query: How long is the human small intestine?

title: Small intestine

text: The length of the small intestine can vary greatly, from as short as 2.75m (9.0ft) to as long as 10.49m (34.4ft), also depending on the measuring technique used.[3] The typical length in a living person is 3m-5m.[4][5] The length depends both on how tall the person is and how the length is measured.[3] Taller people generally have a longer small intestine and measurements are generally longer after death and when the bowel is empty.[3]

title: Small intestine

text: It is approximately 1.5cm in diameter in newborns after 35 weeks of gestational age,[6] and 2.5–3cm (1inch) in diameter in adults. On abdominal X-rays, the small intestine is considered to be abnormally dilated when the diameter exceeds 3cm.[7][8] On CT scans, a diameter of over 2.5cm is considered abnormally dilated.[7][9] The surface area of the human small intestinal mucosa, due to enlargement caused by folds, villi and microvilli, averages 30 square meters.[10]

title: Fish physiology

text: There is no small intestine as such in non-teleost fish, such as sharks, sturgeons, and lungfish. Instead, the digestive part of the gut forms a spiral intestine, connecting the stomach to the rectum. In this type of gut, the intestine itself is relatively straight, but has a long fold running along the inner surface in a spiral fashion, sometimes for dozens of turns. This valve greatly increases both the surface area and the effective length of the intestine. The lining of the spiral intestine is similar to that of the small intestine in teleosts and non-mammalian tetrapods. In lampreys, the spiral valve is extremely small, possibly because their diet requires little digestion. Hagfish have no spiral valve at all, with digestion occurring for almost the entire length of the intestine, which is not subdivided into different regions.

title: Microbial symbiosis and immunity

text: The human gastrointestinal tract consists of the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine, and is a 9-meter-long continuous tube; the largest body surface area exposed to the external environment. The intestine offers nutrients and protection to microbes, enabling them to thrive. Therefore, the intestine is home to a microbial community of 100 trillion beneficial and pathogenic bacteria, archaea, viruses, and eukaryotes. For reference, humans are home to 10 to 10 bacteria in total.

title: Human digestive system

text: The cecum is a pouch marking the division between the small intestine and the large intestine. The cecum receives chyme from the last part of the small intestine, the ileum, and connects to the ascending colon of the large intestine. At this junction there is a sphincter or valve, the ileocecal valve which slows the passage of chyme from the ileum, allowing further digestion. It is also the site of the appendix attachment.

title: Intestine transplantation

text: Intestine transplantation dates back to 1959, when a team of surgeons at the University of Minnesota led by Richard C. Lillehei reported successful transplantation of the small intestine in dogs. Five years later in 1964, Ralph Deterling in Boston attempted the first human intestinal transplant, albeit unsuccessfully. For the next two decades, attempts at transplanting the small intestine in humans were met with universal failure, and patients died of technical complications, sepsis, or graft rejection. However, the discovery of the immunosuppressant ciclosporin in 1972 triggered a revolution in the field of transplant medicine. Due to this discovery, in 1988, the first successful intestinal transplant was performed in Germany by E. Deltz, followed shortly by teams in France and Canada. Intestinal transplantation was no longer an experimental procedure, but rather a life-saving therapy. In 1990, a newer immunosuppressant drug, tacrolimus, appeared on the market as a superior alternative to ciclosporin. In the two decades since, intestine transplant efforts have improved tremendously in both number and outcomes.

title: Gastrointestinal tract

text: The lower gastrointestinal tract includes most of the small intestine and all of the large intestine. In human anatomy, the intestine (bowel, or gut. Greek: éntera) is the segment of the gastrointestinal tract extending from the pyloric sphincter of the stomach to the anus and, as in other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine. In humans, the small intestine is further subdivided into the duodenum, jejunum and ileum while the large intestine is subdivided into the, cecum, ascending, transverse, descending and sigmoid colon, rectum, and anal canal.

title: Small intestine

text: The small intestine is where most chemical digestion takes place. Many of the digestive enzymes that act in the small intestine are secreted by the pancreas and liver and enter the small intestine via the pancreatic duct. Pancreatic enzymes and bile from the gallbladder enter the small intestine in response to the hormone cholecystokinin, which is produced in the small intestine in response to the presence of nutrients. Secretin, another hormone produced in the small intestine, causes additional effects on the pancreas, where it promotes the release of bicarbonate into the duodenum in order to neutralize the potentially harmful acid coming from the stomach.

title: Fasciolopsis

text: "Fasciolopsis buski" is commonly called the giant intestinal fluke, because it is an exceptionally large parasitic fluke, and the largest known to parasitise humans. Its size is variable and a mature specimen might be as little as 2 cm long, but the body may grow to a length of 7.5 cm and a width of 2.5 cm. It is a common parasite of humans and pigs and is most prevalent in Southern and Southeastern Asia. It is a member of the family Fasciolidae in the order Plagiorchiida. The Echinostomida are members of the class Trematoda, the flukes. The fluke differs from most species that parasitise large mammals, in that they inhabit the gut rather than the liver as "Fasciola" species do. "Fasciolopsis buski" generally occupies the upper region of the small intestine, but in heavy infestations can also be found in the stomach and lower regions of the intestine. "Fasciolopsis buski" is the cause of the pathological condition fasciolopsiasis.

title: Human digestive system

text: A number of problems including malnutrition and anemia can arise from malabsorption, the abnormal absorption of nutrients in the GI tract. Malabsorption can have many causes ranging from infection, to enzyme deficiencies such as exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. It can also arise as a result of other gastrointestinal diseases such as coeliac disease. Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine. This can cause vitamin deficiencies due to the improper absorption of nutrients in the small intestine. The small intestine can also be obstructed by a volvulus, a loop of intestine that becomes twisted enclosing its attached mesentery. This can cause mesenteric ischemia if severe enough.

title: Gut flora

text: The small intestine contains a trace amount of microorganisms due to the proximity and influence of the stomach. Gram-positive cocci and rod-shaped bacteria are the predominant microorganisms found in the small intestine. However, in the distal portion of the small intestine alkaline conditions support gram-negative bacteria of the "Enterobacteriaceae". The bacterial flora of the small intestine aid in a wide range of intestinal functions. The bacterial flora provide regulatory signals that enable the development and utility of the gut. Overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine can lead to intestinal failure. In addition the large intestine contains the largest bacterial ecosystem in the human body. About 99% of the large intestine and feces flora are made up of obligate anaerobes such as "Bacteroides" and "Bifidobacterium." Factors that disrupt the microorganism population of the large intestine include antibiotics, stress, and parasites.

title: Digestion

text: The abomasum is the fourth and final stomach compartment in ruminants. It is a close equivalent of a monogastric stomach (e.g., those in humans or pigs), and digesta is processed here in much the same way. It serves primarily as a site for acid hydrolysis of microbial and dietary protein, preparing these protein sources for further digestion and absorption in the small intestine. Digesta is finally moved into the small intestine, where the digestion and absorption of nutrients occurs. Microbes produced in the reticulo-rumen are also digested in the small intestine.

title: Human digestive system

text: Most food digestion takes place in the small intestine. Segmentation contractions act to mix and move the chyme more slowly in the small intestine allowing more time for absorption (and these continue in the large intestine). In the duodenum, pancreatic lipase is secreted together with a co-enzyme, colipase to further digest the fat content of the chyme. From this breakdown, smaller particles of emulsified fats called chylomicrons are produced. There are also digestive cells called enterocytes lining the intestines (the majority being in the small intestine). They are unusual cells in that they have villi on their surface which in turn have innumerable microvilli on their surface. All these villi make for a greater surface area, not only for the absorption of chyme but also for its further digestion by large numbers of digestive enzymes present on the microvilli.

title: Human digestive system

text: Giardiasis is a disease of the small intestine caused by a protist parasite "Giardia lamblia". This does not spread but remains confined to the lumen of the small intestine. It can often be asymptomatic, but as often can be indicated by a variety of symptoms. Giardiasis is the most common pathogenic parasitic infection in humans.

title: Intestinal villus

text: Intestinal villi (singular: villus) are small, finger-like projections that extend into the lumen of the small intestine. Each villus is approximately 0.5–1.6 mm in length (in humans), and has many microvilli projecting from the enterocytes of its epithelium which collectively form the striated or brush border. Each of these microvilli are much smaller than a single villus. The intestinal villi are much smaller than any of the circular folds in the intestine.

