title: One57

text: Partial work permits for 157 West 57th Street were issued in September 2009. Foundation work started in 2009 and took over a year, because of the difficulty of digging two basement levels and the building's supports. Aside from the foundation work, details on the construction process remained scarce. Revised plans were submitted to the Department of Buildings in March 2010. The changes included adding two floors, combining some of the units into duplex apartments, and enclosing some of the setback terraces that had been included in the original design. Two months later, the media announced that the development would be called Carnegie 57. Upon its expected completion in 2013, Carnegie 57 was to surpass the Trump World Tower as the city's tallest residential building, with a height of just over .


title: One57

text: The main contractor, Lendlease, started constructing the skyscraper's reinforced columns in August 2010. At the time, Barnett said Extell was negotiating with a potential lender for a $1.3 billion loan. In May 2011, the project was officially renamed One57, a reference to its house number of 157 and to the fact that the building would be located on 57th Street. This rebranding was made in advance of the expected launch of sales for the building. By that July, construction had reached the 22nd floor. Extell received a $700 million construction loan for the project in October 2011 from a syndicate led by the Bank of America, which included Banco Santander, Abu Dhabi International Bank, and Capital One. Of this loan, $375 million was to be paid off by the expected opening of the Park Hyatt hotel.


title: One57

text: Sales at the project officially launched in December 2011. The smallest units (starting at $3.5 million) and the two-bedroom units (starting at $6.5 million) both sold quickly. At the end of that month, Sotheby's International Realty broker Elizabeth Sample said that many millionaires and billionaires had expressed interest in the building's sales showroom. Facade installation was underway by January 2012. The next month, the "New York Daily News" reported that brokers had already earned a combined $3 million from commissions for selling apartments at One57. At the time, the clients were quoted as being "Russian billionaires, Asian investors and prime ministers". By the next May, Extell announced that One57 was 50 percent sold with $1 billion in transactions. One of these was a duplex penthouse on the 89th and 90th floors, which sold for $90 million, then a citywide record. Framework for the top floor was completed by October 2012.


title: One57

text: On October 29, 2012, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the construction crane on the building partially collapsed, requiring a six-day evacuation for thousands of neighborhood residents. In response to the crane collapse, area dentists filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that the evacuation caused a lack of income. The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) also stated they had received multiple complaints about the worksite. However, the crane was inspected a week earlier and considered in good shape, leading city officials to call the boom's failure a freakish occurrence. The accident did not affect sales and, in May 2013, Extell announced it would hoist a new crane after the DOB had approved it. Residents of the neighboring Alwyn Court and Briarcliff apartment buildings were forced to evacuate and received up to $1,500 each. The coop board at the Alwyn Court attempted to block the forced evacuation, but the crane was hoisted as planned after Extell and the Alwyn signed an undisclosed agreement.


title: One57

text: By October 2013, the facade was largely completed and the replacement crane was being disassembled. That month, the crane experienced another mechanical failure that caused a closure of the surrounding block of 57th Street. The crane was removed by the next month. In March 2014, a fire broke out in the loading dock of One57, spreading into the courtyard behind the building and then onto the adjacent property at 152 West 58th Street. Some work on One57's facade continued through 2015, during which there were three incidents in which glass fell from the facade. After the third incident, when a slab of plexiglass fell from the 22nd floor in March 2015, a stop-work order temporarily halted construction on the building. The stop-work order was rescinded two days later.


title: One57

text: When One57 was nearly completed, the cheapest units were the staff's studio apartments, which were marketed for $1.59 million each. Each of the units on the top eleven floors was listed at no less than $50 million, and the penthouse was marketed at $110 million. The building's units were collectively marketed for a combined $2 billion. Monthly charges for individual units varied; a three-bedroom unit on floor 41 had a monthly fee of about $4,600 while a penthouse on floor 87 had a monthly fee of $13,000. The first contracts at One57 were finalized in December 2013, and 27 owners had moved into their homes in the first six months. By May 2014, three-fourths of the residential units had been sold, with sales on thirteen units having been closed and sixty more in contract. The first resale at One57 occurred that October, when a unit was resold for $34 million, a $3.45 million increase from the initial sale price five months prior. By then, competition from other developments on Billionaires' Row had caused sales to stall at just above 75 percent. One57 became the city's most expensive building per square foot by 2015, with residences selling for an average of that year.


title: One57

text: The developer had received a 421-a tax exemption for One57, which permitted a 94 percent tax abatement in exchange for Extell building affordable housing elsewhere. Several politicians opposed the exemption, including city comptroller John Liu, who described it as billionaires' subsidy. In May 2015, as part of the program, Extell was renting out 38 apartments on the seven stories immediately above the hotel. The rentals, which consisted of one- to four-bedroom units measuring , were marketed at between $12,000 and $50,000 per month. The rental units were still extremely expensive compared to other developments in the city; "The Wall Street Journal" estimated that potential renter would need a minimum annual income of $534,000 to rent a one-bedroom unit and $2 million for a three-bedroom unit. By that November, Extell was seeking to sell the rental portion of the building for $250 million. With a general decline in the rate of luxury rental agreements, Extell changed its plans in April 2016 and instead marketed the rental units as condominiums. Ultimately, Extell only created 66 affordable units in the Bronx using the tax abatement for One57, which normally could have been used to create 370 affordable units.


title: One57

text: Media outlets reported in 2016 that the International Petroleum Investment Company—the parent company of the building's main financier, Aabar—was linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal. Because Aabar's head, al-Qubaisi, had been implicated in the scandal, the financing of One57 was investigated as well. The next year, Nigerian businessman Kola Aluko was investigated for money laundering; the suspected laundering included his purchase of a penthouse apartment at One57. That May saw the first foreclosure in the building, for another apartment. Aluko's $51 million apartment was also foreclosed upon shortly thereafter; it was ultimately sold for $36 million in September 2017, the largest foreclosure auction in city history. The two foreclosures, amid a slowing luxury real estate market, raised public scrutiny about the viability of Billionaires' Row, where more luxury residential towers were being erected at the time.


title: One57

text: By late 2018, the luxury real estate market in New York City had stalled. To lure tenants, Extell unveiled new buyer's incentives, offering to waive between three and five years of common charges and pay 50% of broker's commissions. One57 was affected by this downturn, as the average price of units declined from in 2014 to in 2020. The downturn was worsened by a general decrease in real estate activity in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. One57 contained the most expensive residence sold in the city that June: an 88th-story apartment that sold for $28 million, forty-one percent lower than its original price. The COVID-19 pandemic also forced the Park Hyatt hotel to close from March 21, 2020, to April 1, 2021. One unit sold in January 2021 for half its original listing price, and "The Wall Street Journal" reported the same June that some owners had seen "percentage losses in the double digits" during the past couple of years. Despite this, by early 2021, only five units remained unsold.


title: One57

text: When sales of One57 were launched, Barnett initially did not identify buyers. Nine billionaires including Lawrence Stroll and Silas Chou had purchased full-floor units at One57 by September 2012. The Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, had also agreed to purchase a penthouse unit for $100 million. Many buyers had moved to One57 from other luxury developments such as 15 Central Park West. By late 2013, One57 management characterized more than half the buyers as foreign buyers, with fifteen percent being from China. After One57 was completed, Robin Finn of "The New York Times" wrote so many headlines about high-profile sales in the tower that "The Observer" said, "It would be difficult for even the most creative writer to make sale after sale at the same new-construction building sound fresh." Barnett also occupied a one-bedroom unit at One57 so he could manage his work in New York City even as his family lived in Monsey, New York.


title: One57

text: The building set the record for the city's second-most expensive residence in 2015, when hedge fund manager Bill Ackman bought a 75th floor duplex for $91.5 million. The building also had the city's most expensive residence at the time: the penthouse, which sold for $100.5 million in 2014. The buyer's identity was initially kept secret, but the media subsequently announced that the buyer had been Michael Dell, the CEO of Dell Technologies. Other notable buyers included apparel-firm billionaires Silas Chou and Lawrence Stroll, businessman Liu Yiqian, and businessman Robert Herjavec. The youngest buyer on record was a two-year-old Chinese girl, whose mother paid $6.5 million for a unit in 2013 so her daughter could use it when she attended college in fifteen years.


title: One57

text: Several prospective residents had their contracts canceled. Barnett refused to sell to British developer Nick Candy and another buyer after they both separately indicated their intentions to renovate their apartments. Candy had wanted to resell his apartment immediately after he had renovated it, while the anonymous buyer was unwilling to cooperate with Extell to minimize disruption for neighboring units. Entrepreneur Michael Hirtenstein's purchase was canceled after he hired a worker to film his unit, in spite of Barnett's request that buyers not see their units before purchase.


title: One57

text: Many reviewers of One57 initially perceived the design negatively. One57 was named "Worst Building of the Year" in 2014 by "Curbed", which said, "Pretty much everyone (or at least most archicritics) agrees that its wavy blue facade is ugly." According to "New York" magazine's architecture critic Justin Davidson, One57 was "so clumsily gaudy that a fellow architect surmised [that de Portzamparc] must be a socialist pranking the plutocrats". Davidson continued to regard One57 as "repulsive" in 2021, several years after its completion. Another architecture critic, James Russell, characterized the facade as "endless acres of cheap-looking frameless glass in cartoonish stripes and blotches of silver and pewter". Michael Kimmelman, in "The New York Times", contrasted One57's "pox of tinted panes" against de Portzamparc's earlier, "jewel-like" LVMH Tower nearby. Robbie Whelan said that the design "tries to draw too much attention to itself", even on 57th Street, which had buildings of many architectural styles. By contrast, Carter Horsley wrote that the facade was not necessarily "random" but rather "impart an added sense of motion".


