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900 | A wild, young, unmarked bull is known as a micky in Australia.[2] Improper or late castration on a bull results in it becoming a coarse steer, also known as a stag in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.[3] In some countries an incompletely castrated male is known also as a rig or ridgling. | Bull |
901 | The word "bull" also denotes the males of other bovines, including bison and water buffalo as well as many other species of large animals including elephants, camels, elk, moose, and whales. | Bull |
902 | Bulls are much more muscular than cows, with thicker bones, larger feet, a very muscular neck, and a large, bony head with protective ridges over the eyes. These features assist bulls in fighting for domination over a herd, giving the winner superior access to cows for reproduction.[4] The hair is generally shorter on the body, but on the neck and head there is often a "mane" of curlier, wooly hair. Bulls are usually about the same height as cows or a little taller, but because of the additional muscle and bone mass they often weigh far more. Most of the time, a bull has a hump on its shoulders.[5] When a bull is full-grown, it can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds.[5] | Bull |
903 | In horned cattle the horns of bulls tend to be thicker and somewhat shorter than those of cows,[6] and in many breeds they curve outwards in a flat arc rather than upwards in a lyre shape. It is not true, as is commonly believed, that bulls have horns and cows do not: the presence of horns depends on the breed, or in horned breeds on whether the horns have been disbudded (conversely, in many breeds of sheep indeed only the males have horns). Cattle that naturally do not have horns are referred to as polled, or muleys.[7] | Bull |
904 | Castrated male cattle are physically similar to females in build and horn shape, although if allowed to reach maturity they may be considerably taller than either bulls or cows, with heavily muscled shoulders (but not necks).[8] | Bull |
905 | Bulls become fertile at about seven months of age. Their fertility is closely related to the size of their testicles, and one simple test of fertility is to measure the circumference of the scrotum: a young bull is likely to be fertile once this reaches 28 centimetres (11 in); that of a fully adult bull may be over 40 centimetres (16 in).[9][10] | Bull |
906 | Bulls have a fibro-elastic penis. Given the small amount of erectile tissue, there is little enlargement after erection. The penis is quite rigid when non-erect, and becomes even more rigid during erection. Protrusion is not affected much by erection, but more by relaxation of the retractor penis muscle and straightening of the sigmoid flexure.[11][12][13] Bulls are occasionally affected by a condition known as "corkscrew penis".[14][15] The penis of a mature bull is about 3–4 cm in diameter,[16][17][18][19] and 80–100 cm in length.[20] The bull's glans penis has a rounded and elongated shape.[20] | Bull |
907 | A common misconception widely repeated in depictions of bull behavior is that the color red angers bulls, inciting them to charge. In fact, like most mammals, cattle are red-green color blind.[21] In bullfighting, it is the movement of the matador's cape, and not the color, which provokes a reaction in the bull. | Bull |
908 | Other than the few bulls needed for breeding, the vast majority of male cattle are slaughtered for meat before the age of three years, except where they are needed (castrated) as work oxen for haulage. Most of these beef animals are castrated as calves to reduce aggressive behavior and prevent unwanted mating,[22] although some are reared as uncastrated bull beef. A bull is typically ready for slaughter one or two months sooner than a castrated male or a female, and produces proportionately more, leaner muscle.[22] | Bull |
909 | Frame score is a useful way of describing the skeletal size of bulls and other cattle. Frame scores can be used as an aid to predict mature cattle sizes and aid in the selection of beef bulls. Frame scores are calculated from hip height and age. In sales catalogues, this measurement is frequently reported in addition to weight and other performance data such as estimated breed value (EBV).[23] | Bull |
910 | Adult bulls may weigh between 500 and 1,000 kilograms (1,100 and 2,200Â lb). Most are capable of aggressive behavior and require careful handling to ensure safety of humans and other animals. Those of dairy breeds may be more prone to aggression, while beef breeds are somewhat less aggressive, though beef breeds such as the Spanish Fighting Bull and related animals are also noted for aggressive tendencies, which are further encouraged by selective breeding. | Bull |
911 | It is estimated that 42% of all livestock-related fatalities in Canada are a result of bull attacks, and fewer than one in twenty victims of a bull attack survives.[24] Dairy breed bulls are particularly dangerous and unpredictable; the hazards of bull handling are a significant cause of injury and death for dairy farmers in some parts of the United States[25][26][27] The need to move a bull in and out of its pen to cover cows exposes the handler to serious jeopardy of life and limb.[28] Being trampled, jammed against a wall or gored by a bull was one of the most frequent causes of death in the dairy industry before 1940.[29] With regard to such risks, one popular farming magazine has suggested, "Handle [the bull] with a staff and take no chances. The gentle bull, not the vicious one, most often kills or maims his keeper".[30] | Bull |
