title: Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples

text: Of the West Semitic-speaking peoples who occupied what is today Syria (excluding the East Semitic Assyrian north east), Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, the Palestinian territories and the Sinai peninsula, the earliest references concern the Canaanite-speaking Amorites (known as "Martu" or "Amurru" by the Mesopotamians) of northern and eastern Syria, and date from the 24th century BC in Mesopotamian annals. The technologically advanced Sumerians, Akkadians and Assyrians of Mesopotamia mention the West Semitic-speaking peoples in disparaging terms: "The MAR.TU who know no grain... The MAR.TU who know no house nor town, the boors of the mountains... The MAR.TU who digs up truffles... who does not bend his knees (to cultivate the land), who eats raw meat, who has no house during his lifetime, who is not buried after death." However, after initially being prevented from doing so by powerful Assyrian kings of the Old Assyrian Empire intervening from northern Mesopotamia, these Amorites would eventually overrun southern Mesopotamia, and found the state of Babylon in 1894 BC, where they became "Akkadianized", adopted Mesopotamian culture and language, and blended into the indigenous population. Babylon became the centre of a short lived but influential Babylonian Empire in the 18th century BC, and subsequent to this southern Mesopotamia came to be known as Babylonia, with Babylon superseding the far more ancient city of Nippur as the primary religious center of southern Mesopotamia. Northern Mesopotamia had long before already coalesced into Assyria.


title: Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples

text: After the fall of the first Babylonian Empire, the far south of Mesopotamia broke away for about 300 years, becoming the independent Akkadian-speaking Sealand Dynasty. Proto-Canaanite texts from northern Canaan and the Levant (modern Lebanon and Syria) around 1500 BC yield the first undisputed attestations of a "written" West Semitic language (although earlier testimonies are found in Mesopotamian annals concerning Amorite, and possibly preserved in Middle Bronze Age alphabets, such as the Proto-Sinaitic script from the late 19th century BC), followed by the much more extensive Ugaritic tablets of northern Syria from the late 14th century BC in the city-state of Ugarit in north west Syria. Ugaritic was a West Semitic language, fairly closely related to, and part of the same general language family as the tongues of the Amorites, Canaanites, Phoenicians, Moabites, Edomites, Ammonites, Amalekites and Israelites. The appearance of nomadic Semitic-speaking Ahlamu, Arameans and Suteans in historical record also dates from the late 14th century BC, the Arameans coming to dominate an area roughly corresponding with modern Syria (which became known as Aram or Aramea), subsuming the earlier Amorites, and founding states such as Aram-Damascus, Luhuti, Bit Agusi, Hamath, Aram-Naharaim, Paddan-Aram, Aram-Rehob, Idlib and Zobah, while the Suteans occupied the deserts of south eastern Syria and north eastern Jordan.


title: Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples

text: Between the 13th and 11th centuries BC, a number of small Canaanite-speaking states arose in southern Canaan, an area approximately corresponding to modern Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian territories and Sinai Peninsula. These were the lands of the Edomites, Moabites, Hebrews (Israelites/Judaeans/Samaritans), Ammonites and Amalekites, all of whom spoke closely related west Semitic Canaanite languages. The Philistines are conjectured to have been one of the Sea Peoples, who seem to have arrived in southern Canaan sometime in the 12th century BC. In this theory, the Philistines would have spoken an Indo-European language, as there are possibly Greek, Lydian and Luwian traces in the limited information available about their tongue, although there is no detailed information about their language. An Indo-European Anatolian origin is also supported by Philistine pottery, which appears to have been exactly the same as Mycenaen Greek pottery.


title: Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples

text: In the 19th century BC a similar wave of Canaanite-speaking Semites entered Egypt and by the early 17th century BC these Canaanites (known as Hyksos by the Egyptians) had conquered the country, forming the Fifteenth Dynasty, introducing military technology new to Egypt, such as the war chariot. In ancient Egypt, the natives were speakers of a non-Semitic but related Afroasiatic tongue, the Egyptian language. Other early Afroasiatic-speaking populations dwelt nearby in the Maghreb, the ancient Libyans (Putrians) of the northern Sahara and the coasts of Northwest Africa, (Semitic Carthage aside), as well as to the southeast in the Land of Punt and in northern Sudan, which was previously inhabited by the A-Group, C-Group and Kerma Cultures.


title: Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples

text: In the first millennium BC, the alphabet spread much further, giving us a picture not just of Canaanite, but also of Aramaic, Old South Arabian, and early Ge'ez. During this period, the case system, once vigorous in Ugaritic, seems to have started decaying in Northwest Semitic. Phoenician colonies (such as Carthage) spread their Canaanite language throughout much of the Mediterranean, while its close relative, Hebrew, became the vehicle of a religious literature, the Torah and Tanakh, which would have global ramifications. However, as an ironic result of the Assyrian Empire's vast conquests, Aramaic became the "lingua franca" of the Fertile Crescent and much of the Near East and parts of Anatolia, gradually pushing Akkadian, Hebrew, Phoenician-Canaanite, and several other languages to extinction, although Hebrew and Akkadian remained in use as sacred languages, Hebrew in particular developing a substantial literature. Ethiopian Semitic languages are first attested by the ninth century BC, with the earliest proto-Ge'ez inscriptions of the kingdom of using the South Arabian alphabet.


title: Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples

text: During the Middle Assyrian Empire (1366–1020 BC) and in particular the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–605 BC) much of the Near East, Asia Minor, Caucasus, Eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, Ancient Iran and North Africa fell under Assyrian domination. During the eighth century BC, the Assyrian emperor Tiglath-Pileser III introduced Aramaic as the lingua franca of their empire and this language was to remain dominant among Near Eastern Semites until the early Middle Ages, and is still in use as the mother tongue of the modern Assyrians and Mandaeans to the present day. In addition, the Syriac language and Syriac script emerged in Achaemenid Assyria during the 5th century BC, and this dialect of Eastern Aramaic was to have a major influence on the spread of Christianity and Gnosticism throughout the Near East from the 1st century AD onwards.


title: Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples

text: A Canaanite group known as the Phoenicians came to dominate the coasts of Syria, Lebanon and south west Turkey from the 13th century BC, founding city states such as Tyre, Sidon, Byblos Simyra, Arwad, Berytus (Beirut), Antioch and Aradus, eventually spreading their influence throughout the Mediterranean, including building colonies in Malta, Sicily, the Iberian Peninsula and the coasts of North Africa, founding the major city state of Carthage (in modern Tunisia) in the 9th century BC. The Phoenicians created the Phoenician alphabet in the 12th century BC, which would eventually supersede cuneiform.


title: Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples

text: Phoenician became one of the most widely used writing systems, spread by Phoenician merchants across the Mediterranean world and beyond, where it evolved and was assimilated by many other cultures. The still extant Aramaic alphabet, a modified form of Phoenician script, was the ancestor of modern Hebrew, Syriac/Assyrian and Arab scripts, stylistic variants and descendants of the Aramaic script. The Greek alphabet (and by extension, its descendants such as the Latin, Cyrillic and Coptic alphabets), was a direct successor of Phoenician, though certain letter values were changed to represent vowels. Old Italic, Anatolian, Armenian, Georgian and Paleohispanic scripts are also descendant of Phoenician script.


title: Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples

text: A number of pre-Arab and non-Arab Semitic-speaking states are mentioned as existing in what was much later to become known as the Arabian Peninsula in Akkadian and Assyrian records as colonies of these Mesopotamian powers, such as Meluhha and Dilmun (in modern Bahrain). A number of other South Semitic states existed in the far south of the peninsula, such as Sheba/Saba (in modern Yemen), Magan and Ubar (both in modern Oman), although the histories of these states is sketchy (mainly coming from Mesopotamian and Egyptian records), as there was no written script in the region at this time. Later still, written evidence of Old South Arabian and Ge'ez (both related to but in reality separate languages from Arabic) offer the first written attestations of South Semitic languages in the 8th century BC in Sheba, Ubar and Magan (modern Oman and Yemen). These idioms, along with the Ge'ez script, were later imported to Ethiopia and Eritrea by migrating South Semites from South Arabia during the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Subsequent interaction with other Afroasiatic-speaking populations, Cushitic speakers who had settled in the area some centuries prior, gave rise to the present-day Ethiopian Semitic languages.


title: Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples

text: After the fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (between 615 and 599 BC) and the succeeding short lived Neo-Babylonian Empire (615–539 BC) the Semitic speaking peoples lost control of the Near East to the Persian Achaemenid Empire (539–332 BC). However, the Persians had spent centuries under Assyrian domination and influence, and despite being Indo-European speakers, they retained the Imperial Aramaic of the Assyrian empire as the lingua franca of their own empire, and many of the Semitic nations of the region (such as Assyria, Babylonia, Israel, Judah, Aramea, Canaan and Phoenicia) continued to exist as geo-political entities, albeit as occupied satrapies of the Achaemenid Empire. In the satrapy of Assyria (Athura) the Syriac language emerged during the 5th century BC.


title: Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples

text: The dominant position of Aramaic as the language of empire ended with the Greek Macedonian Empire (332–312 BC) and its succeeding Seleucid Empire (311–150 BC). After Alexander the Great conquered the Achaemenid Empire his successors introduced Greek as the official language. However, this did not impact on the "spoken tongues" of the Semitic peoples, who continued to be largely Aramaic speaking.


title: Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples

text: Both the Akkadian of the Assyrian and Babylonian Mesopotamians, and the Canaanite languages of the Israelites, Judeans, Samaritans, Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites and Phoenicians decreased steadily in the face of the adoption of Aramaic from the 8th century BC onwards, and by the early 1st millennium AD they had largely disappeared, although distinct forms of Hebrew remained in continuous literary and religious use among Jews and Samaritans, isolated use of Akkadian remained in Assyria and Babylonia between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, Phoenician names are still attested until the 3rd century AD. and Coins from Phoenician cities still use Phoenician letters for short Phoenician city designations and names and Ulpian of Tyre and Jerome mention the use of the Phoenician language, the Punic dialect of Phoenician remained in use in the Carthaginian ruled parts of the Mediterranean at least until the 4th century AD. as indicated by Latino-Punic inscriptions from Tripolitania.