title: One57

text: One57 was also criticized for its shape. Matthew Shaer wrote that the building resembled a "gleaming, tumescent phallus" that stood out from its surroundings, while the "Times" Kimmelman characterized the building's form as "cascade of clunky curves". Robin Finn of the "Times" wrote that the building was "a spike of bluish glass that does not scrape the Midtown sky as much as puncture it". Of One57's presence in general, Rick Hampson of "USA Today" wrote: "One57 exemplifies a new type of skyscraper—very tall, improbably slender, ostentatiously opulent—that is reshaping a famous skyline composed mostly of bulky office buildings." Ralph Gardner wrote for "The Wall Street Journal" that the 57th Street facade "shows some potential" and the north facade could help the building blend with the skyline, but the massing "appears an undisguised attempt to maximize air rights and monopolize park views for plutocrats".


title: One57

text: Elizabeth Goldstein, the president of the Municipal Art Society, said the construction of One57 had precipitated the development of other supertall skyscrapers in New York City, many of which used zoning loopholes to rise higher than would normally be allowed. For this reason, Paul Goldberger called One57 "the first and the worst" of the city's supertall skyscrapers, but he said it was not possible to "freeze the city" in terms of development. According to Ralph Gardner, One57's construction had "obliterated" the views of the "claustrophobic thicket of towers in the Carnegie Hall vicinity", including Metropolitan Tower, Carnegie Hall Tower, and CitySpire.


title: One57

text: In 2014, PBS described One57 in a fifty-five-minute clip entitled "The Billionaire Building", the second part of a four-part documentary entitled "Super Skyscrapers". The tower became less popular several years after its opening, being overtaken by other supertall towers on Billionaires' Row. The 2017 book "Life at the Top: New York’s Most Exceptional Apartment Buildings", published three years after One57's completion, did not mention the building even as it mentioned 432 Park Avenue.


title: Brian Houston

text: Brian Charles Houston ( ; born 17 February 1954) is a New Zealand-Australian former pastor and evangelist. He was the founder and senior pastor at Hillsong Church, based in Sydney with locations around the world. He was the national president of Australian Christian Churches, the Australian branch of the Assemblies of God, from 1997 to 2009.


title: Brian Houston

text: In January 2022, Houston stepped aside from his roles within the church, after being criminally charged in Australia for allegedly concealing sexual abuse of a child by his father, of which he became aware in the 1990s. Houston professed his innocence and stated that he intends to plead "not guilty" at the trial, scheduled for October 2022. In March 2022, he stepped down as the global senior pastor of the church, after he was found to have breached the moral code of the church in his behaviour with two women.


title: Brian Houston

text: Brian Charles Houston was born in Auckland, New Zealand, on 17 February 1954. His parents, Frank and Hazel, were then Salvation Army officers. When Houston was three his parents joined the Assemblies of God in New Zealand and began pastoring a church in Lower Hutt, near Wellington, where Houston and his brother and three sisters spent their childhood. After completing school he went to a Bible college for three years. Shortly after completing college he met his future wife, Bobbie, on Papamoa Beach in New Zealand during a Christian convention. They were married in 1977.


title: Brian Houston

text: After moving to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in 1978, Houston served at the Sydney Christian Life Centre in Darlinghurst, where he became the assistant pastor to his father, Frank. In 1980 he started a church on the Central Coast and worked at a church in Liverpool in 1981. In 1983, Houston hired the Baulkham Hills Public School hall in Sydney's north-western suburbs to start a new church, the Hills Christian Life Centre. The first service was held on Sunday, 14 August 1983.


title: Brian Houston

text: In May 1997, Houston was elected the president of the Assemblies of God in Australia (now called Australian Christian Churches) after the retirement of Andrew Evans. In February 2000, Houston helped to create the Australian Christian Churches network of Pentecostal churches. This alliance represented about 200,000 regular attenders in affiliate churches and Houston was its inaugural president. He is also a member of the Australian Pentecostal Ministers Fellowship (APMF).


title: Brian Houston

text: Houston founded Hillsong Music Australia (HMA), the music ministry of Hillsong Church. Over a number of years, this music ministry has been successful with chart-topping albums from Hillsong United (born out of the youth ministry), and Hillsong Worship, which is the "worship expression" of Hillsong Church and incorporates their entire worship team. Annually, Hillsong records a live album, and songs from this recording are sung by church congregations all over the world. Hillsong songs include "Mighty to Save" and "Shout to the Lord"; with the latter featured on a 2008 special episode of "American Idol" called "Idol Gives Back".


title: Brian Houston

text: In September 2018, Hillsong left the Australian Christian Churches to become an autonomous denomination, identifying itself more as a global and charismatic church. According to both Hillsong and ACC, the parting was amicable.


title: Brian Houston

text: On 5 August 2021, New South Wales Police issued a warrant for Houston's arrest, alleging that he concealed child sexual abuse by his father, Frank. Houston was in the United States at the time of being charged and resigned from the church's board as a result of his arrest.


title: Brian Houston

text: In March 2022, Houston resigned his position as senior global pastor after an internal investigation into his conduct with two women connected to the church. It was reported that in 2013 and 2019 he had engaged in inappropriate behaviour with both women.


title: Brian Houston

text: On 10 May 1999, Houston's father, Frank Houston, stepped down from the role of senior pastor at Sydney Christian Life Centre and Houston was appointed to the position. Brian Houston said that Frank "appeared rushed" to hand his church to him. This was before the revelations of Frank's child sexual abuse became known. Fifteen years later, in 2014, Houston spoke at hearings held by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, stating that he received an allegation in October 1999 that his father sexually abused an Australian boy. Houston's statement and the evidence submitted to the commission revealed that, in November 1999, his father confessed to child sexual abuse. Houston reportedly forced his father into retirement and did not go to the police. The royal commission censured Houston for his failure to report the sexual abuse allegations against his father and for his failure to avoid a clear conflict of interest investigating his own father while serving as national president of the Assemblies of God in Australia.


title: Brian Houston

text: On 5 August 2021, NSW Police issued a warrant for Houston to attend the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney on 5 October, alleging that he concealed child sexual abuse by his father. Houston was in the United States at the time of being charged and resigned from the church's board as a result of his arrest. He has stated that he intends to plead "not guilty" at the trial.


title: Brian Houston

text: Houston and his wife Bobbie reside in the suburb of Glenhaven, Sydney, Australia. They have three children, Joel, Ben and Laura. All are married and involved in the leadership of Hillsong Church.


title: Brian Houston

text: Houston is friends with Australian prime minister Scott Morrison, who described Houston as a mentor during his maiden address to parliament in 2008.


title: Peptide hormone

text: Peptide hormones or protein hormones are hormones whose molecules are peptide, or proteins, respectively. The latter have longer amino acid chain lengths than the former. These hormones have an effect on the endocrine system of animals, including humans. Most hormones can be classified as either amino acid–based hormones (amine, peptide, or protein) or steroid hormones. The former are water-soluble and act on the surface of target cells via second messengers; the latter, being lipid-soluble, move through the plasma membranes of target cells (both cytoplasmic and nuclear) to act within their nuclei.


title: Peptide hormone

text: Like all peptides and proteins, peptide hormones and protein hormones are synthesized in cells from amino acids according to mRNA transcripts, which are synthesized from DNA templates inside the cell nucleus. Preprohormones, peptide hormone precursors, are then processed in several stages, typically in the endoplasmic reticulum, including removal of the N-terminal signal sequence and sometimes glycosylation, resulting in prohormones. The prohormones are then packaged into membrane-bound secretory vesicles, which can be secreted from the cell by exocytosis in response to specific stimuli (e.g. an increase in Ca and cAMP concentration in cytoplasm).


title: Peptide hormone

text: These prohormones often contain superfluous amino acid residues that were needed to direct folding of the hormone molecule into its active configuration but have no function once the hormone folds. Specific endopeptidases in the cell cleave the prohormone just before it is released into the bloodstream, generating the mature hormone form of the molecule. Mature peptide hormones then travel through the blood to all of the cells of the body, where they interact with specific receptors on the surfaces of their target cells.


title: Peptide hormone

text: Some neurotransmitters are secreted and released in a similar fashion to peptide hormones, and some "neuropeptides" may be used as neurotransmitters in the nervous system in addition to acting as hormones when released into the blood.


title: Peptide hormone

text: When a peptide hormone binds to a receptor on the surface of the cell, a second messenger appears in the cytoplasm, which triggers signal transduction leading to the cellular responses.


title: Peptide hormone

text: Some peptide/protein hormones (angiotensin II, basic fibroblast growth factor-2, parathyroid hormone-related protein) also interact with intracellular receptors located in the cytoplasm or nucleus by an intracrine mechanism.


title: Karl Brandt

text: Karl Brandt (8 January 1904 – 2 June 1948) was a German physician and "Schutzstaffel" (SS) officer in Nazi Germany. Trained in surgery, Brandt joined the Nazi Party in 1932 and became Adolf Hitler's escort doctor in August 1934. A member of Hitler's inner circle at the Berghof, he was selected by Philipp Bouhler, the head of Hitler's Chancellery, to administer the "Aktion T4" euthanasia program. Brandt was later appointed the Reich Commissioner of Sanitation and Health ("Bevollmächtigter für das Sanitäts- und Gesundheitswesen"). Accused of involvement in human experimentation and other war crimes, Brandt was indicted in late 1946 and faced trial before a U.S. military tribunal along with 22 others in "United States of America v. Karl Brandt, et al." He was convicted, sentenced to death, and hanged on 2 June 1948.


title: Karl Brandt

text: Brandt was born in Mulhouse in the then German Alsace-Lorraine territory (now in Haut-Rhin, France) into the family of a Prussian Army officer. He became a medical doctor and surgeon in 1928, specializing in head and spinal injuries. He joined the Nazi Party in January 1932, and first met Hitler in the summer of 1932. He became a member of the SA in 1933 and a member of the SS on 29 July 1934; appointed the officer rank of "Untersturmführer". From the summer of 1934 forward, he was Hitler's "escort physician". Karl Brandt married Anni Rehborn (born 1907), a champion swimmer, on 17 March 1934. They had one son, Karl Adolf Brandt (born 4 October 1935). Brandt was of the Protestant faith.


