Saturday

Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. 　No later than the 2nd century, the Romans named Saturday diēs Sāturnī ("Saturn's Day") for the planet Saturn, which controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens. 　The day's name was introduced into West Germanic languages and is recorded in the Low German languages such as Middle Low German satersdach, saterdach, Middle Dutch saterdag (Modern Dutch zaterdag) and Old English Sæternesdæġ, Sæterndæġ or Sæterdæġ.

Peninsula

A peninsula (from Latin paeninsula; from paene 'almost', and insula 'island') is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. 　A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. 　Peninsulas exist on all continents. 　The size of a peninsula can range from tiny to very large. 　The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. 　Peninsulas form due to a variety of causes.

Curve

In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line, but that does not have to be straight. 　Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point. 　This is the definition that appeared more than 2000 years ago in Euclid's Elements: "The [curved] line is […] the first species of quantity, which has only one dimension, namely length, without any width nor depth, and is nothing else than the flow or run of the point which […] will leave from its imaginary moving some vestige in length, exempt of any width." 　This definition of a curve has been formalized in modern mathematics as: A curve is the image of an interval to a topological space by a continuous function. 　In some contexts, the function that defines the curve is called a parametrization, and the curve is a parametric curve. 　In this article, these curves are sometimes called topological curves to distinguish them from more constrained curves such as differentiable curves. 　This definition encompasses most curves that are studied in mathematics; notable exceptions are level curves (which are unions of curves and isolated points), and algebraic curves (see below). 　Level curves and algebraic curves are sometimes called implicit curves, since they are generally defined by implicit equations. 　Nevertheless, the class of topological curves is very broad, and contains some curves that do not look as one may expect for a curve, or even cannot be drawn. 　This is the case of space-filling curves and fractal curves. 　For ensuring more regularity, the function that defines a curve is often supposed to be differentiable, and the curve is then said to be a differentiable curve. 　A plane algebraic curve is the zero set of a polynomial in two indeterminates. 　More generally, an algebraic curve is the zero set of a finite set of polynomials, which satisfies the further condition of being an algebraic variety of dimension one. 　If the coefficients of the polynomials belong to a field k, the curve is said to be defined over k. 　In the common case of a real algebraic curve, where k is the field of real numbers, an algebraic curve is a finite union of topological curves. 　When complex zeros are considered, one has a complex algebraic curve, which, from the topological point of view, is not a curve, but a surface, and is often called a Riemann surface. 　Although not being curves in the common sense, algebraic curves defined over other fields have been widely studied. 　In particular, algebraic curves over a finite field are widely used in modern cryptography.

Fluid

In physics, a fluid is a liquid, gas, or other material that continuously deforms (flows) under an applied shear stress, or external force. 　They have zero shear modulus, or, in simpler terms, are substances which cannot resist any shear force applied to them. 　Although the term fluid generally includes both the liquid and gas phases, its definition varies among branches of science. 　Definitions of solid vary as well, and depending on field, some substances can be both fluid and solid. 　Viscoelastic fluids like Silly Putty appear to behave similar to a solid when a sudden force is applied. 　Substances with a very high viscosity such as pitch appear to behave like a solid (see pitch drop experiment) as well. 　In particle physics, the concept is extended to include fluidic matters other than liquids or gases. 　A fluid in medicine or biology refers any liquid constituent of the body (body fluid), whereas "liquid" is not used in this sense. 　Sometimes liquids given for fluid replacement, either by drinking or by injection, are also called fluids (e.g. "drink plenty of fluids"). 　In hydraulics, fluid is a term which refers to liquids with certain properties, and is broader than (hydraulic) oils.

Amendment

Look up amendment in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. 　An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. 　It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. 　Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. 　They are often used when it is better to change the document than to write a new one. 　Only the legislative branch is involved in the amendment process.

