what plasma protein plays a large role in osmotic pressure regulation

Serum albumin accounts for 55% of blood proteins, and is a major contributor to maintaining the osmotic pressure of plasma to assist in the transport of lipids and steroid hormones. Globulins make up 38% of blood proteins and transport ions, hormones, and lipids assisting in immune function. Fibrinogen comprises 7% of blood proteins; conversion of fibrinogen to insoluble fibrin is essential for blood clotting. The remainder of the plasma proteins (1%) are regulatory proteins, such as enzymes, proenzymes, and hormones. All blood proteins are synthesized in liver except for the gamma globulins.

Blood proteins

Blood proteins, also termed plasma proteins or serum proteins, are proteins present in blood plasma. They serve many different functions, including transport of lipids, hormones, vitamins and minerals in the circulatory system and the regulation of acellular activity and functioning of the immune system. Other blood proteins act as enzymes, complement components, protease inhibitors or kinin precursors. Contrary to popular belief, hemoglobin is not a blood protein, as it is carried within red blood cells, rather than in the blood serum.

Separating serum proteins by electrophoresis is a valuable diagnostic tool as well as a way to monitor clinical progress. Current research regarding blood plasma proteins is centered on performing proteomics analyses of serum/plasma in the search for biomarkers. These efforts started with two-dimensional gel electrophoresis[1] efforts in the 1970s and in more recent times this research has been performed using LC-tandem MS[2][3][4] based proteomics. The normal laboratory value of serum total protein is around 7 g/dL.

Examples of specific blood proteins:


where is the anus located on a man

The human anus (from Latin anus meaning "ring", "circle")[1][2] is the external opening of the rectum. Two sphincters control the exit of feces from the body during an act of defecation, which is the primary function of the anus. These are the internal anal sphincter and the external anal sphincter, which are circular muscles that normally maintain constriction of the orifice and which relaxes as required by normal physiological functioning. The inner sphincter is involuntary and the outer is voluntary. It is located behind the perineum which is located behind the vagina in females and behind the scrotum in males.

Human anus

With anal sex, the anus can play a role in sexuality. Attitudes towards anal sex vary and it is illegal in some countries.[3] The anus is often considered a taboo part of the body,[3] and it is known by a large number of usually vulgar slang terms. The anus is also the site of potential infections and other conditions, including cancer.[citation needed] The traditional polite synonym for anus was fundament, though this euphemism is rarely heard now that medical terms are widely acceptable.

The anus is the final component of the gastrointestinal tract, and directly continues from the rectum. The anus passes through the pelvic floor. The anus is surrounded by muscles. The top and bottom of the anus are surrounded by the internal and external anal sphincters, two muscular rings which control defecation.[4]:397

The anus is surrounded in its length by folds called anal valves, which converge at a line known as the pectinate line. This represents the point of transition between the hindgut and the ectoderm in the embryo. Below this point, the mucosa of the internal anus becomes skin.[4] :397 The pectinate line is also the division between the internal and external anus.

The anus receives blood from the inferior rectal artery and innervation from the inferior rectal nerves, which branch from the pudendal nerve.[5]

The pseudostratified columnar epithelium of the gastrointestinal tract transitions to stratified squamous epithelium at the pectinate line. The stratified squamous epithelium gradually accumulates sebaceous and apocrine glands.[6] :285

During puberty, as testosterone triggers androgenic hair growth on the body, pubic hair begins to appear around the anus. Although initially sparse, it fills out by the end of puberty, if not earlier. However, in some genetic populations androgenic hair is less common.

Intra-rectal pressure builds as the rectum fills with feces, pushing the feces against the walls of the anal canal. Contractions of abdominal and pelvic floor muscles can create intra-abdominal pressure which further increases intra-rectal pressure. The internal anal sphincter (an involuntary muscle) responds to the pressure by relaxing, thus allowing the feces to enter the canal. The rectum shortens as feces are pushed into the anal canal and peristaltic waves push the feces out of the rectum. Relaxation of the internal and external anal sphincters allows the feces to exit from the anus, finally, as the levator ani muscles pull the anus up over the exiting feces.

Example of a Grade IV hemorrhoid, one that protrudes out of the anus.

Example of Anal warts.

In psychology, the Freudian term anal fixation is used.

The anus has a relatively high concentration of nerve endings and can be an erogenous zone, which can make anal intercourse pleasurable if performed properly. The pudendal nerve that branches to supply the external anal sphincter also branches to the dorsal nerve of the clitoris and the dorsal nerve of the penis.[7]

Sigmund Freud's theory of psychosexual development, for example, described an anal stage, hypothesizing that toddlers derive pleasure from retaining and expelling feces. This is the source of the term "anal-retentive" and the derived informal term "anal".

In addition to nerve endings, pleasure from anal intercourse may be aided by the close proximity between the anus and the prostate for males, and vagina, clitoral legs and anal area for females. This is because of indirect stimulation of the prostate and vagina or clitoral legs.[7][8][9] For a male insertive partner, the tightness of the anus can be a source of pleasure via the tactile pressure on the penis.[10][11] Pleasure from the anus can also be achieved through anal masturbation, fingering,[3] facesitting, anilingus, and other penetrative and non-penetrative acts. Anal stretching or fisting is pleasurable for some, but it poses a more serious threat of damage due to the deliberate stretching of the anal and rectal tissues; its injuries include anal sphincter lacerations and rectal and sigmoid colon (rectosigmoid) perforation, which might result in death.[12] Lubricant and condoms are widely regarded as a necessity while performing anal sex as well as a slow and cautious penetration.[13]

Anal intercourse is sometimes referred to as sodomy or buggery, and is considered taboo in a number of legal systems. It has been, and in some jurisdictions continues to be, a crime carrying severe punishment.[3]

To prevent diseases of the anus[citation needed] and to promote general hygiene, humans often clean the exterior of the anus after emptying the bowels. A rinse with water from a bidet or a wipe with toilet paper is often used for this purpose, though anal cleansing practices vary greatly between cultures.

Shaving, trimming, depilatory (hair removal), or Brazilian waxing can clear the perineum of hair.

Anal bleaching is a process in which the anus and perineum, which may darken after puberty depending on individual genetics, is lightened for a more youthful appearance.

True anal piercing is rare because it may interfere with the function of the anus. However, surface piercings of the perineum are easier to care for and much more common.

Muscles of the male perineum

Muscles of the female perineum

The posterior aspect of the rectum and anus exposed by removing the lower part of the sacrum and the coccyx


who sang hold on to what you got

"Hold What You've Got" is a 1964 single by Joe Tex. The single was his second chart release and first to reach the Billboard Hot 100. "Hold What You've Got" went to number one on the Cash Box R&B chart and reached number five in 1965, on the pop chart.[1] The song is noted for the two spoken recitations, between the refrains of the song, telling, first the men, and then the women to keep on supporting their loved ones and not take them for granted.

Hold What You've Got


what does the name rebecca mean in english

Rebecca or Rebekah (Hebrew: רִבְקָה (Rivkah)) is a feminine given name originating from the Hebrew language. The name comes from the verb רבק (rbq), meaning "to tie firmly"; Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names and the NOBS Study Bible Name List suggest the name means "snare", "noose", "tied up", "secured", and even "beautifully ensnaring".[1] W. F. Albright held that it meant "soil, earth".[2]

Rebecca (given name)

Becky, Beckie, Bac,

Rebecca was the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau in the Hebrew Bible.

The Latin Vulgate uses the spelling Rebecca exclusively[3] and it is followed by (ex. gr.) Wycliffe and the Bishops' Bible. In the Authorized Version of the 1600s, the spelling Rebekah is used in the Old Testament (Genesis) and the Latin "Rebecca" (representing Greek Bible Ῥεβέκκα) was retained in the New Testament (see Romans 9:10). So the earlier western spelling is “Rebecca,” but both spellings (Rebecca and Rebekah) are used in the influential King James Version. Both are current in the English-speaking world now.

In the United Kingdom, a revival of Biblical names led to this name being ranked among the top 100 female names during the 1960s, the top 20 during the 1970s, and the top 10 during the 1980s; in 1995 it peaked as the 3rd most popular female name. A decline in popularity followed; it slid out of the top 10 in 2000 and by 2009 had fallen to 77th. In 2013, it was ranked 120th.

In the United States, the name was used beginning with the colonization of the Puritans in New England in the 17th century. The name Rebecca goes up and down in the popularity rankings, but has consistently ranked in the top 200 most popular names for girls since at least 1880 (the first year for which the Social Security Administration has documented baby name popularity). In the year 2011, the Social Security Administration ranked Rebecca at 148th in popularity. In 2013, it was ranked 178th.[4][5]

The name is also popular in other countries. In 2009, Rebeca was the 27th most popular name for baby girls in Romania.[6]


what are the dates of the zodiac sign leo

Leo (♌) (Greek: Λέων, Latin: Leōn), is the fifth astrological sign of the zodiac, originating from the constellation of Leo. It comes after Cancer (Greek: Καρκίνος, Latin: Karkinos) and before Virgo (Greek: Παρθένος, Latin: Parthenos). Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun transits this area approximately between July 23 and August 22;[2] the sign spans the 120th to 150th degree of celestial longitude.