title: Karl Brandt

text: In the context of the 1933 Nazi Germany law "Gesetz zur Verhütung erbkranken Nachwuchses" (Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring), Brandt was one of the medical scientists who performed abortions in great numbers on women deemed genetically disordered, mentally or physically disabled or racially deficient, or whose unborn fetuses were expected to develop such genetic "defects". These abortions had been legalized, as long as no healthy Aryan fetuses were aborted.


title: Karl Brandt

text: On 1 September 1939, Brandt was appointed by Hitler co-head of the "Aktion T4" euthanasia program, with Philipp Bouhler. Additional power was afforded Brandt when on 28 July 1942, he was appointed Commissioner of Sanitation and Health ("Bevollmächtigter für das Sanitäts- und Gesundheitswesen") by Hitler and was thereafter only bound by the Führer's instructions. He received regular promotions in the SS; by April 1944, Brandt was a SS-"Gruppenführer" in the "Allgemeine SS" and a SS-"Brigadeführer" in the Waffen-SS. On 16 April 1945, he was arrested by the Gestapo for moving his family out of Berlin so they could surrender to American forces. Brandt was condemned to death by a military court and then sent to Kiel. He was released from arrest by order of Karl Dönitz on 2 May. He was placed under arrest by the British on 23 May.


title: Karl Brandt

text: Brandt's medical ethics, particularly regarding euthanasia, were influenced by Alfred Hoche, whose courses he attended. Like many other German doctors of the period, Brandt came to believe that the health of society as a whole should take precedence over that of its individual members. Because society was viewed as an organism that had to be cured, its weakest, most invalid and incurable members were only parts that should be removed. Such hapless creatures should therefore be granted a "merciful death" ("Gnadentod"). In addition to these considerations, Brandt's explanation at his trial for his criminal actions – particularly ordering experimentation on human beings – was that "... Any personal code of ethics must give way to the total character of the war". Historian Horst Freyhofer asserts that, in the absence of at least Brandt's tacit approval, it is highly unlikely that the grotesque and cruel medical experiments for which the Nazi doctors are infamous, could have been performed. Brandt and Hitler discussed multiple killing techniques during the initial planning of the euthanasia program, during which Hitler asked Brandt, "which is the most humane way?" Brandt suggested the use of carbon monoxide gas, to which Hitler gave his approval. Hitler instructed Brandt to contact other physicians and begin to coordinate the mass killings.


title: Karl Brandt

text: Karl Brandt and his wife Anni were members of Hitler's inner circle at Berchtesgaden where Hitler maintained his private residence known as the Berghof. This very exclusive group functioned as Hitler's de facto family circle. It included Eva Braun, Albert Speer, his wife Margarete, Theodor Morell, Martin Bormann, Hitler's photographer Heinrich Hoffmann, Hitler's adjutants and his secretaries. Brandt and Hitler's chief architect Albert Speer were good friends as the two shared technocratic dispositions about their work. Brandt looked at killing "useless eaters" and the disabled as a means to an end, namely in the interest of public health. Similarly, Speer viewed the use of concentration camp slave labor for his defense and building projects in much the same way. As members of this inner circle, the Brandts had a residence near the Berghof and spent considerable time there when Hitler was present. Despite Brandt's closeness to Hitler, the dictator was furious when he learned shortly before the end of the war that the doctor had sent Anni and their son toward the American lines in hopes of evading capture by the Russians. Only the intervention of Heinrich Himmler, Speer, and the direct order of Admiral Doenitz after Brandt had been captured by the Gestapo and sent to Kiel in the war's closing days, saved him from execution, at that time.


title: Karl Brandt

text: Brandt was tried along with twenty-two others at the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg, Germany. The trial was officially titled "United States of America v. Karl Brandt et al.", but is more commonly referred to as the "Doctors' Trial"; it began on 9 December 1946. He was charged with four counts:


title: Karl Brandt

text: After a defence led by Robert Servatius, on 19 August 1947, Brandt was found guilty on counts 2-4 of the indictment. With six others, he was sentenced to death by hanging, and all were executed at Landsberg Prison on 2 June 1948. Nine other defendants received prison terms of between fifteen years and life, while a further seven were found not guilty.


title: Karl Brandt

text: While on the gallows, Brandt remarked: "It is no shame to stand upon the scaffold. This is nothing but political revenge. I have served my Fatherland as others before me." He refused to end his speech, so a hood was placed over his head while he continued to talk and he was hanged.


title: Plus ultra

text: Plus ultra (, , ) is a Latin phrase and the national motto of Spain. A reversal of the original phrase "non plus ultra" ("Nothing further beyond"), said to have been inscribed as a warning on the Pillars of Hercules at the Strait of Gibraltar (which marked the edge of the known world in antiquity), it has metaphorical suggestions of taking risks and striving for excellence. Its original version, the personal motto of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, also Duke of Burgundy and King of Spain, was "Plus oultre" in French. The motto was adopted some decades after the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus.


