Ruminants
Rough illustration of a ruminant digestive system
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Suborder:	Ruminantia
Families
Antilocapridae Bovidae Cervidae Giraffidae Moschidae Tragulidae

A ruminant is a mammal of the order Artiodactyla that digests plant-based food by initially softening it within the animal's first compartment of the stomach, principally through bacterial actions, then regurgitating the semi-digested mass, now known as cud, and chewing it again. The process of rechewing the cud to further break down plant matter and stimulate digestion is called "ruminating".^[1]

There are about 150 species of ruminants which include both domestic and wild species. Ruminating mammals include cattle, goats, sheep, giraffes, bison, moose, elk, yaks, water buffalo, deer, camels, alpacas, llamas, antelope, pronghorn, and nilgai. Taxonomically, the suborder Ruminantia includes all those species except the camels, llamas, and alpacas, which are Tylopoda. Therefore, the term 'ruminant' is not synonymous with Ruminantia. The word "ruminant" comes from the Latin ruminare, which means "to chew over again".

Explanation[link]

The primary difference between a ruminant and non-ruminant (called monogastrics, such as humans, dogs, and pigs) is that ruminants have a four-compartment stomach. The four parts of the stomach are rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum. In the first two chambers, the rumen and the reticulum, the food is mixed with saliva and separates into layers of solid and liquid material. Solids clump together to form the cud or bolus.

The cud is then regurgitated, chewed to completely mix it with saliva and to break down the particle size. Fiber, especially cellulose and hemi-cellulose, is primarily broken down into the three volatile fatty acids (VFAs), acetic acid, propanoic acid and beta-hydroxybutyric acid, in these chambers by microbes (mostly bacteria and well as some protozoa, fungi and yeast). Protein and non-structural carbohydrate (pectin, sugars, starches) are also fermented.

Even though the rumen and reticulum have different names they represent the same functional space as digesta can move back and forth between them. Together these chambers are called the reticulorumen. The degraded digesta, which is now in the lower liquid part of the reticulorumen, then passes into the next chamber, the omasum, where water and many of the inorganic mineral elements are absorbed into the blood stream.

After this the digesta is moved to the true stomach, the abomasum. The abomasum is the direct equivalent of the monogastric stomach (for example that of the human or pig), and digesta is digested here in much the same way. Digesta is finally moved into the small intestine, where the digestion and absorption of nutrients occurs. Microbes produced in the reticulorumen are also digested in the small intestine. Fermentation continues in the large intestine in the same way as in the reticulorumen.

Only small amounts of glucose are absorbed from dietary carbohydrates. Most dietary carbohydrates are fermented into VFAs in the rumen. The glucose needed as energy for the brain and for lactose and milk fat in milk production, as well as other uses, comes from non-sugar sources such as the VFA propionate, glycerol, lactate and protein. The VFA propionate is used for around 70% of the glucose and glycogen produced and protein for another 20% (50% under starvation conditions). ^{[3] [4]}

Comparison of stomach glandular regions from several mammalian species. Yellow: esophagus; green: aglandular epithelium; purple: cardiac glands; red: gastric glands; blue: pyloric glands; dark blue: duodenum. Frequency of glands may vary more smoothly between regions than is diagrammed here. Asterisk (ruminant) represents the omasum, which is absent in Tylopoda (Tylopoda also has some cardiac glands opening onto ventral reticulum and rumen^[5]) Many other variations exist among the mammals.^[6][7]

Classification[link]

Hofmann and Stewart divided ruminants into three major categories based on their feed type and feeding habits: concentrate selectors; intermediate types; and grass/roughage eaters, with the assumption that feeding habits in ruminants cause morphological differences in their digestive systems, including salivary glands, rumen size, and rumen papillae.^[8][9]

There are also pseudo-ruminants having three-compartment stomach instead of four like ruminants. Monogastric animals such as Guinea pigs, horses and rabbits are not ruminants as they have a simple single-chambered stomach and digest cellulose via an enlarged cecum allowing the easy digestion of fibrous materials. Such animals are called hindgut fermenters.