912 | On the other hand, and like other domestic animals, some bulls have saved human lives. For instance, when the Beast of Gevaudan terrorized people in France in the 18th century, some people were saved by their bulls.[31] | Bull |
913 | It is traditional in many areas to place rings in bulls' noses to help control them. The ring is usually made of copper, and is inserted through a small hole cut in the septum of the nose. It is used by attaching a lead rope either directly to it or running through it from a head collar, or for more difficult bulls, a bull pole (or bull staff) may be used. This is a rigid pole about 1 metre (3Â ft) long with a clip at one end; this attaches to the ring and allows the bull both to be led and to be held away from his handler. | Bull |
914 | An aggressive bull may be kept confined in a bull pen: a robustly-constructed shelter and pen, often with an arrangement to allow the bull to be fed without entering the pen. If an aggressive bull is allowed to graze outside, additional precautions may be needed to help avoid his harming people. One method is a bull mask, which either covers the bull's eyes completely, or restricts his vision to the ground immediately in front of him, so he cannot see his potential victim. Another method is to attach a length of chain to the bull's nose-ring, so that if he ducks his head to charge, he steps on the chain and is brought up short. Alternatively, the bull may be hobbled, or chained by his ring or by a collar to a solid object such as a ring concreted into the ground. | Bull |
915 | In larger pastures, particularly where a bull is kept with other cattle, the animals may simply be fed from a pickup truck or tractor, the vehicle itself providing some protection for the humans involved. Generally, bulls kept with cows tend to be less aggressive than those kept alone. In herd situations, cows with young calves are often more dangerous to humans. In the off season, multiple bulls may be kept together in a "bachelor herd". | Bull |
916 | Many cattle ranches and stations run bulls with cows, and most dairy or beef farms traditionally had at least one, if not several, bulls for purposes of herd maintenance.[32][33] However, the problems associated with handling a bull (particularly where cows must be removed from its presence to be worked) has prompted many dairy farmers to restrict themselves to artificial insemination (AI) of the cows.[34] Semen is removed from the bulls and stored in canisters of liquid nitrogen, where it is kept until it can be sold, at which time it can be very profitable, in fact, many ranchers keep bulls specifically for this purpose. AI is also used to increase the quality of a herd, or to introduce an outcross of bloodlines. Some ranchers prefer to use AI to allow them to breed to several different bulls in a season or to breed their best stock to a higher quality bull than they could afford to purchase outright. AI may also be used in conjunction with embryo transfer to allow cattle producers to add new breeding to their herds. | Bull |
917 | Aside from their reproductive duties, bulls are also used in certain sports, including bullfighting and bull riding. They are also incorporated into festivals and folk events such as the Running of the Bulls and were seen in ancient sports such as bull-leaping. Though less common than castrated males, bulls are used as draught oxen in some areas.[35][36] The once-popular sport of bull-baiting, in which a bull is attacked by specially bred and trained dogs (which came to be known as bulldogs), was banned in England by the Cruelty to Animals Act 1835. | Bull |
918 | As with other animals, some bulls have been regarded as pets. The singer Charo, for instance, has owned a pet bull named Manolo.[37] | Bull |
919 | Bulls have held a place of significance in human culture since before the beginning of recorded history. They appear in cave paintings estimated to be up to 17,000 years old. The mythic Bull of the Heavens plays a role in the ancient Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, dating as far back as 2150 BC. The importance of the bull is reflected in its appearance in the zodiac as Taurus, and its numerous appearances in mythology, where it is often associated with fertility. See also Korban. In Hinduism, a bull named Nandi, usually depicted seated, is worshipped as the vehicle of the god Shiva and depicted on many of the images of that God. Symbolically, the bull appears commonly in heraldry, and, in modern times, as a mascot for both amateur and professional sports teams. | Bull |
920 | Spain is a country located in southwestern Europe occupying most (about 85 percent) of the Iberian Peninsula and includes a small exclave inside France called Llívia as well as the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean 108 km (67 mi) off northwest Africa, and five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberanía) on and off the coast of North Africa: Ceuta, Melilla, Islas Chafarinas, Peñón de Alhucemas, and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera. | Geography of Spain |