Leo (astrology)

Astrology, in its broadest sense, is the search for human meaning in the sky; it seeks to understand general and specific human behavior through the influence of planets and other celestial objects. It has been argued that astrology began as a study as soon as human beings made conscious attempts to measure, record, and predict seasonal changes by reference to astronomical cycles.[3] Astrology is believed to have originated in China about the 3rd millennium BC. Its system is based on astronomy and calendars and its development is tied to that of astronomy, which came to flourish during the Han Dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD).[4]

Leo is a fixed sign along with Taurus, Scorpio, and Aquarius. Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun transits this area on average between July 23 and August 22 each year, and under the sidereal zodiac, the Sun currently transits this area from approximately August 16 to September 15.[5] The symbol of the lion is based on the Nemean lion, a lion with an impenetrable hide.[6] It is a northern sign and its opposite southern sign is Aquarius.[2][7] Leos are usually at bay with Aries, Other Leos and Sagittarius. Leos often are best suited with the opposing sign Aquarius and others such as Cancer, Scorpio and Taurus. Leos do not see eye to eye with Pisces and Virgo and in terms for friendship Capricorn and Taurus are well suiting.


where does the kennet and avon canal run

The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of 87 miles (140Â km),[1] made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is commonly used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section. From Bristol to Bath the waterway follows the natural course of the River Avon before the canal links it to the River Kennet at Newbury, and from there to Reading on the River Thames. In all, the waterway incorporates 105 locks.

Kennet and Avon Canal

The two river stretches were made navigable in the early 18th century, and the 57-mile (92Â km) canal section was constructed between 1794 and 1810. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the canal gradually fell into disuse after the opening of the Great Western Railway. In the latter half of the 20th century the canal was restored in stages, largely by volunteers. After decades of dereliction and much restoration work, it was fully reopened in 1990. The Kennet and Avon Canal has been developed as a popular heritage tourism destination for boating, canoeing, fishing, walking and cycling, and is also important for wildlife conservation.

The idea of an east-to-west waterway link across southern England was first mentioned in Elizabethan times, between 1558 and 1603,[2] to take advantage of the proximity of tributaries of the rivers Avon and Thames, only 3 miles (5Â km) apart at their closest. Later, around 1626, Henry Briggs made a survey of the two rivers and noted that the land between them was level and easy to dig. He proposed a canal to connect them, but following his death in 1630 the plan was dropped. After the English Civil War four bills were presented to parliament, but all failed after opposition from gentry, farmers and traders worried about cheaper water transport reducing the value of fees on turnpike roads they controlled, and cheaper produce from Wales undercutting locally produced food.[2]

The main alternative to road transport for the carriage of goods between Bristol and London was a hazardous sea route through the English Channel. The small coastal sailing ships of the day were often damaged by Atlantic storms, and risked being attacked by warships of the French Navy and privateers during a succession of conflicts with France.[3]

Plans for a waterway were shelved until the early 18th century. However, in 1715, work was authorised to make the River Kennet navigable from Reading to Newbury. Work commenced in 1718, under the supervision of surveyor and engineer John Hore of Newbury. In 1723, despite considerable local opposition, the Kennet Navigation opened, comprising stretches of natural riverbed alternating with 11 miles (18Â km) of artificially created lock cuts.[3]

The River Avon had historically been navigable from Bristol to Bath, but construction of watermills on the river in the early years of the 13th century had forced its closure. In 1727, navigation was restored, with the construction of six locks, again under the supervision of John Hore. The first cargo of "Deal boards, Pig-Lead and Meal" reached Bath in December.[3][4]

The two river navigations were built independently of one another, in order to meet local needs, but they eventually led to plans to connect them and form a through route.

In 1788 a "Western Canal" was proposed to improve trade and communication links to towns such as Hungerford, Marlborough, Calne, Chippenham and Melksham. The following year the engineers Barns, Simcock and Weston submitted a proposed route for this canal, although there were doubts about the adequacy of the water supply. The name was changed from Western Canal to Kennet and Avon Canal to avoid confusion with the Grand Western Canal, which was being proposed at the same time.[5]

In 1793 a further survey was conducted by John Rennie, and the route of the canal was altered to take a more southerly course through Great Bedwyn, Devizes, Trowbridge and Newbury. The proposed route was accepted by the Kennet and Avon Canal Company, chaired by Charles Dundas, and the company started to take subscriptions from prospective shareholders. In July 1793 Rennie suggested further alterations to the route, including the construction of a tunnel in the Savernake Forest.[5] On 17 April 1794 the Kennet and Avon Canal Act received the Royal Assent and construction began. The Newbury to Hungerford section was completed in 1798, and was extended to Great Bedwyn in 1799. The section from Bath to Foxhangers was finished in 1804, and Devizes Locks were completed in 1810.[5]

The canal opened in 1810 after 16 years of construction. Major structures included the Dundas and Avoncliff aqueducts, the Bruce Tunnel under Savernake Forest, and the pumping stations at Claverton and Crofton, needed to overcome water supply problems. The final engineering task was the completion of the Caen Hill Locks at Devizes.[6]

In 1801, trade along the canal commenced; goods initially had to be unloaded at Foxhangers at the bottom of what is now Caen Hill Locks, transported up the hill by a horse-drawn railway, and reloaded into barges at the top. When the flight of locks opened in 1810, allowing the same vessel to navigate the entire canal, the rate of carriage per ton from London to Bath was £2 9s 6d. This compared well with carriage by road, which cost £6 3s to £7 per ton, and trade on the canal flourished. In 1812, the Kennet and Avon Canal Company bought the Kennet Navigation, which stretched from Newbury to the junction with the Thames at Kennet Mouth, near Reading. The purchase from Frederick Page cost £100,000, of which £70,000 was paid in cash with the balance paid back gradually. The purchase was authorised by the Kennet Navigation Act of June 1813, which enabled the company to raise the funds through the sale of 5,500 shares at £24 each. At the same time work was undertaken to improve the Avon Navigation, from Bristol to Bath, with the Kennet and Avon Canal Company purchasing a majority shareholding in the Avon Navigation in 1816.[7]

By 1818, seventy 60-ton barges were working on the canal, the majority of the tonnage being coal and stone travelling via the Somerset Coal Canal.[8] The journey from Bath to Newbury took an average of three and a half days. By 1832, 300,000 tons of freight was being carried each year and, between 1825 and 1834, the company had an annual revenue of around £45,000.[5]

The opening of the Great Western Railway in 1841 removed much of the canal's traffic, even though the canal company lowered tariffs.[9] In 1852 the railway company took over the canal's operation, levying high tolls at every toll point and reducing the amount spent on maintenance. Ice-breaking was stopped in 1857, and traders were further encouraged by preferential tolls to use the railway rather than the canal. In 1861 a new order prohibited any traffic on the canal at night, and, in 1865, boats were forced to pass through locks in pairs to reduce water loss. By 1868 the annual tonnage had fallen from 360,610 in 1848 to 210,567. In the 1870s water abstraction from the canal near Fobney Lock followed the regulations introduced in the Reading Local Board Waterworks, Sewerage, Drainage and Improvements Act of 1870, and contributed to the silting up of locks and stretches of the canal. Several wharves and stretches of towpath were closed. In 1877 the canal recorded a deficit of Â£1,920 and never subsequently made any profit.[10]

The Somerset Coal Canal and Wilts & Berks Canal, which each supplied some of the trade from the Somerset Coalfield to the Kennet and Avon,[11] closed in 1904 and 1906 respectively. In 1926, following a loss of Â£18,041 the previous year,[12] the Great Western Railway sought to close the canal by obtaining a Ministry of Transport Order, but the move was resisted and the company charged with improving its maintenance of the canal.[9] Cargo trade continued to decline, but a few pleasure boats started to use the canal.[13]

During the Second World War a large number of concrete pillboxes were built as part of the GHQ Line - Blue to defend against an expected German invasion; many of these are still visible along the banks of the canal.[14] They were generally built close to road and rail bridges, which would have formed important crossing points for enemy troops and vehicles.[15][16] After the war the Transport Act of 1947 transferred control of the canal to the British Transport Commission, but by the 1950s large sections of the canal had been closed because of poor lock maintenance following a breach in the bank west of the Avoncliff Aqueduct.[5] The last through passage was made in 1951 by nb Queen.[17]

A group supporting the restoration of the canal had been set up in the early 1950s independently of the Inland Waterways Association, with which it was subsequently merged. In 1955 John Gould, a trader on the eastern section of the waterway, successfully petitioned against the commission's failure to maintain the waterway and obtained damages for loss of business. In March 1956 a clause in the British Transport Commission (no 2) Act was presented to Parliament that would have removed the right of navigation between Reading and Bath. The Act was opposed by Gould and by the local authorities along the canal.[18] They were supported by a 22,000-signature petition to the Queen, brought to London from Bristol by water; parts of the canal had to be traversed by canoe.[18] This campaign led to an inquiry by a Parliamentary Select Committee. The committee supported the suspension of the right of navigation, and the Bill passed through the House of Commons but was amended by the House of Lords to include a clause to enforce "no further deterioration". In July 1958, the Bowes Committee published their Inquiry into Inland Waterways which specifically mentioned the Kennet and Avon finding "no justification for restoring the section from Reading to Bath".[19]

A government white paper followed the Bowes Report in February 1959, recommending that an Inland Waterways Redevelopment Advisory Committee should assist schemes to regenerate canals that were no longer able to collect enough fees from tolls to pay for their upkeep. Further reports followed, and in 1962 the Advisory Committee reported that the canal should be redeveloped, and allocated £20,000 for maintenance and £20,000 to begin restoration.[20] The Kennet and Avon Canal Trust was formed in 1962 to restore the canal from Reading to Bristol as a through navigation and as a public amenity. It was originally a voluntary group which had previously been known as the Kennet and Avon Canal Association. The Trust gained charitable status in April and was incorporated under the Companies Act on 6 June 1962.[21] In 1963 the newly formed British Waterways, which was created by the Transport Act of the previous year, and replaced the British Transport Commission as the statutory body for inland waterways, took over the canal and, in partnership with the Trust and riparian local authorities, restoration work began.[22]