title: Plus ultra

text: "Plus oultre", French for "further beyond", was adopted by the young Duke of Burgundy and new King of Spain Charles of Habsburg as his personal motto at the suggestion of his adviser Luigi Marliano, an Italian physician, in 1516. It was emblematic of Marliano's vision of a Christian empire spanning beyond the boundaries of the Old World, now that Charles also controlled territories in the New World through the Spanish crown, and it was also associated with the desire to bring the Reconquista past Gibraltar into North Africa and revive the crusades of the chivalric tradition. The motto is first recorded on the back of Charles's chair in the church of St Gudule, Brussels. Spaniards translated the original French into Latin due to the hostility they bore for the French-speaking Burgundian advisors and ministers Charles brought with him to Spain from the Low Countries. At Charles's entry into Burgos in 1520, an arch was set up bearing on one side, "Plus ultra", and on the other "All of Africa weeps because it knows that you have the key [Gibraltar and] have to be its master". "Plus oultre" continued to be used in the Burgundian Low Countries and also appeared in the wooden panellin of Charles's palace in Granada. As a consequence of Charles's election as Holy Roman Emperor, both "Plus oultre" and "Plus ultra" began to be used in Italy and Germany, together with a less successful German translation, "Noch Weiterer". In Spain, the Latin motto continued to be popular after Charles V's death. It appeared in Habsburg propaganda and was used to encourage Spanish explorers to ignore the old warning and go beyond the Pillars of Hercules. Today it is featured on both the flag and arms of Spain.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: In biology, regeneration is the process of renewal, restoration, and tissue growth that makes genomes, cells, organisms, and ecosystems resilient to natural fluctuations or events that cause disturbance or damage. Every species is capable of regeneration, from bacteria to humans. Regeneration can either be complete where the new tissue is the same as the lost tissue, or incomplete where after the necrotic tissue comes fibrosis.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: At its most elementary level, regeneration is mediated by the molecular processes of gene regulation and involves the cellular processes of cell proliferation, morphogenesis and cell differentiation. Regeneration in biology, however, mainly refers to the morphogenic processes that characterize the phenotypic plasticity of traits allowing multi-cellular organisms to repair and maintain the integrity of their physiological and morphological states. Above the genetic level, regeneration is fundamentally regulated by asexual cellular processes. Regeneration is different from reproduction. For example, hydra perform regeneration but reproduce by the method of budding.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: The hydra and the planarian flatworm have long served as model organisms for their highly adaptive regenerative capabilities. Once wounded, their cells become activated and restore the organs back to their pre-existing state. The Caudata ("urodeles"; salamanders and newts), an order of tailed amphibians, is possibly the most adept vertebrate group at regeneration, given their capability of regenerating limbs, tails, jaws, eyes and a variety of internal structures. The regeneration of organs is a common and widespread adaptive capability among metazoan creatures. In a related context, some animals are able to reproduce asexually through fragmentation, budding, or fission. A planarian parent, for example, will constrict, split in the middle, and each half generates a new end to form two clones of the original.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Echinoderms (such as the sea star), crayfish, many reptiles, and amphibians exhibit remarkable examples of tissue regeneration. The case of autotomy, for example, serves as a defensive function as the animal detaches a limb or tail to avoid capture. After the limb or tail has been autotomized, cells move into action and the tissues will regenerate. In some cases a shed limb can itself regenerate a new individual. Limited regeneration of limbs occurs in most fishes and salamanders, and tail regeneration takes place in larval frogs and toads (but not adults). The whole limb of a salamander or a triton will grow again and again after amputation. In reptiles, chelonians, crocodilians and snakes are unable to regenerate lost parts, but many (not all) kinds of lizards, geckos and iguanas possess regeneration capacity in a high degree. Usually, it involves dropping a section of their tail and regenerating it as part of a defense mechanism. While escaping a predator, if the predator catches the tail, it will disconnect.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Ecosystems can be regenerative. Following a disturbance, such as a fire or pest outbreak in a forest, pioneering species will occupy, compete for space, and establish themselves in the newly opened habitat. The new growth of seedlings and community assembly process is known as regeneration in ecology.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Pattern formation in the morphogenesis of an animal is regulated by genetic induction factors that put cells to work after damage has occurred. Neural cells, for example, express growth-associated proteins, such as GAP-43, tubulin, actin, an array of novel neuropeptides, and cytokines that induce a cellular physiological response to regenerate from the damage. Many of the genes that are involved in the original development of tissues are reinitialized during the regenerative process. Cells in the primordia of zebrafish fins, for example, express four genes from the homeobox "msx" family during development and regeneration.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: "Strategies include the rearrangement of pre-existing tissue, the use of adult somatic stem cells and the dedifferentiation and/or transdifferentiation of cells, and more than one mode can operate in different tissues of the same animal. All these strategies result in the re-establishment of appropriate tissue polarity, structure and form." During the developmental process, genes are activated that serve to modify the properties of cell as they differentiate into different tissues. Development and regeneration involves the coordination and organization of populations cells into a blastema, which is "a mound of stem cells from which regeneration begins". Dedifferentiation of cells means that they lose their tissue-specific characteristics as tissues remodel during the regeneration process. This should not be confused with the transdifferentiation of cells which is when they lose their tissue-specific characteristics during the regeneration process, and then re-differentiate to a different kind of cell.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Many arthropods can regenerate limbs and other appendages following either injury or autotomy. Regeneration capacity is constrained by the developmental stage and ability to molt.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Crustaceans, which continually molt, can regenerate throughout their lifetimes. While molting cycles are generally hormonally regulated, limb amputation induces premature molting.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Holometabolous insects can regenerate appendages as larvae prior to the final molt and metamorphosis. Beetle larvae, for example, can regenerate amputated limbs. Fruit fly larvae do not have limbs but can regenerate their appendage primordia, imaginal discs. In both systems, the regrowth of the new tissue delays pupation.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Mechanisms underlying appendage limb regeneration in insects and crustaceans are highly conserved. During limb regeneration species in both taxa form a blastema that proliferates and grows to repattern the missing tissue.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Arachnids, including scorpions, are known to regenerate their venom, although the content of the regenerated venom is different from the original venom during its regeneration, as the venom volume is replaced before the active proteins are all replenished.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is a useful model organism to understand the molecular mechanisms that control regeneration, especially gut and germline regeneration. In these tissues, resident stem cells continually renew lost cells. The Hippo signaling pathway was discovered in flies and was found to be required for midgut regeneration. Later, this conserved signaling pathway was also found to be essential for regeneration of many mammalian tissues, including heart, liver, skin, and lung, and intestine.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Many annelids (segmented worms) are capable of regeneration. For example, "Chaetopterus variopedatus" and "Branchiomma nigromaculata" can regenerate both anterior and posterior body parts after latitudinal bisection. The relationship between somatic and germline stem cell regeneration has been studied at the molecular level in the annelid "Capitella teleta". Leeches, however, appear incapable of segmental regeneration. Furthermore, their close relatives, the branchiobdellids, are also incapable of segmental regeneration. However, certain individuals, like the lumbriculids, can regenerate from only a few segments. Segmental regeneration in these animals is epimorphic and occurs through blastema formation. Segmental regeneration has been gained and lost during annelid evolution, as seen in oligochaetes, where head regeneration has been lost three separate times.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Along with epimorphosis, some polychaetes like "Sabella pavonina" experience morphallactic regeneration. Morphallaxis involves the de-differentiation, transformation, and re-differentation of cells to regenerate tissues. How prominent morphallactic regeneration is in oligochaetes is currently not well understood. Although relatively under-reported, it is possible that morphallaxis is a common mode of inter-segment regeneration in annelids. Following regeneration in "L. variegatus", past posterior segments sometimes become anterior in the new body orientation, consistent with morphallaxis.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Following amputation, most annelids are capable of sealing their body via rapid muscular contraction. Constriction of body muscle can lead to infection prevention. In certain species, such as "Limnodrilus", autolysis can be seen within hours after amputation in the ectoderm and mesoderm. Amputation is also thought to cause a large migration of cells to the injury site, and these form a wound plug.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Tissue regeneration is widespread among echinoderms and has been well documented in starfish "(Asteroidea)", sea cucumbers "(Holothuroidea)", and sea urchins "(Echinoidea)." Appendage regeneration in echinoderms has been studied since at least the 19th century. In addition to appendages, some species can regenerate internal organs and parts of their central nervous system. In response to injury starfish can autotomize damaged appendages. Autotomy is the self-amputation of a body part, usually an appendage.  Depending on severity, starfish will then go through a four-week process where the appendage will be regenerated. Some species must retain mouth cells to regenerate an appendage, due to the need for energy. The first organs to regenerate, in all species documented to date, are associated with the digestive tract. Thus, most knowledge about visceral regeneration in holothurians concerns this system.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Regeneration research using Planarians began in the late 1800s and was popularized by T.H. Morgan at the beginning of the 20th century. Alejandro Sanchez-Alvarado and Philip Newmark transformed planarians into a model genetic organism in the beginning of the 20th century to study the molecular mechanisms underlying regeneration in these animals. Planarians exhibit an extraordinary ability to regenerate lost body parts. For example, a planarian split lengthwise or crosswise will regenerate into two separate individuals. In one experiment, T.H. Morgan found that a piece corresponding to 1/279th of a planarian or a fragment with as few as 10,000 cells can successfully regenerate into a new worm within one to two weeks. After amputation, stump cells form a blastema formed from neoblasts, pluripotent cells found throughout the planarian body. New tissue grows from neoblasts with neoblasts comprising between 20 and 30% of all planarian cells. Recent work has confirmed that neoblasts are totipotent since one single neoblast can regenerate an entire irradiated animal that has been rendered incapable of regeneration. In order to prevent starvation a planarian will use their own cells for energy, this phenomenon is known as de-growth.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Limb regeneration in the axolotl and newt has been extensively studied and researched. The nineteenth century studies of this subject are reviewed in Holland (2021). Urodele amphibians, such as salamanders and newts, display the highest regenerative ability among tetrapods. As such, they can fully regenerate their limbs, tail, jaws, and retina via epimorphic regeneration leading to functional replacement with new tissue. Salamander limb regeneration occurs in two main steps. First, the local cells dedifferentiate at the wound site into progenitor to form a blastema. Second, the blastemal cells will undergo cell proliferation, patterning, cell differentiation and tissue growth using similar genetic mechanisms that deployed during embryonic development. Ultimately, blastemal cells will generate all the cells for the new structure.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: After amputation, the epidermis migrates to cover the stump in 1–2 hours, forming a structure called the wound epithelium (WE). Epidermal cells continue to migrate over the WE, resulting in a thickened, specialized signaling center called the apical epithelial cap (AEC). Over the next several days there are changes in the underlying stump tissues that result in the formation of a blastema (a mass of dedifferentiated proliferating cells). As the blastema forms, pattern formation genes – such as HoxA and HoxD – are activated as they were when the limb was formed in the embryo. The positional identity of the distal tip of the limb (i.e. the autopod, which is the hand or foot) is formed first in the blastema. Intermediate positional identities between the stump and the distal tip are then filled in through a process called intercalation. Motor neurons, muscle, and blood vessels grow with the regenerated limb, and reestablish the connections that were present prior to amputation. The time that this entire process takes varies according to the age of the animal, ranging from about a month to around three months in the adult and then the limb becomes fully functional. Researchers at Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute at Monash University have published that when macrophages, which eat up material debris, were removed, salamanders lost their ability to regenerate and formed scarred tissue instead.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: In spite of the historically few researchers studying limb regeneration, remarkable progress has been made recently in establishing the neotenous amphibian the axolotl ("Ambystoma mexicanum") as a model genetic organism. This progress has been facilitated by advances in genomics, bioinformatics, and somatic cell transgenesis in other fields, that have created the opportunity to investigate the mechanisms of important biological properties, such as limb regeneration, in the axolotl. The Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center (AGSC) is a self-sustaining, breeding colony of the axolotl supported by the National Science Foundation as a Living Stock Collection. Located at the University of Kentucky, the AGSC is dedicated to supplying genetically well-characterized axolotl embryos, larvae, and adults to laboratories throughout the United States and abroad. An NIH-funded NCRR grant has led to the establishment of the Ambystoma EST database, the Salamander Genome Project (SGP) that has led to the creation of the first amphibian gene map and several annotated molecular data bases, and the creation of the research community web portal. In 2022, a first spatiotemporal map revealed key insights about axolotl brain regeneration, also providing the interactive "Axolotl Regenerative Telencephalon Interpretation via Spatiotemporal Transcriptomic Atlas ".


