title: Naroda Patiya massacre

text: The report said that Kodnani, Bajrangi and other leaders had led violence as well as "instigating the mob". Kodnani's telephone records revealed that she had made calls to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) on the day of the massacre and that her telephone was located at places where the violence occurred. She had also contacted numerous police officials, especially K.K. Mysorewala, the police inspector in charge of Naroda at the time of the massacre. Her logs also revealed that she had received calls from the CMO and other police officers, the reasons for which are unknown.


title: Naroda Patiya massacre

text: The court examined 327 witnesses, including eyewitnesses, victims, doctors, police personnel, government officials, and forensic experts. The special public case was prosecuted by Akhil Desai and Gaurang Vyas.


title: Naroda Patiya massacre

text: The first verdict in the trial case was handed down on 29 August 2012 by Judge Jyotsna Yagnik. The special trial court convicted Maya Kodnani, the sitting Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Naroda and former Minister for Women and Child Development of Gujarat, and Bajrang Dal politician Babu Bajrangi under Indian Penal Code Section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 302 (murder). It also convicted 30 other people of murder, criminal conspiracy and other criminal charges, and acquitted 29 accused, giving them the benefit of the doubt as there was lack of evidence against them. Kodnai was the first woman, MLA and minister to be convicted in the Gujarat riot case. Suresh Dedawala (Richard) alias Langado and accomplices were convicted of rape and murder along with accomplices.


title: Naroda Patiya massacre

text: The prosecution requested the death penalty for all the convicts. Sentencing took place on 31 August: Kodani was given a 28-year prison term, and received two sentences; the first for 10 years under Indian Penal Code Section 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and the second for 18 years under Section 302 (murder) and others. Her sentences are set to run consecutively, making a total of 28 years. Bajrangi received life imprisonment. Of the rest of the 30 convicted, 22 were sentenced to a minimum of 14 years and 7 to a minimum of 21 years in prison; they included Naresh Chara, Morli Sindhi, Haresh Rathod, Suresh Langado, Premchand Tiwari, Manojbhai Sindhi Kukrani and Bipin Panchal. One of the convicted, Suresh alias Shahjad Nekalkar, absconded and his sentencing was deferred.


title: Naroda Patiya massacre

text: The original case in the Trial court had 61 accused. In August 2012, 32 were found guilty and 29 were acquitted. The accused appealed Gujarat High court. On a April 2018 ruling on the appeals, the High court convicted 16, among them Bajrangi, while 18 others including Kodnani were acquitted. Three of the thirteen convicted were sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment, nine were sentenced to 21 years of rigorous imprisonment and one was sentenced to 10 years in jail.


title: Naroda Patiya massacre

text: Kodnani said that she had never been to Naroda and had become a "victim of politics". Judge Yagnik described her as the "kingpin of the violence", and as the 37 months of trials ended, the court said in a statement that Kodnani had received help from the state government, and efforts had been made to avoid her name appearing on the list of accused. The statement said, "Kodnani was tremendously favoured by the then investigating agencies (before the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team took over). All care, at the cost of the duty of the investigating officer and even the interest of the victims, was taken to see to it that Kodnani's involvement does not come on the books. This, in fact, comes in the way to believe that Kodnani was ever a victim of any politics."


title: Naroda Patiya massacre

text: In the verdict, the special court criticised the initial investigation and the police for "not doing any policing during the 2002 riots and then deliberately conducting poor investigations." The verdict said that statements of witnesses recorded by the Gujarat police were "unreliable as the investigator's propriety in recording the statements had itself been rebutted." The special court judge also criticised Mysorewala's actions in investigation, and said that "Mysorewala and his force were totally inactive on all fronts and in every aspect." The court added that: "No doubt, it was an elephantine task to investigate the kind of crimes, but then it cannot be believed that the senior Investigating Officers, having experience, do not know what should be the priorities in such kind of investigation. But, it seems that they must have been over-shadowed by some element"


title: Naroda Patiya massacre

text: Residents in the city, including the victims, appreciated the judgement and celebrated. Digvijay Singh of the Indian National Congress welcomed the verdict and statement of Modi's role in the riots and said, "Now it is proved that ministers and officials of BJP were involved in Gujarat riots and all this happened under the guidance of Modi ... can any minister (take part in riots) do this without the support of the Chief Minister?" Modi, in response to the sentencing of Kodnaniwho was a minister in his cabinetrefused to apologise, stating that his government had played no role in the riot. Jaynarayan Vyas, spokesman for the cabinet of the Gujarat government, said that it was not involved and was not responsible for the actions of Kodnani: "Ms. Kodnani, a practising gynaecologist, was not a Minister at the time of the massacre and was only an MLA, and her individual action could not be construed as a 'cumulative responsibility of the Cabinet'."


title: Russian Winter

text: Russian Winter, sometimes personified as "General Frost" or "General Winter", is an aspect of the climate of Russia that has contributed to military failures of several invasions of Russia. Mud is a related contributing factor that impairs military maneuvering in Russia and elsewhere, and is sometimes personified as "General Mud". Russians call those muddy conditions "rasputitsa", which occur with autumnal rains and spring thaws in Russia and make transport over unimproved roads difficult.


title: Russian Winter

text: In his study of winter warfare in Russia, author Allen F. Chew concludes that "General Winter" was a 'substantial contributing factor'—not a decisive one—in the military failures of both Napoleon's and Hitler's invasions of Russia. He notes that Napoleon's army was already suffering significant attrition before winter, owing to lack of supplies, disease, desertions and casualties of war. Likewise, Hitler's "Wehrmacht" had already suffered 734,000 casualties and was running low on supplies in November 1941, before the arrival of winter.


title: Russian Winter

text: In the Great Northern War, Charles XII of Sweden invaded Russia in 1707. The Russians retreated, adopting a scorched-earth policy. This winter was the most brutal of the 18th century, so severe that the seaport of Venice froze during the Great Frost of 1709. Charles' 35,000 troops were crippled, and by spring only 19,000 were left. The Battle of Poltava in late June 1709 sealed the end of the Swedish Empire.


title: Russian Winter

text: Napoleon's "Grande Armée" of 610,000 men invaded Russia, heading towards Moscow, in the beginning of summer on 24 June 1812. The Russian army retreated before the French and again burnt their crops and villages, denying the enemy their use. Napoleon's army was ultimately reduced to 100,000. His army suffered further, even more disastrous losses on the retreat from Moscow, which started in October. Multiple sources concur that winter and its aftermath was only a contributing factor to Napoleon's defeat and retreat.


title: Russian Winter

text: To counter claims that the French defeat resulted from winter weather, Denis Davydov published a military historical analysis, titled "Was it Frost that Devastated the French Army in 1812?", wherein he demonstrated that the French suffered casualties in battles during relatively mild weather and outlined multiple causes for their defeat. He drew on both his direct observations and on those of foreign commentators, including French authors.


title: Russian Winter

text: According to Chew in 1981, the main body of Napoleon's "Grande Armée", initially at least 378,000 strong, "diminished by half during the first eight weeks of his invasion, before the major battle of the campaign. This decrease was partly due to garrisoning supply centres, but disease, desertions, and casualties sustained in various minor actions caused thousands of losses. At the Battle of Borodino on 7 September 1812—the only major engagement fought in Russia—Napoleon could muster no more than 135,000 troops and he lost at least 30,000 of them to gain a narrow and pyrrhic victory almost 600 miles inside hostile territory. The sequels were his uncontested and self-defeating occupation of Moscow and his humiliating retreat, which began on 19 October, before the first severe frosts later that month and the first snow on 5 November." Lieven cites the difficulty of finding food for troops and forage for horses in winter as an important contributing factor.


title: Russian Winter

text: During the Northern Russian Expedition of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War, both sides, the Allied forces and the Bolshevik Red Army knew or quickly learned the principles of winter warfare and applied them whenever possible. However both sides had their resources strained and at times one side or other suffered the severe consequences of underpreparedness, but Chew concluded that winter did not provide a decisive advantage to any of the combatants.


title: Russian Winter

text: During World War II, the Wehrmacht lacked necessary supplies, such as winter uniforms, due to the many delays in the German army's movements. At the same time, Hitler's plans for Operation Barbarossa actually miscarried before the onset of severe winter weather. Neither Hitler nor the General Staff anticipated a long campaign lasting into the winter. Thus, they failed to make adequate preparations for a possible winter campaign, such as the distribution of warm clothing and winterization of vehicles and lubricants. In fact his eastern army suffered more than 734,000 casualties (about 23% of its average strength of 3,200,000) during the first five months of the invasion before the winter started. On 27 November 1941, Eduard Wagner, the Quartermaster General of the German Army, reported that "We are at the end of our resources in both personnel and material. We are about to be confronted with the dangers of deep winter." Also of note is the fact that the unusually early winter of 1941 cut short the "rasputitsa" season, improving logistics in early November, with the weather still being only mildly cold.


title: Russian Winter

text: In his 1981 paper, "Fighting the Russians in Winter: Three Case Studies", Chew draws on experiences from the Allied-Soviet War in Northern Russia during the Winter of 1918–19, the destruction of the Soviet 44th Motorized Rifle Division, and German–Soviet War during World War II to derive winter warfare factors pertaining to military tactics, materiel and personnel:


title: Russian Winter

text: Sandy Woodward, Royal Navy task force commander during the Falklands War, which was fought before the oncoming South Atlantic winter, remarked in his memoirs, "I thought then, for the first time, about the arrival of General Winter. If he had been here ten days ago, he would not have been much help to the Args [Argentines], dug in on the heights with no chance of their High Command getting their air forces into the skies. But I think he would’ve finished us."


title: Barren Island (Andaman Islands)

text: Barren Island is an island located in the Andaman Sea. It is the only confirmed active volcano in the Indian subcontinent, and the only active volcano along a chain of volcanoes from Sumatra to Myanmar. It is a part of the Indian Union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and lies about northeast of the territory's capital, Port Blair.


title: Barren Island (Andaman Islands)

text: The first recorded eruption of the volcano dates back to 1787. Since then, the volcano has erupted more than ten times, with the most recent one being in 2020


title: Barren Island (Andaman Islands)

text: . After the first recorded eruption in 1787, further eruptions were recorded in 1789, 1795, 1803–04, and 1852. After nearly one and a half century of dormancy, the island had another eruption in 1991 that lasted six months and caused considerable damage.