Restoration work involved a collaboration between staff from British Waterways and volunteer labour. In 1966 Sulhamstead Lock was rebuilt and the re-puddling of the dry section at Limpley Stoke was begun. In 1968, restoration work was undertaken on the Bath Locks and Burghfield Lock. In Reading at Bridge Street the navigable headroom had been reduced from 8 feet 6 inches (2.59 m) to 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 m) by girders added to the underside of the bridge.[23] This was replaced with a new bridge, enabling craft to pass more easily.[18] The canal was reopened from the Thames to Hungerford Wharf in July 1974.[24] Re-puddling was a long process, so experiments with the use of heavy gauge polythene to line the canal were undertaken. The Avoncliff Aqueduct was lined with a concrete "cradle" and made water-tight in 1980.[25]

Further works continued during the 1980s. The County Council in Berkshire, supported by local councils, estimated that £1,275,000 was needed for works at the eastern end of the canal and commenced work on replacing some of the bridges. In Wiltshire concerns over the limited water supply to the summit, at the highest point of the canal, indicated that back-pumping would be required, which increased the estimated cost for the county to £761,560. The Wilton Water reservoir was estimated to produce less than 750,000 imperial gallons (3,400 m3) per day, and the Seend feeder only 250,000 imp gal (1,100 m3). Wessex Water Authority agreed to the extraction of 1,000,000 imp gal (4,500 m3) per day from the Avon at Claverton to be pumped east; the costs of the pumps was £175,000.[26]

Various fund-raising schemes, along with some financial support from local authorities, allowed small-scale work on the locks to continue, but the projected timescales for completion were missed. In 1983 the Manpower Services Commission, which had a remit to co-ordinate employment and training services in the United Kingdom, agreed to employ 50 men on work that included restoration of Aldermaston Lock, its adjacent wharf, and Widmead Lock. The restoration of the Dundas Aqueduct and several smaller schemes were later added to the list. Maintenance agreements were signed with local authorities along the route, while fund-raising activities continued. The National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders sponsored a workshop, which opened in Shrivenham in 1987, to create new lock gates for the Crofton and Devizes flights. In 1988 the restoration of Woolhampton Lock was completed, but obstructions remained on either side. Frounds swing bridge could not be opened and the restoration of Midgham Lock had not been finished; both were completed the following year. Re-puddling of the Crofton pounds was carried out in 1989, along with the reconstruction of Midgham Bridge. Restoration of the turf-sided Monkey Marsh Lock proved difficult because of its status as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and the consequent need to protect the historic site while improving safety.[27]

The stretch between Reading and Newbury was completed on 17 July 1990; at a ceremony held at Monkey Marsh Lock several boats competed to be the first craft through. Concerns about the adequacy of the water supply still remained when Queen Elizabeth II formally reopened the canal on 8 August 1990. The Queen was able to travel on the Trust's boat Rose of Hungerford through locks 44 and 43 on the Caen Hill flight, breaking a ceremonial tape between them.[28] The shortage of water was addressed in 1996 by the installation of new back pumps at the flight of 29 locks at Caen Hill in Devizes, at a cost of £1 million. The pumps raise water 235 feet (72 m) at a rate of 300,000 imperial gallons (1,400 m3) per hour (380 litres per second). In October 1996,[29] the Kennet & Avon Canal Partnership attracted the largest single National Lottery grant awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, £25 million towards a £29 million project,[30] to complete the restoration and to make it operational, sustainable and accessible for the enjoyment of future generations.[24] The work funded included complete rebuilding of Foxhangers Lock and bridge at Caen Hill, replacement of lock gates at Seend and Crofton, channel lining at Claverton, embankment repairs at Martinslade, improvements at Claverton pumping station and dredging at various sites.[31] The restoration's completion was celebrated in May 2003 by a visit from HRH Prince Charles,[32][33] but upgrading and maintenance continues. Between 2002 and 2004 the Dundas Aqueduct, which had been relined with polythene and concrete in 1984[34] without disturbing a colony of bats living under the aqueduct,[35] was further restored by the replacement of engineering bricks used by the Great Western Railway with Bath Stone to match the original work.[36]

In 2011 the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs designated the canal a national "cruiseway" as defined by the Transport Act 1968. The listing imposes a legal requirement on British Waterways to maintain the canal to a standard that ensures cruising craft can safely navigate the entire length of the waterway.[37] In November 2011 the navigation between Bath and Bristol was closed for several months because of safety concerns about Victoria Bridge.[38][39]

The River Avon was navigable from Bristol to Bath during the early years of the 13th century, until the construction of mills on the river forced its closure.[3] The modern Avon is navigable from its mouth at Avonmouth, through the Floating Harbour in Bristol, as far as Pulteney Weir in the centre of Bath and just beyond the start of the canal. Beyond Pulteney Weir the Avon is still navigable as far as the weir and site of the old "flash lock" at Bathampton but the lock at Pulteney has been replaced only with a small boat slide for dinghies and canoes. The stretch from Bristol to Bath is made navigable by the use of locks and weirs at Hanham, Keynsham, Swineford, Saltford, Kelston and Weston, which together overcome a rise of 30 feet (9 m) within 12 miles (19 km).[40][41][42][43][44]

Lock number one on the Kennet and Avon Canal is Hanham Lock, first opened as part of the Avon Navigation in 1727. It is the first lock east of Netham, the upstream limit of the Floating Harbour, beyond the suburbs of the city of Bristol. A colliery wharf was sited just west of the lock, but the nearby coal mines closed in the 19th century.[45] The river below Hanham Lock is considered to be tidal, as high tides often pass over the weir at Netham. Some spring tides pass over the weir at Hanham, making the river tidal up to Keynsham Lock.[46] Heading east, the river passes the Somerdale Factory, on its southern bank, which was a chocolate production factory for Cadbury â€“ originally built by the Fry family in the 1920s and 1930s. On the northern bank is Cleeve Wood, the primary scientific importance of which lies in its particularly large population of Bath asparagus (Ornithogalum pyrenaicum).[47] A public house has been built on the island between Keynsham Lock and the weir. The weir side of the island is also the mouth of the River Chew.[48]

The river then passes through Avon Valley Country Park and past Stidham Farm, another SSSI that contains Pleistocene terrace-gravels of the river. A depth of at least 7 feet (2 m) of sandy gravels are recorded, consisting mainly of limestone clasts, but also with Millstone Grit, Pennant Sandstone, flint, and chert clasts.[49] The river passes under the old railway line that now forms the Avon Valley Railway, a three-mile-long (5 km) heritage railway, before reaching Swineford Lock. Here, between 1709 and 1859, there was an active brass and copper industry served by the river, which also provided water power for the cloth industry.[50] The remains of Kelston Brass Mill, which was working until 1925, are next to Saltford Lock. The lock was opened in 1727 but destroyed by rival coal dealers in 1738, to prevent the river being used for transportation.[50]

The Bristol and Bath Railway Path crosses the navigation several times before reaching the suburb of Newbridge on the outskirts of Bath. Here the A4 crosses close to the Newton St Loe SSSI, which is designated an SSSI because it represents the only remaining known exposure of fossiliferous Pleistocene gravels containing the remains of mammoths (Mammuthus) and horses (Equus) along the river, and has aided the development of a scientific understanding of the history of early glaciation in South West England.[51] The final lock before entering Bath is Weston Lock, opened in 1727. Its construction created an island between the cut and the river weir, which became known as Dutch Island after the owner of the brass mill established on the riverside in the early 18th century.[52]

The restored Bath Bottom Lock[53] marks the divergence of the River Avon and the canal. It is situated south of Pulteney Bridge. Just upstream of the Bottom Lock are a side pound and a pumping station that pumps water "upstream" of the locks, to replace that used each time a boat passes through.[54][55] The next of the six Bath Locks is Bath Deep Lock, numbered 8/9 as two locks were combined when the canal was restored in 1976.[56] The new chamber has a depth of 19 feet 5 inches (5.92 m), making it the UK's second-deepest canal lock.[55] Just above the Deep Lock is another side pound as a reservoir for refilling the lock, followed by Wash House Lock.[57] After a slightly longer pound is Abbey View Lock,[58] beside which there is another pumping station and then, in quick succession, Pulteney Lock and Bath Top Lock.[59]

Above the Top Lock the canal passes through Sydney Gardens via two short tunnels[60][61] and under two cast iron footbridges dating from 1800. Cleveland Tunnel is 173 feet (53Â m) long and runs under Cleveland House, the former headquarters of the Kennet and Avon Canal Company[62] and now a Grade II* listed building.[63] A trap-door in the tunnel roof was used to pass paperwork between clerks above and bargees below.[62] Many of the bridges over the canal are listed buildings.[64]

On the eastern outskirts of Bath a toll bridge near the George Inn links Bathampton to Batheaston, on the north bank of the canal. When the A4 Batheaston by-pass was built, the 22-acre (8.9 ha) Bathampton Meadow was created to provide additional flood relief. The resultant wet meadows and oxbow lake have proved attractive to a number of migrants; wading birds such as dunlin, ringed and little ringed plover, and green and common sandpiper are frequent visitors in spring and autumn. Sand martin and kingfisher have been seen regularly by the lake, and other migrants have included yellow wagtail, whinchat and hobby.[65] The canal turns south into a valley between Bathampton Wood and Bathford Hill which includes Brown's Folly, a 99-acre (40 ha) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest.[66]

In the Avon Valley to the east of Bath the classic geographical example of a valley with all four forms of ground transport is found: road, rail, river, canal. The canal passes the remains of a loading dock, once used for Bath Stone from the quarries on Bathampton Down, which was carried down a straight track to the canal over the Dry Arch rock bridge (demolished in 1958 to allow double-decker buses to use the A36).[67] Next, the canal passes the waterwheel-powered Claverton Pumping Station, which pumped water from the River Avon into the canal. The building was completed in 1810 and the pump was working by 1813.[68]

