NF (born Nathan John Feuerstein; March 30, 1991) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter recognized for his cinematic production style and lyrics exploring personal trauma, mental health challenges, and faith.[1][2] Raised in Michigan amid a difficult childhood marked by family separation and his mother's addiction, Feuerstein adopted the moniker NF—deriving from his initials—and began releasing independent music in the early 2010s, gaining traction through self-released EPs like I'm Free (2012) and viral singles addressing inner conflict.[3] His breakthrough came with albums such as Mansion (2015) and Therapy Session (2016), which blended aggressive flows with introspective storytelling, leading to major-label deals and commercial peaks including two consecutive Billboard 200 number-one albums, Perception (2017) and The Search (2019).[2] While achieving multi-platinum sales and widespread streaming success without heavy reliance on self-promotion, NF has drawn both acclaim for authentically confronting depression and anxiety—issues he channels as therapeutic outlets—and criticism from segments of the hip-hop community for diverging from genre conventions, with some dismissing his narratives as overly dramatic or his avoidance of explicit "Christian rap" branding as inconsistent despite evident spiritual undertones.[4][5]
Music
NF (rapper)
Nathan John Feuerstein, known professionally as NF, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter born on March 30, 1991, in Gladwin, Michigan. Raised primarily by his father after his parents' divorce, Feuerstein developed an interest in music during a challenging childhood marked by family struggles, including his mother's death from a drug overdose. He initially gained traction in Christian hip-hop circles before transitioning to broader mainstream appeal through introspective, narrative-driven tracks.[6][7]NF's major-label debut, the album Mansion, arrived on March 31, 2015, setting the stage for his exploration of personal demons through conceptual storytelling. Breakthrough came with Perception on October 6, 2017, which debuted at number one on the Billboard Christian Albums chart and featured the single "Let You Down," peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 after steady radio airplay gains. Subsequent releases The Search (August 2019), also topping the Billboard 200, Hope (April 7, 2023), and the six-song EP FEAR (November 14, 2025, via NF Real Music LLC and Capitol Music Group, featuring collaborations with mgk and James Arthur) continued this trajectory, with all emphasizing dense, cinematic production, rapid multisyllabic flows, and lyrics confronting trauma, anxiety, mental health battles, and elements of faith without overt proselytizing. The latter included the collaboration "Careful" with rapper Cordae, blending NF's signature intensity with guest verses on caution in relationships.[8][9][10][11]NF's style draws comparisons to Eminem for its technical precision and emotional rawness, prioritizing first-person narratives over braggadocio common in rap. Hope topped Billboard's Christian and rap album charts, reflecting sustained commercial viability in niche genres amid broader hip-hop fragmentation. The supporting Hope Tour (2023–2024) sold over 250,000 tickets in North America alone, with sold-out European legs and arena extensions into 2024 underscoring empirical demand. In July 2025, NF teased upcoming material via X (formerly Twitter), noting he possesses completed songs pending video production, which preceded the release of FEAR.[12][13]Reception highlights NF's authenticity and lyrical dexterity, earning respect in hip-hop communities for elevating Christian rap's production values and thematic depth, as evidenced by multiple platinum certifications for prior works like The Search and sustained streaming dominance. While some observers critique perceived repetitiveness in his trauma-focused motifs, robust metrics— including arena sellouts and high chart debuts—counter narratives of niche limitation, affirming his role in bridging faith-infused introspection with accessible rap appeal.[14][15]
Biology and medicine
Neurofibromatosis