921 | The Spanish mainland is bordered to the south and east almost entirely by the Mediterranean Sea (except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar); to the north by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal. With an area of 504,030Â km2, Spain is the largest country in Southern Europe, the second largest country in Western Europe (behind France) and the fourth largest country in the European continent (behind Russia, Ukraine and France). It has an average altitude of 650 m. | Geography of Spain |
922 | Its total area is 504,782 km2 (194,897 sq mi) of which 499,542 km2 (192,874 sq mi) is land and 5,240 km2 (2,023 sq mi) is water.[1] Spain lies between latitudes 36° and 44° N, and longitudes 19° W and 5° E. Its Atlantic coast is 710 km (441 mi) long. The Pyrenees mountain range, extends 435 km (270 mi) from the Mediterranean to the Bay of Biscay. In the extreme south of Spain lie the Straits of Gibraltar, which separate the Iberian peninsula and the rest of Europe from Ceuta and Morocco in North Africa; at its narrowest extent, mainland Spain and Morocco are separated by only 13 km (8.1 mi). | Geography of Spain |
923 | Most of Spain's boundaries are water: the Mediterranean Sea on the south to the French border and the Atlantic Ocean on the northwest and southwest (in the south as the Golfo de Cádiz and in the north as the Bay of Biscay). Spain also shares land boundaries with France and Andorra along the Pyrenees in the northeast, with Portugal on the west, and with the small British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar near the southernmost tip. The affiliation of Gibraltar has continued to be a contentious issue between Spain and Britain. The sovereignty of the plazas de soberanía on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco is disputed by Morocco. | Geography of Spain |
924 | Spain also has a small exclave inside France called Llívia. | Geography of Spain |
925 | The majority of Spain's peninsular region consists of the Meseta Central, a highland plateau rimmed and dissected by mountain ranges. Other landforms include narrow coastal plains and some lowland river valleys, the most prominent of which is the Andalusian Plain in the southwest. The country can be divided into ten natural regions or subregions: the dominant Meseta Central, the Cantabrian Mountains (Cordillera Cantabrica) and the northwest region, the Ibérico region, the Pyrenees, the Penibético region in the southeast, the Andalusian Plain, the Ebro Basin, the coastal plains, the Balearic Islands, and the Canary Islands. These are commonly grouped into four types: the Meseta Central and associated mountains, other mountainous regions, lowland regions, and islands. | Geography of Spain |
926 | The Meseta Central ("Inner Plateau") is a vast plateau in the heart of peninsular Spain, which has elevations that range from 610 to 760 m. Rimmed by mountains, the Meseta Central slopes gently to the west and to the series of rivers that form some of the border with Portugal. The Sistema Central, described as the "dorsal spine" of the Meseta Central, divides the Meseta into northern and southern subregions, the former higher in elevation and smaller in area than the latter. The Sistema Central rims the capital city of Madrid with peaks that rise to over 2,400 m within the Madrid region. South-west of Madrid, the Sistema Central shows its highest peak, Pico Almanzor, of 2,592 m. The mountains of the Sistema Central, which continue westward into Portugal, display some glacial features; the highest of the peaks are snow-capped for most of the year. Despite their height, however, the mountain system does not create a major barrier between the northern and the southern portions of the Meseta Central because several passes permit road and railroad transportation to the northwest and the northeast. | Geography of Spain |
927 | The southern portion of the Meseta (Spanish: Submeseta Sur) is further divided by twin mountain ranges, the Montes de Toledo running to the east with the Sierra de Guadalupe, to the west. Their peaks do not rise much higher than 1,500Â m. With many easy passes, including those that connect the Meseta with the Andalusian Plain, the Montes de Toledo do not present an obstacle to transportation and communication. This chain of lower mountain ranges is separated from the Sistema Central to the north by the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula: the Tagus River. | Geography of Spain |
928 | The mountain regions that rim the Meseta Central and are associated with it are the Sierra Morena, the Cordillera Cantábrica, and the Sistema Ibérico. Forming the southern edge of the Meseta Central, the Sierra Morena merges in the east with the southern extension of the Sistema Iberico and reaches westward along the northern edge of the Rio Guadalquivir valley to join the mountains in southern Portugal. The massif of the Sierra Morena extends northward to the Río Guadiana, which separates it from the Sistema Central. Despite their relatively low elevations, seldom surpassing 1,300 m, the mountains of the Sierra Morena are rugged at their southern edge. | Geography of Spain |