On the eastern bank Warleigh Wood and Inwood are ash-wych elm and ash-maple dry woodland, which comes right down to the canal.[69]

The canal then crosses over the river and the Wessex Main Line railway at the Dundas Aqueduct, past Conkwell Wood, before recrossing the river and railway at the Avoncliff Aqueduct. At the western end of the Dundas Aqueduct it is joined by the remains of the Somerset Coal Canal, a short stretch of which has been restored to create the Brassknocker Basin.[70] Excavations of the old stop lock showed that it was originally a broad 14-foot (4.3 m) lock that at some point was narrowed to 7 feet (2.1 m) by moving the lock wall.[71] The Somerset Coal Canal was built around 1800 from basins at Paulton and Timsbury, giving access to London from the Somerset Coalfield, which at its peak contained 80 collieries.[72]

After the Avoncliff Aqueduct the canal passes through Barton Farm Country Park, past Gripwood Quarry[73] and a 14th-century Grade II* listed tithe barn, 180 feet (55 m) long and 30 feet (9 m) wide, on its way into Bradford on Avon.[74][75]

The first sod for the Kennet and Avon Canal was turned in Bradford on Avon in 1794, and soon there were wharves above and below Bradford Lock.[34] Further east, an aqueduct carries the canal over the River Biss.[76] There are locks at Semington and Seend, where water flows into the canal from the Summerham Brook, otherwise known as the Seend Feeder. In the village of Semington the Wilts & Berks Canal joined the canal, linking the Kennet and Avon to the River Thames at Abingdon. The North Wilts Canal merged with it to become a branch to the Thames and Severn Canal at Latton near Cricklade. The 52-mile (84 km) canal was opened in 1810, but abandoned in 1914 – a fate hastened by the collapse of Stanley Aqueduct in 1901.[77] In 1977 the Wilts & Berks Canal Amenity Group was formed with the aim of fully restoring the canal to re-connect the Kennet and Avon to the upper reaches of the Thames.[78]

Caen Hill Locks, at Devizes, provides an insight into the engineering needed to build and maintain the canal. The main flight of 16 locks, which take 5–6 hours to navigate in a boat,[79] is part of a longer series of 29 locks built in three groups: seven at Foxhangers, sixteen at Caen Hill, and six at the town end of the flight.[80][81] The total rise is 237 feet (72 m) in 2 miles (3.2 km) or a 1 in 30 gradient.[82] The locks were the last part of the 87-mile (140 km) route of the canal to be completed. The steepness of the terrain meant that there was no space to use the normal arrangement of water pounds between the locks. As a result, the 16 locks utilise unusually large side ponds to store the water needed for their operation.[83] Because a large volume of water is needed a back pump was installed at Foxhangers in 1996, capable of returning 7 million imperial gallons (32,000 m3) of water per day to the top of the flight, equivalent to one lockful every 11 minutes.[84] While the locks were under construction in the early 19th century a tramroad provided a link between Foxhangers at the bottom of the flight and Devizes at the top, the remains of which can be seen in the towpath arches in the road bridges over the canal.[84] From 1829 until 1843 the flight,[81] which includes the narrowest lock on the canal, Lock 41,[79] was illuminated by gas lights.[81]

At the top of the flight is Devizes Wharf, home to the Kennet & Avon Canal Museum, which has a range of exhibits on the conception, design, usage, and eventual commercial decline of the Kennet and Avon Canal, as well as its subsequent restoration. It is operated by the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust, which has its headquarters and a shop within the Canal Centre.[85] The Wharf Theatre is in an old warehouse on the same site.[86] Devizes wharf is the starting point for the Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Marathon, which has been held since 1948.[87]

Heading east from Devizes the canal passes through the Wiltshire countryside and a series of locks and swing bridges before another flight of locks at Crofton.[88]

At Honeystreet is the remains of a wharf that was the home of boat builders Robbins, Lane and Pinnegar, which served as the boat building headquarters of the Canal Company.[89] They built many of the boats used on the canals of southern England before closing in about 1950. Next to the wharf is the Barge Inn, a substantial public house once known as the George Inn. It was roughly half-way along the canal and served as a bakehouse, slaughterhouse and shop for provisions for those living and working on the canal. The building was destroyed by fire in 1858 and rebuilt within six months.[90] It was built just within the parish boundary of Stanton St Bernard to "serve the Honey Street wharf in Alton parish, which refused to allow drinking establishments".[91]

Jones's Mill is a 29-acre (12Â ha) area of fen vegetation, scrub and woodland lying along the headwaters of the Salisbury Avon northeast of Pewsey. It has been designated a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest because it is "the best known example of a calcareous valley mire in Wiltshire".[92]

The four locks at Wootton Rivers mark the end of the climb from the Avon. Between Wootton Top Lock and Crofton is the summit pound of the canal at 450 feet (140 m) above sea level, stretching for about 2 miles (3 km) and including the 502-yard-long (459 m) Bruce Tunnel.[93] The tunnel is named after the local land owner, Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury (1729–1814), who refused to allow a deep cutting through his property and insisted on a tunnel.[94] The tunnel has red brick portals, capped with Bath stone, each with a decorative plaque of Pennant stone. The tunnel was begun in 1806 and finished in 1809. It is lined with English bond brickwork and has a wide bore to cope with the Newbury barges used on the canal.[95] There is no towpath through the tunnel, so walkers and cyclists must walk across the top of the hill. When canal boats were pulled by horses the boatmen had to haul their barges through the tunnel by hand, pulling on chains that ran along the inside walls.[96]

The Crofton Locks flight marks the start of the descent from the summit to the Thames; the nine locks have a total rise/fall of 61 feet (19 m).[97] When the canal was built there were no reliable water sources available to fill the summit by normal gravitational means. A number of usable springs were found adjacent to the canal route about one mile (1.6 km) east of the summit pound, and about 40 feet (12 m) below it, and arrangements were made for them to feed the pound below lock 60 at Crofton. Some years later the Wilton Water reservoir was created to enhance the supply to this pound using the springs and the River Dun.[98]

Water is pumped to the summit at the western end of the locks, from Wilton Water, by the restored Crofton Pumping Station. The original steam-powered pumping station is preserved and contains one of the oldest operational Watt-style beam engines in the world, dating from 1812. The steam engines still pump water on selected weekends, but for day-to-day operation electric pumps are used, automatically controlled by the water level in the summit pound.[99][100]

Near Crofton are Savernake Forest[101] and the remains of a railway bridge that carried the Midland and South Western Junction Railway over the canal.[102] Mill Bridge at Great Bedwyn is unusual in being a skew arch; on its completion in 1796 it was the first of its kind.[103] From there to Hungerford the canal follows the valley of the River Dun through Freeman's Marsh, which consists of unimproved meadows, marsh and reedbed. It is an important site for overwintering, migratory and breeding birds, and supports many varieties of flora scarce in Southern England. It was cited by English Nature in 1986, and forms part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.[104] There are plans to construct a marina and hotel complex adjacent to the site, but the potential environmental impacts (particularly to water voles) of such a development on Freeman's Marsh have led to local opposition.[105][106] To the north of the canal are seven separate small areas, four in the Kennet Valley and three in the Lambourn Valley, which make up the Kennet and Lambourn Floodplain SSSI. Occupying a total of 57 acres (23Â ha), it supports particularly large populations of Desmoulin's whorl snail.[107][108]

There are several locks and bridges in Hungerford, including one which carries the A338. Hungerford Marsh Lock is unique on the Kennet and Avon Canal in that it has a swing bridge directly over the centre of the lock that must be opened before the lock may be used.[109] In the area around the lock, called Hungerford Marsh Nature Reserve, more than 120 bird species have been recorded.[110]

Between Kintbury Lock and Newbury, passing to the north of Hamstead Marshall, the canal is very close to the River Kennet, which flows into the canal via several channels.[111] The canal passes through an area known as the Kennet Valley Alderwoods, the largest remaining fragments of damp, ash-alder woodland in the River Kennet floodplain. The SSSI includes two woods – the Wilderness and part of Ryott's Plantation – which are important because they support a very great diversity of plants associated with this woodland type, dominated by alder (Alnus glutinosa); though ash (Fraxinus excelsior) is abundant in places and there is occasional oak (Quercus robur) and wych elm (Ulmus glabra). In addition to the wide range of higher plants the woods support a diverse bryophyte flora including the uncommon epiphytes Radula complanata, Zygodon viridissimus and Orthotrichum affine.[112] Nearby is Irish Hill Copse. This site of coppiced ancient woodland includes an extensive area of calcareous ash/wych elm coppice on the hill sides, merging into wet ash/maple and acid oak/ash/hazel woodland with aspen, on the higher parts of the site. The lower slopes are dominated by dog's mercury (Mercurialis perennis), with abundant herb paris (Paris quadrifolia), toothwort (Lathraea squamaria), Solomon's seal (Polygonatum multiflorum), twayblade and early purple orchids (Listera ovata) and Orchis mascula and, locally, wild daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarcissus).[113]

A wooden bridge was built over the Kennet at Newbury[114] in 1726, replaced in stone between 1769 and 1772 by James Clarke,[115] and now known as the Town Bridge or Water Bridge. As there is no tow path, a line to haul the barge had to be floated under the bridge and then re-attached to the horse where the tow path resumed.[116]

The River Kennet is navigable from Newbury downstream to the confluence with the River Thames at Kennet Mouth, in Reading.[117]

The stretch from Newbury to High Bridge in Reading is an improved river navigation known as the Kennet Navigation, opened in 1723. Throughout this navigation stretches of natural riverbed alternate with 11 miles (18 km) of artificial lock cuts and a series of locks that overcome a fall of 130 feet (40 m).[118]

