Rome and the eternal city

The history of the Roman Empire can be divided into three distinct periods: The Period of Kings (625-510 BC), Republican Rome (510-31 BC), and Imperial Rome (31 BC- AD 476). Rome was founded around 625 BC in the areas of ancient Italy known as Etruria and Latium. It is thought that the city-state of Rome was initially formed by Latium villagers joining together with settlers from the surrounding hills in response to an Etruscan invasion.

It is unclear whether they came together in defense or as a result of being brought under Etruscan rule. Archaeological evidence indicates that a great deal of change and unification took place around 600 BC which likely led to the establishment of Rome as a true city. The firs period in Roman history is known as the Period of Kings, and it lasted from Rome's founding until 510 BC. During this brief time Rome, led by no fewer than six kings, advanced both militaristically and economically with increases in physical boundaries, military might, and production and trade of goods including oil lamps.

Politically, this period saw the early formation of the Roman constitution. The end of the Period of Kings came with the decline of Etruscan power, thus ushering in Rome's Republican Period. Rome entered its Republican Period in 510 BC. No longer ruled by kings, the Romans established a new form of government whereby the upper classes ruled, namely the senators and the equestrians, or knights. However, a dictator could be nominated in times of crisis.

In 451 BC, the Romans established the «twelve tables», a standardized code of laws meant for public, private, and political matters. Rome continued to expand through the Republican Period and gained control over the entire Italian peninsula by 338 BC. It was the Punic Wars from 264-146 BC, along with some conflicts with Greece, that allowed Rome to take control of Carthage and Corinth and thus become the dominant maritime power in the Mediterranean.

Soon after, Rome's political atmosphere pushed the Republic into a period of chaos and civil war. This led to the election of a dictator, L. Cornelius Sulla, who served from 82-80 BC. Following Sulla's resignation in 79 BC, the Republic returned to a state of unrest. While Rome continued to be governed as a Republic for another 50 years, the shift to Imperialism began to materialize in 60 BC when Julius Caesar rose to power.

By 51 BC, Julius Caesar had conquered Celtic Gaul and, for the first time, Rome's borders had spread beyond the Mediterranean region. Although the Senate was still Rome's governing body, its power was weakening. Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC and replaced by his heir, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (Octavian) who ruled alongside Mark Antony. In 31 BC Rome overtook Egypt which which resulted in the death of Mark Antony and left Octavian as the unchallenged ruler of Rome. Octavian assumed the title of Augustus and thus became the first emperor of Rome.

Rome's Imperial Period was its last, beginning with the rise of Rome's first emperor in 31 BC and lasting until the fall of Rome in AD 476. During this period, Rome saw several decades of peace, prosperity, and expansion. By AD 117, the Roman Empire had reached its maximum extant, spanning three continents including Asia Minor, northern Africa, and most of Europe.

In AD 286 the Roman Empire was split into eastern and western empires, each ruled by its own emperor. The western empire suffered several Gothic invasion and, in AD 455, was sacked by Vandals. Rome continued to decline after that until AD 476 when the western Roman Empire came to an end. The eastern Roman Empire, more commonly known as the Byzantine Empire, survived until the 15th century Ad. It fell when Turks tood control of its capital city, Constantinople (modern day Istanbul in Turkey) in AD 1453.

Singapore

Singapore, officially the Republic of singapore is a soverign city-state and island country in Southeast Asia. It lies one degree (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator; at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, with Indonesia's Riaou Islands to the south and Peningular Malaysiato the north. 

Singapore's territory consists of one main island along with 62 other islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its total size by 23% (130 square kilometres or 50 square miles). The country is known for its transition from third world to first world in a single generation, under the leadership of its founding father Lee Kuan Yew.

Stamford Raffles founded colonial Singapore in 1819 as a trading post of the British East India Company. After the company's collapse in 1858, the islands were ceded to the British Raj as a crown colony. During the Second World War, Singapore was occupied by Japan. It gained independence from the UK in 1963 by federating with other former British territories to form Malaysia, but separated two years later over ideological differences, becoming a sovereign nation in 1965. After early years of turbulence and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation developed rapidly as an Asian Tiger economy, based on external trade and its workforce.

Singapore is a global hub for education, entertainment, finance, healthcare, human capital, innovation, logistics, manufacturing, technology, tourism, trade and transport. The city ranks highly in numerous international rankings and has been recognized as the most "technology-ready" nation (WEF), top International-meetings city (UIA), city with "best investment potential" (BERI), world's smartest city, world's safest country, second-most competitive country, third-largest foreign exchange market, third-largest financial centre, third-largest oil refining and trading centre, fith-most innovative country, and the second-busiest container port.

The Economist has ranked Singapore as the most expensive city to live in, since 2013. It is identified as a tax haven. Singapore is the only country in Asia with an AAA sovereign rating from all major rating agencies, and one of 11 worldwide. Globally, the Port of Singapore and Changi Airport have held the titles or leading "Maritime Capital" and "Best Airport" respectively for consecutive years, while Singapore Airlines is the 2018 "World's Best Airline".