title: Fish anatomy

text: Lepidotrichia are bony, bilaterally-paired, segmented fin rays found in bony fishes. They develop around actinotrichia as part of the dermal exoskeleton. Lepidotrichia may have some cartilage or bone in them as well. They are actually segmented and appear as a series of disks stacked one on top of another. The genetic basis for the formation of the fin rays is thought to be genes coding for the proteins actinodin 1 and actinodin 2.As with other vertebrates, the intestines of fish consist of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine. In most higher vertebrates, the small intestine is further divided into the duodenum and other parts. In fish, the divisions of the small intestine are not as clear, and the terms "anterior intestine" or "proximal intestine" may be used instead of duodenum. In bony fish, the intestine is relatively short, typically around one and a half times the length of the fish's body. It commonly has a number of "pyloric caeca", small pouch-like structures along its length that help to increase the overall surface area of the organ for digesting food. There is no ileocaecal valve in teleosts, with the boundary between the small intestine and the rectum being marked only by the end of the digestive epithelium. There is no small intestine as such in non-teleost fish, such as sharks, sturgeons, and lungfish. Instead, the digestive part of the gut forms a "spiral intestine", connecting the stomach to the rectum. In this type of gut, the intestine itself is relatively straight, but has a long fold running along the inner surface in a spiral fashion, sometimes for dozens of turns. This fold creates a valve-like structure that greatly increases both the surface area and the effective length of the intestine. The lining of the spiral intestine is similar to that of the small intestine in teleosts and non-mammalian tetrapods. In lampreys, the spiral valve is extremely small, possibly because their diet requires little digestion. Hagfish have no spiral valve at all, with digestion occurring for almost the entire length of the intestine, which is not subdivided into different regions.

title: Nanophyetus salmincola

text: Definitive hosts include fish-eating birds and mammals. The most common definitive hosts are the domestic dog, cat, and red fox. Humans are also definitive hosts for "N. salmincola". A long list of experimental definitive hosts include the hamster and wood rat. An experimental study failed to infect two white rats and two white mice. Trematodes exist along the whole length of the small intestine in smaller animals like hamsters, while they exist only in the upper end of the small intestine in larger animals like dogs.

title: Human feces

text: Human feces (or faeces in British English; ) are the solid or semisolid remains of the food that could not be digested or absorbed in the small intestine of humans, but has been rotted down by bacteria in the large intestine. It also contains bacteria and a relatively small amount of metabolic waste products such as bacterially altered bilirubin, and the dead epithelial cells from the lining of the gut. It is discharged through the anus during a process called defecation. Human feces have similarities to feces of other animals and vary significantly in appearance (i.e. size, color, texture), according to the state of the diet, digestive system and general health. Normally human feces are semisolid, with a mucus coating. Small pieces of harder, less moist feces can sometimes be seen impacted in the distal (final or lower) end. This is a normal occurrence when a prior bowel movement is incomplete, and feces are returned from the rectum to the large intestine, where water is absorbed.

title: Gastrointestinal tract

text: All bilaterians have a gastrointestinal tract, also called a gut or an alimentary canal. This is a tube that transfers food to the organs of digestion. In large bilaterians, the gastrointestinal tract generally also has an exit, the anus, by which the animal disposes of feces (solid wastes). Some small bilaterians have no anus and dispose of solid wastes by other means (for example, through the mouth). The human gastrointestinal tract consists of the esophagus, stomach, and intestines, and is divided into the upper and lower gastrointestinal tracts. The GI tract includes all structures between the mouth and the anus, forming a continuous passageway that includes the main organs of digestion, namely, the stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. However, the complete human digestive system is made up of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver and gallbladder). The tract may also be divided into foregut, midgut, and hindgut, reflecting the embryological origin of each segment. The whole human GI tract is about nine metres (30 feet) long at autopsy. It is considerably shorter in the living body because the intestines, which are tubes of smooth muscle tissue, maintain constant muscle tone in a halfway-tense state but can relax in spots to allow for local distention and peristalsis.

title: Human digestive system

text: The lower gastrointestinal tract (GI), includes the small intestine and all of the large intestine. The intestine is also called the bowel or the gut. The lower GI starts at the pyloric sphincter of the stomach and finishes at the anus. The small intestine is subdivided into the duodenum, the jejunum and the ileum. The cecum marks the division between the small and large intestine. The large intestine includes the rectum and anal canal.

title: Retinoid

text: Several enzymes that are present in the intestinal lumen may be involved in the hydrolysis of dietary retinyl esters. Cholesterol esterase is secreted into the intestinal lumen from the pancreas and has been shown, in vitro, to display retinyl ester hydrolase activity. In addition, a retinyl ester hydrolase that is intrinsic to the brush-border membrane of the small intestine has been characterized in the rat as well as in the human. The different hydrolyzing enzymes are activated by different types of bile salts and have distinct substrate specificities. For example, whereas the pancreatic esterase is selective for short-chain retinyl esters, the brush-border membrane enzyme preferentially hydrolyzes retinyl esters containing a long-chain fatty acid such as palmitate or stearate. Retinol enters the absorptive cells of the small intestine, preferentially in the all-trans-retinol form.

title: Copper in health

text: In mammals copper is absorbed in the stomach and small intestine, although there appear to be differences among species with respect to the site of maximal absorption. Copper is absorbed from the stomach and duodenum in rats and from the lower small intestine in hamsters. The site of maximal copper absorption is not known for humans, but is assumed to be the stomach and upper intestine because of the rapid appearance of Cu64 in the plasma after oral administration.

title: Zang-fu

text: The zàng-fǔ () organs are functional entities stipulated by Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). They constitute the centre piece of TCM's general concept of how the human body works. The term zàng (脏) refers to the organs considered to be yin in nature – Heart, Liver, Spleen, Lung, Kidney – while fǔ (腑) refers to the yang organs – Small Intestine, Large Intestine, Gall Bladder, Urinary Bladder, Stomach and Sānjiaō.

title: Feeding tube

text: A gastrojejunostomy or GJ feeding tube is a combination device that includes access to both the stomach and the jejunum, or middle part of the small intestine. Typical tubes are placed in a G-tube site or stoma, with a narrower long tube continuing through the stomach and into the small intestine. The GJ-tube is used widely in individuals with severe gastric motility, high risk of aspiration, or an inability to feed into the stomach. It allows the stomach to be continually vented or drained while simultaneously feeding into the small intestine. GJ-tubes are typically placed by an interventional radiologist in a hospital setting. The primary complication of a GJ-tube is migration of the long portion of the tube out of the intestine and back into the stomach.

title: Isomaltulose

text: As a result of its slow digestion, isomaltulose reaches more distally in the human small intestine than does sucrose, as evidenced by their different incretin hormones responses. The incretin hormone glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) is secreted from the earlier (proximal) part of the small intestine in lower amounts after isomaltulose than for sucrose ingestion, whereas the incretin hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is secreted from a later (distal) part of the small intestine in higher amounts with isomaltulose compared with sucrose.

title: Large intestine

text: In humans, the large intestine begins in the right iliac region of the pelvis, just at or below the waist, where it is joined to the end of the small intestine at the cecum, via the ileocecal valve. It then continues as the colon ascending the abdomen, across the width of the abdominal cavity as the transverse colon, and then descending to the rectum and its endpoint at the anal canal.[8] Overall, in humans, the large intestine is about 1.5 metres (5ft) long, which is about one-fifth of the whole length of the gastrointestinal tract.[9]

title: Hydrogen breath test

text: The idea that a SIBO test should be several hours long and that distal overgrowth is important is wrong and is not supported by the scientific literature. The optimal testing is 1 hour. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) occurs as a result of excessive numbers of bacteria inhabiting the proximal small intestine. Bacterial concentrations greater than 10 organisms per milliliter is diagnostic for SIBO. We know bacteria are colonizing the proximal and not the distal small intestine for several reasons. First, the gold standard method for detection of SIBO is jejunal aspirates. Intestinal fluid of the proximal intestine is sampled, not distal intestinal fluid. Secondly, the consequences of SIBO are the result of competition between bacteria and the human host for ingested nutrients in the intestine. Various functional consequences of bacterial infiltration cause enterocyte damage in the jejunum such as diminished disaccharidase activity, fat malabsorption, decreased amino acid transport and decreased vitamin B absorption. Thus, detection of proximal bacterial overgrowth is critical.

title: Small intestine cancer

text: Little research is conducted on these cancers due to their relative rarity when compared to the more common colorectal cancers. APC-min mice which carry a gene deficiency corresponding to that of humans with FAP also go on to develop small intestinal tumors, though humans do not.

title: Small intestine

text: There is no small intestine as such in non-teleost fish, such as sharks, sturgeons, and lungfish. Instead, the digestive part of the gut forms a spiral intestine, connecting the stomach to the rectum. In this type of gut, the intestine itself is relatively straight but has a long fold running along the inner surface in a spiral fashion, sometimes for dozens of turns. This valve greatly increases both the surface area and the effective length of the intestine. The lining of the spiral intestine is similar to that of the small intestine in teleosts and non-mammalian tetrapods.[21]

title: Genistin

text: When ingested along the diet, genistin is readily converted to its aglycone form, genistein. It is hydrolyzed by removing the covalently bound glucose to form genistein and that genistein is the form of the compound that is absorbed in the intestine and is the form responsible for the biological activities of the isoflavone. The digestive metabolism was first demonstrated in 2002 that the gut microflora played a large role in the conversion of genistin to genistein. It was later found that enzymes present in the human small intestine and liver also have the ability to convert the isoflavone. Hydrolysis actually starts very quickly in the digestive system once genistin is ingested, conversion begins in the mouth and then continues in the small intestine. Moreover, both human saliva and the intestinal cell-free extract from mice can cause the complete conversion.