Neurofibromatosis comprises a group of inherited autosomal dominant disorders characterized by the development of benign and potentially malignant tumors arising from the peripheral and central nervous system nerve sheaths, primarily due to loss-of-function mutations in tumor suppressor genes.[16] The two main types are neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1, also known as von Recklinghausen disease) and neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), with NF1 being far more prevalent at an incidence of approximately 1 in 2,500 to 3,000 live births worldwide.[17] NF2 occurs at a lower rate, around 1 in 25,000 to 40,000 individuals.[18] These conditions result from germline mutations—often de novo in about 50% of cases—leading to haploinsufficiency and subsequent somatic second-hit mutations that drive tumorigenesis through disrupted Ras/MAPK signaling (in NF1) or merlin protein dysfunction (in NF2).[19] Genetic mechanisms predominate causally, with no robust evidence supporting primary environmental triggers beyond rare radiation-induced cases.[20]NF1 arises from mutations in the NF1 gene on chromosome 17q11.2, encoding neurofibromin, a negative regulator of the Ras pathway; over 3,000 distinct mutations have been identified, most truncating the protein and causing complete loss of function.[19] Clinical manifestations include multiple café-au-lait macules (typically six or more, >5 mm in prepubertal children or >15 mm postpuberty), axillary or inguinal freckling, cutaneous or plexiform neurofibromas, Lisch nodules (iris hamartomas), optic pathway gliomas, skeletal dysplasia, and neurocognitive issues such as learning disabilities in up to 50-60% of patients.[19] NF1 confers elevated malignancy risk, notably malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) with a lifetime incidence of 8-13%, alongside pheochromocytomas and juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia.[21] In contrast, NF2 stems from mutations in the NF2 gene on chromosome 22q12.2, producing merlin, which links the cytoskeleton to membrane proteins; hallmark features are bilateral vestibular schwannomas causing hearing loss, tinnitus, and balance issues by adolescence or early adulthood, plus meningiomas, ependymomas, and peripheral schwannomas, but without the dermal pigmentation or neurofibromas typical of NF1.[20] Schwannomatosis, sometimes classified as NF3, involves distinct SMARCB1 or LZTR1 mutations and chronic pain from multiple non-vestibular schwannomas but is genetically and phenotypically separate.[22]Diagnosis relies on established clinical criteria supplemented by genetic testing. For NF1, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus requires at least two of: ≥6 café-au-lait macules of specified size, ≥2 neurofibromas or ≥1 plexiform neurofibroma, axillary/inguinal freckling, optic glioma, ≥2 Lisch nodules, a distinctive osseous lesion (e.g., sphenoid dysplasia), or a first-degree relative with NF1; a heterozygous pathogenic NF1 variant confirms diagnosis even without full criteria.[23][19] NF2 diagnosis mandates bilateral vestibular schwannomas, or unilateral vestibular schwannoma plus meningioma/another schwannoma/family history, or multiple meningiomas plus unilateral vestibular schwannoma/family history, with NF2 variant identification aiding presymptomatic detection.[20] Molecular testing via next-generation sequencing detects >95% of germline mutations, though mosaicism complicates ~30% of de novo NF1 cases.[19] Regular surveillance via MRI, audiometry, and ophthalmology is essential to mitigate complications.No curative treatments exist, with management emphasizing tumor surveillance, surgical resection of symptomatic lesions, and targeted therapies addressing underlying pathway dysregulation. For NF1-associated inoperable plexiform neurofibromas, the MEK inhibitor selumetinib (Koselugo) received FDA approval in April 2020 for children ≥2 years, expanded in September 2025 to ≥1 year based on phase 2 trials showing 70% volume reduction and symptom improvement via Ras pathway inhibition.[24][25] Mirdametinib, another MEK inhibitor, was approved in February 2025 for similar indications.[26] NF2 interventions include watchful waiting, microsurgery, or stereotactic radiosurgery for vestibular schwannomas, though radiation risks secondary malignancies; bevacizumab provides temporary tumor stabilization in ~50% via anti-VEGF effects.[27] Gene therapy remains investigational as of 2025, with early-phase trials (e.g., AAV-mediated NF1 delivery for plexiform neurofibromas or ST002 for NF2 schwannomas) demonstrating preliminary safety and tumor reduction in preclinical models but lacking phase 3 efficacy data.[28][29] Life expectancy approaches population norms with vigilant monitoring, though NF1 malignancies reduce it by 10-15 years on average without intervention.[17]
Politics
National Front parties
