title: The Case Files of Lord El-Melloi II

text: A stage play adaptation based on the novel's "Adra Castle Separation" chapter, began on December 14, 2019 and concluded on January 19, 2020. Voice Actors Daisuke Ono, Akio Ōtsuka and Takumi Yamazaki, who voice Add, Rider (Iskandar) and Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald respectively, reprised their roles for the play. Limited release of the musical was released on blu-ray July 8, 2020.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Exosomes are membrane-bound extracellular vesicles (EVs) that are produced in the endosomal compartment of most eukaryotic cells. The multivesicular body (MVB) is an endosome with intraluminal vesicles (ILVs) that bud inward into the endosomal lumen. If the MVB fuses with the cell surface (the plasma membrane), these ILVs are released as exosomes.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: In multicellular organisms, exosomes and other EVs were discovered in biological fluids including blood, urine and cerebrospinal fluid. Importantly, exosomes were also identified within the tissue matrix, coined Matrix-Bound Nanovesicles (MBV). They are also released "in vitro" by cultured cells into their growth medium. Since the size of exosomes is limited by that of the parent MVB, exosomes are generally thought to be smaller than most other EVs, from about 30 to 150 nanometres (nm) in diameter: around the same size as many lipoproteins but much smaller than cells.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Compared with EVs in general, it is unclear whether exosomes have unique characteristics or functions or can be separated or distinguished effectively from other EVs. EVs including exosomes carry markers of cells of origin and have specialized functions in physiological processes, from coagulation and intercellular signalling to waste management. EVs carry distinct proteo-transcriptomic signatures that are different from their cancer cell of origin. Consequently, there is a growing interest in clinical applications of EVs as biomarkers and therapies alike, prompting establishment of an International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) and a scientific journal devoted to EVs, the "Journal of Extracellular Vesicles".


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Exosomes were first discovered in the maturing mammalian reticulocyte (immature red blood cell) by Stahl and group in 1983 and Johnstone and group in 1983 further termed 'exosomes' by Johnstone and group in 1987. Exosomes were shown to participate in selective removal of many plasma membrane proteins as the reticulocyte becomes a mature red blood cell (erythrocyte). In the reticulocyte, as in most mammalian cells, portions of the plasma membrane are regularly internalized as endosomes, with 50 to 180% of the plasma membrane being recycled every hour. In turn, parts of the membranes of some endosomes are subsequently internalized as smaller vesicles. Such endosomes are called multivesicular bodies because of their appearance, with many small vesicles, (ILVs or "intralumenal endosomal vesicles"), inside the larger body. The ILVs become exosomes if the MVB merges with the cell membrane, releasing the internal vesicles into the extracellular space.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Exosomes contain various molecular constituents of their cell of origin, including proteins and RNA. Although the exosomal protein composition varies with the cell and tissue of origin, most exosomes contain an evolutionarily-conserved common set of protein molecules. The protein content of a single exosome, given certain assumptions of protein size and configuration, and packing parameters, can be about 20,000 molecules. The cargo of mRNA and miRNA in exosomes was first discovered at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: The content of exosomes changes depending on the cells of origin, and they thereby reflect their originating cells. Analysis of the dynamic variation of exosomes may provide a valuable means of monitoring diseases. In that study, the differences in cellular and exosomal mRNA and miRNA content was described, as well as the functionality of the exosomal mRNA cargo. Exosomes have also been shown to carry double-stranded DNA.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Exosomes can transfer molecules from one cell to another via membrane vesicle trafficking, thereby influencing the immune system, such as dendritic cells and B cells, and may play a functional role in mediating adaptive immune responses to pathogens and tumors. Therefore, scientists who are actively researching the role that exosomes may play in cell-to-cell signaling, often hypothesize that delivery of their cargo RNA molecules can explain biological effects. For example, mRNA in exosomes has been suggested to affect protein production in the recipient cell.<ref name="doi10.1038/ncomms1180"></ref> However, another study has suggested that miRNAs in exosomes secreted by mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are predominantly pre- and not mature miRNAs. Because the authors of this study did not find RNA-induced silencing complex-associated proteins in these exosomes, they suggested that only the pre-miRNAs, but not the mature miRNAs in MSC exosomes, have the potential to be biologically active in the recipient cells. Multiple mechanisms have been reported to be involved in loading miRNAs into exosomes, including specific motifs in the miRNA sequences, interactions with lncRNAs localized to the exosomes, interactions with RBPs, and post-translational modifications of Ago.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Conversely, exosome production and content may be influenced by molecular signals received by the cell of origin. As evidence for this hypothesis, tumor cells exposed to hypoxia secrete exosomes with enhanced angiogenic and metastatic potential, suggesting that tumor cells adapt to a hypoxic microenvironment by secreting exosomes to stimulate angiogenesis or facilitate metastasis to more favorable environment.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Evolving consensus in the field is that the term "exosome" should be applied strictly to an EV of endosomal origin. Since it can be difficult to prove such an origin after an EV has left the cell, variations on the term "extracellular vesicle" are often appropriate instead.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Exosomes from red blood cells contain the transferrin receptor that is absent in mature erythrocytes. Dendritic cell-derived exosomes express MHC I, MHC II, and costimulatory molecules and have been proven to be able to induce and enhance antigen-specific T cell responses "in vivo". In addition, the first exosome-based cancer vaccination platforms are being explored in early clinical trials. Exosomes can also be released into urine by the kidneys, and their detection might serve as a diagnostic tool.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Urinary exosomes may be useful as treatment response markers in prostate cancer. Exosomes secreted from tumour cells can deliver signals to surrounding cells and have been shown to regulate myofibroblast differentiation. In melanoma, tumor-derived vesicles can enter lymphatics and interact with subcapsular sinus macrophages and B cells in lymph nodes. A recent investigation showed that exosome release positively correlates with the invasiveness of ovarian cancer. Exosomes released from tumors into the blood may also have diagnostic potential. Exosomes are remarkably stable in bodily fluids strengthening their utility as reservoirs for disease biomarkers. Patient blood samples stored in biorepositories can be used for biomarker analysis as colorectal cancer cell-derived exosomes spiked into blood plasma could be recovered after 90 days of storage at various temperatures.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: In malignancies such as cancer, the regulatory circuit that guards exosome homeostasis is co-opted to promote cancer cell survival and metastasis. In breast cancers, neratinib, a novel pan-ERBB inhibitor, is able to downmodulate the amount of HER2 released by exosomes, thus potentially reducing tumor dissemination.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Urinary exosomes have also proven to be useful in the detection of many pathologies, such as genitourinary cancers and mineralocorticoid hypertension, through their protein and miRNA cargo."