East of Newbury town centre the Kennet passes through the Thatcham Reed Beds a 169-acre (68Â ha) Site of Special Scientific Interest, nationally important for its extensive reedbed, and species-rich alder woodland and fen habitats. The latter supports Desmoulin's whorl snail (Vertigo moulinsiana), which is of national and European importance. A large assemblage of breeding birds including nationally rare species such as Cetti's warbler (Cettia cetti) make use of the reedbed, fen and open water habitats found at Thatcham Reed Beds.[119] Thatcham's network of gravel pits, reed bed, woodland, hedges and grassland is rich in wildlife and has been made into The Nature Discovery Centre by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.[120]

Monkey Marsh Lock at Thatcham is one of only two remaining working examples of turf-sided locks on the canal today.[121] It is listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument by English Heritage.[122][123]

Below Colthrop Lock in Thatcham the river leaves behind the built-up area of Newbury and runs in generally rural surroundings. It passes through the Woolhampton Reed Bed, another SSSI which consists of dense reed bed with smaller areas of tall fen vegetation and carr woodland. It is notable for the diversity of insects it supports and its nesting passerine bird populations, which include several uncommon species such as reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus), a species that in Britain nests almost exclusively in this habitat.[124]

Aldermaston Gravel Pits consist of mature flooded gravel workings surrounded by dense fringing vegetation, trees and scrub, affording a variety of habitats for breeding birds and a refuge for wildfowl. The irregular shoreline with islands, promontories, sheltered eutrophic pools and narrow lagoons, provides undisturbed habitat for many water birds, including surface-feeding ducks such as teal (Anas crecca) and shoveler (Anas clypeata). The surrounding marsh and scrub are important for numerous birds including nine breeding species of warblers, water rails (Rallus aquaticus), kingfishers (Alcedoa atthis) and an important breeding colony of nightingales (Luscinia megarhynchos).[125] In 2002 English Nature bought Aldermaston Gravel Pits from the mineral extraction company Grundon and it is managed as a nature reserve by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust.[126] The River Kennet itself, from near its sources west of Marlborough down to Woolhampton, has been designated as a SSSI primarily because it has an extensive range of rare plants and animals that are unique to chalk watercourses.[127]

The village of Woolhampton and the canal settlement of Aldermaston Wharf are the only significant settlements until the river enters the built-up area of Reading at Sheffield Lock in Theale. Even after this, the river is isolated from Reading's suburbs by a wide floodplain surrounding the river. In this stretch is Garston Lock, the other turf-sided lock on the navigation.[128]

Shortly after passing Fobney Lock and the associated water treatment works, the Kennet flood plain narrows and the river enters a narrow steep-sided gap in the hills forming the southern flank of the Thames flood plain.[129] At County Lock the river enters the centre of Reading, where it formerly flowed through the centre of a large brewery. This narrow and twisting stretch of the river became known as Brewery Gut. Because of poor visibility and the difficulty of boats passing in this stretch, traffic has long been controlled by a set of maritime traffic lights.[130] Today the Brewery Gut is a major feature of Reading's The Oracle shopping centre.[131]

Immediately after The Oracle the river flows under the arched High Bridge, which forms a historical and administrative divide on the river. The last one mile (1.6Â km) of the River Kennet in Reading below the bridge has been navigable since at least the 13th century. Because there is no wide floodplain, wharves could be built during the Middle Ages that allowed Reading to establish itself as a river port.[132] Originally this short stretch of river, which includes Blake's Lock, was under the control of Reading Abbey, but today it is administered by the Environment Agency as if it were part of the River Thames.[133][134] The Horseshoe Bridge at Kennet Mouth was built as a railway bridge in 1839, and the timber-clad iron-truss accommodation bridge was added in 1892.[135]

The canal today is a heritage tourism destination. Boating, with narrowboats and cruisers, is a popular tourist attraction particularly in the summer months. It is a favourite haunt of several famous canal enthusiasts including canal boat veterans and original Kennet and Avon restoration supporters, Prunella Scales and Timothy West.[136][137][138] Privately owned craft and hire boats from the range of marinas are much in evidence, and there are numerous canoe clubs along its length. The annual Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Marathon starts from Devizes Wharf, the site of the Kennet & Avon Canal Museum, at first light on Good Friday each year and the competitors have to negotiate 75 locks in the 125-mile (201 km) route between Devizes and the finish at Westminster.[139] The winning time is usually around 17½ hours.[140]

Cycling is permitted along the canal towpath except for a 656-yard (600Â m) section near Woolhampton. Some sections of the canal towpath have been improved and widened to make them more suitable for cyclists and disabled users. Under a partnership arrangement involving British Waterways, Sustrans, and the riparian local authorities, two main sections of the canal have been improved, and, with a few short diversions, run from Reading to Marsh Benham and from Devizes to Bath as part of the National Cycle Network (NCN) Route 4.[141] Fishing for bream, tench, roach, rudd, perch, gudgeon, pike and carp is permitted throughout the year from the towpath of the canal, but almost its whole length is leased to angling associations or fishing clubs. There are a variety of riverside public houses, shops and tea rooms. The Kennet and Avon Canal Trust operates shops and tearooms at Aldermaston Lock, Newbury Wharf, Crofton Pumping Station, Devizes, and Bradford on Avon.[142]

The canal and its environs are important for wildlife conservation. There are several Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which exhibit great biodiversity. Key sites that are home to several rare species include the Aldermaston Gravel Pits,[143] Woolhampton,[144] Thatcham Reed Beds,[145][146] and Freeman's Marsh, Hungerford.[147] There are also many non-statutory nature reserves along the canal.[148] More than 100 different species of bird have been recorded in surveys over the length of the canal,[149] of which 38 could be classified as specialist waterway birds, including grey heron (Ardea cinerea), reed bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) and common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis).[150] Fourteen species have been confirmed as breeding including sand martins (Riparia riparia), which nest in drain-pipes in the brick walls of the canal in the centre of Reading.[151] Wilton Water by Crofton Locks and the Kennet Valley gravel pits provide habitats for breeding and wintering waterfowl.[152] Several species of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) and other invertebrates have also been recorded.[22] Common reed (Phragmites australis) is among the plant species growing along the edges of the canal.[153][154] Measures to preserve and create water vole (Arvicola amphibius or A. terrestrisis) habitat have had considerable impact on the restoration of the canal, and new "vole-friendly" techniques of bank protection have been developed.[155]


who plays the scarlet witch in marvel movies

In 2014, Olsen starred in Legendary's reboot Godzilla, opposite Bryan Cranston and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.[21][22] Olsen joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe playing the character of Scarlet Witch in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the 2015 sequel to The Avengers.[23][24] She first appeared as the character in a mid-credits scene of the film Captain America: The Winter Soldier, alongside her Godzilla co-star Taylor-Johnson, who portrayed her brother Quicksilver.[25] She reprised the role in the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War and the 2018 sequel Avengers: Infinity War.[26]

Elizabeth Olsen

Elizabeth Chase Olsen (born February 16, 1989)[1] is an American actress. Her breakthrough came in 2011 when she starred in the independent thriller drama Martha Marcy May Marlene, for which she was nominated for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress and Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead, among other awards. She subsequently starred in the films Silent House (2011), Liberal Arts (2012), Oldboy (2013), Godzilla (2014), I Saw the Light (2015), Ingrid Goes West (2017), and Wind River (2017).

She achieved global recognition when she appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch, with her first appearance in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) in the end credit scene, then a lead in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and the upcoming Untitled Avengers film (2019).

Olsen was born in Sherman Oaks, California, to Jarnette "Jarnie", a personal manager, and David "Dave" Olsen, a real estate developer and mortgage banker.[1][2] She is the younger sister of twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who became noted at an early age as TV and film stars. Olsen also has an older brother, Trent, and two younger half-siblings. In 1996, her parents divorced.[3] The Olsens have Norwegian and English ancestry.[4]

As a child, Olsen received ballet and singing lessons.[5] She began acting at a young age, with appearances in her sisters' films. Before the age of 11, Olsen had small roles in How the West Was Fun and the straight-to-video series The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley.[6] Having appeared in her sisters' videos, when she was in the fourth grade, Olsen began to go on auditions for other projects. She attended Campbell Hall School in North Hollywood, California, from kindergarten through grade 12.[7]

After graduation, she enrolled at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. In 2009, Olsen spent a semester studying in Moscow at the Moscow Art Theatre School through the MATS program at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center.[7]

Olsen began acting when she was four years old and co-starred in six of Mary-Kate and Ashley's productions; she also auditioned for the film Spy Kids.[8] She almost quit acting in 2004 due to the media frenzy surrounding Mary-Kate's eating disorder.[9] Olsen's breakout role came in 2011, in the film Martha Marcy May Marlene. The film, along with Olsen's performance, received critical acclaim. Olsen was nominated for and won numerous critics awards for her portrayal of the titular character Martha, a girl suffering from delusions and paranoia after fleeing her life in a cult and returning to her family.[6][10][11] She next appeared in the horror film remake Silent House, in which she played the role of Sarah. The film received mixed reviews,[12] but Olsen's performance was praised.[11] Olsen also appeared in the music video "The Queen" by Carlotta.[13] Olsen filmed the movie Red Lights in mid-2011, and it was released in the U.S. on July 13, 2012.[14] She starred in Josh Radnor's film Liberal Arts, which was released on January 22, 2012.[15] She and Dakota Fanning starred in Very Good Girls, a 2013 release.[16][17]

In January 2013, Olsen was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award.[18] She co-starred in the 2013 American remake of the 2003 South Korean film Oldboy; she played Marie, a young social worker who developed a relationship with the protagonist, played by Josh Brolin.[19] She played Edie Parker, Jack Kerouac's first wife and the author of the Beat Generation memoir You'll Be Okay, in Kill Your Darlings. Also in 2013, she portrayed the leading role in In Secret, an adaptation of Émile Zola's 1867 classic novel Thérèse Raquin.[20]