query: When was the Xbox first introduced?

title: Xbox

text: Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft of the United States. It represents a series of video game consoles developed by Microsoft, with three consoles released in the sixth, seventh, and eighth generations, respectively. The brand also represents applications (games), streaming services, and an online service by the name of Xbox Live. The brand was first introduced in the United States in November 2001, with the launch of the original Xbox console.

title: Xbox One system software

text: On June 6, 2016, the first preview update of the Windows 10 Anniversary update was made available to participants of the preview program. This included many new features and enhancements to the software. Build 14352 was one of the first builds to introduce Cortana. The main aim of this was to help users to undertake certain tasks, such as setting up a party using voice commands. Unlike the older Kinect voice commands, Cortana gives users audio feedback to the commands, similar to the PC and Windows Mobile versions. The update also included a refreshed design of the Xbox store, further cementing the relationship between Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs, as well as a redesigned 'My Games & Apps' interface, which includes a vertical design rather than the older horizontal design. The 'My Games & Apps' interface in build 14352 also gives the user more information when downloading games and apps such as the percentage completed, the current download size, total download size and the current download speed. The June 2016 update also includes a new 'Facebook Friend Finder', which allows users to find and add friends on Facebook on Xbox Live. The final release to the public was published on July 30, 2016 to coincide with the release of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, which was released a few days later on August 2, 2016. The final release introduced the newly redesigned universal store, as well as further integration of the Universal Windows Platform.

title: Castle Shikigami 2

text: Within the game, new play modes were also introduced with new releases. New features added following the arcade version include story recollect mode, which allows cut scenes to be replayed, and gallery mode, a game artwork viewer. The Xbox port introduced practice mode, and, in a more significant addition, provided additional downloadable artwork and an online scoreboard, available through Xbox Live; this was one of the first examples of Xbox Live content exclusive to Japan, rather than North America.

title: BioShock

text: An initial demo of the game was made available in August 2007 for Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. This demo included cutscenes to introduce the player to Rapture, the game's tutorial section, and its first levels; the demo also included weapons, plasmids, and tonics that would otherwise be introduced later in the full title, as to give the player more of the features that would be found in the published game. The Xbox demo was the fastest demo at that time to reach one million downloads on the Xbox Live service. The full game was released for these platforms on August 21, 2007.

title: History of online games

text: In 2000, Sony introduced online multiplayer to the PlayStation 2. It was the first time of Sony doing so, and like many major consoles to come, will become a norm in the industry. In 2001, Nintendo introduced online multiplayer to the Nintendo GameCube using an add-on called a Broadband Adapter and Modem Adapter. It, however, came dead last in competing with the likes of the upcoming Xbox and the now icon of modern gaming, the PlayStation 2, both in sales and online impact. Later on, in 2002, Microsoft released the Xbox, which by using Xbox Live, offered online multiplayer and other Internet capabilities to the console and continued doing so for its later consoles, the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One. In 2006, Nintendo released the Wii, which offered online multiplayer gaming and other Internet capabilities over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and WiiConnect24, respectively. Both services were shut down on May 20, 2014, along with online capabilities of any games that utilize the feature, such as "Mario Kart Wii" (2008). The same year the Wii hit store shelves, rival Sony introduced its new monster to add to its line of industry icons, the PlayStation 3 which used the brand new PlayStation Network (PSN) for online multiplayer gaming and other Internet capabilities to the system, and continued doing so for later consoles such as the PlayStation 4. In 2012, Nintendo made a successor to the dying Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection involving their next-gen console, the Wii U, and its handheld counterpart, the Nintendo 3DS, by creating the Nintendo Network to continue on its online multiplayer and Internet capabilities, in order to compete against Microsoft's Xbox Live and Sony's PlayStation Network. Nintendo's latest console, the Nintendo Switch, does offer online play via Nintendo Network.

title: Minecraft

text: The "Xbox 360 Edition" supports downloadable content, which is available to purchase via the Xbox Games Store; these content packs usually contain additional character skins. It later received support for texture packs in its twelfth title update while introducing "mash-up packs", which combines texture packs with skin packs and changes to the game's sounds, music and user interface. The first mash-up pack (and by extension, the first texture pack) for the "Xbox 360 Edition" was released on 4 September 2013, and was themed after the "Mass Effect" franchise. Unlike the PC version, however, the "Xbox 360 Edition" does not support player-made mods or custom maps. A cross-promotional resource pack based on the "Super Mario" franchise by Nintendo was released for the "Wii U Edition" worldwide on 17 May 2016. A mash-up pack based on "Fallout" was announced for release on the "Wii U Edition".

title: Xbox One system software

text: The Xbox One was not backward compatible with either the original Xbox or the Xbox 360 console at launch, and Microsoft had admitted that attempts to use cloud streaming to allow Xbox 360 games to be played on Xbox One proved to be "problematic". However, during its E3 press conference on June 15, 2015, Microsoft announced plans to introduce Xbox 360 backward compatibility using the software method on the Xbox One. Supported Xbox 360 games are supposed to run within a software emulator provided by the updated system software, implementing both the hardware and software of the Xbox 360. Xbox One recording and broadcasting features are supported along with Xbox 360 multiplayer, achievements and cloud save access.

title: Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II

text: "Dark Alliance II" was first mentioned as early as April 17, 2001, when Interplay Entertainment confirmed that if the first game was successful, a sequel would enter development immediately. However, the game was not officially announced until March 24, 2003, when Interplay revealed they were working on a sequel for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The only information available at the time was that the game would introduce item crafting, have five playable characters and was slated for a simultaneous PlayStation/Xbox release in the winter of 2003. On May 6, IGN published an interview with Kevin Osburn, head of the development team at Black Isle Studios and the game's producer. Osburn revealed the developers had taken on-board criticisms of the first game, and addressed those problems in the sequel, as well as making everything bigger, with more enemies, characters, weapons, locations and quests.

title: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

text: In 2008, the original Xbox version was released on Xbox 360; an emulated port as part of the Xbox Originals line-up. However, in late 2014 it was removed from the Xbox Live Marketplace and replaced with a port of the mobile version on 26 October 2014, the game's tenth anniversary. It featured HD 720p resolution, enhanced draw distance, a new menu interface, and achievements. While it introduced many new features, around ten songs were removed from the HD version that were present in the original due to licensing issues, and numerous new bugs were introduced. A physical release followed on 30 June 2015 in North America and 17 July 2015 elsewhere, under the "Platinum Hits" banner ("Classics" in PAL regions).

title: Xbox (software)

text: The Windows 10 family of operating systems introduced a revamped version of SmartGlass referred to simply as Xbox. It features a new, multi-column interface with an Activity Feed display, and allows users to control and play games from an Xbox One console over a local network, the ability to view and edit Game DVR recordings from an Xbox One console. The PC version of the Xbox App also supports Game DVR on supported hardware, and has a library display for games installed on the PC, such as those obtained via Steam and Windows Store.

title: Xbox controller

text: The Xbox Controller is the primary controller for Microsoft's Xbox console and was introduced at the Game Developers Conference in 2000. The first-generation Xbox controller (nicknamed "The Duke") was the first controller bundled with Xbox systems for all territories except Japan. A smaller and redesigned variant, called "Controller S", was sold and bundled with the console in Japan. It was later released in other territories and by the end of 2003 had replaced the first-generation controller worldwide. The larger original controller remained available as an optional accessory.

title: Xbox 360 controller

text: The Xbox 360 controller is the primary controller for the Microsoft Xbox 360 video game console that was introduced at E3 2005. The Xbox 360 controller comes in both wired and wireless versions. Original Xbox controllers are not compatible with the Xbox 360. The wired and wireless versions are also compatible with Microsoft PC operating systems, such as Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.

title: List of backward compatible games for Xbox One

text: During Microsoft's E3 2015 press conference on June 15, 2015, Microsoft announced plans to introduce Xbox 360 backward compatibility on the Xbox One at no additional cost. Supported Xbox 360 games will run within an emulator and have access to certain Xbox One features, such as recording and broadcasting gameplay. Games do not run directly from discs. A relicensed form of the game is downloaded automatically when a supported game is inserted, instead of having to make extensive modifications to the game in-order to port the original title. This means that the only reason every single Xbox 360 title is not available is a licensing issue, not an engineering one. All Xbox 360 games could run out-of-the-box on Xbox One, as they require no modifications or porting to run, other than a valid license. While digitally-purchased games will automatically appear for download in the user's library once available. As with Xbox One titles, if the game is installed using physical media, the disc is still required for validation purposes.

title: Xbox One

text: Prior to and after the mandate, all Xbox One consoles initially shipped with the Kinect sensor included. On June 9, 2014, cheaper Xbox One bundles were introduced, which did not include the Kinect sensor. Microsoft stated the decision to offer Xbox One bundles without Kinect was to "[offer] a choice to people that would allow people to buy an Xbox One and then ramp up to Kinect when they can afford to", while also allowing games to use processing power that was previously reserved for Kinect. An updated Xbox Development Kit issued in June 2014 allows developers to explicitly disable motion tracking functionality in games, allowing access to additional system resources that represent about 10% of the GPU processing power. These resources were previously reserved for Kinect skeletal tracking, regardless of whether the Kinect sensor was attached or in use.