The National Front parties comprise a series of nationalist political organizations that have emerged in various countries, prioritizing national sovereignty, strict immigration controls, and resistance to multiculturalism on grounds of preserving cultural cohesion and economic stability. These groups often cite empirical evidence linking high levels of non-native immigration to elevated crime rates and social strains, such as foreign nationals comprising 12% of the UK prison population despite being a smaller demographic share.[30] Their platforms challenge mainstream narratives by emphasizing causal links between unchecked migration and issues like disproportionate involvement in specific offenses, including estimates that certain migrant groups, such as Afghans, are up to three times more likely to be convicted of sexual offenses than UK-born individuals.[31]In the United Kingdom, the National Front was established in 1967 as a racial nationalist party advocating for the repatriation of non-native populations and halting non-white immigration to mitigate perceived threats to national identity.[32] Under leader John Tyndall, it mounted its most significant electoral effort in the 1979 general election, though it achieved limited success with a vote share under 1%, reflecting broader voter rejection amid economic priorities favoring the Conservatives.[33] The party's rationale drew on observations of immigration's correlations with crime and welfare burdens, influencing later discourse despite marginalization by establishment media and rivals. As of 2025, the NF remains a minor entity led by Tony Martin, focusing on policy critiques like curbing overseas remittances to retain economic resources domestically.[34]France's National Front, founded in 1972 and rebranded as National Rally in 2018 under Marine Le Pen's leadership, has fared better electorally, securing 13.3 million votes (41.5%) in the 2022 presidential runoff by championing anti-EU sovereignty and stringent border policies.[35] Le Pen's warnings about migration's destabilizing effects proved prescient during the 2015-2016 European crisis, which saw over a million arrivals strain resources and validate concerns over integration failures that mainstream parties downplayed.[36] The party's shift toward broader economic nationalism has mainstreamed debates on globalization's disruptions, countering ideological accusations of extremism with data on assimilation challenges and preference for verifiable policy outcomes over condemnations rooted in opposition to sovereignty priorities.Other National Front formations include India's 1989-1991 coalition government led by V.P. Singh's Janata Dal, which briefly governed as a non-Congress alliance emphasizing federalism and anti-corruption amid economic reforms.[37] Historical variants, such as Iran's National Front under Mohammad Mossadegh in the 1950s, pursued nationalist economic policies like oil nationalization before external interventions.[38] These entities have collectively elevated discussions on national identity against supranational pressures, with their impacts measured by shifts in public policy toward tighter controls rather than dismissed through narrative-driven critiques lacking empirical backing on demographic sustainability.
Geography
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador constitutes Canada's easternmost province, encompassing the island of Newfoundland and the adjacent Labrador region on the mainland, separated by the Strait of Belle Isle. The province officially joined Canadian Confederation on March 31, 1949, following a 1948 referendum where 52.3% of voters supported union over alternatives like continued British dominion status or economic commission governance, marking the end of Newfoundland's independent dominion established in 1907 after self-governing colony status from 1855. In 2001, the province's name was amended via constitutional proclamation to "Newfoundland and Labrador" to affirm Labrador's distinct identity, though the Canada Post abbreviation shifted from the historical NF to NL effective December 31, 2001. The capital is St. John's, situated on the Avalon Peninsula, and the population stood at approximately 540,229 as of July 1, 2023, per Statistics Canada estimates, reflecting slow growth amid out-migration and an aging demographic.Archaeological evidence at L'Anse aux Meadows, a UNESCO World Heritage Site designated in 1978, confirms Norse (Viking) settlement around 1000 AD, representing the earliest known European presence in North America outside Greenland, based on excavated sod structures, iron nails, and a bronze cloak pin consistent with Scandinavian artifacts. This site underscores pre-Columbian transatlantic contact, though no permanent colony ensued. British colonization intensified from the late 16th century, with St. John's founded as a fishing settlement by 1583; Newfoundland remained a colony until 1949, its isolation—spanning 405,212 square kilometers of rugged terrain, dense forests, and subarctic climate—fostering a culture of self-reliance distinct from