Apex

Apex may refer to:

Astronomy

Biology

Places

Organizations

Apex (headdress)

The apex was a cap worn by the flamines and Salii at Rome. The essential part of the apex, to which alone the name properly belonged, was a pointed piece of olive-wood, the base of which was surrounded with a lock of wool. This was worn on the top of the head, and was held there either by fillets only, or, as was more commonly the case, was also fastened by means of two strings or bands, which were called apicula (Festus, s.v.), or offendices (Festus, s.v.), though the latter word is also interpreted to mean a kind of button, by which the strings were fastened under the chin (cf. Serv. ad Virg. Aen. ii.683, viii.664, x.270).

The flamines were forbidden by law to go into public, or even into the open air without the apex (Gellius x.15), and hence we find the expression of alicui apicem dialem imponere used as equivalent to the appointment of a Flamen Dialis (Livy vi.41). Sulpicius was deprived of the priesthood, only because the apex fell from his head whilst he was sacrificing (Valerius Maximus i.1 §5).

Apex (mollusc)

In anatomy, an apex (adjectival form: apical) is part of the shell of a mollusk. The apex is the pointed tip (the oldest part) of the shell of a gastropod, scaphopod, or cephalopod.

Gastropods

The word "apex" is most often used to mean the tip of the spire of the shell of a gastropod. The apex is the first-formed, and therefore the oldest, part of the shell.

To be more precise, the apex would usually be where the tip of the embryonic shell or protoconch is situated, if that is still present in the adult shell (often it is lost or eroded away).

Coiled gastropod shells

The phrase apical whorls, or protoconch, means the whorls that constitute the embryonic shell at the apex of the shell, especially when this is clearly distinguishable from the later whorls of the shell, otherwise known as the teleoconch.

Comparison of the apical part and the whole shell of Otukaia kiheiziebisu:

Limpet-like gastropod shells

Where this feature is present, the space under the apex of a patellate or patelliform (limpet-like) gastropod shell is called the apical cavity.

Juniper

Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus /dʒuːˈnɪpərəs/ of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, between 50 and 67 species of juniper are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the mountains of Central America and Ziarat Pakistan. The highest-known Juniper forest occurs at altitude of 4,900 metres in south-eastern Tibet and the northern Himalayas, creating one of the highest tree-lines on earth.

Description

Junipers vary in size and shape from tall trees, 20–40 m (66–131 ft) tall, to columnar or low spreading shrubs with long trailing branches. They are evergreen with needle-like and/or scale-like leaves. They can be either monoecious or dioecious. The female seed cones are very distinctive, with fleshy, fruit-like coalescing scales which fuse together to form a "berry"-like structure, 4–27 mm (0.16–1.06 in) long, with 1–12 unwinged, hard-shelled seeds. In some species these "berries" are red-brown or orange but in most they are blue; they are often aromatic and can be used as a spice. The seed maturation time varies between species from 6–18 months after pollination. The male cones are similar to those of other Cupressaceae, with 6–20 scales.

Juniper (band)

Juniper were an Irish rock band from County Kildare, most widely known today as a precursor to Damien Rice and Bell X1. The band consisted of Rice (under the pseudonym Dodi Ma), Paul Noonan, Brian Crosby, Dominic Philips and David Geraghty. They released two extended plays, The J-Plane (1994) and Manna (1996).

The band's only two singles, "Weatherman" and "World Is Dead", charted in Ireland when released in 1998. Juniper also appeared on a compilation album, Natural Born Elvis (1998). They split over creative differences soon after, with Rice going on to have a successful solo career and the remaining members forming Bell X1.

History

Early years (1991–1996)

Juniper were founded in 1991 by Damien Rice, Paul Noonan, Dominic Philips and Brian Crosby whilst they were students attending Salesian College secondary school in Celbridge. There was a fifth member a female singer Lisa Thompson that joined for a 2-year period 1991 to 1992, contributing to lead vocals and backing vocals at the time. Noonan played the drums, Philips and Crosby played guitar, Rice performed vocals. Rice referred to himself as Dodi Ma during Juniper's existence. David Geraghty joined the band later. Geraghty's girlfriend was studying for her Leaving Certificate alongside Rice. Geraghty and Rice met first as the other members were in the United States after obtaining J-1 visas. Geraghty later recalled those days:

Alstom Coradia Juniper

The Coradia Juniper series is a family of electric multiple unit trains built by Alstom Transport Birmingham, subcontractor: Ganz Hunslet, Hungary, for use on the railway network in Great Britain. The family is related to the Coradia 1000 series of diesel multiple unit.

There are currently two types in service with various TOCs, with a total of 76 units in service (36 class 458s and 40 class 334s). All Class 460s are now converted to Class 458/5s for South West Trains.

Variants

Class 334

The Class 334 is an EMU in service with First ScotRail on the suburban network around Glasgow, including services to Edinburgh Waverley via Airdrie and Bathgate on the North Clyde Line. Class 334 trains are powered using overhead wires at 25 kV AC. A total of 40 three car units are in use (numbered 001-040), of which 38 were delivered from Alstom trains in 1999, although due to teething problems, two extra were ordered and they did not enter service until 2001.

Class 458

The Class 458 (also known as 4Jop) is operated by South West Trains on services from London Waterloo to Reading, and Ascot to Guildford. As with all electrically powered trains on the former Southern Region, the Class 458 units are powered using third rail at 750 V DC current. A total of thirty 4-car units were built, with deliveries beginning in 1998, with the full complement in service by 2004. However, they suffered from leaky roofs and failing electronics and were therefore stored from 2004 to late 2005, being replaced by more Class 450 units on the routes they operated. For a brief period, they were subleased to Gatwick Express, but were never used on Gatwick Express Services.