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.

Machete

A machete (/məˈʃɛti/; Spanish pronunciation: [maˈtʃete]) is a large cleaver-like knife. The blade is typically 32.5 to 45 centimetres (12.8 to 17.7 in) long and usually under 3 millimetres (0.12 in) thick. In the Spanish language, the word is a diminutive form of the word macho, which means male or strong and was used to refer to sledgehammers. In the English language, an equivalent term is matchet, though it is less commonly known. In the English-speaking Caribbean, such as Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana, Grenada and in Trinidad and Tobago, the term "cutlass" is used for these agricultural tools.

Uses

In agriculture

In various tropical and subtropical countries, the machete is frequently used to cut through rain forest undergrowth and for agricultural purposes (e.g. cutting sugar cane). Besides this, in Latin America a common use is for such household tasks as cutting large foodstuffs into pieces—much as a cleaver is used—or to perform crude cutting tasks, such as making simple wooden handles for other tools. It is common to see people using machetes for other jobs, such as splitting open coconuts, yard work, removing small branches and plants, chopping animals' food, and clearing bushes.

Ricky Vega

Ephraim Vega (born December 2, 1976) is an Puerto Rican American professional wrestler and is best known working Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Machete, and Internationally under the name Ricky Vega. Vega was a standout high school football star, and was named to All-Section, All-conference, and All-county 1st teams his junior and senior year. A knee injury prevented Vega from playing college football, however, he did go on to have a successful career in the Insurance business before deciding on pursuing a wrestling career. Ephraim Vega was a freelance journalist, and wrote a column for Examiner.com/Kansas City, under general sports. Vega currently works in law enforcement as a Police Officer.

Professional wrestling career

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

In February 2006 at Against All Odds, Vega debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as "Machete", replacing Apollo as a member of The Latin American Xchange (LAX). The LAX lost the match to The James Gang (B.G. James and Kip James) when B.G. pinned Machete. LAX went on to defeat "La Migra" on Impact! and interfere in James Gang matches until the feud came to a head when LAX faced The James Gang in a rematch at Destination X on March 12 but lost after Machete was pinned by Kip.

Cavaquinho

The cavaquinho (pronounced [kɐvɐˈkiɲu] in Portuguese) is a small string instrument of the European guitar family with four wire or gut strings. A cavaquinho player is called a cavaquista.

The most common tuning is D-G-B-D (from lower to higher pitches); other tunings include D-A-B-E (Portuguese ancient tuning, made popular by Júlio Pereira) and G-G-B-D and A-A-C#-E. Guitarists often use D-G-B-E tuning to emulate the highest four strings of the guitar (also the same tuning as the baritone ukulele). The G-C-E-A tuning is sometimes used to emulate the soprano/tenor ukulele, an instrument developed from the braguinha and rajão, brought to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants, from Madeira Island, in the late 19th century.

Origins

The origins of this Portuguese instrument are not easily found. Gonçalo Sampaio, who explains the survival of Minho region’s archaic and Hellenistic modes by possible Greek influences on the ancient Gallaeci of the region, stresses the link between this instrument and historical Hellenistic tetrachords. The author holds that the cavaquinho and the guitar may have been brought to Braga by the Biscayans.