title: Gloria Steinem

text: The Gloria Steinem Papers are held in the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College, under collection number MS 237.


title: Gloria Steinem

text: The play "Gloria: A Life", about Steinem's life, opened October 2018 at the Daryl Roth Theatre, directed by Diane Paulus.


title: Gloria Steinem

text: "The Glorias" is an American biographical film about Steinem which premiered in 2020. In the film, she is played by four actresses who portray her life at various ages: Ryan Kiera Armstrong as a child, Lulu Wilson as a teen, Alicia Vikander between the ages of 20 and 40, and Julianne Moore as an older woman.


title: Gloria Steinem

text: In 2020, Steinem was portrayed by Rose Byrne in the FX miniseries "Mrs. America", depicting the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).


title: Medellín Cartel

text: The Medellín Cartel () was a powerful and highly organized Colombian drug cartel and terrorist organization originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia that was founded and led by Pablo Escobar. It is often considered the first major "drug cartel" and was referred to as such (a "cartel") due to the organization's upper echelons being built on a partnership between multiple Colombian traffickers operating alongside Escobar. Included were Jorge Luis Ochoa Vásquez, Juan David Ochoa Vásquez, José Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha and Carlos Lehder. The cartel operated from 1967 to 1993 in Bolivia, Colombia, Panama, Central America, Peru, the Bahamas, the United States (which included cities such as Los Angeles and Miami), as well as in Canada. Although the organization started out as a smuggling network in the late 1960s, it wasn't until 1976 that the organization turned to trafficking cocaine. This was a result of Escobar getting introduced to the lucrative idea of cocaine smuggling by fellow Colombian trafficker Griselda Blanco. At the height of its operations, the Medellín Cartel smuggled multiple tons of cocaine each week into countries around the world and brought in up to US$60 million daily in drug profits.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: Although notorious for once dominating the illegal cocaine trade, the organization, particularly in its later years was also noted for its use of violence for political aims and its asymmetric war against the Colombian government, primarily in the form of bombings, kidnappings, indiscriminate murder of law enforcement and political assassination. At its height, the Medellín Cartel was the largest drug cartel in the world and smuggled three times as much cocaine as their main competitor, the Cali Cartel, an international drug-trafficking organization based in the Valle del Cauca department of Colombia. Traditionally, Pablo and the Medellín Cartel had an arrangement with the Cali Cartel that resulted in Medellín controlling the cocaine trade in Miami, Cali controlling New York City, while both of them agreed to share Los Angeles and Houston. At this time, the Medellín Cartel was generating over $5 billion annually.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: In the late 1970s, the illegal cocaine trade became a significant problem for law enforcement and became a major source of profit for criminals, particularly smugglers. Drug lord Pablo Escobar provided protection to other smugglers who partnered with him and distributed cocaine for the cartel in New York City and later Miami, establishing a crime network that, at its height, trafficked around 300 kilos per day. During the cartel's zenith, Escobar oversaw the import of large shipments of coca paste from Andean nations such as Peru and Bolivia into Colombia, where it was then processed into cocaine hydrochloride (powdered cocaine) in jungle labs before being flown into the United States in amounts of up to 15 tons per day.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: In 1973, there was a military coup in Chile which led to a strong crack down on Chilean drug traffickers. This caused drug traffickers to have to use different routes; namely, a route now ran through the heart of Colombia. Around the same time, the prevalence and social acceptance of contraband in Colombia was at an all-time high. In conjunction, these two points helped spark the creation of the Medellin Cartel in 1967.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: By 1982, cocaine surpassed coffee as the chief Colombian export. Around this time in the early 1980s, kidnappings made by guerrilla groups. led the State to collaborate with criminal groups like those formed by Escobar and the Ochoas. The abduction of Carlos Lehder as well as the 1981 kidnapping of the sister of the Ochoas led to the creation of cartel-funded private armies that were created to fight off guerrillas who were trying to either redistribute their lands to local peasants, kidnap them, or extort the "gramaje" money that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia or FARC) attempted to steal.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: At the end of 1981 and the beginning of 1982, members of the Medellín Cartel, Cali Cartel, the Colombian military, the U.S.-based corporation Texas Petroleum, the Colombian legislature, small industrialists, and wealthy cattle ranchers came together in a series of meetings in Puerto Boyacá and formed a paramilitary organization known as "Muerte a Secuestradores" ("Death to Kidnappers", MAS) to defend their economic interests, and to provide protection for local elites from kidnappings and extortion. By 1983, Colombian internal affairs had registered 240 political killings by MAS death squads, mostly community leaders, elected officials, and farmers.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: The following year, the "Asociación Campesina de Ganaderos y Agricultores del Magdalena Medio" ("Association of Middle Magdalena Ranchers and Farmers", ACDEGAM) was created to handle both the logistics and the public relations of the organization, and to provide a legal front for various paramilitary groups. ACDEGAM worked to promote anti-labor policies, and threatened anyone involved with organizing for labor or peasants' rights. The threats were backed up by the MAS, which would attack or assassinate anyone who was suspected of being a "subversive". ACDEGAM also built schools whose stated purpose was the creation of a "patriotic and anti-Communist" educational environment, and built roads, bridges, and health clinics. Paramilitary recruiting, weapons storage, communications, propaganda, and medical services were all run out of ACDEGAM headquarters.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: By the mid-1980s, ACDEGAM and MAS had undergone significant growth. In 1985, Pablo Escobar began funneling large amounts of cash into the organization to pay for equipment, training, and weaponry. Money for social projects was cut off and redirected towards strengthening the MAS. Modern battle rifles, such as the AKM, FN FAL, Galil, and HK G3, were purchased from the military, INDUMIL, and drug-funded private sales. The organization had computers and ran a communications center that worked in coordination with the state telecommunications office. They had 30 pilots, and an assortment of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. British, Israeli, and U.S. military instructors were hired to teach at paramilitary training centers.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: Following this time in the mid-80s, Escobar's hold on Medellín further increased when he founded a criminal debt collection service known as the “Oficina de Envigado.” This was an office in the town hall of Envigado, a small municipality next to Medellín where Escobar grew up. Escobar used the municipal office to collect debts owed to him by drug traffickers and set the “sicarios” or hired killers on those who refused. Escobar was known to flaunt his wealth and went on to make Forbes' Billionaires list for seven years straight, between 1987 and 1993. His luxurious multimillion-dollar “Hacienda Nápoles" estate had its own zoo, and he reportedly ate from solid gold dinner sets. Escobar was known for investing profits from the drug trade in luxury goods, property, and works of art. He is also reported to have stashed his cash in “hidden coves,” allegedly burying it on his farms and under floors in many of his houses.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: During the Cold War last years, the number of left-wing guerrillas spread in Latin America skyrocketed. The conflicts between them and the right-wing paramilitaries groups and dictatorships, mostly backed by CIA, made the Cartel's search for new allies while it was forced to be involved in corruption outside Colombia for political protection.