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Anurans (frogs) can only regenerate their limbs during embryonic development. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) appear to be required for a regeneration response in the anuran larvae. ROS production is essential to activate the Wnt signaling pathway, which has been associated with regeneration in other systems.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Once the limb skeleton has developed in frogs, regeneration does not occur ("Xenopus" can grow a cartilaginous spike after amputation). The adult "Xenopus laevis" is used as a model organism for regenerative medicine. In 2022, a cocktail of drugs and hormones (1,4-DPCA, BDNF, growth hormone, resolvin D5, and retinoic acid), in a single dose lasting 24 hours, was shown to trigger long-term leg regenration in adult "X. laevis". Instead of a single spike, a paddle-shaped growth is obtained at the end of the limb by 18 months.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: "Hydra" is a genus of freshwater polyp in the phylum Cnidaria with highly proliferative stem cells that gives them the ability to regenerate their entire body. Any fragment larger than a few hundred epithelial cells that is isolated from the body has the ability to regenerate into a smaller version of itself. The high proportion of stem cells in the hydra supports its efficient regenerative ability.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Regeneration among hydra occurs as foot regeneration arising from the basal part of the body, and head regeneration, arising from the apical region. Regeneration tissues that are cut from the gastric region contain polarity, which allows them to distinguish between regenerating a head in the apical end and a foot in the basal end so that both regions are present in the newly regenerated organism. Head regeneration requires complex reconstruction of the area, while foot regeneration is much simpler, similar to tissue repair. In both foot and head regeneration, however, there are two distinct molecular cascades that occur once the tissue is wounded: early injury response and a subsequent, signal-driven pathway of the regenerating tissue that leads to cellular differentiation. This early-injury response includes epithelial cell stretching for wound closure, the migration of interstitial progenitors towards the wound, cell death, phagocytosis of cell debris, and reconstruction of the extracellular matrix.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Regeneration in hydra has been defined as morphallaxis, the process where regeneration results from remodeling of existing material without cellular proliferation. If a hydra is cut into two pieces, the remaining severed sections form two fully functional and independent hydra, approximately the same size as the two smaller severed sections. This occurs through the exchange and rearrangement of soft tissues without the formation of new material.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Owing to a limited literature on the subject, birds are believed to have very limited regenerative abilities as adults. Some studies on roosters have suggested that birds can adequately regenerate some parts of the limbs and depending on the conditions in which regeneration takes place, such as age of the animal, the inter-relationship of the injured tissue with other muscles, and the type of operation, can involve complete regeneration of some musculoskeletal structure. Werber and Goldschmidt (1909) found that the goose and duck were capable of regenerating their beaks after partial amputation and Sidorova (1962) observed liver regeneration via hypertrophy in roosters. Birds are also capable of regenerating the hair cells in their cochlea following noise damage or ototoxic drug damage. Despite this evidence, contemporary studies suggest reparative regeneration in avian species is limited to periods during embryonic development. An array of molecular biology techniques have been successful in manipulating cellular pathways known to contribute to spontaneous regeneration in chick embryos. For instance, removing a portion of the elbow joint in a chick embryo via window excision or slice excision and comparing joint tissue specific markers and cartilage markers showed that window excision allowed 10 out of 20 limbs to regenerate and expressed joint genes similarly to a developing embryo. In contrast, slice excision did not allow the joint to regenerate due to the fusion of the skeletal elements seen by an expression of cartilage markers.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Similar to the physiological regeneration of hair in mammals, birds can regenerate their feathers in order to repair damaged feathers or to attract mates with their plumage. Typically, seasonal changes that are associated with breeding seasons will prompt a hormonal signal for birds to begin regenerating feathers. This has been experimentally induced using thyroid hormones in the Rhode Island Red Fowls.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Mammals are capable of cellular and physiological regeneration, but have generally poor reparative regenerative ability across the group. Examples of physiological regeneration in mammals include epithelial renewal (e.g., skin and intestinal tract), red blood cell replacement, antler regeneration and hair cycling. Male deer lose their antlers annually during the months of January to April then through regeneration are able to regrow them as an example of physiological regeneration. A deer antler is the only appendage of a mammal that can be regrown every year. While reparative regeneration is a rare phenomenon in mammals, it does occur. A well-documented example is regeneration of the digit tip distal to the nail bed. Reparative regeneration has also been observed in rabbits, pikas and African spiny mice. In 2012, researchers discovered that two species of African Spiny Mice, "Acomys kempi" and "Acomys percivali", were capable of completely regenerating the autotomically released or otherwise damaged tissue. These species can regrow hair follicles, skin, sweat glands, fur and cartilage. In addition to these two species, subsequent studies demonstrated that "Acomys cahirinus" could regenerate skin and excised tissue in the ear pinna.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Despite these examples, it is generally accepted that adult mammals have limited regenerative capacity compared to most vertebrate embryos/larvae, adult salamanders and fish. But the regeneration therapy approach of Robert O. Becker, using electrical stimulation, has shown promising results for rats and mammals in general.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Some researchers have also claimed that the MRL mouse strain exhibits enhanced regenerative abilities. Work comparing the differential gene expression of scarless healing MRL mice and a poorly-healing C57BL/6 mouse strain, identified 36 genes differentiating the healing process between MRL mice and other mice. Study of the regenerative process in these animals is aimed at discovering how to duplicate them in humans, such as deactivation of the p21 gene. However, recent work has shown that MRL mice actually close small ear holes with scar tissue, rather than regeneration as originally claimed.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: MRL mice are not protected against myocardial infarction; heart regeneration in adult mammals (neocardiogenesis) is limited, because heart muscle cells are nearly all terminally differentiated. MRL mice show the same amount of cardiac injury and scar formation as normal mice after a heart attack. However, recent studies provide evidence that this may not always be the case, and that MRL mice can regenerate after heart damage.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: The regrowth of lost tissues or organs in the human body is being researched. Some tissues such as skin regrow quite readily; others have been thought to have little or no capacity for regeneration, but ongoing research suggests that there is some hope for a variety of tissues and organs. Human organs that have been regenerated include the bladder, vagina and the penis.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: As are all metazoans, humans are capable of physiological regeneration (i.e. the replacement of cells during homeostatic maintenance that does not necessitate injury). For example, the regeneration of red blood cells via erythropoiesis occurs through the maturation of erythrocytes from hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow, their subsequent circulation for around 90 days in the blood stream, and their eventual cell-death in the spleen. Another example of physiological regeneration is the sloughing and rebuilding of a functional endometrium during each menstrual cycle in females in response to varying levels of circulating estrogen and progesterone.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: However, humans are limited in their capacity for reparative regeneration, which occurs in response to injury. One of the most studied regenerative responses in humans is the hypertrophy of the liver following liver injury. For example, the original mass of the liver is re-established in direct proportion to the amount of liver removed following partial hepatectomy, which indicates that signals from the body regulate liver mass precisely, both positively and negatively, until the desired mass is reached. This response is considered cellular regeneration (a form of compensatory hypertrophy) where the function and mass of the liver is regenerated through the proliferation of existing mature hepatic cells (mainly hepatocytes), but the exact morphology of the liver is not regained. This process is driven by growth factor and cytokine regulated pathways. The normal sequence of inflammation and regeneration does not function accurately in cancer. Specifically, cytokine stimulation of cells leads to expression of genes that change cellular functions and suppress the immune response.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Adult neurogenesis is also a form of cellular regeneration. For example, hippocampal neuron renewal occurs in normal adult humans at an annual turnover rate of 1.75% of neurons. Cardiac myocyte renewal has been found to occur in normal adult humans, and at a higher rate in adults following acute heart injury such as infarction. Even in adult myocardium following infarction, proliferation is only found in around 1% of myocytes around the area of injury, which is not enough to restore function of cardiac muscle. However, this may be an important target for regenerative medicine as it implies that regeneration of cardiomyocytes, and consequently of myocardium, can be induced.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Another example of reparative regeneration in humans is fingertip regeneration, which occurs after phalange amputation distal to the nail bed (especially in children) and rib regeneration, which occurs following osteotomy for scoliosis treatment (though usually regeneration is only partial and may take up to one year).


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Yet another example of regeneration in humans is vas deferens regeneration, which occurs after a vasectomy and which results in vasectomy failure.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: The ability and degree of regeneration in reptiles differs among the various species, but the most notable and well-studied occurrence is tail-regeneration in lizards. In addition to lizards, regeneration has been observed in the tails and maxillary bone of crocodiles and adult neurogenesis has also been noted. Tail regeneration has never been observed in snakes. Lizards possess the highest regenerative capacity as a group. Following autotomous tail loss, epimorphic regeneration of a new tail proceeds through a blastema-mediated process that results in a functionally and morphologically similar structure.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: It has been estimated that the average shark loses about 30,000 to 40,000 teeth in a lifetime. Leopard sharks routinely replace their teeth every 9–12 days and this is an example of physiological regeneration. This can occur because shark teeth are not attached to a bone, but instead are developed within a bony cavity.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Rhodopsin regeneration has been studied in skates and rays. After complete photo-bleaching, rhodopsin can completely regenerate within 2 hours in the retina.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: White bamboo sharks can regenerate at least two-thirds of their liver and this has been linked to three micro RNAs, xtr-miR-125b, fru-miR-204, and has-miR-142-3p_R-. In one study, two-thirds of the liver was removed and within 24 hours more than half of the liver had undergone hypertrophy.


title: Regeneration (biology)

text: Some sharks can regenerate scales and even skin following damage. Within two weeks of skin wounding, mucus is secreted into the wound and this initiates the healing process. One study showed that the majority of the wounded area was regenerated within 4 months, but the regenerated area also showed a high degree of variability.


<section begin="2022 PVL open" />The 2022 Premier Volleyball League Open Conference was the eleventh conference of the Premier Volleyball League ("38th conference of the former Shakey's V-League") and its second conference as a professional league.


title: 2022 Premier Volleyball League Open Conference

text: The conference was held from March 16 to April 8, 2022, pending restrictions brought by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A pool play format will be adapted for the first time wherein teams will be divided into two pools as opposed to a round-robin format where all teams play against each other at least once. Preliminary round was held at the Paco Arena in Manila. Quarterfinal round and Semifinals Game 1 & 3 was held at the San Juan Arena in San Juan. The Semifinals Game 2 and Finals Game 1 was held at SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay while Finals Game 2 was held at Ynares Center in Antipolo, Rizal.<section end="2022 PVL open" />


text: Nine teams competed on this conference as Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Crossovers looks to defend their championship. F2 Logistics Cargo Movers will have their debut in the Premier Volleyball League. Two teams from the previous conference, Sta. Lucia Lady Realtors and Perlas Spikers, filed for leave of absence from the league and released all of their players.


text: The conference started on a "semi-bubble" setup with a strict home-venue-home format for teams at the Paco Arena with no spectators allowed in the venue due to COVID-19 restrictions. After the preliminary round, the league officially started accepting live audiences to watch the games in the playoffs.


text: For the first time in league history, the Open Conference catered multiple pools in the preliminary round with the nine participating teams grouped into two pools. The groupings were unveiled on February 18, 2022 with teams grouped through serpentine system using 2021 Open Conference final standings. F2 Logistics Cargo Movers was drawn to Pool A during their meeting as they did not compete in the last conference. The following format will be conducted for the entirety of the conference:


title: Youssef El-Arabi

text: Youssef El-Arabi (; born 3 February 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Greek Super League club Olympiacos and the Morocco national team.


title: Youssef El-Arabi

text: He began his career with hometown club Caen in Ligue 1, making his debut in 2008. After a season in Saudi Arabia with Al Hilal he signed for La Liga club Granada for a club record €5 million in 2012. He scored 45 goals in 134 official games before leaving for Al-Duhail in 2016. In three years in the Qatar Stars League, he was top scorer twice, and totalled 102 goals in 89 games across all competitions before returning to Europe with Olympiacos.


title: Youssef El-Arabi

text: Born in France, El-Arabi chose to represent Morocco at international level, making his debut in 2010. He represented them at three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.


title: Youssef El-Arabi

text: On 20 December 2008, El-Arabi made his debut for Caen, coming on as a substitute in the 76th minute against Lyon in Ligue 1. He played 2 more games that season (coming on in both as a substitute), and scored no goals (2008–09). The following season (2009–10) saw El-Arabi score 11 goals in 34 games (he came on in 11 of these games as a substitute) for Caen, as well as claiming eight assists, in Ligue 2. This season (2010–11) has seen El-Arabi score 17 goals in 38 games for Caen, as well as claiming five assists, in Ligue 1. After rejecting bids from Sevilla FC and Genoa C.F.C, he eventually signed for Al-Hilal FC in July 2011 on a four-year contract.