title: Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples

text: Aramaic, in the form of Syriac, was the lingua franca of Assuristan (Persian-ruled Assyria and Babylonia), and the Neo-Assyrian states of Adiabene, Assur, Osroene, Beth Nuhadra, Beth Garmai and Hatra, extant between the 2nd century BC and 3rd century AD, and was to become the vehicle for the spread of Syriac Christianity throughout the entire Near East. Aramaic was also the language of the Aramean state of Palmyra and the short lived Palmyrene Empire.


title: Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples

text: Aramaic dialects continued to be dominant among the peoples of what are today Iraq, Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestinian territories, Kuwait, Sinai, south eastern Turkey, and parts of north western Iran and some areas the northern Arabian peninsula, until the Arab Islamic conquest of the 7th century AD.


title: Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples

text: After this, Arabic gradually replaced Aramaic as a part of a steady process of Arabization and Islamification, accompanied by the influx of a large number of Muslim Arabs from the Arabian peninsula, although the Syriac language, script and literature continued to exert influence upon Arabic into the Middle Ages.


title: Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples

text: Nevertheless, a number of Eastern Aramaic dialects survive as the spoken tongues of the Assyrians of northern Iraq, south east Turkey, north east Syria and north west Iran, and of the Mandeans of Iraq and Iran, with somewhere between 575,000 and 1,000,000 fluent speakers in total. The Western Aramaic of the Arameans themselves is now almost extinct, with only a few thousand speakers extant in and around Ma'loula in western Syria.


title: Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples

text: Hebrew survived as the liturgical language of Judaism, before it was revived as a commonly spoken tongue in the 19th century.


title: Sukiyabashi Jiro

text: The restaurant itself only has ten counter seats. A two-star branch operated by his son Takashi is located at Roppongi Hills in Minato, Tokyo. The late French chef Joël Robuchon said that the restaurant was one of his favorites in the world, and that it taught him that sushi is an art.


title: Sukiyabashi Jiro

text: There was a fire at the restaurant on the morning of 24 June 2013. Firefighters said that a sushi chef had been using straw to smoke bonito, and that the straw most likely ignited after he returned it to the storeroom. The fire took about an hour to extinguish. There were no injuries.


title: Sukiyabashi Jiro

text: U.S. President Barack Obama dined at the restaurant with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe on 23 April 2014. There are conflicting reports as to whether Obama finished the sushi, though Prime Minister Abe said "Obama proclaimed it 'the best sushi I’ve ever had in my life.'"


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: Superoxide dismutase (SOD, ) is an enzyme that alternately catalyzes the dismutation (or partitioning) of the superoxide () radical into ordinary molecular oxygen (O) and hydrogen peroxide (). Superoxide is produced as a by-product of oxygen metabolism and, if not regulated, causes many types of cell damage. Hydrogen peroxide is also damaging and is degraded by other enzymes such as catalase. Thus, SOD is an important antioxidant defense in nearly all living cells exposed to oxygen. One exception is "Lactobacillus plantarum" and related lactobacilli, which use a different mechanism to prevent damage from reactive .


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: The pathway by which SOD-catalyzed dismutation of superoxide may be written, for Cu,Zn SOD, with the following reactions:


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: The general form, applicable to all the different metal-coordinated forms of SOD, can be written as follows:


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: In a series of such reactions, the oxidation state and the charge of the metal cation oscillates between n and n+1: +1 and +2 for Cu, or +2 and +3 for the other metals .


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: Irwin Fridovich and Joe McCord at Duke University discovered the enzymatic activity of superoxide dismutase in 1968. SODs were previously known as a group of metalloproteins with unknown function; for example, CuZnSOD was known as erythrocuprein (or hemocuprein, or cytocuprein) or as the veterinary anti-inflammatory drug "Orgotein". Likewise, Brewer (1967) identified a protein that later became known as superoxide dismutase as an indophenol oxidase by protein analysis of starch gels using the phenazine-tetrazolium technique.


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: There are three major families of superoxide dismutase, depending on the protein fold and the metal cofactor: the Cu/Zn type (which binds both copper and zinc), Fe and Mn types (which bind either iron or manganese), and the Ni type (which binds nickel).


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: In higher plants, SOD isozymes have been localized in different cell compartments. Mn-SOD is present in mitochondria and peroxisomes. Fe-SOD has been found mainly in chloroplasts but has also been detected in peroxisomes, and CuZn-SOD has been localized in cytosol, chloroplasts, peroxisomes, and apoplast.


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: Three forms of superoxide dismutase are present in humans, in all other mammals, and most chordates. SOD1 is located in the cytoplasm, SOD2 in the mitochondria, and SOD3 is extracellular. The first is a dimer (consists of two units), whereas the others are tetramers (four subunits). SOD1 and SOD3 contain copper and zinc, whereas SOD2, the mitochondrial enzyme, has manganese in its reactive centre. The genes are located on chromosomes 21, 6, and 4, respectively (21q22.1, 6q25.3 and 4p15.3-p15.1).


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: In higher plants, superoxide dismutase enzymes (SODs) act as antioxidants and protect cellular components from being oxidized by reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS can form as a result of drought, injury, herbicides and pesticides, ozone, plant metabolic activity, nutrient deficiencies, photoinhibition, temperature above and below ground, toxic metals, and UV or gamma rays. To be specific, molecular O is reduced to (a ROS called superoxide) when it absorbs an excited electron released from compounds of the electron transport chain. Superoxide is known to denature enzymes, oxidize lipids, and fragment DNA. SODs catalyze the production of O and from superoxide (), which results in less harmful reactants.


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: When acclimating to increased levels of oxidative stress, SOD concentrations typically increase with the degree of stress conditions. The compartmentalization of different forms of SOD throughout the plant makes them counteract stress very effectively. There are three well-known and -studied classes of SOD metallic coenzymes that exist in plants. First, Fe SODs consist of two species, one homodimer (containing 1–2 g Fe) and one tetramer (containing 2–4 g Fe). They are thought to be the most ancient SOD metalloenzymes and are found within both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Fe SODs are most abundantly localized inside plant chloroplasts, where they are indigenous. Second, Mn SODs consist of a homodimer and homotetramer species each containing a single Mn(III) atom per subunit. They are found predominantly in mitochondrion and peroxisomes. Third, Cu-Zn SODs have electrical properties very different from those of the other two classes. These are concentrated in the chloroplast, cytosol, and in some cases the extracellular space. Note that Cu-Zn SODs provide less protection than Fe SODs when localized in the chloroplast.


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: Human white blood cells use enzymes such as NADPH oxidase to generate superoxide and other reactive oxygen species to kill bacteria. During infection, some bacteria (e.g., "Burkholderia pseudomallei") therefore produce superoxide dismutase to protect themselves from being killed.


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: SOD out-competes damaging reactions of superoxide, thus protecting the cell from superoxide toxicity.


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: The reaction of superoxide with non-radicals is spin-forbidden. In biological systems, this means that its main reactions are with itself (dismutation) or with another biological radical such as nitric oxide (NO) or with a transition-series metal. The superoxide anion radical () spontaneously dismutes to O and hydrogen peroxide () quite rapidly (~10 Ms at pH 7). SOD is necessary because superoxide reacts with sensitive and critical cellular targets. For example, it reacts with the NO radical, and makes toxic peroxynitrite.


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: Because the uncatalysed dismutation reaction for superoxide requires two superoxide molecules to react with each other, the dismutation rate is second-order with respect to initial superoxide concentration. Thus, the half-life of superoxide, although very short at high concentrations (e.g., 0.05 seconds at 0.1mM) is actually quite long at low concentrations (e.g., 14 hours at 0.1 nM). In contrast, the reaction of superoxide with SOD is first order with respect to superoxide concentration. Moreover, superoxide dismutase has the largest "k"/"K" (an approximation of catalytic efficiency) of any known enzyme (~7 x 10 Ms), this reaction being limited only by the frequency of collision between itself and superoxide. That is, the reaction rate is "diffusion-limited".


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: The high efficiency of superoxide dismutase seems necessary: even at the subnanomolar concentrations achieved by the high concentrations of SOD within cells, superoxide inactivates the citric acid cycle enzyme aconitase, can poison energy metabolism, and releases potentially toxic iron. Aconitase is one of several iron-sulfur-containing (de)hydratases in metabolic pathways shown to be inactivated by superoxide.


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: SOD1 is an extremely stable protein. In the holo form (both copper and zinc bound) the melting point is > 90 °C. In the apo form (no copper or zinc bound) the melting point is ~60 °C. By differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), holo SOD1 unfolds by a two-state mechanism: from dimer to two unfolded monomers. In chemical denaturation experiments, holo SOD1 unfolds by a three-state mechanism with observation of a folded monomeric intermediate.


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: Superoxide is one of the main reactive oxygen species in the cell. As a consequence, SOD serves a key antioxidant role. The physiological importance of SODs is illustrated by the severe pathologies evident in mice genetically engineered to lack these enzymes. Mice lacking SOD2 die several days after birth, amid massive oxidative stress. Mice lacking SOD1 develop a wide range of pathologies, including hepatocellular carcinoma, an acceleration of age-related muscle mass loss, an earlier incidence of cataracts, and a reduced lifespan. Mice lacking SOD3 do not show any obvious defects and exhibit a normal lifespan, though they are more sensitive to hyperoxic injury. Knockout mice of any SOD enzyme are more sensitive to the lethal effects of superoxide-generating compounds, such as paraquat and diquat (herbicides).


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: "Drosophila" lacking SOD1 have a dramatically shortened lifespan, whereas flies lacking SOD2 die before birth. Depletion of SOD1 and SOD2 in the nervous system and muscles of "Drosophila" is associated with reduced lifespan. The accumulation of neuronal and muscular ROS appears to contribute to age-associated impairments. When overexpression of mitochondrial SOD2 is induced, the lifespan of adult "Drosophila" is extended.


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: Among black garden ants ("Lasius niger"), the lifespan of queens is an order of magnitude greater than of workers despite no systematic nucleotide sequence difference between them. The "SOD3" gene was found to be the most differentially over-expressed in the brains of queen vs worker ants. This finding raises the possibility of an important role of antioxidant function in modulating lifespan.


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: SOD knockdowns in the worm "C. elegans" do not cause major physiological disruptions. However, the lifespan of "C. elegans" can be extended by superoxide/catalase mimetics suggesting that oxidative stress is a major determinant of the rate of aging.