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: Once U.S. authorities were made aware of "questionable activities", the group was put under Federal Drug Task Force surveillance. Evidence was gathered, compiled, and presented to a grand jury, resulting in indictments, arrests, and prison sentences for those convicted in the United States. However, very few Colombian cartel leaders were actually taken into custody as a result of these operations. Mostly, non-Colombians conspiring with the cartel were the "fruits" of these indictments in the United States.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: Most Colombians targeted, as well as those named in such indictments, lived and stayed in Colombia, or fled before indictments were unsealed. However, by 1993 most, if not all, cartel fugitives had been either imprisoned, or located and shot dead, by the Colombian National Police trained and assisted by specialized military units and the CIA.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: The last of Escobar's lieutenants to be assassinated was Juan Diego Arcila Henao, who had been released from a Colombian prison in 2002 and hidden in Venezuela to avoid the vengeance of "Los Pepes". However he was shot and killed in his Jeep Cherokee as he exited the parking area of his home in Cumaná, Venezuela, in April 2007.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: While it is broadly believed that Los Pepes have been instrumental in the assassination of the cartel's members over the last 21 years, it is still in dispute whether the mantle is just a screen designed to deflect political repercussions from both the Colombian and United States governments' involvement in these assassinations.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: The Kerry Committee report had reached the conclusion that the CIA provided the political protection for the Contras to smuggle cocaine into the US, as the money from these operations was employed in the fight against the Sandinista government. Also the same report made public that Juan Matta-Ballesteros, the link between the Medellin Cartel and the Guadalajara one and responsible for most of cocaine logistics from Colombia to Mexico, was collaborating with the Contras, sending weapons, general supplies and the cocaine itself - this leads to the conclusion that the cocaine supplied to the Contras was Medellin Cartel's product.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: Things began changing after the report was published as the CIA was forced to save face in the scandal. The agency blamed the cocaine smuggling to the Colombian guerrillas and explored the links between the Medellin Cartel and the left-wing organizations, making the right-wing paramilitaries in Colombia turn against the Medellin Cartel, helping forming the Los Pepes death squad. This would also allow the CIA to participate more directly in the Colombian armed conflict.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: Another action from the CIA to clean its image was the removal of support for Manuel Noriega, who was prosecuted for conspiracy with drug smuggling activities between 1989 and 1990. The CIA, once one of Noriega's allies, was one of the minds back the Operation Just Cause, which effectively ended Noriega's term and led to his arrest. The end of the Panamian connection was one of the hardest hits on the Cartel operations, speeding up its decline.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: The Carlos Lehder's Norman's Cay strategy was shut down in 1982 after the Bahamian government started chasing the drug traffic. Hence, Central America was the path chosen by the Cartel to reach the US. In 1985, the DEA, knowing about Barry Seal ties with both the Medellin Cartel, made the pilot take pictures of the cartel's landing stripes in Nicaragua. The DEA prior investigation appointed that the cartel had the protection from the FSLN, the Sandinist party, to use Nicaragua as a "warehouse" for Matta-Ballesteros' logistic operation for either Medellin and Guadalajara cartels.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: Knowing Seal's activity as a DEA informant, the cartel put a contract on him, having him murdered in February 1986. In March 16 the same year, during a TV national address, the president of the United States Ronald Reagan used surveillance pictures taken on Seal's undercover mission that showed Escobar, Gacha, the Nicaraguan government official Federico Vaughan and several other men loading a plane with cocaine.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: After Manuel Noriega arrest, the DEA and FBI got several tips linking the former dictator to the Medellin Cartel. The Nicaraguan and Colombian conflicts in remote areas could make both countries unsafe to operate, and the cartel was searching for new places to use as a stopover. Manoel Noriega, in exchange of bribes and share on profits, agreed using Panama as another stopover for the cartel logistics. Also, the links between him and the Cartel ensured that Panama could be a hideout for the group leadership and that the government would ignore their money laundering operations in the country.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: The CIA turned a blind eye to the link between Medellin Cartel and Noriega, as he had an aggressive anticommunist policy. However, the agency stopped supporting Noriega after his ties with the Cartel came to public.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: During the 1980 decade, the decrease and later end of Soviet Union subsidies almost wiped out Cuban economy. During Manuel Noriega judgement, Carlos Lehder, the Cartel's responsible for ensuring that the cocaine would reach Florida, testified that, as the drug smuggling to the USA was doing billions of dollars, the Cuban intelligence helped managing Nicaraguan operations and the island's government agreed using Cuba as one of the stopovers for the Cartel. This was made with knowledge of the Castro Brothers, having the younger, Raúl, met with Lehder.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: Perhaps the greatest threat posed to the Medellín Cartel and the other traffickers was the implementation of an extradition treaty between the United States and Colombia. It allowed Colombia to extradite to the US any Colombian suspected of drug trafficking and to be tried there for their crimes. This was a major problem for the cartel, since the drug traffickers had little access to their local power and influence in the US, and a trial there would most likely lead to imprisonment. Among the staunch supporters of the extradition treaty were Colombian Justice Minister Rodrigo Lara (who was pushing for more action against the drug cartels), Police Officer Jaime Ramírez, and numerous Colombian Supreme Court judges.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: However, the cartel applied a "bend or break" strategy towards several of these supporters, using bribery, extortion, or violence. Nevertheless, when police efforts began to cause major losses, some of the major drug lords themselves were temporarily pushed out of Colombia, forcing them into hiding from which they ordered cartel members to take out key supporters of the extradition treaty.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: The cartel issued death threats to the Supreme Court Judges, asking them to denounce the Extradition Treaty. The warnings were ignored.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: This led Escobar and the group he called "Los Extraditables" ("The Extraditables") to start a violent campaign to pressure the Colombian government by committing a series of kidnappings, murders, and narco-terrorist actions.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: In November 1985, 35 heavily armed members of the M-19 guerrilla group stormed the Colombian Supreme Court in Bogotá, leading to the Palace of Justice siege. Some claimed at the time that the cartel's influence was behind the M-19's raid, because of its interest in intimidating the Supreme Court. Others state that the alleged cartel-guerrilla relationship was unlikely to occur at the time because the two organizations had been having several standoffs and confrontations, like the kidnappings by M-19 of drug lord Carlos Lehder and of Marta Nieves Ochoa, the sister of Juan David Ochoa. These kidnappings led to the creation of the MAS/"Muerte a Secuestradores" ("Death to Kidnappers") paramilitary group by Pablo Escobar. Former guerrilla members have also denied that the cartel had any part in this event. The issue continues to be debated inside Colombia.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: As a means of intimidation, the cartel conducted thousands of assassinations throughout the country. Escobar and his associates made it clear that whoever stood against them would risk being killed along with their families. Some estimates put the total around 3,500 killed during the height of the cartel's activities, including over 500 police officers in Medellín, but the entire list is impossible to assemble, due to the limitation of the judiciary power in Colombia. The following is a brief list of the most notorious assassinations conducted by the cartel:


title: Medellín Cartel

text: Miguel Maza Márquez was targeted in the DAS Building Bombing, resulting in the death of 52 civilians caught in the blast. Miguel escaped unharmed.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: In 1993, shortly before Escobar's death, the cartel lieutenants were also targeted by the vigilante group Los Pepes (or PEPES, People Persecuted by Pablo Escobar).


title: Medellín Cartel

text: With the assassination of Juan Diego Arcila Henao in 2007, most if not all of Escobar's lieutenants who were not in prison had been killed by the Colombian National Police Search Bloc (trained and assisted by U.S. Delta Force and CIA operatives), or by the Los Pepes vigilantes.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: DEA agents considered that their four-pronged "Kingpin Strategy", specifically targeting senior cartel figures, was a major contributing factor to the collapse of the organization.


title: Medellín Cartel

text: La Oficina de Envigado is believed to be a partial successor to the Medellín organization. It was founded by Don Berna as an enforcement wing for the Medellín Cartel. When Don Berna fell out with Escobar, La Oficina caused Escobar's rivals to oust Escobar. The organization then inherited the Medellín turf and its criminal connections in the US, Mexico, and the UK, and began to affiliate with the paramilitary United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, organizing drug trafficking operations on their behalf.


title: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

text: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (also known as Hotel Transylvania 4) is a 2022 American computer-animated adventure comedy film produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation and released by Amazon Studios. The fourth and final installment in the "Hotel Transylvania" franchise and the sequel to "" (2018), the film is directed by Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska (in their respective feature-length directorial debuts) from a screenplay by Amos Vernon, Nunzio Randazzo and Genndy Tartakovsky (who directed the prior three films). It stars the voices of Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez (who also served as an executive producer alongside Tartakovsky and Michelle Murdocca), Kathryn Hahn, Jim Gaffigan, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, David Spade, Keegan-Michael Key, Brian Hull, Fran Drescher, Brad Abrell, Asher Blinkoff, Tyler "Ninja" Blevins and Zoe Berri. In the film, Dracula and Johnny, who transformed into a human and monster, must find the way to South America to revert, before their transformations become permanent.


title: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

text: Originally planned to be released theatrically in the United States on October 1, 2021, Sony Pictures Releasing cancelled the film's release plans and sold the film's distribution rights to Amazon Studios for $100 million, due to rising cases of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant in the United States. The film was released exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on January 14, 2022 and theatrically in China on April 3. The film received mixed reviews from critics.


title: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

text: During the celebration of the 125th anniversary of Hotel Transylvania, Mavis overhears Dracula's plans to retire and leave the hotel to her and Johnny. She tells Johnny who excitedly tells Dracula his plans to renovate the hotel. Worried about Johnny ruining the hotel, Dracula lies to him saying that there is a "monster real-estate law" which only lets monsters own the hotel, disappointing Johnny.


title: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

text: Van Helsing decides to help Johnny using a ray that turns humans into monsters and vice versa; after testing it on his guinea pig Gigi, he uses it on Johnny who turns into a dragon-like monster. Learning about monster Johnny, Dracula tries to turn him back to normal, but accidentally turns himself into a human and breaks the ray's crystal. Van Helsing tells Dracula and Johnny that they can still turn themselves back to normal by getting a new crystal which lies in the Cave of Reflexion in South America, so Dracula and Johnny set off to do so.


title: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

text: Dracula's friends Frank, Wayne, Griffin and Murray end up becoming humans as well, as a result of drinking from a fountain that was contaminated by the ray. Mavis and Ericka confront Van Helsing after learning about Dracula and Johnny's whereabouts in the news, but he warns them about the effects of the ray, as humans who become monsters continue to mutate and become more hostile as time goes on. With this in mind, the rest of the gang head to South America to find Dracula and Johnny.


title: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

text: While traveling through the South American jungle, Dracula and Johnny begin to bond, and Dracula eventually begins to confess that he lied about the monster real-estate law, but the rest of the group find them. Things turn sour when Dracula admits his deception regarding passing over the hotel to Mavis and Johnny. This prompts an upset Johnny to believe Dracula does not consider him family and to mutate further before running away.


title: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

text: Mavis goes to find Johnny while Dracula and the rest of the gang go to the Cave of Reflexion. Mavis finds Johnny, but the transformation has turned him very volatile. She leads him to the Cave of Reflexion where they finally find the crystal. When Mavis tries to turn Johnny back to normal, nothing happens due to him being too frenzied. In desperation, Dracula lets himself get captured by Johnny and goes on a remorseful tangent about how wrong he was about Johnny and how he now sees the best in him, finally acknowledging him as family. This brings Johnny back to his senses, and he is returned to human form.


title: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

text: With Dracula and his friends turned back to normal, they return home only to find the hotel has been destroyed by Gigi. After turning Gigi back to normal, Dracula bemoans his loss. He soon decides to let Mavis and Johnny rebuild the hotel to their liking.


title: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

text: One year later, Mavis and Johnny show Dracula the re-built Hotel Transylvania which he comes to enjoy.


title: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

text: In February 2019, Sony Pictures Animation announced that a fourth film had been in development. In October 2019, Genndy Tartakovsky confirmed that he would not direct the film. In September 2020, Jennifer Kluska and Derek Drymon, a storyboard artist on the first two "Hotel Transylvania" sequels and a former crew member of "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "Adventure Time", respectively, were confirmed to be the film's directors, while Tartakovsky would write the screenplay and serve as an executive producer alongside Selena Gomez, who voices Mavis in the series. Production took place remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

text: In April 2021, the film's title was revealed to be "Hotel Transylvania: Transformania" and was confirmed that it would be the final film in the franchise. That same month, Sony confirmed that Adam Sandler would not reprise his role as Dracula. The role was given to Brian Hull after voicing the character in the short film "Monster Pets", while Kathryn Hahn, Steve Buscemi, David Spade, and Keegan-Michael Key were confirmed to reprise their roles. The following month, it was announced that Brad Abrell had replaced Kevin James as the voice of Frankenstein. Mark Mothersbaugh returned to score the film, having previously scored the first three installments, while Lynn Hobson served as editor.


title: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

text: "Hotel Transylvania: Transformania" was released by Amazon Studios on Prime Video, on January 14, 2022. In February 2019, Sony Pictures Releasing scheduled the film for release on December 22, 2021. In April 2020, the film was moved up to August 6, 2021. In April 2021, the film was moved up again to July 23, 2021. In June 2021, the film was rescheduled to October 1, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

text: In August 2021, Sony Pictures cancelled the film's theatrical plans and entered discussions to sell the distribution rights to a streaming service, in response to the rising cases of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant in the United States. On August 16, 2021, it was reported that Amazon Studios was in negotiations to acquire the distribution rights to the film for $100 million from Sony and would release it exclusively on Amazon Prime Video worldwide, excluding China, where Sony would release it theatrically on an undetermined date. Sony would also retain home entertainment and linear television rights to the film. On October 6, 2021, Amazon set a release date of January 14, 2022.


title: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

text: The film had a limited theatrical release on February 25, 2022. On March 7, 2022, it was announced that the film would have a theatrical release in China beginning April 3 of that year.


title: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

text: The film was nominated for an Children's & Family Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Special Class Animated Program" and "Outstanding Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for an Animated Program".


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: Kaliningrad Oblast () is the westernmost federal subject of Russia. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The largest city and administrative centre of the province (oblast) is the city of Kaliningrad, formerly known as Königsberg. The port city of Baltiysk is Russia's only port on the Baltic Sea that remains ice-free in winter. Kaliningrad Oblast had a population of roughly 1 million in the Russian Census of 2010.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: The oblast is bordered by Poland to the south, Lithuania to the north and east and the Baltic Sea to the north-west. The territory was formerly the northern part of the Prussian province of East Prussia; the remaining southern part of the province is today part of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in Poland. With the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, the territory was annexed to the Russian SFSR by the Soviet Union. Following the post-war migration and flight and expulsion of Germans, the territory was populated with mostly Russians.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: The territory of what is now the Kaliningrad Oblast used to be inhabited by the Old Prussians and other Western Balts, prior to the Teutonic conquest in the early Late Middle Ages. The Old Prussians became extinct due to Germanisation in the first half of the 18th century. The Lithuanian-inhabited areas of the Teutonic State were known as Lithuania Minor, which encompassed all of modern Kaliningrad Oblast until the 18th century.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: In the 13th century, the Teutonic Order conquered the region and established a monastic state. In 1255, on the foundations of a destroyed Sambian settlement known as , the Teutonic Order founded the city of Königsberg (modern Kaliningrad), naming it in honour of Ottokar II of Bohemia.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: The Northern Crusades, including the Lithuanian Crusade, were partly motivated by colonization. The German colonist peasants, craftsmen and merchants were predominantly concentrated in the southern part of the Teutonic State and did not move into Nadruvia and Skalvia due to the Lithuanian military threat.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: After Poland's victory in the Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466) with the Second Peace of Thorn, the State of the Teutonic Order became a vassal of the Kingdom of Poland. During this war, the capital of the Teutonic state was moved from Marienburg (now Malbork) to Königsberg in 1457. Following the war, Royal Prussia was established on part of the Teutonic Order's territory. When the rulers of the Duchy of Prussia were vassals of the King of Poland, which was the case from 1466 to 1660, there were few German colonists.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: After the Teutonic Order lost the war of 1519–1521 with Poland, the Teutonic Order remained a vassal of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1525, Grand Master Albert of Brandenburg secularized the Teutonic Order's Prussian branch and established himself as ruler of the Duchy of Prussia. Königsberg was the residence of the Duke of Prussia from 1525 until 1701. It was the Duchy of Prussia's capital until 1660, when the capital moved to Berlin The Duchy of Prussia was the first Protestant state in Europe.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: In 1577, the Duke of Prussia forbade serfs, who were mostly Old Prussians, Lithuanians, Masurians, to leave the land that was the property of the German knights who became proprietary nobles.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: During the Seven Years' War it was occupied by the Russian Empire. The region was reorganized into the Province of East Prussia within the Kingdom of Prussia in 1773. The territory of the Kaliningrad Oblast lies in the northern part of East Prussia. The territory was briefly occupied and annexed by Russia in 1758 during the Seven years War before being returned to Prussia in 1762 when Russia switched sides in the war.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: After the defeats of Jena–Auerstedt, the Kingdom of Prussia was invaded and Berlin was occupied by the French. The Court of Prussia fled to Königsberg, asking for Russian help. Russia interfered and this led to the bloody battle of Eylau and battle of Friedland in 1807. The French won and signed the Treaties of Tilsit.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: In 1817, East Prussia had 796,204 Protestants, 120,123 Roman Catholics, 2,389 Jews, and 864 Mennonites.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: In 1824, shortly before its merger with West Prussia, the population of East Prussia was 1,080,000 people. According to Karl Andree, Germans were slightly more than half of the people, while 280,000 (~26%) were ethnically Polish and 200,000 (~19%) were ethnically Lithuanian. As of 1819 there were also 20,000 strong ethnic Curonian and Latvian minorities as well as 2,400 Jews, according to Georg Hassel. Similar numbers are given by August von Haxthausen in his 1839 book, with a breakdown by county. However, the majority of East Prussian Polish and Lithuanian inhabitants were Lutherans, not Roman Catholics like their ethnic kinsmen across the border in the Russian Empire. Only in Southern Warmia (German: Ermland) Catholic Poles – so called Warmians (not to be confused with predominantly Protestant Masurians) – comprised the majority of population, numbering 26,067 people (~81%) in county Allenstein (Polish: Olsztyn) in 1837. Another minority in 19th-century East Prussia, were ethnically Russian Old Believers, also known as Philipponnen – their main town was Eckersdorf (Wojnowo).


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: East Prussia was an important centre of German culture. Many important figures, such as Immanuel Kant and E. T. A. Hoffmann, came from this region. Despite being heavily damaged during World War II and thereafter, the oblast's cities still contain examples of German architecture. The Jugendstil style showcases the rich German history and cultural importance of the area.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: By the early 20th century, Lithuanians formed a majority only in rural parts of north-eastern East Prussia (Memelland and Prussian Lithuania). The same was true of the Latvian-speaking Kursenieki who had settled the coast of East Prussia between Gdańsk and Klaipėda. The rest of the area, except the Polish Masurians in Mazury (southern Prussia), was overwhelmingly German-speaking.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: The Memel Territory (Klaipėda region), formerly part of north-eastern East Prussia as well as Prussian Lithuania, was annexed by Lithuania in 1923. In 1938, Nazi Germany radically renamed about a third of the place names of this area, replacing Old Prussian and Lithuanian names with newly invented German names.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: In September 1914, after hostilities began between Germany on the one hand and France and Russia on the other, the Reich was about to seize Paris, and the French urged Russia to attack East Prussia. Nicholas II launched a major attack, resulting in a Russian victory in the Battle of Gumbinnen. The Russian army arrived at the outskirts of the city of Königsberg but did not take it and settled at Insterburg. This Russian victory and East Prussia's occupation by Russia saved Paris by forcing the Germans to send many troops to their East provinces. Later Hindenburg and Ludendorff pushed Russia back at the battle of Tannenberg, thereby liberating East Prussia from Russian troops. Yet Russian troops remained in the easternmost part of the region until early 1915.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: On 29 August 1944, Soviet troops reached the border of East Prussia. By January 1945, they had taken all of East Prussia except for the area around Königsberg. Many inhabitants fled west at this time. During the war's last days, over two million people fled before the Red Army and were evacuated by sea.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: Under the terms of the Potsdam Agreement on 1 August 1945, the city became part of the Soviet Union pending the final determination of territorial questions at an anticipated peace settlement. This final determination eventually took place on 12 September 1990 when the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany was signed. The excerpt from the initial agreement pertaining to the partition of East Prussia including the area surrounding Königsberg is as follows (note that Königsberg is spelt "Koenigsberg" in the original document):


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: VI. CITY OF KOENIGSBERG AND THE ADJACENT AREAThe Conference examined a proposal by the Soviet Government that pending the final determination of territorial questions at the peace settlement, the section of the western frontier of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics which is adjacent to the Baltic Sea should pass from a point on the eastern shore of the Bay of Danzig to the east, north of Braunsberg – Goldep, to the meeting point of the frontiers of Lithuania, the Polish Republic and East Prussia.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: The Conference has agreed in principle to the proposal of the Soviet Government concerning the ultimate transfer to the Soviet Union of the city of Koenigsberg and the area adjacent to it as described above, subject to expert examination of the actual frontier.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: The President of the United States and the British Prime Minister supported the proposal of the Conference at the forthcoming peace settlement.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: Königsberg was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946 in memory of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Mikhail Kalinin. Some historians speculate that it may have originally been offered to the Lithuanian SSR because the resolution from the conference specifies that Kaliningrad's border would be at the (pre-war) Lithuanian frontier. The remaining German population was forcibly expelled between 1947 and 1948. The annexed territory was populated with Soviet citizens, mostly ethnic Russians but to a lesser extent also Ukrainians and Belarusians.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: The German language was replaced with the Russian language. In 1950, there were 1,165,000 inhabitants, which was only half the number of the pre-war population.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: The city was rebuilt after WWII. The territory became strategically important as the Soviet Baltic Fleet's headquarters, as the port is ice-free in winter unlike Saint Petersburg (then Leningrad). Hence, the city was closed to foreign visitors.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: The reconstruction of the Oblast, threatened by hunger in the immediate post-war years, was carried out through an ambitious and efficient policy of oceanic fishing with the creation of one of the main fishing harbours of the USSR in Kaliningrad city. Fishing not only fed the regional economy but also was a basis for social and scientific development, in particular oceanography. The region remained ocean-oriented until 1990.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: In 1957, an agreement was signed and later came into force which delimited the border between Poland and the Soviet Union.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: The region was added as a semi-exclave to the Russian SFSR; since 1946 it has been known as the Kaliningrad Oblast. According to some historians, Stalin created it as an oblast separate from the Lithuanian SSR because it further separated the Baltic states from the West. Others think that the reason was that the region was far too strategic for the USSR to leave it in the hands of another SSR other than the Russian one. The names of the cities, towns, rivers and other geographical features were changed to Russian names.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: The area was administered by the planning committee of the Lithuanian SSR, although it had its own Communist Party committee. In the 1950s, Nikita Khrushchev offered the entire Kaliningrad Oblast to the Lithuanian SSR but Antanas Sniečkus refused to annex the territory because it would add at least a million ethnic Russians to Lithuania.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: In 2010, the German magazine "Der Spiegel" published a report claiming that Kaliningrad had been offered to Germany in 1990 (against payment). The offer was not seriously considered by the West German government which, at the time, saw reunification with East Germany as a higher priority. However, this story was later denied by Mikhail Gorbachev.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: Kaliningrad's isolation was exacerbated by the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 when Lithuania became an independent country and even more when both Poland and Lithuania became members of NATO and subsequently the European Union in 2004. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the independence of the Baltic states, Kaliningrad Oblast has been separated from the rest of Russia by other countries instead of by other former Soviet republics. Neighboring nations imposed strict border controls when they joined the European Union. All military and civilian land links between the region and the rest of Russia have to pass through members of NATO and the EU. Russian proposals for visa-free travel between the EU and Kaliningrad have so far been rejected by the EU. Travel arrangements, based on the "Facilitated Transit Document (FTD)" and "Facilitated Rail Transit Document (FRTD)" have been made. On 12 January 1996, Kaliningrad Oblast, alongside Sverdlovsk, became the first oblasts of Russia to sign a power-sharing treaty with the federal government, granting it autonomy. However this agreement was abolished on 31 May 2002.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: The territory's economic situation was badly affected by its geographic isolation and the significant reduction in the size of the Russian military garrison, which had previously been one of the major employers and helped the local economy.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: After 1991, some ethnic Germans immigrated to the area, such as Volga Germans from other parts of Russia and Kazakhstan, especially after Germany raised the requirements for people from the former Soviet Union to be accepted as ethnic Germans and have a "right of return". These Germans are overwhelmingly Russian-speaking and as such were rejected for resettlement within Germany under Germany's new rules. A similar migration by Poles from the lands of the former Soviet Union to the Kaliningrad Oblast occurred at this time as well. The situation has begun to change, albeit slowly. Germany, Lithuania, and Poland have renewed contact with Kaliningrad Oblast, through town twinning and other projects. This has helped to promote interest in the history and culture of the East Prussian and Lietuvininkai communities.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: In July 2007, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov declared that if US-controlled missile defense systems were deployed in Poland, then nuclear weapons might be deployed in Kaliningrad. On 5 November 2008, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said that installing missiles in Kaliningrad was almost a certainty. These plans were suspended in January 2009, but implemented in October 2016. In 2011, a long range Voronezh radar was commissioned to monitor missile launches within about . It is situated in the settlement of Pionersky in Kaliningrad Oblast.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: A few months after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Lithuania started implementing EU sanctions, which blocked about 50% of the goods being imported into Kaliningrad by rail, not including food, medicine, or passenger travel. Russia protested the sanctions and announced it would increase shipments by sea.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: Kaliningrad is the only Russian Baltic Sea port that is ice-free all year round and hence plays an important role in the maintenance of the country's Baltic Fleet. As a semi-exclave of Russia, it is surrounded by Poland (Pomeranian and Warmian-Masurian Voivodeships), Lithuania (Klaipėda, Marijampolė and Tauragė Counties) and the Baltic Sea. Its largest river is the Pregolya. It starts as a confluence of the Instruch and the Angrapa and drains into the Baltic Sea through the Vistula Lagoon. Its length under the name of Pregolya is 123 km (76 mi), 292 km (181 mi), including the Angrapa.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: The current governor (since 2017) of Kaliningrad Oblast is Anton Alikhanov. The latest elections to the region's legislative body, the 40-seat Kaliningrad Oblast Duma, were held in September 2016.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: At the 2021 census, the population of the oblast was 1,027,678; above of 955,281 recorded in the 2002 census. The 1989 census recorded 871,283 inhabitants.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: According to a 2012 survey 34% of the population of Kaliningrad Oblast declare themselves to be "spiritual but not religious", 30.9% adhere to the Russian Orthodox Church, 22% are atheist and 11.1% follow other religions or did not give an answer to the question, 1% are unaffiliated generic Christians and 1% adhere to the Catholic Church.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: Until 1945, the region was overwhelmingly Lutheran, with a small number of Catholics and Jews. The state church of Prussia was dominant in the region. Although it was both Reformed and Lutheran since 1817, there was an overwhelming Lutheran majority and very few Reformed adherents in East Prussia.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: In 2020, the Gross regional product of Kaliningrad Oblast was around €7.8 billion and €7,800 per capita.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: The oblast derives an economic advantage from its geographic position as an ice-free port and its proximity to the European Union. It also has the world's largest deposits of amber. The region has developed its tourism infrastructure and promotes attractions such as the Curonian Spit.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: To address the oblast's high rate of unemployment, in 1996 the Russian authorities granted the oblast a special economic status with tax incentives that were intended to attract investors. The oblast's economy has since benefited substantially and in recent years experienced a boom. A US$45 million airport terminal has been opened and the European Commission provides funds for business projects under its special program for the region. Trade with the countries of the EU has increased. Economic output has increased.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: According to official statistics, the Gross Regional Product in 2006 was 115 billion roubles. GRP per capita in 2007 was 155 669 roubles.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: Car and truck assembly (GM, BMW, Kia, Yuejin by Avtotor) and the production of auto parts are major industries in Kaliningrad Oblast. There are shipbuilding facilities in Kaliningrad and Sovetsk. Food processing is a mature industry in the region with Miratorg operating a sizeable food processing factory. OKB Fakel, a world leader in the field of Hall thruster development, as well as a leading Russian developer and manufacturer of electric propulsion systems, is based in Neman. The company employs 960 people.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: General Satellite (GS) is the biggest employer in Gusev city, producing satellite receivers, cardboard packaging, nanomaterials etc.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: Kaliningrad Oblast possesses more than 90% of the world's known amber deposits. Until recently raw amber was exported for processing to other countries, but in 2013 the Russian government banned the export of raw amber in order to boost the amber processing industry in Russia. Because of this the region is often referred to as "Amber Land" () by many Russians.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: There are small oil reservoirs beneath the Baltic Sea not far from Kaliningrad's shore. Small-scale offshore exploration started in 2004. Poland, Lithuania, and some local NGOs, voiced concerns about possible environmental effects.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: Fishing is an important regional industry, with big fishing ports in Kaliningrad and Pionersky and smaller ones in Svetly and Rybachy.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: Average yearly power consumption in the Kaliningrad Oblast was 3.5 terawatt-hours in 2004 with local power generation providing just 0.235 terawatt-hours. The balance of energy needs was imported from neighbouring countries. A new Kaliningrad power station was built in 2005, covering 50% of the oblast's energy needs. A second part to this station was built in 2010, making the oblast independent from electricity imports.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: In 2008, planning began for the construction of two nuclear power reactors, with costs estimated at €5 billion (US$8 billion). The project was suspended in May 2013, and in 2014, it was abandoned after environmental concerns and lack of support.