title: Barren Island (Andaman Islands)

text: The 1991 eruption was particularly harmful to the island's fauna. A team from the Geological Survey of India visited Barren Island on 8–9 April 1993 to assess the impact of the eruption on the distribution, habit, and abundance of animal species. The report found that the eruption had reduced the number of bird species and their population. The team only observed 6 of the 16 known species of birds on the island. The Pied Imperial Pigeon (Ducula bicolor) was the most abundant among the 6 species observed. In a survey conducted at night, the team spotted one rat species (Rattus rattus) and 51 species of insects from eight orders. The report also noted that the volcano was still emitting gas at the time. There were eruptions in 1994–95 and 2005–07, the latter considered to be linked to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. A lighthouse that was established in 1993 was destroyed by the recent eruptions.


title: Barren Island (Andaman Islands)

text: A team from the National Institute of Oceanography spotted the volcano erupting on 23 January 2017. Abhay Mudholkar, the head of the team, said, "The volcano is erupting in small episodes of about five to ten minutes. During the day, only ash clouds were observed. However, after sundown, red lava fountains were spewing from the crater into the atmosphere and hot lava flowed streaming down its slopes."


title: Barren Island (Andaman Islands)

text: Based on Argon-argon dating of samples from Barren Island, it is now established that the oldest subaerial lava flows of the volcano are 1.6 million years old and the volcano is located on an oceanic crust which is roughly 106 million years old. All recorded eruptions lie on the low end of the Volcanic Explosivity Index. The 2017 eruption was recorded as a 2 on the index.


title: Barren Island (Andaman Islands)

text: This volcanic island stands in the midst of a volcanic belt on the edge of the Indian and Burmese tectonic plates. Narcondam Island is a dormant volcano in the area, apart from volcanic seamounts like Alcock and Sewell.


title: Barren Island (Andaman Islands)

text: All the historical and recent eruptions (1789 and after) are confined within and around an active polygenetic cinder cone in a wide caldera that was formed by the Pleistocene collapse of a primitive cone of a stratovolcano. The remnant of the primitive volcanic cone forms a precipitous cliff around the island (commonly referred to as caldera wall), with a break towards the west. The highest elevation on the island is , with most of the primitive volcano underwater (standing on the seafloor below sea level). The island is in diameter, with a total surface area of .


title: Barren Island (Andaman Islands)

text: True to its name, it has large areas of barren landscape. It is uninhabited by humans, though it has a small population of goats. Also birds, bats like flying foxes and a few rodent species such as rats are known to survive the harsh conditions.


title: Barren Island (Andaman Islands)

text: A small population of Feral Goats also found on the island which made suprised the geologist. Later it was found that they are surviving on two fresh water springs and thick vegetation. These goats were kept there by British sailors from a steamer leaving Port Blair in 1891.


title: Barren Island (Andaman Islands)

text: The waters surrounding Barren Island are reputed to be among the world's top scuba diving destinations. Major attractions here are the crystal clear visibility, Manta Rays, interesting basalt formations, topography of past lava flows and fast growing coral gardens. This dive destination is remote but can be accessed by either a live aboard ship or with scuba-operators based at Swaraj Island.


title: Barren Island (Andaman Islands)

text: It belongs to the North and Middle Andaman administrative district, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant, sold under the brand name Belsomra, is an orexin antagonist medication which is used in the treatment of insomnia. It is indicated specifically for the treatment of insomnia characterized by difficulties with sleep onset and/or maintenance in adults. Suvorexant helps with falling asleep faster, sleeping longer, being awake less in the middle of the night, and having better quality of sleep. Its effectiveness is modest, and is similar to that of other orexin antagonists, but is lower than that of benzodiazepines and Z-drugs. Suvorexant is taken by mouth.


title: Suvorexant

text: Side effects of suvorexant include somnolence, daytime sleepiness and sedation, headache, dizziness, abnormal dreams, dry mouth, and impaired next-day driving ability. Rarely, sleep paralysis, sleep-related hallucinations, complex sleep behaviors like sleepwalking, and suicidal ideation may occur. Tolerance, dependence, withdrawal, and rebound effects do not appear to occur significantly with the medication. Suvorexant is a dual orexin receptor antagonist (DORA). It acts as a selective dual antagonist of the orexin OX and OX receptors. The medication has an intermediate elimination half-life of 12hours and a time to peak of about 2 to 3hours. Unlike benzodiazepines and Z-drugs, suvorexant does not interact with GABA receptors, instead having a distinct mechanism of action.


title: Suvorexant

text: Clinical development of suvorexant began in 2006 and it was introduced for medical use in 2014. The medication is a schedule IV controlled substance in the United States and may have a modest potential for misuse. Similarly, suvorexant is a controlled substance in Australia being a prescription only Schedule 4 drug. Suvorexant is not available in generic formulations. Besides suvorexant, other orexin receptor antagonists like lemborexant and daridorexant have also been introduced.


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant is used for the treatment of insomnia, characterized by difficulties with sleep onset and/or sleep maintenance, in adults. At a dose of 15 to 20mg and in terms of treatment–placebo difference, it reduces time to sleep onset by up to 10minutes, reduces time awake after sleep onset by about 15 to 30minutes, and increases total sleep time by about 10 to 20minutes. A 2017 systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of suvorexant for insomnia likewise found that the medication improved subjective sleep onset, subjective total sleep time, and subjective sleep quality when assessed at one to three months of treatment. The effectiveness of approved doses of suvorexant (≤20mg) in the treatment of insomnia is said to be modest.


title: Suvorexant

text: Network meta-analyses have assessed the sleep-promoting effects of suvorexant and have compared them to those of other orexin receptor antagonists like lemborexant and daridorexant as well as to other sleep aids including benzodiazepines, Z-drugs, antihistamines, sedative antidepressants (e.g., trazodone, doxepin, amitriptyline, mirtazapine), and melatonin receptor agonists. A major systematic review and network meta-analysis of insomnia medications published in 2022 found that suvorexant had an effect size (standardized mean difference (SMD)) against placebo for treatment of insomnia at 4weeks of 0.31 (95% 0.01 to 0.62). Suvorexant appeared to be similarly effective at 4weeks to lemborexant (SMD 0.36, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.63) and daridorexant (SMD 0.23, 95% CI –0.01 to 0.48), whereas benzodiazepines and Z-drugs generally showed larger effect sizes (e.g., SMDs of 0.45 to 0.83) and antihistamines (e.g., doxepin, doxylamine, trimipramine) showed more similar efficacy (SMDs of 0.30 to 0.55).


title: Suvorexant

text: Orexin receptor antagonists like suvorexant increase total sleep time predominantly by increasing rapid eye movement sleep (REM) sleep, whereas they have no effect on or even decrease non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. This is in contrast to most other hypnotics, which either do not affect REM sleep or decrease it. The implications of these differences are not fully clear. Unlike certain other hypnotics like benzodiazepines and Z-drugs, orexin receptor antagonists do not disrupt sleep architecture, and this might provide more restful sleep.


title: Suvorexant

text: It is unclear if suvorexant is safe among people with a history of substance addiction or alcoholism, as these individuals were excluded from clinical trials of suvorexant. A Cochrane review found suvorexant to be effective in the short-term treatment of sleep disturbances in people with dementia with few adverse effects. It is unknown if suvorexant is effective and safe for treatment of sleep problems in children and adolescents as suvorexant has not been studied in this context.


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant is approved for the treatment of insomnia by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at doses of 5 to 20mg and by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and Japanese Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) at doses of 15mg (in the elderly) and 20mg (in younger adults). In the United States, the recommended starting dose is 10mg and the maximum recommended dose is 20mg. Higher doses of 30 and 40mg were also submitted to regulatory agencies for approval but were not authorized due to lack of clearly superior efficacy to doses of 15 to 20mg and concerns about next-day effects and associated impairment (e.g., driving). In addition to the preceding doses, suvorexant has been assessed at higher doses of up to 100mg in clinical trials. These higher doses appeared to be more effective at promoting sleep than lower doses but produced greater next-day effects. Lower approved doses of suvorexant in the United States in the range of 5 to 10mg were not extensively evaluated in clinical trials.


title: Suvorexant

text: The American Academy of Sleep Medicine's 2017 clinical practice guidelines recommend the use of suvorexant in the treatment of sleep-onset and sleep-maintenance insomnia along with various other sleep medications. Orexin receptor antagonists are not used as first-line treatments for insomnia due to their costs and concerns about possible misuse liability. Generic formulations of orexin receptor antagonists including suvorexant are not yet available.


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant is available in the form of 5, 10, 15, and 20mg oral film-coated tablets. It is provided as 10- and 30-tablet blister packs as well as 3-tablet starter packs. The availability of these different packs varies by country (all three available in Australia but only 30-tablet packs available in the United States).


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant is contraindicated in people with narcolepsy as it may worsen their symptoms. This is its only absolute contraindication. Suvorexant has not been studied in people with severe hepatic impairment and is not recommended in these individuals due to the likelihood of increased suvorexant exposure. On the other hand, suvorexant may be used in people with mild-to-moderate hepatic impairment as well as renal impairment of any severity and no dose adjustment is necessary in these situations. Concomitant use of suvorexant with strong CYP3A4 inhibitors is not recommended due to potential for increased suvorexant exposure while concomitant use of suvorexant with strong CYP3A4 inducers may result in loss of suvorexant exposure and effectiveness. Suvorexant should be used carefully in people with a history of drug misuse or alcoholism due to its drug-liking effects and possible misuse potential at doses higher than those approved for therapeutic use. Similarly, suvorexant should be used carefully in people with a history of depression or suicidality as it may rarely increase suicidal ideation. The medication is indicated for use in adults and the elderly but has not been studied in children and adolescents and hence is not recommended for these individuals.