title: Youssef El-Arabi

text: On 19 July 2012, El-Arabi returned to Europe, signing a five-year contract for La Liga club Granada for a club record €5 million fee. He made his debut on 20 August, starting as the season began with a 1–0 loss at Rayo Vallecano. His first goal was scored on 7 October, a penalty to open a 2–1 win at Mallorca, and his total of eight goals in 31 games helped his side avoid relegation.


title: Youssef El-Arabi

text: He scored 12 times in his second season at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes, including his first La Liga hat-trick, all three goals in a 3–1 win over rivals Málaga on 8 November 2013. At the end of the season, he was nominated for the Best African player at the LFP Awards, losing out to teammate Yacine Brahimi.


title: Youssef El-Arabi

text: On 4 October 2014, El-Arabi scored in the first minute against Málaga, albeit in a 2–1 away loss. He put the side ahead with a penalty at Levante the following 23 February but was later sent off for scrapping with Iván Ramis in a loss by the same score. Granada avoided relegation on goal difference.


title: Youssef El-Arabi

text: In his final season at Granada, El-Arabi scored 17 times in 38 games, including a hat-trick in a 5–1 win over Levante on 21 April 2016.


title: Youssef El-Arabi

text: On 18 July 2016, El-Arabi signed for Lekhwiya SC of the Qatar Stars League. He made his debut on 17 September, scoring the opening goal of a 4–0 home win over Muaither. His 24 goals in 18 games made him joint top scorer for the season alongside Al Sadd's Baghdad Bounedjah, while Lekhwiya won the title.


title: Youssef El-Arabi

text: On 11 December 2017, El-Arabi scored six goals in one match for the renamed Al-Duhail in an 8–0 QSL Cup group stage win at Al-Khor. His team retained their league title, and he was again top scorer, with 26 goals in 20 games, one more than his teammate Youssef Msakni.


title: Youssef El-Arabi

text: On 6 July 2019, El-Arabi signed a three-year contract with Greek side Olympiacos, returning to Europe after three years in Qatar. He made his Super League Greece debut on 24 August, scoring the only goal of a home win over Asteras Tripoli through a 7th-minute penalty. Three days later, he scored both goals of a 2–1 win at FC Krasnodar in a Champions League play-off second leg match, putting the Piraeus-based team through 6–1 on aggregate.


title: Youssef El-Arabi

text: El-Arabi scored his first Champions League goal on 22 October 2019 in a 2–3 loss against Bayern Munich. On 11 December 2019, El Arabi scored the only goal with a late penalty against Red Star Belgrade in their final Champions League Group B game, to book a place in the Europa League at the expense of the Serbians. The following 12 January 2020, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 away win over Lamia.


title: Youssef El-Arabi

text: On 27 February 2020, Olympiacos played their second leg of the Round of 32 at the Emirates Stadium, and El-Arabi scored a goal at the 119th minute of extra time to knock Arsenal out of the UEFA Europa League on away goals. He scored on 28 June as they won 2–1 at AEK to secure a 45th league title, the first in three years.


title: Youssef El-Arabi

text: On 4 November 2021, in a 2–1 Europa League loss UEFA Europa League to Eintracht Frankfurt, he surpassed Predrag Đorđević and Kostas Mitroglou as the club's top European scorer with 16 goals, doing so in 33 games.


title: Youssef El-Arabi

text: On 15 December, he scored a hat trick in a 3–0 home win against Atromitos F.C. to reach 50 goals in 81 league appearances; his fourth hat-trick put him equal with Giovanni, having done so in fewer games than the Brazilian's 111.


title: Youssef El-Arabi

text: On 5 September 2010, El-Arabi made his debut for the Morocco national football team, coming on as a substitute in the 65th minute for Mounir El-Hamdaoui against the Central African Republic. He followed this up with games against Tanzania and Northern Ireland, coming on as a substitute in both games.


title: Youssef El-Arabi

text: Manager Eric Gerets named El-Arabi among the 23 players for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, where he started and played as a substitute for one game each of a group-stage exit. On 13 October that year, he scored and provided an assist in a 4–0 home win over Mozambique as the Atlas Lions overturned a first-leg deficit to reach the 2013 edition; in another group exit in South Africa, he scored the equaliser in a draw with Cape Verde.


title: Youssef El-Arabi

text: On 29 March 2016, El-Arabi scored both goals in a 2–0 win over the same opponents at the Stade de Marrakech to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. Hervé Renard called him up for the finals in Gabon, where he made only an 11-minute substitute appearance in a run to the quarter-finals. He was a noted omission from the French manager's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.


title: Love Wedding Repeat

text: Love Wedding Repeat is a 2020 romantic comedy film written and directed by Dean Craig, in his feature directorial debut. A remake of the 2012 French romantic comedy film "Plan de Table", the film stars Sam Claflin, Olivia Munn and Eleanor Tomlinson. It was released on 10 April 2020 by Netflix.


title: Love Wedding Repeat

text: While in Rome visiting his sister Hayley, Jack tries to muster up the courage to kiss her roommate Dina before returning to London. However, they are interrupted by his roommate Greg, and after Jack and Dina awkwardly say their goodbyes, a frustrated Jack leaves with Greg.


title: Love Wedding Repeat

text: Three years later, Jack is at Hayley's wedding. She informs Jack that Dina has come to the wedding and is newly single. After the ceremony, he and Dina meet for the first time in three years. They admit that they used to ask Hayley about one another.


title: Love Wedding Repeat

text: Marc, Hayley's former school classmate, arrives uninvited while high on cocaine, confessing his love for her. She demands that he leave, but her husband Roberto appears and invites Marc to stay for the celebrations. Hayley asks Jack to drug him with her sleeping drops and he reluctantly agrees. Shortly after Jack places the drops into Marc's empty champagne glass, a group of children playfully rearrange the seating order. The narrator comments on the many variations eight people can sit at a table.


title: Love Wedding Repeat

text: The drugged glass ends up with Bryan, the "maid of honour", who quickly drinks it all. While Jack and Dina reconnect, Marc blackmails Hayley by threatening to tell Roberto they had sex three weeks ago. Again she asks Jack to handle Marc, so he locks him in a cupboard. A sedated Bryan mumbles through his maid-of-honour speech before destroying the cake. The mayhem is ramped up by the presence of Jack's vindictive ex-girlfriend and her current insecure, jealous boyfriend.


title: Love Wedding Repeat

text: After a guest releases Marc from the cupboard, he grabs the microphone and exposes his affair with Hayley in front of all the guests. Upset, Roberto abandons Hayley, but when she tries to stop him, he accidentally falls over a balcony. The scene freezes as the narrator reminds the audience of how the wedding can be affected by endless seating arrangements. In fast-forward, the film depicts a number of alternate scenarios where different guests are drugged each time, all ending in mayhem.


title: Love Wedding Repeat

text: In the last scenario, Jack is finally seated beside Dina, though he is the one that ends up drugged. Unable to regurgitate the sedative, he asks Bryan to insert his fingers down his throat. Dina walks in on them, much to Jack's embarrassment. They try to move past it back at the table, but as Dina tearfully opens up about her mother's death, Jack struggles to stay awake, upsetting her.


title: Love Wedding Repeat

text: Things soon begin to look up for Jack and the other guests. Bryan gives a successful speech, impressing Vitelli, an important film director also in attendance, and hooks up with another guest, Rebecca. Following a conversation with Jack, Marc decides against exposing the affair. Instead, he wishes Hayley and Roberto the best and leaves.


title: Love Wedding Repeat

text: As Dina is leaving the wedding due to a work emergency, Jack attempts to connect with her for the last time. She says that, although their feelings were mutual, they missed their moment and she leaves. Having finally landed the opportunity with Vitelli, Bryan inspires Jack to take chances when they come. So, he chases after Dina, catching her at the end of the street. They are nearly interrupted by a man passing by who claims to know Dina, but Jack tells him to go away and they finally kiss.


title: Love Wedding Repeat

text: The film was announced in April 2019, with Sam Claflin, Olivia Munn, Freida Pinto and Eleanor Tomlinson cast. Filming began in Rome on 6 May.


title: Love Wedding Repeat

text: In May 2019, Netflix acquired distribution rights to the film. The film was released on 10 April 2020.


title: Love Wedding Repeat

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads, ""Love Wedding Repeat" takes the rough shape of beloved rom-coms from the past, but its beautiful setting and appealing cast can't compensate for a sodden story." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 41 out of 100, based on reviews from 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."


title: Love Wedding Repeat

text: Owen Gleiberman of wrote: "It unfolds, more or less, in real time, which gives it an existential comedy-of-suspense element that trumps the usual Styrofoam rom-com plotting. The classical music playing in the background doesn't make the film stodgy; it creates a sustained operatic flow. And the actors are simply terrific."


title: Love Wedding Repeat

text: David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "There's just too little wit here amid all the cutesy misunderstandings and farcical mayhem to make Love Wedding Repeat anything but tedious froth."


title: Rocket League Championship Series

text: The Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) is an annual "Rocket League" esports tournament series produced by Psyonix, the game's developer. It consists of three online qualification splits in several regions, with teams earning points towards qualifying for midseason tournaments and the RLCS finals, both of which are held as LAN events worldwide.


title: Rocket League Championship Series

text: Psyonix had observed the popularity of "Rocket League" matches on Twitch and other live streaming platforms like YouTube by early 2016 and were looking to use the game more in Esports. In March 2016, Psyonix announced the first Rocket League Championship Series; the finals took place in June 2016 with a 55,000 prize pool. The second season of the championship series took place in December 2016 with a $125,000 prize pool. A third series began in March 2017, with the $300,000 prize pool finals taking place three months later. In this season, two teams from the oceanic region were also invited to compete.