929 | The Cordillera Cantábrica, a limestone formation, runs parallel to, and close to, the northern coast near the Bay of Biscay. Its highest points are the Picos de Europa, surpassing 2,600 m. The Cordillera Cantábrica extends 182 km and abruptly drops 1,500 m some 30 km from the coast. To the west lie the hills of the northwest region and to the east the Basque mountains that link them to the Pyrenees. | Geography of Spain |
930 | The Sistema Ibérico extends from the Cordillera Cantábrica southeastward and, close to the Mediterranean, spreads out from the Río Ebro to the Río Júcar. The barren, rugged slopes of this mountain range cover an area of close to 21,000 square kilometers. The mountains exceed 2,000 m in their northern region and reach a maximum height of over 2,300 m east of the headwaters of the Rio Duero. The extremely steep mountain slopes in this range are often cut by deep, narrow gorges. | Geography of Spain |
931 | External to the Meseta Central lie the Pyrenees in the northeast and the Sistema Penibético in the southeast. The Pyrenees, extending from the eastern edge of the Cordillera Cantábrica to the Mediterranean Sea, form a solid barrier that separates Spain, France and Andorra and has acted as a natural border throughout history, which has effectively isolated the countries from each other. Passage is easy in the relatively low terrain at the eastern and western extremes of the mountain range; it is here that international railroads and roadways cross the border. In the central section of the Pyrenees, however, passage is difficult. In several places, peaks rise above 3,000 m; the highest, Pico de Aneto, surpasses 3,400 m. | Geography of Spain |
932 | The Sistema Penibético extends northeast from the southern tip of Spain, running parallel to the coast until it merges with the southern extension of the Sistema Ibérico near the Rio Júcar and with the eastern extension of the Sierra Morena. The Sierra Nevada, part of the Sistema Penibético south of Granada, includes the highest mountain on the peninsula and continental Spain, Mulhacén, which rises to 3,479 m. Other peaks in the range also surpass 3,000 m. | Geography of Spain |
933 | The major lowland regions are the Andalusian Plain in the southwest, the Ebro Basin in the northeast, and the coastal plains. The Andalusian Plain is essentially a wide river valley through which the Río Guadalquivir flows. The river broadens out along its course, reaching its widest point at the Golfo de Cadiz. The Andalusian Plain is bounded on the north by the Sierra Morena and on the south by the Sistema Penibético; it narrows to an apex in the east where these two mountain chains meet. The Ebro Basin is formed by the Río Ebro valley, contained by mountains on three sides—the Sistema Ibérico to the south and west, the Pyrenees to the north and east, and their coastal extensions paralleling the shore to the east. Minor low-lying river valleys close to the Portuguese border are located on the Tagus and the Río Guadiana. | Geography of Spain |
934 | The Coastal Plains regions are narrow strips between the coastal mountains and the seas. They are broadest along the Golfo de Cádiz, where the coastal plain adjoins the Andalusian Plain, and along the southern and central eastern coasts. The narrowest coastal plain runs along the Bay of Biscay, where the Cordillera Cantábrica ends close to shore. | Geography of Spain |
935 | The remaining regions of Spain are the Balearic and the Canary Islands, the former located in the Mediterranean Sea and the latter in the Atlantic Ocean. The Balearic Islands, encompassing a total area of 5,000 square kilometers, lie 80 kilometers off Spain's central eastern coast. The mountains that rise up above the Mediterranean Sea to form these islands are an extension of the Sistema Penibetico. The archipelago's highest points, which reach 1,400 meters, are in northwestern Mallorca, close to the coast. The central portion of Majorca is a plain, bounded on the east and the southeast by broken hills. | Geography of Spain |
936 | The Canary Islands, ninety kilometers off the west coast of Africa, are of volcanic origin. The large central islands, Tenerife and Gran Canaria, have the highest peaks. Pico de Las Nieves, on Gran Canaria, rises to 1,949 meters, and the Teide, on Tenerife, to 3,718 meters. Teide, a dormant volcano, is the highest peak of Spain and the third largest volcano in the world from its base. | Geography of Spain |
937 | Of the roughly 1,800 rivers and streams in Spain, only the Tagus is more than 960 kilometers long; all but 90 extend less than 96 kilometers. These shorter rivers carry small volumes of water on an irregular basis, and they have seasonally dry river beds; however, when they do flow, they often are swift and torrential. Most major rivers rise in the mountains rimming or dissecting the Meseta Central and flow westward across the plateau through Portugal to empty into the Atlantic Ocean. One significant exception is the river with the most abundant flow in Spain, the Ebro, which flows eastward to the Mediterranean. Rivers in the extreme northwest and in the narrow northern coastal plain drain directly into the Atlantic Ocean. The northwestern coastline is also truncated by rias, waterbodies similar to fjords. {{[2]citation needed|date=October 2015}} | Geography of Spain |