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant has shown teratogenic effects in animals such as decreased body weight at doses much higher than the equivalents of those approved for therapeutic use in humans. Teratogenic effects with therapeutic doses of suvorexant in humans have not been established due to lack of research and available data. Suvorexant is pregnancy category C in the United States. It is unknown whether suvorexant is present in the breast milk, whether it affects lactation in breastfeeding women, or whether it affects breastfed infants. However, suvorexant has been found to be present in mammary milk in rats and this is likely to be the case in humans as well. Suvorexant should be used in pregnant and breastfeeding women only if the potential benefit justifies the potential for harm to the baby.


title: Suvorexant

text: Side effects of suvorexant (at doses of 15–20mg) include somnolence (7% vs. 3% for placebo) and headaches (7% vs. 6% for placebo). Somnolence with suvorexant appears to be dose-dependent, with rates of 2% at 10mg, 5% at 20mg, 10–12% at 40mg, and 11–12% at 80mg, relative to 0.4% for placebo. Less common side effects (at 15–20mg) may include dizziness (3% vs. 2% for placebo), abnormal dreams (2% vs. 1% for placebo), diarrhea (2% vs. 1% for placebo), dry mouth (2% vs. 1% for placebo), upper respiratory tract infection (2% vs. 1% for placebo), and cough (2% vs. 1% for placebo). High doses of suvorexant (80mg) have also been found to produce greater incidence of dizziness (5% vs. 0% for placebo) and abnormal dreams (5% vs. 1% for placebo).


title: Suvorexant

text: Less commonly, suvorexant may cause sleep paralysis, hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations, and complex sleep behaviors (0.2–0.6% vs. 0% for placebo). Complex sleep behaviors include sleepwalking, sleep-driving, and engaging in other activities while not completely awake (e.g., making or eating food, making phone calls, and having sex). Other narcoleptic-like symptoms such as cataplexy (sudden weakness or paralysis) may also rarely occur. Suvorexant may sometimes cause worsening of depression or suicidal ideation. A dose-dependent increase in suicidal ideation as assessed with the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale was seen with suvorexant in clinical trials although rates were very low (0.2% (1/493) at low doses (15–20mg) and 0.4% (5/1291) at high doses (30–40mg) relative to 0.1% (1/1025) for placebo). It has also been stated however that suicidal ideation was reported in 0% to 1.6% of people taking 10 to 20mg and 3.4% to 8.2% taking 40 to 80mg relative to 0% to 0.3% with placebo. Suicidal ideation with suvorexant is considered to be mild. In any case, caution is warranted in use of suvorexant in people with depression, and people with worsening depression or suicidal thoughts should be promptly evaluated. Besides the clinical trial data, a case report of rapidly worsened depression and onset of suicidal ideation with suvorexant has been published.


title: Suvorexant

text: The next-day effects of suvorexant have been studied. Besides the side effect of daytime somnolence, suvorexant may dose-dependently reduce alertness and motor coordination and impair driving ability. It may also increase the risk of falling asleep while driving. Driving ability was found to be impaired at doses of 20 and 40mg in clinical studies. Driving impairment may also occur with lower doses of suvorexant due to variations in individual sensitivity to the medication. In three of four studies, 30mg suvorexant had no influence on next-day memory or balance, whereas in the remaining study, there was a decrease in morning word recall with 40mg and an increase in body sway with 20 and 40mg doses. In another study in elderly people who were awakened in the night, impaired balance was present at 1.5hours after taking 30mg suvorexant whereas memory was unaffected.


title: Suvorexant

text: A 2017 systematic review and meta-analysis of suvorexant for the treatment of insomnia found that the medication significantly increased the rate of somnolence by 3.5-fold, daytime sleepiness/sedation by 3.1-fold, fatigue by 2.1-fold, abnormal dreams by 2.1-fold, and dry mouth by 2.0-fold. Conversely, suvorexant did not significantly differ from placebo in the rates of any other assessed adverse effects. This included back pain, diarrhea, dizziness, falls, headache, car accidents/traffic violations, nasopharyngitis, nausea, potential drug misuse, suicidal ideation, complex sleep behaviors, hypnagogic or hypnopompic hallucinations, and sleep paralysis. The overall risk of any adverse event was increased 1.07-fold while discontinuation due to adverse events was unchanged ( = 0.93, 95% 0.60 to 1.44).


title: Suvorexant

text: Tolerance, dependence, withdrawal, and rebound effects do not appear to occur with suvorexant in the treatment of insomnia at studied doses. In three-month clinical studies, no rebound insomnia as assessed by measures of sleep onset or maintenance was observed with discontinuation of suvorexant at doses of 15 to 40mg. Similarly, no withdrawal effects were observed with discontinuation of suvorexant at these doses. However, in other reports, some tolerance as assessed by diminishing somnolence and rebound insomnia upon discontinuation has been noted.


title: Suvorexant

text: The orexin neuropeptides augment the signaling of the mesolimbic dopamine reward pathway and are thought to potentiate hedonic tone. Conversely, low orexin signaling may result in low hedonic tone and orexin receptor antagonists are of interest for the potential treatment of addiction. In line with these findings, suvorexant and other orexin receptor antagonists have not shown misuse liability in animal studies in rats and non-human primates. Paradoxically however, orexin receptor antagonists, including suvorexant, lemborexant, and daridorexant, have consistently shown drug-liking responses in human studies of recreational sedative users. Suvorexant at higher-than-approved doses (40, 80, and 150mg vs. 20mg maximum recommended dose) showed similar drug liking to the Z-drug zolpidem (15 and 30mg) in such individuals. On the other hand, it showed lower misuse potential on all other measures (including an overall rate of misuse potential adverse event of 58% for zolpidem and 31% for suvorexant). In another study, suvorexant at a dose of 150mg showed greater drug liking than daridorexant (50mg) but similar drug liking to zolpidem (30mg) and higher doses of daridorexant (100–150mg) in recreational sedative users. There was no apparent dose–response relationship for positive measures of misuse potential with suvorexant, in contrast to zolpidem. In the phase III clinical trials, misuse potential adverse events were reported in 3.0% with placebo, 4.1% with 15 or 20mg suvorexant, and 2.6% with 30 or 40mg suvorexant. The misuse liability of suvorexant is considered to be at most modest, and further research is needed to characterize the misuse potential of orexin receptor antagonists. In any case, suvorexant is a controlled substance in the United States due to concerns about the possibility of misuse.


title: Suvorexant

text: Besides its subjective side effects, suvorexant has been found to cause dose-dependent increases in serum cholesterol levels in clinical trials. These changes in cholesterol levels were +1.2mg/dL at 10mg, +2.3mg/dL at 20mg, +3.1mg/dL at 40mg, and +6.0mg/dL at 80mg relative to –3.7mg/dL for placebo. Although the increases in cholesterol levels with approved doses of suvorexant (10–20mg) are small, they could be important over a long duration of treatment.


title: Suvorexant

text: Early studies in rodents found that orexins (derived from Greek "orexis" meaning "appetite") stimulate appetite, feeding behavior, and weight gain while orexin receptor antagonists block these effects. However, subsequent animal studies were more mixed, with the effects being limited and depending on the animal strain. In humans, orexin receptor antagonists including suvorexant have not been found to affect body weight in rigorous clinical trials that lasted up to 12 to 14months.


title: Suvorexant

text: There is limited experience with overdose of suvorexant. Suvorexant has been assessed in single doses of as high as 240mg in clinical studies. The medication dose-dependently produces somnolence. High doses of suvorexant may also cause sleep-onset paralysis in some individuals (2% incidence at doses of 40–240mg). Treatment of suvorexant overdose is based on symptoms and is supportive. Gastric lavage may be used where appropriate whereas the value of dialysis has not been determined. Because suvorexant has high plasma protein binding, hemodialysis is not expected to enhance elimination of suvorexant.


title: Suvorexant

text: CYP3A4 inhibitors can increase exposure to suvorexant while CYP3A4 inducers can decrease exposure to suvorexant. Combination of suvorexant with the strong CYP3A4 inhibitor ketoconazole increased suvorexant overall exposure by 2.79-fold and peak levels by about 1.25-fold, combination with the moderate CYP3A4 inhibitor diltiazem increased suvorexant overall exposure by 2.05-fold and peak levels by about 1.25-fold, and combination with the strong CYP3A4 inducer rifampin decreased suvorexant overall exposure by 88% and peak levels by about 65%. The elimination half-life of suvorexant (about 12hours for suvorexant alone) was increased to 19.4hours with ketoconazole and to 16.1hours with diltiazem while it was decreased to 7.7hours with rifampin. Concomitant use of suvorexant with strong CYP3A4 inhibitors is not recommended, while lower doses of suvorexant are recommended with moderate CYP3A4 inhibitors (5mg starting dose and 10mg maximum dose generally). The substantial decrease in suvorexant exposure with strong CYP3A4 inducers may result in loss of effectiveness. Suvorexant does not appear to have been assessed in combination with moderate CYP3A4 inducers (e.g., modafinil).


title: Suvorexant

text: Examples of important CYP3A4 modulators which are expected to interact with suvorexant include the strong CYP3A4 inhibitors boceprevir, clarithromycin, conivaptan, indinavir, itraconazole, ketoconazole, lopinavir, nefazodone, nelfinavir, posaconazole, ritonavir, saquinavir, telaprevir, and telithromycin (concomitant use not recommended); the moderate CYP3A4 inhibitors amprenavir, aprepitant, atazanavir, ciprofloxacin, diltiazem, dronedarone, erythromycin, fluconazole, fluvoxamine, fosamprenavir, grapefruit juice, imatinib, and verapamil (lower doses of suvorexant recommended); and the strong CYP3A4 inducers apalutamide, carbamazepine, efavirenz, enzalutamide, phenytoin, rifampin, and St. John's wort (expected to decrease suvorexant effectiveness).


title: Suvorexant

text: Coadministration of suvorexant with other CNS depressants such as alcohol, benzodiazepines, opioids, and tricyclic antidepressants may increase the risk of CNS depression and daytime impairment. Alcohol and suvorexant do not appear to interact in terms of pharmacokinetics but consumption of alcohol in combination with suvorexant is not advised due to additive CNS depression. Dosage adjustment may be necessary when suvorexant is combined with other CNS depressants. Use of suvorexant in combination with other medications used in the treatment of insomnia is not recommended.


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant is not expected to cause clinically meaningful inhibition or induction of various cytochrome P450 enzymes and drug transporters. It has been found to not substantially influence the pharmacokinetics of midazolam (CYP3A4 substrate), warfarin (CYP2C9 substrate), digoxin (P-glycoprotein substrate), or combined birth control pills. However, coadministration of suvorexant with digoxin may result in slightly increased digoxin exposure due to inhibition of intestinal P-glycoprotein by suvorexant. Concentrations of digoxin should be monitored during coadministration of suvorexant and digoxin.