Clothing

Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on the body. 　Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural products found in the environment, put together. 　The wearing of clothing is mostly restricted to human beings and is a feature of all human societies. 　The amount and type of clothing worn depends on gender, body type, social factors, and geographic considerations. 　Garments cover the body, footwear covers the feet, gloves cover the hands, while hats and headgear cover the head. 　Eyewear and jewelry are not generally considered items of clothing, but play an important role in fashion and clothing as costume. 　Clothing serves many purposes: it can serve as protection from the elements, rough surfaces, sharp stones, rash-causing plants, and insect bites, by providing a barrier between the skin and the environment. 　Clothing can insulate against cold or hot conditions, and it can provide a hygienic barrier, keeping infectious and toxic materials away from the body. 　It can protect feet from injury and discomfort or facilitate navigation in varied environments. 　Clothing also provides protection from ultraviolet radiation. 　It may be used to prevent glare or increase visual acuity in harsh environments, such as brimmed hats. 　Clothing is used for protection against injury in specific tasks and occupations, sports, and warfare. 　Fashioned with pockets, belts, or loops, clothing may provide a means to carry things while freeing the hands. 　Clothing has significant social factors as well. 　Wearing clothes is a variable social norm. 　It may connote modesty. 　Being deprived of clothing in front of others may be embarrassing. 　In many parts of the world, not wearing clothes in public so that genitals, breasts, or buttocks are visible could be considered indecent exposure. 　Pubic area or genital coverage is the most frequently encountered minimum found cross-culturally and regardless of climate, implying social convention as the basis of customs. 　Clothing also may be used to communicate social status, wealth, group identity, and individualism. 　Some forms of personal protective equipment amount to clothing, such as coveralls, chaps or a doctor's white coat, with similar requirements for maintenance and cleaning as other textiles (boxing gloves function both as protective equipment and as a sparring weapon, so the equipment aspect rises above the glove aspect). 　More specialized forms of protective equipment, such as face shields are classified protective accessories. 　At the far extreme, self-enclosing diving suits or space suits are form fitting body covers, and amount to a form of dress, without being clothing per se, while containing enough high technology to amount to more of a tool than a garment. 　This line will continue to blur as wearable technology embeds assistive devices directly into the fabric itself; the enabling innovations are ultra low power consumption and flexible electronic substrates. 　Clothing also hybridizes into a personal transportation system (ice skates, roller skates, cargo pants, other outdoor survival gear, one-man band) or concealment system (stage magicians, hidden linings or pockets in tradecraft, integrated holsters for concealed carry, merchandise-laden trench coats on the black market — where the purpose of the clothing often carries over into disguise). 　A mode of dress fit to purpose, whether stylistic or functional, is known as an outfit or ensemble.

Rush (psychology)

In psychology, a rush is an acute transcendent state of euphoria. 　A wide variety of recreational drugs are commonly capable of such an event. 　These drugs include, but are not limited to, opioids (particularly heroin) and psychostimulants (particularly methamphetamine and cocaine). 　A 2017 study involving fifty six female clients were interviewed by Nicholas E. Goeders suggests that the subjective rush from recreational methamphetamine use is proportional to the rate at which the blood level of the drug increases. 　Goeders concluded that "Without a doubt methamphetamine, when injected in “sufficient” purity and dose, can produce a subjective physiological response in women that is indistinguishable from an orgasm." 　Intravenous injection is the fastest route of administration, causing blood concentrations to rise the most quickly, followed by smoking, suppository (anal or vaginal insertion), insufflation (snorting), and ingestion (swallowing).

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. 　Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and substance abuse (including alcoholism and the use of and withdrawal from benzodiazepines) are risk factors. 　Some suicides are impulsive acts due to stress (such as from financial or academic difficulties), relationship problems (such as breakups or divorces), or harassment and bullying. 　Those who have previously attempted suicide are at a higher risk for future attempts. 　Effective suicide prevention efforts include limiting access to methods of suicide such as firearms, drugs, and poisons; treating mental disorders and substance abuse; careful media reporting about suicide; and improving economic conditions. 　Although crisis hotlines are common resources, their effectiveness has not been well studied. 　The most commonly adopted method of suicide varies from country to country and is partly related to the availability of effective means. 　Common methods of suicide include hanging, pesticide poisoning, and firearms. 　Suicides resulted in 828,000 deaths globally in 2015, an increase from 712,000 deaths in 1990.[inconsistent] This makes suicide the 10th leading cause of death worldwide. 　Approximately 1.5% of all deaths worldwide are by suicide. 　In a given year, this is roughly 12 per 100,000 people. 　Rates of suicide are generally higher among men than women, ranging from 1.5 times higher in the developing world to 3.5 times higher in the developed world. 　Suicide is generally most common among those over the age of 70; however, in certain countries, those aged between 15 and 30 are at the highest risk. 　Europe had the highest rates of suicide by region in 2015. 　There are an estimated 10 to 20 million non-fatal attempted suicides every year. 　Non-fatal suicide attempts may lead to injury and long-term disabilities. 　In the Western world, attempts are more common among young people and women. 　Views on suicide have been influenced by broad existential themes such as religion, honor, and the meaning of life. 　The Abrahamic religions traditionally consider suicide as an offense towards God due to the belief in the sanctity of life. 　During the samurai era in Japan, a form of suicide known as seppuku (腹切り, harakiri) was respected as a means of making up for failure or as a form of protest. 　Sati, a practice outlawed by the British in India, expected a Hindu widow to immolate herself on her husband's funeral pyre, either willingly or under pressure from her family and society. 　Suicide and attempted suicide, while previously illegal, are no longer so in most Western countries. 　It remains a criminal offense in some countries. 　In the 20th and 21st centuries, suicide has been used on rare occasions as a form of protest, and kamikaze and suicide bombings have been used as a military or terrorist tactic. 　Suicide is often seen as a major catastrophe for families, relatives, and other nearby supporters, and it is viewed negatively almost everywhere around the world.