Paris

Paris is the capital and most populous city of France, with an area of 105 square kilometres (41 square miles) and a population of 2.206.488. With 200.000 inhabitants in 1328, Paris, then already the capital of France, was the most populous city of Europe. By comparison, London in 1300 had 80.000 inhabitants. Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of Europe's major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, music, and painting.

The Paris Region had a GDP of €681 billion (US$850 billion) in 2016, accounting for 31 per cent of the GDP of France. In 2013-14, the Paris Region had the third-highest GDP in the world and the largest regional GDP in the EU. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit Worldwide Cost of Living Survey in 2018, Paris was the second-most expensive city in the world, behind Singapore and ahead of Zurich, Hong Kong, Oslo and Geneva.

The City of Paris's administrative limits form and East-West oval centred on the island at its historical heart, the Ile de La Citè; this island is near the top of an arc of the river Seine that divides the city into southern Rive Gauche (Left Bank) and northern Rive Droite regions. Paris is the core of a built-up area that extendes well beyond its limits: commonly reterred to as theagglomeration Parisienne, and statistically as aunite urbaine (a measure of urban area), the Paris agglomeration's 2013 population of 10.601.122 made it the largest urban area in the European Union, City-influenced commuter activity reaches well beyond even this in a statistical aire urbaine de Paris (a measure of metropolitan area), that had a 2013 population of 12.405.426, a number one-fith the population of France, the largest metropolitan area in the Eurozone.

Public Health

Public health is «the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting human health through organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals». Analyzing the health of a population and the threats is the basis for public health. The «public» in question can be as small as a handful of people, an entire village or it can be as large as several continents, in the case of a pandemic.

«Health» takes into account physical, mental and social well-being. It is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, according to the World Health Organization. Public health is interdisciplinary. For example, epidemiology, biostatistics and health services are all relevant. Environmental health, community health, behavioral health, health economics, public policy, mental health and occupational safety, gender issues in health, sexual and reproductive health are other important subfields.

Public health aims to improve the quality of life through prevention and treatment of disease, including mental health. This is done through the surveillance of cases and health indicators, and through the promotion of healthy behaviors. Common public health initiatives include promoting handwashing and breastfeeding, delivery of vaccinations, suicide prevention and distribution of condoms to control the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

Modern public health practice requires multidisciplinary teams of public health workers and professionals. Teams might include epidemiologists, biostatisticians, medical assistants, public health nurses, midwives or medical microbiologists. Depending on the need environmental health officers or public health inspectors, bioethicists, and even veterinarians, Gender experts, Sexual and reproductive health specialists might be called on. Access to health care and public health initiatives are difficult challenges in developing countries. Public health infrastructures are still forming in those countries.

The focus of a public health interventionis to prevent and manage diseases, injuries and other health conditions through surveillance of cases and the promotion of healthy behaviors, communities and environments. Many diseases are preventable through simple, nonmedical methods. For example, research has shown that the simple act of handwashing with soap can preventthe spread of many contagious diseases. In other cases, treating a disease or controlling apthogen can be vital to preventing its spread to others, either during and outbreak of infectious disease or through contamination of food or water supplies.

Public health communications programs, vaccination programs and distribution of contoms are examples of common preventive public health measures. Measures such as these have contributed greatly to the health of populations and increases in life expectancy. Public health plays an important role in disease prevention efforts in both the developing world and in developed countries through local health systems and non-governmental organizations.

Functional Food

A functional food is a food given an additonal function (often one related to health-promotion or disease prevention) by adding new ingredients or more of existing ingredients. The term may also apply to traits purposely bred into existing edible plants, such as purple or gold potatoes having enriched anthocyanin or carotenoid contents, respectively. 

Functional foods may be "designed to have physiological benefits and/or reduce the risk of chronic disease beyond basic nutritional functions, and may be similar in appearance to conventional food and consumed as part or a regular diet". The term was first used in Japan in the 80s where there is a government approval process for functional foods called Foods for Specified Health Use (FOSHU).

The functional food industry, consisting of food, beverage and supplement sectors, is one of the several areas of the food industry that is experiencing fast growth in recent years. It is extimated that the global market of functional food industry will reach 176.7 billion in 2013 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.4%. 

Specifically, the functional food sector will experience 6.9% CAGR, the supplement sector will rise by 3.8% and the functional beverage sector will be the fastest growing segment with 10.8% CAGR. This kind of growth is fueled not only by industrial innovation and development of new products that satisfy the demand of health conscious consumers, but also by health claims covering a wide range of health issues.

Yet, consumer skepticism persists mainly because benefits associated with consuming the products may be difficult to detect. Strict examination of some of the functional food claims may discourage some companies from launching their products. 

Gazpacho and health

Andalusian gazpacho or Gabacho is a cold soup made of raw blended vegetables. A classic of Spanish cuisine, it originated in the southern region of Andalusia. Gazpacho is widely eaten in Spain and Portugal, particularly during the hot summers, as it is refreshing and cool. There are other recipes called gabacho, such as gazpacho manchego, which is very different from Andalusian gazpacho. 