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant acts as a selective dual antagonist of the orexin (hypocretin) receptors OX and OX. These receptors are the biological targets of the endogenous wakefulness-promoting orexin neuropeptides orexin-A and orexin-B. The binding affinities (K) of suvorexant at the human orexin receptors are 0.55nM for the OX receptor and 0.35nM for the OX receptor. The antagonistic potencies or functional inhibition (K) of suvorexant at the human orexin receptors are 65nM for the OX receptor and 41nM for the OX receptor. Hence, suvorexant shows similar affinities and antagonistic activities at the OX and OX receptors "in vitro". Suvorexant is highly selective for the orexin receptors over a large number of other targets (170 screened off-target receptors, enzymes, and transporters). In contrast to certain other sedatives and hypnotics, suvorexant is not a benzodiazepine or Z-drug and does not interact with GABA receptors.


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant is thought to exert its therapeutic effects in the treatment of insomnia by blocking the orexin receptors and thereby inhibiting the effects of the endogenous wakefulness-promoting orexin neuropeptides orexin-A and orexin-B. The orexin neuropeptides are produced exclusively by a relatively small population of 20,000 to 80,000 neurons located in the lateral hypothalamus in the brain. These neurons project widely throughout the brain and mediate excitatory signaling to key centers involved in sleep–wake regulation, including the noradrenergic locus coeruleus, histaminergic tuberomammillary nucleus, serotonergic raphe nucleus, and dopaminergic ventral tegmental area. The orexin system shows circadian rhythmicity in its activity, with high activity during waking and low to no activity during sleep or at night. Orexin system activity during wakefulness is also higher with behavioral activation and with high-intensity emotions.


title: Suvorexant

text: Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hypnagogic hallucinations, as well as sleep attacks and fragmented sleep. Narcolepsy with cataplexy, also known as type 1 narcolepsy, is thought to be caused by loss of orexin-producing neurons in the lateral hypothalamus, possibly mediated by autoimmune mechanisms related to environmental triggers in genetically susceptible individuals. There is an 80 to 100% loss of orexin-producing neurons in the lateral hypothalamus and very low or undetectable levels of orexin-A in cerebrospinal fluid in people with narcolepsy. Similarly, narcolepsy with cataplexy in dogs is caused by a mutation in the gene encoding the OX receptor, and knockout mice for genes encoding orexin system proteins such as prepro-orexin or the OX receptor show a narcolepsy-like phenotype. Although there is hypersomnolence in narcolepsy, people with the condition do not sleep more overall than normal individuals but instead experience more sleepiness and sleep during daytime in tandem with disturbed sleep at night. They do not usually feel well-rested during the day. Besides narcolepsy, the orexin system may also be involved in the etiology of insomnia. In addition, orexin signaling appears to change with age, and this may be involved in age-related sleep disturbances.


title: Suvorexant

text: Orexin receptor antagonists may be expected to produce effects similar to those in narcolepsy. However, the effects of acute transient pharmacological antagonism of the orexin receptors are not necessarily the same as in the chronic and severe orexin deficiency in narcolepsy. Modulation of orexin signaling with orexin receptor antagonists produces effects that occur more at night when drug levels are high and less during the day when levels are low. In addition, long-term neural changes may develop in narcolepsy to compensate for the orexin deficiency in the condition. In animals and humans, orexin receptor agonists such as orexin-A and danavorexton dose-dependently produce wakefulness and locomotor activity while orexin receptor antagonists like suvorexant transiently reduce locomotor activity and dose-dependently promote sleep. Acute orexin receptor antagonists can promote sleep in animals to a greater extent than what occurs in narcolepsy-like orexin system loss. In addition, little to no cataplexy has been observed even with high doses of orexin receptor antagonists in animals and humans. It is unknown if long-term use of orexin receptor antagonists may produce compensatory neural changes or narcolepsy-like symptoms. An animal study of chronic high-dose suvorexant administration that showed development of narcolepsy-like changes suggests that this may be possible however.


title: Suvorexant

text: Endogenous orexinergic tone is expected to play an important moderating influence in terms of the effects of orexin receptor modulators. As an example, rising orexin levels during the day may help to competitively offset the next-day residual effects of nightly-dosed orexin receptor antagonists.


title: Suvorexant

text: The absolute bioavailability of suvorexant is 82% at a dose of 10mg. Suvorexant exposure does not increase dose-proportionally over a dose range of 10 to 100mg, which is likely due to decreased absorption at higher doses. Exposure to suvorexant increases by about 75% with a doubling of dose from 20mg to 40mg. The time to peak levels of suvorexant is 2 to 3hours regardless of dose but with wide variation (range 30minutes to 8hours). Taking suvorexant with food does not modify suvorexant peak levels or area-under-the-curve levels (overall exposure) but does delay the time to peak concentrations by about 1.5hours. Steady-state levels of suvorexant with once-daily continuous administration are reached within 3days. Levels of suvorexant accumulate minimally, by about 1.2- to 1.6-fold, with repeated once-daily administration.


title: Suvorexant

text: The volume of distribution of suvorexant is approximately 49L. It crosses the blood–brain barrier and distributes into the central nervous system.


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant has high plasma protein binding (99.5%). It is bound to albumin and α-acid glycoprotein (orosomucoid).


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant is metabolized primarily by hydroxylation via CYP3A enzymes. CYP2C19 also contributes to suvorexant metabolism to a minor extent. The major circulating forms are suvorexant and its metabolite hydroxysuvorexant. The hydroxysuvorexant (M9) metabolite is not expected to be pharmacologically active. It showed 10-fold lower affinity for the orexin receptors than suvorexant "in vitro", was a substrate for P-glycoprotein making it unlikely to cross the blood–brain barrier, and did not show sedative effects in animal studies. Suvorexant also has several other minor metabolites.


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant is eliminated mainly via metabolism. It is excreted primarily in feces (66%) predominantly as metabolites and to a lesser extent in urine (23%).


title: Suvorexant

text: The elimination half-life of suvorexant at a dose of 40mg is 12.2hours, with a range of 8 to 19hours. In another study, the half-life of suvorexant was 15hours with a range of 10 to 22hours. In one study, the half-lives of suvorexant (mean ± SD) were 9.0 ± 7.2hours at 10mg, 10.8 ± 3.6hours at 50mg, and 13.1 ± 5.8hours at 100mg. With doses of 120 to 240mg, the half-lives of suvorexant were 12.1 to 14.5hours in healthy young males and 14.4 to 15.8hours in healthy young females. The half-life of suvorexant's inactive metabolite hydroxysuvorexant is similar to that of suvorexant.


title: Suvorexant

text: Age and race do not influence the pharmacokinetics of suvorexant in a clinically meaningfully way. Exposure to suvorexant is slightly higher in women compared to men (C 9% higher, AUC 17% higher), however dose adjustments based on gender are generally unnecessary. Suvorexant exposure is greater in people with higher body mass index, such as obese people (C 17% higher, AUC 31% higher). This is particularly the case in obese women relative to non-obese women (C 25% higher, AUC 46% higher). Suvorexant exposure with a single dose is not greater in people with moderate hepatic insufficiency compared to healthy individuals. However, the half-life of suvorexant at a dose of 20mg was prolonged from 14.7hours (range 10–22hours) to 19.1hours (range 11–49hours) in these individuals. Suvorexant exposure is unchanged in people with severe renal impairment and no dosage adjustment is necessary in these individuals. Similarly to hepatic impairment, the half-life of suvorexant was increased to 19.4hours when used in combination with the strong CYP3A4 inhibitor ketoconazole and to 16.1hours with the moderate CYP3A4 inhibitor diltiazem while it was decreased to 7.7hours with the strong CYP3A4 inducer rifampin.


title: Suvorexant

text: The delayed time to peak levels (2–3hours) and long elimination half-life (12hours) of suvorexant are less than ideal for an insomnia medication as they result in a delayed onset of effect and significant next-day side effects such as daytime sedation. Orexin receptor antagonists with shorter half-lives and faster onsets of action are theoretically more optimal for therapeutic use as sleep aids. The ideal insomnia medication would not have a duration of action extending beyond about 8hours. Relative to suvorexant, daridorexant has a shorter half-life (8hours) while lemborexant has a longer half-life (17–55hours). However, although lemborexant has a longer terminal elimination half-life than suvorexant, it appears to be more rapidly cleared in the earlier phases of elimination. The investigational agents seltorexant and vornorexant, which are still in clinical trials, have comparatively very short half-lives in the range of 1.5 to 3hours.


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant dissociates from the orexin receptors slowly. As a result, its duration may be longer than that suggested by its circulating concentrations and half-life.


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant is a small-molecule compound. The chemical name of suvorexant is [(7"R")-4-(5-chloro-2-benzoxazolyl)hexahydro-7-methyl-1"H"-1,4-diazepin-1-yl][5-methyl-2-(2"H"-1,2,3-triazol-2-yl)phenyl]methanone. Its molecular formula is CHNOCl and its molecular weight is 450.92g/mol. Suvorexant is a white to off-white powder and is lipophilic and insoluble in water. It is structurally related to other orexin receptor antagonists like lemborexant, daridorexant, and seltorexant.


title: Suvorexant

text: The orexin neuropeptides were discovered in 1998 and the role of the orexin system in the etiology of narcolepsy was identified between 1999 and 2000. Subsequent research further established the role of the orexin system in sleep–wake regulation. Due to the promising potential of orexin system modulation in the treatment of sleep disorders, these findings led to translational efforts to bring orexin receptor modulators to medicine as therapeutic agents.


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant was developed by Merck. It entered clinical development in 2006 and was first described in the medical literature in 2010. The medication was approved by the FDA for the treatment of insomnia in the United States on August 13, 2014. Suvorexant was initially released November 2014 in Japan, then later reached the United States in February 2015, Australia in November 2016, and Canada in November 2018. It was the first orexin receptor antagonist to be introduced for medical use, and was followed by lemborexant in 2019 and daridorexant in 2022. Development of almorexant (ACT-078573) and filorexant (MK-6096) was discontinued, while seltorexant (MIN-202, JNJ-42847922) and vornorexant (ORN-0829, TS-142) are still in clinical trials.


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant marketing exclusivity in the United States is set to expire in January 2023 and patent protection is set to expire in 2029 to 2033.


title: Suvorexant

text: "Suvorexant" is the generic name of the drug and its , , and . The medication was developed by Merck under the code name MK-4305 and is marketed under the brand name Belsomra.