Comics

Comics is a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. 　It typically takes the form of a sequence of panels of images. 　Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate dialogue, narration, sound effects, or other information. 　There is no consensus amongst theorists and historians on a definition of comics; some emphasize the combination of images and text, some sequentiality or other image relations, and others historical aspects such as mass reproduction or the use of recurring characters. 　Cartooning and other forms of illustration are the most common image-making means in comics; fumetti is a form that uses photographic images. 　Common forms include comic strips, editorial and gag cartoons, and comic books. 　Since the late 20th century, bound volumes such as graphic novels, comic albums, and tankōbon have become increasingly common, while online webcomics have proliferated in the 21st century. 　The history of comics has followed different paths in different cultures. 　Scholars have posited a pre-history as far back as the Lascaux cave paintings. 　By the mid-20th century, comics flourished, particularly in the United States, western Europe (especially France and Belgium), and Japan. 　The history of European comics is often traced to Rodolphe Töpffer's cartoon strips of the 1830s, and became popular following the success in the 1930s of strips and books such as The Adventures of Tintin. 　American comics emerged as a mass medium in the early 20th century with the advent of newspaper comic strips; magazine-style comic books followed in the 1930s, in which the superhero genre became prominent after Superman appeared in 1938. 　Histories of Japanese comics and cartooning (manga) propose origins as early as the 12th century. 　Modern comic strips emerged in Japan in the early 20th century, and the output of comics magazines and books rapidly expanded in the post-World War II era (1945–) with the popularity of cartoonists such as Osamu Tezuka. 　Comics has had a lowbrow reputation for much of its history, but towards the end of the 20th century began to find greater acceptance with the public and academics. 　The English term comics is used as a singular noun when it refers to the medium itself (e.g. "Comics is a visual art form."), but becomes plural when referring to works collectively (e.g. "Comics are popular reading material.").

Inch

The inch (symbol: in or ″) is a unit of length in the British imperial and the United States customary systems of measurement. 　It is equal to 1/36 yard or 1/12 of a foot. 　Derived from the Roman uncia ("twelfth"), the word inch is also sometimes used to translate similar units in other measurement systems, usually understood as deriving from the width of the human thumb. 　Standards for the exact length of an inch have varied in the past, but since the adoption of the international yard during the 1950s and 1960s the inch has been based on the metric system and defined as exactly 25.4 mm.

Estimates

In the Westminster system of government, the Estimates are an outline of government spending for the following fiscal year presented by the cabinet to parliament. 　The Estimates are drawn up by bureaucrats in the finance ministry in collaboration with cabinet ministers. 　They consist of detailed reports on how each department or ministry will spend its money. 　The estimates are normally introduced in the responsible chamber (the lower house in bicameral parliaments) just prior to the main Budget Day, which gives them time to be analyzed by House committees. 　Unlike the budget, the estimates contain no references to fiscal policy, long-term goals, or funding. 　After each section is reviewed by the relevant committee the entire Estimates are voted on as one bill. 　Defeat on the vote is treated as loss of supply and tantamount to loss of confidence. 　Unlike tax proposals in the budget, the Estimates are rarely controversial, with most issues being dealt with in committee. 　Most of the countries also mandate an update or series of updates to the Estimates to account for changes in the economy or in government policy. 　In Canada, for instance, this update must be passed in December each year.

Aviation

Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. 　Aircraft includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air balloons and airships. 　Aviation began in the 18th century with the development of the hot air balloon, an apparatus capable of atmospheric displacement through buoyancy. 　Some of the most significant advancements in aviation technology came with the controlled gliding flying of Otto Lilienthal in 1896; then a large step in significance came with the construction of the first powered airplane by the Wright brothers in the early 1900s. 　Since that time, aviation has been technologically revolutionized by the introduction of the jet which permitted a major form of transport throughout the world.