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: Knockout or null mutations in SOD1 are highly detrimental to aerobic growth in the budding yeast "Saccharomyces cerevisiae" and result in a dramatic reduction in post-diauxic lifespan. In wild-type "S. cerevisiae", DNA damage rates increased 3-fold with age, but more than 5-fold in mutants deleted for either the "SOD1" or "SOD2" genes. Reactive oxygen species levels increase with age in these mutant strains and show a similar pattern to the pattern of DNA damage increase with age. Thus it appears that superoxide dismutase plays a substantial role in preserving genome integrity during aging in "S. cerevisiae".


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: SOD2 knockout or null mutations cause growth inhibition on respiratory carbon sources in addition to decreased post-diauxic lifespan.


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: In the fission yeast "Schizosaccharomyces pombe", deficiency of mitochondrial superoxide dismutase SOD2 accelerates chronological aging.


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: Several prokaryotic SOD null mutants have been generated, including "E. coli". The loss of periplasmic CuZnSOD causes loss of virulence and might be an attractive target for new antibiotics.


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: Mutations in the first SOD enzyme (SOD1) can cause familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, a form of motor neuron disease). The most common mutation in the U.S. is A4V, while the most intensely studied is G93A. The other two isoforms of SOD have not been linked to many human diseases, however, in mice inactivation of SOD2 causes perinatal lethality and inactivation of SOD1 causes hepatocellular carcinoma. Mutations in SOD1 can cause familial ALS (several pieces of evidence also show that wild-type SOD1, under conditions of cellular stress, is implicated in a significant fraction of sporadic ALS cases, which represent 90% of ALS patients.), by a mechanism that is presently not understood, but not due to loss of enzymatic activity or a decrease in the conformational stability of the SOD1 protein. Overexpression of SOD1 has been linked to the neural disorders seen in Down syndrome. In patients with thalassemia, SOD will increase as a form of compensation mechanism. However, in the chronic stage, SOD does not seem to be sufficient and tends to decrease due to the destruction of proteins from the massive reaction of oxidant-antioxidant.


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: In mice, the extracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD3, ecSOD) contributes to the development of hypertension. Diminished SOD3 activity has been linked to lung diseases such as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) or Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: Superoxide dismutase is also not expressed in neural crest cells in the developing fetus. Hence, high levels of free radicals can cause damage to them and induce dysraphic anomalies (neural tube defects).


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: SOD has powerful antiinflammatory activity. For example, SOD is a highly effective experimental treatment of chronic inflammation in colitis. Treatment with SOD decreases reactive oxygen species generation and oxidative stress and, thus, inhibits endothelial activation. Therefore, such antioxidants may be important new therapies for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: Likewise, SOD has multiple pharmacological activities. E.g., it ameliorates cis-platinum-induced nephrotoxicity in rodents. As "Orgotein" or "ontosein", a pharmacologically-active purified bovine liver SOD, it is also effective in the treatment of urinary tract inflammatory disease in man. For a time, bovine liver SOD even had regulatory approval in several European countries for such use. This was cut short by concerns about prion disease.


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: An SOD-mimetic agent, TEMPOL, is currently in clinical trials for radioprotection and to prevent radiation-induced dermatitis. TEMPOL and similar SOD-mimetic nitroxides exhibit a multiplicity of actions in diseases involving oxidative stress.


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: SOD may reduce free radical damage to skin—for example, to reduce fibrosis following radiation for breast cancer. Studies of this kind must be regarded as tentative, however, as there were not adequate controls in the study including a lack of randomization, double-blinding, or placebo. Superoxide dismutase is known to reverse fibrosis, possibly through de-differentiation of myofibroblasts back to fibroblasts.


title: Superoxide dismutase

text: SOD is commercially obtained from marine phytoplankton, bovine liver, horseradish, cantaloupe, and certain bacteria. For therapeutic purpose, SOD is usually injected locally. There is no evidence that ingestion of unprotected SOD or SOD-rich foods can have any physiological effects, as all ingested SOD is broken down into amino acids before being absorbed. However, ingestion of SOD bound to wheat proteins could improve its therapeutic activity, at least in theory.


title: Texas House of Representatives

text: The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents about 167,637 people. There are no term limits. The House meets at the State Capitol in Austin.


title: Texas House of Representatives

text: The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer and highest-ranking member of the House. The Speaker's duties include maintaining order within the House, recognizing members during debate, ruling on procedural matters, appointing members to the various committees and sending bills for committee review. The Speaker pro tempore is primarily a ceremonial position, but does, by long-standing tradition, preside over the House during its consideration of local and consent bills.


title: Texas House of Representatives

text: Unlike other state legislatures, the House rules do not formally recognize majority or minority leaders. The unofficial leaders are the Republican Caucus Chairman and the Democratic House Leader, both of whom are elected by their respective caucuses.


title: Texas House of Representatives

text: The Speaker of the House of Representatives has duties as a presiding officer as well as administrative duties. As a presiding officer, the Speaker must enforce, apply, and interpret the rules of the House, call House members to order, lay business in order before the House and receive propositions made by members, refer proposed legislation to a committee, preserve order and decorum, recognize people in the gallery, state and hold votes on questions, vote as a member of the House, decide on all questions to order, appoint the Speaker Pro Tempore and Temporary Chair, adjourn the House in the event of an emergency, postpone reconvening in the event of an emergency, and sign all bills, joint resolutions, and concurrent resolutions. The administrative duties of the Speaker include having control over the Hall of the House, appointing chair, vice-chair, and members to each standing committee, appointing all conference committees, and directing committees to make interim studies.


title: Texas House of Representatives

text: The Chief Clerk is the head of the Chief Clerk's Office which maintains a record of all authors who sign legislation, maintains and distributes membership information to current house members, and forwards copies of legislation to house committee chairs. The Chief Clerk is the primary custodian of all legal documents within House. Additional duties include keeping a record of all progress on a document, attesting all warrants, writs, and subpoenas, receiving and filing all documents received by the house, and maintaining the electronic information and calendar for documents. When there is a considerable update of the electronic source website, the Chief Clerk is also responsible for noticing House members via email.


title: Texas House of Representatives

text: In addition to these committees, there are also six joint committees composed of members of both the State House and Senate:


title: Siblings Day

text: Siblings Day is a holiday recognized annually in some parts of the United States and Canada on April 10, and as Brothers and Sisters Day on May 31 in Europe. Unlike Mother's Day and Father's Day, it is not federally recognized in the United States, though the Siblings Day Foundation is working to change this. Since 1998, the governors of 49 states have officially issued proclamations to recognize Siblings Day in their state.


title: Siblings Day

text: Siblings Days are celebrated also in India. The Hindu holiday of Raksha Bandhan, which is the oldest festival in this category, also celebrates the bond of brothers and sisters.


title: Siblings Day

text: The US holiday was conceived by Claudia Evart to honor the memory of her brother and sister, who died at early ages. The Siblings Day Foundation was incorporated in 1997 and achieved non-profit status in 1999. Carolyn Maloney, then the U.S. representative for , officially saluted the holiday and introduced it into the official "Congressional Record" of the United States Congress on April 10, 1997; and in subsequent years 2001, 2005 and 2008.


title: Siblings Day

text: In Europe, the holiday was launched in 2014 by the European Large Families Confederation (ELFAC) to celebrate siblings bonds and relationships. The May 31 feast spread in different ways in the European countries where ELFAC is present. In Portugal, "Dia dos Irmãos" has become very popular and the President of Republic of Portugal has greeted it publicly, in 2016 and 2017.


title: Siblings Day

text: ELFAC has associate members in several European countries: Austria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Serbia and Switzerland. But adherence to the date and spirit of May 31 is open to any other European or non-European country.


title: Siblings Day

text: In the United States, approximately 80% of people have siblings. The holiday is intended to be a celebration of the relationship of brothers and sisters.


title: Siblings Day

text: Examples of commemoration during this observance include giving your sibling a gift (including a surprise gift), a giftcard, and taking one out for dinner. Nonmaterial examples of observances during this day includes giving hugs to your sibling(s), enjoying time with them, honoring their presence in your life, and greeting them on various social media platforms using childhood photos.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: Nighthawk is the name of several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. There have been seven versions of the character: two supervillains-turned-superheroes from the mainstream Marvel Universe continuity (Earth-616), Kyle Richmond (who belonged to the Squadron Sinister) and Tilda Johnson (the former Deadly Nightshade); two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Joaquin Pennyworth and Jackson F. "Jack" Norriss; and five from alternate universes, who belonged to various incarnations of the Squadron Supreme, including the Kyle and Neal Richmond of Earth-712, and an African-American version of Kyle Richmond from Earth-31916 who primarily kills white supremacists and mentors Tilda upon travelling to Earth-616; after his death, a simulacrum of him is created by Mephisto and programmed by the Power Elite to serve as a member of the Squadron Supreme of America, under the command of Phil Coulson.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: Nighthawk has made limited appearances in animation and live-action, with Adam West and Anthony Ruivivar respectively voicing him in 2010 and 2016 episodes of "The Super Hero Squad Show" and "Avengers Assemble"; while in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Scoot McNairy portrays impersonator Jackson Norriss in the live-action short film "All Hail the King" (2014), with A. J. Bowen portraying the real Jackson Norris in the web series "WHIH Newsfront" (2016), Gabrielle Dennis portraying Tilda Johnson in the 2018 second season of the Netflix television series "Luke Cage", and Nabiyah Be portraying Linda Johnson (a character also based on Tilda Johnson) in the film "Black Panther" (also 2018).


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: Kyle Richmond, the original Nighthawk, debuted as a supervillain in the final panel of "The Avengers" #69 (October 1969). This story is the first chapter of a three-issue story arc by writer Roy Thomas and penciller Sal Buscema. The arc introduced the supervillain team the Squadron Sinister, whose four members were loosely based on heroes in DC Comics' Justice League of America, with Nighthawk based on Batman.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: Following this arc, Nighthawk pursues a solo career, next appearing in "Daredevil" #62 (March 1970). Here, Richmond attempts through underhanded means to tarnish DD's reputation and supplant him. Daredevil tricks Richmond into revealing his criminal activities to the public and, after a battle atop a subway, Nighthawk makes good his escape.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: Nighthawk next appears in the superhero team title "The Defenders" #13–14 (May–July 1974), he goes to the titular supergroup for help against his former teammates, and joins the team the following issue. "Defenders" writer Len Wein said that adding Nighthawk to the group "gave me a character to play with who didn't have a whole lot of previous history ... [a] character I could do anything I wanted to without worrying about how it would affect any other titles that character might appear in."