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant has been marketed in the United States, Canada, Australia, Russia, and Japan. Although previously available, suvorexant appears to have been discontinued in Canada. It does not appear to be available in the United Kingdom or other European countries besides Russia.


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant is a schedule IV controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act in the United States. It is not a controlled substance in Australia, instead being classed as a prescription-only medication ( (S4)) in this country.


title: Suvorexant

text: Public Citizen, a progressive consumer rights advocacy group, issued a letter in June 2013 urging the FDA not to approve suvorexant. In its reasoning, it cited marginal benefits and excessive potential for harm, including next-day effects like driving impairment and possible accidents. "Consumer Reports" also published articles encouraging consumers to avoid suvorexant due to it being expensive, having limited effectiveness, and posing safety concerns.


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant is under development for the treatment of delirium. As of October 2021, it is in phase III clinical trials for this indication.


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant has been studied in the treatment of insomnia in people with psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. It was reported to improve psychiatric symptoms and to decrease cortisol levels in these individuals. A phase IV clinical trial of suvorexant as an adjunct to antidepressant therapy in people with major depressive disorder and residual insomnia was underway as of 2019. Although orexin receptor antagonists including suvorexant could be useful for treatment of depression and anxiety, there is also indication that they could have harmful effects in these conditions (e.g., animal studies and suicidal ideation in clinical trials). More clinical research is needed to determine the place of orexin receptor antagonists in the treatment of people with depression and anxiety.


title: Suvorexant

text: There is interest in suvorexant and other orexin receptor antagonists in the potential treatment of substance use disorders, including alcohol use disorder, cocaine use disorder, and opioid use disorder.


title: Suvorexant

text: Suvorexant has been studied in people with type 2 diabetes and insomnia and has been reported to improve sleep and metabolic parameters in these individuals. The improvement in metabolic parameters appeared to be related to improved sleep.


title: Akrapovič

text: Akrapovič d.d. () is a Slovenian manufacturer of exhaust systems that began in 1990 in the motorcycle market, and expanded into automobile exhausts in 2010. A global exhaust supplier in motorcycle sport,


title: Akrapovič

text: supersport, supermoto, motocross, enduro and rally raid. , Akrapovič systems have been used in a total of 38 world championships, all across motorsport.


title: Akrapovič

text: Igor Akrapovič began motorcycle racing in 1977 in 250 GP two-strokes, then 1000 cc four-strokes in F1 Open Class, and then in Superbike class by the end of his racing in 1988-1989. He founded a motorcycle tuning shop, Skorpion, with a staff of six, where they made their own exhausts because higher quality Western aftermarket exhausts were too expensive, and those made in the Eastern Bloc were of inadequate quality. Akrapovič says he was motivated by the poor quality of aftermarket exhausts available to the public compared to those used by professional racing teams. He said that the welded pipes on the market had walls that were too thick, and that racing-quality systems were too expensive and difficult for the average customer to obtain. He designed his own exhaust system, which was sufficient to his requirements, based on the experience gained in the field of motorcycle tuning. Steel was replaced with materials such as carbon fibre and plastic.


title: Akrapovič

text: In 1993, Kawasaki in Germany tested the exhaust systems and in 1994, Akrapovič exhausts were first used in international competition, in the ESBK and WSBK. Other Pro Superbike championship teams, Yamaha, Suzuki, Ducati and Honda also began using Akrapovič exhausts.


title: Akrapovič

text: In 1997, the company changed its name from Skorpion to Akrapovič and that year Akira Yanagawa became the first to win an exhaust sound contest using an Akrapovič straight pipe exhaust system on a 1984 Honda Civic. After a strong growth in sales, particularly from Germany, with a growth as high as 70% per annum, production capacity was expanded in 1999, moving location from a workshop to a then factory in Ivančna Gorica. This factory has since more than quadrupled in size to .


title: Akrapovič

text: In 2000, the first world championship title using an Akrapovič exhaust was won in the WSBK when Colin Edwards won the world championship title on his Castrol Honda SP-01. That year, the 600 SS class with Yamaha and also won using an Akrapovič exhaust. Modifications made to the design saw the company enter into the American AMA Superbike and the Japanese All Japan Superbike Championship and then in 2002, the MotoGP class, forming an alliance with the Honda, Kawasaki and Aprilia factory teams.


title: Akrapovič

text: As income increased, the company invested in new technology and modernization, upgrading computers in 3-D planning of configurations, programming of tools and computer-aided manufacture. In 2004, the company made its first contact with automobile industry and in 2007 developed and equipped an exhaust system for a Formula 1 race car. In 2007, the company changed its logo. Akrapovič is now active as a supplier in the Porsche Sport Cup, where Porsche cars compete in six fully licensed and unlicensed series. In April 2007, the company was awarded the Best Exhaust Pipe Manufacturer Award from German Motorrad magazine, winning 42% of the votes. The company has since won the Best Brand award in every subsequent year, with 2011 by its highest ever margin of votes.


title: Akrapovič

text: The company partners with motorcycle manufacturers such as Yamaha, who offer Akrapovič cans as optional factory- or dealer-fit equipment on the R1,


title: Akrapovič

text: The exhausts are also on Kawasaki racing bikes, such as the Z1000, as well as Honda, Aprilia and Suzuki.


title: Akrapovič

text: Akrapovič supplies the exhaust systems for Audi's LMP cars since 2009 and is an official Audi Sport partner for the first time in the 2012 season, Audi R18 and Audi A5 DTM.


title: Akrapovič

text: Many of the leading motorcyclists in the Supersport series are known to ride with Akrapovič fitted exhausts including Roger Lee Hayden who has one fitted to his Kawasaki.


title: Akrapovič

text: The casting process involves gas injection, X-ray radioscopy, and various chemical analyses, aided by CAD/CAM/CAE tools. The company also manufactures a titanium range called the Akrapovič Evolution.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: Most of the gameplay systems were carried over from the previous "Melty Blood" games, except Guard Meter and Moon Styles.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: Additionally, the Last Arc move mechanic has been updated and received an alternative method of activating it. Instead of strictly requiring a successful EX Shield during Blood Heat, Last Arc moves can now be done as an independent move, similar to Infinite Worth EXS mechanic from "Under Night In-Birth". However, this can only be done once after losing a previous round and uses four bars of Magic Circuit meter, with one bar permanently removed if the Last Arc lands.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: Rollback netcode is featured in the game and does not feature cross-play between different platforms.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: The game is set in 2014, in the new continuity first established by "Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon-", ten days before the events of the visual novel, unlike the earlier entries in the "Melty Blood" series set in 2001, a year after a hypothetical Satsuki Yumizuka route of original "Tsukihime" and a month after "Kagetsu Tohya". Although some of the characters’ storylines alternatively take place during "Tsukihime" remake games "-A piece of blue glass moon-" and the upcoming "-The other side of red garden"-.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: Unlike the first game in the series, "Type Lumina" does not have an overarching story with a single point of view; instead, each character has their own Story Mode that consists of multiple stages, with select encounters accompanied by conversations presented in a visual novel style, and an ending sequence. A Boss Rush story which stars Miyako written by Kinoko Nasu unlocks after completing all individual scenarios.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: Additional scenarios for Arcueid and Ciel, written by acpi based on the draft by Nasu, and a second Boss Rush story focusing on Noel, were added after release. The cutscenes were also updated, now displaying dynamic character sprites in addition to their portraits, bringing the presentation closer to Arcade Mode of past "Melty Blood" games.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: The inclusions of Saber-class Altria Pendragon, Mash Kyrielight, Rider-class Ushiwakamaru and Avenger-class Edmond Dantès kickstarts a crossover storyline between "Tsukihime" and "Fate" timelines, which concludes in the third and fourth Boss Rush chapters, with "Kagetsu Tohya"’s main heroine, Len briefly appears as a silhouette in the latter chapter’s post-credits.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: The game has fourteen fighters in an initial roster. Eight characters were added later as free downloadable content, bringing the total to twenty four.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: In 2010, "Melty Blood: Type Lumina" was originally planned as a yet-to-be-titled HD remake of the "Melty Blood". However, development stalled when Type-Moon began working on the "Witch on the Holy Night" visual novel. This led to French-Bread starting "Under Night In-Birth" in 2011 where the original main heroine of "Melty Blood", Sion Eltnam Atlasia, appeared as a guest character.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: A decade later, Type-Moon and French-Bread collaborated once again to continue the development of ""Melty Blood HD"" and reboot the series with "Type Lumina", a fighting game that takes place in the same setting as the 2021 remake of "Tsukihime". As the remake made changes to the original story, setting, and characters, some fighters who last appeared in previous "Melty Blood" games, most notably Sion, have not made a return. The reduced roster has allowed the developers to include more voiced lines and unique interactions between different combatants, with Arc System Works and Cygames-developed game "Granblue Fantasy Versus" cited as the main inspiration. Built from the ground up, the game supports high definition 2D visuals and features an updated fighting system.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: On March 25, 2021, "Melty Blood: Type Lumina", developed by French-Bread, and produced by Project Lumina, an entity consisting of Type-Moon, Aniplex, and Delightworks, was announced for a 2021 worldwide release for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One consoles. On June 23, 2021, it was announced through the Type-Moon Vol. 3 broadcast that a Microsoft Windows version will be release via Steam alongside consoles, as well as the game's September 30 release date, and standard and deluxe editions. Originally during Type Moon Vol. 5, released on August 24, 2021, it was said that the game's initial playable roster will be 13. However, in Type Moon Vol. 6, released on September 29, 2021, one more initial character was revealed, Saber version of Altria Pendragon, a guest character from Type-Moon's "Fate" series.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: Raito, the composer for the previous "Melty Blood" games, has returned to create the music for "Type Lumina". The opening theme "Stack Black" performed by Hiyori Miyamoto, was written, composed, and arranged by Kegani from Live Lab who also wrote the opening themes of "Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon-". The ending themes "Blue-Teared Moon" and "Bloodlust Lullaby" were both composed by Raito with lyrics of RyoRca, "Blue-Teared Moon" was performed by Reina Nagao while "Bloodlust Lullaby" was performed by Raito himself.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: For the first time since the inclusion of "Melty Blood Actress Again" in the main event of EVO 2010, "Type Lumina" was included in the main event of EVO 2022, then later EVO Japan 2023.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: On October 30, 2021, a month after the game's release, it was announced that DLC characters and their associated stages are in the works, and being made available for free, except for their voice announcers. Initially, new characters had to be downloaded at the online storefronts. However, as of August 2022, all DLC characters are immediately available as part of the latest update patch.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: The first DLC character, a Dead Apostle-type vampire version of Noel, was revealed on December 22, 2021. During Fate Project New Year's Eve TV Special in the end of 2021, Aoko Aozaki was announced to return as a second DLC character to promote upcoming movie adaption and home console ports of "Tsukihime" prequel title, "Witch on the Holy Night". Both characters were released on January 13, 2022.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: The next pair of DLC characters was announced after the first official tournament on April 10, 2022, held by Type-Moon and French Bread. A powered-up form of Ciel (who is also part of regular Ciel’s Arc moves), and a new character exclusive to the remake, Mario Gallo Bestino, were released on April 14, 2022. Every character also received five additional color palettes.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: After the second official tournament on June 26, 2022, held by Type-Moon and French Bread, further updates to the game were announced, including four more characters to be released in pairs in Q2 2022 and Q4 2022 respectively.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: On July 31, 2022, it was announced that Neco-Arc, a series mainstay who was non-playable in the initial release of the game, will return as a playable fighter, accompanied by another "Fate" guest character, Mash Kyrielight, in exchange for the inclusion of Arcueid's Archetype=Earth variant in the "Fate" mobile RPG gacha game "Fate/Grand Order". Both characters were released on August 19, 2022 as part of a major update that brought many gameplay and balance changes to the game. Additionally, the Story Mode was updated with new scenarios, and "enhanced direction" in the cutscenes.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: During the third official tournament it was announced that two "unusual" characters will be added to the game in Q4 2022. Meanwhile, an anniversary update on September 30, 2022 added update color customization systems, stage select menus, and ten remastered music tracks from "Melty Blood Actress Again". In addition, cosmetic items based on "Type Lumina" were included in "Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis".