Sugar

Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. 　Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. 　Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double sugars, are molecules made of two bonded monosaccharides; common examples are sucrose (glucose + fructose), lactose (glucose + galactose), and maltose (two molecules of glucose). 　White sugar is a refined form of sucrose. 　In the body, compound sugars are hydrolysed into simple sugars. 　Longer chains of monosaccharides (>2) are not regarded as sugars, and are called oligosaccharides or polysaccharides. 　Starch is a glucose polymer found in plants, the most abundant source of energy in human food. 　Some other chemical substances, such as glycerol and sugar alcohols, may have a sweet taste, but are not classified as sugar. 　Sugars are found in the tissues of most plants. 　Honey and fruits are abundant natural sources of simple sugars. 　Sucrose is especially concentrated in sugarcane and sugar beet, making them ideal for efficient commercial extraction to make refined sugar. 　In 2016, the combined world production of those two crops was about two billion tonnes. 　Maltose may be produced by malting grain. 　Lactose is the only sugar that cannot be extracted from plants. 　It can only be found in milk, including human breast milk, and in some dairy products. 　A cheap source of sugar is corn syrup, industrially produced by converting corn starch into sugars, such as maltose, fructose and glucose. 　Sucrose is used in prepared foods (e.g. cookies and cakes), is sometimes added to commercially available processed food and beverages, and may be used by people as a sweetener for foods (e.g. toast and cereal) and beverages (e.g. coffee and tea). 　The average person consumes about 24 kilograms (53 pounds) of sugar each year, with North and South Americans consuming up to 50 kg (110 lb) and Africans consuming under 20 kg (44 lb). 　As sugar consumption grew in the latter part of the 20th century, researchers began to examine whether a diet high in sugar, especially refined sugar, was damaging to human health. 　Excessive consumption of sugar has been implicated in the onset of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and tooth decay. 　Numerous studies have tried to clarify those implications, but with varying results, mainly because of the difficulty of finding populations for use as controls that consume little or no sugar. 　In 2015, the World Health Organization recommended that adults and children reduce their intake of free sugars to less than 10%, and encouraged a reduction to below 5%, of their total energy intake.

Houston

Houston (/ˈhjuːstən/ (listen); HEW-stən) is the most populous city in Texas and in the Southern United States. 　It is the fourth most populous city in the United States after Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City; the sixth most populous city in North America. 　With a population of 2,304,580 in 2020, Houston is located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat and largest city of Harris County and the principal city of the Greater Houston metropolitan area, which is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the second-most populous in Texas after Dallas–Fort Worth. 　Houston is the southeast anchor of the greater megaregion known as the Texas Triangle. 　Comprising a land area of 640.4 square miles (1,659 km2), Houston is the ninth-most expansive city in the United States (including consolidated city-counties). 　It is the largest city in the United States by total area whose government is not consolidated with a county, parish, or borough. 　Though primarily in Harris County, small portions of the city extend into Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties, bordering other principal communities of Greater Houston such as Sugar Land and The Woodlands. 　The city of Houston was founded by land investors on August 30, 1836, at the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou (a point now known as Allen's Landing) and incorporated as a city on June 5, 1837. 　The city is named after former General Sam Houston, who was president of the Republic of Texas and had won Texas's independence from Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto 25 miles (40 km) east of Allen's Landing. 　After briefly serving as the capital of the Texas Republic in the late 1830s, Houston grew steadily into a regional trading center for the remainder of the 19th century. 　The arrival of the 20th century brought a convergence of economic factors that fueled rapid growth in Houston, including a burgeoning port and railroad industry, the decline of Galveston as Texas's primary port following a devastating 1900 hurricane, the subsequent construction of the Houston Ship Channel, and the Texas oil boom. 　In the mid-20th century, Houston's economy diversified, as it became home to the Texas Medical Center—the world's largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions—and NASA's Johnson Space Center, home to the Mission Control Center. 　Since the late 19th century Houston's economy has had a broad industrial base, in energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, and transportation. 　Leading in healthcare sectors and building oilfield equipment, Houston has the second-most Fortune 500 headquarters of any U.S. municipality within its city limits (after New York City). 　The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled and second in total cargo tonnage handled. 　Nicknamed the "Bayou City", "Space City", "H-Town", and "the 713", Houston has become a global city, with strengths in culture, medicine, and research. 　The city has a population from various ethnic and religious backgrounds and a large and growing international community. 　Houston is the most diverse metropolitan area in Texas and has been described as the most racially and ethnically diverse major city in the U.S. 　It is home to many cultural institutions and exhibits, which attract more than seven million visitors a year to the Museum District. 　The Museum District is home to nineteen museums, galleries, and community spaces. 　Houston has an active visual and performing arts scene in the Theater District, and offers year-round resident companies in all major performing arts.