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: Nighthawk appeared on a regular basis in "The Defenders" and a number of other Marvel titles. A long-range story arc in "The Defenders", beginning in 1979, has Nighthawk under criminal investigation. Writer Ed Hannigan later revealed he planned to end this story arc with Nighthawk being put in prison "for good", but his run on the series ended before he could bring this to fruition.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: Defenders writer David Anthony Kraft said, describing Nighthawk's role in the team, "Nighthawk so desperately wanted to be the leader. He would be telling everyone what to do, but no one would listen to him! He may be wealthy and can buy all these toys, but he still gets no respect!"


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: Nighthawk apparently sacrifices his life in "The Defenders" #106 (cover dated April 1982). The supervillain Dead Ringer impersonates him in "Captain America" #429 (July 1994). In the three-issue miniseries "Nighthawk" (September–November 1998) Richmond is revealed to be alive, but in a coma and brain dead. Through supernatural means, he is revived and resumes his crime-fighting career. He co-starred in the 12-issue run of "The Defenders" vol. 2 (March 2001– February 2002) and the miniseries "The Order" #1-6 (April–September 2002). Nighthawk formed a short-lived version of the Defenders, with the mutant Colossus, the Blazing Skull, and She-Hulk, as part of the Initiative, depicted in the miniseries "The Last Defenders" #1–6 (May–October 2008).