938 | The major rivers flowing westward through the Meseta Central include the Duero, the Tagus, the Guadiana, and the Guadalquivir. The Rio Guadalquivir is one of the most significant rivers in Spain because it irrigates a fertile valley, thus creating a rich agricultural area, and because it is navigable inland, making Seville the only inland river port for ocean-going traffic in Spain. The major river in the northwest region is the Miño.[citation needed] | Geography of Spain |
939 | El Atazar Dam is a major dam built near Madrid to provide a water supply. | Geography of Spain |
940 | Certain Spanish regions can be considered vulnerable to both flooding and erosion.[3] | Geography of Spain |
941 | Water stress or water lack, poses the greatest threat in Spain. Water scarcity is a significant issue in many regions throughout Spain and climate change may aggravate the problem, with longer periods of dry weather. Supply problems regularly occur in the Jucar basin during summer. In the Segura basin, water scarcity has resulted in an increase of the water prices by 30% for households. Overall, the regions in the south-east of Spain are particularly vulnerable to water shortages. Furthermore, large areas of the Mediterranean are affected by saltwater intrusion.[3] | Geography of Spain |
942 | Three main climatic zones can be separated, according to geographical situation and orographic conditions:[6][7][8][9] | Geography of Spain |
943 | Apart from these main types, other sub-types can be found, like the desertic climate in parts of southeastern Spain, like in coastal Almería. Humid continental, alpine and tundra climates in the Pyrenees and Sierra Nevada, and a typical subtropical climate in the Canary Islands, varying from humid subtropical climates to desertic climates in most of the islands, and a tropical hot semi-arid climate in coastal parts, such as Tenerife or Gran Canaria. | Geography of Spain |
944 | The largest metropolitan areas, based on 2007 population, were:[10] | Geography of Spain |
945 | Islander population:[11] | Geography of Spain |
946 | Natural resources: coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, sepiolite, hydropower, arable land | Geography of Spain |
947 | Land use: | Geography of Spain |
948 | Irrigated land: 38,000Â km2 (2003) | Geography of Spain |
949 | Total renewable water resources: 111.1 cubic metres (2005) | Geography of Spain |
950 | Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): | Geography of Spain |
951 | Natural hazards: periodic droughts, occasional flooding | Geography of Spain |
952 | Environment – Current Issues: | Geography of Spain |
953 | Environment – International Agreements: | Geography of Spain |
954 | A multilayer perceptron (MLP) is a class of feedforward artificial neural network. An MLP consists of at least three layers of nodes. Except for the input nodes, each node is a neuron that uses a nonlinear activation function. MLP utilizes a supervised learning technique called backpropagation for training.[1][2] Its multiple layers and non-linear activation distinguish MLP from a linear perceptron. It can distinguish data that is not linearly separable.[3] | Multilayer perceptron |
955 | Multilayer perceptrons are sometimes colloquially referred to as "vanilla" neural networks, especially when they have a single hidden layer.[4] | Multilayer perceptron |
956 | If a multilayer perceptron has a linear activation function in all neurons, that is, a linear function that maps the weighted inputs to the output of each neuron, then linear algebra shows that any number of layers can be reduced to a two-layer input-output model. In MLPs some neurons use a nonlinear activation function that was developed to model the frequency of action potentials, or firing, of biological neurons. | Multilayer perceptron |
957 | The two common activation functions are both sigmoids, and are described by | Multilayer perceptron |
958 | The first is a hyperbolic tangent that ranges from -1 to 1, while the other is the logistic function, which is similar in shape but ranges from 0 to 1. Here
y
i
{\displaystyle y_{i}}
is the output of the
i
{\displaystyle i}
th node (neuron) and
v
i
{\displaystyle v_{i}}
is the weighted sum of the input connections. Alternative activation functions have been proposed, including the rectifier and softplus functions. More specialized activation functions include radial basis functions (used in radial basis networks, another class of supervised neural network models). | Multilayer perceptron |
959 | The MLP consists of three or more layers (an input and an output layer with one or more hidden layers) of nonlinearly-activating nodes making it a deep neural network. Since MLPs are fully connected, each node in one layer connects with a certain weight
w
i
j
{\displaystyle w_{ij}}
to every node in the following layer. | Multilayer perceptron |
960 | Learning occurs in the perceptron by changing connection weights after each piece of data is processed, based on the amount of error in the output compared to the expected result. This is an example of supervised learning, and is carried out through backpropagation, a generalization of the least mean squares algorithm in the linear perceptron. | Multilayer perceptron |
961 | We represent the error in output node
j
{\displaystyle j}
in the
n
{\displaystyle n}
th data point (training example) by
e
j
(
n
)
=
d
j
(
n
)
−
y
j
(
n
)
{\displaystyle e_{j}(n)=d_{j}(n)-y_{j}(n)}
, where
d
{\displaystyle d}
is the target value and