In September 2014, it was announced that Olsen would portray Audrey Williams, Hank Williams's wife, manager, and duet partner in the 2015 biopic film I Saw the Light directed by Marc Abraham and starring Tom Hiddleston as Hank Williams.[27]

In January 2016, it was announced that Olsen would star alongside her Avengers: Age of Ultron co-star Jeremy Renner in Taylor Sheridan's directorial feature film debut, Wind River.[28] In August 2016, it was announced that she would star in Matt Spicer's Ingrid Goes West opposite Aubrey Plaza.[29] Both films were released in August 2017.[30]

Olsen attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and Atlantic Theater Company and graduated in March 2013 after six years of intermittent study.[31][32] Her sisters' clothing line "Elizabeth and James" was named after her and her older brother.[7]

In September 2012, Olsen started dating actor and fashion model Boyd Holbrook.[citation needed] They got engaged in March 2014,[33][34] but called it off in January 2015.[35] As of February 2017, she is in a relationship with Robbie Arnett, the lead singer of the indie band Milo Greene.[36][37]


how many seats are there in haryana vidhan sabha

The Haryana Vidhan Sabha or the Haryana Legislative Assembly is the unicameral state legislature of Haryana state in northern India. The seat of the Vidhan Sabha is at Chandigarh, the capital of the state. The Vidhan Sabha comprises 90 Members of Legislative Assembly, directly elected from single-seat constituencies.[1] The term of office is five years.

Haryana Legislative Assembly

Government (48)

Opposition (42)

The body was founded in 1966, when the state was created from part of the state of Punjab, by the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966. The house initially had 54 seats, ten reserved for scheduled castes, this was increased to 81 seats in March 1967, and to 90 seats (including 17 reserved seats) in 1977.[2]

The Haryana Janhit Congress (BL), which won 2 seats in 2014 elections, merged with INC on 28 April 2016.


who played the lawyer in parks and recreation

"Kaboom" was written by Aisha Muharrar and directed by Charles McDougall. The Pawnee pit, which has been a focal plot device in Parks and Recreation since the first episode, is filled in during this episode.[1] "Kaboom" features actor and comedian Paul Scheer in a guest appearance as the KaBOOM! organizer. Scheer has previously worked with Aziz Ansari on the MTV sketch comedy show, Human Giant.[2] "Kaboom" also featured H. Jon Benjamin, a voice actor from Archer, Dr. Katz, and Home Movies, as Pawnee's lawyer.[2] Chris Pratt actually appeared naked during filming of a scene in which he arrived at Ann's house without clothes on. Michael Schur, co-creator of Parks and Recreation, said the scene was written because Pratt "loves taking his clothes off".[3]

Kaboom (Parks and Recreation)

"Kaboom" is the sixth episode of the second season of Parks and Recreation, and the twelfth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on October 22, 2009. In the episode, Leslie tries to have the pit filled in and injures Andy in the process, opening Pawnee up to a possible lawsuit.

The episode was written by Aisha Muharrar and directed by Charles McDougall, and featured guest performances by comedians Paul Scheer and H. Jon Benjamin. "Kaboom" saw the filling in of the Pawnee pit, a focal plot device in Parks and Recreation since the first episode. As part of a multi-network television campaign to spotlight volunteerism, the episode prominently featured the real-life organization KaBOOM!, a charity that builds playgrounds in locations all over the United States.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by 4.98 million household viewers, an improvement over the previous week. "Kaboom" received generally positive reviews, with several commentators praising the series for resolving the long-standing pit subplot.

It is the only episode of the entire series in which Aubrey Plaza does not appear as April Ludgate.

The episode opens with Leslie (Amy Poehler) receiving a speakerphone call about abnormal transactions on her credit card. The purchases turn out to all be legitimate, but Leslie cancels the card anyway out of embarrassment when Tom (Aziz Ansari) hears about her unusual purchases, including a "bucket of cake", a man pillow in the shape of Daniel Craig, and tuition to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Later, the parks department and Ann (Rashida Jones) visit neighboring Indiana town Eagleton to help build a playground in a single day, as part of an event by the charity KaBOOM! There, Leslie and Ann find Ann's ex-boyfriend Andy (Chris Pratt), who claims to be volunteering, but in reality, is coming for the free food. He tells Leslie and Ann that he now has a home with the drummer of his band. Leslie is inspired by the energy of the group and its leader Keef (Paul Scheer), which prompts her to take proactive measures in filling in the pit in Pawnee and turning it into a park. While discussing the matter with her parks department, Mark (Paul Schneider) takes her aside and suggests she simply fill it in without permission. Leslie decides to take his advice and rents an excavator to fill in the pit.

Leslie meets Ann at the pit with the rented excavator, which starts filling it in with dirt. However, they failed to realize Andy was under some tarps in the pit, and he is injured when mounds of dirt fall on him. He is taken to the hospital, where Ann is assigned as his nurse. An angry Ron (Nick Offerman) tells Leslie the town is now open to a large potential lawsuit from Andy, and he sends her to visit him along with their city attorney Scott (H. Jon Benjamin). Meanwhile, Andy is excited to be near Ann and insists it will lead to them getting back together, but Ann tells him she is very happy dating Mark, who unlike Andy has a job, apartment and future. A disheartened Andy decides he has to get money to impress Ann. When Leslie visits, he regretfully tells her he and his attorney Wendell Adams (Chris Tallman) are going to sue Pawnee.

Leslie is convinced she can reason with Andy if they can talk without their lawyers, but Andy will not return her calls. Finally, Ann calls Andy and asks him to come to her house. Later that day, he arrives completely naked, having assumed Ann wanted to take him back. A disgusted Ann leaves the house, leaving Leslie and Andy to talk. Andy admits he is suing the town in an attempt to win Ann back, and she thinks of a different way he can impress her. The next day at city hall, Andy tells Leslie and Scott he will drop the lawsuit if they agree to fill in the pit right away. Scott agrees, unaware it was a trick between Andy and Leslie. The next day the pit is filled in and turned into a lot, and an impressed Ann waves at Andy while the construction work is going on. The episode ends with Keef riding a motorboat, revealing his role in KaBOOM! was an elaborate prank to get the playground built, and announcing he is going to build a hospital in a poor part of China.

The script prominently features KaBOOM!, a real-life charitable organization that builds playgrounds in locations all over the United States. Parks and Recreation included the charity in the episode as part of a charity campaign called "I Participate", sponsored by the Entertainment Industry Foundation. The campaign involves more than 60 shows on NBC ABC, CBS, Fox and several other networks, all of which spotlighted real-life charities in an effort to encourage volunteerism.[4] Greg Daniels, the series executive producer and co-creator, was responsible for choosing the KaBOOM! charity.[5] In an editorial featured on The Huffington Post after the "Kaboom" aired, KaBOOM! chief executive officer Darell Hammond called the episode "Ka-PERFECT!" and said, "The writers certainly captured the spirit that fuels each of our (playground) builds â€“ something that inspires volunteers to continue their great work and strive even harder to give back to their communities."[6]

Within a week of the episode's original broadcast, two deleted scenes from "Kaboom" were made available on the official Parks and Recreation website. The first two-minute clip included extended scenes of the KABOOM! park construction, including Tom text messaging instead of working, Leslie and Ann competing with children, and Paul Scheer doing the Worm dance move. Leslie also seeks advice from her mother (played by Pamela Reed) after putting Pawnee in danger of a lawsuit. In the second, 15-second clip, Ann complains to Mark about Andy appearing naked at her apartment, which Mark only finds amusing.[7]

Andy says he volunteers at several organizations in order to get their free food at their events. He specifically identifies the Red Cross, which he says has "amazing cookies", and Meals on Wheels, which he described as a "bonanza".[1]

In its original American broadcast on October 22, 2009, "Kaboom" was seen by 4.98 million household viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. It was a slight increase from the previous week's episode, "Sister City". "Kaboom" received a 2.1 rating/6 share among viewers aged between 18 and 49.[8] The episode received generally positive reviews. Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club said "Kaboom" was the best episode of the second season, and called Parks and Recreation "one of the funniest shows on TV right now".[9] Heisler praised the show for not shying away from outrageousness, and called Andy's naked entrance "by far the highlight of the series". Entertainment Weekly writer Henning Fog said "Kaboom" continued a trend of superior Parks episodes in season two, and praised the episode for filling in the pit, claiming it "both tied up a plot thread that had overstayed its welcome and put to rest any lingering ghosts from the first six episodes".[1] Matt Fowler of IGN said the episode was funny and served as good character development for Leslie and Andy. But Fowler also said "some scenes fell flat", and questioned why Ann would continue to harbor feelings for the immature Andy.[2]


what kind of grass is at the white house

During the administrations of Rutherford B. Hayes and (the first of) Grover Cleveland the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were engaged to reconfigure the South Lawn, reducing the size of Downing's circular parade, and creating the current boundaries much as they presently are.[6] Theodore Roosevelt who had engaged the architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White to reconfigure and rebuild parts of the White House in 1902, was influenced to remove the complex of Victorian era glass houses built up the West Colonnade and the site of the present West Wing. In 1934, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt engaged Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. to evaluate the grounds and recommend changes. Olmsted understood the need to offer presidents and their families a modicum of privacy balancing with the requirement for public views of the White House.[5] The Olmsted plan presented the landscape largely as seen today: retaining or planting large specimen trees and shrubs on the perimeter to create boundaries for visual privacy, but punctuated with generous sight lines of the house from north and south.[7] The lawn is planted with a grass variety called tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea). [8]

South Lawn (White House)

The South Lawn at the White House in Washington, DC, is located directly south of the house, and is bordered on the east by East Executive Drive and the Treasury Building, and on the west by West Executive Drive and the Old Executive Office Building, and along its curved southern perimeter by South Executive Drive and a large circular public lawn called The Ellipse. Since the address of the White House is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, and the North Lawn faces Pennsylvania Avenue, the South Lawn is sometimes described as the back lawn of the White House.