Ownership

Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. 　Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different parties. 　The process and mechanics of ownership are fairly complex: one can gain, transfer, and lose ownership of property in a number of ways. 　To acquire property one can purchase it with money, trade it for other property, win it in a bet, receive it as a gift, inherit it, find it, receive it as damages, earn it by doing work or performing services, make it, or homestead it. 　One can transfer or lose ownership of property by selling it for money, exchanging it for other property, giving it as a gift, misplacing it, or having it stripped from one's ownership through legal means such as eviction, foreclosure, seizure, or taking. 　Ownership is self-propagating in that the owner of any property will also own the economic benefits of that property.

Fault (geology)

In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. 　Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic forces, with the largest forming the boundaries between the plates, such as the megathrust faults of subduction zones or transform faults. 　Energy release associated with rapid movement on active faults is the cause of most earthquakes. 　Faults may also displace slowly, by aseismic creep. 　A fault plane is the plane that represents the fracture surface of a fault. 　A fault trace or fault line is a place where the fault can be seen or mapped on the surface. 　A fault trace is also the line commonly plotted on geologic maps to represent a fault. 　A fault zone is a cluster of parallel faults. 　However, the term is also used for the zone of crushed rock along a single fault. 　Prolonged motion along closely spaced faults can blur the distinction, as the rock between the faults is converted to fault-bound lenses of rock and then progressively crushed.

Fault (technology)

In document ISO 10303-226, a fault is defined as an abnormal condition or defect at the component, equipment, or sub-system level which may lead to a failure. 　In telecommunications, according to the Federal Standard 1037C of the United States, the term fault has the following meanings: An accidental condition that causes a functional unit to fail to perform its required function. 　See § Random fault. 　A defect that causes a reproducible or catastrophic malfunction. 　A malfunction is considered reproducible if it occurs consistently under the same circumstances. 　See § Systematic fault. 　In power systems, an unintentional short circuit, or partial short circuit, between energized conductors or between an energized conductor and ground. 　A distinction can be made between symmetric and asymmetric faults. 　See Fault (power engineering).

Honorary

Look up honorary in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. 　An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. 　Other uses include: Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany Honorary authorship, listing of uninvolved people as co-authors of research papers Honorary César, awarded by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinema, France Honorary consul, an unpaid part-time diplomatic consul Honorary Goya Award, by the Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España, Spain Honorary Police, unpaid police force in Jersey Honorary Prelate, a title used in the Catholic Church Honorary society (disambiguation), whose members are elected for meritorious conduct honorary title, awarded as a mark of distinction Honorary citizenship, awarded to aliens who have rendered service to the state Honorary degree, academic degree awarded to someone not formally qualified to receive it Honorary title (academic), an academic title such as honorary professor conferred by a university or professional body Honorary trust, a trust with neither a charitable purpose, nor a private beneficiary Honorary whites, a term that was used by the apartheid regime of South Africa

Infrastructure

Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. 　Infrastructure is composed of public and private physical structures such as roads, railways, bridges, tunnels, water supply, sewers, electrical grids, and telecommunications (including Internet connectivity and broadband access). 　In general, infrastructure has been defined as "the physical components of interrelated systems providing commodities and services essential to enable, sustain, or enhance societal living conditions" and maintain the surrounding environment. 　Especially in light of the massive societal transformations needed to mitigate and adapt to climate change, contemporary infrastructure conversations frequently focus on sustainable development and green infrastructure. 　Acknowledging this importance, the international community has created policy focused on sustainable infrastructure through the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Sustainable Development Goal 9 "Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure". 　One way to describe different types of infrastructure is to classify them as two distinct kinds: hard infrastructure and soft infrastructure. 　Hard infrastructure is the physical networks necessary for the functioning of a modern industry. 　This includes roads, bridges, and railways. 　Soft infrastructure is all the institutions that maintain the economic, health, social, environmental, and cultural standards of a country. 　This includes educational programs, official statistics, parks and recreational facilities, law enforcement agencies, and emergency services.