title: Xbox One

text: Microsoft introduced an Early access program known as in 2015, which allows developers launch unfinished games for consumers to purchase and beta test before its official launch. Since June 2017, games may be promoted with additional icons that denote compatibility with hardware enhancements found in newer Xbox One models, including support for high-dynamic-range (HDR) colors (on Xbox One S and Xbox One X), native rendering at 4K resolution (Xbox One X), and specific optimizations for Xbox One X.

title: Destiny post-release content

text: Although the first three downloadable content packs were available for all consoles that "Destiny" was originally released for (PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One), the fourth expansion, "Rise of Iron", is only available on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. As per an exclusivity agreement with Sony Interactive Entertainment, "Destiny" and all of its expansions featured timed exclusive content for the PlayStation versions. The timed exclusive content that was available at the launch of "Destiny", as well as the exclusive content of the first two expansions, became available for Xbox when "The Taken King" launched. "The Taken King"s and "Rise of Iron"s PlayStation exclusive content became available for Xbox in October 2017 after the launch of "Destiny"s sequel, "Destiny 2".

title: Xbox

text: The Xbox 360's original graphical user interface was the Xbox 360 Dashboard; a tabbed interface that featured five "Blades" (formerly four blades), and was designed by AKQA and Audiobrain. It could be launched automatically when the console booted without a disc in it, or when the disc tray was ejected, but the user had the option to select what the console does if a game is in the tray on start up, or if inserted when already on. A simplified version of it was also accessible at any time via the Xbox Guide button on the gamepad. This simplified version showed the user's gamercard, Xbox Live messages and friends list. It also allowed for personal and music settings, in addition to voice or video chats, or returning to the Xbox Dashboard from the game.

title: Battlefield 4

text: On June 10, 2013, DICE unveiled "Battlefield 4: Second Assault" during the Microsoft Press Conference at E3 2013. It was announced that it would be the first expansion pack to be released for "Battlefield 4" and would first debut on the Xbox One. It was released on November 22, 2013, the same day the Xbox One was launched. The expansion features the return of four fan-favorite maps from "Battlefield 3" and introduces Capture the Flag as a new gametype. On February 18, 2014, Second Assault became available as Premium exclusive for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC. It became available for non-Premium users on March 4, 2014.

title: Xbox (console)

text: The user interface for the Xbox is called the Xbox Dashboard. It features a media player that can be used to play music CDs, rip CDs to the Xbox's built-in hard drive and play music that has been ripped to the hard drive; it also lets users manage game saves, music, and downloaded content from Xbox Live, and lets Xbox Live users sign in, customize, and manage their account. The dashboard is only available when the user is not watching a movie or playing a game. It uses many shades of green and black for the user interface, to be consistent with the physical Xbox color scheme. When the Xbox was released in 2001, the Live service was not online yet so the dashboard's Live feature was unusable.

title: Xbox One controller

text: A third revision of the controller was introduced alongside the Xbox One S, an updated model of the Xbox One console, unveiled in June 2016. It features textured grips, and additionally supports Bluetooth, which allows it to be used wirelessly on Bluetooth-enabled PCs without the need for the proprietary Wireless Adapter. Users can also custom-order this controller revision via the "Xbox Design Lab" service, with their choice of colors, and an optional inscription of their Xbox Live screen name for an additional fee.

title: Xbox One system software

text: The March 2016 update builds on the features that were introduced in the February 2016 update. New features that were included in the March 2016 update was the ability to purchase Xbox 360 compatible games on the Xbox One, party chat while broadcasting Twitch streams, customizable DVR recording lengths, which means that owners can now record a clip for up to 5 minutes long. Other improvements included the ability to track achievement progress from the Xbox One guide, video playback from the Xbox One activity feed, the ability to have 16 people in a party chat, the ability to track Xbox 360 achievements on the Xbox One activity feed. Further improvements in the March 2016 update include the ability to launch web links and YouTube videos directly from the Game Hubs and the ability for a user to compare their avatars to their friends. Additionally, the update also introduces the ability to factory reset the console without deleting installed games and applications.

title: Windows Media Center Extender

text: For quite some time, the Xbox 360 was the only Version 2 Extender available that could work with Windows Vista. When connecting an Xbox 360 to a Windows XP Media Center Edition PC, a free download is required to connect for the first time. When connecting an Xbox 360 to a Windows Vista PC, no download is necessary as all required components are built into Windows Vista.

title: Kameo

text: "Kameo" was later included in "Rare Replay", a compilation of 30 Rare titles, released for the Xbox One in August 2015. The game runs through the Xbox One's backward compatibility, which emulates select Xbox 360 titles on the newer console. "Kameo" was among the first batch of games to be supported for the feature. The "Rare Replay" emulated release includes all original downloadable content for free and lets players migrate their Xbox 360 cloud saves to their Xbox One. "Kameo" performance in the Xbox One's emulator slightly improves upon its technical performance on the Xbox 360 itself. Stephen Totilo ("Kotaku") was surprised at his positive response to replaying "Kameo" on "Rare Replay", having found the introductory stage off-putting when he sampled it at the Xbox 360's launch. He planned to return to the title. Chris Carter ("Destructoid") wrote that while "Kameo" was not worth full price at its release, it was a welcome addition worth playing in the compilation.

title: Xbox One system software

text: The February 2014 update introduced the ability to see how much hard disk space is available. It also introduced support for USB keyboards, enabling users to plug a keyboard into their console, thus eliminating the need to use the on-screen keyboard. Over a year later, in July 2015, Phil Spencer, head of the Xbox team, vowed that mouse support would be added sometime in the future as part of cross-platform gameplay between Windows 10 devices and the Xbox One console.

title: Xbox 360

text: Xbox Live Arcade is an online service operated by Microsoft that is used to distribute downloadable video games to Xbox and Xbox 360 owners. In addition to classic arcade games such as "Ms. Pac-Man", the service offers some new original games like "Assault Heroes". The Xbox Live Arcade also features games from other consoles, such as the PlayStation game "" and PC games such as "Zuma". The service was first launched on November 3, 2004, using a DVD to load, and offered games for about US$5 to $15. Items are purchased using Microsoft Points, a proprietary currency used to reduce credit card transaction charges. On November 22, 2005, Xbox Live Arcade was re-launched with the release of the Xbox 360, in which it was now integrated with the Xbox 360's dashboard. The games are generally aimed toward more casual gamers; examples of the more popular games are "Geometry Wars", "Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting", and "Uno". On March 24, 2010, Microsoft introduced the Game Room to Xbox Live. Game Room is a gaming service for Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows that lets players compete in classic arcade and console games in a virtual arcade.

title: History of Microsoft

text: Microsoft released Windows XP and Office XP in 2001, a version that aimed to encompass the features of both its business and home product lines. The release included an updated version of the Windows 2000 kernel, enhanced DOS emulation abilities, and many of the home-user features found in previous consumer versions. XP introduced a new graphical user interface, the first such change since Windows 95. The operating system was the first to require Microsoft Product Activation, an anti-piracy mechanism that requires users to activate the software with Microsoft within 30 days. Later, Microsoft would enter the multibillion-dollar game console market dominated by Sony and Nintendo, with the release of the Xbox. The Xbox finished behind the dominant PlayStation 2 selling 24 million units compared to 155 million overall; however they managed to outsell the GameCube which sold 21 million units. Microsoft launched their second console, the Xbox 360, in 2005 – which has turned out to be a lot more successful than their first console. It has sold 40 million units as of 2010 and it has outsold Sony's PlayStation 3 which has so far sold 35 million units. However, despite beating Sony with their last Xbox console, Microsoft so far has been outsold by the Wii which introduced gesture control and opened up a new market for video games. Microsoft later used their popular controller-free Kinect peripheral to increase the popularity of the Xbox. This was very successful. Kinect was the fastest selling consumer electronics product in history. It sold 8 million units from November 4, 2010 to January 3, 2011 (its first 60 days). It averaged 133,333 units per day, outselling the iPhone and iPad over equivalent post-launch periods.

title: Xbox Live

text: Users from other countries are not officially supported, although it is possible for them to access Xbox Live if they provide an address located in a country where Xbox Live is officially available. The country selected during account creation affects the payment options, content, and services available to the user. Previously, users were unable to change their account region, but in October 2012, Microsoft introduced an account migration tool as a pilot project, which allows the user to change their region and maintain their Xbox Live profile. Subscriptions, such as that for Xbox Music, cannot be transferred with this method.

