AMINE AND MANGA - My Blog

Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's cells – such as nutrients and oxygen – and transports waste products away from those same cells.

In vertebrates, it is composed of blood cells suspended in a liquid called blood plasma. Plasma, which comprises 55% of blood fluid, is mostly water (90% by volume), and contains dissolved proteins, glucose, mineral ions, hormones, carbon dioxide (plasma being the main medium for excretory product transportation), platelets and blood cells themselves. The blood cells present in blood are mainly red blood cells (also called RBCs or erythrocytes) and white blood cells, including leukocytes and platelets. The most abundant cells in vertebrate blood are red blood cells. These contain hemoglobin, an iron-containing protein, which facilitates transportation of oxygen by reversibly binding to this respiratory gas and greatly increasing its solubility in blood. In contrast, carbon dioxide is almost entirely transported extracellularly dissolved in plasma as bicarbonate ion.

Vertebrate blood is bright red when its hemoglobin is oxygenated. Some animals, such as crustaceans and mollusks, use hemocyanin to carry oxygen, instead of hemoglobin. Insects and some molluscs use a fluid called hemolymph instead of blood, the difference being that hemolymph is not contained in a closed circulatory system. In most insects, this "blood" does not contain oxygen-carrying molecules such as hemoglobin because their bodies are small enough for their tracheal system to suffice for supplying oxygen.

Jawed vertebrates have an adaptive immune system, based largely on white blood cells. White blood cells help to resist infections and parasites. Platelets are important in the clotting of blood. Arthropods, using hemolymph, have hemocytes as part of their immune system.

Blood is circulated around the body through blood vessels by the pumping action of the heart. In animals with lungs, arterial blood carries oxygen from inhaled air to the tissues of the body, and venous blood carries carbon dioxide, a waste product of metabolism produced by cells, from the tissues to the lungs to be exhaled.

Medical terms related to blood often begin with hemo- or hemato- (also spelled haemo- and haemato-) from the Ancient Greek word αἷμα (haima) for "blood". In terms of anatomy and histology, blood is considered a specialized form of connective tissue, given its origin in the bones and the presence of potential molecular fibers in the form of fibrinogen.

Desolate North is the debut studio album by the funeral doom metal band Celestiial, released by Bindrune Recordings in 2006. It comprised the five tracks from Celestiial's demo, Ashen, combined with three more tracks recorded separately. It was written and performed entirely by Tanner Anderson, the sole member of Celestiial, and was never written to be an album or to be performed.

The recording of the album was also done entirely by Anderson, and was done in three parts. Firstly, the material for Ashen was recorded at the rehearsal space he shared with the black metal band Azrael, then the three extra tracks were recorded at the same place, and then the hard pieces were recorded at Anderson's home.

The album received mixed reviews—some critics claimed it was fresh and a new sound, while others argued it was very similar to music already available. The music itself has been described as extremely slow, with various woodland sounds, such as running water and footsteps. Many people have drawn a comparison to dark ambient through sound, and black metal through imagery.

Cardcaptor Sakura (カードキャプターさくら, Kādokyaputā Sakura), abbreviated as CCS and also known as Cardcaptors, is a Japanese shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Clamp. It was originally serialized in Nakayoshi from 1996 until 2000, and published in twelve tankōbon volumes by Kodansha. The series focuses on Sakura Kinomoto, who learns she has magical powers after she accidentally frees a set of magical cards from a book and must recollect them to avoid an unknown catastrophe from befalling the world. Along the way, she befriends Syaoran Li, a descendant of the maker of the cards, who initially is her rival for the cards and in love.

The series was adapted into a 70 episode anime television series by Madhouse that debuted on NHK on April 8, 1998; the final episode aired March 21, 2000. Two anime films were also produced by Madhouse, the first, set between the first and second seasons of the series, was released on August 21, 1999. The second, providing a conclusion for the anime series, was released July 15, 2000. Ten video games have been created for the Cardcaptor Sakura series for a variety of game platforms.

Tokyopop licensed the manga series for English-language publication in North America and released the complete series as both individual volumes, and in three-volume box sets. Its licensed expired and was not renewed, causing its editions to go out of print. In July 2009, Dark Horse Comics acquired the license for the series with plans to release it in omnibus editions. Nelvana licensed the anime series for North American broadcast and distribution. Heavily edited and dubbed, 39 episodes of the series, renamed Cardcaptors, aired on Kids' WB and Cartoon Network. The episodes were released to DVD, and later all 70 dubbed episodes aired in other English-speaking countries. The series was subsequently re-licensed by Geneon Entertainment, which released the entire series in unedited form to Region 1 DVD with the original Japanese audio track and English subtitles. Both companies also released their respective English versions of the two films.

The manga series was awarded the Seiun Award for Best Manga in 2001, while the anime adaptation won the Animage Grand Prix award for best anime.