Abundance, distribution, and domestication[link]

Wild ruminants number at least 75 million and are native to all continents except Australia and Antarctica. Nearly 90% of all species are found in Eurasia and Africa alone. Species inhabit a wide range of climates (from tropic to arctic) and habitats (from open plains to forests).^[10]

The population of domestic ruminants is greater than 3.5 billion, with cattle, sheep, and goats accounting for about 95% of the total population. Goats were domesticated in the Near East at approximately 8,000 B.C. Most other species were domesticated by 2,500 B.C., either in the Near East or southern Asia.^[11]

Ruminant physiology[link]

Ruminating animals have various physiological features which enable them to survive in nature. One feature of ruminants is their continuously growing teeth. During grazing, the silica content in forage causes abrasion of teeth. Abrasion of the teeth is compensated by continuous tooth growth throughout the ruminant's life, as opposed to humans or other non-ruminants whose teeth stop growing after a particular age. Most ruminants do not have upper incisors; instead they have a thick dental pad to thoroughly bite food.^[12] Camels and llamas are exceptions; their dentition shows traces of vesitigial central incisors in the upper jaw.

Rumen microbiology[link]

Vertebrates lack the ability to hydrolyse beta [1-4] glycosidic bond of plant cellulose due to the lack of an enzyme celulase. Thus ruminants must completely depend upon the microbial flora, present in rumen or hindgut, so as to digest cellulose. Digestion of food in rumen is primarily carried out by the rumen microflora which contain dense populations of several species of bacteria, protozoa, sometimes yeasts and fungi. It is estimated that 1mm of rumen contains 10-50 billion bacteria, 1 million protozoa and several yeasts, fungi.^[13]

As the environment inside a rumen is anaerobic, most of these microbial species are obligate or facultative anaerobes which can decompose complex plant material such as cellulose, hemicellulose, starch, proteins. Hydrolysis of cellulose results in sugars which are further fermentated to acetate, lactate, propionate, butyrate, carbon dioxide and methane.

During grazing, ruminants produce large amount of saliva. Estimates are within 100 to 150 litres of saliva per day for an adult cow.^[14] The role of saliva is to provide ample fluid for rumen fermentation and as a buffering agent.^[15] Rumen fermentation produces large amounts of organic acids and thus maintaining the appropriate pH of rumen fluids is a critical factor in rumen fermentation.

Tannin toxicity in ruminant animals[link]

Tannins are phenolic compounds that are commonly found in plants. These compounds play a role in protection from predation, as well as growth regulation, when they are digested by herbivores. Found in the leaf, bud, seed, root, and stem tissues, tannins are widely distributed in many different species of plants. Tannins are separated into two classes: hydrolysable tannins and condensed tannins. Depending on their concentration and nature either class can have adverse or beneficial effects. When ruminants digest some plants, they acquire a surplus of tannins and rumen microbes do not have the enzymatic ability for degrading condensed tannins. In fact, digestion of tannins by ruminants in large amounts can reduce the activity and the proliferation of ruminal microorganisms reducing ruminal biohydrogenation.^[16]

Tannins can also precipitate proteins and inhibit the absorption of nutrients.^[17] Very high levels of tannin intake can produce toxicity that can even cause death. Animals normally consuming tannin-rich plants can develop defensive mechanisms against tannins, such as the strategic deployment of lipids and extracellular polysaccharides that have a high affinity to binding to tannins.^[18] These mechanisms prevent tannins from causing adverse effects on rumen microbes.

Religious importance[link]

The Law of Moses in the Bible allowed only the eating of animals that had cloven hooves and "that chew the cud",^[19] a stipulation preserved to this day in Jewish dietary laws.

Other uses[link]

The verb to ruminate has been extended metaphorically to mean to ponder thoughtfully or to meditate on some topic. Similarly, ideas may be chewed on or digested. Chew the (one's) cud is to reflect or meditate. In psychology, "rumination" refers to a pattern of thinking, and is unrelated to digestive physiology.