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: Kyle Richmond was born to two wealthy parents and was brought up by his governess while his dad is away. When Kyle's mother died in an accident, his father sent him to boarding school. Due to his family's money, Kyle got into Grayburn College where he became involved with Mindy Williams who helped him focus through his education. One night, Kyle was caught in a drunk-driving accident in which Mindy was killed, and he was kicked out of school and was unable to return. Kyle later became anti-social, and learned that Grayburn College was closed down due to a lack of funds. Kyle Richmond attempted to join the army, but was rejected due to a heart murmur. Afterwards, Kyle received word that his father died in a plane crash and that Kyle has inherited Richmond Enterprises. Kyle turned to finding a cure for his heart murmur and physically training himself.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: While drunk, Kyle Richmond concocted an alchemy serum that he found in an alchemy volume. The alchemy serum enabled Kyle to gain enhanced strength at night. Kyle took on various sports activities to strengthen his natural abilities where he eventually became Nighthawk. Nighthawk and three other supervillains are brought together as the Squadron Sinister by the cosmic entity the Grandmaster to battle the superhero team the Avengers, which has been forced to act as the champions of the time-traveling conqueror Kang the Conqueror. Nighthawk battles the Avenger Captain America, who outfights the villain. The Avengers eventually defeat the Squadron.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: Reunited by the alien Nebulon, the villains receive greater power in exchange for the planet Earth, and create a giant laser cannon in the Arctic with a plan to melt the polar ice caps and flood the entirety of the Earth's surface. Despite being asked to join the venture, Nighthawk asks for the aid of superhero team the Defenders, who prevent the scheme and defeat the villains and Nebulon.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: The character suffers several setbacks as a superhero, including being charged with tax evasion and fraud by the United States government, and arrested by the FBI for operating as a hero while charges were pending. This stipulation was waived after he was forced to reveal his secret identity. Nighthawk's cumulative wounds from battle eventually leave him paralyzed. Recovering to the point that he can move at night, Nighthawk continues to aid the Defenders, until resigning from the team. He is advised he is to be cleared of all charges if a predetermined amount is repaid to the government.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: After apparently sacrificing his life to stop an organization bent on attacking the Soviet Union, Richmond turns up alive but comatose. He has a vision of an angel that facilitates his healing and bestows on him a "second sight", which enables him to see criminal acts before they are committed. In return, he must punish the would-be criminals. Once healed, Richmond becomes Nighthawk once again and fights crime until forced into a confrontation with Daredevil, whom he kills. The "angel" then reveals itself to be the demon Mephisto, who transports Nighthawk and Daredevil's corpse to Hell, intending to claim Daredevil's soul. Nighthawk battles the demons of Hell and manages to revive Daredevil, and together they escape. A sorcerer later purges him of Mephisto's gift.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: After an adventure with Fantastic Four member the Thing Nighthawk discovers his abilities are increasing, and learns that his former Squadron Sinister teammate Speed Demon has joined the superhero team the New Thunderbolts. After encountering teammate Hyperion, apparently resurrected after being thought dead, and a new Doctor Spectrum (Alice Nugent), Nighthawk briefly joins the New Thunderbolts, but upon discovering he is being used for his fortune, leaves and rejoins the Squadron Sinister. That team learns that the Grandmaster, using an interdimensional source of superhuman abilities, the Wellspring of Power, has been increasing the team-members' powers. After a battle between the Squadron and the New Thunderbolts, Nighthawk and the other members of the Squadron Sinister scatter and escape.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: Nighthawk is initially opposed to the Superhuman Registration Act during the "Civil War" storyline. Following the death of superhero Black Goliath at the hands of the cyborg clone of Thor on the Pro-Registration Side, Nighthawk joins the Pro-Registration Side, but is defeated in a skirmish with Anti-Registration heroes Falcon and Storm.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: After Richmond joins the US government's Fifty State Initiative of registered heroes as Nighthawk, he forms a short-lived Initiative version of the Defenders with the mutant Colossus, the Blazing Skull, and She-Hulk. With She-Hulk and Warlord Krang, battling the group the Sons of the Serpent and culminating in a confrontation with his old Defenders foe Yandroth, Yandroth manipulates time and forces Nighthawk to battle a twisted version of his old team the Squadron Sinister before being rescued by a future incarnation of the Defenders. Noting that one of the future members is Joaquin Pennyworth, an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the son of the one-time leader of the Sons of the Serpent, Richmond asks him to commence training to become the new Nighthawk, before retiring himself.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: During the "Fear Itself" storyline, Nighthawk joins Howard the Duck, She-Hulk and Frankenstein's Monster to form the Fearsome Four when Man-Thing is driven on a rampage. They later discover a plot by Psycho-Man to use Man-Thing's volatile empathy to create a weapon.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: Jackson F. "Jack" Norriss and his wife, Barbara worked with the original Nighthawk and the Defenders. He later became a S.H.I.E.L.D. file-clerk, and then agent often going by the codename Nighthawk. He then went on to be a TV reporter for "Inside America". He helped psychiatrist Andrea Sterman uncover a conspiracy involving Roxxon Oil, the CSA, S.H.I.E.L.D., Nomad, and the Thunderbolts.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: The mature-audience Marvel MAX imprint showcases the adventures of the Earth-31916 version of the Squadron Supreme. This version of Kyle Richmond, an African-American, first appears in the limited series "Supreme Power", and utilizes his wealth to train and develop advanced weaponry and devices to aid in his campaign on crime as a vigilante. Although the character aids the loose formation of heroes that eventually become the Squadron Supreme, Nighthawk chooses to remain aloof and only interacts with them when necessary. The character also appears in the six-issue miniseries "Supreme Power: Nighthawk", in which he investigates an epidemic of drug addiction in Chicago, and learns it is the work of serial killer Whiteface. Nighthawk apprehends and executes the criminal, but not before he causes the deaths of the Mayor and his family.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: After the 2015 "Secret Wars" storyline, Richmond was transported to the regular Marvel Universe. In 2016 Marvel published a comic featuring the character titled "Nighthawk", which ran for six issues. The character worked on reforming Chicago and targeted racism and police brutality with the aid of ex-supervillain Tilda Johnson / Deadly Nightshade. The character also joins the local reality's Squadron Supreme, assassinating (and resurrecting) Namor.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: Nighthawk and Deadly Nightshade later encounter Hawkeye and Red Wolf. He is machine-gunned to death shortly afterwards, and succeeded as Nighthawk by Deadly Nightshade.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: A new version of Kyle Richmond is a member of the Squadron Supreme of America. He is revealed to be a simulacrum created by Mephisto and programmed by the Power Elite to obey Phil Coulson. Nighthawk was programmed to be in top physical condition while sporting some doubt and jealousy for his teammates enough for him to brood. In his personal time, he is a U.S. congressman elected to the House of Representatives to represent Washington DC.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: In the team's first mission, Nighthawk and the Squadron Supreme of America fought Namor and the Defenders of the Deep, when they targeted a Roxxon oil platform off the coast of Alaska.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: Then, the Squadron Supreme visited another oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The Squadron Supreme then made short work of Namor and the Defenders of the Deep.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: During the "War of the Realms" storyline, Kyle was at a congressional hearing when a code red was issued that sent the representatives to the tunnels below. He and the other members of the Squadron Supreme of America were summoned to Washington D.C., where Coulson brought them up to speed with Malekith the Accursed's invasion. Nighthawk and the Squadron Supreme of America fight an army of Rock Trolls and Frost Giants. After the Squadron Supreme caused the Frost Giants to retreat, Coulson sends them to Ohio, which has become a battleground.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: Nighthawk was with the Squadron Supreme when they attempted to apprehend Black Panther, when he infiltrated the Pentagon to confront Coulson.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: During the "Heroes Reborn" storyline where reality is altered to feature a world without the Avengers, Nighthawk was with the Squadron Supreme of America when they fought the Masters of Doom. Nighthawk engaged his enemy Black Skull (a version of Red Skull possessed by the Venom symbiote). Following the fight, Blade (whose memories remained intact) confronted Nighthawk to learn more about this reality. He was unable to get any answers. Nighthawk is later called in by police commissioner Luke Cage to deal with a breakout at Ravencroft. Nighthawk defeats most of them easily, but experiences trouble with the Black Skull (whose symbiote wants to return to Nighthawk) and Deadpool (who intends to kill him despite being ordered not to by the breakout's mastermind the Goblin). After defeating the Black Skull and Deadpool, Nighthawk confronts the Goblin, who exposes the former's partner Dr. Gwen Stacy/Nightbird to Goblin Gas in order to make her kill Nighthawk. While Nighthawk cures Stacy and spares the Goblin, the villain commits suicide while revealing to Nighthawk how the world has changed. Following this, Nighthawk returns to his headquarters to review Ravencroft's surveillance footage and discovers Blade and Captain America helped Lopez escape. Later, Black Panther assumes the Ronin alias and breaks into the Squadron's headquarters to steal their files. After fighting Nighthawk, he escapes and joins Blade's group. Nighthawk was with the Squadron Supreme of America when they discuss their encounters with various heroes and concerns about their world being wrong. Putting aside their differences and without telling President Coulson, they gather clues and rule out suspects before eventually arriving in Wakanda where they confront the Avengers. Nighthawk and the rest of the Squadron Supreme are defeated by the Avengers after a fight with them. When reality is returned to normal, Nighthawk and the Squadron Supreme of America find their memories transferred to their counterparts in the Avengers' reality and struggle to find their place in an unfamiliar world.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: During the "Infinite Destinies" storyline, Nighthawk stalks Nick Fury Jr. and wants him to bring his world back. He proceeds to capture Star in order to pull it off. Nick Fury Jr. defeats Nighthawk who manages to escape.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: As Nighthawk is being driven around by his Life Model Decoy servants while noting that his entire life is a lie, his car is then intercepted by Black Panther who has noted his nocturnal crime-fighting and outdriving the Sun. Black Panther is told by Nightwing that he resigned as the ambassador to Wakanda because "Kyle Richmond never existed" and states that he was just a "straw man" that the devil created while Nighthawk was real. Black Panther notes that they have a mutual dislike of Mephisto for his role in the alternate reality. As Black Panther needs every ally he can kind with Mephisto going Multiversal, Nighthawk takes up Black Panther's offer as Black Panther resigns as Chairman of the Avengers for an undisclosed leave of absence. Later in New York City, Nighthawk crashes the worshiping of the Serpent Society at their old Serpent Solutions headquarters. The rest of the Avengers arrive to find Nighthawk had defeated the Serpent Society. The portal that the Serpent Society summoned opens as Mephisto's dog form. Nighthawk mentioned that the serpent was one of Mephisto's forms as he plans to put Mephisto down. After Mephisto makes the Council of Red known to them, the Avengers hold a vote and allow Nighthawk to join the Avengers. He states that they will need a time machine for where they can trigger a confrontation with the Council of Red. He then proceeds to join the Avengers in confronting the Serpent Society after they escaped from police custody and are killing people while making their way across the Brooklyn Bridge.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: After meeting the Nighthawk of Earth-31916 and helping him defend Chicago from a group of white nationalists called the True Patriots, and the Revelator, Tilda Johnson decides to reform her image as the supervillain Nightshade and train under Nighthawk. Sometime later, they help Hawkeye and Red Wolf after they find barrels of epidurium, a synthetic skin used to build Life-Model Decoys, on a truck that was hijacked. They go to an abandoned coal factory where they end up being attacked by armed soldiers led by Nick Fury. It's later revealed, that Nick Fury, as well as Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones and the other agents, are Life-Model Decoys due to their outdated knowledge and technology. They later thwart an attack by gunmen attempting to rob the base. After defeating the gunmen, Tilda decides to join Hawkeye and Red Wolf on the Avengers, saying her goodbyes to Nighthawk.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: During the "Secret Empire" storyline, while Hawkeye joins the Underground resistance following Hydra's takeover in the United States, the rest of the team gather their own resistance army to help the people in rural areas that are being affected by Hydra's cruel treatment. Tilda is revealed to have become the new Nighthawk, after the former was killed by Hydra soldiers. After several successful victories, the resistance heads to a secret base in South Dakota and prepares for their next attack until Hydra forces raid the base. During the battle, Red Wolf and Tilda have a private conversation, in which both confess their feelings for each other, and they share a kiss. They then head out to help the resistance defeat Hydra.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: Nighthawk is a superb athlete who, courtesy of an alchemical potion, possesses enhanced strength and increased agility and durability from dusk till dawn. He has also used several costume aids, such as a jet-powered artificial wing system, artificial claw tips, lasers and projectile weapons.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: Roy Thomas and penciller John Buscema created an alternate-universe team of heroes called the Squadron Supreme, who debut in "The Avengers" #85 (February 1971). After an initial skirmish with four Avengers, the teams unite to stop a common threat. The characters (including Nighthawk) were identical in name and appearance to the Squadron Sinister, which caused confusion in Marvel's production department, as the covers of "The Avengers" #85 and #141 (November 1975) "cover-blurbed" appearances by the Squadron Sinister, when in fact it was the Squadron Supreme that appeared in both issues.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: The heroic Nighthawk and the Squadron Supreme have another series of skirmishes with the Avengers engineered by the group the Serpent Cartel, but eventually team together and prevent the use of the artifact the Serpent Crown. The character and his teammates briefly feature in the title "Thor", when the evil version of Hyperion attacks the Earth-712 version and then the Thunder God Thor.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: Richmond later retires as Nighthawk, feeling that he can better serve the public good as a politician, eventually becoming President of the United States. However, President Richmond is mentally assaulted by the alien entity known as the Over-Mind, who nearly obliterates the real Richmond's mind and then embarks on a campaign of world domination via an artificial duplicate of the President. The real Richmond is rescued by a psychic entity from Earth-616 with ties to that world's Kyle Richmond, and reconstructs his mind to make him temporarily believe that he is the Nighthawk of Earth-616 (then presumed deceased by his teammates in the Defenders). When the other Squadron members, save for Hyperion, are mind-controlled by the Overmind (who itself is later revealed to be a pawn of another alien menace, Null the Living Darkness), Hyperion and Nighthawk recruit the Defenders to help free the Squadron and defeat the alien threat. When the Richmond working with the Overmind is revealed to be artificial, Nighthawk recalls his true identity and rejoins the Squadron Supreme.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: The Squadron's Earth lies in shambles after the Overmind's attempt to conquer the world. Led by Hyperion, the Squadron believe they have the knowledge and power to recreate the world and create a utopia. Nighthawk resigns in protest, believing that the Squadron should serve and not rule; he also ponders assassinating Hyperion to try to halt the Squadron's plans before they begin. At a joint press conference, Richmond resigns as President of the United States and the Squadron announces its plans to the public; Richmond comes prepared to kill Hyperion, but cannot bring himself to do so. The Squadron assumes control of the United States and remakes the nation into a virtual utopia. The team implements a series of sweeping changes, including revealing their secret identities; instituting a program of behavior modification in prisons; enforcing a strict gun control policy, and developing medical technology to resurrect the dead.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: Predicting a nightmarish outcome to the Squadron's so-called "Utopia Program", Nighthawk attempts in vain to solicit the aid of the Avengers, and then recruits former Squadron foes and newly emerged superhumans to form a team called the Redeemers. They eventually confront the Squadron, and a brutal battle ensues in which several members of both teams are killed, including Nighthawk. A horrified Hyperion realizes Nighthawk was in fact right and ends the battle, and the Squadron disband and release control of the United States to the government.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: The Earth-712 Nighthawk lacks superhuman powers but possesses extensive training and uses a variety of advanced weaponry.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: When the remnants of the Squadron Supreme returns to their home universe in the one-shot "Squadron Supreme: New World Order", they encounter a new Nighthawk, adopted son of Kyle Richmond and biological son of Kyle's foe the Huckster. The Squadron's reality is now dominated by corporations using the Squadron's own Utopia technologies, with the characters eventually reinstating democracy. For years prior to the Squadron Supreme's return, Neal had organized and supervised a resistance force dubbed the "Nighthawks" who battle the Blue Eagles enlisted by the corporate New World Order. Nighthawk later joins the Squadron.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: Nighthawk and the Squadron come into conflict with a new government when interdimensional team the Exiles reveal that the government rigged the election with worldwide vote fraud. The Squadron and the Exiles depose the new government, and attempt to allow society to progress without superhuman involvement.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: This character lacks powers but possesses extensive training and uses a variety of advanced weaponry.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: In the Earth X series and its spin-offs, created by Alex Ross, John Paul Leon, and Jim Krueger, Kyle Richmond is an elderly retired superhero. Kyle Richmond's eyes, given by a disguised Mephisto, allow him to see into the future. He dictates what he sees to his colleague, Isaac Christians, so that a record can be kept of what will become of history. The Earth-9997 version lacks powers but possess extensive training and use a variety of advanced weaponry.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: The Ultimate Marvel alternate universe title "The Ultimates" features a non-powered version of Nighthawk who is the leader of a version of the Defenders. Nighthawk's only attempt at heroics involves leaping from the shadows at a group of petty criminals – only to break his ankle and be severely beaten. In "", he and the Defenders are seen to have gained superhuman powers from Loki.


title: Nighthawk (Marvel Comics)

text: In 2013, the Kyle Richmond incarnation of Nighthawk was released in wave 018 of Hasbro's Marvel Universe 3.75" toyline.


title: Stracciatella di bufala

text: Stracciatella di bufala () is a cheese produced from Italian buffalo milk in the province of Foggia, located in the southern Italian region of Apulia, using a stretching (pasta filata) and a shredding technique.


title: Stracciatella di bufala

text: Stracciatella cheese is composed of small shreds—hence its name, which in Italian is a diminutive of "straccia" ("rag" or "shred") meaning "a little shred".


title: Stracciatella di bufala

text: It is a stretched curd fresh cheese, white in colour, and made the whole year round, but is thought to be at its best during the spring and summer months.


title: Stracciatella di bufala

text: This "stracciatella" is unusual in that buffalo herds and the cheeses made from their milk are much more common over on the western side of the Apennines in Lazio and Campania.


title: Stracciatella di bufala

text: When mixed with thick cream, stracciatella is also used to make burrata (Italian for "buttered"): this is a rich, buttery textured cheese which comes enclosed in a bag of mozzarella and is thought to have been originally created in the early 20th century in Andria on the Murgia plateau. It is also now made outside Italy, especially in the United States and Argentina. Since neither stracciatella nor burrata keeps well even when refrigerated, these cheeses need to be consumed promptly, while they are still soft and fresh.