title: Xbox One

text: The Xbox One's controller maintains the overall layout found in the Xbox 360's controller, but with various refinements to its form. Among its changes include a smoother form, textured analog sticks, a four-way directional pad, and redesigned triggers and shoulder buttons with a curved shape for ergonomics. "Menu" and "View" buttons have replaced the Start and Back buttons. Each trigger features independent rumble motors called "Impulse Triggers", which allows developers to program directional vibration. One trigger can be made to vibrate when firing a gun, or both can work together to create feedback that indicates the direction of an incoming hit. The controller also contains light emitters that allow it to be tracked and paired using the Kinect sensor, and to detect when it's not being held to automatically enter a low-power state. An updated revision of the controller was released in June 2015, which includes a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack and other minor changes. A third revision was introduced alongside and first bundled with Xbox One S, with textured grips and Bluetooth support.

title: FIFA (video game series)

text: "FIFA 08" introduced a new game mode called "Be a Pro", in which the player controls only a single player on the field. This version also introduced a larger club section including the League of Ireland, and the Hyundai A-League of Australia, for the first time. Unlike "FIFA 06" and "07" however, "FIFA 08" does not include any memorable moments or season highlights. FIFA 08 does not have a version for the original Xbox, which means that "FIFA 07" was the last game of the series to feature on the console. The Xbox 360 has taken over permanently since "FIFA 08".

title: Xbox 360

text: The Xbox 360's original graphical user interface was the "Xbox 360 Dashboard"; a tabbed interface that featured five "Blades" (formerly four blades), and was designed by AKQA and Audiobrain. It could be launched automatically when the console booted without a disc in it, or when the disc tray was ejected, but the user had the option to select what the console does if a game is in the tray on start up, or if inserted when already on. A simplified version of it was also accessible at any time via the Xbox Guide button on the gamepad. This simplified version showed the user's gamercard, Xbox Live messages and friends list. It also allowed for personal and music settings, in addition to voice or video chats, or returning to the Xbox Dashboard from the game.


query: How big are the British Virgin Islands?

title: British Virgin Islands

text: The British Virgin Islands comprise around 60 tropical Caribbean islands, ranging in size from the largest, Tortola, being 20km (12mi) long and 5km (3mi) wide, to tiny uninhabited islets, altogether about 150 square kilometres (58 square miles) in extent. They are located in the Virgin Islands archipelago, a few miles east of the US Virgin Islands, and about 95km (59mi) from the Puerto Rican mainland. About 150km (93mi) east south-east lies Anguilla. The North Atlantic Ocean lies to the east of the islands, and the Caribbean Sea lies to the west. Most of the islands are volcanic in origin and have a hilly, rugged terrain. Anegada is geologically distinct from the rest of the group and is a flat island composed of limestone and coral.

text: The Constitution of the British Virgin Islands is a predominantly codified constitution documented primarily within the Virgin Islands Constitution Order, 2007 a statutory instrument of the United Kingdom. The 2007 Constitution was the fourth written constitution of the British Virgin Islands, and superseded the 1976 constitution. In addition to the constitution itself a number of the constitutional powers of the British Virgin Islands government are specified a "letter of entrustment" from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office which delegates powers to the British Virgin Islands government to represent itself in certain external affairs.

text: The Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands is the principal legal adviser to the Government of the British Virgin Islands. Under the Constitution of the British Virgin Islands the Attorney General sits "ex officio" in both the House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands and in the Cabinet of the British Virgin Islands, but is not permitted to vote in either. The Attorney General also sits on the Committee for the Prerogative of Mercy and on the National Security Council.

title: Flag of the British Virgin Islands

text: The civil ensign (seen below) is a red ensign with the coat of arms of the British Virgin Islands. The red ensign is to be flown on board vessels either registered in the British Virgin Islands or by vessels visiting the British Virgin Islands. The flag was authorised in 2001 and Section 70 of the British Virgin Islands Merchant Shipping Act, 2001 reads:The blue ensign shall only be used on vessels which belong to or are in the service of the government.

title: Scouting and Guiding in the British Virgin Islands

text: The British Virgin Islands Girl Guide Association is a Guiding organisation in the British Virgin Islands. It is one of the nine branch associations of Girlguiding UK. It is represented by Girlguiding UK at World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) level and Girlguiding UK's Chief Guide is also Chief Guide for British Virgin Islands Girlguiding. British Virgin Islands Girlguiding is part of the Caribbean Link for Guiding.

title: Big-scaled least gecko

text: The big-scaled least gecko ("Sphaerodactylus macrolepis") is a gecko mainly distributed in Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. It is also found on the mainland in Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia. It is one of over 100 species in the genus "Sphaerodactylus".

title: British Virgin Islands

text: Crime in the British Virgin Islands is comparatively low by Caribbean standards (and indeed compared to the neighbouring US Virgin Islands).[27] Whilst statistics and hard data are relatively rare, and are not regularly published by governmental sources in the British Virgin Islands, the Premier did announce that in 2013 there has been a 14% decline in recorded crime as against 2012.[28] Homicides are rare,[29] with just one incident recorded in 2013. The British and US Virgin Islands sit at the axis of a major drugs transshipment point between Latin America and the continental United States. The American DEA regards the adjacent US territories of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands as a "High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area".[30] A co-operation agreement exists between the British Virgin Islands and the US Coast Guard allowing American forces to pursue suspected drug traffickers through the territorial waters of the British Virgin Islands. In August 2011 a joint raid between the American DEA and the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force arrested a number of British Virgin Islands residents who are accused of being involved in major drugs transshipments,[31] although their extradition to the United States has become bogged down in protracted legal wrangling.[32]

text: The British Virgin Islands national baseball team is the national baseball team of British Virgin Islands. The team represents British Virgin Islands in international competitions.

title: Virgin Islands

text: Christopher Columbus named the islands after Saint Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins (), shortened to the Virgins ("las Vírgenes"). The official name of the British territory is the Virgin Islands, and the official name of the U.S. territory is the Virgin Islands of the United States. In practice, the two island groups are almost universally referred to as the British Virgin Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

text: Her Majesty's Government of the Virgin Islands (usually simply referred to as the Government of the British Virgin Islands) is the democratically elected government of the British Overseas Territory of the British Virgin Islands. It is regulated by the Constitution of the British Virgin Islands.

title: 1960 British Virgin Islands general election

text: The British Virgin Islands general election, 1960 was a general election held in the British Virgin Islands on 11 October 1960 for seats on the Legislative Council of the British Virgin Islands.

title: Women in the British Virgin Islands

text: Women in the British Virgin Islands are women who were born in, who live in, and are from the British Virgin Islands, a British overseas territory located in the Caribbean. According to "Countries and Their Culture", women of the British Virgin Islands are characteristically with "strong independent and entrepreneurial spirit".

title: United States Virgin Islands

text: The U.S. Virgin Islands are in the Atlantic Ocean, about east of Puerto Rico and immediately west of the British Virgin Islands. They share the Virgin Islands Archipelago with the Puerto Rican Virgin Islands of Vieques and Culebra (administered by Puerto Rico), and the British Virgin Islands.

title: Judiciary of the British Virgin Islands

text: Although the British Virgin Islands is not a member of the Council of Europe, the European Convention on Human Rights has been extended to the British Virgin Islands by the United Kingdom. No cases relating to the British Virgin Islands have yet been heard by the European Court of Human Rights, but in a British Virgin Islands case the court noted the tension between certain provisions of the Convention and the Eastern Caribbean Civil Procedure Rules.

title: Taxation in the British Virgin Islands

text: Taxation in the British Virgin Islands is relatively simple by comparative standards; photocopies of all of the tax laws of the British Virgin Islands would together amount to about 200 pages of paper. Taxation in the British Virgin Islands is mostly notable for what is "not" subject to taxation. The British Virgin Islands has:

text: The British Virgin Islands Olympic Committee (IOC code: IVB) is the National Olympic Committee representing the British Virgin Islands. It is also the body responsible for the British Virgin Islands's representation at the Commonwealth Games.

title: British Virgin Islands national cricket team

text: The British Virgin Islands cricket team has represented the British overseas territory of the British Virgin Islands in cricket. The team is not a member of the International Cricket Council, but is a member of the Leeward Islands Cricket Association, which itself is a member association of the West Indies Cricket Board, and players from the British Virgin Islands generally represent the Leeward Islands cricket team at domestic level and the West Indies at international level. The British Virgin Islands have however played as a separate entity in matches which held Twenty20 status, but has not appeared in first-class or List A cricket.

title: Outline of the British Virgin Islands

text:
The British Virgin Islands consist of the main islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke, along with over fifty other smaller islands and cays. Approximately fifteen of the islands are inhabited. The largest island, Tortola, is approximately 20 km (approx. 12 mi) long and 5 km (approx. 3 mi) wide. The islands have a total population of about 22,000, of whom approximately 18,000 live on Tortola. Road Town, the capital, is situated on Tortola.Geography of the British Virgin Islands
Regions of the British Virgin Islands

text: The British Virgin Islands national football team is the national team of the British Virgin Islands and is controlled by the British Virgin Islands Football Association.