mainland provinces' integrated supply chains and urbanization.The economy relies heavily on natural resources, with offshore petroleum extraction dominating since the 1990s; the Hibernia platform alone produced an average of approximately 170,000 barrels per day in 2023, contributing to provincial royalties exceeding CAD 1 billion annually amid global energy demands. Fisheries, historically centered on Atlantic cod until the 1992 moratorium that collapsed stocks due to overfishing, have pivoted to shellfish and crab, generating CAD 1.2 billion in landings value in 2022, while Labrador's mining sector yields iron ore (over 18 million tonnes annually from Voisey's Bay) and nickel. Gross domestic product per capita reached CAD 71,681 in 2021, surpassing the national average of CAD 59,877, attributable to resource rents rather than diversified manufacturing or services.Recent developments include 2023 memoranda of understanding for green hydrogen production, harnessing Labrador's 5,700 MW Churchill Falls hydroelectric capacity to electrolyze water for export via proposed subsea cables to Europe and the U.S., with pilot projects targeting 3 GW by 2030; these initiatives prioritize verifiable low-emission outputs from existing hydro assets over speculative renewables, aligning with the province's empirical approach to resource monetization amid fluctuating global decarbonization pressures. Such projects contrast unsubstantiated mandates by leveraging proven baseload power, though feasibility hinges on infrastructure costs estimated at CAD 20-30 billion.
Other geographical uses
Norfolk Island, an external territory of Australia in the South Pacific Ocean approximately 1,600 kilometers northwest of Sydney, is designated by the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code NF.[39] The island covers 34.6 km², with its main settlement at Kingston, and supports a population engaged in tourism and limited agriculture.[40]The Newfoundland Railway, a narrow-gauge system spanning the island of Newfoundland, began operations with initial segments in the 1880s and achieved full cross-island connectivity by June 30, 1898, facilitating passenger and freight transport until its discontinuation on September 14, 1988.[41] Following closure, the railbed was converted into the T'Railway Provincial Park, a 900-kilometer linear multi-use trail from St. John's to Port aux Basques, now used for hiking, cycling, and other recreation across varied terrain including forests and coastal areas.[42]Certain place names in Newfoundland reflect Norman French linguistic influences from early French exploration and settlement, particularly in areas like the Port au Port Peninsula, where dialects akin to those of Normandy persist in isolated communities. Examples include adaptations from French terms for geographical features, contributing to the island's toponymic diversity alongside English, Mi'kmaq, and Basque origins.[43]
Computing and technology
Normal form in databases
In relational database design, normal forms (NF) constitute a hierarchy of criteria for structuring tables to eliminate redundancy and avert insertion, update, and deletion anomalies that arise from improper data dependencies.[44] These forms promote data integrity by ensuring attributes depend solely on keys in prescribed manners, grounded in functional dependencies identified by Edgar F. Codd. Introduced in the 1970s amid the relational model's formalization, normalization progresses from basic atomicity to advanced decomposition, with empirical evidence showing reduced anomaly risks in normalized schemas versus unnormalized ones, where redundant data propagation leads to inconsistencies during modifications.[45]The foundational First Normal Form (1NF) requires every attribute to hold atomic, indivisible values, eliminating repeating groups or multivalued attributes within rows; for instance, a table listing multiple phone numbers per employee must split into separate rows or a related table to comply.[46]Second Normal Form (2NF) builds on 1NF by mandating full functional dependency of non-prime attributes on the entire candidate key, not partial subsets, thus partitioning tables to isolate partial dependencies and curb update anomalies like inconsistent salary adjustments across duplicate key fragments.[47]Third Normal Form (3NF) extends this by prohibiting transitive dependencies, where non-prime attributes depend on other non-prime attributes rather than keys directly; this prevents issues such as spurious tuples in joins, as demonstrated in empirical tests where 3NF schemas avoided data loss during deletions compared to 2NF.