title: Winston Smith (Nineteen Eighty-Four)

text: Winston Smith is a fictional character and the main protagonist of George Orwell's dystopian 1949 novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four". The character was employed by Orwell as an everyman in the setting of the novel, a "central eye ... [the reader] can readily identify with."


title: Winston Smith (Nineteen Eighty-Four)

text: Winston Smith works in the Records Department of the Ministry of Truth, where his job is to rewrite historical documents so they match the constantly changing current party line. This involves revising newspaper articles and doctoring photographs—mostly to remove "unpersons", people who have fallen afoul of the party. Because of his proximity to the mechanics of rewriting history, Winston Smith nurses doubts about the Party and its monopoly on truth. Whenever Winston appears in front of a telescreen, he is referred to as "6079 Smith W".


title: Winston Smith (Nineteen Eighty-Four)

text: Winston meets a mysterious woman named Julia, a fellow member of the Outer Party who also bears resentment toward the party's ways; the two become lovers. Winston soon gets in touch with O'Brien, a member of the Inner Party who Winston believes is secretly a member of The Brotherhood, a resistance organisation dedicated to overthrowing the Party's dictatorship. Believing they have met a kindred spirit, Winston and Julia join the Brotherhood.


title: Winston Smith (Nineteen Eighty-Four)

text: However, O'Brien is really an agent of the Thought Police, which has had Winston under surveillance for seven years. Winston and Julia are soon captured. Winston remains defiant when he is captured, and endures several months of extreme torture at O'Brien's hands. However, his spirit finally breaks when he is taken into Room 101 and confronted by his worst fear: the unspeakable horror of slowly being eaten alive by rats. Terrified by the realization that this threat will come true if he continues to resist, he denounces Julia and pledges his loyalty to the Party. Any possibility of resistance or independent thought is destroyed when Smith is forced to accept the assertion 2 + 2 = 5, a phrase which has entered the lexicon to represent obedience to ideology over rational truth or fact. By the end of the novel, O'Brien's torture has reverted Winston to an obedient, unquestioning party member who genuinely loves "Big Brother". Beyond his total capitulation and submission to the party, Winston's fate is left unresolved in the novel. As Winston realises that he loves Big Brother, he dreams of a public trial and an execution; however the novel itself ends with Winston, still in the Chestnut Tree Café, contemplating and adoring the face of Big Brother.


title: Winston Smith (Nineteen Eighty-Four)

text: Winston is stated as being 39 years old at the beginning of the book. Like other major characters, he is a smoker and drinker (his gin and tobacco are of the low-quality "Victory" brand available to Outer Party members). It is mentioned that he has a wife, Katherine, from whom he has become estranged. Winston also has a varicose ulcer on the back of his leg, a point repeatedly touched upon seemingly to exacerbate the sense of the poverty in which he lives.


title: Winston Smith (Nineteen Eighty-Four)

text: Winston seems to have a curious and intellectual nature (which ultimately puts him in the Party's sights). He has an affection for and interest in items and poetry from the past. Even before he begins an affair with Julia, he develops a rapport with the seemingly harmless Mr Charrington, who sells him a diary and a distinctive coral ornament. He also introduces Winston to the largely forgotten rhyme "Oranges and Lemons", prompting him to look for similarly lost poetry.


title: Winston Smith (Nineteen Eighty-Four)

text: Winston is described as a Londoner in the novel. His name is usually taken to come from Winston Churchill and the common surname Smith. He was also partly inspired by the character of Rubashov from Arthur Koestler's novel "Darkness at Noon", especially his response and reaction to his interrogation.


title: Carmine Caridi

text: Carmine Caridi (January 23, 1934 – May 28, 2019) was an American film, television and stage actor. He is best known for his roles in the films "The Godfather Part II" (1974) and "The Godfather Part III" (1990).


title: Carmine Caridi

text: In 2004, Caridi became the first person to be expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.


title: Carmine Caridi

text: Caridi's most notable film roles are Carmine Rosato in "The Godfather Part II" (1974) and Albert Volpe in "The Godfather Part III" (1990). He is one of three actors to play two different roles in the "Godfather" films; the others being Frank Sivero (who played a young Genco Abbandando in "Godfather Part II" and a bystander to the fight between Sonny Corleone and Carlo Rizzi in "The Godfather"), and Sofia Coppola (who played Mary Corleone in "Godfather Part III" and the infant son of Carlo and Connie baptized in the final scenes of "The Godfather" as well as a child on the ship at the beginning of "Godfather Part II").


title: Carmine Caridi

text: According to studio executive Robert Evans in his 1994 memoir "The Kid Stays in the Picture", Caridi was director Francis Ford Coppola's first choice for the role of Sonny Corleone, but Evans insisted on James Caan because Caridi was too tall to play opposite Al Pacino. (However, according to author Mark Seal in his 2022 book Leave The Gun, Take The Cannoli, Caan had been Coppola's choice from the start and had major battles with Evans over this and other major casting decisions for The Godfather. In Mark Seal's account, Coppola attended theatre arts school with Caan and directed him, along with actor Robert Duvall, in the film The Rain People.).


title: Carmine Caridi

text: Caridi appeared in the cult movie "Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park" (1978), playing amusement park manager Calvin Richards, and appeared as Sam Giancana in the 1992 film "Ruby".


title: Carmine Caridi

text: On television, he portrayed Dan Valenti on "Phyllis" from 1976-1977. In 1978, he appeared as Di Carlo in the episode "The Intimate Friends of Janet Wilde" of the series "The Eddie Capra Mysteries". Between 1982 and 1983, Caridi played Angelo Martelli, Bruno Martelli's father, in the TV series "Fame". Caridi played Detective Vince Gotelli in the television series "NYPD Blue" from 1993 to 1999.


title: Carmine Caridi

text: Caridi's final appearance was a small role in the Season 10 episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm", "Insufficient Praise." Later on the season, Larry David's character is accused of allowing his Academy screener DVDs to be pirated.


title: Carmine Caridi

text: On January 13, 2004, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that it had identified a copy of the film "Something's Gotta Give", circulated illegally on the Internet, as carrying markings identifying it as coming from a VHS screener copy sent to Caridi because he was an Oscar voter. Similarly, unauthorized copies of "The Last Samurai", "Mystic River", "Big Fish" and "" were said to have been traced to Caridi. The FBI began an investigation into the affair.


title: Carmine Caridi

text: Later that month, the FBI charged Russell Sprague of Homewood, Illinois, with criminal copyright infringement. Federal authorities alleged that for at least three years, Caridi had given Sprague his screener copies of approximately 60 movies seeking consideration for the Academy Awards. According to the FBI affidavit, Caridi said that he sent his screeners via FedEx to Sprague, who gave him FedEx boxes, pre-addressed labels, and an account number. Caridi denied receiving money from Sprague, telling the FBI he believed that Sprague was a film buff.


title: Carmine Caridi

text: Caridi and Sprague were sued by Sony and Time Warner on civil charges of copyright infringement. The studios filed the suit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles, seeking damages of a minimum of $150,000 per movie, with hundreds of individual violations alleged. While awaiting trial on criminal charges, Sprague died of a suspected heart attack. Caridi was cleared of wrongdoing.


title: Carmine Caridi

text: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on February 3, 2004, that it was expelling Caridi for violating his agreement to safeguard their screeners, making him the first Academy member to be expelled.


title: Carmine Caridi

text: Caridi was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he slipped into a comatose state and died on May 28, 2019.


title: Lily Sullivan

text: Lily Sullivan is an Australian actress, known for her role as Coral in the 2012 film "Mental" and in the lead role of Miranda in the 2018 TV series "Picnic At Hanging Rock".


title: Lily Sullivan

text: Sullivan's father is an importer of medical equipment, and her mother a visual artist, who emigrated to Australia from the UK together before Lily's birth. She grew up in Queensland and attended John Paul College in early years then went to Calvary Christian College in year 2 in Logan City, graduating in 2011.


title: Lily Sullivan

text: After seeing a production of "A Streetcar Named Desire" on stage in Brisbane as a teenager, Sullivan became enamoured with the idea of acting, and planned to audition for one of the major drama schools. However, a callout for a film role came in her final year of high school, and she auditioned and won the role.


title: Lily Sullivan

text: Sullivan made her feature film debut in P. J. Hogan's 2012 feature "Mental", for which she auditioned while still at school, playing opposite Toni Collette, Liev Schreiber and Anthony LaPaglia. For this she earned an AACTA Award nomination for Best Young Actor and a Film Critics Circle of Australia Award nomination for Best Performance by a Young Actor.


title: Lily Sullivan

text: In 2014, she appeared in the feature film "Galore" (2014), which premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival. She earned a Best Actress award for her performance at the 2014 Cinema des Antipodes Saint-Tropez. She moved to Melbourne after this.


title: Lily Sullivan

text: Sullivan was one of two runners-up in the 2015 Heath Ledger Scholarship, along with Emilie Cocquerel. Both were given round trips to Los Angeles to increase their profiles in the US market, as well as a scholarship to attend masterclasses at Screenwise Film and Television School in Sydney.


title: Lily Sullivan

text: She appeared in the second season of the television series "Rake" (2012) and had a recurring role in the NBC series "Camp" (2013), an American show filmed in Queensland. She had a role in the 2015 film "Sucker", starring Timothy Spall.


title: Lily Sullivan

text: In 2018, she reached further prominence in the lead role of Miranda in "Picnic At Hanging Rock". Later that year, she became the face of Australian pearl company Paspaley, starring in a 60-second advertising video shot on the Kimberley coast in Western Australia.


title: Lily Sullivan

text: Sullivan played Lucy in the Australian film "I Met A Girl", which was released on Netflix in April 2021.


title: Lily Sullivan

text: In 2021, Sullivan was cast in the film "Evil Dead Rise", written and directed by Lee Cronin and due for release on 21 April 2023.


title: Lily Sullivan

text: In 2022 she was cast in "Monolith", a science fiction thriller film made by a team of emerging South Australian filmmakers: writer Lucy Campbell, director Matt Vesely and producer Bettina Hamilton. Filmed in the Adelaide hills, the film has its world premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival on 27 October 2022.


title: Lily Sullivan

text: In October 2018 Paspaley, an Australian pearling company, launched its new ad campaign entitled "Something Real", featuring Sullivan.