title: Rocket League Championship Series

text: A second division, the Rocket League Rival Series (RLRS), was added in Season 4. The two teams finishing at the bottom of the RLCS and the two teams finishing at the top of the RLRS for each region play each other in a promotion tournament at the end of the season to determine if teams are promoted or relegated. At the advent of Season 5 in June 2018, Psyonix organised and managed the event alone. Previous to this, they partnered with Twitch. Season 6 started in September 2018 and featured a $1,000,000 prize pool. For Season 7, Psyonix introduced South America as a new region. Season 8 took place in December 2019. The Season 9 championship was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with winners of the regional championships being considered the champions. In July 2020, Psyonix announced a new format for the tenth season of RLCS, known as RLCS X. This format did away with league play and the RLRS in favor of teams earning points through three regional splits, all culminating in three seasonal majors.


title: Rocket League Championship Series

text: The 2021–22 season began in October 2021, bringing in four new regions (Middle East and North Africa, Asia Pacific North, Asia Pacific South, and Sub-Saharan Africa), a more reliable circuit similar to Season X, and a $6 million prize pool.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books. The main miniseries debuted in October 2005, and each issue was released with two variant covers: one by Pérez and one by Jim Lee and Sandra Hope.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: The series storyline was a sequel to DC's 1985 limited series "Crisis on Infinite Earths", which "rebooted" much of the DC continuity in an effort to fix 50 years of contradictory character history. It revisited characters and concepts from that earlier "Crisis", including the existence of DC's Multiverse. Some of the characters featured were alternate versions of comic icons such as an alternate Superman named Kal-L, who came from a parallel universe called Earth-Two. A major theme was the nature of heroism, contrasting the often dark and conflicted modern-day heroes with memories of "lighter" and ostensibly more noble and collegial heroes of American comic books' earlier days.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: "Infinite Crisis" #1 was ranked first in the top 300 comics for October 2005 with pre-order sales of 249,265. This was almost double the second ranked comic "House of M" #7, which had pre-order sales of 134,429. "Infinite Crisis" #2 was also the top seller in top 300 comics for November 2005 with pre-order sales of 207,564.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: The plot begins when, in "Crisis on Infinite Earths", Kal-L (the Superman of pre-"Crisis" Earth-Two), the Superboy of Earth Prime, Alexander Luthor, Jr. of pre-"Crisis" Earth-Three, and Lois Lane Kent of pre-"Crisis" Earth-Two voluntarily sequestered themselves in "paradise". DC officially began leading up to the new "Crisis" with a one-shot issue "Countdown to Infinite Crisis", followed by four six-issue limited series that tied into and culminated in "Infinite Crisis".


title: Infinite Crisis

text: Once the "Crisis" was completed, DC used the "One Year Later" event to move the narratives of most of its DC Universe series forward by one year. The weekly series "52" began publication in May 2006, and depicts some of the events which occurred between "Infinite Crisis" and "One Year Later".


title: Infinite Crisis

text: In June 2008, a third series, "Final Crisis", set immediately following the conclusion of the 51-issue "Countdown to Final Crisis", began.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: "Infinite Crisis" was announced in March 2005. The event was kicked off with the release of "Countdown to Infinite Crisis". "Countdown to Infinite Crisis" was followed by four six-issue limited series: "The OMAC Project", "Rann–Thanagar War", "Day of Vengeance", and "Villains United", as well as a four-part limited series "DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy". These first four limited series each had a special tie-in issue, released at monthly intervals during the "Infinite Crisis" event.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: As with many large-scale comic crossovers, "Infinite Crisis" featured a large number of tie-ins. Before the event was announced, books such as "Adam Strange" and "Identity Crisis" were being described as part of bigger plans. After "Countdown", several books were identified as tie-ins to the four mini-series. Thus, although "Infinite Crisis" itself is only seven issues long, its plot elements appeared in dozens of publications.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: Some of these books were of direct and major importance, such as the "Superman" ""Sacrifice"" and "JLA" ""Crisis of Conscience"" storylines, the latter of which ended with the Justice League's lunar Watchtower being destroyed, leading directly into "Infinite Crisis" #1.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: DC Comics executive editor Dan DiDio stated that "Infinite Crisis" was being hinted at in various stories for two years prior to its launch, starting with the "death" of Donna Troy. The leadup was mostly understated until the release of the "Adam Strange" limited series in 2004, at which point industry press began to report that DC was planning a very large event, mentioning the titles "Teen Titans", "The Flash", and "JSA", all written by Geoff Johns.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: With "Countdown to Infinite Crisis", "Infinite Crisis" began to visibly affect DC's editorial policy. Geoff Johns and Grant Morrison moved into editorial positions in addition to their writing duties, respectively to coordinate coherence of the DC Universe and to handle reimaginings of several characters. Mark Waid signed an exclusive contract with DC, receiving a similar editorial role. DC replaced its official decades-old logo (the "DC bullet") with a new one (the "DC spin") that debuted in the first issue of "DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy".


title: Infinite Crisis

text: Aside from marking a major editorial shift within DC Comics, "Infinite Crisis" was a return to large company-wide crossovers of a sort that had been uncommon since the downturn of the comic industry in the 1990s.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: The story begins in the wake of the four lead-in limited series, with Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman feuding, the JLA Watchtower destroyed, and the heroes of the world all facing a variety of menaces. Over this backdrop, Kal-L (the Earth-Two Superman), along with Earth-Two's Lois Lane, Earth-Three's Alexander Luthor, and Superboy-Prime escape from the pocket universe where they had initially fled to at the end of "Crisis on Infinite Earths". Kal-L seeks out his cousin, Power Girl, also a survivor of Earth-Two. Believing Lois' health will improve on her native world, he hopes to replace the current Earth with Earth-Two, which he considers perfect.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: Kal-L tries to enlist Batman's support, stating that the Post-Crisis Earth's inherent "bad" nature caused Batman's recent mistrust and hostility. Batman refuses and tries to use his Kryptonite Ring. This fails as the Kryptonite is not native to Kal-L's universe, and Superman destroys it with his heat-vision. Afterward, Batman learns Superboy-Prime destroyed the JLA Watchtower.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: Alexander reveals to Power Girl that he and Superboy-Prime had been leaving their "paradise" for some time, manipulating events to help create an inter-dimensional tuning fork. Using the Anti-Monitor's remains and captured heroes and villains specifically attuned to former universes (Power Girl among them after Superboy-Prime knocks her out), Alex restores Earth-Two, unpopulated except for the Earth-Two heroes transported there.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: Superboy-Prime attacks Conner Kent, this world's Superboy. Multiple super-teams intervene. Superboy-Prime accidentally kills several heroes before the Flashes and Kid Flash force him into the Speed Force, assisted by the speedsters already within it. Jay Garrick, the only speedster left behind, says the Speed Force is now gone.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: Seeking to create a perfect world, Alexander restores many alternate Earths. When Earth-Two Lois finally dies of old age, an aggrieved Kal-L and the younger Post-Crisis Superman Kal-El fight until Wonder Woman separates them. Bart Allen (wearing Barry Allen's costume and aged to adulthood) emerges from the Speed Force, warning that he and the other speedsters were unable to hold Superboy-Prime, who returns wearing Anti-Monitor inspired armor that stores yellow sun radiation to empower him, making him even stronger.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: Batman's strike force destroys Brother Eye, a satellite AI created by Batman that had gone rogue and begun transforming civilians into nano-infused robots geared to hunt down and exterminate supers. Alexander selects and merges alternate Earths, trying to create a "perfect" Earth, until Firestorm blocks his efforts. Conner, Nightwing, and Wonder Girl release the Tower's prisoners. Fighting each other, Conner and Superboy-Prime collide with the tower, destroying it. The multiple Earths recombine into a "New Earth" as Conner dies in Wonder Girl's arms. Power Girl soon arrives and asks Kal-El what happened to Lois. The answer causes her to break down prompting her to ask Kal-L why. He answers her simply, telling her it was because he chose the wrong Superboy to condemn and the wrong Superboy to condone.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: When a horde of supervillains attack Metropolis, heroes, current and retired, fly off to the rescue, and they are joined by the National Guard. The battle results in multiple deaths on both sides, including many by Superboy-Prime himself, who kills villains and heroes alike. During the battle, Superboy-Prime takes off to destroy Oa, planning to collapse the Universe in a big bang event, and recreate it with himself as the only superhero. Superboy-Prime is slowed down by a 300-mile thick wall of willpower created by the Green Lantern Corps, but he kills thirty-two Green Lanterns before Kal-L and Kal-El carry him toward what is left of Krypton. It is essentially a huge cloud of kryptonite. The Supermen fly Superboy through Krypton's red sun, Rao, destroying his armor and causing all three Kryptonians' powers to diminish. Falling to the sentient planet (and Green Lantern Corps member) Mogo, they fight. Kal-El finally knocks Superboy-Prime out and the older Superman Kal-L dies of his injuries in the arms of his cousin, Power Girl.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: Back on Earth, Batman, struggling with Superboy's death and Nightwing's severe injuries sustained during the Metropolis battle, contemplates shooting Alex. Batman is dissuaded by Wonder Woman. Alex manages to escape.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman later meet up in Gotham City. Wonder Woman plans to find out who she is. Batman plans a similar journey of self-discovery, revisiting the training of his youth, this time with Dick Grayson, now healthier, and with Tim Drake joining him. Superman retires from super heroics until his powers return.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: Hiding in an alley in Gotham City and making new plans, Alexander Luthor is found by Lex Luthor and the Joker. The Joker mutilates Alexander by spraying acid onto his face, then electrifies it, and finally, kills Alexander by shooting him as Lex mocks him for making mistakes including not letting the Joker play in the Secret Society and underestimating Lex.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: The Green Lantern Corps imprison Superboy-Prime inside a red Sun-Eater. The series ends with him carving an "S" into his chest with his bare hands and declaring that he has escaped from worse prisons than this.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: The hardcover collecting all seven issues of "Infinite Crisis" included changes in coloring, as well as, more significantly, alterations in dialogue, most of which relate to hints to the re-emergence of the DC Multiverse.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: Also changed is the two-page spread near the end of the book, where a new George Pérez image is substituted. Four additional pages of art by Phil Jimenez were added, who also illustrated new cover art for the dust jacket of hardcover collection. An interview section included as an afterword explains the reasoning behind some of these alterations.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: A number of series were cancelled with the "One Year Later" jump. Some ended outright, like "Batgirl", "Gotham Central", and "", while others were suspended and restarted later with new volumes, notably "JLA", "JSA", "Flash", and "Wonder Woman". Additionally, "Adventures of Superman" returned to its original title of "Superman", while the book that had previously been coming out as "Superman" since 1987 was canceled, thus making the Superman line's two books, "Superman" and "Action Comics", match the Batman lines "Batman" and "Detective Comics" (in addition to the shared title "Superman/Batman".)