Ruminants and climate change[link]

Methane has 23 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide and its production by ruminants may contribute to a greenhouse effect or climate change. Methane production by animals, principally ruminants, is estimated 15-20% global production of methane.^[20][21] The rumen is the major site of methane production in ruminants.^[22]

See also[link]

• Monogastric

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikisource has the text of the 1905 New International Encyclopedia article Ruminant.

• Digestive Physiology of Herbivores - Colorado State University

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. It includes attribution to IMDb, which may not be a reliable source for biographical information. Please help by adding additional, reliable sources for verification. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (December 2010)

Annie Cordy
Born	Léonie Cooreman (1928-06-16) 16 June 1928 (age 84) Laeken, Belgium
Occupation	Actress Vocalist
Years active	1954–present

Léonie Cooreman known under the stage name Annie Cordy (born 16 June 1928) is a Belgian film actress and singer. She has appeared in 50 films since 1954. She has staged many memorable appearances at Bruno Coquatrix' famous Paris Olympia. Her version of "La Ballade de Davy Crockett" was number 1 in the charts for five weeks in France in August 1956.

She was born in Laeken, Belgium, where in 2004, King Albert II of Belgium bestowed upon her the title of Baroness in recognition for her life's achievements.^[where?]

Selected filmography[link]

• Rider on the Rain (1970)
• The Breach (1970)
• Le Chat (1971)
• Le mataf (1973)
• High Street (1976)
• Disco (2008)
• Le crime est notre affaire (2008)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Annie Cordy at the Internet Movie Database
• Annie Cordy at AllRovi

This article about a Belgian actor or actress is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This article about a Belgian singer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

PHASE 2 (aka Lonny Wood)^[1] is one of the most influential and well known New York City aerosol artists. Mostly active in the 1970s, Phase 2 is generally credited with originating the "bubble letter" style of aerosol writing, also known as "softies".^[2] He was also influential in the early hip-hop scene.

Graffiti career[link]

Phase 2 is from The Bronx, and attended DeWitt Clinton High School along with a number of other early graffiti artists. Many famous graffiti writers of the early 1970s would meet at a doughnut shop across from the school called the Coffee Shop before heading down to the subway station at 149th Street and Grand Concourse to watch tagged trains on the IRT line pass by.^[3] Phase 2 was mentored in graffiti by his friend and neighbor Thomas Lee aka Lee 163d!, one of the pioneers of graf writing in The Bronx.^[2]

He began writing in late 1971 under the name Phase 2, a moniker which had a rather mundane provenance. As Phase 2 would later recall, "the previous year we'd given this party. We were getting ready to give another one and I said, 'We'll call this one Phase Two.' I don't know why, but I was stuck on the name. It had meaning for me. I started writing 'Phase 2.'"^[4]

Part of the appeal of graffiti writing for Phase 2 was that it allowed him to get his "name" known yet remain anonymous.^[5] He noted later that tagging provided disadvantaged urban teens "the only significant vehicle to represent their 'existence.'"^[6]

It was in late 1972 that Phase 2 first used an early version of the "bubble letter" or "softie", a style of graffiti writing which would become extremely influential and is considered a "giant leap" in the art form.^[2] The puffed-out, marshmallow-like letters drawn by Phase 2 were soon copied by other artists who added their own variations. Phase himself quickly embellished on his original form, creating and naming dozens of varieties of softies such as "phasemagorical phantastic" (bubble letters with stars), "bubble cloud", and "bubble drip."^[7] He is also credited with pioneering the use of arrows in graf writing around this same time.^[8] Hip-hop journalist Jeff Chang has noted that Phase 2's canvasses from 1973 have "been widely recognized as defining the early genre."^[9]