title: Saurischia

text: Saurischia ( , meaning "reptile-hipped" from the Greek ' () meaning 'lizard' and ' () meaning 'hip joint') is one of the two basic divisions of dinosaurs (the other being Ornithischia), classified by their hip structure. Saurischia and Ornithischia were originally called orders by Harry Seeley in 1888 though today most paleontologists classify Saurischia as an unranked clade rather than an order.


title: Saurischia

text: All carnivorous dinosaurs (certain types of theropods) are traditionally classified as saurischians, as are all of the birds and one of the two primary lineages of herbivorous dinosaurs, the sauropodomorphs. At the end of the Cretaceous Period, all saurischians except the birds became extinct in the course of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. Birds, as direct descendants of one group of theropod dinosaurs, are a sub-clade of saurischian dinosaurs in phylogenetic classification.


title: Saurischia

text: Saurischian dinosaurs are traditionally distinguished from ornithischian dinosaurs by their three-pronged pelvic structure, with the pubis pointed forward. The ornithischians' pelvis is arranged with the pubis rotated backward, parallel with the ischium, often also with a forward-pointing process, giving a four-pronged structure. The saurischian hip structure led Seeley to name them "lizard-hipped" dinosaurs, because they retained the ancestral hip anatomy also found in modern lizards and other reptiles. He named ornithischians "bird-hipped" dinosaurs because their hip arrangement was superficially similar to that of birds, though he did not propose any specific relationship between ornithischians and birds. However, in the view which has long been held, this "bird-hipped" arrangement evolved several times independently in dinosaurs, first in the ornithischians, then in the lineage of saurischians including birds (Avialae), and lastly in the therizinosaurians. This would then be an example of convergent evolution: avialans, therizinosaurians, and ornithischian dinosaurs all developed a similar hip anatomy independently of each other, possibly as an adaptation to their herbivorous or omnivorous diets.


title: Saurischia

text: In his paper naming the two groups, Seeley reviewed previous classification schemes put forth by other paleontologists to divide up the traditional order Dinosauria. He preferred one that had been put forward by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878, which divided dinosaurs into four orders: Sauropoda, Theropoda, Ornithopoda, and Stegosauria (these names are still used today in much the same way to refer to suborders or clades within Saurischia and Ornithischia).


title: Saurischia

text: Seeley, however, wanted to formulate a classification that would take into account a single primary difference between major dinosaurian groups based on a characteristic that also differentiated them from other reptiles. He found this in the configuration of the hip bones, and found that all four of Marsh's orders could be divided neatly into two major groups based on this feature. He placed the Stegosauria and Ornithopoda in the Ornithischia, and the Theropoda and Sauropoda in the Saurischia. Furthermore, Seeley used this major difference in the hip bones, along with many other noted differences between the two groups, to argue that "dinosaurs" were not a natural grouping at all, but rather two distinct orders that had arisen independently from more primitive archosaurs. This concept that "dinosaur" was an outdated term for two distinct orders lasted many decades in the scientific and popular literature, and it was not until the 1960s that scientists began to again consider the possibility that saurischians and ornithischians were more closely related to each other than they were to other archosaurs.


title: Saurischia

text: Although his concept of a polyphyletic Dinosauria is no longer accepted by most paleontologists, Seeley's basic division of the two dinosaurian groups has stood the test of time, and has been supported by modern cladistic analysis of relationships among dinosaurs. A node-base clade, Eusaurischia, was named for the least inclusive group containing sauropodomorphs (represented by "Cetiosaurus") and theropods (represented by Neornithes). Any saurischian that diverged before the theropod-sauropodomorph split is therefore outside clade Eusaurischia.


title: Saurischia

text: One alternative hypothesis challenging Seeley's classification was proposed by Robert T. Bakker in his 1986 book "The Dinosaur Heresies". Bakker's classification separated the theropods into their own group and placed the two groups of herbivorous dinosaurs (the sauropodomorphs and ornithischians) together in a separate group he named the Phytodinosauria ("plant dinosaurs"). The Phytodinosauria hypothesis was based partly on the supposed link between ornithischians and prosauropods, and the idea that the former had evolved directly from the latter, possibly by way of an enigmatic family that seemed to possess characters of both groups, the segnosaurs. However, it was later found that segnosaurs were an unusual type of herbivorous theropod saurischian closely related to birds, and the Phytodinosauria hypothesis fell out of favor.


