- published: 08 Dec 2008
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The WIR Bank, formerly the Swiss Economic Circle (GER: Wirtschaftsring-Genossenschaft), or WIR, is an independent complementary currency system in Switzerland that serves businesses in hospitality, construction, manufacturing, retail and professional services. WIR issues and manages a private currency, called the WIR Franc, which is used, in combination with Swiss Franc to generate dual-currency transactions. The WIR Franc is an electronic currency reflected in clients' trade accounts and there is no paper money. The use of this currency results in increased sales, cash flow and profits for a qualified participant. WIR has perfected the system by creating a credit system which issues credit, in WIR Francs, to its members. The credit lines are secured by members pledging assets. This ensures that the currency is asset-backed. When two members enter into a transaction with both Swiss Francs and WIR Francs it reduces the amount of cash needed by the buyer; the seller does not discount its product or service.
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy. Twins can either be monozygotic ("identical"), meaning that they can develop from just one zygote that will then split and form two embryos, or dizygotic ("fraternal"), meaning that they can develop from two different eggs; each are fertilized by separate sperm cells.
In contrast, a fetus which develops alone in the womb is called a singleton, and the general term for one offspring of a multiple birth is multiple.
The twin birth rate in the United States rose 76% from 1980 through 2009, from 18.9 to 33.3 per 1,000 births. The Yoruba have the highest rate of twinning in the world, at 45–50 twin sets (or 90–100 twins) per 1,000 live births, possibly because of high consumption of a specific type of yam containing a natural phytoestrogen which may stimulate the ovaries to release an egg from each side.
In Central Africa there are 18–30 twin sets (or 36–60 twins) per 1,000 live births. In Latin America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, the lowest rates are found; only 6 to 9 twin sets per 1,000 live births. North America and Europe have intermediate rates of 9 to 16 twin sets per 1,000 live births.