Over time Phase's work become more and more complex, moving far away from the simple tags of the early 70s to "hieroglyphical calligraphic abstraction."^[5] Chang points out that much of Phase's work involved "deconstructing the letter", transforming characters in the alphabet "into hard lines, third eyes, horns, drills, spikes, Egyptian pharaohs and dogs, pure geometrics."^[9] Another New York graffiti artist, Vulcan, remarked that "one of the things about Phase is that he was the only person at the time whose name could roll by ten times and each piece was different. That's what you noticed about his [work]."^[5]

In 1974 Phase 2 joined the newly created United Graffiti Artists, a professional graffiti collective which began to attract media attention. He was featured in an important essay on graffiti art by Richard Goldstein which appeared in New York magazine and inspired a new generation of graffiti artists.^[2]

In the 1980s, Phase 2 began publishing International Graffiti Times, the first zine about graffiti writing.^[10]

Influence in hip-hop[link]

Unlike some other pioneers of New York City graffiti, Phase 2 had a prominent role in The South Bronx hip-hop scene in the early 1980s. He also continues to be referenced in hip-hop songs.

Phase participated in the legendary hip-hop shows organized by Kool Lady Blue during the summer of 1982 at the Roxy nightclub in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. These shows brought together the top DJ's, MC's, breakers, and aerosol artist from The South Bronx and introduced hip-hop music and culture to the downtown punk and new wave scenes. Phase 2 designed the flyers for these events and often did aerosol pieces live on stage.^[11] He was also part of the first "international" hip-hop tour when stars from the Roxy performances toured in England and France in November of that year.^[12]

Phase 2 was one of the few aerosol artists to be involved in the musical side of hip-hop culture as well. He had a background as a DJ in the very early days of hip-hop, though he never made a name for himself in that role.^[13] In 1982, as part of his involvement with the Roxy scene, Phase released two rap singles. "Beach Boy" was a collaboration with Barry Michael Cooper, who would later co-write the script for New Jack City. "The Roxy" featured the Bill Laswell-led group Material and Grandmixer D.ST, though Phase 2 would later remark that he was disappointed in the song and felt that it "wasn't done properly."^[13][14]

Phase was also an early b-boy and claims that his dance crew pioneered the uprock (or "battle rock") style of dance despite claims that it originated in Brooklyn.^[13] He was thus actively involved in all of the traditional "four elements" of hip-hop culture.

Though he did not have a role in the production, Phase 2 did apparently influence the classic early hip-hop movie Wild Style. In the DVD commentary for the film, director Charlie Ahearn explained that, when thinking about the key character named "Phade", he had Phase 2 in mind (either to actually play the part or simply as a model) because Phase was a legendary graffiti writer from the past who was also involved in the hip-hop scene, as was the character of Phade. The role would ultimately be played by Fab 5 Freddy, himself a graffiti artist who along with Ahearn was the major creative force behind Wild Style. Phase 2 did take on an official role in another early hip-hop film when he worked as a graffiti consultant on the 1984 movie Beat Street.^[15]

In his 1995 song "Out for Fame" - an homage to graffiti artists and culture - KRS-One implores his audience "in the name of Phase 2" and fellow Bronx graffiti legend Stay High to "grab your cans and hit the streets." Several years later Mos Def mentioned Phase 2 on his widely respected debut album Black on Both Sides, specifically on the track "Hip Hop", in which he noted that hip-hop itself was "all city like Phase 2" - presumably a reference to the ubiquity of Phase 2's graffiti pieces on trains throughout the city during the early 1970s. In 1996, he appeared in the song I Messaggeri Pt.I contained in italian artist Neffa's album I Messaggeri della Dopa.

References[link]

Works cited[link]

• George, Nelson Buppies, B-boys, Baps & Bohos: Notes on Post-Soul Black Culture. Da Capo Press. 2001. ISBN 0-306-81027-1. 
• Chang, Jeff (2005). Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation. Picador. ISBN 0-312-42579-1.
• Castleman, Craig (1982). Getting Up: Subway Graffiti in New York. MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-53051-1. 

External links[link]

• Adam Mansbach interview with PHASE 2
• "Writer of the Storm", Raw Vision interview with PHASE 2

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