[48]Further refinements include Boyce-Codd Normal Form (BCNF), a stricter variant of 3NF where every determinant is a candidate key, addressing anomalies in relations with multiple overlapping candidate keys that 3NF overlooks, such as cyclic dependencies in course-prerequisite tables.[46]Fourth Normal Form (4NF) targets multivalued dependencies, decomposing tables to isolate independent multi-valued facts (e.g., separating employee skills and projects into distinct relations) to eliminate redundancy without loss of information.[49]Fifth Normal Form (5NF), or Project-Join Normal Form, resolves join dependencies by ensuring no non-trivial lossless decomposition beyond 4NF, applicable in complex scenarios like supplier-part-project relations prone to spurious projections.[48]Sixth Normal Form (6NF), often linked to temporal databases, enforces domain-key normal form by decomposing to the finest granularity where each table holds a single value per domain-key pair, minimizing even temporal redundancies but increasing relation count.[50]Normalization yields verifiable benefits, including empirical reductions in storage via redundancy elimination—studies show up to 50% space savings in moderately normalized enterprise databases—and fewer anomalies, as update operations in 3NF+ schemas avoid propagating errors across duplicates, unlike unnormalized designs.[44][51] However, trade-offs emerge in performance: highly normalized schemas (e.g., 4NF+) necessitate frequent joins, inflating query times—benchmarks indicate 2-10x slowdowns in read-heavy workloads versus denormalized alternatives—prompting selective denormalization for analytical systems where integrity yields to latency.[52][53]In practice, normal forms underpin SQL database design, with systems like Oracle enforcing aspects via primary key, foreign key, and unique constraints that mirror NF rules for referential integrity and dependency enforcement.[54] Tools analyze schemas against NF criteria, yielding metrics like dependency violation counts to guide refactoring, distinguishing practical normalization from theoretical pursuits by prioritizing anomaly prevention over exhaustive decomposition.[46]
NF in computational complexity
A nondeterministic finite automaton (NFA) is a five-tuple (Q, \Sigma, \delta, q_0, F), where Q is a finite set of states, \Sigma is a finite input alphabet, \delta: Q \times (\Sigma \cup \{\epsilon\}) \to 2^Q is a transition relation mapping a state and input symbol (or \epsilon for empty transitions) to a subset of states, q_0 \in Q is the initial state, and F \subseteq Q is the set of accepting states; acceptance occurs if there exists at least one path from q_0 to an f \in F consuming the input string.[55] This model, central to automata theory since the 1950s, permits nondeterministic branching, contrasting with deterministic finite automata (DFAs) that mandate unique transitions, and supports proofs of decidability for properties like language emptiness via reachability analysis on the state graph.[56]NFAs recognize precisely the regular languages, matching the computational power of DFAs despite nondeterminism; equivalence follows from the subset construction, which builds a DFA with states as subsets of Q (up to $2^{|Q|} subsets) by simulating all possible NFA paths in parallel, though worst-case exponential state explosion occurs, as in languages requiring tracking n independent choices leading to $2^n DFA states.[57][56] Kleene's 1956 theorem formalizes this by proving bidirectional conversions between NFAs and regular expressions, establishing that regular languages admit descriptions via expressions, NFAs, or DFAs, which underpins closure properties (e.g., union, concatenation) and algorithmic optimizations in pattern matching.[58]In lexical analysis for compilers, NFAs enable efficient regex-to-automaton compilation via Thompson's construction, which recursively builds \epsilon-NFAs from expression subparts in linear size relative to the expression length, facilitating backtracking-free simulation before potential DFA conversion for speedup.[59] Simulation tools like JFLAP allow step-by-step execution of NFAs on inputs, visualizing nondeterministic paths and subset states to verify theoretical behaviors, distinct from database normalization by emphasizing language recognition decidability over data redundancy elimination.[60]
Other uses
Norman French
