtvm.com/Global/story.asp?S=5022462&nav=8fap]</ref> <ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16204853/from/]</ref> <ref>[http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/011807dnentpotterprotest.a89cec.html]</ref>

Similar concerns have been voiced by Christian cartoonist [[Jack Chick]], pastor and author [[Dave Hunt]], the British group [[Christian Voice]] and various others. None of these have resulted in any form of legal action.

==Series titles==
*[[Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone]] (original title as published in England and all other English speaking countries other than U.S.A: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone)
*[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]
*[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]
*[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]
*[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]
*[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]
*[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Book]]
[[Category:Fantasy]]