title: Virgin Islands dwarf sphaero

text: The Virgin Islands dwarf sphaero or Virgin Islands dwarf gecko ("Sphaerodactylus parthenopion") is a species of gecko and also one of the smallest terrestrial vertebrates. It has only been found on three of the British Virgin Islands: Virgin Gorda, Tortola, and Moskito Island (also spelled “Mosquito Island”). It was discovered in 1964 and is suspected to be a close relative of "Sphaerodactylus nicholsi", a dwarf sphaero from the nearby island of Puerto Rico. It shares its range with the big-scaled least gecko ("S. macrolepis"), which is found in leaf litter. Unlike this larger gecko, the Virgin Islands dwarf sphaero lives on drier hillsides, yet prefers moist microhabitats found under rocks because it lacks the adaptations necessary for preventing water loss, which is a significant problem due to its small body size.

title: Andy Davis (British Virgin Islands footballer)

text: Andy Davis (born 24 October 1975) in the British Virgin Islands is a footballer who plays as a defender and midfielder for British Virgin Islands Championship club Islanders FC and the British Virgin Islands national football team.

text: Early football games in the British Virgin Islands were between British Royal Navy crew, and expatriates. In 1968, the British Virgin Islands team was founded by a team of Royal Engineers, and soon after, in 1973 the British Virgin Islands Football Association was founded. In 1974, it was affiliated by FIFA. The former Tottenham, Chelsea and Porto manager, Portuguese André Villas-Boas had his first job as Technical Director of the national team British Virgin Islands in 2000 and 2001.

title: Elections in the British Virgin Islands

text: Qualifications to be registered as a voter in the British Virgin Islands are now regulated by article 68 of the Constitution. A person is qualified to vote if they are a Belonger aged 18 or older, and are either resident in the British Virgin Islands or are domiciled in the British Virgin Islands and resident in the United States Virgin Islands.

title: British Virgin Islands

text: The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially simply the Virgin Islands,[3] are a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.

title: 1963 British Virgin Islands general election

text: The British Virgin Islands general election, 1963 was a general election held in the British Virgin Islands on 28 November 1963 for seats on the Legislative Council of the British Virgin Islands.

title: Outline of the British Virgin Islands

text: British Virgin Islands (BVI) – British overseas territory located in the eastern portion of the Virgin Islands Archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The Virgin Islands are part of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles. The United States Virgin Islands comprises the western portion of the archipelago. Technically the name of the Territory is simply the "Virgin Islands", but in practice since 1917 they have been almost universally referred to as the "British Virgin Islands" to distinguish the islands from the American Territory. To add to the regional confusion, the Puerto Rican islands of Culebra, Vieques and surrounding islands began referring to themselves as the "Spanish Virgin Islands" as part of a tourism drive in the early 2000s.

text: The British Virgin Islands national basketball team represents the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in international basketball competitions. It is administrated by the British Virgin Islands Amateur Basketball Federation.

text: The British Virgin Islands women's national football team is the national women's football team of the British Virgin Islands and is overseen by the British Virgin Islands Football Association.

title: List of British Virgin Islands records in swimming

text: The British Virgin Islands records in swimming are the fastest ever performances of swimmers from British Virgin Islands, which are recognised and ratified by the British Virgin Islands Swimming Association.

title: British Virgin Islands

text: The official name of the territory is still simply the "Virgin Islands", but the prefix "British" is often used. This is commonly believed to distinguish it from the neighbouring American territory which changed its name from the "Danish West Indies" to "Virgin Islands of the United States" in 1917. However, local historians have disputed this, pointing to a variety of publications and public records dating from between 21 February 1857 and 12 September 1919 where the Territory is referred to as the British Virgin Islands.[6] British Virgin Islands government publications continue to begin with the name "The territory of the Virgin Islands", and the territory's passports simply refer to the "Virgin Islands", and all laws begin with the words "Virgin Islands". Moreover, the territory's Constitutional Commission has expressed the view that "every effort should be made" to encourage the use of the name "Virgin Islands".[7] But various public and quasi-public bodies continue to use the name "British Virgin Islands" or "BVI", including BVI Finance, BVI Electricity Corporation, BVI Tourist Board, BVI Athletic Association, BVI Bar Association and others.

title: List of towns in the British Virgin Islands

text:
This is a list of towns in the British Virgin Islands, there are no cities in the British Virgin Islands. The capital, and the largest town is Road Town, and Spanish Town is the second largest town. The main island is Tortola, where most of the towns are.
These are the settlements of the British Virgin Islands:


query: What was the first hormone discovered?

title: Secretin

text: Secretin was the first hormone to be identified.[8] In 1902, William Bayliss and Ernest Starling were studying how the nervous system controls the process of digestion.[9] It was known that the pancreas secreted digestive juices in response to the passage of food (chyme) through the pyloric sphincter into the duodenum. They discovered (by cutting all the nerves to the pancreas in their experimental animals) that this process was not, in fact, governed by the nervous system. They determined that a substance secreted by the intestinal lining stimulates the pancreas after being transported via the bloodstream. They named this intestinal secretion secretin. Secretin was the first such "chemical messenger" identified. This type of substance is now called a hormone, a term coined by Bayliss in 1905.[10]

title: Dihydrotestosterone

text: DHT was first synthesized by Adolf Butenandt and his colleagues in 1935. It was prepared via hydrogenation of testosterone, which had been discovered earlier that year. DHT was introduced for medical use as an AAS in 1953, and was noted to be more potent than testosterone but with reduced androgenicity. It was not elucidated to be an endogenous substance until 1956, when it was shown to be formed from testosterone in rat liver homogenates. In addition, the biological importance of DHT was not realized until the early 1960s, when it was found to be produced by 5α-reductase from circulating testosterone in target tissues like the prostate gland and seminal vesicles and was found to be more potent than testosterone in bioassays. The biological functions of DHT in humans became much more clearly defined upon the discovery and characterization of 5α-reductase type II deficiency in 1974. DHT was the last major sex hormone, the others being testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone, to be discovered, and is unique in that it is the only major sex hormone that functions principally as an intracrine and paracrine hormone rather than as an endocrine hormone.

title: Vincent Wigglesworth

text: In particular, he studied metamorphosis. His most significant contribution was the discovery that neurosecretory cells in the brain of the South American kissing bug, "Rhodnius prolixus", secrete a crucial hormone that triggers the prothoracic gland to release prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH), which regulates the process of metamorphosis. This was the first experimental confirmation of the function of neurosecretory cells. He went on to discover another hormone, called the juvenile hormone, which prevented the development of adult characteristics in "R. prolixus" until the insect had reached the appropriate larval stage. Wigglesworth was able to distort the developmental phases of the insect by controlling levels of this hormone. From these observations, Wigglesworth was able to develop a coherent theory of how an insect's genome can selectively activate hormones which determine its development and morphology.

title: Alfred G. Gilman

text: In the 1960s, Earl Sutherland and Theodore Rall discovered that cyclic AMP (the second messenger in signal transduction) was a responsible for activating enzymes in the cell, and that cyclic AMP is produced only when hormones (the first messengers) bind on the cell surface. Cyclic AMP is formed from ATP by the enzymes adenylyl cyclase. In 1970 Martin Rodbell found that hormones did not directly influence cyclic AMP, but there existed other molecules, the third messengers. Rodbell discovered that cyclic AMP is activated when guanosine triphosphate (GTP) is released from the cell membrane. He, however, did not know how the GTP molecules were produced. Gilman pursued the mystery in the signalling process. He found that in lymphoma (cancer) cells, hormones lost their activity to activate adenylyl cyclase, thereby losing their ability to produce cyclic AMP. This was due to loss of proteins in these cancer cells. When he introduced the missing protein from normal cells into the cancer cells, normal hormone action was produced. This showed that the missing membrane protein was responsible for mediating hormonal signal to cyclic AMP by producing GTP. His findings were published in a series of papers between 1977 and 1979. In 1980, he succeeded in identifying and isolating the new protein, which he named G protein, as it specifically bind GTP molecules.

title: Hormonal IUDs

text: Hormonal IUDs were developed in the 1970s following the development of the copper IUD in the 1960s and 1970s. Dr. Antonio Scommenga, working at the Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, discovered that administering progesterone inside the uterus could have contraceptive benefits. With knowledge of Scommegna's work, a Finnish doctor, Jouni Valtteri Tapani Luukkainen, created the 'T'-shaped IUD that released progesterone, marketed as the Progestasert System in 1976. This IUD had a short, 1-year lifespan and never achieved widespread popularity. Following this relative lack of success, Dr. Luukkainen replaced the progesterone with the hormone levonorgestrel to be released over a five-year period, creating what is now Mirena.

title: Kenneth Sterling

text: Sterling was one of the first researchers to use radioactive iodine to treat thyroid diseases. He used radioisotopic labels to study the metabolism of human serum proteins and red blood cells. He discovered that the body converts the pro-hormone thyroxine into triiodothyronine, the primary active form of thyroid hormone. This breakthrough led to a new field of thyroid hormone research and led to the first early studies on the mechanism of action of thyroid hormones. Sterling developed the equilibrium dialysis method for measuring free thyroxine, which remains the gold standard for evaluating free hormone levels in blood today. Sterling was a pioneering investigator identifying mitochondrial thyroid hormone receptors, shortened isoforms of the full-length, nuclear receptors. He wrote a chapter on thyroid hormone receptors in the fifth edition of "Werner's The Thyroid: A Fundamental and Clinical Text", which is known as "the bible of modern thyroidology."