The South Lawn presents a long north-south vista from the house. Open to the public until the Second World War, it is now a closed part of the White House grounds that provides a setting for official events like the State Arrival Ceremony as well as informal gatherings including the annual White House Egg Rolling Contest and staff barbecues. Marine One, the presidential helicopter, departs from and lands on the South Lawn.

When the White House was first occupied in 1800 the site of the South Lawn was an open meadow gradually descending to a large marsh, the Tiber Creek, and Potomac River beyond.[1] Thomas Jefferson completed grading of the South Lawn, building up mounds on either side of a central lawn. Jefferson, working with architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe located a triumphal arch as a main entry point to the grounds, just southeast of the White House.[2] Pierre-Charles L'Enfant's 1793 plan of the city of Washington, indicates a setting of terraced formal gardens descending to Tiber Creek. Later in 1850, landscape designer Andrew Jackson Davis attempted to soften the geometry of the L'Enfant plan, incorporating a semicircular southern boundary and meandering paths.[3] Andrew Jackson Davis's changes included enlarging the South Lawn, creating a large circular lawn he termed the "Parade or President's Park" and bordered by densely planted shrubs and trees.[4] During the administration of Ulysses S. Grant the marsh to the south was drained, and the South Lawn received additional grading and 8 to 10 feet of fill to make the descent to the Potomac more gradual.[5]

Trees on the South Lawn include the earliest remaining trees on the grounds to have been planted by a United States president – President Andrew Jackson's southern magnolias (Magnolia grandiflora) on either side of the South portico, Japanese threadleaf maple (Acer palmatum dissectum), American elm (Ulmus americana), white oak (Quercus alba), white saucer magnolia (Magnolia × soulangeana), Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), and northern red oak (Quercus rubra).[9]

The South Lawn pool and fountain is planted seasonally with borders of tulips edged by grape hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum) for spring, red geranium (Pelargonium) and Dusty Miller (Senecio cineraria) in summer, and chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium) in fall.[10]

The two ceremonial gardens of the White House (the Rose Garden and the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden) face the South Lawn. The Rose Garden (sometimes referred to as "The Presidents Garden") is located south-west of the main residence along the west colonnade, just outside the Oval Office. The Jacqueline Kennedy Garden is located south-east of the main residence along the east colonnade. The garden was dedicated by Lady Bird Johnson as the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden on April 22, 1965, although it has been called the "First Lady's Garden" by some later administrations.

A tennis court was first installed during the Theodore Roosevelt administration on the south lawn. Since then, the court has been moved several times, eventually landing in its current position in the south-west area. President Obama had basketball court lines and removable baskets installed so he could play full court basketball. Located just west of the tennis/basketball court is a half-court basketball area that also housed a horseshoe pit.

The pool was installed in 1975 by President Gerald Ford. It is located directly south of the West Wing. The original pool at The White House was indoors, located in between the main residence and the West Wing, however President Nixon turned it into an area for the press.

The putting green was first installed in 1954 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower who was an avid golfer. It was removed by President Nixon[11] and later reinstalled by President George H. W. Bush in 1991.[12] However President Clinton moved it to its current location just south of the Rose Garden, a short walk from the Oval Office.[13]

The children's garden is located between the tennis court and basketball court to the south-west area of the property. The garden was a gift to the White House in 1968 from President Johnson and his wife. The garden supplies a secluded location for children to play in private. The garden features a goldfish pond in the sitting area. Footprints and handprints of various President's children and grandchildren are embedded in various stones making up the walkway.

The south lawn provides space for the Presidents helicopter, Marine One, to land directly on the White House grounds. The helicopter will take off and land in the grassy area directly south of the main residence. For aesthetic reasons, the lawn does not contain a full helipad, but rather three removable aluminum discs which accommodate the helicopter's individual landing gear.

The climax of the 1974 White House helicopter incident occurred on the South Lawn.[14]

President Clinton had a quarter-mile long jogging track installed during his presidency in 1993. An avid runner, Clinton would regularly want to go on runs, but his doing so greatly disrupted Washington traffic; thus the track was built.

A playground was installed in 2009 under President Obama for his two children Sasha and Malia Obama. The playground is located just south of the Oval Office.

Michelle Obama installed a vegetable garden during her husband's Presidency on the far south area of the property. The vegetables grown are used at the White House for meals as well as donated to area shelters. The Obamas also installed a beehive on the south lawn.


what is the net worth of united states

The financial position of the United States includes assets of at least $269.6 trillion (1576% of GDP) and debts of $145.8 trillion (852% of GDP) to produce a net worth of at least $123.8 trillion (723% of GDP)[a] as of Q1 2014.

Financial position of the United States

The U.S. increased the ratio of public and private debt from 152% GDP in 1980 to peak at 296% GDP in 2008, before falling to 279% GDP by Q2 2011. The 2009-2011 decline was due to foreclosures and increased rates of household saving. There were significant declines in debt to GDP in each sector except the government, which ran large deficits to offset deleveraging or debt reduction in other sectors.[2]

As of 2009, there was $50.7 trillion of debt owed by US households, businesses, and governments, representing more than 3.5 times the annual gross domestic product of the United States.[3] As of the first quarter of 2010, domestic financial assets[b] totaled $131 trillion and domestic financial liabilities $106 trillion.[4] Tangible assets in 2008 (such as real estate and equipment) for selected sectors[c] totaled an additional $56.3 trillion.[6]

Net worth is the sum of assets (both financial and tangible) minus liabilities for a given sector.[7] Net worth is a valuable measure of creditworthiness and financial health since the calculation includes both financial obligations and the capacity to service those obligations.[8]

The net worth of the United States and its economic sectors has remained relatively consistent over time. The total net worth of the United States remained between 4.5 and 6 times GDP from 1960 until the 2000s, when it rose as high as 6.64 times GDP in 2006, principally due to an increase in the net worth of US households in the midst of the United States housing bubble. The net worth of the United States sharply declined to 5.2 times GDP by the end of 2008 due to declines in the values of US corporate equities and real estate in the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis and the global financial crisis. Between 2008 and 2009, the net worth of US households had recovered from a low of 3.55 times GDP to 3.75 times GDP, while nonfinancial business fell from 1.37 times GDP to 1.22 times GDP.[6]

The net worth of American households and non-profits constitutes three-quarters of total United States net worth â€“ in 2008, 355% of GDP. Since 1960, US households have consistently held this position, followed by nonfinancial business (137% of GDP in 2008) and state and local governments (50% of GDP in 2008). The financial sector has hovered around zero net worth since 1960, reflecting its leverage, while the federal government has fluctuated from a net worth of -7% of GDP in 1946, a high of 6% of GDP in 1974, to -32% of GDP in 2008.[6]

Some figures are missing land and nonproduced nonfinancial assets.

SOURCE: Federal Reserve Bank Z-1 Flow of Funds Statement, End of 2011 Accounts[10]

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2010 Accounts[11]

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2010 Accounts[12]

A GSE issues and GSE/Agency-backed mortgage pool securities (together $7751.8 billion) plus commercial paper ($623.5 billion)
B Consumer credit C Commercial paper

The Federal Reserve issues routine reports on the flows and levels of debt in the United States. As of the first quarter of 2010, the Federal Reserve estimated that total public and private debt owed by American households, businesses, and government totaled $50 trillion, or roughly $175,000 per American and 3.5 times GDP.[13]

Interest payments on debt by US households, businesses, governments, and nonprofits totaled $3.29 trillion in 2008. The financial sector paid an additional $178.6 billion in interest on deposits.[14]

In 1946, the total US debt-to-GDP ratio was 150%, with two-thirds of that held by the federal government. Since 1946, the federal government's debt-to-GDP ratio has since fallen by nearly half, to 54.8% of GDP in 2009. The debt-to-GDP ratio of the financial sector, by contrast, has increased from 1.35% in 1946 to 109.5% of GDP in 2009. The ratio for households has risen nearly as much, from 15.84% of GDP to 95.4% of GDP.[3]

In April 2011, International Monetary Fund said that, "The US lacks a "credibility strategy" to stabilise its mounting public debt, posing a small but significant risk of a new global economic crisis.[15]

In 1946, the US financial sector owed $3 billion of debt, or 1.35% of GDP. By 2009 this had increased to $15.6 trillion, or 109.5% of GDP.[3]

Most debt owed by the US financial sector is in the form of federal government sponsored enterprise (GSE) issues and agency-backed securities.[16] This refers to securities guaranteed and mediated by federal agencies and GSEs such as Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, among others. This group also includes the mortgage pools that are used as collateral in collateralized mortgage obligations.[17] The proportion of financial sector debt owed in the form of GSE and federally related mortgage pools has remained relatively constant â€“ $863 million or 47% of total financial sector debt in 1946 was in such instruments; this has increased to 57% of financial sector debt in 2009, although this now represents over $8 trillion.[16]

Bonds represent the next largest part of financial sector debt. In 1946, bonds represented 6% of financial sector debt, but by 1953 this proportion had risen to 24%. This remained relatively constant until the late 1970s; bonds fell to 14% of financial sector debt in 1981.[16] This coincided with Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker's strategy of combating stagflation by raising the federal funds rate; as a result the prime rate peaked at 21.5%, making financing through credit markets prohibitively expensive.[18] Bonds recovered in the 1980s, representing approximately 25% of financial sector debt throughout the 1990s; however, between 2000 and 2009, bonds issued by the financial sector had increased to 37% of financial sector debt, or $5.8 trillion.[16]