y
{\displaystyle y}
is the value produced by the perceptron. The node weights are adjusted based on corrections that minimize the error in the entire output, given by | Multilayer perceptron |
962 | Using gradient descent, the change in each weight is | Multilayer perceptron |
963 | where
y
i
{\displaystyle y_{i}}
is the output of the previous neuron and
η
{\displaystyle \eta }
is the learning rate, which is selected to ensure that the weights quickly converge to a response, without oscillations. | Multilayer perceptron |
964 | The derivative to be calculated depends on the induced local field
v
j
{\displaystyle v_{j}}
, which itself varies. It is easy to prove that for an output node this derivative can be simplified to | Multilayer perceptron |
965 | where
ϕ
′
{\displaystyle \phi ^{\prime }}
is the derivative of the activation function described above, which itself does not vary. The analysis is more difficult for the change in weights to a hidden node, but it can be shown that the relevant derivative is | Multilayer perceptron |
966 | This depends on the change in weights of the
k
{\displaystyle k}
th nodes, which represent the output layer. So to change the hidden layer weights, the output layer weights change according to the derivative of the activation function, and so this algorithm represents a backpropagation of the activation function.[5] | Multilayer perceptron |
967 | The term "multilayer perceptron" does not refer to a single perceptron that has multiple layers. Rather, it contains many perceptrons that are organized into layers. An alternative is "multilayer perceptron network". Moreover, MLP "perceptrons" are not perceptrons in the strictest possible sense. True perceptrons are formally a special case of artificial neurons that use a threshold activation function such as the Heaviside step function. MLP perceptrons can employ arbitrary activation functions. A true perceptron performs binary classification (either this or that), an MLP neuron is free to either perform classification or regression, depending upon its activation function. | Multilayer perceptron |
968 | The term "multilayer perceptron" later was applied without respect to nature of the nodes/layers, which can be composed of arbitrarily defined artificial neurons, and not perceptrons specifically. This interpretation avoids the loosening of the definition of "perceptron" to mean an artificial neuron in general. | Multilayer perceptron |
969 | MLPs are useful in research for their ability to solve problems stochastically, which often allows approximate solutions for extremely complex problems like fitness approximation. | Multilayer perceptron |
970 | MLPs are universal function approximators as showed by Cybenko's theorem,[3] so they can be used to create mathematical models by regression analysis. As classification is a particular case of regression when the response variable is categorical, MLPs make good classifier algorithms. | Multilayer perceptron |
971 | MLPs were a popular machine learning solution in the 1980s, finding applications in diverse fields such as speech recognition, image recognition, and machine translation software,[6] but thereafter faced strong competition from much simpler (and related[7]) support vector machines. Interest in backpropagation networks returned due to the successes of deep learning. | Multilayer perceptron |
972 | The Duanwu Festival, also often known, especially in the West, as the Dragon Boat Festival, is a traditional holiday originating in China, occurring near the summer solstice. It is also known as Zhongxiao Festival (Chinese: 忠孝節; pinyin: Zhōngxiàojié), commemorating fealty and filial piety. The festival now occurs on the 5th day of the 5th month of the traditional Chinese calendar, which is the source of the festival's alternative name, the Double Fifth Festival.[1] The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, so the date of the festival varies from year to year on the Gregorian calendar. In 2016, it occurred on June 9; and in 2017, on May 30. | Dragon Boat Festival |
973 | The usual English name for the holiday, "Dragon Boat Festival," directly translates into two alternative Chinese names for the holiday, 龍船節 (Lóngchuánjié) and 龍舟節 (Lóngzhōujié). | Dragon Boat Festival |
974 | The official Chinese name of the festival is 端午节 on the mainland,[2] Malaysia and Singapore,[3] and 端午節 in Taiwan,[4] Hong Kong and Macao.[5] This is pronounced variously in different Chinese languages. In Mandarin, it is romanized as Duānwǔjié on the mainland and Taiwan; in Cantonese, it is romanized as Tuen1 Ng5 Jit3 on Hong Kong and Tung1 Ng5 Jit3 on Macao. All of these names (lit. "Opening the Seventh") refer to its original position as the first seventh-day (午日, Wǔrì) in the fifth month (五月, Wǔyuè) of the traditional Chinese calendar, which was also known as 午 (Wǔ). People's Republic of China use "Dragon Boat Festival" as the official English translation of the holiday,[6][7] while Hong Kong calls it the "Tuen Ng Festival"[3] and Macao calls it "Dragon Boat Festival (Tun Ng)" in English[8] and Festividade do Barco-Dragão (Tung Ng) in Portuguese.[9] | Dragon Boat Festival |
975 | Among Malaysian, Singaporean, and Taiwanese Hokkien speakers, the festival is also known as the "Fifth Month Festival," the "Fifth Day Festival," and the "Dumpling Festival." | Dragon Boat Festival |