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: With neurodegenerative disorders, exosomes appear to play a role in the spread of alpha-synuclein, and are being actively investigated as a tool to both monitor disease progression as well as a potential vehicle for delivery of drug and stem cell based therapy.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: An online open access database containing genomic information for exosome content has been developed to catalyze research development within the field.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Scientists are actively researching the role that exosomes may play in cell-to-cell signaling, hypothesizing that because exosomes can merge with and release their contents into cells that are distant from their cell of origin (see membrane vesicle trafficking), they may influence processes in the recipient cell. For example, RNA that is shuttled from one cell to another, known as "exosomal shuttle RNA," could potentially affect protein production in the recipient cell. The role played by exosomes in cell-cell or interorgan communication and metabolic regulation was reviewed by Samuelson and Vidal-Puig in 2018. By transferring molecules from one cell to another, exosomes from certain cells of the immune system, such as dendritic cells and B cells, may play a functional role in mediating adaptive immune responses to pathogens and tumors. Exosomal export of miRNA molecules is also linked to the arrest of inter cellular miRNA levels and affect their functionality by arresting them on heavy polysomes.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Conversely, exosome production and content may be influenced by molecular signals received by the cell of origin. As evidence for this hypothesis, tumor cells exposed to hypoxia secrete exosomes with enhanced angiogenic and metastatic potential, suggesting that tumor cells adapt to a hypoxic microenvironment by secreting exosomes to stimulate angiogenesis or facilitate metastasis to more favorable environment. It has recently been shown that exosomal protein content may change during the progression of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: A study hypothesized that intercellular communication of tumor exosomes could mediate further regions of metastasis for cancer. Hypothetically, exosomes can plant tumor information, such as tainted RNA, into new cells to prepare for cancer to travel to that organ for metastasis. The study found that tumor exosomal communication has the ability to mediate metastasis to different organs. Furthermore, even when tumor cells have a disadvantage for replicating, the information planted at these new regions, organs, can aid in the expansion of organ specific metastasis.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Exosomes carry cargo, which can augment innate immune responses. For example, exosomes derived from "Salmonella enterica"-infected macrophages but not exosomes from uninfected cells stimulate naive macrophages and dendritic cells to secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, RANTES, IL-1ra, MIP-2, CXCL1, MCP-1, sICAM-1, GM-CSF, and G-CSF. Proinflammatory effects of exosomes are partially attributed to lipopolysaccharide, which is encapsulated within exosomes.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Exosomes also mediate the cross talk between the embryo and maternal compartment during implantation.They help to exchange ubiquitous protein, glycoproteins, DNA and mRNA.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Exosome formation starts with the invagination of the multi-vesicular bodies (MVBs) or late endosomes to generate intraluminal vesicles (ILVs). There are various proposed mechanisms for formation of MVBs, vesicle budding, and sorting. The most studied and well known is the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) dependent pathway. ESCRT machinery mediates the ubiquitinated pathway consisting of protein complexes; ESCRT-0, -I, -II, -III, and associated ATPase Vps4. ESCRT 0 recognizes and retains ubiquitinated proteins marked for packaging in the late endosomal membrane. ESCRT I/II recognizes the ESCRT 0 and starts creating involution of the membrane into the MVB. ESCRTIII forms a spiral shaped structure constricting the neck. ATPase VPS4 protein drives the membrane scission. Syndecan-syntenin-ALIX exosome biogenesis pathway are one of the ESCRT-independent or non-canonical pathways for exosome biogenesis.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: The MVBs once formed are trafficked to the internal side of the plasma membrane. These MVBs are transported to the plasma membrane leading to fusion. Many studies have shown that MVBs having higher cholesterol content fuse with the plasma membrane thus releasing exosomes. The Rab proteins especially Rab 7 attached to the MVB recognizes its effector receptor. The SNARE complex (soluble N- ethylmaleimide- sensitive fusion attachment protein receptor) from the MVB and the plasma membrane interacts and mediates fusion.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Specific targeting by exosomes is an active area of research. The exact mechanisms of exosome targeting is limited to a few general mechanisms like docking of the exosomes with specific proteins, sugars, and lipid, or micropinocytosis. The internalized exosomes are targeted to the endosomes which release their content in the recipient cell.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Exosomes contain different cargoes; proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. These cargoes are specifically sorted and packaged into exosomes. The contents packaged into exosomes are cell type specific and also influenced by cellular conditions. Exosomal microRNAs (exomiRs) and proteins are sorted and packaged in exosomes. Villarroya-Beltri and colleagues identified a conserved GGAG specific motif, EXOmotif, in the miRNA packaged in the exosomes which was absent in the cytosolic miRNA (CLmiRNA), which binds to sumoylated heterogeneous nuclear riboprotein (hnRNP) A2B1 for exosome specific miRNA packaging Proteins are packaged in ESCRT, tertraspanins, lipid- dependent mechanisms. Exosomes are enriched in cholesterol, sphingomyelin, saturated phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine as compared to the plasma membrane of the cell.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: The isolation and detection of exosomes has proven to be complicated. Due to the complexity of body fluids, physical separation of exosomes from cells and similar-sized particles is challenging. Isolation of exosomes using differential ultracentrifugation results in co-isolation of protein and other contaminants and incomplete separation of vesicles from lipoproteins. Combining ultracentrifugation with micro-filtration or a gradient can improve purity. Single step isolation of extracellular vesicles by size-exclusion chromatography has been demonstrated to provide greater efficiency for recovering intact vesicles over centrifugation, although a size-based technique alone will not be able to distinguish exosomes from other vesicle types. To isolate a pure population of exosomes a combination of techniques is necessary, based on both physical (e.g. size, density) and biochemical parameters (e.g. presence/absence of certain proteins involved in their biogenesis). The use of reference materials such as trackable recombinant EV will assist in mitigating technical variation introduced during sample preparation and analysis. Novel selective isolation methodology has been using a combination of immunoaffinity chromatography and asymmetric-flow field-flow fractionation to reduce the contamination from lipoproteins and other proteins when isolating from blood plasma.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Often, functional as well as antigenic assays are applied to derive useful information from multiple exosomes. Well-known examples of assays to detect proteins in total populations of exosomes are mass spectrometry and Western blot. However, a limitation of these methods is that contaminants may be present that affect the information obtained from such assays. Preferably, information is derived from single exosomes. Relevant properties of exosomes to detect include size, density, morphology, composition, and zeta potential.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Since the diameter of exosomes is typically below 100 nm and because they have a low refractive index, exosomes are below the detection range of many currently used techniques. A number of miniaturized systems, exploiting nanotechnology and microfluidics, have been developed to expedite exosome analyses. These new systems include a microNMR device, a nanoplasmonic chip, and a magneto-electrochemical sensor for protein profiling; and an integrated fluidic cartridge for RNA detection. Flow cytometry is an optical method to detect exosomes in suspension. Nevertheless, the applicability of flow cytometry to detect single exosomes is still inadequate due to limited sensitivity and potential measurement artifacts such as swarm detection. Other methods to detect single exosomes are atomic force microscopy, nanoparticle tracking analysis, Raman microspectroscopy, tunable resistive pulse sensing, and transmission electron microscopy.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Exosomes contain RNA, proteins, lipids and metabolites that is reflective of the cell type of origin. As exosomes contain numerous proteins, RNA and lipids, large scale analysis including proteomics and transcriptomics is often performed. Currently, to analyse these data, non-commercial tools such as FunRich can be used to identify over-represented groups of molecules. With the advent of Next generation sequencing technologies, the research on exosomes have been accelerated in not only cancer but various diseases. Recently, bioinformatics based analysis of RNA-Seq data of exosomes extracted from "Trypanosoma cruzi" has showed the association of these extracellular vesicles with various important gene products that strengthens the probability of finding biomarkers for Chagas disease.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Increasingly, exosomes are being recognized as potential therapeutics as they have the ability to elicit potent cellular responses "in vitro" and "in vivo". Exosomes mediate regenerative outcomes in injury and disease that recapitulate observed bioactivity of stem cell populations. Mesenchymal stem cell exosomes were found to activate several signaling pathways important in wound healing (Akt, ERK, and STAT3), bone fracture repair and participates in the regulation of immune-mediated responses and inflammatory diseases. They induce the expression of a number of growth factors (hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF1), nerve growth factor (NGF), and stromal-derived growth factor-1 (SDF1)). Exosomes secreted by human circulating fibrocytes, a population of mesenchymal progenitors involved in normal wound healing via paracrine signaling, exhibited "in-vitro" proangiogenic properties, activated diabetic dermal fibroblasts, induced the migration and proliferation of diabetic keratinocytes, and accelerated wound closure in diabetic mice in vivo. Important components of the exosomal cargo were heat shock protein-90α, total and activated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3, proangiogenic (miR-126, miR-130a, miR-132) and anti-inflammatory (miR124a, miR-125b) microRNAs, and a microRNA regulating collagen deposition (miR-21). Researchers have also found that exosomes released from oral keratinocytes can accelerate wound healing, even when human exosomes were applied to rat wounds. Exosomes can be considered a promising carrier for effective delivery of small interfering RNA due to their existence in body's endogenous system and high tolerance. Patient-derived exosomes have been employed as a novel cancer immunotherapy in several clinical trials.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Exosomes offer distinct advantages that uniquely position them as highly effective drug carriers. Composed of cellular membranes with multiple adhesive proteins on their surface, exosomes are known to specialize in cell–cell communications and provide an exclusive approach for the delivery of various therapeutic agents to target cells. For example, researchers used exosomes as a vehicle for the delivery of cancer drug paclitaxel. They placed the drug inside exosomes derived from white blood cells, which were then injected into mice with drug-resistant lung cancer. Importantly, incorporation of paclitaxel into exosomes increased cytotoxicity more than 50 times as a result of nearly complete co-localization of airway-delivered exosomes with lung cancer cells.


title: Exosome (vesicle)

text: Different forms of unproven exosomes are being marketed in the U.S. for a wide variety of health conditions by clinic firms, without authorization from the FDA. Often, these firms also sell non-FDA-approved stem cell injections as well. In late 2019, the FDA issued an advisory warning about noncompliant marketing of exosomes and injuries to patients in Nebraska related to injections of exosomes. The agency also indicated that exosomes are officially drug products requiring pre-market approval. In 2020, the FDA cautioned several firms about marketing or use of exosomes for COVID-19 and other health conditions.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which opened in 1996. The Indians previously played at Owen J. Bush Stadium from 1931 to 1996 and at two versions of Washington Park from 1902 to 1931.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: Indianapolis is the second-oldest minor league franchise in American professional baseball (after the Rochester Red Wings). The team originated in 1902 as members of the American Association (AA), which was an independent league at the time but was granted Class A status in 1903. Since then, the Indians have played at the highest level of Minor League Baseball, though the terminology has changed. Indianapolis remained in the AA until the league disbanded after the 1962 season. They were briefly members of the International League (1963) and Pacific Coast League (1964–1968) before returning to the revived American Association in 1969. When the league dissolved a second time after the 1997 season, the Indians rejoined the IL in 1998. In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of the minors in 2021, they were shifted to the Triple-A East, but this was renamed the International League in 2022.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: Indianapolis has won 14 league championships. They were American Association champions twelve times (1902, 1908, 1917, 1928, 1949, 1956, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1994). The Indians have won the International League championship twice (1963 and 2000). They went on to win two Little World Series (1917 and 1928), two Junior World Series (1949 and 1956), two Triple-A Classics (1988 and 1989), and one Triple-A World Series (2000).


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: Indianapolis, Indiana, has been home to professional baseball teams since the late 19th century. The city's first Minor League Baseball team was the Indianapolis Blues, who played in the League Alliance in 1877. They joined the major league ranks in 1878 as members of the National League. After a five-year hiatus, they were followed by several teams called the Indianapolis Hoosiers. The first Hoosiers played in the major league American Association in 1884. The second Hoosiers were members of the minor Western League in 1885. The third Hoosiers were part of the National League from 1887 to 1889. Other minor league Hoosiers played in the Western League/minor American League in 1892 and from 1894 to 1900 and in the Western Association in 1901.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: In 1902, Bill Watkins and Charles Ruschaupt established the Indianapolis Indians as charter members of a new minor league American Association (AA). The league was an independent or "outlaw league" outside the umbrella of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues. The circuit was granted Class A status, the highest level of the minors, in 1903. Since then, the Indians have remained at the top level of Minor League Baseball, though the terminology has changed: Class A (1903–1911), Double-A (1912–1945), and Triple-A (since 1946). The Indians' first home ballpark was East Washington Park.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: The 1902 Indians, managed by Watkins, won the first American Association championship with a 96–45 record, two games ahead of the second-place Louisville Colonels. The team was ranked as the 27th greatest minor league baseball team of all-time by baseball historians in 2001.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: Ruschaupt became the principal owner in 1904, and Indianapolis began playing at West Washington Park in 1905. The Indians won their next AA pennant in 1908 with a 92–61 season, four games ahead of Louisville, under manager Charlie Carr. Sol Meyer and Sol Kiser purchased the team in 1913 but sold the team to James C. McGill and William G. Smith Sr. in 1914. McGill became the principal owner in 1917 and Smith in 1921.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: Led by Jack Hendricks, the 1917 Indians won a third AA title with a 90–63 season, which placed them two-and-a-half games ahead of Louisville and the St. Paul Saints. The pennant win qualified Indianapolis for the Little World Series against the champions of the International League, the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Indians won the best-of-seven series, 4–1.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: James A. Perry purchased the club in 1927. He died in a plane crash two years later, and his brother, Norman Perry, assumed ownership in 1929. Late in the 1931 season, the team moved to Perry Stadium, which was renamed Victory Field in 1942 and Bush Stadium in 1967. The 1928 Indians, who were managed by Bruno Betzel, won a fourth AA pennant by finishing two-and-a-half games ahead of the Minneapolis Millers at 99–68. They then defeated the Rochester Red Wings, 5–1, in the Little World Series.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: From 1936 to 1946, Indianapolis qualified for the American Association playoffs on six occasions, but failed to win a championship. Meanwhile, Frank E. McKinney and Owen J. "Donie" Bush purchased the team in December 1941. The Indians entered into their first major league affiliation in 1939 and 1940 as the top farm club of the Cincinnati Reds. They returned to being an unaffiliated team from 1942 to 1945 before affiliating with the Boston Braves in 1946.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: Indianapolis became the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1947. The 1948 Indians posted a 100–54 record, a franchise high, but were eliminated in the playoff semifinals by St. Paul. The team was ranked as the 85th greatest minor league team in a 2001 ranking. Al López, who had managed the 1948 club, led the 1949 Indians back to the playoffs. They defeated Minneapolis, 4–3, in the semifinals and the Milwaukee Brewers, 4–3, in the final round, to win their first playoff title and fifth AA championship. In the Junior World Series, a successor to the Little World Series, Indianapolis defeated the Montreal Royals, 4–2. They made one more playoff appearance as a Pirates farm club in 1950 but lost in the championship finals.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: The Cleveland Indians purchased the team in 1952, and made them their Triple-A affiliate. Over the five-year relationship, Indianapolis qualified for the playoffs three times. They lost in the semifinals in 1953, lost the 1954 finals, and won the American Association championship in 1956. On the heels of a 92–62 campaign, manager Kerby Farrell's Indians defeated Minneapolis, 4–3, in the semifinals before winning their sixth AA title over the Denver Bears, 4–0. They capped off the season by sweeping Rochester, 4–0, to win the Junior World Series.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: Having incurred significant financial losses, Cleveland elected to sell the team after the 1955 season. The Indianapolis community rallied to save the Indians by purchasing 20,182 shares of stock valued at $10 each, which allowed Indians, Inc., to purchase the club in December. The affiliation between the major and minor league Indians remained intact until the teams parted ways after the 1956 season.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: Indianapolis held a brief three-year affiliation with the Chicago White Sox from 1957 to 1959, with their only winning season occurring in the final season. This was followed by even shorter stints as the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1960 and the Cincinnati Reds in 1961. The 1961 team qualified for the playoffs but were ousted in the semifinals. The Indians rejoined the Chicago White Sox organization in 1962 and experienced another semifinal playoff exit in the first year of the affiliation. The American Association disbanded after the 1962 season.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: The Indians became members of the Triple-A International League (IL) in 1963 and retained their affiliation with the White Sox. Led by Rollie Hemsley, the 1963 Indians clinched the Southern Division title with an 86–67 record. They defeated the Syracuse Chiefs, 4–1, in the playoff semifinals before winning the International League championship over the Atlanta Crackers, 4–2. With the addition of Indianapolis and the Little Rock Travelers to the IL, the westernmost teams in the loop, team travel costs increased. At the 1963 Winter Meetings, major league teams refused to continue paying to defray these additional costs, so Indianapolis and Little Rock were expelled from the league.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: The Pacific Coast League welcomed Indianapolis and Little Rock as members in 1964. Though they became the easternmost teams in the league, its two-division alignment helped to keep travel costs down. The Indians continued to serve as the top farm club of the Chicago White Sox through 1967, but they were unable to return to the postseason during the affiliation. They became part of the Cincinnati Reds' organization for a third time in 1968.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: The American Association was revived in 1969, and the Indians rejoined the league as the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Through 1982, the team qualified for the AA playoffs on three occasions via winning Eastern Division titles. They lost the 1971 league title in a best-of-seven series to the Denver Bears, 4–3. The 1974 championship series also went the full seven games with Indianapolis losing to the Tulsa Oilers. The 1978 team was denied a championship, losing to the Omaha Royals, 4–1. George Scherger managed the 1982 Indians to a fourth Eastern Division title as a Reds affiliate with a 75–61 campaign. They then defeated Omaha, 4–2, for the AA championship.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: Indianapolis became part of the Montreal Expos organization in 1984 in what would become one of the most successful periods in team history. Though they were eliminated in the semifinals in 1984, the Indians won four consecutive American Association championships from 1986 to 1989. Manager Joe Sparks was at the helm for the first three of these titles. The 1986 Indians won the division with an 80–62 record. They won the AA championship versus the Denver Zephyrs, 4–3. The 1987 team placed second in the division, which gave them for a playoff berth. They beat the Louisville Redbirds, 3–2, in the semifinals and then won another league championship over Denver, 4–1. Sparks led the 1988 Indians to the Eastern Division title on a 89–53 season. In a single round of playoffs, they defeated Omaha, 3–1, for the league crown. From 1988 to 1991, American Association teams participated in interleague play with teams from the International League in a partnership called the Triple-A Alliance, and the season culminated in the Triple-A Classic, a best-of-seven postseason championship between the leagues' champions. Indianapolis won the first of these against Rochester, 4–2. Manager Tom Runnells' 1989 team ended the season with an 87–59 record and the Eastern Division title. They defeated Omaha, 3–2, for their fourth consecutive American Association championship. In the Triple-A Classic, the Indians swept the Richmond Braves, 4–0.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: Indianapolis affiliated with Cincinnati for the fourth time in 1993. In 1994, Marc Bombard managed the team to a first-place 86–57 mark. The won the semifinals over Louisville, 3–0, and bested the Nashville Sounds, 3–1, for another league championship. The Indians made return trips to the postseason over the next three years but suffered semifinal eliminations in 1995 and 1997 and a finals loss in 1996. After 66 seasons at Bush Stadium, the Indians left the ballpark for the new $20-million Victory Field in downtown Indianapolis' White River State Park on July 11, 1996.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: The American Association disbanded after the 1997 season, and its teams were absorbed by the two remaining Triple-A leagues—the International League (IL) and Pacific Coast League. Indianapolis returned to the IL, of which they had previously been members in 1963. They remained as affiliates of the Cincinnati Reds through 1999.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: In 2000, the team entered into a new partnership with the Milwaukee Brewers. Steve Smith led the 2000 Indians to the Western Division title with an 81–63 record. They defeated the Durham Bulls, 3–2, in the semifinals before winning the International League championship versus the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, 3–2. The Indians met the Memphis Redbirds, champions of the Pacific Coast League in the Triple-A World Series, winning 3–1. Sub-.500 finishes during the next four seasons kept the team from returning to the postseason as a Brewers affiliate and prompted the team to end their affiliation with Milwaukee.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: The Indians became the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2005 after having previously been in their farm system in 1951. They qualified for the IL playoffs with a wild card berth, advanced to the finals by defeating the Buffalo Bisons, 3–2, but lost the championship to the Toledo Mud Hens, 3–0. the 2016 team finished the season tied for first-place in the Western Division with Toledo. On September 5, the Indians lost a one-game playoff against the Mud Hens for the division title, 4–0, which eliminated them from postseason contention. Indianapolis won back-to-back Western Division titles in 2012 and 2013 but lost in the semifinal round each time.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: At the end of the 2015 season, Indianapolis was tied with the Columbus Clippers for first. Per the league's playoff procedures, the teams were declared co-champions of the Western Division, and the Indians lost the tiebreaker to be seeded as the wild card team. The won their semifinals series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, 3–0, but lost the IL title versus Columbus Clippers, 3–2. They returned to the postseason in 2017 as Western Division champions but were eliminated in the semifinals by Durham, 3–1. The Indians did not qualify for the postseason from 2018 to 2019. The start of the 2020 season was initially postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before being cancelled altogether.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Indians were placed in the Triple-A East. They also extended their Professional Development License with Pittsburgh through 2030. No playoffs were held to determine a league champion; instead, the team with the best regular-season record was declared the winner. Indianapolis ended the season in 11th place with a 57–62 record. However, 10 games that had been postponed from the start of the season were reinserted into the schedule as a postseason tournament called the Triple-A Final Stretch in which all 30 Triple-A clubs competed for the highest winning percentage. Indianapolis finished the tournament tied for 18th place with a 4–5 record. In 2022, the Triple-A East became known as the International League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: Eighteen players and nine managers won league awards in recognition for their performance with Indianapolis in the American Association.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: One player won a league award in recognition for his performance with Indianapolis in the Pacific Coast League.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: Seven players have won league awards in recognition for their performance with Indianapolis in the International League.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: Thirteen former Indians have been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame based on their performance in or contributions to Major League Baseball.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: Howard Kellman is the long-standing "Voice of the Tribe", calling play-by-play for all but two seasons (1975 and 1980) since 1974. All Indians home and road games are broadcast on WNDE Fox Sports 1260 AM. Live audio broadcasts are also available online through the team's website and the MiLB First Pitch app. Some home games can be viewed on WTTV.2 The Dot, WISH-TV 8, and MyINDY-TV 23. All home and road games can be viewed through the MiLB.TV subscription feature of the official website of Minor League Baseball, with audio provided by a radio simulcast.


title: Indianapolis Indians

text: In July 2020, a year before Major League Baseball's similarly-named Cleveland Indians changed their moniker to the "Guardians" in 2021, Indianapolis management said it would form a committee to determine whether a change was necessary, based on dialogue with local organizations and community members. By the time Cleveland changed their name in July 2021, Indianapolis announced that they had no immediate plans for a name change. Although they acknowledged that, when the team was initially formed, the name was a play on Indianapolis itself, the moniker had evolved to include more Native American references in their logo and marketing. Meanwhile, the primary newspaper covering the team, the "Indianapolis Star", started to report stories and results about the team using only the city's name, without the supposedly controversial nickname. In addition, Carolina Castoreno-Santana, executive director of the American Indian Center of Indiana, said the Indianapolis Indians should change their name, arguing that the indigenous people were "overwhelmingly" in favor of changing the name.


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: Latrodectus hesperus, the western black widow spider or western widow, is a venomous spider species found in western regions of North America. The female's body is 14–16 mm (1/2 in) in length and is black, often with an hourglass-shaped red mark on the lower abdomen. This "hourglass" mark can be yellow, and on rare occasions, white. The male of the species is around half this length and generally a tan color with lighter striping on the abdomen. The population was previously described as a subspecies of "Latrodectus mactans" and it is closely related to the northern species "Latrodectus variolus". The species, as with others of the genus, build irregular or "messy" webs: unlike the spiral webs or the tunnel-shaped webs of other spiders, the strands of a "Latrodectus" web have no apparent organization.


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: Female black widows have potent venom containing a neurotoxin active against a range of mammals (see latrodectism). In humans, symptoms of this venom include pain, nausea, goosebumps, and localized sweating. In historical literature, fatalities were reported at anywhere between 0.5% and 12%, but studies within the past several decades have been unable to confirm any fatalities from this or any of the other U.S. species of "Latrodectus" (e.g. zero fatalities among 23,409 documented "Latrodectus" bites from 2000 through 2008). The female's consumption of the male after courtship, a cannibalistic and suicidal behavior observed in "Latrodectus hasseltii" (Australia's redback),


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: is rare in this species. Male western widows may breed several times during their relatively short lifespans. Males are known to show preference for mating with well-fed females over starved ones, taking cues from the females' webs.


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: "Latrodectus hesperus" can be found in western regions of North America. In Canada it can be found from British Columbia to Manitoba. They are most commonly found near the Canada-US border, as well as less commonly throughout the grasslands of the Canadian Prairies in Western Canada.


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: The female is stimulated upon contact of a male's web, and vice versa. Male and female "L." "hesperus" produce sexually-specific scents that are combined with their silk; each sex responds by initiating mating when it comes in contact with a web of the opposite sex. On initiating courting, the male "L. hesperus" will utilize his tarsi to tap the lines of the female’s web. The male will continue this tapping gesture with his pedipalps as he actively begins to explore the web. This exploration is intermixed with resting bouts. The male's body spasms, producing a high frequency vibration throughout his abdomen. In many instances, the female will not accept the males sexual display and will scare the male away. In some instances, the females will violently jerk their abdomen, similar to courting male displays, which ultimately leads to a positive reaction from the males and a more successful insemination.


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: One strategy performed by the male "L. hesperus" to ensure a successful courtship with the female is to minimize the escape route options for the female within her own web. This is accomplished by the male severing the female's web at various locations that the male believes could provide the female with a course of action to avoid the male. Once the male has successfully made contact with the female's body, he swoons her by gently stroking various parts of her body. The male then creates what is known as the “bridal veil”, which is simply silk thrown onto the female.


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: The time spent on courting varies tremendously and can be as short as ten minutes or as long as two hours. Male's genital bulbs may get injured or partially destroyed in the act of copulation, which leaves him unable to mate again in the future. This may be the reason that many male mates are found dead in the female's web after copulation. Females will often consume these dead males for nutrients to improve her own reproductive success.


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: Female choosiness can be both evolutionarily advantageous and disadvantageous depending on whether the risk of delaying copulation will inevitably pay off with a better mate, or if it will instead cost the female her whole potential of producing offspring. In fact four percent of female "L. hesperus" did not acquire mates. The female "L. hesperus" has the potential to possess more than one mate during their lifespan. This is in part due to the male-bias within the sexually active population of the spider. This sex-bias allows the males to engage in what is known as “scramble competition.” Scramble competition means that no male possesses a monopoly over the resource, which in this case is the female spider, yet because there is a finite amount of this resource, those who exploit it faster will come out on top. There are multiple ways in which the female "L. hesperus" can guarantee her right to choose, one of which is eating the male before copulation. The female receives chemical cues given off by other nearby "L. hesperus" that indicate the population density, and therefore give them a notion as to whether their choosiness will pay off or fail to do so.


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: "L. hesperus" frequently hangs upside down near center of the web and waits for any insects to enter the web to attack. It bites its victim then wraps it in silk. There are multiple aspects of this spider's web that serve the purpose of capturing prey. The web incorporates hanging gum-footed threads that have liquid glue on them. When prey come into contact with these threads, they get stuck to them, causing the thread to break and the prey to be propelled up by the web to an easy point of access for the spider. The web of "L. hesperus" also allows for locomotive action by the spider when attacking prey through a sheet of silk. In the months of May through October, there is a significant increase in the amount of prey caught by "L. hesperus", presumably because these are the months in which the female produces her egg sacs, and in which the offspring are born and their survival is dependent on their mother's ability to feed them.


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: "L. hesperus" follows prey cues when determining where to settle down. The female "L. hesperus" is able to detect chemical cues from their prey. As a by-product of this detection, "L. hesperus" is more likely to build a home in an area that is expressing a high degree of chemical prey cues. This finding may grant us the ability of controlling "L. hesperus" infestations. By killing off the prey of "L. hesperus", there will be a correlated side-effect that pushes "L. hesperus" to relocate to a location where there are more available prey.


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: Like other web-building spiders", L. hesperus" are polyphagous and feed on prey from eight different arthropod orders. In one study in British Columbia, the orders Coleoptera and Hymenoptera accounted for the majority of the spiders' prey; the majority of prey within Coleoptera were darkling beetles, weevils, and ground beetles, and the most common Hymenoptera were ants, wasps, and bumblebees. The peak activity of hymenopterans in this study was May through September in British Columbia, paralleling a spike in consumption by "L. hesperus" during these months.


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: "L. hesperus" is an “opportunistic cannibal.” There are three circumstances under which "L. hesperus" may feed on conspecifics: when alternative prey options are scarce; when a spider is starving; in self-defense during antagonistic bouts.


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: As previously discussed, "L. hesperus" is an opportunistic cannibal. There of course is variation amongst "L. hesperus" in terms of how dire a situation must become, or how hungry the spider must be, to resort to cannibalism. Specifically, within siblingships the range of time lapsed before the spider siblings fell victim to cannibalism varied from two days to three weeks. There appears to be a direct relationship between the length of time a "L. hesperus" will last before falling back on sibling cannibalism, and the amount of maternal investment put into their egg sac. In other words, the more investment a mother puts into her egg sac, the longer their offspring will go before engaging in sibling cannibalism as their source of prey and nutrition.


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: The silk produced by "L. hesperus" is strongly adhesive. The silk has a fiber at the center covered by some droplets of liquid adhesive protein. When rubbing against one's fingers, it feels like the texture of rubber. The droplets are about twenty times larger than the center fiber's diameter and are visible to the naked eye.


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: The ultimate strength and other physical properties of "L. hesperus" silk were found to be similar to the properties of silk from orb-weaving spiders. The ultimate strength for the three kinds of silk measured in the study was about 1000 MPa (145,000 psi). The ultimate strength reported in a previous study for "Trichonephila edulis" was 1290±160 MPa (188,000 psi). The ultimate strength of mild steel is about 800 MPa (116,000 psi).


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: "L. hesperus" produces three different types of silk: dragline silk, inner egg case silk, and scaffolding silk. Analysis of the amino acid composition of the various silks produced by "L. hesperus" show that both dragline silk and scaffolding silk are primarily composed of alanine and glycine, in fact neither cysteine nor methionine were detected at all in these silks. In the inner egg case silk, although alanine remained an abundant amino acid, its abundance was less so in this silk than the others.


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: "L. hesperus"' silk contains sexual pheromones which are perceived by the opposite sex upon contact with the web. The males are able to locate the female and begin courting behavior in response to female pheromones. The female curtails her predatory reflexes against the male in response to male pheromones.


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: "L. hesperus" produces cobwebs. Cobwebs differ from orb webs, and their architecture can be broken down into three sections. Two sections are utilized to capture prey, the gumfoot threads and the mesh region. The third section provides the structural support for the web and is known as the scaffold threads. The gumfoot lines hang beneath the web, the liquid glue on these lines serves as a sticky substance to trap prey in. The line will break once prey catches on it, creating a tensile force within the web that pulls the line along with the prey up to the spider. "L. hesperus" seeks refuge in the location from which the web originates and emerges.


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: "L. hesperus" reacts to changes in prey capture by altering its web-spinning behavior. When the spider reaches satiety, it will decrease its energy expenditure on building the features of the web specifically purposed for prey capture. This is evolutionarily advantageous for the spider because it is already satiated. Therefore, it would be a waste of energy to seek out more nutrients. Although there is a decrease in prey-capturing aspects of the web, the overall silk production remains steady or in some cases will increase. "L. hesperus" also decrease silk investment into webs when preparing for offspring by alternatively increasing silk investment into egg sac production.


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: The black widow spiders face some predators, like mice, which are omnivorous and larger than the black widow. Juveniles and female adult "L. hesperus" can eject a chunk of viscid silk toward potential predators. This silk is not toxic, but its mechanical irritation can thwart most predators. However, adult males are unable to produce this defensive silk, presumably because they need to conserve energy for reproduction during their relatively short life span. However, this defensive behavior is very important to females, which are under heavy predation pressure. Black widow spiders spend much time on web construction at night, which is also an active time for ground mice. If the webs are low above ground, it is easy for mice and other predators to attack from below. Since the spider will stay largely stationary at the web hub, such attacks are mostly successful if there is no defensive behavior.


title: Latrodectus hesperus

text: "L. hesperus’" bite is similar to that of other "Latrodectus" species because of their relatedness. The venom is exuded from the spiders' fangs and injected into the enemy. The spiders' prey is paralyzed by the venom, which enables their future digestion. For humans, the venom behaves like a neurotoxin, affecting the hormone acetylcholine. The female is more of a threat than the male in this species, however her aggressive side only comes out when she is protecting her eggs. Not only are the females fangs larger than the males, but their venomous glands are also more distinct. The effects of their bite can range from a simple irritation to severe autonomic disparities. The venom is composed of proteins, peptides, and proteases. The venom causes an excess release of neurotransmitters which can cause a slew of symptoms. Some of these symptoms include muscle rigidity, perspiration, and nausea. Treatments include painkillers and antivenom if the toxicity is severe enough.


title: John III of Sweden

text: John III (, ; 20 December 1537 – 17 November 1592) was King of Sweden from 1569 until his death. He was the son of King Gustav I of Sweden and his second wife Margaret Leijonhufvud. He was also, quite autonomously, the ruler of Finland, as "Duke John" from 1556 to 1563. In 1581 he assumed also the title Grand Prince of Finland. He attained the Swedish throne after a rebellion against his half-brother Eric XIV. He is mainly remembered for his attempts to close the gap between the newly established Lutheran Church of Sweden and the Catholic church, as well as his conflict with, and murder of, his brother.


title: John III of Sweden

text: His first wife was Catherine Jagellonica of the Polish-Lithuanian ruling family, and their son Sigismund eventually ascended both the Polish-Lithuanian and Swedish thrones.


title: John III of Sweden

text: John was the second son of Gustav Vasa (1523–60). His mother was Margaret Leijonhufvud (1514–51), a Swedish noblewoman. Gustav had placed his son in Finland to secure Swedish territory in the eastern Baltic from a Russian threat. John was sent as an emissary to England to secure the hand of Queen Elizabeth I in marriage to his half-brother Crown Prince Erik (1559–60). This marriage would have secured Swedish access to Western Europe. That mission failed, but while in England John was able to observe the reintroduction of Protestantism and the Book of Common Prayer (1559). The Finnish duke had liturgical and theological interests.


title: John III of Sweden

text: As Duke of Finland, he opposed his half-brother King Eric XIV's 1560–68) efforts to secure Reval and East Baltic ports. John and his wife Katarina were imprisoned in the Gripsholm in 1563. After his release from prison, probably because of his brother's insanity (see Sture Murders), John again joined the opposition of the nobles, deposed Eric and made himself the king. His important ally was his maternal uncle Sten Leijonhufvud, who at deathbed was made Count of Raseborg. Shortly after this John executed his brother's most trusted counsellor, Jöran Persson, whom he held largely responsible for his harsh treatment while in prison.


title: John III of Sweden

text: John further initiated peace talks with Denmark-Norway and Lübeck to end the Scandinavian Seven Years' War, but rejected the resulting Treaties of Roskilde (1568) where his envoys had accepted far-reaching Danish demands. After two more years of fighting, this war was concluded without many Swedish concessions in the Treaty of Stettin (1570). During the following years he successfully fought Russia in the Livonian War, concluded by the Treaty of Plussa in 1583, a war that meant a Swedish reconquest of Narva. As a whole his foreign policy was affected by his connection to Poland of which country his son Sigismund III Vasa was made king in 1587.


title: John III of Sweden

text: In domestic politics John showed clear Catholic sympathies, inspired by his Polish wife, a fact that created frictions to the Swedish clergy and nobility. He sought to enlist the help of the papacy in gaining release of his wife's family assets, which were frozen in Naples. He also allowed Jesuits to secretly staff the Royal Theological College in Stockholm. However, John himself was a learned follower of the mediating theologian George Cassander. He sought reconciliation between Rome and Wittenberg on the basis of the consensus of the first five centuries of Christianity (consensus quinquesaecularis). John approved the publication of the Lutheran "Swedish Church Order" of Archbishop Laurentius Petri in 1571 but also got the church to approve an addendum to the church order in 1575, "Nova ordinantia ecclesiastica" that displayed a return to patristic sources. This set the stage for his promulgation of the Swedish-Latin Red Book, entitled "Liturgia suecanae ecclesiae catholicae & orthodoxae conformis", which reintroduced several Catholic customs and resulted in the Liturgical Struggle, which was not to end for twenty years. In 1575, he gave his permission for the remaining Catholic convents in Sweden to start receiving novices again. From time to time he was also at odds theologically with his younger brother Duke Charles of Sudermannia (afterwards Charles IX of Sweden), who had Calvinist sympathies, and did not promote King John's Liturgy in his duchy. John III was an eager patron of art and architecture. He turned the medieval Kalmar Castle into a Renaissance palace and often resided there because it was closer to Poland.


title: John III of Sweden

text: In January 1569, John was recognized as king by the same riksdag that forced Eric XIV off the throne. But this recognition was not without influence from John; Duke Karl received confirmation on his dukedom without the restrictions on his power that the Arboga articles imposed. The nobilities' power and rights were extended and their responsibilities lessened.


title: John III of Sweden

text: John was still concerned about his position as king as long as Eric was alive. During the imprisonment of Eric, three major conspiracies were made to depose John: the 1569 Plot, the Mornay Plot, and the 1576 Plot. The fear of a possible liberation of the imprisoned king worried him to the point that in 1571 he ordered the guards to murder the captured king if there were any suspicion of an attempt to liberate him. It is possible that this is how Eric died in 1577.


title: John III of Sweden

text: John III claimed that he had liberated Sweden from the "tyrant" Eric XIV, just as his father had liberated Sweden from the "bloodhound" Christian II. John was violent, hot-tempered, and greatly suspicious.


title: John III of Sweden

text: John married his first wife, Catherine Jagellonica of Poland (1526–83), of the House of Jagiello, in Vilnius on 4 October 1562. In Sweden, she is known as "Katarina Jagellonica". She was the sister of king Sigismund II Augustus of Poland. Their children were:


title: John III of Sweden

text: John cared for Karin and their children even after he married Catherine Jagellonica, in 1562. He got Karin a husband who would care for her and the children: in 1561, she married nobleman Klas Andersson (Västgöte), a friend and servant of John. They had a daughter named Brita. He continued supporting Karin and his illegitimate children as king, from 1568. In 1572 Karin married again, as her first husband was executed for treason by Eric XIV in 1563, to a Lars Henrikson, whom John ennobled in 1576 to care for his issue with Karin. The same year, he made his daughter Sofia a lady in the castle, as a servant to his sister Princess Elizabeth of Sweden. In 1580, John married her to Pontus de la Gardie. She later died giving birth to Jacob De la Gardie.


title: Joseph Radetzky von Radetz

text: Johann Josef Wenzel Anton Franz Karl, Graf Radetzky von Radetz (; ; ; 2 November 1766 – 5 January 1858) was a Czech nobleman and Austrian field marshal. He served as chief of the general staff in the Habsburg monarchy during the later period of the Napoleonic Wars and afterwards began military reforms. A disciplined and fair man, he was so beloved by his troops that he was known as "Vater" ('Father') Radetzky. He is best known for the victories at the Battles of Custoza (24–25 July 1848) and Novara (23 March 1849) during the First Italian War of Independence.


title: Joseph Radetzky von Radetz

text: Radetzky, a titled "Graf" ('Count'), was born into a noble Bohemian military family of Czech origin at Chateau Třebnice () near Sedlčany in Bohemia (now part of the town). Orphaned at an early age (his mother, Baroness Marie Venantia Bechinie von Lažan, died giving birth), Radetzky was educated by his grandfather, and after the latter's death, he continued at the Theresa Academy in Vienna. The academy was dissolved during his first year's residence in 1785, and Radetzky became a cadet in the Austrian Army. The following year he became an officer, and in 1787 was promoted to first lieutenant in a cuirassier regiment. He served as an adjutant to both Count von Lacy and Field Marshal von Laudon during the Austro-Turkish War of 1787–1791, and in the Austrian Netherlands from 1792 to 1795.


title: Joseph Radetzky von Radetz

text: In 1798, he married Countess Franziska von Strassoldo-Grafenberg from Tržič, Carniola (now in Slovenia). On her mother's side, she was a descendant of the Austrian House of Auersperg, which ruled one of the hereditary Habsburg duchies in what is now Slovenia. They had five sons and three daughters, only two of whom outlived their father. Radetzky also had a longstanding romantic relationship with his Italian mistress, Giuditta Meregalli of Sesto San Giovanni. She was 40 years his junior and bore him four children, all of whom took his name and were recognized by Radetzky. Meregalli received extensive letters from him, written during his battles. He was a devout lifelong Roman Catholic.


title: Joseph Radetzky von Radetz

text: In 1795 Radetzky fought on the Rhine. The following year he served with Johann Beaulieu against Napoleon in Italy, but disliked the indecisive "cordon" system of warfare which Count von Lacy had instituted and other Austrian generals imitated. His personal courage was conspicuous. At the Battle of Fleurus (1794) he led a party of cavalry through the French lines to discover the fate of Charleroi, and at Valeggio sul Mincio in 1796, with a few hussars, he rescued Beaulieu from the enemy. Promoted to major, he took part in Dagobert Wurmser's Siege of Mantua campaign, which ended in the fall of that fortress. As lieutenant-colonel and colonel he displayed bravery and skill in the battles of Trebbia and Novi (1799). At the Battle of Marengo, as colonel on the staff of Melas, he was hit by five bullets, after endeavouring on the previous evening to bring about modifications in the plan suggested by the "scientific" Anton von Zach. In 1801 Radetzky was made a Knight of the Military Order of Maria Theresa.


title: Joseph Radetzky von Radetz

text: In 1805, on the march to Ulm, he received news of his promotion to major-general and his assignment to a command in Italy under the Archduke Charles of Austria. He thus took part in the failed campaign of Caldiero. Peace provided a short respite, which he spent in studying and teaching the art of war. In 1809 he led a brigade in V Corps during the Battle of Eckmühl. Promoted lieutenant field marshal, he commanded a division in IV Corps at the Battle of Wagram. In 1810 he was created a Commander of the Order of Maria Theresa and became "Inhaber" of the 5th Radetzky Hussars. From 1809 to 1812, as chief of the general staff, he was active in reorganizing the army and its tactical system, but, unable to carry out the reforms he desired owing to the opposition of the Treasury, he resigned his position. In 1813 he was Schwarzenberg's chief of staff and had considerable influence on the councils of the Allied sovereigns and generals. Langenau, the quartermaster-general of the Grand Army, found him an indispensable assistant, and he had a considerable share in planning the Leipzig campaign. He won praise for his tactical skills in the battles of Brienne and Arcis-sur-Aube. He entered Paris with the allied sovereigns in March 1814, and returned with them to the Congress of Vienna, where he appears to have acted as an intermediary between Metternich and Tsar Alexander I of Russia, when the two were not on speaking terms.


title: Joseph Radetzky von Radetz

text: During the succeeding years of peace he disappeared from public view. He resumed his functions as chief of staff, but his ardent ideas for reforming the army came to nothing in the face of the general war-weariness and desire to "let well enough alone." His zeal added to the number of his enemies, and in 1829, after twenty years as lieutenant field marshal, it was proposed to place him on the retired list. The emperor, unwilling to go as far as that, promoted him general of cavalry and shelved him by making him governor of a fortress. But very soon afterwards, the Restoration settlement of Europe was shaken by fresh upheavals, and Radetzky was brought back into the field of war again. He took part under Frimont in the campaign against the Papal States insurgents, and succeeded that general in the chief command of the Austrian army in Italy in 1834.


title: Joseph Radetzky von Radetz

text: In 1836, Radetzky was promoted to full field marshal. He was then seventy, but still displayed the vigor and zeal of his youth in the training and discipline of the army he commanded. But there too he was in advance of his time, and the government not only disregarded his suggestions and warnings but also refused the military the money that would have enabled the finest army it possessed to take the field at a moment's notice. Thus the events of 1848 in Italy, which gave the old field marshal his place in history among the great commanders, found him, in the beginning, not unprepared but seriously handicapped in the struggle with Charles Albert's army, and the insurgents in Milan and elsewhere. By falling back to the Quadrilatero and there, rebuffing one opponent after another, he was able to buy time until reinforcements arrived, and thenceforward up to the final triumph at the Battle of Novara on 23 March 1849, he and his army carried all before them. He also commanded the Austrian troops who reconquered Venice after the year-long siege of the rebellious city in May 1848 – August 1849. He became a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1848.


title: Joseph Radetzky von Radetz

text: His well-disciplined sense of duty towards officers of higher rank had become more intense in the long years of peace, and, after keeping his army loyal midst the confusion of 1848, he made no attempt to play the part of Wallenstein or even to assume Wellington's role of 'family adviser to the nation'. While as a patriot he dreamed a little of a united Germany, he remained to the end simply the commander of one of the emperor's armies.


title: Joseph Radetzky von Radetz

text: After his triumph in Italy, he was made Viceroy of Lombardy–Venetia from 1848 to 1857 – being the only one not of royal Habsburg blood.


title: Joseph Radetzky von Radetz

text: Repression in Lombardy–Venetia was severe: the Austrians could act with impunity and little denunciation from the exiled patriots in the rest of Italy, and masking their action as "repression of banditry," there was little danger of it acquiring international resonance. From 1848 Radetzky introduced public caning as a form of punishment, the death penalty for conspirators and life sentences for failing to denounce revolutionary activities. The Belfiore martyrs, Luigi Dottesio and Amatore Sciesa were among the many who were executed for political activities.


title: Joseph Radetzky von Radetz

text: While effective in preventing rebellions, these brutal acts marked the failure of all re-pacification policies between Austria and the Italian population; 1848 had dug too deep a chasm between the Italians and the Austrian government, and – as events in 1859 showed – it was only the power of the Austrian military that maintained the rule of Austria and her client states in Italy. It was part of Radetzky's good fortune that he died one year before his whole work dissolved.


title: Joseph Radetzky von Radetz

text: Josef Wenzel Graf Radetzky of Radetz died from pneumonia on 5 January 1858 in Milan. The Emperor wished him to be buried in the Capuchin crypt (the Imperial Crypt in Vienna); however, Radetzky had bequeathed his earthly remains, and the right to bury him, to Joseph Gottfried Pargfrieder, an army supplies merchant and land owner, who decades earlier had settled his debts.


title: Joseph Radetzky von Radetz

text: On 19 January 1858, Radetzky was buried at the Heldenberg Memorial site "(Gedenkstätte Heldenberg)" in Lower Austria, an open-air pantheon with warrior statues celebrating the heroes of Austrian military history from Middle Ages to the 19th century ("Heldenberg" literally translates as "Hero Mountain"). Radetzky lies buried in a crypt under a monumental obelisk in the central part of the pantheon, together with Field Marshal Maximilian von Wimpffen and Pargfrieder himself.


title: Joseph Radetzky von Radetz

text: In military history Radetzky is highly regarded as a brilliant field marshal, while social historians consider his ruthless role as a viceroy as the point of no return in the troubled relationship between Austria and the Italian population.


title: Joseph Radetzky von Radetz

text: Johann Strauss I's "Radetzky March" was commissioned to commemorate Radetzky's victories at the Battle of Custoza.


title: Joseph Radetzky von Radetz

text: These are Radetzky's letters to his daughter Friederike Radetzky von Radetz, Gräfin Wenckheim, published to celebrate the unveiling of the Radetzky monument in Vienna.


title: Corleonesi Mafia clan

text: The Corleonesi Mafia clan was a faction within the Corleone family of the Sicilian Mafia, formed in the 1970s. Notable leaders included Luciano Leggio, Salvatore Riina, Bernardo Provenzano, and Leoluca Bagarella.


title: Corleonesi Mafia clan

text: Corleonesi affiliates were not restricted to mafiosi of Corleone. During the Second Mafia War in the early 1980s, the Corleonesi clan opposed the faction of the Palermitans represented, among others, by Gaetano Badalamenti, Stefano Bontate and Salvatore Inzerillo. The victory of the Corleonesi, and in particular the rise of Totò Riina, marked a new era in the history of the Sicilian Mafia. Between 1992 and 1993, the Corleonesi initiated a season of attacks against the state, followed by the State-Mafia Pact.


title: Corleonesi Mafia clan

text: In February 1971, the Corleonesi clan's first boss, Luciano Leggio, ordered the kidnapping for extortion of Antonino Caruso, son of the industrialist Giacomo Caruso, and also that of the son of the builder Francesco Vassallo in Palermo. Leggio was linked to the murder of the General Attorney of Sicily, Pietro Scaglione, who was shot dead on 5 May 1971 with his police bodyguard Antonino Lo Russo. He became a fugitive, and was finally captured in Milan on 16 May 1974. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975. By the end of the 1970s, his lieutenant Salvatore Riina, who was also a fugitive, was in control of the Corleonesi clan.


title: Corleonesi Mafia clan

text: The Corleonesi's primary rivals were Stefano Bontade, Salvatore Inzerillo and Tano Badalamenti, bosses of various powerful Palermo Mafia families. Between 1981 and 1983, Bontade and Inzerillo, together with many associates and members of both their Mafia and blood families, were killed. There were up to a thousand killings during this period as Riina and the Corleonesi, together with their allies, wiped out their rivals. By the end of the war, the Corleonesi were effectively ruling the Mafia, and over the next few years Riina increased his influence by eliminating the Corleonesi's allies, such as Filippo Marchese, Giuseppe Greco and Rosario Riccobono. In February 1980, Tommaso Buscetta fled to Brazil to escape the brewing Second Mafia War instigated by Riina.


title: Corleonesi Mafia clan

text: Whereas Riina's predecessors had kept a low profile, leading some in law enforcement to question the very existence of the Mafia, Riina ordered the murders of judges, policemen and prosecutors in an attempt to terrify the authorities. A law to create a new offence of Mafia association and confiscate Mafia assets was introduced by Pio La Torre, secretary of the Italian Communist Party in Sicily, but it had been stalled in parliament for two years. La Torre was murdered on 30 April 1982. In May 1982, the Italian government sent Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, a general of the Italian Carabinieri, to Sicily with orders to crush the Mafia. However, not long after arriving, on 3 September 1982, he was gunned down in the city centre with his wife, Emanuela Setti Carraro, and his driver bodyguard, Domenico Russo. In response to public disquiet about the failure to effectively combat the organisation Riina headed, La Torre's law was passed ten days later. On 11 September 1982, Buscetta's two sons from his first wife, Benedetto and Antonio, disappeared, never to be found again, which prompted his collaboration with Italian authorities. This was followed by the deaths of his brother Vincenzo, son-in-law Giuseppe Genova, brother-in-law Pietro and four of his nephews, Domenico and Benedetto Buscetta, and Orazio and Antonio D 'Amico. Buscetta was arrested in Sao Paulo, Brazil once again on 23 October 1983, and extradited to Italy on 28 June 1984. Buscetta asked to talk to the anti-Mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, and began his life as an informant, referred to as a "pentito".


title: Corleonesi Mafia clan

text: Buscetta was the first high-profile Sicilian Mafiosi to become an informant; he revealed that the Mafia was a single organisation led by a Commission, or "Cupola" (Dome), thereby establishing that the top tier of Mafia members were complicit in all the organisation's crimes. Buscetta helped judges Falcone and Paolo Borsellino achieve significant success in the fight against organized crime that led to 475 Mafia members indicted, and 338 convicted in the Maxi Trial.


title: Corleonesi Mafia clan

text: In an attempt to divert investigative resources away from Buscetta's key revelations, Riina ordered a terrorist-style atrocity, the 23 December 1984 Train 904 bombing; 17 people were killed and 267 wounded. It became known as the "Christmas Massacre" (Strage di Natale) and was initially attributed to political extremists. It was only several years later, when police stumbled on explosives of the same type as used in Train 904 while searching the hideout of Giuseppe Calò, that it became apparent that the Mafia had been behind the attack.


title: Corleonesi Mafia clan

text: As part of the Maxi Trial, Riina was given two life sentences "in absentia". Riina pinned his hopes on the lengthy appeal process that had frequently set convicted mafiosi free, and he suspended the campaign of murders against officials while the cases went to higher courts. When the convictions were upheld by the Supreme Court of Cassation in January 1992, the council of top bosses headed by Riina reacted by ordering the assassination of Salvatore Lima (on the grounds that he was an ally of Giulio Andreotti), and Giovanni Falcone.


title: Corleonesi Mafia clan

text: On 23 May 1992, Falcone, his wife Francesca Morvillo and three police officers died in the Capaci bombing on highway A29 outside Palermo. Two months later, Borsellino was killed along with five police officers in the entrance to his mother's apartment block by a car bomb in via D'Amelio. Both attacks were ordered by Riina. Ignazio Salvo, who had advised Riina against killing Falcone, was himself murdered on 17 September 1992. The public was outraged, both at the Mafia and also the politicians who they felt had failed adequately to protect Falcone and Borsellino. The Italian government arranged for a massive crackdown against the Mafia in response.


title: Corleonesi Mafia clan

text: News reports in May 2019, indicated that a Cosa Nostra insider revealed that John Gotti of the Gambino crime family had sent one of their explosives experts to Sicily to work with the Corleonesi. This individual allegedly helped plan the bombing that would kill Falcone. One mafia expert was surprised that the two groups would cooperate because the American Cosa Nostra was affiliated with the rivals of the Corleonesi. But another expert said the joint effort was understandable. "It may be that the Gambinos at a certain point recognised that the Corleonesi had been victorious in the war between rival families in Sicily ... there is nothing unusual in the traffic of personnel and ideas across the Atlantic ... they were cousin organisations," according to John Dickie, professor of Italian studies at University College London and the author of "Mafia Republic – Italy’s Criminal Curse".


title: Corleonesi Mafia clan

text: On 15 January 1993, Carabinieri arrested Riina at his villa in Palermo. He had been a fugitive for 23 years. After Riina's capture, a division emerged among the Corleonesi, and a series of bombings occurred by the Corleonesi against several tourist spots on the Italian mainland — the Via dei Georgofili bombing in Florence, Via Palestro massacre in Milan and the "Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano" and "Via San Teodoro" in Rome, which left 10 people dead and 93 injured as well as severe damage. In total, Riina was given 26 life sentences, and served his sentence in solitary confinement.


title: Corleonesi Mafia clan

text: Giovanni Brusca – one of Riina's hitmen who personally detonated the bomb that killed Falcone, and became a state witness (pentito) after his arrest in 1996 – has offered a controversial version of the capture of Totò Riina: a secret deal between Carabinieri officers, secret agents and Cosa Nostra bosses tired of the dictatorship of Riina’s faction of the Corleonesi. According to Brusca, Provenzano "sold" Riina in exchange for the valuable archive of compromising material that Riina held in his apartment in "Via Bernini" 52 in Palermo.


title: Corleonesi Mafia clan

text: Some investigators believed that most of those who carried out murders for Cosa Nostra answered solely to Leoluca Bagarella, and that consequently Bagarella actually wielded more power than Bernardo Provenzano, who was Riina's formal successor. Provenzano reportedly protested about the terroristic attacks, but Bagarella responded sarcastically, telling Provenzano to wear a sign saying "I don't have anything to do with the massacres".


title: Corleonesi Mafia clan

text: On June 24, 1995, Bagarella was arrested, having been a fugitive for four years. In total, Bagarella was given 13 life sentences plus 106 years and ten months, and solitary confinement for 6 years.


title: Corleonesi Mafia clan

text: Provenzano subsequently took the reins of the Corleonesi. Provenzano had been a fugitive from the law since 1963. Provenzano was finally captured on 11 April 2006, by the Italian police near his home town, Corleone. After the arrest of Provenzano, the power of the Corleonesi was decimated.


title: Corleonesi Mafia clan

text: Corleonesi affiliates were not restricted to mafiosi of Corleone. The Corleone Mafia bosses initiated “men of honour”, not necessarily from Corleone, whose status was kept hidden from the other members of the Corleone cosca and other Mafia families. Members of other Mafia families who sided with Riina and Provenzano were called Corleonesi as well, forming a coalition that dominated the Mafia in the 1980s and 1990s, that can be considered as a kind of parallel Cosa Nostra. (Giovanni Brusca from the San Giuseppe Jato Mafia family was considered to be part of the Corleonesi faction for example)


title: Corleonesi Mafia clan

text: The pentito (Mafia turncoat) Antonino Calderone provided first-hand accounts of the leaders of the Corleonesi: Luciano Leggio, Totò Riina and Bernardo Provenzano. About Leggio, Calderone said:


title: Corleonesi Mafia clan

text: "The Corleone bosses were not educated at all, but they were cunning and diabolical," Calderone said about Riina and Provenzano. "They were both clever and ferocious, a rare combination in Cosa Nostra." Calderone described Totò Riina as "unbelievably ignorant, but he had intuition and intelligence and was difficult to fathom and very hard to predict." Riina was soft spoken, highly persuasive and often highly sentimental. He followed the simple codes of the brutal, ancient world of the Sicilian countryside, where force is the only law and there is no contradiction between personal kindness and extreme ferocity. "His philosophy was that if someone’s finger hurt, it was better to cut off his whole arm just to make sure," Calderone said.


title: Patel Brothers

text: Patel Brothers, Inc. (doing business as Patel Brothers) is an Indian-American supermarket chain based in Hanover Park, Illinois. Patel Brothers is the world’s large supermarket chain serving the Indian diaspora, with 57 locations in 19 U.S. states—primarily located in the New Jersey/New York Metropolitan Area, due to its large Indian population, and with the East Windsor/Monroe Township, New Jersey location representing the world’s largest and busiest Indian grocery store outside India. Patel Brothers offers online shopping for the contiguous US through its website, which is fulfilled by its Hanover Park location. The chain was founded by brothers Mafat and Tulsi Patel and is operated by Mafat's sons, Swetal and Rakesh Patel.


title: Patel Brothers

text: Mafat lived in Bhandu, a small village in Gujarat along with his brother Tulsi before coming to Indiana University for an MBA in 1968. After finishing his business degree, he moved to Chicago to work as an engineer at Jefferson Electrical Co. Mafat found that Indian groceries were expensive and scarce in Chicago, which inspired him to start a grocery store. The first Patel Brothers store opened on Devon Street in 1974, and was operated jointly by Mafat, Tulsi and his wife Aruna, the latter two of which had immigrated from India to help with the store.


title: Patel Brothers

text: As of 2017, Patel Brothers has grown into a US$140 million chain of stores. As of 2022 on Devon Avenue in Chicago, where their first grocery store opened and remains, other shops are also part of the Patel Brothers chain: Air Tours Inc., a travel agency; Sahil, a clothing boutique meant for Indian weddings (another location in Iselin, NJ); and Annapurna Simply Vegetarian restaurant. Their former Devon Avenue businesses that closed between 2017 and 2021 included Patel's Café; Mysore Woodlands restaurant; and Patel Bros. Handicrafts and Utensils, which sold religious memorabilia and trinkets.


title: Patel Brothers

text: Patel Brothers maintains its trademarks under "PB Brands LLC", which include Dakshin, an Indian restaurant with locations in the Chicago suburbs of Schaumburg and Naperville, Illinois.


title: Patel Brothers

text: Patel Brothers is a family business. As of 2017, the retail chain's day-to-day operations are handled by Mafat's sons Swetal and Rakesh Patel, who also operate the Chicago warehouse in Skokie, Illinois. Mafat and Tulsi Patel still own the original store in Chicago and various trademarks. Tulsi Patel's daughter, Susan Patel owns Patel Bros. Handicrafts and Utensils in Chicago. Mafat's sister's sons Mahendra and Harshad operate the two New York warehouses in Queens. They have strongly built the company on the East Coast. Mafat's nephews Bharat and Jayesh manage the stores in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Texas.


title: Patel Brothers

text: After starting out in Chicago, Patel Brothers was a major success with shoppers coming from all over the United States: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, and Kansas. The retail chain has spread throughout the United States, mainly the Eastern United States. As of April 2018, the chain had 55 locations, 8 in New Jersey (notably along Oak Tree Road in Edison and Iselin, which has three locations), 6 in Texas, 4 in New York, Florida, and Illinois each, and the rest are spread throughout the eastern United States with only two locations in the western United States: one store in Santa Clara near San Jose, California, and a second in Chandler, Arizona, near Phoenix. Patel Brothers are generally located in retail parks along with other stores and restaurants. As of 2022, the largest and busiest store is the ultramodern branch located in East Windsor, New Jersey, which includes an outdoor pani puri bar.


title: Patel Brothers

text: The locations in Iselin, New Jersey east of the Garden State Parkway, Jersey City, New Jersey, North Brunswick, New Jersey and Ridgeland, Mississippi operate under the cash and carry concept. Several Patel Brothers locations including the McKinney, Texas; Naperville, Illinois; and Monroeville, Pennsylvania stores have green and yellow auto rickshaws near the store to maintain India's cultural identity in America. Some locations go by names other than Patel Brothers: the Ridgeland, Mississippi store operates under the name Patel Grocery and the Manchester, Connecticut store operates under the name Patel Foods. Patel Brothers is not affiliated with the gas station called Patel's Grocery in Homer, Georgia, Shah and Patel Indian Burmese grocery store in Rockville, Maryland, or Patel Foods Indo-Pak grocery store in Overland Park, Kansas. The reason why many Indian grocery stores have similar names to Patel Brothers is that PB Brands, LLC only has trademarks for the names "Patel Brothers", "Patel's", and "Patel's Cash and Carry".


title: Patel Brothers

text: Mahatma Gandhi District in Houston, India Square in Jersey City, New Jersey, and Patel Plaza (retail park leased by Patel Brothers) in Decatur, Georgia, where they are located in ethnic enclaves known as Little India, next to many other Indian restaurants and stores.


title: Patel Brothers

text: Previously in Canada, Patel Brothers used to operate three stores in the Greater Toronto Area in Scarborough, Etobicoke, and Mississauga, which are now operated by Canada-based Panchvati Supermarket, and a store in Sugar Land in Greater Houston.