There are also a number of dishes that are closely related to Andalusian gazpacho and often considered variants thereof, such as ajoblanco, salmorejo, pipirrana, porra antequerana (closer to a bread soup), cojondongo and Portuguese gaspacho. Gazpacho has ancient roots. There are a number of theories of its origin, including as a soup ofbread, olive oil, water and garlic that arrived in Spain and Portugal with the Romans and also with the addition of vinegar.

Once in Spain, it became a part of Andalusian cuisine, particularly Córdoba, Seville and Granada, using stale bread, garlic, olive oil, salt, and vinegar, similar to ajoblanco. During the 19th century, the red gazpacho evolved when tomatoes were added among the ingredients. This version was spread internationally. There are many modern variations of gazpacho, often in different colors and omitting the tomatoes and bread in favor of avocados, cucumbers, parsley, watermelon, grapes, meat stock, seafood, and other ingredients.

In Andalusia, most gazpacho recipes typically include stale bread, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, onion and garlic, olive oil, wine, vinegar, water, and salt. 

The turnip

The turnip or whipe turnip (Brassica rapa subsp. rapa) is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, bulbous taproot. The word turnip is a compound of tur- as in turned-rounded on a lathe and neep, derived from Latin napus, the word for the plant. Small, tender varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties are grown as feed for livestock.

In the north of England, Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall and eastern Canada (Newfoundland), turnip (or neep) often refers to rutabaga, a larger, yellow root vegetable in the same genus (Brassica) also known as swede (from "Swedish turnip"). The most common type of turnip is mostly white-skinned apart from the upper 1-6 centimetres, which protrude above the ground and are purple or red or greenish where the sun has hit. 

This above-ground part develops from stem tissue, but is fused with the root. The interior flesh is entirely white. The root is roughly globular; from 5-20 centimetres in diameter, and lacks side roots. Underneath, the taproot (the normal root below the swollen storage root) is thin and 10 centimetres (3,9 in) or more in length; it is trimmed off before the vegetables is sold. 

The leaves grow directly from the above-ground shoulder of the root, with little or no visible crown or neck (as found in rutabagas). Turnip leaves are sometimes eaten as "turnip greens" ("turnip tops" in the UK), and they resemble mustard greens (to which they are closely related) in flavor. Turnip greens are a common side dish in southeastern US cooking, primarily during late fall and winter.

Smaller leaves are preferred, but the bitter taste of larger leaves can be reduced by pouring off the water from the initial boiling and replacing it with fresh water. Varieties of turnip grown specifically for their leaves resemble mustard greens and have small or no storage roots. These include rapini (broccoli rabe), bok choy, and Chinese cabbage. Similar to raw cabbage or radish, turnip leaves and roots have a pungent flavor that becomes milder after cooking.

Turnip roots weigh up to 1 kilogram (2.2 lb), although they are usually harvested when smaller. Size is partly a function of variety and partly a function of the length of time the turnip has grown. Most very small turnips (also called baby turnips) are specialty varieties. These are only available when freshly harvested and do not keep well. Most baby turnips can be eaten whole, including their leaves.

Baby turnips are sold in yellow, orange, and red-fleshed varieties, as well as white-fleshed. Their flavor is mild, so the can be eaten raw in salads like radishes and other vegetables. The benefits derived from turnip husbandry are of great magnitude; light soils are cultivated with profit and facility; abundance of food is provided for man and beast; the earth is turned to the uses for which it is physically calculated, and by being suitably cleaned with this preparatory crop, a bed is provided for grass seeds, wherein they flourish and prosper with greater vigor than after any other preparation.

The first ploughing is given immediately after harvest, or as soon as the wheat seed is finished, either in length or across the field, as circumstances may seem to require. In this state the ground remains till the oat seed is finished, when a second ploughing is given to it, usually in a contrary direction to the first. It is then repeatedly harrowed, often rolled between the harrowings and every particle of root-weeds carefully picked off with the hand; a third ploughing is then bestowed, and the other operations are repeated.

In this stage, if the ground has not been very foul, the seed process. The next part of the process is the sowing of the seed; this may be performed by drilling machines of different sizes and constructions, through all acting on the same principle. A machine drawn by a horse in a pair of shafts, sows two drills at a time and answers extremely well, where the ground is flat, and the drills properly made up.

Politics of the United States

The United States is a federal republic in which the president, Congress, and federal courts share powers reserved to the national government according to its Constitution. The federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments. The executive branch is headed by the President and is formally independent of both the legislature and the judiciary.

The cabinet serves as a set of advisers to the President. They include the Vice President and heads of the executive departments. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The judicial branch (or judiciary), composed of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts, exercises judicial power.

The judiciary's function is to interpret the United States Constitution and federal laws and regulations. This includes resolving disputes between the executive and legislative branches. The federal government's structure is codified in the Constitution. Two political parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, have dominated American politics since the American Civil War, although smaller parties exist such as the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, and the Constitution Party. 

Generally, the Democratic Party is commonly known as the left-wing party within the United States, while the Republican Party is commonly known as the United States'right-wing party. There are a few major differences between the political system of the United States and that of most other developed democracies. These include greater power in the upper house of the legislature, a wider scope of power held by the Supreme Court, the separation of powers between the legislature and the executive, and the dominance of only two main parties.