976 | In Indonesian, the festival is known as "Peh Cun", which is derived from Hokkien (扒船; pê-chûn). | Dragon Boat Festival |
977 | The story best known in modern China holds that the festival commemorates the death of the poet and minister Qu Yuan (c. 340–278 BC) of the ancient state of Chu during the Warring States period of the Zhou Dynasty.[10] A cadet member of the Chu royal house, Qu served in high offices. However, when the king decided to ally with the increasingly powerful state of Qin, Qu was banished for opposing the alliance and even accused of treason.[10] During his exile, Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry. Twenty-eight years later, Qin captured Ying, the Chu capital. In despair, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River. | Dragon Boat Festival |
978 | It is said that the local people, who admired him, raced out in their boats to save him, or at least retrieve his body. This is said to have been the origin of dragon boat races. When his body could not be found, they dropped balls of sticky rice into the river so that the fish would eat them instead of Qu Yuan's body. This is said to be the origin of zongzi.[10] | Dragon Boat Festival |
979 | Despite the modern popularity of the Qu Yuan origin theory, in the former territory of the Kingdom of Wu, the festival commemorated Wu Zixu (died 484 BC), the Premier of Wu. Xi Shi, a beautiful woman sent by King Goujian of the state of Yue, was much loved by King Fuchai of Wu. Wu Zixu, seeing the dangerous plot of Goujian, warned Fuchai, who became angry at this remark. Wu Zixu was forced to commit suicide by Fuchai, with his body thrown into the river on the fifth day of the fifth month. After his death, in places such as Suzhou, Wu Zixu is remembered during the Duanwu Festival. | Dragon Boat Festival |
980 | Although Wu Zixu is commemorated in southeast Jiangsu and Qu Yuan elsewhere in China, much of Northeastern Zhejiang including the cities of Shaoxing, Ningbo and Zhoushan celebrates the memory of the young girl Cao E (曹娥, AD 130–143) instead. Cao E's father Cao Xu (曹盱) was a shaman who presided over local ceremonies at Shangyu. In 143, while presiding over a ceremony commemorating Wu Zixu during the Duanwu Festival, Cao Xu accidentally fell into the Shun River. Cao E, in an act of filial piety, decided to find her father in the river, searching for 3 days trying to find him. After five days, she and her father were both found dead in the river from drowning. Eight years later, in 151, a temple was built in Shangyu dedicated to the memory of Cao E and her sacrifice for filial piety. The Shun River was renamed Cao'e River in her honour.[11] | Dragon Boat Festival |
981 | Modern research suggests that the stories of Qu Yuan or Wu Zixu were superimposed onto a pre-existing holiday tradition. The promotion of these stories might be encouraged by Confucian scholars, seeking to legitimize and strengthen their influence in China. | Dragon Boat Festival |
982 | The stories of both Qu Yuan and Wu Zixu were recorded in Sima Qian's Shiji, completed 187 and 393 years after the events, respectively, because historians wanted to praise both characters. | Dragon Boat Festival |
983 | Another theory, advanced by Wen Yiduo, is that the Dragon Boat Festival originated from dragon worship. Support is drawn from two key traditions of the festival: the tradition of dragon boat racing and zongzi. The food may have originally represented an offering to the dragon king, while dragon boat racing naturally reflects reverence for the dragon and the active yang energy associated with it. This was merged with the tradition of visiting friends and family on boats. | Dragon Boat Festival |
984 | Another suggestion is that the festival celebrates a widespread feature of east Asian agrarian societies: the harvest of winter wheat. Offerings were regularly made to deities and spirits at such times: in the ancient Yue, dragon kings; in the ancient Chu, Qu Yuan; in the ancient Wu, Wu Zixu (as a river god); in ancient Korea, mountain gods (see Dano). As interactions between different regions increased, these similar festivals eventually merged into one holiday. | Dragon Boat Festival |
985 | The festival was long marked as a cultural festival in China and is a public holiday in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. The People's Republic of China government established in 1949, however, did not officially recognize Duanwu as a public holiday. Beginning in 2005, the government began to plan for the recognition of three traditional holidays, including Duanwu.[12] Since 2008, Duanwu has been celebrated not only as a festival but also as a public holiday in the People's Republic of China.[13] It is unofficially observed by the Chinese communities of Southeast Asia, including Singapore and Malaysia. Equivalent and related official festivals include the Japanese holiday of Children's Day (Japan). | Dragon Boat Festival |
986 | Three of the most widespread activities conducted during the Duanwu Festival are eating (and preparing) zongzi, drinking realgar wine, and racing dragon boats.[14] | Dragon Boat Festival |