title: Saurischia

text: A 2017 study by Matthew Grant Baron, David B. Norman and Paul M. Barrett did not find support for a monophyletic Saurischia, according to its traditional definition. Instead, the group was found to be paraphyletic. As a solution, Theropoda was removed from the group and placed as the sister group to the Ornithischia in the newly defined clade Ornithoscelida. As another result, the authors redefined Saurischia as ”the most inclusive clade that contains "D. carnegii", but not "T. horridus"“, resulting in a clade containing only the Sauropodomorpha and Herrerasauridae. Thomas Holtz (2017) recommended using the name Sauropodomorpha to refer to a possible clade that includes traditional sauropodomorphs and herrerasaurids; alternatively, he proposed redefining the long-disused taxon Pachypodosauria to include Sauropodomorpha and Herrerasauridae as subclades. Cau (2018) also supported Ornithoscelida but placed herrerasaurids, "Tawa" and "Daemonosaurus" in a clade (Herrerasauria) outside Dinosauria. Other recent studies support a view closer to the traditional Saurischia hypothesis, with theropods closer to sauropodomorphs than to ornithischians. Novas "et al". (2021) support Cau's herrerasaur phylogeny but place this clade in Saurischia.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: Mark Charles Teixeira ( ; born April 11, 1980), nicknamed "Tex", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and New York Yankees. Before his professional career, he played college baseball at Georgia Tech, where in 2000 he won the Dick Howser Trophy as the national collegiate baseball player of the year. One of the most prolific switch hitters in MLB history, Teixeira was an integral part of the Yankees' 27th World Series championship in 2009, leading the American League (AL) in home runs and runs batted in (RBI) while finishing second in the Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) balloting. Teixeira was a three-time All-Star, won five Gold Glove Awards and three Silver Slugger Awards, and also holds the all-time major league record for most games with a home run from both sides of the plate, with 14. He was the fifth switch hitter in MLB history to reach 400 home runs.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: Drafted fifth overall by the Texas Rangers in 2001, Teixeira made his MLB debut on Opening Day in 2003, and hit 26 home runs as a rookie. He hit career-highs of 43 home runs and 144 RBI in 2005. The centerpiece of consecutive mid-season trades in 2007 and 2008, the Rangers first sent him to the Braves for a prospect package centered around Elvis Andrus and Matt Harrison. He was later traded in July 2008 to the Los Angeles Angels, where he played for half a season and lost in the first round of the playoffs. In December 2008, he agreed to a lucrative eight-year contract with the Yankees, contributing his most productive season in pinstripes the following year. Injuries limited his effectiveness afterward, including a calf strain in 2012, early season-ending wrist surgery in 2013, various ailments in 2014, a shin fracture in 2015, and neck spasms and torn cartilage in 2016. Teixeira retired at the conclusion of the 2016 season and contract with the Yankees. In each season from 2004 to 2011, Teixeira hit at least 30 home runs with 100 RBI.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: Mark Charles Teixeira grew up in Severna Park, Maryland, the son of Margaret "Margy" Canterna and John Teixeira. He attended Mount Saint Joseph High School in Baltimore, where he played for the school's varsity baseball team, and was teammates with Gavin Floyd. His paternal grandfather emigrated from the South American country Guyana, and he has English and Portuguese ancestry through his father. Teixeira's mother is of Italian descent.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: Teixeira was originally chosen in the ninth round of the 1998 MLB draft by the Boston Red Sox. Teixeira chose not to sign with the Red Sox, however, opting instead to play college baseball for Georgia Tech citing that he didn't appreciate how the Red Sox treated him. In the summer of 1999, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he won the league's Outstanding Pro Prospect Award.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: Teixeira played college baseball at Georgia Tech. In 2000, his batting average was .427, and his on-base plus slugging (OPS) was 1.319. He also won the Dick Howser Trophy as the national collegiate baseball player of the year.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: In 2001, Teixeira re-entered the draft and was selected by the Texas Rangers with the fifth overall pick. The Philadelphia Phillies considered selecting him with the fourth overall pick, but the demands of Teixeira's agent Scott Boras swayed the Phillies to select Gavin Floyd. The Rangers signed Teixeira to a Major League contract worth $9.5 million over 4 years.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: Teixeira began the 2002 season in the Florida State League, where he batted .320 with an OPS of 1.000 in 38 games. He was then moved up to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers, with whom he batted .316 with a .994 OPS and hit 10 home runs in 48 games. It turned out that 2002 would be his only season in the minor leagues; he made the Rangers out of spring training in 2003.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: As a rookie in 2003, Teixeira hit .259 with 26 home runs, 84 RBI, and a .811 OPS. Teixeira began to improve in 2004, batting .281 with an OPS of .930, 38 home runs, and 112 RBI. On August 17, 2004, Teixeira hit for the cycle. For his accomplishments in 2005, he earned the Silver Slugger Award as the best-hitting first baseman in the American League as well as the Gold Glove signifying his place as the best fielding first baseman in the American League. He was also named to his first All-Star Game after winning the fan voting portion of the selection to be named the starting first baseman for his league. During the game, Teixeira hit a home run from the right-hand side of the plate, something he had failed to do in the entire first half of the season. In a five-game span around the All-Star Game, Teixeira hit five home runs with 13 RBI. He finished July with 13 home runs and 30 RBI and was named the American League Player of the Month. Overall, Teixeira batted .301 with 43 home runs and 144 RBI in the 2005 season.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: In 2005, Teixeira became the third switch-hitter in MLB history to hit at least 20 home runs in each of his first three seasons, after Eddie Murray and Chipper Jones. He is also one of just five players in Major League history to hit at least 100 home runs in his first three seasons, joining Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio, Ralph Kiner, and Eddie Mathews as well as current first base star, Albert Pujols. Other players – Mark McGwire, José Canseco, Todd Helton, Ryan Howard – have hit 100+ home runs in their first three full seasons, but these players had all played partial seasons prior to playing their first three full seasons. His 2005 total of 144 RBI is a Major League record for a switch-hitter.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: On Mother's Day, May 14, 2006, Teixeira was one of more than 50 hitters who brandished a pink bat to benefit the Breast Cancer Foundation.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: Teixeira's 2006 season began slowly, as he collected only nine home runs before the All-Star Break. After the All-Star Break, however, he was among the league's leaders in home runs, and again finished with over 30 homers and 100 RBI for the season.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: Teixeira agreed to a two-year $15.98 million contract before the 2006 season to avoid his first two years of arbitration.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: On June 9, 2007, Teixeira's franchise record 507 consecutive-game streak came to an end. Teixeira landed awkwardly at first base after running out a grounder in a game against the Milwaukee Brewers the previous day. The streak was second to Miguel Tejada at the time. The strained quadriceps muscle placed Teixeira on the disabled list for only the second time of his career.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: On July 31, 2007, two weeks after turning down an eight-year, $140 million contract extension from the Rangers, Teixeira was traded to the Atlanta Braves (along with left-handed reliever Ron Mahay) for catcher/first baseman Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and four prospects: shortstop Elvis Andrus, and starting pitchers Matt Harrison, Neftalí Feliz and Beau Jones. Teixeira was activated for that night's game against the Houston Astros and arrived in the dugout during the seventh inning. He was promptly shown on Turner Field's high definition video board and received a boisterous applause from the Atlanta crowd.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: In his Braves debut on August 1, 2007, Teixeira hit a 3-run homer and drove in 4 runs in a 12–3 rout of the Houston Astros. Teixeira went on to homer in each of the following two games, becoming just the second player to homer in his first three games as a Brave – the first being Gary Sheffield in 2002.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: On August 19, 2007, Teixeira had his first multi-HR game against the Arizona Diamondbacks off Yusmeiro Petit. He would repeat that feat the next day, going deep for two three-run home runs versus the Cincinnati Reds. Teixeira, a switch-hitter, hit both homers on the 19th batting from the left side of the plate, and hit his homers on the 20th from the right side. He was named co-NL Player of the Week from August 20–26 by slugging .793 with three home runs and as expected, he was awarded NL Player of the Month for August. On September 22, Teixeira had his first walk-off hit with the Braves when he singled in Willie Harris giving the Braves a 4–3 extra-inning victory.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: In 54 games with Atlanta in 2007, Teixeira batted .317 with 17 home runs and 56 RBI. The Braves avoided arbitration in the 2007 offseason and signed Teixeira to a one-year, $12.5 million contract for the 2008 season.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: On July 29, 2008, Teixeira was traded to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Stephen Marek. Batting third in the Angel order, Teixeira hit .358 with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs after the trade to help his new team to their first 100-win season in franchise history. Through 2011, he was one of seven major leaguers to have had at least four 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons in their first five years, along with Chuck Klein, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Ralph Kiner, Albert Pujols, and Ryan Braun.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: Teixeira made his postseason debut with a .467 batting average, 7 hits and an RBI. His new team of the Angels would lose the 2008 ALDS to the Boston Red Sox in 4 games. Teixeira declared for free agency at the end of the season.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: In December 2008, Teixeira agreed preliminarily to a deal with the New York Yankees worth $180 million over 8 years, and he was formally introduced as a Yankee on January 6, 2009. The contract included a full no-trade clause, plus a $5 million signing bonus. He signed with the Yankees over a number of other clubs, including the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles. The signing with the Yankees reunited Teixeira with teammate Alex Rodriguez who played for the Texas Rangers from 2001 to 2003. Teixeira wore the number 25 instead of his preferred number 23, since 23 is retired in honor of Don Mattingly. Mattingly was Teixeira's childhood idol, and was the reason Teixeira wore 23 earlier in his career. The signing became official on January 6, 2009.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: In the 2009 season, he led the AL in both home runs (tied with Carlos Peña of Tampa Bay) with 39, and RBI with 122.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: Teixeira received a World Series ring as the Yankees won the 2009 World Series, but struggled offensively throughout the postseason, batting only .180 overall and .136 in the World Series. However, several of his hits proved very important, including a walk-off home run in Game 2 of the ALDS and a game-tying home run in Game 2 of the World Series. Additionally, he made several stellar defensive plays in all rounds of the playoffs.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: For the 2009 season, Teixeira was awarded both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards for the American League first baseman. He also finished second in the AL MVP balloting behind Twins' catcher Joe Mauer.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: On April 23, against the Angels, Teixeira was involved in a home-plate collision with Bobby Wilson while sliding home. Teixeira confessed that the collision was not intentional, and was not disciplined by the league for his action. On May 8, Teixeira became the second Yankees player to hit three home runs in one game against the Boston Red Sox, joining Lou Gehrig, who accomplished the feat on June 23, 1927. On June 20, against the New York Mets, Teixeira hit a grand slam off Johan Santana, proving to be the Yankees' only offense of the game in the 4–0 victory. Once again, Teixeira won the 2010 Gold Glove Award for American League first basemen. In 158 games of 2010, Teixeira finished with a .256 average, 33 home runs, and 108 runs batted in. He also led the American League with 113 runs scored. In the 2010 ALCS, Teixeira injured his hamstring, and did not play for the remainder of the playoffs. The Yankees lost the series to the Rangers in six games.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: On August 2, 2011, Teixeira hit a home run from both sides of the plate in the same game for the 12th time in his career, breaking a three-way tie with Chili Davis and Eddie Murray for the most such games all-time.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: In August 2011, Teixeira and Curtis Granderson became the first Yankees teammates to have 30 home runs in 115 games since Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 1961.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: Through 2011, he had the third-best career fielding percentage among major league first basemen (.996), behind Casey Kotchman and Kevin Youkilis. During the 2011 year, Teixeira batted .248 with 39 home runs and 111 RBI in 156 games. Teixeira continued his postseason struggles in 2011 as he batted only .167 with 1 RBI in a 5-game ALDS loss to the Detroit Tigers.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: On March 1, 2012, Teixeira hired Casey Close of Excel Sports Management to be his agent. This came almost a year after Teixeira parted ways with Boras. Close also represents fellow Yankees Derek Jeter and Masahiro Tanaka, as well as Ryan Howard.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: Throughout the 2012 season, Teixeira was plagued with several health issues and injuries such as a "persistent and almost debilitating" cough caused by severe congestion of the bronchi, wrist inflammation, and a calf strain. Teixeira spent some time on the disabled list with the calf strain from late August until early September. After committing a disputed double play in a 5-4 loss against the Orioles, Teixeira aggravated his calf and was put on the DL again. He would eventually return for the season finale against the Red Sox. He finished the 2012 season with a .251 batting average, 24 home runs, and 84 RBI in 123 games played. The Yankees would again make the playoffs, but loss to the Tigers in a 4-game sweep of the 2012 ALCS. Following the season, Teixeira won the 2012 Gold Glove Award for American League first basemen. He won a Fielding Bible Award as the best fielding first baseman in MLB. He named the Yankees' nominee for the 2012 Roberto Clemente Award.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: On March 6, 2013, Teixeira suffered a strained wrist tendon while he was part of Team USA of the World Baseball Classic. Teixeira began the 2013 season on the 15-day disabled list, and was transferred to the 60-day disabled list on May 14. He returned on May 31, 2013, against the Red Sox going 0−3 with a walk and scoring a run. He aggravated the wrist on June 15, 2013, and the next day, he received cortisone injections to treat the inflammation of the wrist. He was again placed on the 15-day DL due to the inflammation on June 18, 2013. Teixeira played in only 15 games during the 2013 season with a .151 average, 3 home runs, and 12 RBI. On July 1, 2013, Teixeira underwent wrist surgery and was shut down for the rest of the season.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: During a game against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 4, 2014, Teixeira left the game after a hamstring injury while trying to fetch a foul ball in foul territory. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list the following day on April 5, 2014. He was activated on April 20, 2014. During a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 17, 2014, Teixeira hit his 350th career home run off of Edinson Vólquez. On May 31, 2014, Teixeira aggravated his wrist that was surgically repaired the previous year. He received a cortisone shot to treat the wrist and missed two games. During a game against the Orioles on June 22, 2014, Teixeira left the game after being hit in the toe of the left foot by a pitch from T. J. McFarland. X-rays came back negative on the toe injury. On September 4, 2014, Teixeira hit his 21st home run of the season, which was a game-tying, solo home run that paved the way for a walk-off 5–4 victory over the Red Sox. In 2014, Teixeira batted only .216, but still hit 22 home runs with 62 RBI limited to 123 games.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: Teixeira experienced a resurgent season in 2015, being named to his third All-Star team, hitting his most home runs in a season since 2011. During a game against the Minnesota Twins on August 17, 2015, Teixeira fouled a ball off his leg and left the game. X-rays were negative, but it was projected that he had a deep bone bruise in his leg. Listed as day-to-day, Teixeira missed nearly two weeks and was sent back to New York on August 31, 2015, to visit Yankees head team physician, Dr. Christopher Ahmad to seek second opinions. On September 1, Teixeira underwent CAT scans, x-rays, and MRIs, all testing negative. On September 4, Teixeira was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to the nagging bone bruise. On September 11, Teixeira underwent further tests and an MRI revealed a fracture in his shin, which eventually ended his 2015 season. The injury required three months to recover. In 111 games of 2015, Teixeira batted .255 with 31 home runs and 79 RBI.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: Teixeira struggled to open the season. On May 10, 2016, Teixeira revealed that he had been battling neck spasms. On May 25, he underwent an MRI on his neck, which was negative. The next day, he received a cortisone shot to treat the pain in his neck. In a game against the Orioles on June 3, he left the game due to right knee discomfort. He underwent an MRI the next day, which revealed that there was torn articular cartilage, placing him on the 15-day disabled list. Hoping to avoid surgery, Teixeira opted for treatment and rehabilitation on June 8. He was activated on June 25.


title: Mark Teixeira

text: While playing the San Diego Padres on July 3, Teixeira hit two home runs, including his 400th career home run. He became only the fifth switch-hitter to hit 400 home runs in a career. He followed teammate and fellow switch-hitter Carlos Beltrán, who had also hit his 400th career home run for the Yankees less than two months earlier on May 15. Another former teammate who also accomplished this feat was Chipper Jones, with whom Teixeira briefly played as a member of the Atlanta Braves.