title: Infinite Crisis

text: In "Dark Multiverse: Infinite Crisis", after Ted Kord takes over Checkmate when he kills Maxwell Lord, he manages to subvert most of Alexander Luthor's plans before confronting Luthor and Superboy-Prime directly.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: Ace Books, under the imprint of the Berkley Publishing Group and published by the Penguin Group, released an October 2006 novelization adaption of the series written by Greg Cox, with an introduction by Mark Waid, and cover art designed by Georg Brewer and illustrated by Daniel Acuña. The novel was primarily adapted from the seven-issues mini-series published by DC Comics (December 2005 to June 2006). Additional materials on the book was adapted from:


title: Infinite Crisis

text: GraphicAudio produced an audiobook of the novelization of "Infinite Crisis". The audiobook spans two volumes with 6 CDs each and features a full cast, music and sound effects. Volume 1 and 2 were released in May-July 2007.


title: Infinite Crisis

text: A multiplayer online battle arena video game adaptation loosely based on the comic book series was developed by Turbine, Inc. and released in 2015.


title: WayForward

text: WayForward Technologies, Inc. is an American independent video game developer and publisher based in Valencia, California. Founded in March 1990 by technology entrepreneur Voldi Way, WayForward started by developing games for consoles such as the Super NES and Sega Genesis, as well as TV games and PC educational software. In 1997, they relaunched their video games arm, placing the company as a contractor for publishers and working on a variety of licensed assets.


title: WayForward

text: The company has created a variety of original game properties such as their flagship "Shantae" series, including the first title in the series which appeared on the Game Boy Color and was published by Capcom. WayForward Technologies has worked on games for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita handheld consoles, WiiWare games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U, Nintendo Switch consoles and games for personal computer and mobile phones.


title: WayForward

text: WayForward Technologies was founded in 1990 by Voldi Way as an independent video game design company, following on from a previous company he started that specialized in software for sheet metal fabrication. Early on, the company focused on producing software for the Super NES, Genesis, Game Gear and Game Boy Color. They branched out into educational games for the personal computer and Leapster. During this time, many of the staff were doing other jobs in order to support their ambition to become game developers.


title: WayForward

text: In 1994, WayForward Technologies entered into a partnership with American Education Publishing in order to focus on developing further educational video games. The partnership was successful, with the company winning awards for innovation at the 1995 Consumer Electronics Show. During this time, WayForward focused on licensed assets such as the Muppets for their educational games.


title: WayForward

text: WayForward restarted their video game development business in April 1997, working as a "developer for hire" by providing services to software publishers. John Beck, CEO, stated that by providing services on small projects the company has managed to remain a stable level of work. In mid-2002, WayForward released their first internally developed game based on their own intellectual property "Shantae". While it achieved critical acclaim, it was one of the last games to be released for the Game Boy Color and as a result only enjoyed limited success.


title: WayForward

text: When Nintendo announced the dual-screen handheld console that became the Nintendo DS in early 2004, WayForward began examining the various options the new console offered. Work started on a sequel to "Shantae" using the two screens. Despite presenting the concepts to a number of publishers, they were ultimately unsuccessful at securing a deal. Because of the large number of "Shantae" related assets that were produced, including 3D models, WayForward frequently uses them when trying out new technology or development platforms. In 2004, the company was contracted by THQ to produce a chat game called "Ping Pals" for the Nintendo DS. Despite the tight timescales involved in developing the game, WayForward used the opportunity to obtain development kits for the platform. The game was received unfavourably by the majority of critics and gained only a single positive review. In 2006, the company produced and released "" just as the Game Boy Advance was reaching the end of its commercial life cycle, which met with largely positive reviews. WayForward has gone on to develop further titles for the Nintendo DS. "", based on the 1951 Warner Bros. cartoon "Duck Amuck" received mixed reviews upon release.


title: WayForward

text: On February 19, 2008, John Beck and Matt Bozon were speakers at the Independent Games Summit, part of the 2008 Game Developers Conference, discussing a range of issues facing independent games companies. "Lit" was announced on March 5, 2008, and was released on February 9, 2009, for the WiiWare online shop platform. A new game in the "Shantae" series was considered for the platform.


title: WayForward

text: WayForward introduced a new character named Alta, who is a pink-haired girl that wields a scepter. She represented a new intellectual property. This was revealed on March 9, 2009, to be a DSiWare game called "Mighty Flip Champs!". WayForward created "Mighty Milky Way", another puzzle platformer with a new character named Luna. Its sequel, "Mighty Switch Force!", was released on the 3DS eShop on December 22, 2011, with a sequel two years later called "Mighty Switch Force! 2" on the Nintendo 3DS' eShop.


title: WayForward

text: "" was released on November 20, 2012. A sequel, "", as well as "", were released in 2013. A sequel to "Mighty Switch Force!" was released on June 13, 2013. A new "Shantae" game was revealed via "Nintendo Power", "Shantae and the Pirate's Curse", which was released on October 23, 2014, on the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShop. Another game in the series, "", was crowdfunded via Kickstarter and released in December 2016. On April Fool's Day 2013, Wayforward made a fake announcement for a game called "Cat Girl Without Salad!" Fans responded positively to the game's concept, leading WayForward to later develop it into a full title, which was released via a Humble Bundle in June 2016.


title: Shannara

text: Shannara is a series of high fantasy novels written by Terry Brooks, beginning with "The Sword of Shannara" in 1977 and concluding with "The Last Druid" which was released in October 2020; there is also a prequel, "First King of Shannara". The series blends magic and primitive technology and is set in the Four Lands, which are identified as Earth long after civilization was destroyed in a chemical and nuclear holocaust called the Great Wars. By the time of the prequel "First King of Shannara", the world had reverted to a pre-industrial state and magic had re-emerged to supplement science.


title: Shannara

text: The Shannara series is set in a post-apocalyptic world called the Four Lands. This world is a futuristic version of our own, and not a secondary world. The "Genesis of Shannara" trilogy reveals the Four Lands to be located in the modern Pacific Northwest region of the United States and Canada. Much of the landscape has been changed by a future nuclear holocaust called The Great Wars, but some landmarks remain. For example, the Columbia River still exists.


title: Shannara

text: Each land is named after the compass point it faces: the Northland, the Southland, the Eastland, and the Westland, and is the primary home of different peoples. The Westland is the homeland primarily of the elves, while the Northland is mostly inhabited by trolls and the Eastland is the home mostly of dwarves and gnomes. The Southland is primarily the homeland of humans.


title: Shannara

text: The Word & Void series (also called The Word and The Void) focuses on John Ross and Nest Freemark, forced acquaintances who use magic given to them from the Word to prevent mankind from being overcome by the demonic forces of the Void. The trilogy consists of "Running with the Demon", "A Knight of the Word", and "Angel Fire East" and is predominantly set in present-day Illinois. It follows Nest Freemark, a girl with magical abilities who has no known relationship to any "Shannara" character. Before the publication of "Armageddon's Children" it was unclear whether this trilogy existed within the "Shannara" universe. It has since been revealed as the "ultimate prequel" to the "Shannara" novels.


title: Shannara

text: "The Genesis of Shannara" series consists of "Armageddon's Children", "The Elves of Cintra" and "The Gypsy Morph". They cover events during The Great Wars, which are alluded to often in the "Shannara" series.


title: Shannara

text: The "Legends of Shannara" series consists of "Bearers of the Black Staff "and" The Measure of the Magic".


title: Shannara

text: Also published as the "Original Shannara Trilogy" by Del Rey Books, these were the first three published Shannara novels ("The Sword of Shannara", "The Elfstones of Shannara", and "The Wishsong of Shannara")


title: Shannara

text: The next four books consist of "The Scions of Shannara", "The Druid of Shannara", "The Elf Queen of Shannara" and" The Talismans of Shannara". These books are known as "The Heritage of Shannara", are set 300 years after "The Original Shannara Trilogy".


title: Shannara

text: "The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara" trilogy consists of the books "Ilse Witch", "Antrax", and "Morgawr". It is set 130 years after the Heritage of Shannara.


title: Shannara

text: This trilogy is set 100 to 120 years after the events in "Straken", consists of "Wards of Faerie", published August 21, 2012, "Bloodfire Quest", published March 12, 2013, and "Witch Wraith", published July 17, 2013.


title: Shannara

text: Set 100 years after the events in "The Dark Legacy of Shannara" trilogy. The three novels are loosely connected, stand-alone novels, described as the setup for the conclusion of the entire Shannara saga. The trilogy consists of "The High Druid's Blade" (published July 15, 2014), "The Darkling Child" (published June 9, 2015), and "The Sorcerer's Daughter" (published May 24, 2016).


title: Shannara

text: "The Fall of Shannara" is a four-book series, set over 200 years after "The Sorcerer's Daughter", that concludes the overall story arc of the Shannara universe. It begins with "The Black Elfstone", which was published on June 13, 2017. It is described as the chronological end, but not necessarily the last stories to be published. The second book, "The Skaar Invasion", was published on June 18, 2018. The third book, "The Stiehl Assassin", was published in June 2019. The fourth and final book, "The Last Druid", was released on October 20, 2020.