987 | Dragon boat racing has a rich history of ancient ceremonial and ritualistic traditions, which originated in southern central China more than 2500 years ago. The legend starts with the story of Qu Yuan, who was a minister in one of the Warring State governments, Chu. He was slandered by jealous government officials and banished by king. Out of disappointment in the Chu monarch, he drowned himself into the Miluo river. The common people rushed to the water and tried to recover his body. In commemoration of Qu Yuan, people hold dragon boat races yearly on the day of his death according to the legend. They also scattered rice into the water to feed the fish, to prevent them from eating Qu Yuan's body, which is one of the origins of zongzi. | Dragon Boat Festival |
988 | A notable part of celebrating Duanwu is making and eating zongzi with other family members. People traditionally wrap zongzi in leaves of bamboo, lotus or banana which give a special aroma and flavor to the sticky rice and fillings. Choices of fillings vary depending on regions. Northern regions in China prefer sweet or dessert-styled zongzi, with bean paste, dates and nuts as fillings. Southern regions in China prefer savory zongzi, with a variety of fillings including marinated pork belly, chicken, sausage and salted duck eggs. | Dragon Boat Festival |
989 | Zongzi are considered as a symbol of luck, as the pronunciation of zong is very similar to the pronunciation of zhong (中). This character has a positive connotation, often used in words such as 中奖 (winning a prize), 科举高中 (scoring high on an exam). | Dragon Boat Festival |
990 | Dragon Boat Festival |
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991 | Realgar wine or xionghuang wine is a Chinese alcoholic drink that is made from Chinese yellow wine dosed with powdered realgar, a yellow-orange arsenic sulfide mineral. Realgar is often used as a pesticide against mosquitoes and other insects during the hot summers, and as a common antidote against poison in ancient Asia. | Dragon Boat Festival |
992 | In some regions of China, parents braid silk threads of 5 colors and put them on the their children's wrists, on the day of Duanwu. People believe that this will help keep bad spirits and disease away. | Dragon Boat Festival |
993 | Other common activities include hanging up icons of Zhong Kui (a mythic guardian figure), hanging mugwort and calamus, taking long walks, and wearing perfumed medicine bags. Other traditional activities include a game of making an egg stand at noon (this "game" implies that if someone succeeds in making the egg stand at exactly 12:00 noon, that person will receive luck for the next year), and writing spells. All of these activities, together with the drinking of realgar wine, were regarded by the ancients as effective in preventing disease or evil, while promoting health and well-being. | Dragon Boat Festival |
994 | In the early years of the Republic of China, Duanwu was celebrated as the "Poets' Day" due to Qu Yuan's status as China's first known poet. The Taiwanese also sometimes conflate the spring practice of egg-balancing with Duanwu.[15] | Dragon Boat Festival |
995 | The sun is considered to be at its strongest around the time of summer solstice, as the daylight in the northern hemisphere is the longest. The sun, like the Chinese dragon, traditionally represents masculine energy, whereas the moon, like the phoenix, traditionally represents feminine energy. The summer solstice is considered the annual peak of male energy while the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, represents the annual peak of feminine energy. The masculine image of the dragon was thus associated with the Dragon Boat Festival.[16] | Dragon Boat Festival |
996 | Susan Banks is a fictional character on NBC's daytime drama Days of Our Lives. She was played by Eileen Davidson from November 4, 1996 to April 8, 1998, and again in 2014 and 2017. Susan is the mother of Elvis "EJ" DiMera, and once acted as Kristen Blake's doppelganger. In November 2011, it was announced that Brynn Thayer would take over the role of Susan, since Davidson was committed to The Young and the Restless. Thayer made her appearance on December 7, 2011.[1] | Susan Banks |
997 | In June 2012, it was announced that Davidson would reprise the role of Kristen Blake, along with her doppelganger, Susan Banks.[2] In July 2012, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Davidson to reprise the role of Kristen Blake in October 2012.[3] | Susan Banks |
998 | In January 2014, it was announced that Davidson would be returning to Days for three-month story arc after having departed with the show in November 2013.[4] In late September 2014, it was announced that Davidson would reprise her role as Susan Banks; her first time portraying the character in 16 years. Davidson returned to the role once again on November 2, 2017. She reprised the role of Susan's sister, Sister Mary Moira on November 21, 2017. | Susan Banks |
999 | The decision to create a storyline in which Stefano hires a doppelganger to impersonate Kristen Blake demanded that the Days producers cast an actress who resembled Davidson. Actress, Brenda Epperson was considered for the role, an actress Davidson suggested to replace her in her role as Ashley Abbott on The Young and the Restless, due to their uncanny resemblance. Instead of casting Epperson, or any actress for that matter, Davidson suggested that she play both roles: Kristen and her alter. The show ultimately agreed.[5] | Susan Banks |