title: Patel Brothers

text: After Mafat and Tulsi Patel started their career as grocers they changed gears toward prepackaged ethnic foods. In 1991, they introduced a variety of authentic foods under the umbrella of Raja Foods LLC, which supplies for 60% of Patel Brothers products. Raja Foods LLC operates under seven brands, three of which are Patel Brothers original brands:


title: Patel Brothers

text: Patel Brothers sells South Asian cuisine including Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi food products. Their products include beverages, canned and packaged goods, condiments, ghee and oil, grains, health and beauty products, instant mix, kitchen products, lentils and beans, ready to eat food, Indian snacks, South Asian sweets, spices, spice blends, and spiritual items.


title: Patel Brothers

text: In December 2017, Patel Brothers co-founder Mafat Patel was featured in Zee TV's "Those Who Made It" Season Finale.


title: Flag of North Carolina

text: The flag of the state of North Carolina, often referred to as the North Carolina flag, N.C. flag, or North Star, is the state flag of the U.S. state of North Carolina.


title: Flag of North Carolina

text: North Carolina did not have an official state flag until the North Carolinian state constitutional convention of 1861. During this convention, delegates voted to join the Confederacy. They established a committee to come up with a flag. This flag was ratified by the convention on June 22, 1861. The flag consisted of a red field with a white star in the center. Inscribed above the star was the date May 20, 1775, the controversial date of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. Inscribed below the star in a semi-circular form was the date May 20, 1861, which was the date North Carolina declared it had seceded from the Union. The flag also contain two bars of equal width, one in blue and one in white. The design is similar to one suggested by Raleigh artist William G. Browne.


title: Flag of North Carolina

text: During the American Civil War, secessionist leaders spoke of the Mecklenburg Declaration with reverence, attempting to connect it with the state's joining the Confederacy. Confederate leader Jefferson Davis spoke to a Charlotte crowd in September 1864, saying "people of this section were the first to defy British authority and declare themselves free" encouraging them to continue backing the Confederacy's civil war effort.


title: Flag of North Carolina

text: A former Confederate soldier and Adjutant General of North Carolina (18771888), Johnston Jones, introduced the bill which led the state legislature to adopt a new flag in March 1885, to replace the flag that had been adopted on June 22, 1861. The red field of the old flag was replaced by a blue field. This was the first and only flag formally representing the State of North Carolina as part of the United States.


title: Flag of North Carolina

text: The flag of the State of North Carolina was adopted by statute of the North Carolina General Assembly in 1885. It is defined in the general Statute 144-1 as follows:


title: Flag of North Carolina

text: On June 24, 1991, a bill was passed by the North Carolina Senate that changed the official proportions of the state flag. It changed from "… the total length of the flag shall be one-third more than its width" as written in the 1885 act to "… the total length of the flag shall be one-half more than its width."


title: Flag of North Carolina

text: It bears the dates of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence (May 20, 1775) and of the Halifax Resolves (April 12, 1776), documents that place North Carolina at the forefront of the American independence movement. Both dates also appear on the Seal of North Carolina.


title: Recopa Sudamericana

text: The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana (), known also as the Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as the Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1988. It is a match-up between the champions of the previous year's Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana, South America's premier club competitions.


title: Recopa Sudamericana

text: The competition has had several formats over its lifetime. Initially, the champions of the Copa Libertadores and Supercopa Libertadores contested it. In 1998, the Supercopa Libertadores was discontinued and the "Recopa" went into a hiatus. The competition has been disputed with either a presently-used two-legged series or a single match-up at a neutral venue. Together with the aforementioned tournaments, a club has the chance to win the "CONMEBOL Treble" all in one year or season. However, if the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana are won by the same team, then according to the Copa Libertadores regulations Article 1.7, both competitions' runners-up will play one or two matches in order to decide the team which will play in the Recopa.


title: Recopa Sudamericana

text: The most recent champion of the competition is Brazilian club Palmeiras, after beating Athletico Paranaense in the 2022 edition. Argentine club Boca Juniors is the most successful club in the cup history, having won the tournament four times. Brazilian clubs have accumulated the most victories with eleven wins while Brazil has the most different winning teams, with eight clubs having won the title. The cup has been won by 17 clubs and won consecutively by four clubs: São Paulo, LDU Quito, Boca Juniors and River Plate successfully defended the title in 1994, 2010, 2006, and 2016, respectively.


title: Recopa Sudamericana

text: When the Supercopa Sudamericana was created in 1988, a new continental Super Cup competition in South America became viable. CONMEBOL named the new competition "Recopa Sudamericana" after the defunct Recopa Sudamericana de Clubes played in 1970 and 1971. The Recopa Sudamericana, disputed between the winners of South America's two premier club competitions, is not related chronologically to the Recopa Sudamericana, created in 1968 which was contested between former South American winners of the Intercontinental Cup, Recopa Sudamericana de Clubes, disputed among Cup winners of South America. The first edition was played in 1989 and pitted Uruguayan club Nacional and Argentinian side Racing. Played on two legs, Nacional managed to win the trophy after winning 4–1 on points. Due to schedule dilemmas and political issues, the 1990 edition was played in Miami between Atlético Nacional and Boca Juniors with the latter winning 0–1. Olimpia of Paraguay would win the Recopa Sudamericana without the need to dispute a match as the "Decano" won both the Copa Libertadores and Supercopa Sudamericana. CONMEBOL declared Olimpia the automatic winners of the 1991 competition.


title: Recopa Sudamericana

text: In 1992, and from 1994 to 1997, the competition was played in Japan. Colo-Colo of Chile defeated Cruzeiro 5–4 on penalties after a 0–0 tie in the 1992 final. Staying true to the winning ways of the "Paulista's" golden generation, São Paulo won the 1993 and 1994 finals to become the first team to retain the title. Due to schedule congestion, the 1993 finals were played as part of the Campeonato Brasileiro and it also became the first "Recopa" to feature two teams from the same nation. In a second, consecutive all-Brazilian final, São Paulo successfully defended the trophy against Botafogo. Since São Paulo won both the Copa Libertadores and Supercopa Sudamericana, CONMEBOL had Copa CONMEBOL winners Botafogo dispute the Recopa Sudamericana only to lose 3–1 to the defending champions.


title: Recopa Sudamericana

text: Argentina managed to emulate their northern neighbors with the 1995 edition being an all-Argentinian affair. Independiente, led by Jorge Burruchaga, managed to consecrate themselves winners after defeating Carlos Bianchi's legendary Vélez Sársfield 1–0 in Tokyo. Independiente participated in a second, consecutive final only to lose the title to Grêmio after being defeated 4–1. The 1997 edition was won by a Vélez Sársfield team that bowed out from the international limelight with their last title. Having failed to win the trophy in 1992 and 1993, Cruzeiro comfortably won the 1998 edition that was played as part of the Copa Mercosur. This final series was played two years after the participating teams won their corresponding qualifying tournaments.


title: Recopa Sudamericana

text: At the end of the 1998 season, CONMEBOL discontinued the Supercopa Sudamericana. As a result of not having an important, secondary tournament, the Recopa Sudamericana went into a hiatus from 1999 until 2002. However, the introduction of the new Copa Sudamericana revitalized the competition with Olimpia winning the 2003 final in Los Angeles. Played on a neutral venue for the second year in a row, Cienciano defeated Boca Juniors on penalties to win their second international title. From 2005 onwards, the Recopa Sudamericana would be played on a home-and-away basis.


title: Recopa Sudamericana

text: In a rematch of the Copa Libertadores final of 2004, Boca Juniors avenged that defeat as they beat Once Caldas 4–3 on aggregate. A year later, Boca Juniors faced São Paulo, both two-time winners of the competition, in order to determine who would become the first . The "Xeneizes" won 4–1 on points and successfully defended the title, becoming the first side since Telê Santana's São Paulo to win consecutive "Recopas". Internacional became the first Brazilian side to lift the trophy in nine years. The 2008 competition saw Boca Juniors win their fourth title to become joint leaders for most international titles won by a club in a last hurrah on the international scene. LDU Quito won their second international title as they thumped Internacional 6–0 on points and 4–0 on goal aggregate to win their first ever title. LDU Quito then successfully defended their title in 2010 against Estudiantes. They became the third team to successfully defend the title.


title: Recopa Sudamericana

text: Unlike most other competitions around the world, the Recopa Sudamericana do not use extra time, an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw, or away goals, a method of breaking ties in football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground, to decide a tie that was level on aggregate.


title: Recopa Sudamericana

text: From 1988 to 1995, teams would be awarded 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss). From 1995 onwards, the "three points for a win" standard, a system adopted by FIFA in 1995 that places additional value on wins, was adopted in CONMEBOL, with teams now earning 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss. If both teams are level on points after two legs, goal difference would come into play. Penalty kicks was used to determine a winner if the match was tied on goal difference.


title: Recopa Sudamericana

text: Since the competition takes place in the mid-winter, it's disputed between the champions of the previous year's aforementioned competitions. Because of this, some count the year of the championship by the qualification year rather than that of the competition itself. Thus, CONMEBOL states that Nacional from Uruguay won the first Recopa of 1989, whereas the RSSSF refers to that championship as Recopa 1988.


title: Recopa Sudamericana

text: The Recopa Sudamericana trophy is retained by CONMEBOL at all times. A full-size replica trophy is awarded to the winning club. Thirty gold medals are presented to the winning club and thirty silver medals to the runners-up.


title: Recopa Sudamericana

text: The Recopa Sudamericana trophy has not undergone many changes in its history. The trophy consists of a gold-coated body with a pedestal. The body consists of an Adidas Tango ball, a successful family and brand of association footballs. It was first introduced as the "Tango Durlast" in 1978 for the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina. The ball is hoisted by a golden, cylindrical body with four quadrilateral edges sticking out of the body at 45 degrees from each other. The pedestal is separated into two parts; the top part of the pedestal consists of the CONMEBOL emblem. The bottom part of the pedestal contains a gold badge underneath the CONMEBOL emblem with the phrase, "RECOPA", imprinted into it. To the left and right, badges of previous winners are placed.


title: Recopa Sudamericana

text: A team which wins 3 times in a row, receives an original copy of the trophy and a special mark of recognition.