title: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

text: Carnegie Institution scientists at Cold Spring Harbor made many contributions to genetics and medicine. In 1908 George H. Shull discovered hybrid corn and the genetic principle behind it called heterosis, or "hybrid vigor." This would become the foundation of modern agricultural genetics. Clarence C. Little in 1916 was among the first scientists to demonstrate a genetic component of cancer. E. Carleton MacDowell in 1928 discovered a strain of mouse called C58 that developed spontaneous leukemia – an early mouse model of cancer. In 1933, Oscar Riddle isolated prolactin, the milk secretion hormone and Wilbur Swingle participated in the discovery of adrenocortical hormone, used to treat Addison's disease.

title: Doctor Hormone

text: Doctor Hormone was an elderly scientist who, having discovered the secret of life itself, injected himself with a "youth hormone" which restored his body to youthful vigor. After agents from Urasia stole his formulas from his laboratory to aid in their nation's wars against its neighbors, Doctor Hormone and his granddaughter Jane traveled to the besieged nation of Novoslavia, where he used his scientific expertise to help battle the Urasian invaders, who were using the hormones to create armies of part animal/part human men. Later, Doctor Hormone was employed as a researcher for the United States Army and worked in a laboratory at Fort Knox.

title: Differential diagnosis

text: For simplicity, let’s say that the doctor first receives the blood test (in formulas abbreviated as “BT”) result for the parathyroid hormone analysis, and that it showed a parathyroid hormone level that is elevated relatively to what would be expected by the calcium level.

title: Elizabeth Gould (psychologist)

text: Gould and her colleagues believe the answer to the question, ‘What possible function could late-generated cells serve?’ could have immense significance in neuroscience and their investigations are guided mostly by this question. Gould and her team are also endeavoring to discover how hormones modulate the production of new neurons and how experience affects new cell production and if so, through what underlying mechanisms.

title: Neurosecretion

text: Insects play a large role in what is known about neurosecretion. In simpler organisms neurosecretion mechanisms regulate the heart, the process of metamorphosis, and directly influences the development of the gonadal function. In more advanced organisms the gonadal function is manipulated by the intermediary endocrine processes. Axons from neurosecretory cells trace to corpora cardiaca and corpora allata and produce and secrete a brain hormone which insect physiologists suspect is bound to a large carrier protein. Although the function is unknown, there are a multitude of these cells found in the ventral ganglia of the nerve cord. Neurosecretory cells, found in clusters in the medial and lateral parts of the brain, control corpora allata activity by producing juvenile hormone during the larval or nymphal instars, the phase between periods of molting in insects. The production of this hormone inhibits the insect during the conversion to maturity and reactivating once the fully-grown adult is prepared for reproduction. The 3rd International Symposium on Neurosecretion at the University of Bristol discussed the intracellular structure of the neurosecretory cells and the migration path to the target organs or vascular fluid areas by neurosecretory granules. More is being discovered on the identification of granules in hormones and the linking of their development with the organism’s physiologic state.

title: Nuggehalli Raghuveer Moudgal

text: Moudgal's early researches at the University of Madras were on the biochemistry of thyroid hormones but he shifted his focus to pituitary gonadotropins during his days at Choh Hao Li's laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley when he established that the hormones generated immune response in living beings and the discovery was reported to be a significant one as the belief till then was the principal function of the hormones was reproduction. Later, at Rodney Porter's laboratory in London, he worked on the role of cellulose as a carrier for immobilization of antibodies. Back in India, he expanded the scope of his researches to cover wider aspects of reproductive biology for which he established a Primate Research Laboratory at IISc in 1965, which was the largest primate house in the country at that time. Working on the macaques in his primate house, he discovered that sialidase from the kidney of the primate acted as an inhibitor of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), a hormone responsible for pubertal development. He conducted elaborate studies on the molecular mechanism of Luteinizing Hormone (LH), a hormone which has significant role in ovulation and testosterone production, and elucidated the "unfolding of LH binding to LH receptors in the target cell" which was detailed in one of his articles, "Effect of ICSH on Early Pregnancy in Hypophysectomized Pregnant Rats", published in Nature in 1969. He discovered that neutralizing LH resulted in neutralization of several reproductive functions such as ovulation, implantation, and gestational progress and the discovery opened a new methodology in immunocontraceptive technology. Later, he furthered his investigations on hormone actions by using antibodies as probes. His findings reportedly prompted R. O. Greep of Harvard University to invite him for collaborative research and Moudgal supervised the work of Greep's Group at his laboratory. At Harvard, he also collaborated with W. R. Moyle and established the presence of Luteinizing hormone/choriogonadotropin receptors on tumor cells in the testicles for the first time, which they revealed in an article, "Specific binding of luteinizing hormone to Leydig tumor cells", published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry in 1971. He used these tumor cells for further investigations on Hormone-Receptor interactions, Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cyclic AMP) production and steroidogenesis and experimentally demonstrated the extent of coupling and response with regard to cyclic AMP production and steroid output.

title: Local hormone

text:
The Gastrin family is a group of peptides evolutionarily similar in structure and function. Commonly synthesized in antroduodenal G-cells. Regulate gastric function along with gastric acid secretion and mucosal growth.The Secretin family are peptides that act as local hormones which regulate regulate activity of G-protein coupled receptors. Most often found in the pancreas and the intestines. Secretin was discovered in 1902 by E. H. Starling. It was later linked to chemical regulation and was the first substance to be deemed a hormone.
3. Mark H. Whitnall, William G. Haynes, David J. Webb (1997). Principles of Medical Biology.

title: Adipokinetic hormone

text: Adipokinetic hormone (AKH) is a short peptide hormone that has been studied in insects. It is a lipid mobilising hormone and is responsible for regulating fuel transport in the haemolymph, for redirecting energy to other processes as required by the insect. AKH was initially discovered in the locusts "Locusta migratoria" and "Schistocerca gregaria" and is generally associated with aiding flight. Early observations of locusts showed that despite the fact that lipids are metabolised by flight muscle in order to maintain flight, which would be transported from the haemolymph, there was often still a high concentration of lipids in the haemolymph, implying that an agent may be responsible for activating lipid transport into the haemolymph and this was thought most likely to be hormonal regulation. The hormone itself is part of a larger family, often referred to as red pigment concentrating hormones (RPCH) discovered in crustaceans and the typical makeup of hormones in this family includes a length between 8 and 10 amino acids, blocked N and C termini, phenylalanine or tyrosine at position 4 and tryptophan at position 8. RPCH was discovered in crustaceans and shown to be involved in concentrating red pigments, for sexual displays and a variety of other reasons. The similarity between AKH and RPCH is so significant that injecting insects with RPCH induces an AKH like response and "vice versa"

title: Neuroendocrinology

text: The first of these factors to be identified are thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). TRH is a small peptide that stimulates the secretion of thyroid-stimulating hormone; GnRH (also called luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone) stimulates the secretion of luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone.

title: Ghrelin

text: Ghrelin was discovered after the ghrelin receptor (called growth hormone secretagogue type 1A receptor or GHS-R) was discovered in 1996 and was reported in 1999. The hormone name is based on its role as a "growth hormone-releasing peptide", with reference to the Proto-Indo-European root "gʰre-", meaning "to grow".

title: Ray Farquharson

text: Through his research in endocrinology with colleague Arthur Squires, Farquharson discovered what became known as the "Farquharson Phenomenon": that the introduction of continuous exogenous hormone doses suppresses the natural production of that hormone in the patient and causes temporary atrophy in the producing organ. This phenomenon became one of the basic principles of endocrinology and a key factor in the etiology of hormonal abnormalities. Farquharson also made significant contributions related to anemia and pigment metabolism. He was the first Canadian doctor to publicize Sheehan's syndrome, and the first North American to report on Simmond's disease. As an educator and researcher, he was an early promoter of laboratory testing in the evaluation of illness; he was known for advocating both this and awareness of potential psychological issues in patients.

title: Cameron Inquiry

text: In May 2005 Eastern Health discovered errors in hormone receptor breast cancer test results from a histology lab in St Johns, Newfoundland. The tests were designed to register patients' hormone levels, and determine whether they could benefit from potentially life-saving hormone oncology treatments. The board commissioned the re-testing of results from up to 1,500 patients and alerted the office of premier Danny Williams of this development and of potential ensuing media interest. An hour after first contacting Williams's office, the board sent a second message with what communications director Karen Matthews described to the inquiry as a "stand-down" notice, saying the issue had been minimized; Matthews responded by withdrawing the office from high alert over the case. Former health minister John Ottenheimer told the inquiry that he wished to publicize the testing failures when they emerged in May 2005, but deferred to Eastern Health's request that he leave them to handle the affair internally.

title: Hypothalamus

text:
In the hypothalamic–adenohypophyseal axis, releasing hormones, also known as hypophysiotropic or hypothalamic hormones, are released from the median eminence, a prolongation of the hypothalamus, into the hypophyseal portal system, which carries them to the anterior pituitary where they exert their regulatory functions on the secretion of adenohypophyseal hormones.
These hypophysiotropic hormones are stimulated by parvocellular neurosecretory cells located in the periventricular area of the hypothalamus. After their release into the capillaries of the third ventricle, the hypophysiotropic hormones travel through what is known as the hypothalamo-pituitary portal circulation. Once they reach their destination in the anterior pituitary, these hormones bind to specific receptors located on the surface of pituitary cells. Depending on which cells are activated through this binding, the pituitary will either begin secreting or stop secreting hormones into the rest of the bloodstream.

title: Bovine somatotropin

text: Bovine somatotropin or bovine somatotrophin (abbreviated bST and BST), or bovine growth hormone (BGH), is a peptide hormone produced by cows' pituitary glands. Like other hormones, it is produced in small quantities and is used in regulating metabolic processes. After the biotech company Genentech discovered and patented the gene for BST in the 1970s, it became possible to synthesize the hormone using recombinant DNA technology to create recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST), recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH), or artificial growth hormone. Four large pharmaceutical companies, Monsanto, American Cyanamid, Eli Lilly, and Upjohn, developed commercial rBST products and submitted them to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval. Monsanto was the first firm to receive approval. Other countries (Mexico, Brazil, India, Russia, and at least ten others) also approved rBST for commercial use. Monsanto licensed Genentech's patent, and marketed their product as "Posilac". In October 2008, Monsanto sold this business, in full, to Eli Lilly and Company for $300 million plus additional consideration.

title: Prothoracicotropic hormone

text: Prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) was the first insect hormone to be discovered. It was originally described simply as "brain hormone" by early workers such as Stefan Kopeć (1922) and Vincent Wigglesworth (1934), who realized that ligation of the head of immature insects could prevent molting or pupation of the body region excluded from the head if the ligation was performed before a critical age in the lifestage was reached. After a certain point the ligation had no effect and both sections of the insect would molt or pupate. However, implantation of a conspecific brain to a sessile ligated abdomen or an abdomen under diapause would induce molting or pupation. Thus, the brain was originally thought to be the source of the hormone that induces molting in insects.

title: Zygomycota

text: Trisporic acid was discovered in 1964 as a metabolite that caused enhanced carotene production in Blakeslea trispora. It was later shown to be the hormone that brought about zygophore production in Mucor mucedo. The American mycologist and geneticist Albert Francis Blakeslee, discovered that some species of Mucorales were self-sterile (heterothallic), in which interactions of two strains, designated (+) and (-), being necessary for the initiation of sexual activity. This interaction was found by Hans Burgeff of the University of Goettingen to be due to the exchange of low molecular weight substances that diffused through the substratum and atmosphere. This work constituted the first demonstration of sex hormone activity in any fungus. The elucidation of the hormonal control of sexual interaction in the Mucorales extends over 60 years and involved mycologists and biochemists from Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, UK and the USA.

title: Gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone

text: GnIH was discovered in 2000. It is an RFamide peptide that significantly reduced luteinizing hormone release in Coturnix Japonica (Japanese quail). This peptide emerged as the first tropic hormone known to inhibit gonadotropin secretion in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis of vertebrates. Subsequent research identified GnIH peptide homologs in variety of mammals, including humans.

title: Estrone

text: Estrone was the first steroid hormone to be discovered. It was discovered in 1929 independently by the American scientists Edward Doisy and Edgar Allen and the German biochemist Adolf Butenandt, although Doisy and Allen isolated it two months before Butenandt. They isolated and purified estrone in crystalline form from the urine of pregnant women. Doisy and Allen named it "theelin", while Butenandt named it "progynon" and subsequently referred to it as "folliculin" in his second publication on the substance. Butenandt was later awarded the Nobel Prize in 1939 for the isolation of estrone and his work on sex hormones in general. The molecular formula of estrone was known by 1931, and its chemical structure had been determined by Butenandt by 1932. Following the elucidation of its structure, estrone was additionally referred to as "ketohydroxyestrin" or "oxohydroxyestrin", and the name "estrone", on the basis of its C17 ketone group, was formally established in 1932 at the first meeting of the International Conference on the Standardization of Sex Hormones in London.

title: Donald W. Pfaff

text: His laboratory worked out the first nerve cell circuit for a mammalian behavior, discovered hormone-sensitive genes in the brain; and integrated these findings to show how specific gene expression in a small part of the brain can regulate behavior. Pfaff also discovered that the nerve cells which control all reproductive processes—neurons that express the gene for the peptide called Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)—are not born in the brain (as are most neurons), but in the nose, from which they migrate into the brain.

title: Carroll Williams

text: For his thesis he studied the wingbeat frequency of Drosophilia, using a stroboscopic device which he designed with the advice of Harold Edgerton. Next he studied the endocrine control of the development of the giant American silkworm "Hyalophora cecropia", introducing carbon dioxide as a surgical anesthetic. He showed that a hormone from the brain activated the prothoracic glands to release the moulting hormone ecdysone. When the juvenile hormone is also present larvae moult to another larval stage. Juvenile hormone is not present during the larval to pupal or the pupal to adult moults. The pupae enter diapause which is broken when the brain has been chilled for weeks, after which it releases the brain hormone. Williams was the first to isolate juvenile hormone and ecdysone. With his students he studied the profound metabolic shutdown during diapause, cocoon spinning behavior, and was the first to discover and isolate cocoonase and cytochrome b5, as well as the "paper factor". He subsequently proposed that hormonal analogues could be used as pesticides by disrupting the developmental cycles of insects.

title: History of catecholamine research

text: The catecholamines comprise the endogenous substances dopamine, noradrenaline (norepinephrine) and adrenaline (epinephrine) as well as numerous artificially synthesized compounds such as isoprenaline. Their investigation constitutes a prominent chapter in the history of physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology. Adrenaline was the first hormone extracted from its endocrine gland and obtained in pure form, before the word "hormone" was coined. It was also the first hormone the structure and biosynthesis of which were clarified. Apart from acetylcholine, adrenaline and noradrenaline were the first neurotransmitters to be discovered and the first intercellular biochemical signals to be found in intracellular vesicles. The β-adrenoceptor was the first G protein-coupled receptor the gene of which was cloned.

title: Non-tropic hormone

text:
Non-tropic hormones are hormones that directly stimulate target cells to induce effects. This differs from the tropic hormones, which act on another endocrine gland.
Non-tropic hormones are those that act directly on targeted tissues or cells, and not on other endocrine gland to stimulate release of other hormones. Many hormones act in a chain reaction. Tropic hormones usually act in the beginning of the reaction stimulating other endocrine gland to eventually release non-tropic hormones. These are the ones that act in the end of the chain reaction on other cells that are not part of other endocrine gland.
The Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is a perfect example of this chain reaction. The reaction begins in the hypothalamus with a release of corticotropin-releasing hormone/factor (CRH/F; tropic). This stimulates the anterior pituitary and causes it to release Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH; tropic) to the adrenal glands. Lastly, cortisol (non-tropic) is secreted from the adrenal glands and goes into the bloodstream where it can have more widespread effects on organs and tissues. Since cortisol is what finally reaches other tissues in the body, it is a non-tropic hormone. CRH an ACTH are tropic hormones because they act on the anterior pituitary gland and adrenal glands, respectively, both of which are endocrine glands.
Non-tropic hormones are thus often the last piece of a larger process and chain of hormone secretion. Both tropic and non-tropic hormones are necessary for proper endocrine function. For example, if ACTH (Adrenocorticotropin hormone; a tropic hormone) is inhibited, cortisol can no longer be released because the chain reaction has been interrupted.
Some examples of non-tropic hormones are:
Most endocrine glands, such as the gonads, pancreas, and adrenal glands, produce non-tropic hormones. Those released from the pituitary gland in the brain include:

title: Wylie Vale

text: At the Salk Institute, Vale led efforts in identifying the group of hormones involved in human growth, reproduction and temperature. His group discovered, isolated and identified corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRF/CRH) in 1981 and growth hormone releasing factor (GHRF) in 1982.

title: Catabolism

text: There are many signals that control catabolism. Most of the known signals are hormones and the molecules involved in metabolism itself. Endocrinologists have traditionally classified many of the hormones as anabolic or catabolic, depending on which part of metabolism they stimulate. The so-called classic catabolic hormones known since the early 20th century are cortisol, glucagon, and adrenaline (and other catecholamines). In recent decades, many more hormones with at least some catabolic effects have been discovered, including cytokines, orexin (also known as hypocretin), and melatonin.

title: Ernst Knobil

text: Knobil is also credited with discovering the key role of pulsatile Gonadotropin-releasing hormone and estrogen feedback during the menstrual cycle. This work today forms the basis of reproductive endocrinology and enabled development of the world's first hormonal contraceptives.