Norman French, often abbreviated as NF, denotes the variety of Old French spoken by the Normans following their conquest of England in 1066, evolving into Anglo-Norman as the administrative and cultural language of the Anglo-Norman elite. This dialect, rooted in the Norman dialect of Old French (langue d'oïl), was employed in England from the late 11th to the mid-15th century, particularly in legal, ecclesiastical, and courtly contexts, before declining amid the resurgence of Middle English after events like the Black Death and the Hundred Years' War.[61] Its usage facilitated the integration of Norman governance structures, with texts such as charters and chronicles preserving its form until English supplanted it in official records by the 15th century.[62]The linguistic influence of Norman French on English is evident in the substantial borrowing of vocabulary, with etymological analyses estimating that approximately 29% of modern English words derive from French sources, many tracing to Anglo-Norman introductions in domains like law (e.g., habeas corpus, attorney), government (parliament, tax), and cuisine (beef, pork). This hybridization arose causally from the Norman aristocracy's imposition of French as the prestige language, creating a diglossic society where English absorbed terms via administrative necessity and cultural exchange, rather than wholesale replacement. Philological studies highlight over 10,000 such loanwords entering English post-1066, predominantly through Norman channels before later Parisian French influences via the Renaissance.[63][64]Empirical attestation of Norman French survives in manuscripts like the Oxford Psalter (Bodleian Library, MS Douce 320), a mid-13th-century prose translation of the Psalms into Anglo-Norman French, bound with a Norman version of the Rule of St. Benedict, exemplifying its role in devotional literature. This text, independent of continental French psalters, demonstrates insular phonetic and syntactic adaptations, such as simplified verb conjugations and vocabulary shifts reflecting Norman substrate influences from Old Norse via Viking settlements in Normandy.[65]Remnants of Norman French persist in the Channel Islands, where dialects like Jèrriais (in Jersey) and Guernesiais (in Guernsey) represent direct continuations of medieval Norman speech, distinct from standard French due to prolonged isolation from continental standardization efforts post-1204 loss of Normandy to France. These varieties feature unique phonological traits, such as retention of Norman diphthongs (e.g., /œ̃/ in Jèrriais), and lexical retentions not found in modern French, spoken natively by small communities despite English dominance.[66][67]
National Formulary
The National Formulary (NF) is a compendium establishing publicly available standards for pharmaceutical excipients, inactive ingredients, and related preparations used in drug formulations. Originally published in 1888 by the American Pharmaceutical Association to standardize commonly used non-official drugs and formulas not covered by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), the NF emphasized empirical compounding guidelines to ensure consistency in pharmaceutical manufacturing.[68][69] In 1975, the USP acquired the NF from the American Pharmaceutical Association, leading to their merger into the combined USP-NF publication, which redefined scopes: USP monographs primarily address active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and dosage forms, while NF monographs focus on excipients such as binders, fillers, preservatives, and stabilizers.[70][68]The USP-NF, updated biannually with interim revisions, includes thousands of monographs detailing identity, strength, quality, purity, packaging, and storage requirements, supported by analytical methods like assays, dissolution testing, and impurity profiling to verify compliance.[71] These standards have verifiable impacts on manufacturing, as evidenced by reduced variability in bioavailability studies where excipient inconsistencies can alter drug absorption rates; for instance, standardized excipient monographs enable generic drug equivalence by minimizing formulation differences.[72] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) legally recognizes USP-NF standards under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, requiring new drug applications to demonstrate compliance or equivalence, which facilitates approval of generics and compounding preparations while enforcing quality control against substandard ingredients.[73][74]Recent developments reflect adaptations to biotechnological advances, including 2025 updates incorporating analytical guidelines for mRNA vaccine quality attributes, such as integrity testing and stabilizer formulations, to address emerging needs in lipid nanoparticles and nucleic acid therapeutics.[75] These evolutions build on the NF's historical role in standardization, prioritizing causal factors like excipient-drug interactions over unsubstantiated claims, with peer-reviewed evidence linking adherence to USP-NF protocols to lower batch failure rates in pharmaceutical production.[76][77]