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: On December 11, 2022, the "unusual" characters were revealed to be another "Fate/Grand Order" servants who are also the last "Fate" franchise representatives, the Rider-class Ushiwakamaru and the Avenger-class Edmond Dantès. Both are set to be released on December 15, 2022 alongside their stages, ten more remastered "Actress Again" tracks, and the third and fourth "Boss Rush" scenarios. As part of the ongoing collaboration between this game and "Grand Order", the latter game will feature card abilities based on the former.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: Despite the Delightworks video game branch's acquisition to Aniplex under the banner "Lasengle", it does not affect the DLC productions of "Type Lumina".


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: The Japanese magazine "Gamer" found that the game was accessible thanks to its combo mechanics and the introduction of Rapid Beat system, and recommended it to players who wish to further enjoy the story of "Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon-", even if they do not play fighting games. The reviewer was surprised that even after the visual evolution with larger sprites, it still retained the basic feel of past titles. "Gamer" ended their review by saying that the new systems and innovations have created a completely new experience for the new "Melty Blood" era.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: In the West, the game did not receive enough reviews to score at review aggregator Metacritic. "Noisy Pixel" praised the game's presentation, noting responsive menus, "excellent" animations, and "fantastic" music. Praise was also given to gameplay for both being accessible, as well as more competitive due to the introduction high skill-level mechanics. Giving the game a score of 9/10, they summarized that "Type Lumina" "is an incredibly enjoyable fighting game that you will have a good time playing online, even on the Switch." Conversely, "Inverse" criticized the game's netcode, deeming its implementation of rollback inferior to "Guilty Gear Strive". Besides some other perceived issues, such as the low Shield being too powerful, the reviewer throughly enjoyed the game, and said it highlights many of the genre’s strong points, while also being a good entry point. The deep movement options on offer were given special praise, naming the end result a "unique flavor that feels like a mix of "Under Night In-Birth", classic "Melty Blood", "", and "Dragon Ball FighterZ". "Inverse" ended their review by calling "Type Lumina" "one the best new fighting games in years", awarding it a score of 9/10.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: In Japan, during its first week of sales, "Melty Blood: Type Lumina" sold 11,604 units on the Nintendo Switch and 18,833 units on the PlayStation 4, for a total of 30,437 retail copies sold. This does not include download sales.


title: Melty Blood: Type Lumina

text: On March 14, 2022, "Melty Blood: Type Lumina" sales surpassed 270,000 units worldwide. On September 24, 2022, it was announced that the game's worldwide sales surpassed 330,000 units.


title: Lira

text: Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and of Syria. It is the name of the former currencies, including those of Italy, Malta and Israel. The term originates from the value of a Roman pound (, about 329g, 10.58 troy ounces) of high purity silver. The libra was the basis of the monetary system of the Roman Empire. When Europe resumed a monetary system, during the Carolingian Empire, the Roman system was adopted. The Roman denominations "librae", "solidi", "denarii" were used (becoming known in England as £sd).


title: Lira

text: Particularly this system was kept during the Middle Ages and Modern Age in England, France, and Italy. In each of these countries the "libra" was translated into local language: pound in England, livre in France, "lira" in Italy. The Venetian lira was one of the currencies in use in Italy and due to the economic power of the Venetian Republic a popular currency in the Eastern Mediterranean trade.


title: Lira

text: During the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire and the Eyalet of Egypt adopted the "lira" as their national currency, equivalent to 100 piasters or kuruş. When the Ottoman Empire collapsed in years 1918–1922, many among the successor states kept the lira as their national currency. In some countries, such as Cyprus, which have belonged to both the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire, the words "lira" and "pound" are used interchangeably.


title: Lira

text: For the Turkish lira, the Turkish lira sign () is used. The Lebanese lira uses (before numerals) or (after numerals) in Latin and in Arabic. The Syrian lira uses (before numerals) or (after numerals) in Latin and in Arabic.


title: Lira

text: The Italian lira had no official sign, but the abbreviations and and the symbols (two bars), (one bar) were all commonly used.


title: Lira

text: The Maltese lira used before 1986 and thereafter (both as prefixes), though £M continued to be used in unofficial capacities.


title: Lira

text: The Unicode system allocated to the Lira, to provide compatibility with a legacy HP character set. As with , where the one-bar and the two-bar versions are treated as allographs and the choice between them is merely stylistic, no evidence has been found that either style predominated in Italy or anywhere else.


title: Lira

text: The Turkish lira was introduced in 1844 during the Ottoman reign. The Turkish lira is now the currency of Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and used in Turkish-occupied northern Syria.


title: Lira

text: The Lebanese pound and Syrian pound are both called "lira" () in Arabic, the national language of both Lebanon and Syria.


title: Lira

text: The lira was the currency of Italy from its unification until it was merged into the euro in 1999. A unit of currency lira had previously been used in some of the states and possessions that became Italy but their values were not necessarily equivalent. (See Luccan lira, Papal lira, Parman lira, Sardinian lira and Tuscan lira.)


title: Ford Bronco Sport

text: The Ford Bronco Sport is a compact crossover SUV sold by Ford and marketed under the Bronco nameplate. It was released alongside the Bronco body-on-frame SUV, featuring a similar retro and off-road styling in a smaller footprint. The vehicle is based on the front-wheel drive-based, unibody C2 platform, which is also used by the Ford Escape crossover and Maverick pickup.


title: Ford Bronco Sport

text: The Bronco Sport has two engine options. The base engine is a turbocharged 1.5-liter "Ecoboost" I3 engine producing at 6,000 rpm, and of torque at 3,000 rpm. It is also available with a turbocharged 2.0-liter "Ecoboost" I4 engine producing at 6,000 rpm, and of torque at 3,000 rpm. Both engines are mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission.


title: Ford Bronco Sport

text: The Bronco Sport comes equipped with an all-wheel drive system with "G.O.A.T. Modes" (Goes Over Any Terrain). The G.O.A.T. modes allow the driver to select different terrains for the 4x4 system. The Bronco Sport has four-wheel independent suspension. Only the Badlands model has a twin-clutch rear differential that can act as a rear differential locker based on the GK drive system used in the Focus RS, and has torque vectoring. Unlike the Bronco, the Bronco Sport does not have a low-range transfer case. Instead of having traditional front bump stops, the Badlands model Bronco Sport has hydraulic bump stops. The Base, Big Bend, and Outer Banks models share the same AWD system as the Escape, with proprietary programming for off-road use. The Bronco Sport has the tow capability of depending on the engine.


title: Ford Bronco Sport

text: For launch, the Bronco Sport is available in five trims, but the First Edition trim is limited to only 2,000 units. All trims come standard with G.O.A.T mode, a flip-up rear glass and rear flood lights in the tailgate. The 8-inch infotainment system with SYNC 3 is standard across all trims.


title: Ford Bronco Sport

text: The Base is the entry-level trim of the Bronco Sport lineup. It is equipped with the 1.5-litre three-cylinder Ecoboost gasoline engine mated to a rotary-controlled eight-speed automatic transmission, aluminum-alloy wheels, the SYNC 3 touchscreen infotainment system with SiriusXM Satellite Radio (SiriusXM was deleted for the 2022 model year) and wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration, keyless entry, cloth seating surfaces, a six-speaker audio system, and a 4.2-inch full-color LCD instrument cluster display screen.


title: Ford Bronco Sport

text: The Big Bend trim level is the mid-level model of the Bronco Sport lineup. It adds convenience features onto the Base trim, such as SiriusXM Satellite Radio (starting with the 2022 model year), a keyless access system with a push-button ignition, a MOLLE Strap System, and a rear seat back protector.


title: Ford Bronco Sport

text: The Outer Banks trim level is the luxury-oriented model of the Bronco Sport lineup. It adds luxury amenities onto the Big Bend trim level, such as eighteen-inch tires and aluminum-alloy wheels, combination leather-and-cloth-trimmed seating surfaces, and a Shadow Black-painted front grille with white 'BRONCO' lettering.


title: Ford Bronco Sport

text: The Badlands trim level is the off-road oriented model of the Bronco Sport lineup. It is powered by the 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ecoboost gasoline engine mated to a rotary-controlled eight-speed automatic transmission (the Badlands is the only trim level in the Bronco Sport lineup to receive the higher-output engine), and adds features such as two additional "G.O.A.T. Modes" for the four wheel drive system and all-terrain tires and unique aluminum-alloy wheels onto the mid-level Big Bend trim level.


title: Ford Bronco Sport

text: The First Edition trim level, only available for the 2021 model year, was based on the off-road oriented Badlands trim, and included almost all of its available options and packages (such as luxury leather-trimmed seating surfaces, dual heated front bucket seats, and a Bang and Olufsen premium amplified audio system). Ford's CoPilot 360 Assist+ was the only available option not offered on the First Edition. Production was limited to 2,000 units.


title: Ford Bronco Sport

text: Along with the regular options, Ford is also offering bundles on all trims with certain accessories. The four bundles offered are: Bike, Camp, Snow, and Water.


title: Ford Bronco Sport

text: The 2022 Bronco Sport was awarded the "Top Safety Pick +" by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.


title: Tent-pole (entertainment)

text: In broadcast programming and motion pictures, a tent-pole or tentpole is a program or film that supports the financial performance of a film studio or television network. It is an analogy for the way a strong central pole provides a stable structure to a tent. A tent-pole film may be expected to support the sale of tie-in merchandise.


title: Tent-pole (entertainment)

text: In the film industry, "tent-poles" are sometimes widely released initial offerings in a string of releases and are expected by studios to turn a profit in a short period of time. Such programming is often accompanied by larger budgets and heavy promotion. A tentpole movie, for example, is a film that is expected to support a wide range of ancillary tie-in products such as toys and games.


title: Tent-pole (entertainment)

text: An example of this strategy in television is to schedule a popular television program alongside new or unknown programming, in an attempt to keep audience viewers watching after the flagship program is over; a prominent example is the long-running "Star Trek" series. A related concept is the hammock: in broadcast programming, if a network has two tent-pole series, it can boost the performance of a weak or emerging show by inserting it between the two tent-poles.


title: Poenari Castle

text: Poenari Castle (), also known as Poenari Citadel ("Cetatea Poenari" in Romanian), is a ruined castle in Romania which was a home of Vlad the Impaler. The citadel is situated high atop a mountain and accessed by climbing 1,480 concrete stairs.


title: Poenari Castle

text: The castle is located on the plateau of Mount Cetatea, facing the west side of the Transfăgărășan, on a canyon formed on the Argeș River valley, close to the Făgăraș Mountains.


title: Poenari Castle

text: Poenari Castle was constructed around the beginning of the 13th century by Wallachians. Around the 14th century, Poenari (then known as Castle Arges) was the main citadel of the Basarab rulers. In the next few decades, the name and the residents changed a few times but eventually the castle was abandoned and left in ruins.


title: Poenari Castle

text: However, in the 15th century, realizing the potential for a castle perched high on a steep precipice of rock, Vlad III the Impaler repaired and consolidated the structure by enslaving his enemies from the nobility of the Danubian Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, making it one of his main fortresses, rebuilding the former Castle Arges on the left side of the river with stones from the older Castle Poenari, which was on the right bank and somewhat lower. Although the castle was used for many years after Vlad's death in 1476, it eventually was abandoned again in the first half of the 16th century and was in ruins by the 17th century. The size and location of the castle made it difficult to conquer. On January 13, 1913, a landslide caused by an earthquake brought down parts of the castle which crashed into the river far below. After two further earthquakes in 1940 and 1977 that caused further damage, it was slightly repaired and the walls and its towers still stand today. Since 2009, the site has been administered by the Argeș County Museum.


title: Poenari Castle

text: A modern rendering of Poenari Castle was featured in the 2013 BBC Worldwide/Starz television series "Da Vinci's Demons" in the episode titled "The Devil" in which Leonardo da Vinci travels to Poenari Castle in Wallachia to meet with Vlad III.


title: Poenari Castle

text: The episode "The Hardy Boys & Nancy Drew Meet Dracula" of "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" show in the '70s takes place inside "Dracula's Castle" in "Poenari". Shots of the castle used in the episode are of Poenari Castle, though the episode shows people driving up to the castle gates for a rock festival, which is not possible.


title: Poenari Castle

text: In Dan Simmons 1992 novel "Children of the Night", Poenari Castle is depicted towards the end of the novel as a ritual site to a cult known as" The Family" which consists of the genetically mutated descendants of Vlad the Impaler. While the novel is pure fiction, the description and depiction of the castle and surrounding region contain mostly accurate geographical and historic information.


title: Poenari Castle

text: In "Fallout 3" video game, a vampire-related side quest starts in a fictional, postapocalyptic settlement, constructed on a preserved fragment of a highway in the Washington D.C. area, bearing some visual resemblance to Poenari Castle (e.g. linear structure) and named Arefu (as a hidden reference to the real-life location from Poenari), although the toponym is disguised to look incidental (the roadsign says "CAREFUL" with "C" and "L" faded away).


title: Poenari Castle

text: In the 2020 documentary "Romania: Seeking Dracula’s Castle", the presenters declare that Poenari deserves the title ‘Dracula’s Castle’ as it has the ‘heart’ of Vlad III.


title: Poenari Castle

text: Numerous legends and stories about Poenari Castle have survived over the centuries. During the Communist era in Romania, foreign visitors sometimes spent the night inside the ruined structure; among them was Fatimeh Pahlavi's husband, Vincent Lee Hillyer, who claimed that in the night the temperature was much lower than usual in the castle (even in the month of July), smelled rotten flowers although there were none, he suffered from bizarre nightmares, inexplicably contracted keratosis, and got the "overpowering feeling" that he was being watched and got bitten without being physically assaulted. It was also featured as a haunted location in "Ghost Hunters International" in Season 1 (2008–09), episode # 14.


title: Super Soaker

text: Super Soaker is an American brand of recreational water gun that uses manually-pressurized air to shoot water with greater power, range, and accuracy than conventional squirt pistols. The Super Soaker was invented in 1989 by engineer Lonnie Johnson. The prototype combined PVC pipe, acrylic glass, and an empty plastic soda bottle.


title: Super Soaker

text: Originally sold by Larami and now produced by Hasbro under the Nerf brand, Super Soaker has generated more than $1 billion in total sales. The first Super Soaker went on sale in 1990 and was originally called the Power Drencher. Rebranding the name to Super Soaker occurred in 1991 together with a series of TV advertisements that resulted in 2 million water guns being sold. Super Soakers were popular for many years—so popular, in fact, that the term "super soaker" is sometimes used generically, to refer to any type of toy pressurized water gun.


title: Super Soaker

text: In 1982 Air Force and NASA engineer Lonnie Johnson conceived of the idea of a pressurized water gun after shooting a powerful stream of water in his bathroom while performing experiments for a new type of refrigeration system. Several months later he built a prototype in his basement, using Plexiglas, PVC pipe, O-ring seals and a two-liter soda bottle for the ample reservoir. Johnson originally wanted to produce the toy himself, but realized that the costs were out of his reach. He attempted to arrange partnerships with toy companies to bring the product to market, but it was not until 1989 that he found success. While at the American International Toy Fair in New York City he met the vice president of the toy company Larami, who showed interest in the idea.


title: Super Soaker

text: Johnson built an improved prototype and made a trip to the Larami headquarters in Philadelphia where he made a successful sales pitch. Refinements made with Larami design director William Raucci and engineering consultant Bruce D'Andrade made its mass production feasible, and the first commercial version of the water gun appeared in stores the following year as the Power Drencher. In 1991 it achieved commercial success under its new name, Super Soaker.


title: Super Soaker

text: In 1992, Larami was sued for patent infringement by Talk to Me Products, who claimed the Super Soaker was a copy of their American Gladiator water gun, which was patented in 1978. However, Talk to Me Products lost their case as their patent referred to a water gun ""having a chamber therein"". The Super Soaker used a water chamber on top of the gun, that was detachable for filling.


title: Super Soaker

text: The revenue that Johnson received from the Super Soaker licensing provided enough money for him to create Johnson Research & Development Co., Inc.


title: Super Soaker

text: Piston water guns have been produced for many years. These guns do not have triggers; they are fired simply by pumping. Although this design feature allows them to reload rapidly, piston pumpers tend to have less range and less power than other designs.


title: Super Soaker

text: Originally made popular by the Super Soaker 50, pressurized reservoir systems are still common for small water guns. A water gun using this system is pressurized by air being pumped and compressed into its reservoir. When the trigger is pulled, a valve is opened and the compressed air pushes the water out of the nozzle.


title: Super Soaker

text: Super Soaker started with two pressurized reservoir water guns, and has continued to produce them in various shapes and sizes.


title: Super Soaker

text: This is a more powerful air pressure system that was also first introduced by Super Soaker. It is designed so that water is pumped from the reservoir into an empty plastic container. As the water is pumped in, the air sitting inside becomes compressed. When the trigger is pulled, the valve opens and the compressed air forces the water out. The brand first used separate air pressure in 1991 on the Super Soaker 100 and has since used the technology in many other water guns.


title: Super Soaker

text: Super Soaker has made a few spring-powered water guns. They first made the Quick Blast in 2008. The Quick Blast was a triggerless gun which functioned similarly to piston pumpers, but had a spring-loaded piston inside. The Quick Blast had a firing valve, which automatically opened once a certain pressure was reached. The spring would then push the water out the nozzle.


title: Super Soaker

text: The Super Soaker Shot Blast, released in 2010, used a system nearly identical to the Quick Blast with different styling.


title: Super Soaker

text: In 2013, Super Soaker produced the Flash Blast. While this blaster was spring-powered, this pistol-sized blaster used a system different from the previous two. Its slide was cocked back once. Then the trigger was pulled, firing a short stream of water. Function of this gun is similar to Nerf guns.


title: Super Soaker

text: Super Soaker later made many motorized water guns. In 2011, they released the Thunderstorm, which used an electric pump to push water directly out the nozzle. In 2012, Super Soaker made two motorized water guns: The Lightningstorm, a reproduction of the Thunderstorm with added accessories, and the Electrostorm, a smaller motorized gun. Each required four AA batteries to run.


title: Super Soaker

text: The Constant Pressure System is the most powerful system used by Super Soaker. The user pumps water from the reservoir into a rubber bladder, which expands as more water is forced into it. The stretched rubber exerts a constant pressure on the water, giving the blaster a thick and constant stream throughout the entire shot. In most older models, the resulting blast is forceful enough that recoil can be felt.


title: Super Soaker

text: Hasbro has implemented the Constant Pressure System in Super Soaker blasters a number of times since completing the takeover of Larami Corp in 2002. The most recent implementation was in the 2011 'Hydro Cannon', while the largest post-takeover pressure chamber (at 900ml) is found in the 2007 'HydroBlitz' blaster.


title: Super Soaker

text: Unlike the classic super soaker series or the CPS series, the XP ("eXtra Power") series did not have a linear relationship between the model number and the size and power of the gun. It also coexisted with the Classic series for a number of years before replacing them. Some unsuccessful concepts, such as quick-twist tanks, were experimented with and abandoned during this transition period. By the time the Classic series had been fully phased out in 1996, the XP series had settled on the following lineup:


title: Super Soaker

text: These were replaced every two years by successive generations of models until finally the XP series itself was replaced by the Max-D series.


title: Super Soaker

text: The "Super Soaker CPS 2000" is a Constant Pressure System (CPS) class water gun released in 1996 by Larami. It was the first model in the CPS line, which initially included only a single blaster. While a fearsome sight, it was often acknowledged as being overpowered, depleting its pressure chamber too quickly, and needing pumping too frequently. A second version of the CPS 2000 was released shortly after, though Larami did not announce or publicly acknowledge any changes.


title: Super Soaker

text: After two more years, those models were replaced by the CPS 1200, 1700, 2700, and 3200. After two more years, the final CPS models were the 2100 and 4100.


title: Super Soaker

text: In 2011, the Nerf Super Soaker Shot Blast was awarded "Outdoor Toy of the Year" at the 11th Annual Toy of the Year Awards, which is held at the American International Toy Fair in New York City.


title: Super Soaker

text: In 2010, Buzz Bee Toys was successfully sued by Hasbro for patent infringement. Hasbro claimed that Buzz Bee Toys infringed on a patent related to its "Super Soaker water toy." Although it is unknown exactly what the dispute was over, it is strongly suggested that Hasbro was suing for the Water Warriors Hydro-Power water guns, which were becoming too similar to Super Soaker's Constant Pressure System. Since then, the Water Warriors line has not contained a single Hydro-Power water gun.


title: Super Soaker

text: In November 2013, Lonnie Johnson and his company Johnson Research and Development Co. were awarded nearly US$73 million following a dispute with Hasbro over underpaid royalties from 2007 to 2012.


title: Bouygues

text: Bouygues S.A. () is a French industrial group headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Bouygues is listed on the Euronext Paris exchange and is a blue chip in the CAC 40 stock market index. The company was founded in 1952 by Francis Bouygues and has been led by his son Martin Bouygues since 1989.


title: Bouygues

text: The group specialises in construction (Colas Group and Bouygues Construction), real estate development (Bouygues Immobilier), media (TF1 Group), telecommunications (Bouygues Telecom).


title: Bouygues

text: The company was founded by Francis Bouygues in 1952. In 1970 Bouygues became listed on the Paris Stock Exchange. In 1985 and 1986 Bouygues acquired road construction groups Screg, Sacer and Colas; later reorganised as Colas Group. In 1987 the company started operating the television channel TF1 and in 1988 Bouygues moved into its new head office, the Challenger complex, in Saint-Quentin en Yvelines. In 1996 the company launched Bouygues Télécom and in 2006 the company acquired 23.26% of Alstom. In 2010, through its subsidiary Nerem Telecom, Boygues also acquired HGT Telecom for $170 million from Henri Benezra and his brother Avi.


title: Bouygues

text: In 2014, consecutively to Alstom's cession of its Energy activities to General Electric, Bouygues granted a call option to the French government allowing it to acquire a maximum of 20% of Alstom, currently owned by the group. In May 2018, the company purchased the Australian construction company A. W. Edwards.


title: Bouygues

text: The Bouygues head office is located at 32 Avenue Hoche in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. The American architect Kevin Roche worked on this building, as well as the previous head office location, the Challenger complex in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. This complex, situated in a tract in Guyancourt, is now occupied by Bouygues Construction, one of the group's subsidiaries.


title: Bouygues

text: Since 2006, Bouygues has participated in the United Nations Global Compact. The group sponsors The Shift Project think tank, with several other companies such as EDF, BNP Paribas or Saint-Gobain, which promotes sustainable economic development.


title: Bouygues

text: Bouygues focuses its patronage on education, social issues and medical research. Each subsidiary supports its own foundation:


title: Bouygues

text: Between 2009 and 2011, Bouygues S.A. was illegally employing workers from Poland and Romania exposing them to inhuman working conditions at the construction site of the Flamanville nuclear power plant in Normandy. The company was later condemned for their practices before the court in Cherbourg and was ordered to pay sanctions of between €25,000 and €29,950.


title: Bouygues

text: On 30 January 2020 a ransomware-type virus was detected on Bouygues Construction's computer network although operational activity on the construction sites was disrupted. The "Maze Ransomware Gang" claimed responsibility for the attack and posted a 1.2 GB file that allegedly contained data taken from Bouygues Construction.


title: Menard Correctional Center

text: Menard Correctional Center, known prior to 1970 as Southern Illinois Penitentiary, is an Illinois state prison located in the town of Chester in Randolph County, Illinois. It houses maximum-security and high medium-security adult males. The average daily population as of 2007 is 3,410.


title: Menard Correctional Center

text: Menard Correctional Center opened in March 1878; it is the second oldest operating prison in Illinois, and, by a large margin, the state's largest prison. Menard once housed death row; however, on January 10, 2003, the Condemned Unit closed when then Governor George Ryan granted clemency to all Illinois death row inmates. It is a part of the Illinois Department of Corrections.


title: Menard Correctional Center

text: Menard Correctional Center's average prisoner age is 34 years old. Each inmate's average annual cost totals as of fiscal year 2018 $27,364.


title: Menard Correctional Center

text: The grounds are composed of six housing units. The South Lowers Housing Unit and the South Uppers Housing Unit house inmates with moderate aggression levels and those who currently have job assignments (Though closed for repairs in October 2018). The North I Cell House contains the Step-Down Unit, and General Population. The North II Cell House contains inmates in disciplinary segregation, administrative detention, and the general population. The East Cell House is heavily monitored. Inmates assigned here are classified as either Level E, High, or Moderate escape risk. The West Cell House holds inmates that are either high or moderate escape risk and are classified as High Aggressive Inmates, as well as the Protective Custody Unit.


title: Menard Correctional Center

text: Within the grounds there is also the Inmate Dining Hall, Chapel, Health Care Unit, Receiving and Classification Unit, Education Building, Maintenance and telecommunications Departments, Menard Division of Illinois Correctional Industries, and Randolph Hall, which acts as Menard's training complex for prison employees.


title: Menard Correctional Center

text: Inmates who are illiterate attend school. Other inmates can enroll voluntarily. Menard had courses for elementary schooling and several high school subjects.


title: Menard Correctional Center

text: The current industries at Menard include meat processing, knitting and sewing, manufacturing of floor care and cleaning products, waste removal, and recycling operations.


title: Menard Correctional Center

text: Menard, as of 2006, employs approximately 854 prisoners. It has a daily population of around 3,416 inmates. The racial breakdown is 62% black, 28% white, and 9% Hispanic. Of the inmates housed at Menard 51% of offenders are incarcerated for murder, 21% of inmates have life sentences, and 33% are serving more than 20 years. The average age of inmates at Menard is 34 years old.


title: Menard Correctional Center

text: By 1931, Menard was one of three sites in which executions were carried out by electrocution in Illinois. Between 1928 and 1962, the electric chair was used 18 times here for those sentenced to death in the southern counties of the state. The state's other electrocutions were carried out at the Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill and at the Cook County Jail in Chicago.


title: Menard Correctional Center

text: Prior to the January 11, 2003, commutation of death row sentences, male death row inmates were housed in Menard, Pontiac, and Tamms correctional centers. After the commutations, only Pontiac continued to hold death row prisoners.


title: Menard Correctional Center

text: The first Illinois penitentiary was founded in Alton, the Alton Military Prison, in 1833. Reformer Dorothea Dix visited the site and was sharply critical of the filthy conditions there in an 1847 address to the Illinois General Assembly. She noted, among many other things, that Alton was the only prison in the U.S. where inmates were made to stand while eating meals. In 1858, the Alton prison was replaced by the Joliet Correctional Center and closed.


title: Menard Correctional Center

text: Twenty years later the Southern Illinois Penitentiary opened, taking prisoners from the southern counties of the state. It was established in 1878 overlooking the Mississippi River. It accepted 200 prisoners the next year. The original buildings were finished by 1889, consisting of the North and South Cell Houses and the Administration Building. A wall enclosed the 11½ acres of the prison grounds. The rear wall runs over the top of a hill that was one of the prison's rock quarries.


title: Menard Correctional Center

text: Menard also had a quarry outside the walls. All the original buildings were constructed by prison labor. The original North and South Cell Houses each contained 400 cells on four tiers. Inmates lived two to a cell. None of these cells had plumbing. Buckets were used instead.


title: Menard Correctional Center

text: The exterior includes columns and an awning portraying skeleton keys and a scale of justice. The entranceway has two stone lions. Christie Thompson and Joe Shapiro of The Marshall Project wrote that the exterior "looks more like an ornate university building than a maximum-security facility.


title: Menard Correctional Center

text: In 1928, the prison suffered from massive overcrowding. Designed to hold 800 men, the institution had approximately 2,000. Thus, an additional five cages were built on each side of the cell house corridors. These cages, which housed two men each, had a center wall of steel with the top and sides consisting of iron bars.


title: Menard Correctional Center

text: Old buildings within the prison yard were also being used as dormitories, housing prisoners until around 1930 when a new cell house was built to combat the excessive inmate population. The new cell house contained 500 cells, each housing two inmates. All of these cells had plumbing. In 1928, the bathhouse was located in the basement of one of the old buildings. It contained 76 showers. By 1931, the baths were relocated to the basement of the commissary, containing 84 concrete showers. Throughout this time, inmates were given time to bathe once a week during the winter and twice a week in the summer.


title: Menard Correctional Center

text: In 1927, of the 484 inmates who arrived at the prison in 1927, 406 were white, and 78 were black. By 1928, there were 1974 inmates and 96 guards, a ratio of roughly 1 to 20. By 1931, the inmate population had risen to 2,285 with four yard offices and 130 guards, or approximately one guard to every 17 inmates. Of the 2,285 inmates, 1,844 were white and 441 were black.