Clay

Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2Si2O5(OH)4). 　Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay particles, but become hard, brittle and non–plastic upon drying or firing. 　Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impurities, such as a reddish or brownish colour from small amounts of iron oxide. 　Clay is the oldest known ceramic material. 　Prehistoric humans discovered the useful properties of clay and used it for making pottery. 　Some of the earliest pottery shards have been dated to around 14,000 BC, and clay tablets were the first known writing medium. 　Clay is used in many modern industrial processes, such as paper making, cement production, and chemical filtering. 　Between one-half and two-thirds of the world's population live or work in buildings made with clay, often baked into brick, as an essential part of its load-bearing structure. 　Clay is a very common substance. 　Shale, formed largely from clay, is the most common sedimentary rock. 　Although many naturally occurring deposits include both silts and clay, clays are distinguished from other fine-grained soils by differences in size and mineralogy. 　Silts, which are fine-grained soils that do not include clay minerals, tend to have larger particle sizes than clays. 　Mixtures of sand, silt and less than 40% clay are called loam. 　Soils high in swelling clays (expansive clay), which are clay minerals that readily expand in volume when they absorb water, are a major challenge in civil engineering.

Rice

Rice is the seed of the grass species Oryza sativa (Asian rice) or less commonly O. glaberrima (African rice). 　The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera Zizania and Porteresia, both wild and domesticated, although the term may also be used for primitive or uncultivated varieties of Oryza. 　As a cereal grain, domesticated rice is the most widely consumed staple food for over half of the world's human population, particularly in Asia and Africa. 　It is the agricultural commodity with the third-highest worldwide production, after sugarcane and maize. 　Since sizable portions of sugarcane and maize crops are used for purposes other than human consumption, rice is the most important food crop with regard to human nutrition and caloric intake, providing more than one-fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by humans. 　There are many varieties of rice and culinary preferences tend to vary regionally. 　The traditional method for cultivating rice is flooding the fields while, or after, setting the young seedlings. 　This simple method requires sound irrigation planning, but reduces the growth of less robust weed and pest plants that have no submerged growth state, and deters vermin. 　While flooding is not mandatory for the cultivation of rice, all other methods of irrigation require higher effort in weed and pest control during growth periods and a different approach for fertilizing the soil. 　Rice, a monocot, is normally grown as an annual plant, although in tropical areas it can survive as a perennial and can produce a ratoon crop for up to 30 years. 　Rice cultivation is well-suited to countries and regions with low labor costs and high rainfall, as it is labor-intensive to cultivate and requires ample water. 　However, rice can be grown practically anywhere, even on a steep hill or mountain area with the use of water-controlling terrace systems. 　Although its parent species are native to Asia and certain parts of Africa, centuries of trade and exportation have made it commonplace in many cultures worldwide. 　Production and consumption of rice is estimated to have been responsible for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2010.

Brazilian

Look up Brazilian or brazilian in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. 　Brazilian commonly refers to: of or related to Brazil Brazilian Portuguese, the set of varieties of the Portuguese language native to Brazil Brazilians, citizens of Brazil, or of Brazilian descent Mamelodi Sundowns F.C., a South African football club nicknamed The Brazilians Brazilian waxing, a style of bikini waxing "The Brazilian", a 1986 instrumental music piece by Genesis

Initiative

In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a public vote in the legislature in what is called indirect initiative, or under direct initiative, where the proposition is put to a plebiscite or referendum, in what is called a Popular initiated Referendum or citizen-initiated referendum. 　In an indirect initiative, a measure is first referred to the legislature, and then put to a popular vote only if not enacted by the legislature. 　If the proposed law is rejected by the legislature, the government may be forced to put the proposition to a referendum. 　The initiative may then take the form of a direct initiative or an indirect initiative. 　In a direct initiative, a measure is put directly to a referendum. 　The vote may be on a proposed federal level, statute, constitutional amendment, charter amendment or local ordinance, or obligate the executive or legislature to consider the subject by submitting it to the order of the day. 　It is a form of direct democracy.

Mail

The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. 　A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. 　Since the mid-19th century, national postal systems have generally been established as a government monopoly, with a fee on the article prepaid. 　Proof of payment is usually in the form of an adhesive postage stamp, but a postage meter is also used for bulk mailing. 　Postal authorities often have functions aside from transporting letters. 　In some countries, a postal, telegraph and telephone (PTT) service oversees the postal system, in addition to telephone and telegraph systems. 　Some countries' postal systems allow for savings accounts and handle applications for passports. 　The Universal Postal Union (UPU), established in 1874, includes 192 member countries and sets the rules for international mail exchanges as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations.