text:
MAIN : Endocrinology : Hypothyroidism
Back to EndocrinologyEndocrinology
Diagnosing Hypothyroidism
Carmel T. Mooney, MVB, MPhil, PhD, DECVIM-CA, MRCVS
University College Dublin Veterinary Hospital, UCD, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland
Hypothyroidism is arguably the most commonly diagnosed endocrine disease in dogs. However, its true prevalence is unknown and it probably is overdiagnosed with many dogs receiving unnecessary treatment. The difficulties in accurately confirming the disorder and the tendency towards overdiagnosis occur for a variety of reasons
The clinical signs are variable, often subtle, few are pathognomonic and many occur in other more common conditions.
A wide variety of diagnostic tests are available with variable costs and imperfections.
A myriad of non-thyroidal factors, including breed and age but particularly non-thyroidal illnesses (NTI) and medications, can profoundly affect tests of thyroid function.
Hypothyroidism is not a single disease, but rather has many potential causes that progressively result in a decline in thyroid hormone concentrations and the subsequent development of clinical signs.
To accurately interpret results of thyroid function tests, it is necessary to know and understand the factors that influence each test. As such, one of the most important steps in confirming hypothyroidism is not the investigation of thyroid function per se, but careful evaluation of each patient for supportive clinical and clinicopathological features and elimination of non-thyroidal factors including other illnesses, and recent drug therapies that could influence test results. If thyroid testing is subsequently performed, pre-evaluation provides the clinician with much greater confidence in diagnosing or clearly eliminating hypothyroidism.
Hypothyroidism is the clinical syndrome that results from inadequate concentrations of the active circulating thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). The most commonly recognized cause in adult dogs is irreversible, acquired, thyroid gland disease (primary hypothyroidism) resulting from lymphocytic thyroiditis or idiopathic atrophy, each of which occurs with approximate equal frequency. The loss of negative feedback on the pituitary gland is expected to result in an increase in circulating thyrotropin (thyroid stimulating hormone, TSH) concentrations. Central hypothyroidism, arising because of a defect in the pituitary gland or hypothalamus, is possible, but is of relatively minor importance in the dog.
The underlying cause of lymphocytic thyroiditis is unknown, but it is recognized as a heritable trait. Clinical hypothyroidism only develops once approximately 75% of the thyroid gland is destroyed. This process may take months to years varying in progression from dog to dog and may not result in hypothyroidism in all cases. Therefore, there are variable periods of time during which there may be significant thyroid pathology and a potentially suboptimal or failing gland, but when clinical hypothyroidism has not yet become apparent. Studies in large numbers of affected dogs suggest a progression through the following stages:
Silent thyroiditis - tests of thyroid autoimmunity [usually thyroglobulin autoantibody (TgAA)] positive, euthyroid (all thyroid hormones within reference interval)
Subclinical (compensating) thyroiditis - TgAA positive, euthyroid with reference interval T4 and T3, but with high endogenous cTSH concentration
Clinical disease - antibody positive, overtly hypothyroid
Over time, tests of thyroid autoimmunity may become negative as thyroid tissue is destroyed and there is a decline in the immune stimulation and response. It has been suggested that idiopathic atrophy may represent the end stage of lymphocytic thyroiditis. This is supported by the prevalence of both forms in certain breeds and the tendency for lymphocytic thyroiditis to be diagnosed at an earlier age.
Total Thyroxine
Circulating total T4 concentration is invariably decreased in dogs with hypothyroidism. However, many non-thyroidal factors will also decrease total T4. Fluctuations occur in healthy dogs, certain breeds have low and subnormal values (particularly sighthounds such as greyhounds, Irish wolfhounds, whippets, salukis), and there is an inverse correlation with age with progressively lower values encountered in older dogs. Decreased total T4 concentration is also a common feature in NTI and in dogs treated with various commonly used drugs (glucocorticoids, potentiated sulphonamides, anti-convulsants, and certain NSAIDs). Therefore, demonstration of a total T4 concentration below the reference interval does not confirm hypothyroidism. On the other hand, it remains a useful method of ruling out hypothyroidism as very few hypothyroid dogs have reference interval values. However, caution is advised as in approximately 8 % of hypothyroid dogs, T4 autoantibodies potentially result in falsely elevated total T4 concentrations. Most of these animals are also TgAA positive.
Endogenous Thyrotropin
Theoretically, circulating cTSH concentration is increased in primary hypothyroidism. However, a proportion of hypothyroid dogs have reference range cTSH values. The cause for this is still somewhat unclear, but possible explanations include random fluctuation, the presence of various isoforms of cTSH some of which may not be measured with current assays, the presence of concurrent disease and central hypothyroidism. Pituitary exhaustion may also play a role, and certainly in experimental cases, there is a marked increase in cTSH within a few months of inducing hypothyroidism followed by a gradual decline over the next few years.
The specificity of cTSH measurement has been reported as relatively high at approximately 80 %. However, abnormally elevated values can occur in euthyroid dogs receiving sulphonamide therapy, during the recovery phase of NTI and in compensating hypothyroidism. As a result of this poor performance, measurement of cTSH alone has limited value in investigating hypothyroidism.
The high specificity of combined low total T4 and increased cTSH allows a confident diagnosis of hypothyroidism in the majority of cases. A combined total T4 and cTSH measurement is a practical, economic and fairly reliable first-line approach to hypothyroidism, especially if pre-evaluation has been performed. In one study investigating hypothyroidism, veterinarians diagnosed the disorder in over 75 % of dogs using total T4 alone, while that diagnosis was only supported by increased cTSH in approximately 15 % of cases. Thus, combining total T4 with cTSH certainly helps reduce the overdiagnosis of this condition.
Table 1. Advantages and disadvantages of various first-line diagnostic tests for hypothyroidism
Total T4
Highly sensitive (> 95 %)
Relatively inexpensive
Reference values make hypothyroidism unlikely
Poorly specific (~75 %)
Lower in elderly dogs and certain breeds
Decreased by most NTIs
Decreased by many drugs
cTSH
Specificity ~ 80 %
HelpsdifferentiatelowT4of hypothyroidism from other causes
Poorly sensitive (75 %)
Should not be used alone
Increased by certain drugs and NTI recovery
Total T4 & cTSH
Specificity of combined low total T4 and increased cTSH > 90 %
Relatively cheap
Easily available
Low total T4 and normal cTSH does not rule out hypothyroidism
The main diagnostic difficulties associated with total T4 and cTSH measurement arise when total T4 is low but the cTSH value is within reference interval (likely to occur in about 25 % of hypothyroid dogs and a frequent possibility in dogs with NTI etc.). In this situation, if the index of suspicion for hypothyroidism remains high, free T4 and TgAA may both be useful second-line tests. Free hormone analysis should help distinguish genuine hypothyroidism from other causes of decreased total T4 and a positive antibody status confirms thyroid pathology.
Free T4
Free T4 is the metabolically active fraction of T4 and its measurement is widely acknowledged to more closely reflect actual thyroid status than total T4 determination. Free hormone is less affected by NTI and various drug therapies than total T4. However, recently, both glucocorticoids and barbiturate anticonvulsants have been shown to decrease free T4 concentrations in dogs and certain breeds, such as greyhounds, normally have low values. Severe NTI is also known to decrease free T4 concentrations. Measurement of free T4 should be by equilibrium dialysis or ultrafiltration.
Thyroglobulin Autoantibodies
Antibodies against thyroglobulin are produced during the development of lymphocytic thyroiditis. A sensitive and more importantly specific, commercially available assay for canine TgAA is available and can be used to confirm the presence of thyroid pathology. The principal limitation of TgAA measurement is that not all dogs with hypothyroidism have lymphocytic thyroiditis (it is found in approximately 50 % of hypothyroid dogs) and it provides no detail on thyroid function and so cannot be used as a sole diagnostic test. A positive TgAA result is strong evidence of thyroid pathology, but not necessarily hypofunction and a negative result certainly does not rule it out.
Epidemiological analysis of the prevalence of TgAA has shown a peak in dogs up to 4–6 years of age, which subsequently declines, presumably as thyroid tissue becomes destroyed and the antigenic stimulus decreases. Thus, it is of less value diagnostically in older dogs. In addition, it is of highest prevalence in breeds known to be predisposed to hypothyroidism and its measurement is likely to be of greater relevance in these animals.
The ability to reliably measure TgAA has resulted in its use as a marker of thyroid disease in clinically healthy dogs. As there is known to be a hereditary component to the development of thyroiditis, TgAA measurement is now used by dog breeders to identify predisposed animals prior to breeding, before clinical signs have developed. It must be remembered that not all positive dogs develop hypothyroidism. It has been suggested that of positive euthyroid dogs, 20 % develop thyroid hormone abnormalities suggestive of declining thyroid function and 5 % become overtly hypothyroid within one year.
Table 2. Advantages and disadvantages of various second-line diagnostic tests for hypothyroidism
Highly specific (> 90 %)
Less affected by NTI and drugs
Unaffected by T4 autoantibodies
Less sensitive (~80 % ) than total T4
Can be low in severe NTI and with certain drugs
Less robust during transport than total T4
TgAA
Positive result supports thyroid pathology
Provides no assessment of thyroid function
Negative result does not rule out hypothyroidism
Other Diagnostic Tests
A number of dynamic thyroid function tests have been used in the past. However, with the development of cTSH, free T4 and TgAA assays, these are largely obsolete in the clinical setting.
The bovine TSH response test was once widely acknowledged to be the single best test for assessment of functional thyroidal reserve status. However, bovine TSH is no longer widely available. Human recombinant TSH is available and recent studies have shown that it has equivalent biological activity in dogs and can be used to reliably diagnose hypothyroidism, but it is expensive.
Because of the limited availability of bovine TSH, the TRH response test was often used as an alternative method of assessing thyroid reserve. Hypothyroid dogs fail to demonstrate a response to TRH administration, and a normal response excludes hypothyroidism. However, failure to respond to TRH does not confirm hypothyroidism, as it is a common finding in dogs with NTI and indeed even in healthy dogs and is therefore not recommended.
In humans with primary hypothyroidism, the TSH response to TRH administration is increased while NTI typically blunts the TSH response to TRH. However, in dogs it appears that the cTSH response is limited and this test apparently offers no advantages over the routine basal tests outlined above.
Determination of thyroid size and volume by ultrasound may be a useful test to distinguish between hypothyroid and euthyroid dogs with NTI, but is highly operator dependent. Quantitative scintigraphic imaging, if available, provides a useful assessment of thyroid function and can reliably differentiate primary hypothyroidism from euthyroidism with low total T4 concentrations, although there can be an overlap in test results particularly in dogs treated with glucocorticoids. It has shown most promise in depicting euthyroidism in breeds with naturally low circulating thyroid hormone concentrations such as greyhounds.
1. Diaz-Espineira MM, Mol JA, van den Ingh TS, van der Vlugt-Meijer RH, Rijnberk A, Kooistra HS. Functional and morphological changes in the adenohypophysis of dogs with induced primary hypothyroidism: loss of TSH hypersecretion, hypersomatotropism, hypoprolactinemia, and pituitary enlargement with transdifferentiation. Domestic Anim Endocrinol. 2008;35:98–111.
2. Graham PA, Refsal KR, Nachreiner RF. Etiopathologic findings of canine hypothyroidism. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract. 2007;37:617–631.
3. Mooney CT. Canine hypothyroidism: A review of aetiology and diagnosis. New Zeal Vet J. 2011;59:105–114.
4. Shiel RE, Sist M, Nachreiner RF, Ehrlich CP, Mooney CT. Assessment of criteria used by veterinary practitioners to diagnose hypothyroidism in sighthounds and investigation of serum thyroid hormone concentrations in healthy Salukis. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2010;236:302–308.
180eb3e0-305d-425f-b9eb-13477020b313.1674961059
University College Dublin Veterinary Hospital, UCD
Belfield, Dublin, Ireland


In this penultimate leg of the tour we'll be visiting 2 more attractions along Via Meucci, Construction and Execution.
Portfolio Construction is another yuge! topic.
In a nutshell, the overall goal is to find optimal holdings that maximize Satisfaction, subject to some type of investment constraints (e.g. on allocation, budget, leverage).
See slide #50 Construction (general case).
For more details, read Chapter 6, "Optimizing Allocations", A. Meucci, 2005, Risk and Asset Allocation, (Springer), and go to the ARPM Bootcamp!
One issue to be acutely aware of in this step is estimation risk. In order to calculate the mean-variance efficient frontier, estimates (i.e. expected returns and covariance matrix) of the true unknown distribution are needed.
"...the projected distribution of the P&L that we are optimizing is only an estimate, not the true projected distribution, which is unknown. As it turns out, the optimal portfolio is extremely sensitive to the input estimated distribution..."
In particular, small changes in the expected returns can lead to extreme weighting changes during the optimization process.
Nonetheless, there are a number of shrinkage techniques that have been developed to address this estimation risk.
For more info, read Chapter 4, "Estimating the distribution of the market invariants", A. Meucci, 2005, Risk and Asset Allocation, (Springer), and Chapter 9, "Optimizing Allocations" A. Meucci, 2005, Risk and Asset Allocation, (Springer).
In our toy example with the goal of constructing a low volatility equity portfolio, we'll choose the opposite of volatility as our satisfaction index, as discussed in the previous post.
In this case, the expected return estimates are not actually needed and the optimal portfolio turns out to be the global minimum variance/volatility portfolio. In addition, we apply 2 common constraints, long-only allocations and full investment of the budget (positive weights and weights sum to 1), and use a simple shrinkage technique.
Also, do note that Meucci advises that it is more general to calculate the estimates in $P&L terms (e.g. for long-short portfolios), but in our simple case, we'll use estimates in % return terms.
The goal of this step is to achieve the optimal (target) allocation by rebalancing the current allocation.
See slide #14 Execution (2-stock example) and slide #51 (general case).
Do note that execution/transaction costs including fees and slippage/shortfall can have a material impact on portfolio performance.
As for a python code example, I'll include this in the next post on Dynamic Allocation when backtesting with the Quantopian open source Zipline package.
P.S. If you do sign-up for the Bootcamp, please let the good folks at ARPM know you learnt about it at returnandrisk.com!


text:
Home » Medieval Indian History » Mughal Empire (Including later Mughals) » Zaheeruddin Mohammad Babur(1526-30AD)
Babur ascended the throne at Farghana (Uzbekistan), in 1494 at the age of twelve after the death of his father.
The situation in Central Asia was not stable and Babar had to face a lot of resistance from the nobility itself.
Although he was able to capture Samarqand but very soon he had to retreat because of desertion of some of his nobles. He also lost Farghana to the Uzbegs.
After years of wandering he seized Kabul in 1504.
During this whole period he had plans of moving towards Hindustan. And finally from 1517 onwards he made decisive moves towards India.
Meanwhile in India there was conflict between some Afghan chiefs with Ibrahim Lodi. Prominent among them was Daulat Khan Lodi, the Governor of a large part of Punjab.
The Rajput king of Mewar Rana Sanga was also asserting his authority against Ibrahim Lodi and was trying to increase his area of influence in north India.
Both of them sent word to Babur to invade India. Invitations from Rana Sanga and Daulat Khan Lodi might have encouraged Babur's ambitions.
Between 1519 and 1524 he invaded Bhera, Sialkot and Lahore.
Finally, in 1526 Ibrahim Lodi and Babur's forces met at Panipat .
Babur had an active army of only 12000 soldiers while Ibrahim's army had an estimated strength of 100,000 soldiers. When face to face in the battle field Babur's tactics were unique. He effectively applied the Rumi (Ottoman) method of warfare.
Cannons were an important addition in sixteenth-century warfare. Babur used them effectively in the first battle of Panipat.
– use of cannons in first battle of panipat
Babur had conquered Delhi and Agra, but he still had to suppress the Rajputs and the Afghans.
Babur decided to take on Rana Sanga of Chittor, who as ruler of Mewar, had a strong influence over Rajasthan and Malwa.
The forces of Babur and Rana Sanga met at Khanwa, a place near Fatehpur Sikri. Rana Sanga was defeated in 1527 and once again the superior military tactics of Babur succeeded. With the defeat of Rana the biggest challenge in north India was shattered. (Battle of khanwa 1527).
Though the Mewar Rajputs received great shock at Khanwa, Medini Rai at Malwa was still threatening to challenge the authority of Babur.
In the neat year Babur defeated Medini Rai in Chanderi. (Battle of Chanderi 1528).
In the subsequent year Babur encountered Afghans(Ibrahim Lodi's brother Mohammad Lodi) , and defeated them in Battle of Ghagra 1529.
Babur died in the year 1530AD.
He was a scholar of Persian and Arabic languages.
He wrote his autobiography, Tuzuk-i-Baburi in Turki language. Later it was translated into Persian and other languages.
Tagsbabur, Mughal empire

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Android video player started using intent ,how to know when did the player stopped I started video player properly  but I could not find how to know if the Player got stopped or user stopped it , as on stopping the player I need to do some work.
After trying for lot I am posting please help.
Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
intent.setDataAndType(Uri.parse(decfile.getPath()), "video/*");
this.cordova.getActivity().startActivity(intent);

A: Why don't you use your own activity to play videos. In your activity you can implement MediaPlayer's listeners and you can know when video finishes.
Implement a Media Player inside your activity ;
mediaPlayer = new MediaPlayer();
mediaPlayer.setOnPreparedListener(YourActivity.this);
mediaPlayer.setOnCompletionListener(YourActivity.this);

and in onCompletion method
@Override
public void onCompletion(MediaPlayer mp) {

    // TODO
    // implement your logic here.
}

A: Instead of using
startActivity(Intent intent)

you can use
startActivityForResult(Intent intent, int requestCode)

or
startActivityForResult(Intent intent, int requestCode, Bundle bundle)

and override the event handler (your necessary listener)
public void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data);

See also:
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Activity.html#startActivityForResult(android.content.Intent, int)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Title: House of Medici
Subject: Catherine de' Medici, Republic of Florence, Florence, Louis of Valois, Timeline of Niccolò Machiavelli
Collection: Banking Families, Culture in Florence, European Royal Families, History of Florence, House of Medici, Papal Families, Tuscany
Florence and Tuscany
Duke of Florence
Duke of Urbino
Duke of Nemours
Duke of Sieva
Duke of Rover
14th century - Cosimo de' Medici
Florence and Tuscany:
1737 - Gian Gastone de' Medici died without issue
The House of Medici ( ; Italian pronunciation: ) was a banking family, political dynasty and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici in the Republic of Florence during the late 14th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of the Tuscan countryside, gradually rising until they were able to fund the Medici Bank. The bank was the largest in Europe during the 15th century, seeing the Medici gain political power in Florence — though officially they remained citizens rather than monarchs.
The Medici produced four Popes of the Catholic Church—Pope Leo X (1513–1521), Pope Clement VII (1523–1534), Pope Pius IV (1559–1565), and Pope Leo XI (1605);[1] two regent queens of France—Catherine de' Medici (1547–1559) and Marie de' Medici (1600–1610); and, in 1531, the family became hereditary Dukes of Florence. In 1569, the duchy was elevated to a grand duchy after territorial expansion. They ruled the Grand Duchy of Tuscany from its inception until 1737, with the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici. The grand duchy witnessed degrees of economic growth under the earlier grand dukes, but by the time of Cosimo III de' Medici, Tuscany was fiscally bankrupt.
Their wealth and influence initially derived from the textile trade guided by the guild of the Arte della Lana. Like other signore families, they dominated their city's government, they were able to bring Florence under their family's power, and they created an environment where art and humanism could flourish. They along with other families of Italy, such as the Visconti and Sforza of Milan, the Este of Ferrara, and the Gonzaga of Mantua, fostered and inspired the birth of the Italian Renaissance.
The Medici Bank was one of the most prosperous and most respected institutions in Europe. There are some estimates that the Medici family were the wealthiest family in Europe for a time. From this base, they acquired political power initially in Florence and later in wider Italy and Europe. A notable contribution to the profession of accounting was the improvement of the general ledger system through the development of the double-entry bookkeeping system for tracking credits and debits. The Medici family were among the earliest businesses to use the system.
Origins 1.1
Rise to power 1.2
15th century 1.3
18th century: the fall of the dynasty 1.6
List of heads of the Medici 3.1
Signore in the Republic of Florence 3.1.1
Duke of Florence 3.1.2
Grand Dukes of Tuscany 3.1.3
Family tree 5
Medici family tree (Grand Dukes of Tuscany) 6
Footnotes 7
Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, founder of the Medici bank.
The Medici family came from the agricultural Mugello region,[2] north of Florence, being mentioned for the first time in a document of 1230.The origin of the name is uncertain. Medici is the plural of medico, also written "del medico" or "delmedigo", meaning, "medical doctor".[3] It has been suggested that the name derived from one Medico di Potrone, a castellan of Potrone in the late 11th century, who presumably was the family's ancestor.
The dynasty began with the founding of the Medici Bank.
Rise to power
The Medici family was connected to most other elite families of the time through marriages of convenience, partnerships, or employment, as a result of which the Medici family had a central position in the social network: several families had systematic access to the rest of the elite families only through the Medici, perhaps similar to banking relationships. Some examples of these families include the Bardi, Salviati, Cavalcanti, and the Tornabuoni. This has been suggested as a reason for the rise of the Medici family.[4] Members of the family rose to some prominence in the early 14th century in the wool trade, especially with France and Spain. Despite the presence of some Medici in the city's government institutions, they were still far less notable than other outstanding families such as the Albizzi or the Strozzi. One Salvestro de' Medici was speaker of the woolmakers' guild during the Ciompi revolt, and one Antonio was exiled from Florence in 1396.[5] The involvement in another plot in 1400 caused all branches of the family to be banned from Florentine politics for twenty years, with the exception of two: from one of the latter, that of Averardo de' Medici, originated the Medici dynasty.
The Confirmation of the Rule by Domenico Ghirlandaio.
The "augmented coat of arms of the Medici, Or, five balls in orle gules, in chief a larger one of the arms of France (viz. Azure, three fleurs-de-lis or) was granted by Louis XI in 1465.[6]
Averardo's son, Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, increased the wealth of the family through his creation of the Medici Bank, and became one of the richest men in the city of Florence. Although he never held any political charge, he gained strong popular support for the family through his support for the introduction of a proportional taxing system. Giovanni's son Cosimo the Elder, Pater Patriae, took over in 1434 as gran maestro, and the Medici became unofficial heads of state of the Florentine republic.[7]
Cosimo, Piero, and Lorenzo, three successive generations of the Medici, ruled over Florence through the greater part of the 15th century, without altogether abolishing representative government, yet while clearly dominating it.[8] These three members of the Medici family had great skills in the management of so "restive and independent a city" as Florence, but when Lorenzo died in 1492, his son Piero proved quite incapable, and within two years he and his supporters were forced into exile [with] a republican government replac[ing] him.[8]
Piero de' Medici (1416–1469), Cosimo's son, stayed in power for only five years (1464–1469). He was called "Piero the Gouty" because of the gout that afflicted his foot, and it eventually led to his death. Unlike his father, Piero had little interest in the arts. Due to his illness, he mostly stayed at home bedridden, and therefore did little to further the Medici control of Florence while in power. As such, Medici rule stagnated until the next generation, when Piero's son Lorenzo took over. Piero's illegitimate son, Lenihanio, fled from Italy and lived in the Alps for 15 years.
Lorenzo de' Medici (1449–1492), called "the Magnificent", was more capable of leading and ruling a city; however, he neglected the family banking business, leading to its ultimate ruin. To ensure the continuance of his family's success, Lorenzo planned his children's future careers for them. He groomed the headstrong Piero II to follow as his successor in civil leadership; Giovanni[9] (future Pope Leo X) was placed in the church at an early age; and his daughter Maddalena was provided with a sumptuous dowry to make a politically advantageous marriage to a son of Pope Innocent VIII.[10]
There was a conspiracy in 1478 to depose the family by killing Lorenzo with his younger brother Giuliano during Easter services, the assassination attempt ending with the death of Giuliano and an injured Lorenzo. The conspiracy involved the Pazzi and Salviati families, who were both rival banking families seeking to end the Medici influence, the priest presiding over the church services, the Archbishop of Pisa and even Sixtus IV to a degree. The conspirators approached Sixtus IV in the hopes of gaining his approval, as he and the Medici had a long rivalry themselves, but the pope gave no official sanction to the plan. Despite his refusal of official approval, the pope nonetheless allowed the plot to proceed without interfering, and, after the failed assassination of Lorenzo, also gave dispensation for crimes done in the service of the church. After this, Lorenzo adopted his brother's illegitimate son, Giulio de' Medici (1478–1535), the future Clement VII. Unfortunately, all Lorenzo's careful planning fell apart to some degree under the incompetent Piero II, who took over as the head of Florence after his father Lorenzo's death. Piero was responsible for the expulsion of the Medici from 1494-1512.
In the dangerous circumstances in which our city is placed, the time for deliberation is past. Action must be taken... I have decided, with your approval, to sail for Naples immediately, believing that as I am the person against whom the activities of our enemies are chiefly directed, I may, perhaps, by delivering myself into their hands, be the means of restoring peace to our fellow-citizens. As I have had more honour and responsibility among you than any private citizen has had in our day, I am more bound than any other person to serve our country, even at the risk of my life. With this intention I now go. Perhaps God wills that this war, which began in the blood of my brother and of myself, should be ended by any means. My desire is that by my life or my death, my misfortune or my prosperity, I may contribute to the welfare of our city... I go full of hope, praying to God to give me grace to perform what every citizen should at all times be ready to perform for his country.
Lorenzo de' Medici, 1479.[11]
The Medici additionally benefited from the discovery of vast deposits of alum in Tolfa. Alum is essential as a mordant in the dyeing of certain cloths and was used extensively in Florence, where the main industry was textile manufacturing. However, the Turks were the only exporters of alum, so Europe was forced to buy from them until the discovery of alum in the Italian town of Tolfa. Pius II then granted the Medici family the monopoly on the mining there, making them the primary producers of Alum in Europe.
Cosimo I the Great, founder of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany
This exile lasted only until 1512, however, and the "senior" branch of the family — those descended from Cosimo the Elder — were able to rule on and off until the assassination of Alessandro de' Medici, first Duke of Florence, in 1537. This century-long rule was only interrupted on two occasions (between 1494–1512 and 1527–1530), when popular revolts sent the Medici into exile. Power then passed to the "junior" Medici branch — those descended from Lorenzo the Elder, younger son of Giovanni di Bicci, starting with his great-great-grandson Cosimo I the Great. The Medici's rise to power was chronicled in detail by Benedetto Dei. Cosimo and his father started the Medici foundations in banking, manufacturing - including a form of franchises - wealth, art, cultural patronage, and in the Papacy that ensured their success for generations. At least half, probably more, of Florence's people were employed by them and their foundational branches in business.
However, the Medici remained masters of Italy through their two famous 16th century popes, Leo X and Clement VII, who were de facto rulers of both Rome and Florence. They were both patrons of the arts, but in the religious field they proved unable to stem the advance of Martin Luther's ideas. Clement VII was the pope during the sack of Rome by Charles V, and later was forced to crown him. Clement frequently changed his alliances between the Empire and France, which eventually led him to marry off his first cousin, twice removed, Catherine de' Medici, to the son of Francis I of France, the future Henry II. This led to the Medici blood being transferred, through Catherine's daughters, to the royal family of Spain through Elisabeth of Valois, and the House of Lorraine through Claude of Valois.
The most outstanding figure of the 16th century Medici was Cosimo I, who, coming from relatively modest beginnings in the Mugello, rose to supremacy in the whole of Tuscany, conquering the Florentines' most hated rival Siena and founding the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Cosimo purchased a portion of the island of Elba from the Republic of Genoa and based the Tuscan navy there. He died in 1574, succeeded by his eldest surviving son Francesco, whose inability to produce male heirs led to the succession of his younger brother, Ferdinando, upon his death in 1587. Francesco married Johanna of Austria, and with his consort produced Eleonora de' Medici, Duchess of Mantua, and Marie de' Medici, Queen of France and of Navarre. Through Marie, every succeeding French monarch (bar the Napoleons) are descended from Francesco.
Ferdinando eagerly assumed the government of Tuscany. He commanded the draining of the Tuscan marshlands, built a road network in Southern Tuscany and cultivated trade in Leghorn.[12] To augment the Tuscan silk industry, he oversaw the planting of Mulberry trees along the major roads (silk worms feed on Mulberry leaves).[13] He shifted Tuscany away from Habsburg[14] hegemony by marrying the first non-Habsburg candidate since Alessandro, Christina of Lorraine, a granddaughter of Catherine de' Medici. The Spanish reaction was to construct a citadel on their portion of the island of Elba.[12] To strengthen the new Franco-Tuscan alliance, he married his niece, Marie, to Henry IV of France. Henry explicitly stated that he would defend Tuscany from Spanish aggression, but later reneged, after which Ferdinando was forced to marry his heir, Cosimo, to Maria Maddalena of Austria to assuage Spain (where Maria Maddalena's sister was the incumbent Queen consort). Ferdinando sponsored a Tuscan expedition to the New World with the intention of establishing a Tuscan colony. Despite all of these incentives to economic growth and prosperity, the population of Florence at the dawn of the 17th century was a mere 75,000, far smaller than the other capitals of Italy: Rome, Milan, Venice, Palermo and Naples.[15] Francesco and Ferdinando, due to lax distinction between Medici and Tuscan state property, are thought to have been wealthier than their ancestor, Cosimo de' Medici, the founder of the dynasty.[16] The Grand Duke alone had the prerogative to exploit the state's mineral and salt resources, and the fortunes of the Medici were directly tied to the Tuscan economy.[16]
(from left to right) The Grand Duchess Maria Maddalena, The Grand Duke Cosimo II, and their elder son, the future Ferdinando II
Ferdinando, although no longer a cardinal, exercised much influence at successive conclaves. In 1605, Ferdinando succeeded in getting his candidate, Alessandro de' Medici, elected Pope Leo XI. He died the same month, but his successor, Pope Paul V, was also pro-Medici.[17] Ferdinando's pro-Papal foreign policy, however, had drawbacks. Tuscany was overrun with religious orders, not all of whom were obliged to pay taxes. Ferdinando died in 1609, leaving an affluent realm; his inaction in international affairs, however, would have long-reaching consequences down the line.
In France, Marie de' Medici was acting as regent for her son, Louis XIII. Louis repudiated her pro-Habsburg policy in 1617. She lived the rest of her life deprived of any political influence.
Ferdinando's successor, Cosimo II, reigned for less than 12 years. He married Maria Maddalena of Austria, with whom he had his eight children, including Margherita de' Medici, Ferdinando II de' Medici, and an Anna de' Medici. He is most remembered as the patron of astronomer Galileo Galilei, whose 1610 treatise, Sidereus Nuncius, was dedicated to him.[18] Cosimo died of consumption (tuberculosis) in 1621.[19]
Cosimo's elder son, Ferdinando, was not yet of legal maturity to succeed him, thus Maria Maddalena and his grandmother, Christina of Lorraine, acted as regents. Their collective regency is known as the Turtici. Maria Maddelana's temperament was analogous to Christina's, and together they aligned Tuscany with the Papacy, re-doubled the Tuscan clergy, and allowed the heresy trial of Galileo Galilei to occur.[20] Upon the death of the last Duke of Urbino (Francesco Maria II), instead of claiming the duchy for Ferdinando, who was married to the Duke of Urbino's granddaughter and heiress, Vittoria della Rovere, they permitted it to be annexed by Pope Urban VIII. In 1626, they banned any Tuscan subject from being educated outside the Grand Duchy, a law later overturned but resurrected by Maria Maddalena's grandson, Cosimo III.[21] Harold Acton, an Anglo-Italian historian, ascribes the decline of Tuscany to the Turtici regency.[21]
Grand Duke Ferdinado was obsessed with new technology, and had a variety of hygrometers, barometers, thermometers, and telescopes installed in the
Papal families
European royal families
Culture in Florence
History of Florence
Banking families
Berenberg and Gossler
Camondo
Ephrussi
Fould
Fugger
Goldman–Sachs
Hochstetter
Mellon
Seyler
Wallenberg
Welser
Medici family tree
Cosimo de' Medici
Lorenzo de' Medici
Leo X
Leo XI
Clement VII
Medici Bank
Medici Chapel
Medici Fountain
Villa Medici at Cafaggiolo
Villa Medici at Careggi
Villa di Castello
Villa Medici in Fiesole
Villa di Montevettolini
Villa del Poggio Imperiale
Villa di Pratolino
Villa del Trebbio
Villa L'Ambrogiana
Medici giraffe
Medici lions
Medici porcelain
Medici Vase
Venus de' Medici
Royal houses of Europe
Gorm
Fairhair
Knýtlinga
Estridsen
Palatinate-Neumarkt
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
Bjelbo
Palatinate-Zweibrücken
Holstein-Gottorp
Hardrada
Sverre
Munsö
Stenkil
Hesse-Kassel
Wuffing
Uí Ímair
Óengus
Mann and the Isles
Balliol
Dinefwr
Aberffraw
Mathrafal
Cunedda
Ulaid
Dál Cuinn/Connachta
Laigin
Uí Fidgenti
Uí Liatháin
Eóganachta (including Mac Cárthaigh)
Dáirine / Érainn (including Corcu Loígde)
Dál gCais
Orange-Nassau
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Arianiti
Thopia
Kastrioti
Dukagjini
Zogu
Orontid
Artaxiad
Arsacid
Bagratid
Artsruni
Rubenids
Hethumids
Boričević
Kulinić
Kotromanić
Kosača
Dulo
Cometopuli
Terter
Shishman
Battenberg
Pharnavazid
Chosroid
Bagrationi
Komnenos
Palaiologos
Bogdan-Muşat
Movilești
Drăculeşti
Ghica
Cantacuzene
Cantemirești
Mavrocordato
Ypsilantis
Soutzos
Mourousi
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
House of Basarab
Vojislavljević
Balšić
Crnojević
Petrović
Bogdan-Mușat
Drăculești
Romania/Royal family
Rurik
Borjigin
Godunov
Shuysky
Vlastimirović
Vukanović
Nemanjić
Lazarević
Mrnjavčević
Branković
Obrenović
Karađorđević
Seljuq
Rurikids
Gediminids
Olshanski
Olelkovich
1 Transcontinental country. 2 Entirely in Southwest Asia but having socio-political connections with Europe.
Babenberg
Trpimirović
Domagojević
Svačić
Zrinski
Frankopan
Savoy (disputed)
Přemyslid
Piast
Jagiellon
Merovingian
Conradines
Luitpolding
Salian
Süpplingenburg
Hohenstaufen
Schwarzburg
Brunswick-Lüneburg
House of Pomerania
Nassau-Weilburg
Pfalz-Zweibrücken
Wettin
Hunyadi
Szapolyai
Gaelic Ireland
Síl Conairi
Dáirine
Osraige
Cruthin
Dál nAraidi
Connachta
Uí Fiachrach
Uí Briúin
Uí Néill
Síl nÁedo Sláine
Clann Cholmáin
Eóganachta
Chaisil
Glendamnach
Raithlind
Uí Dúnlainge
Uí Ímair (Norse)
Uí Ceinnselaig
Ó Briain
Mac Carthaig
Ó Conchobhair
Ó Ruairc
De Burgh (Norman)
FitzGerald (Norman)
Ó Néill
Acciaioli
Borromeo
Bourbon-Two Sicilies
Chigi
Della Rovere
Della Torre
Julio-Claudian
Nerva–Antonine
Pallavicini
Pamphili
Severan
Torlonia
Báthory
Wiśniowiecki
Poniatowski
Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov
Samborides
After partitions:
Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov Kingdom of Poland
Habsburg Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Wettin Duchy of Warsaw
Lefebvre Duchy of Gdańsk
Hohenzollern Duchy of Poznań
Vímara Peres
Habsburgo
Braganza
Braganza-Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
New title Ruling house of the Duchy of Florence
1533–69 Elevated to Grand Dukes of Tuscany
Elevated from Duchy of Florence
Ruling house of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany
The Medici Archive Project
Prince Ottaviano de' Medici:Solving a 417-year-old murder mystery (May 4, 2004)
The Moscow Florentine Society
Medici Family Tree, featuring portraits and bios of key members of the Medici Dynasty, 1400-1737
Jean Lucas-Dubreton, Daily Life in Florence in the Time of the Medici.
Miles J. Unger, Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de Medici, (Simon and Schuster 2008) is a vividly colorful new biography of this true "renaissance man", the uncrowned ruler of Florence during its golden age
Christopher Hibbert, The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall (Morrow, 1975) is a highly readable, non-scholarly general history of the family
Ferdinand Schevill, History of Florence: From the Founding of the City Through the Renaissance (Frederick Ungar, 1936) is the standard overall history of Florence
Cecily Booth, Cosimo I, Duke of Florence, 1921, University Press
Harold Acton, The Last Medici, Macmillan, London, 1980, ISBN 0-333-29315-0
Paul Strathern, The Medici—Godfathers of the Renaissance (Pimlico, 2005) is an informative and lively account of the Medici family, their finesse and foibles—extremely readable, though with a few factual and typographical errors.
Lauro Martines, April Blood—Florence and the Plot Against the Medici (Oxford University Press 2003) a detailed account of the Pazzi Conspiracy, the players, the politics of the day, and the fallout of the assassination plot . Though accurate in historic details, Martines writes with a definite 'anti-Medici' tone.
Accounting in Italy
Herbert Millingchamp Vaughan, The Medici Popes. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1908.
Jonathan Zophy, A Short History of Renaissance and Reformation Europe, Dances over Fire and Water. 1996. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003.
Villa Niccolini (Camugliano), Villa Niccolini, is one of the Medici's tuscany villa previously called Villa Medicea di Camugliano, Villa Niccolini is located east from Ponsacco, near a little feudal village, Camugliano.
^ "Medici Family - - Encyclopædia Britannica".
^ , Giunti Editore, Florence (Italy) 2004, p. 33.Botticelli. Artist's lifeSilvia Malaguzzi,
^ The name in Italian is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable /ˈmɛ .di.tʃi/ and not on the second vowel.How to say: Medici, BBC News Magazine Monitor. In American English, MED-uh-chee.
^ Padgett, John F.; Ansell, Christopher K. (May 1993). "Robust Action and the Rise of the Medici, 1400–1434". The American Journal of Sociology 98 (6): 1259–1319. . This has led to much more analysis.
^ Machiavelli, Niccolò (1906). The Florentine history written by Niccolò Machiavelli, Volume 1. p. 221. .
^ John Woodward, A Treatise on Ecclesiastical Heraldry, 1894, p. 162
^ Bradley, Richard (executive producer) (2003). The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance (Part I) (
^ a b The Prince Niccolò Machiavelli. A Norton Critical Edition. Translated and edited by Rober M. Adams. New York. W.W. Norton and Company, 1977. p. viii (Historical Introduction).
^ 15th century Italy.
^ Hibbard, pp. 177, 202, 162.
^ Hibbert, The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall, 153.
^ a b Hale, p. 150.
^ Hale, p. 151.
^ Austria and Spain were ruled by the House of Habsburg; the two are interchangeable terms for the Habsburg domains in the time period in question.
^ Strathen, p. 368.
^ Acton, p. 111.
^ a b Acton, p. 192.
^ Acton, p. 27.
^ Acton, pp. 140-141.
^ Strathern, p. 392.
^ "Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici - Electress Palatine". Retrieved 3 September 2009.
^ Hibbert, p. 60.
^ Howard Hibbard, Michelangelo (New York: Harper and Row, 1974), p. 21.
^ , SLOVO, Moscow, 2006Michelangelo: Mysteries of Medici ChapelPeter Barenboim, Sergey Shiyan, . ISBN 5-85050-825-2
^ Hibbard, p. 240.
^ Official site of the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno of Florence, Brief History (it. leng.)[1]
Lodovico de' Medici
Maria Salviati
Eleanor of Toledo
Cosimo I
Grand Duke 1569–74
Camilla Martelli
(ca.1545–1634)
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
(1503–r.1558–1564)
Bia de' Medici
Maria de' Medici
Isabella de' Medici
m. Paolo Giordano I Orsini
Giovanni de' Medici
Bishop of Pisa, Cardinall
Lucrezia de' Medici
m. Alfonso II d'Este
Pietro de' Medici
Garzia de' Medici
Antonio de' Medici
Anna de' Medici
Pietro (Pedricco) de' Medici
Virginia de' Medici
m. Cesare d'Este
Johanna of Austria
Francesco I
Bianca Cappello
Christina of Lorraine
Ferdinando I
Grand Duke 1587–1609
Don Giovanni de' Medici
(Unnamed daughter)
Eleanor de' Medici
m. Vincenzo I Gonzaga
Lucrezia de' Medici (1572–1574)
Francesco de' Medici
Filippino de' Medici
Maria Maddalena de' Medici
Charles II of Austria
Romola de' Medici
Marie de' Medici
m. Henry IV of France
Philip de' Medici
Caterina de' Medici
m. Ferdinando I Gonzaga
Carlo de' Medici
Cardinal Bishop of Ostia
Christine Marie of France
m. Victor Amadeus I of Savoy
Louis XIII of France
Gaston of Orléans
Cosimo II
Maria Magdalena of Austria
Federico della Rovere
Claudia de' Medici
Leopold V of Austria
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Maria Cristina de' Medici
Ferdinando II
Vittoria della Rovere
Gian Carlo de' Medici
Margherita de' Medici
m. Odoardo Farnese
Matteo de' Medici (1613–1667)
Ferdinand Charles of Austria
Leopoldo de' Medici
Cosimo III
Francesco Maria de' Medici
Philip William, Elector Palatine
Violante of Bavaria
1673–1731)
Ferdinando (III) de' Medici
Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici
Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine
Philipp Wilhelm August
Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenberg
Medici family tree (Grand Dukes of Tuscany)
Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici
m. Piccarda Bueri
(?–1398)
Damian de' Medici
(the Elder)
Contessina de' Bardi
m. Ginevra Cavalcanti
Piero I de' Medici
(the Gouty)
Lord of Florence
Lucrezia Tornabuoni
m. Ginevra degli Alessandrini
(?–ca.1440)
Pierfrancesco de' Medici (the Elder)
m. Laudomia Acciaioli
(ante 1444–1478)
m. Leonetto de' Rossi
Bianca de' Medici
m. Guglielmo de' Pazzi
(Nannina)
m. Bernardo Rucellai
(the Magnificent)
m.(1) Clarice Orsini
Giuliano de' Medici
Lorenzo the Popolano
Lord of Piombino
m. Semiramide Appiani
Giovanni the Popolano
m. Caterina Sforza
m. Jacopo Salviati
Maddalena de' Medici
m. Franceschetto Cybo
Luisa de' Medici
Giulio de' Medici
Pope Clement VII
Pierfrancesco de' Medici
(the Younger)
m. Maria Soderini
Laudomia de' Medici
m. Francesco Salviati
Vincenzo de' Medici
Piero II de' Medici (the Unfortunate)
m. Alfonsina Orsini
Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici
Pope Leo X
Contessina de' Medici
m. Piero Ridolfi
Ippolito de' Medici
Cardinal)
Averardo de' Medici
Ginevra de' Medici
m. Giovanni degli Albizzi
Giovanni Salviati
Lorenzo Salviati
Lorenzo II de' Medici
Madeleine de La Tour
Clarissa de' Medici
m. Filippo Strozzi
Elena Salviati
m.(1) Pallavicino Pallavicino
m.(2) Iacopo V Appiani
Battista Salviati
Luisa Salviati
m. Sigismund de Luna
Bernardo Salviati
Lodovico de' Medici (Giovanni dalle Bande Nere)
Francesca Salviati
m. Ottaviano de' Medici
Piero Salviati
Piero Strozzi
Alamanno Salviati
Lorenzino de' Medici
(Lorenzaccio)
Archbishop of Albi
Roberto Strozzi
Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici
Pope Leo XI
Alessandro de' Medici
(the Moor)
Henry II of France (1519–r.1547–1559)
Cosimo I de' Medici
Bernadetto de' Medici
Giulia de' Medici
(ca.1535–ca.1588)
Porzia de' Medici
Charles IX of France
Henry III of France
Francis, Duke of Anjou
Francesco I de' Medici
m. Charles III of Lorraine
Philip II of Spain
Elisabeth of Valois
Margaret of Valois
Ferdinando I de' Medici
Philip III of Spain
Christine Marie
Nicolas Henri, Duke of Orléans
Gaston, Duke of Orléans
Henrietta Maria of France
m. Charles I of England
Angela/Angelica de' Medici
m. Pietro Altemps
Anne of Austria
Charles II of England
Mary Henrietta Stuart
m. William II of Orange
James II of England
(1633–r.1685-88 –1701)
List of popes from the Medici family
Relationship with predecessor
Cosimo I 6 January 1569 21 April 1574
Francesco I 21 April 1574 17 October 1587 Eldest son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Ferdinando I 17 October 1587 17 February 1609 Brother of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Cosimo II 17 February 1609 28 February 1621 Eldest son of Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Ferdinando II 28 February 1621 23 May 1670 Eldest son of Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Cosimo III 23 May 1670 31 October 1723 Eldest son of Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Gian Gastone 31 October 1723 9 July 1737 Second son of Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Alessandro il Moro 24 October 1529 6 January 1537 Cousin of Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici, illegitimate son of Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino or Pope Clement VII. Acting signore during imperial Siege of Florence, made Duke in 1531.
Cosimo I 6 January 1537 21 April 1574 Distant cousin of Alessandro de' Medici, Son of Giovanni dalle Bande Nere. dei Popolani line descended from Lorenzo the Elder, Brother of Cosimo de' Medici; also great-grandson of Lorenzo the Magnificent through his mother, Maria Salviati, and his grandmother, Lucrezia de' Medici. 1569, he was made Grand Duke of Tuscany.
(Pater Patriae) 1434 1 August 1464 Son of Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici who was not as prominently involved in Florentine politics, rather more involved in the financial area.
(Piero the Gouty) 1 August 1464 2 December 1469 Eldest son of Cosimo de' Medici.
Lorenzo I de' Medici
(Lorenzo the Magnificent) 2 December 1469 9 April 1492 Eldest son of Piero I de' Medici.
Piero II de' Medici
(Piero the Unfortunate) 9 April 1492 8 November 1494 Eldest son of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Overthrown when Charles VIII of France invaded as a full republic was restored, first under the theocracy of Girolamo Savonarola and then statesman Piero Soderini.
Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici 31 August 1512 9 March 1513 Brother of Piero the Unfortunate, second son of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Elected to the Papacy, becoming Pope Leo X.
Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours 9 March 1513 17 March 1516 Brother of Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici, third son of Lorenzo the Magnificent.
Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino 17 March 1516 4 May 1519 Nephew of Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours, son of Piero the Unfortunate.
Cardinal Giulio de' Medici 4 May 1519 19 November 1523 Cousin of Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, son of Giuliano de' Medici who was the brother of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Elected to the Papacy, becoming Pope Clement VII.
Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici 19 November 1523 24 October 1529 Cousin of Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, illegitimate son of Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours.
Signore in the Republic of Florence
List of heads of the Medici
Although none of the Medici themselves were scientists, the family is well known to have been the patrons of the famous Galileo Galilei, who tutored multiple generations of Medici children, and was an important figurehead for his patron's quest for power. Galileo's patronage was eventually abandoned by Ferdinando II, when the Inquisition accused Galileo of heresy. However, the Medici family did afford the scientist a safe haven for many years. Galileo named the four largest moons of Jupiter after four Medici children he tutored, although the names Galileo used are not the names currently used.
Later, in Rome, the Medici Popes continued in the family tradition of patronizing artists in Rome. Pope Leo X would chiefly commission works from Vasari who erected the Uffizi Gallery in 1560 and founded the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno – ("Academy of the Arts of Drawing") in 1563.[47] Marie de' Medici, widow of Henry IV of France and mother of Louis XIII, is the subject of a commissioned cycle of paintings known as the Marie de' Medici cycle, painted for the Luxembourg Palace by court painter Peter Paul Rubens in 1622-23.
After Lorenzo's death the puritanical Dominican friar, Girolamo Savonarola rose to prominence, warning Florentines against excessive luxury. Under Savonarola's fanatical leadership, many great works were "voluntarily" destroyed in the Bonfire of the Vanities (February 7, 1497). The following year, on May 23, 1498, Savonarola and two young supporters were burned at the stake in the Piazza della Signoria, the same location as his bonfire. In addition to commissions for art and architecture, the Medici were prolific collectors and today their acquisitions form the core of the Uffizi museum in Florence. In architecture, the Medici are responsible for some notable features of Florence; including the Uffizi Gallery, the Boboli Gardens, the Belvedere, and the Palazzo Medici, Medici Chapel[45]
Medici family members placed allegorically in the entourage of a king from the Three Wise Men in the Tuscan countryside in a Benozzo Gozzoli fresco, c. 1459.
The biggest accomplishments of the Medici were in the sponsorship of art and architecture, mainly early and High Renaissance art and architecture. The Medici were responsible for the majority of Florentine art during their reign. Their money was significant because during this period, artists generally only made their works when they received commissions in advance. Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, the first patron of the arts in the family, aided Masaccio and commissioned Brunelleschi for the reconstruction of the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence in 1419. Cosimo the Elder's notable artistic associates were Donatello and Fra Angelico. The most significant addition to the list over the years was Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564), who produced work for a number of Medici, beginning with Lorenzo the Magnificent, who was said to be extremely fond of the young Michelangelo, inviting him to study the family collection of antique sculpture.[44] Lorenzo also served as patron to Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) for seven years. Indeed Lorenzo was an artist in his own right, and author of poetry and song; his support of the arts and letters is seen as a high point in Medici patronage.
The family of Piero de' Medici portrayed by Sandro Botticelli in the Madonna del Magnificat.
As a consequence, the Duchy expired and the territory became a secundogeniture of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty. The first Grand Duke of the new dynasty, Francis I, was a great-great-great-grandson of Francesco I de' Medici, thus continuing the Medicean Dynasty on the throne of Tuscany through the female line. The Habsburgs were deposed for the Bourbon-Parma in 1801 (themselves deposed in 1807), and restored at the Congress of Vienna. Tuscany became a province of the United Kingdom of Italy in 1861. However, several extant branches of the House of Medici currently continue to exist including the Princes of Ottajano, the Medici Tornaquinci, and the Verona Medici Counts of Caprara and Gavardo.[43]
The extinction of the main Medici dynasty and the accession in 1737 of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine and husband of Maria Theresa of Austria, led to Tuscany's temporary inclusion in the territories of the Austrian crown. The line of the principi di Ottajano, an extant branch of the House of Medici who were eligible to inherit the grand duchy of Tuscany when the last male of the senior branch died in 1737, could have carried on as Medici sovereigns but for the intervention of Europe's major powers, which allocated the sovereignty of Florence elsewhere.
She donated much of her fortune to charity: £4,000 a month.[41] On 19 February 1743, the Dowager Electress Palatine Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici died, and the Grand Ducal line of the House of Medici died with her. The Florentines grieved her,[42] and she was interred in the crypt that she helped to complete, San Lorenzo.
The "Lorrainers", as the occupying forces were called, were popularly loathed, but the Regent, the Prince de Craon, allowed the Electress to live unperturbed in the Pitti. She occupied herself with financing, and with overseeing the construction of the Basilica of San Lorenzo, started in 1604 by Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, costing the state 1,000 crowns per week.[40]
Anna Maria Luisa signed the Patto di Famiglia on October 31, 1737. In collaboration with the Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke Francis of Lorraine, she willed all the personal property of the Medici to the Tuscan state, provided that nothing was ever removed from Florence.[39]
Gian Gastone died on 9 July 1737, surrounded by prelates and his sister. Anna Maria Luisa was offered a nominal regency by the Prince de Craon until the new Grand Duke could peregrinate to Tuscany, but declined.[38] Upon her brother's death, she received all the House of Medici's allodial possessions.
In 1736, following the War of the Polish Succession, Don Carlos was disbarred from Tuscany, and Francis III of Lorraine was made heir in his stead.[37] In January 1737, the Spanish troops withdrew from Tuscany, and were replaced by Austrians.
, was occasionally cleaned by Violante. faeces Following a sprained ankle in 1731, he remained confined to his bed for the rest of his life. The bed, oft smelling of [36] Gian Gastone despised the Electress for engineering his catastrophic marriage to
On 4 April 1718, Great Britain, France and the Dutch Republic (and later Austria) selected Don Carlos of Spain, the elder child of Elisabeth Farnese and Philip V of Spain, as the Tuscan heir. By 1722, the Electress was not even acknowledged as heiress, and Cosimo was reduced to spectator at the conferences for Tuscany's future.[34] On 25 October 1723, six days before his death, Grand Duke Cosimo disseminated a final proclamation commanding that Tuscany stay independent: Anna Maria Luisa would succeed uninhibited to Tuscany after Gian Gastone, and the Grand Duke reserved the right to choose his successor. However, these portions of his proclamation were completely ignored and he died a few days later.
The Medici lacked male heirs, and in 1705, the grand ducal treasury was virtually bankrupt. The population of Florence declined by 50%; the population of the grand duchy as a whole declined by an estimated 40%.[32] Cosimo desperately tried to reach a settlement with the European powers, but Tuscany's legal status was very complicated: the area of the grand duchy formerly comprising the Republic of Siena was technically a Spanish fief, while the territory of the old Republic of Florence was thought to be under imperial suzerainty. Upon the death of his first son, Cosimo contemplated restoring the Florentine republic, either upon Anna Maria Luisa's death, or on his own, if he predeceased her. The restoration of the republic would entail resigning Siena to the Holy Roman Empire, but, regardless, it was vehemently endorsed by his government. Europe largely ignored Cosimo's plan, only Great Britain and the Dutch Republic gave any credence to it, and the plan ultimately died with Cosimo III in 1723.[33]
Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine, Anna Maria Luisa's spouse, successfully requisitioned the dignity Royal Highness for the Grand Duke and his family in 1691, despite the fact that they had no claim to any kingdom.[30] Cosimo frequently paid the Holy Roman Emperor, his nominal feudal overlord, exorbitant dues;[31] and he sent munitions to the Emperor during the Battle of Vienna.
Cosimo's reign was marked by a sharp conservative reaction. He persecuted the Jewish population of Tuscany[28] and imposed crippling taxes upon the populace.[29] Tuscany's decline climaxed in his reign. He married Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, a granddaughter of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici. An exceedingly discontented pairing, this union produced three children, notably Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, Electress Palatine and the last Medicean Grand Duke of Tuscany, Gian Gastone de' Medici.
Cosimo III, the Medicean grand duke, in Grand Ducal regalia
Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, the last of the Grand Ducal line, in Minerva, Merkur und Plutus huldigen der Kurfürstin Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici (English: Minerva, Mercury and Pluto pay homage to the Electress Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici) after Antonio Bellucci, 1706
18th century: the fall of the dynasty
Ferdinando's marriage to Vittoria della Rovere produced two children: Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Francesco Maria de' Medici, Duke of Rovere and Montefeltro. Upon Vittoria's death in 1694, her allodial possessions, the Duchies of Rovere and Montefeltro, passed to her younger son.
Ferdinando died on 23 May 1670 afflicted by apoplexy and dropsy. He was interred in the Basilica of San Lorenzo, the Medici's necropolis.[26] At the time of his death, the population of the grand duchy was 730,594; the streets were lined with grass and the buildings on the verge of collapse in Pisa.[27]
Tuscany participated in the Wars of Castro (the last time Medicean Tuscany proper was involved in a conflict) and inflicted a defeat on the forces of Urban VIII in 1643.[24] The war effort was costly and the treasury so empty because of it that when the Castro mercenaries were paid for, the state could no longer afford to pay interest on government bonds, with the result that the interest rate was lowered by 0.75%.[25] At that time, the economy was so decrepit that barter trade became prevalent in rural market places.[24]
House of Bonaparte
Dynasty, Napoleon III, Napoleon, Jérôme Bonaparte, Napoleonic Wars
House of Savoy
House of Habsburg, House of Vasa, House of Bonaparte, House of Oldenburg, House of Romanov
House of Habsburg, House of Bonaparte, House of Savoy, House of Vasa, House of Oldenburg
Dynasty, House of Savoy, House of Lorraine, Kingdom of Hungary, House of Vasa
Catherine de' Medici
Henry II of France, Charles IX of France, Henry III of France, Mary, Queen of Scots, House of Valois
Republic of Florence
Florence, Latin, House of Medici, Holy Roman Empire, Italian language
Middle Ages, Genoa, Rome, Leonardo da Vinci, Florence Cathedral
Louis of Valois
Catherine de' Medici, Book of Hours, Duke of Orléans, Charles II de Valois, Duke of Orléans, Charles IX of France
Timeline of Niccolò Machiavelli
Italian language, Italian Wars, Niccolò Machiavelli, Pope Julius II, House of Medici


If you work part- or full-time for part of a year, your length of insurance (number of quarters) and the amount of your pension will be calculated based on several criteria. These criteria include the industry in which you work as well as your part-time salary.
To receive a higher pension when you retire, you may choose to pay voluntary contributions based on a full-time salary.


We never know how old they are. Just how long they are with us.
loves loves loves dem dog love stories.
Absolutely beautiful. I was going to say gorgeous but that bloody Aussie- Brazilian beat me to it!
Anyways, a happy story, so happy thoughts. :) I love the dog (grew up with Shelties as well) and I wish you both many more wonderful years with him!
p.s. – how does he get along with the cats? Since they seem to "self-identify" as humans (or rulers!), how are they all together?
Yup, we've got huntin' to do. Obviously the rescue couldn't disclose too much about her past, but basically, a family adopred her, and had her for five years! And then returned her. Fuckers.
She gets along with the cats for the most part. If they get too rambunctious she splits them up and makes them settle down. Fiona intimidates her into giving up her bed. But there are many beds so it's generally reasonably peaceful.


text:
Election 2020: Where Things Stand for Energy
As of Thursday, presidential election results are still being tabulated. Former vice president Biden has a slight edge, but final results will depend on tallies in Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Georgia. Elsewhere, however, there is a clear picture coming from the 2020 election: the blue progressive wave meant to sweep to power and remake energy markets did not appear. Affordable, reliable energy remains a vote winner, with voters recoiling at the ambitious progressive energy and climate agenda.
In the Senate, Republicans are set to retain control. Losses in Colorado and Arizona were balanced by a pickup in Alabama; a hold in Maine; and a hold in North Carolina that awaits final confirmation. Two seats in Georgia a likely headed to runoffs, where Republicans traditionally do well. This means a 52-48 Republican majority come January 2021.
This result should be seen as a rebuke of the extreme environmentalist agenda. Across the country, environmental activists sought to nationalize Senate races, campaigning for a Democrat controlled Senate to pass the $2 trillion Biden climate plan. Despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent, the result was failure.
Should Biden prevail in the remaining counts, he will be the first Democratic president since Grover Cleveland to enter office without control of Congress. In addition to crippling Biden's extreme and costly climate agenda, Republican Senate control means that a President Biden will have to negotiate his cabinet nominations. It will be hard to nominate extremists like Mary Nichols, the former head of California's environmental regulator, at the Environmental Protection Agency. Radicals like Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren should be out of the question in the cabinet. This will be a win for American energy consumers and may constrain the sort of regulatory overreach undertaken under the Obama administration.
In the House, Republicans are set to pick up double-digit seats, a shocking reversal from pre-election expectations of Democratic pickups. Democrats especially struggled in swing districts where energy was on the ballot. In Oklahoma, Rep. Kendra Horn, who represents Oklahoma City, was soundly defeated. Her 5% score on the American Energy Scorecard was a major topic in the campaign's final debate, and she was clearly hurt by being out of step with her district. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small, representing a major oil-producing district in southern New Mexico, was similarly defeated. Here too, a 0% score on the AEA scorecard was at issue in the campaign and exposed Torres Small for voting against the interests of her constituents.
Other endangered incumbents where vote counts have not been finalized include Rep. Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania and Rep. TJ Cox of California, but representing energy producing districts yet scoring very poorly on the AEA scorecard. Because of Biden's energy comments at the final presidential debate, energy was a major issue in the close weeks of all races. The House results are a sound rejection of the kind of radical environmental agenda proposed by the Biden-Harris campaign.
Come January, with the House more closely balanced, the kinds of radical energy proposals passed by Speaker Pelosi's caucus last congress should be off the table.
Outside of Washington, affordable energy prevailed as well. Across the country, pro-energy majorities retained control of state legislatures. A much-hyped effort by Democrats to win control of the Texas House of Representatives fell flat. Big spending environmental interests failed to take control of any new state legislative chambers.
Also in Texas, despite vast spending by Mike Bloomberg and other out of state environmental interests, Republican Jim Wright won is race for the Texas Railroad Commission, the state's oil and gas regulator.
In Arizona, pro-affordable energy candidates are currently in position to take two of three seats up for election. This means that the Commission's foolish and expensive 100% clean energy mandates, passed last week by the outgoing commissioners, will be ripe for reconsideration.
Nationwide in 2020, energy was on the ballot: the radical Green New Deal, which the Biden-Harris campaign couldn't stop praising; he Biden $2 trillion climate plan; the Biden fracking ban that he tried to pretend was not a ban. The campaign was packed with energy policy, and the final weeks were dominated by energy policy. Whatever the ultimate outcome of the closely fought presidential race, everywhere else on the ballot voters delivered a rebuke to anti-energy candidates at every level. Should the former vice president win the race he should take note, and abandon his plan to go to war with affordable, reliable, American energy.
Kenny Stein
2020 ElectionAmerican Energy ScorecardcongressDemocratsDonald TrumpElectionGreen New DealJoe BidenRepublicansSenate
Sign up for the latest news from Energy Townhall Delivered right to your inbox.
Your email has been received. Thank you for signing up.


text:
Briton Ferry East railway station served the town of Briton Ferry, in the historical county of Glamorganshire, Wales, from 1895 to 1935 on the Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway.

History
The station was opened as Briton Ferry on 14 March 1895 by the Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway. Its name was changed to Briton Ferry East on 1 July 1924 to distinguish it from . It closed on 16 September 1935 when it was replaced by the newer Briton Ferry station.

References

Disused railway stations in Neath Port Talbot
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1895
Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1935
1895 establishments in Wales
1935 disestablishments in Wales

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


All answers to the above RIGOUR calendars can be found by scrolling to the relevant part on this webpage.
Elgin Academy Homework Booklet - Suitable for all pupils.
Elgin Academy HW booklet - suitable for pupils looking for more challenge.


Ryoo, K. & Linn, M.C. (2012). Can Dynamic Visualizations Improve Middle School Students' Understanding of Energy in Photosynthesis? Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 49(2), 218-243.
Dynamic visualizations have the potential to make abstract scientific phenomena more accessible and visible to students, but they can also be confusing and difficult to comprehend. This research investigates how dynamic visualizations, compared to static illustrations, can support middle school students in developing an integrated understanding of energy in photosynthesis. Two hundred 7th-grade students were randomly assigned to either a dynamic or a static condition and completed a web-based inquiry unit that encourages students to make connections among energy concepts in photosynthesis. While working on the inquiry unit, students in the dynamic condition interacted with a dynamic visualization of energy transformation, whereas students in the static condition interacted with a series of static illustrations of the same concept. The results showed that students in both conditions added new, scientific ideas about energy transformation and developed a more coherent understanding of energy in photosynthesis. However, when comparing the two conditions, we found a significant advantage of dynamic visualization over static illustrations. Students in the dynamic condition were significantly more successful in articulating the process of energy transformation in the context of chemical reactions during photosynthesis. Students in the dynamic condition also demonstrated a more integrated understanding of energy in photosynthesis by linking their ideas about energy transformation to other energy ideas and observable phenomena of photosynthesis than those students in the static condition. This study, consistent with other research, shows that dynamic visualizations can more effectively improve students' understanding of abstract concepts of molecular processes than static illustrations. The results of this study also suggest that with appropriate instructional support, such as making predictions and distinguishing among ideas, both dynamic visualizations and static illustrations can benefit students. This study underscores the importance of curriculum design in ensuring that dynamic visualizations add value to science instructional materials.


text:
HomeCXO BytesTop Five In-Demand Skills for High-Paying Jobs in 2023
Jan. 23, 2023 at 5:05 pm
Top Five In-Demand Skills for High-Paying Jobs in 2023
Girish Singhania 5 days ago January 23, 2023
With the digital dynamic taking a quantum leap, the workforce experienced a skill gap in the technical and non-technical spheres. Prominent Government Skilling Bodies like the National Skill Development Corporation of India (NSDC) and Industrial Enterprises have collaborated with Higher EdTech Platforms to overcome the skill gap. The top-five in-demand skills in both spheres are enlisted below.
Data Professionals
Contemporary business organizations rely on data assimilation to enhance YoY profitability and growth. Data Professionals involved in the sphere of Data Analysts, Data Scientists, and Data Architects are the most in-demand professions in the Indian sub-continent. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in spheres of Data Processes are expected to escalate by 38% annually by 2026. The market is expected to grow to $322.9 Billion. The average pay scale for a Data Professional in India amounts to ₹5.3 lacs per annum. Getting into Data Profession is ideal for those who want to make a career switch from the non-tech field to the tech field.
Software Testing Professionals
Applications help end-users to simplify and manage routine tasks. Each application undergoes tests to ensure seamless performance before it goes live. With over six million (and counting) Software Developers in India, there is a growing demand for Software Testing Professionals to keep from unwanted software bloopers. Software Testing Professionals have a critical role in ensuring that the application runs smoothly and is free of bugs and runtime errors. The profession is lucrative as Software testing happens on a regular basis. The Software Testing market is valued at $40 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow at over 12% CAGR between 2023 and 2030. In India, the national average pay of a Software Testing Professional amounts to ₹4.2 lacs per annum. The pay scale also depends on the expertise and skill possessed by the professional.
In May 2021, Air India faced a cyber breach forcing the organization to take severe action and beef up its cybersecurity. Cybersecurity ensures that data breaches are minimized and business processes are functioning seamlessly. Cybersecurity Professionals are much in demand and expected to grow in the coming years. The current market size of Cyber Security Professionals is valued at $10.2 Trillion. The market is expected to display a YoY growth of over 15% or more. Cybersecurity professionals can enjoy a very lucrative career growth path.
With over 3.5 million smartphone users, enterprises believe that the digital marketing profession has demonstrated promising growth and will continue to do so in the coming years. According to Expert Marketing Research, the Digital Marketing segment vaulted at $353 Billion in 2021. The market is demonstrating a YoY growth of 17.6% and expected to notch up to $930 Billion by 2026. The career growth path of a Digital Marketer is varied. The growth of the segment also depends on the inventiveness of the Professional and their ability to steer markets profitably.
The Indian government has given several grants for startups to establish themselves as they play an imperative role in fuelling India's economic growth. The contemporary business environment has propelled the growth of Investment Banking. Investment banking as a segment stages a. 15-20% YoY growth. This means there is a growing demand for professionals with keen business acumen who understand the nuances of trade and transactions to aid in fitting wealth allocation. The national average salary of an investment banker amounts to ₹5.8 lacs per annum.
Professionals are expected to synergize their domain skills with the requisite soft skill to mobilize their career path progressively. It is also essential to realize that professionals require to skill themselves in order to update their knowledge and align themselves with the workforce requirements and expectations.
(The author is Mr. Girish Singhania, CEO, EduBridge and the views expressed in this article are his own)
Girish Singhania January 23, 2023
Utkarsh Classes strengthens senior leadership team to accelerate growth and market expansion
DevOps Predictions for 2023
The rapidly evolving digital era has led to a significant upsurge in concerns around digital privacy – organizational as well...
India's economy is currently the fastest-growing in the world, with average annual growth rates of 5.5% during the last ten...
Data Privacy: The Bedrock of Responsible Corporate Citizenship
Neelesh Kripalani 14 hours ago January 28, 2023
The rapid digitalization has turned data into an extremely critical commodity. Organizations have started to collect and process vast amount...
Global tech companies are redesigning employee expense management to boost morale. Are there Indian counterparts overlooking it?
Himanshu Singh 23 hours ago January 27, 2023
A survey conducted with 51 companies and 7,23,000 employees across sectors, including IT and telecom, manufacturing, general services, financial services,...
Join us on socials
Get a glimpse of the Computational Art installation at the India Art Fair 2023, supported by Tezos Foundation in collaboration with Tezos India
Amadeus Travel Trends 2023
LEADING INDIAN RENEWABLE ENERGY COMPANY GREENKO NAMED TITLE SPONSOR OF THE FORMULA E 2023 GREENKO HYDERABAD E-PRIX
ISpA partners with US Consulate and IIT Madras to boost Indo-Pacific Space Ecosystem
Indeed India jobs update – December 2022
Hitachi Terminal Solutions inaugurates its Global CRM Manufacturing Facility in Bengaluru.


text:
MTN supports the three-day STARTup LiVE Cyprus
STARTup LiVE Cyprus was officially announced in a press conference held jointly by the CEO of MTN, Mr Philip van Dalsen, the Rector of the University of Cyprus Constantinos Christofides and the team of organizers. STARTup LiVE Cyprus is powered by MTN and will take place on 14, 15 and 16 of June at the University of Cyprus campus.
MTN announced today the support of STARTup Live Cyprus, the biggest event ever organized in Cyprus for startups and with the scope the education of the youth entrepreneurial community in producing future sustainable business.
STARTup LiVE Cyprus is a three-day event where young entrepreneurs, students and scientists have the opportunity to share their ideas and, with the help of experts from Cyprus and abroad, to compete in transforming them into real business opportunities. The winners' prizes are chosen in such a way so as to help them promote their idea at international and European level, as well as attracting investors from around the world.
MTN Chief Executive Officer, Mr Philip van Dalsen commented: "We are committed that we will always offer more to the society. For young and ambitious people, especially nowadays, "more" means opportunities for creativity and employment. Opportunities to communicate their ideas to a bigger audience and to be successful. That's why we are at the forefront of supporting initiatives that raise awareness, inspire and educate the next generation in new technology, innovation and of course startups. With this in mind, we supported the Open Coffee Cyprus and after the Cypriots enthusiastic response, we are delighted to support STARTup LiVE Cyprus, because it provides what the local community needs most: networking, education, fair competition, coaching from experienced mentors, tangible results. We are proud because this institution will enable Cyprus to position itself dynamically to the European startup map».
STARTup Live Cyprus contestants will not exceed 100. During the three days event they have to collaborate to create business plans and present their ideas to a committee of professionals. Winners will get promotional and networking opportunities and the chance to sell their idea effectively to a broader audience of investors. At the same time, teams will have the chance to win prizes, which are ultimately opportunities for promotion and networking of their idea in pan-European level. STARTup Live Cyprus consists of networking, pitching, mentoring and selling, with the help of 30 mentors from Cyprus and abroad and all these with the support of MTN.
Registration is now open to anyone who wishes to take part at http://startuplive.in/cyprus/1/registration/
STARTup LiVE Cyprus is part of the START Europe, a pan-European institution dedicated to the transformation of a startup idea into a business opportunity in three days. It has already been implemented by the local startup communities in more than 30 European cities and it provides the necessary networking, resources and incentives to enable individuals and groups in order to realize their dreams.
MTN is one of the largest telecommunications providers in Cyprus, offering integrated mobile, fixed and broadband services. MTN has the biggest fully-owned retail network amongst telecommunications companies in Cyprus, with 20 ΜΤΝ Stores.
MTN is a member of the MTN Group, a multinational telecommunications group, operating in 22 countries in Europe, Africa and Asia and connecting 189 million customers.
MTN Cyprus is a major contributor to the economic and social developments in the country, both through its 400 employees, and also as a responsible corporate citizen in the fields of sport, education, health and culture. MTN is a proud sponsor of the APOEL football team.
No drop in electricity bills as Cyprus pays to pollute
Despite a 2.9% reduction in electricity transmission and production costs,
Previous Story Previous post: Turkish markets claw back some losses as protests rumble on
Next Story Next post: IMF tells France to step up reforms and contain public spending
Latest from Cyprus
Cyprus match-fixing on UEFA's radar
Cyprus looks ahead after breaking more tourist records


Contact decision makers at ALTAREA COGEDIM in a single click. Use our sales automation tool to automate your sales prospecting and contact people at ALTAREA COGEDIM.
We have 15 personal email addresses at ALTAREA COGEDIM.
Contact decision makers at ALTAREA COGEDIM.
Prospect.io allows you to contact decision makers at ALTAREA COGEDIM in a single click. Prospect.io is a sales automation tool that automate your sales prospecting.
Names & Contacts at ALTAREA COGEDIM.
At this date we can give you 15 personal email addresses at ALTAREA COGEDIM. Our cold emailing tool can save you a lot of time while contacting people at ALTAREA COGEDIM.


text:
NORTH AFRICA/ MIDDLE EASt: Has the Arab Spring Been a Disaster for Women?
It's been almost two years since revolution swept across parts of the Arab world. Women organized and led demonstrations that toppled decades-old regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen -- and helped the rebels who overthrew Muammar Gaddafi in Libya.
Hopes were high that the Arab Spring would bring not just political change, but greater gender equality, too. But despite the major role they played in the uprisings, many activists worry that women are being left out of the political process.
They fear their fundamental rights are under threat as conservative and religious forces, gaining influence after the overthrow of repressive rulers, push for new constitutions to reflect their thinking.
Islamist-led governments are in place in Tunisia, Egypt and now Libya. Their parliaments are struggling to find a balance between secular forces and the rise of conservatism. Some worry that the persisting influence of Sharia risks limiting not only the rights of women but also freedom of expression and religion.
In Egypt, parliamentarians even discussed repealing a law that bans female genital mutilation. They proposed to lower the age of marriage and end women's right to divorce.
Whilst Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, promised in his campaign to "ensure women's access to all their rights," he added the strong qualifier that those rights must remain "consistent with the values of Islamic law, maintaining the balance between their duties and rights."
In 2010, before the Arab Spring took hold of Tahrir Square, 12 percent of candidates returned in Egyptian elections were female. In the first post-Arab Spring elections, just two percent of successful candidates were women. That's less than one-tenth of the global average number of successful parliamentary candidates who are women, which is 21.8 percent.
Meanwhile the authors of Tunisia's new constitution have caused outrage by defining women as "complementary" to men in Article 28 of the draft document -- officially rendering them second-class citizens.
Egypt, Libya and Tunisia have each passed electoral laws that ensure women's political participation -- but the results have been disappointing. The new cabinets in each country contain only two women apiece, which suggests institutions are reluctant to challenge cultures that often relegate women to traditional social roles.
It remains a sad fact that still not one Arab country is in the top 100 nations as ranked by gender equality.
So, has the Arab Spring been a disaster for women?
The answer, inevitably, is that it's too early to say. Transitions take time -- we're talking about countries that went from decades of autocracy to the possibility of democracy almost overnight.
But this is a time of opportunity and the premise of the Arab Spring was to provide access to the corridors of power for citizens that had for too long been locked out.
Activists say that excluding women from those corridors -- through official means or cultural practice -- sullies the memory of those who fought and many who died in the fight for freedom.
Much is being done at a grassroots level to make sure all voices are included in conversations about new constitutions, the rule of law and the role of religion in both legislation and society. A lot of that work is led by inspiring individuals.
• In Tunisia, Amira Yahyaoui founded Al Bawsala, an organization that helps people understand the role politics plays in their lives and how to work together to protect their rights.
• After consulting women all across Libya, Alaa Murabit is publishing a Libyan Women's Charter that lays out the specific needs and demands of Libyan women and which will be used to influence the writing of the new constitution.
• In Egypt, Dalia Ziada, named twice by Newsweek as one of the world's most influential and fearless women, continues to campaign in support of civil rights, religious freedom and tolerance.
Such efforts are paying dividends.
In Egypt, the committee charged with drafting Egypt's new constitution just last week dropped a controversial article seen as a threat to women's rights after outrage amongst women's rights activists like Dalia Ziada. The article had guaranteed gender equality, but only as long as it didn't conflict with Sharia law.
The three women mentioned above are just a few of the remarkable women who will speak at a major conference on women's rights in London in December organized by the Thomson Reuters Foundation and the International Herald Tribune.
The conference will discuss many of the most pressing issues facing women around the world -- from trafficking and slavery to forced marriage and genital cutting -- with an eye to real solutions. The focus on action is key.
As Amira Yahyaoui told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a recent interview: "We cannot talk about the revolution in the past because it is not over. We are at a crossroads -- we can go towards democracy or back to dictatorship. We are still here. We still have the chance to change things.
"For women, the Arab Spring has been positive in one sense -- that is has made women see the importance of mobilization of fighting for our rights. We've learned that rights are not a gift -- we have to snatch them."


text:
Vote Energy
This federal election, Canada's political parties will present their visions for the future of our country as we emerge from a period unlike any other in our history. The world is recovering, and many will present this recovery as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to implement their vision for Canada's future. And while the various promises offered throughout the campaign will have their differences, one commodity will be needed for those promises to be kept. Energy. Why Vote Energy? Healthcare, highways, education, cleantech innovations that reduce emissions – improving in any of these sectors will require energy. And while the focus on a sustainable planet has never been greater, the reality is global demand for all forms of energy is rising rapidly and is expected to surpass pre-Covid levels early next year. So, what are we going to do about it? We can choose to deny the global realities of natural gas and oil demand, con
Faster Higher Stronger
Written By: Rod Garland "Citius, Altius, Fortius" The Olympic motto in English is "Faster, Higher, Stronger". The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo have just wrapped up after 2 weeks of fantastic athletic competition, great personal and team achievements and a management success by any measure, in light of the challenges from the Covid-19 pandemic, which delayed this quadrennial spectacular for an entire year. From a Canadian perspective, Canadian women out-performed Canadian men by a considerable margin; the final medal being won in the women's cycling sprint final by Kelsey Mitchell from Sherwood Park, Alberta. Kelsey had planned to work in the Oil & Gas industry but due to an unforeseen illness, found herself on a different track that led her into cycling and a trip to Tokyo. Congratulations Kelsey. Once again the Japanese people showed fantastic resilience, especially and literally in "the wake" of the earthquake, tsunami and failure of the Fukushima Nuclear Plant and consequent
The "New Energy Economy": An Exercise in Magical Thinking Exec Summary
Published: Manhattan - Institute Website: https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/sites/default/files/R-0319-MM.pdf Written By: Mark P. Mills Executive Summary A movement has been growing for decades to replace hydrocarbons, which collectively supply 84% of the world's energy. It began with the fear that we were running out of oil. That fear has since migrated to the belief that, because of climate change and other environmental concerns, society can no longer tolerate burning oil, natural gas, and coal - all of which have turned out to be abundant. So far, wind, solar, and batteries - the favored alternatives to hydrocarbons - provide about 2% of the world's energy and 3% of America's. Nonetheless, a bold new claim has gained popularity: that we're on the cusp of a tech-driven energy revolution that not only can, but inevitably will, rapidly replace all hydrocarbons. This "new energy economy" rests on the belief - a centerpiece of the Green New Deal and oth
The "New Energy Economy": An Exercise in Magical T...


Anybody planning a campervan hire Australia holiday for instance will want to do some research on petrol prices in Australia. In this guide from Travelwheels we give you tips, hints and hacks on finding the cheapest petrol prices in Australia! If you have any further questions send them to us via our contact us page.
How much does fuel or petrol costs in Australia?
Before you can even start to think about cheapest petrol prices in Australia, you will need to know, "How much does petrol or fuel cost in Australia?". For example this is one of the most popular questions that people who are thinking about hiring a campervan ask us. The team at Sydney campervan hire branch suggest checking out these websites. They will for instance give you the current price of fuel or petrol in Australia.
RACV for example has this useful page about petrol prices in Australia. By the way RACV stands for Royal Automobile Club of Victoria. Here you will find useful driving in Australia tips, and of course can buy car or campervan breakdown insurance. Remember you don't need this if you hire a campervan in Australia with us as you automatically get roadside assistance included in the price.
A website our campervan hire team always uses when we go on campervan hire holidays is Motormouth! As a result of using this site you can save a lot of money on most popular road trips in Australia. This is particularly a brilliant app or website for cheap petrol near me! For the most part this is one of the apps or websites you will use all the time! All you have to do is enter your current postcode or closest city/town and together with gps co-ordinates will find you the cheapest petrol prices in Australia. Couple this information with our Cairns to Sydney road trip planner or in the meanwhile check out our free campsites on East Coast of Australia webpage as well. Using these two guides coupled with the tips from finding the cheapest petrol prices in Australia will help you save money on your trip!
Use google search to ask question "Cheapest fuel in Australia!
This is a particularly good travel hack for Australia, and simply ask google! For example, all you have to do here is type, "cheapest fuel in Australia" into google and it will by the way give you an instant answer!
In comparison to most travellers visiting Australia you will already be streets ahead with just this information. By the way have you heard about which is the best day of the week to buy petrol in Australia? For instance does it matter what day of the week you buy petrol? Which is cheaper the weekend or mid week for price of petrol in Australia? In the meantime to find these answers keep reading our page about the cheapest fuel prices in Australia to find out!
Best day of the week to buy petrol in Australia!
If you are not sure about cheapest petrol prices in Australia, then in this case just do a google search for "best day of the week to buy petrol in Australia". In this case you will find loads of website telling you which is the best day of the week to find the cheapest petrol in your area! First of all to be honest, I didn't realise that some days have cheaper petrol prices than others! As a result of this, I now keep an eye on my tank and fill up on the days statistically classed as the cheapest petrol prices!
Which is best day of the week to buy cheap petrol in Australia?
This might seem like a mad thing to think about, but for instance some days of the week are more cheaper than others! Check out the savers guide website article about What is the cheapest day for petrol in Australia. To summarize it says that price of fuel often goes up on the weekends! Here is a brief outline of the findings of another study into the cheapest petrol prices in Australia.
In this case, do not buy petrol on the weekends or Thursday or Friday! The guys in the Sydney campervan hire branch are always filling up the campervans on either a Monday or Tuesday. As a result of the findings, these are the best days of the week to buy petrol in Sydney.
For the most part Melbourne is slightly different. Anybody searching for cheap petrol prices in Melbourne, then to summarize we suggest buying petrol on Monday or Wednesday. In particular avoid the weekends or Friday which are statistically the most expensive days to buy petrol in Melbourne!
Subsequently Brisbane follows a similar pattern to Melbourne. For instance Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are the cheapest days to buy petrol in Brisbane.
Most expensive time to buy petrol in Australia!
Now as a result we know what is the cheapest day of the week to buy petrol. However when is the worst time to buy petrol in Australia? Here is our quick guide to the most expensive time to buy fuel in Australia!
Avoid long weekends and holiday time for cheap fuel!
Australian fuel companies love holidays and long weekends (Bank holidays)! In this case, the Australia petrol suppliers will artificially inflate fuel prices compared to mid week non-holiday time. Together with this extra demand for fuel, you likewise could be spending as much as 20 to 25 cents more!
Avoid Friday or weekends for cheap fuel!
In Australia for instance fuel prices start to secretly go up the closer it gets to the weekend! Subsequently you should not buy fuel on the weekend and in addition on Friday as well! Australia is an expensive country, therefore by knowing these simple travel hacks can save you money on petrol prices!
How much money can you save by buying cheap petrol?
If all you do is not buy petrol on the weekends you can subsequently save about 5 to 15 cents per litre of petrol in Australia! In the meantime imagine trying to drive around one of the world's longest roads which is in Australia! Highway one is approximately 14,500kms or 9000 miles long! Therefore 15 cents x 14500kms for example would be a rough saving of $2175 Australian dollars!!
Buying cheap fuel can save an average of up to $15 per tank!
When you stop and think of all these little tips they can start to add up to help you save money on petrol! Furthermore the average fuel tank on a Travelwheels campervan hire van is approximately 60 litres. Subsequently you could be saving approximately $15 per tank of fuel! In the meanwhile this might not sound like much, but remember the most popular campervan hire holiday road trip in Australia is Sydney to Cairns. For example this journey is over 2600kms without many detours! That means you will be spending a lot of money on fuel. In conclusion anything you can do to save money on fuel prices in Australia is going to help you save money!
Australia's best campervan hire road trips + how to save money!
Travelwheels campervan hire Australia staff love sharing hints and travel hacks about Australia. You can save a fortune by finding the cheapest petrol prices locally by using apps and some common sense. Here are some of the popular trips you might want to consider when thinking of renting a campervan in Australia.
Cairns to Sydney roadtrip planner – detailed guide to help plan your trip.
Free Camping on East Coast of Australia – our guide to free camping to help save you money.
Sydney to Cairns campervan road trip – No1 holiday in Australia.
Jervis Bay – visit the dolphins – weekend or three day campervan hire Sydney to Jervis bay roadtrip planner.
Cheap campervan hire advice – when is the best time of year to get the lowest prices guide.
Questions about Cheapest petrol prices in Australia?
If any of you are planning a campervan hire holiday in Australia and have a question, then send us an email. Our friendly team know all the tricks, tips and travel hacks to get you a good deal on campervan hire in Australia. Coupled with our knowledge about the location of cheapest petrol prices in Australia, our team for instance could save you a lot of money!