Bonds and GSE/federal agency-backed issues represent all but 12% of financial sector debt in 2009.[16]

In 1946, US households and non-profits owed $35 billion of debt or 15.8% of GDP. By 2009 this figure had risen to $13.6 trillion or 95.4% of GDP.[3] Home mortgage debt in 1946 represented 66.5% of household debt; consumer credit represented another 24%. By 2009, home mortgage debt had risen to 76% of household debt and consumer credit had fallen to 18.22%.[19] According to the McKinsey Global Institute, the 2008 financial crisis was caused by "unsustainable levels of household debt." The ratio of debt to household income rose by about one-third from 2000 to 2007.[20] The US currently has the twelfth highest debt to GDP ratio among advanced economies.[20]

In 1946, US nonfinancial businesses owed $63.9 billion of debt or 28.8% of GDP. By 2009 this figure had risen to $10.9 trillion or 76.4% of GDP.[3]

In 1946, US state and local governments owed $12.7 billion of debt or 5.71% of GDP. By 2009 this figure had risen to $2.4 trillion or 16.5% of GDP.[3]

State and local governments have significant financial assets, totaling $2.7 trillion in 2009. In 2009, these included $1.3 trillion in credit market debt (that is, debt owed by other sectors to state and local governments). These figures do not include state and local retirement funds.[21] State and local retirement funds held $2.7 trillion in assets at the end of 2009.[22]

In 1946, the federal government owed $251 billion of debt or 102.7% of GDP. By 2009 this figure had risen to $7.8 trillion, but the federal government's debt-to-GDP ratio had fallen to 54.75%.[3]

The federal government held $1.4 trillion in assets at the end of 2009. This is more than double the assets held by the federal government in 2007 ($686 billion), mainly due to the acquisition of corporate equities, credit market debt, and cash. The federal government held $223 billion in corporate equity at the beginning of 2009; this had fallen to $67.4 billion at the end of that year.[21]

These figures do not include federal government retirement funds. Federal government retirement funds held $1.3 trillion in assets at the end of 2009.[23]

These figures also do not include debt that the federal government owes to federal funds and agencies such as the Social Security Trust Fund. It also does not include "unfunded liabilities" to entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare either as debt or accounting liabilities.[24]

Since 2010, the U.S. Treasury has been obtaining negative real interest rates on government debt.[25] Such low rates, outpaced by the inflation rate, occur when the market believes that there are no alternatives with sufficiently low risk, or when popular institutional investments such as insurance companies, pensions, or bond, money market, and balanced mutual funds are required or choose to invest sufficiently large sums in Treasury securities to hedge against risk.[26][27] Lawrence Summers, Matthew Yglesias and other economists state that at such low rates, government debt borrowing saves taxpayer money, and improves creditworthiness.[28][29] In the late 1940s through the early 1970s, the US and UK both reduced their debt burden by about 30% to 40% of GDP per decade by taking advantage of negative real interest rates, but there is no guarantee that government debt rates will continue to stay so low.[26][30] In January, 2012, the U.S. Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association unanimously recommended that government debt be allowed to auction even lower, at negative absolute interest rates.[31]

Figures of total debt typically do not include other financial obligations such as derivatives. Partly this is due to the complexities of quantifying derivatives â€“ the United States Comptroller of the Currency reports derivative contracts in terms of notional value,[32] net current credit exposure,[33] and fair value,[34] among others.

The number commonly used by the media is notional value, which is a base value used to determine the size of the cash flows exchanged in the contract.[35] Fair value (or market value) is the value of the contract either on the open market or as it is appraised by accountants. Fair value can be positive or negative depending on the side of the contract the party is on.[34] Credit exposure is defined as the net loss which holders of derivatives would suffer if their counterparties in those derivatives contracts defaulted.[33]

The notional value of derivative contracts held by US financial institutions is $216.5 trillion, or more than 15 times US GDP.[32]

The fair value of US-held derivatives contracts in the first quarter of 2010 was $4,002 billion (28.1% of GDP) for positions with positive values (known as "derivatives receivables"), and $3,886 for positions with negative values (27.3% of GDP).[34] Interest rate derivatives form by far the largest part of US derivative contracts by all measures, accounting for $3,147 billion or 79% of derivatives receivables.[33]

The measure preferred by the Office of the Comptroller is net current credit exposure (NCCE), which measures the risk to banks and the financial system in derivatives contracts. The net current credit exposure (NCCE) of American financial institutions to derivatives in the first quarter of 2010 to $359 billion or 2.5% of GDP, down from $800 billion at the end of 2008 in the wake of the global financial crisis, when it stood at 5.5% of GDP. The difference between the market value of US derivatives and the credit exposure to the financial system is due to netting – financial institutions tend to have many positions with their counterparties that have positive and negative values, resulting in a much smaller exposure than the sum of the market values of their derivative positions.[33] Netting reduces the credit exposure of the US financial system to derivatives by more than 90%, as compared to 50.6% at the beginning of 1998.[36]

Derivatives contracts are overwhelmingly held by large financial institutions. The five largest US banks hold 97% of derivatives by notional value; the top 25 hold nearly 100%.[36] Banks currently hold collateral against their derivative exposures amounting to 67% of their net current credit exposure.[37]

Foreign holdings of US assets are concentrated in debt. Americans own more foreign equity and foreign direct investment than foreigners own in the United States, but foreigners hold nearly four times as much US debt as Americans hold in foreign debt.

15.2% of all US debt is owed to foreigners.[13] Of the $7.9 trillion Americans owe to foreigners, $3.9 trillion is owed by the federal government. 48% of US treasury securities are held by foreigners.[39] Foreigners hold $1.28 trillion in agency- and government sponsored enterprise-backed securities, and another $2.33 trillion in US corporate bonds.[38]

Foreigners hold 24% of domestic corporate debt[40] and 17% of domestic corporate equity.[41]

Economist Martin Wolf explained in July 2012 that government fiscal balance is one of three major financial sectoral balances in the U.S. economy, the others being the foreign financial sector and the private financial sector. The sum of the surpluses or deficits across these three sectors must be zero by definition. In the U.S., a foreign financial surplus (or capital surplus) exists because capital is imported (net) to fund the trade deficit. Further, there is a private sector financial surplus due to household savings exceeding business investment. By definition, there must therefore exist a government budget deficit so all three net to zero. The government sector includes federal, state and local. For example, the government budget deficit in 2011 was approximately 10% GDP (8.6% GDP of which was federal), offsetting a capital surplus of 4% GDP and a private sector surplus of 6% GDP.[42]

Wolf argued that the sudden shift in the private sector from deficit to surplus forced the government balance into deficit, writing: "The financial balance of the private sector shifted towards surplus by the almost unbelievable cumulative total of 11.2 per cent of gross domestic product between the third quarter of 2007 and the second quarter of 2009, which was when the financial deficit of US government (federal and state) reached its peak...No fiscal policy changes explain the collapse into massive fiscal deficit between 2007 and 2009, because there was none of any importance. The collapse is explained by the massive shift of the private sector from financial deficit into surplus or, in other words, from boom to bust."[42]

Economist Paul Krugman also explained in December 2011 the causes of the sizable shift from private deficit to surplus: "This huge move into surplus reflects the end of the housing bubble, a sharp rise in household saving, and a slump in business investment due to lack of customers."[43]


who won the andre the giant battle royal

The fifth annual AndrÃ© the Giant Memorial Battle Royal took place at the venue where the original match occurred - the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana - as part of WrestleMania 34 on April 8, 2018. The match was won by Matt Hardy who eliminated Baron Corbin to win.

André the Giant Memorial Trophy

The Andre the Giant Memorial Trophy is a professional wrestling trophy that is given to the winner of the annual namesake battle royal held at WrestleMania by the WWE promotion. The first memorial battle royal was held at WrestleMania XXX in 2014 and the winner was Cesaro.[1]

The match is named in honor of André the Giant - a WWE Hall of Fame wrestler who at over seven feet tall and weighing 500 pounds was known as "The King of the Battle Royal" due to winning a large majority of such matches he participated in.[2] In 2018, a female counterpart to this match was established, which debuted at WrestleMania 34 - the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal (originally named in honor of The Fabulous Moolah, but her name was removed due to fan and sponsor backash surrounding stories of her treatment of female wrestlers who worked for her).[3]

On the March 10, 2014 episode of Raw, WrestleMania XXX host Hulk Hogan announced that he was establishing the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal in honor of André's legacy that would take place at the event on April 6, with the winner receiving the André the Giant Memorial Trophy (made in the likeness of André).[2] Cesaro would win the match after eliminating Big Show using a body slam similar to the body slam Hogan used on André at WrestleMania III.[4]

At WrestleMania 31 on March 29, 2015, the second annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal took place at Levi's Stadium as part of the Kickoff Show (pre-show), establishing the match as a yearly tradition at WWE's marquee event. Big Show - a wrestler often compared to André due to his similar size and stature, and originally billed as André's (storyline) son when he debuted in World Championship Wrestling in 1995 - won the match by last eliminating Damien Mizdow.[5]

At WrestleMania 32 on April 3, 2016, the third annual AndrÃ© the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was held on the main card with Baron Corbin last eliminating Kane to win the match, which was also notable for former NBA player Shaquille O'Neal entering as a surprise participant.[6]

The fourth annual AndrÃ© the Giant Memorial Battle Royal was held at WrestleMania 33 on April 2, 2017 as part of the Kickoff Show. The match was won by Mojo Rawley, who was assisted by his friend, NFL player Rob Gronkowski, in last eliminating Jinder Mahal to win.

Writing for PWInsider in 2017, Dave Scherer saw no reason for viewers to care about the AndrÃ© the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, given how winners have been booked and further said: "It's great that talent will get on the show for WrestleMania, but that match hasn't meant anything thus far."[7]