title: Kaliningrad Oblast

text: Yli-Mattila "et al.", 2009 finds that all "Fusarium graminearum" populations here are 3ADON, common also to Finland and Saint Petersburg. They speculate that this may be due to a shared population in this area which is distinct from other "F.graminearum" populations.


title: Nickelback

text: Nickelback is a Canadian rock band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta. It is composed of guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger, and drummer Daniel Adair. It went through several drummer changes between 1995 and 2005, achieving its current lineup when Adair replaced Ryan Vikedal.


title: Nickelback

text: Nickelback is one of the most commercially successful Canadian rock bands, having sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. In 2009, "Billboard" ranked it the most successful rock group of that decade; "How You Remind Me" was the best-selling rock song and the fourth-best overall. The band ranked at No. 7 on the "Billboard" top artist of the decade list, with four albums among the publication's top albums of the decade.


title: Nickelback

text: The band signed with Roadrunner Records in 1999 and re-released its once-independent second studio album "The State". This album was commercially successful, as was its follow-up, "Silver Side Up", in 2001. The band then released its biggest hit, "How You Remind Me", a No. 1 on the Billboard and Canadian Singles Charts. The fourth album, "The Long Road", was released in 2003 and spawned five singles, including Canadian No. 1 "Someday", which also reached No. 7 on the "Billboard" Hot 100.


title: Nickelback

text: In 2005, the band's best-selling album to date, "All the Right Reasons", produced three top-ten and five top-twenty singles on the "Billboard" Hot 100, including "Photograph", "Far Away", and "Rockstar". "Dark Horse" sold well in 2008, producing eight singles, one cracking the top ten on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and two in the top twenty. In 2011, the seventh album, "Here and Now", topped the charts. The eighth, "No Fixed Address", was released in 2014, followed by "Feed the Machine" in 2017.


title: Nickelback

text: On September 7, 2022, the band released their first single in five years, "San Quentin". It serves as the lead single for their tenth studio album, "Get Rollin'", which was released on November 18, 2022.


title: Nickelback

text: Nickelback is based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It published through EMI Canada before signing a global distribution deal with Roadrunner Records. For "Here and Now", it left EMI Canada for Universal Music Canada.


title: Nickelback

text: by brothers Mike and Chad Kroeger with their cousin Brandon Kroeger and Ryan Peake. The band later changed its name to Nickelback, which originated from the nickel in change that band member Mike Kroeger gave customers at his job at Starbucks; he would frequently say, "Here's your nickel back."


title: Nickelback

text: The band performed covers of songs from Led Zeppelin and Metallica. Chad Kroeger then asked his step-father to give him $4,000 so that the band could record their first demo, a seven-track EP of original material, called "Hesher" (1996).


title: Nickelback

text: In 1996, the band recorded and released their first full-length album, "Curb". "Fly" was included on both "Hesher" and "Curb" and was the first single produced by Nickelback. In 1997, Brandon Kroeger left the band and the band searched for a new drummer. Later that year Mitch Guindon joined the band, but he decided to leave in 1998. While initially reported due to him starting work at a car company, Guindon's departure came due to him "not [being] meant for the road". Chad Kroeger stated that his skin was not able to handle cold weather and they convinced him to leave. In Summer 1998, Ryan Vikedal joined the band.


title: Nickelback

text: Roadrunner A&R Ron Burman told HitQuarters that one of his West Coast scouts sent him the self-released album and, suitably impressed, he travelled to Vancouver to see them perform live. Although an unknown property in the industry at the time, the venue was packed out. In Burman's words: "I immediately got the chills! I thought their song "Leader of Men" was a smash hit." Off the stage he was impressed by their industry and initiative in managing their career. Despite this, it still took Burman three months for him to convince his label bosses to approve the signing, a decision that would mark Roadrunner's first move into mainstream rock. Nickelback signed a record deal with EMI and Roadrunner Records in 1999.


title: Nickelback

text: "The State" was released by Nickelback in 2000 by Roadrunner Records and EMI Canada, followed by its release in Europe in 2001. It spawned 4 singles: "Old Enough", "Worthy to Say", "Leader of Men" and "Breathe", the last two being Top 10 rock hits. The album was the band's first album to be certified gold status and it later went into platinum status in 2008, after the success of their later albums. The album entered the "Billboard" 200 at number 130 and peaked at number 3 in the Billboard Top Heatseekers albums chart and peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Top Independent albums chart.


title: Nickelback

text: Around 2001, Chad Kroeger started "studying every piece, everything sonically, everything lyrically, everything musically, chord structure. I would dissect every single song that I would hear on the radio or every song that had ever done well on a chart and I would say, 'Why did this do well?'" Kroeger said that Nickelback's single "How You Remind Me" sold so well because it was about romantic relationships, a universal subject, and contained memorable hooks.


title: Nickelback

text: To record their third album "Silver Side Up", Nickelback collaborated with producer Rick Parashar. The album was written before the release of "The State" and was recorded at the same studio. The album was released on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. The album peaked at number two on the "Billboard" 200 with over 177,000 copies sold in its first week and peaked at number one at the Canadian albums chart, making it the band's first album to do so. The single "How You Remind Me" was a number one single on the Mainstream and Modern rock charts, as well as the pop chart. It also peaked at number two on Adult Top 40 and became the "Billboard" Hot 100 number one single of the year for 2002. The next single was "Too Bad", which also reached number one on the Mainstream Rock Chart. The final single from the album was "Never Again", which also hit number one on Mainstream Rock.


title: Nickelback

text: In 2002, Chad Kroeger collaborated with Josey Scott on the "Spider-Man" theme song, "Hero". This recording also featured Tyler Connolly, Mike Kroeger, Matt Cameron, and Jeremy Taggart. In 2002, Nickelback released their first DVD "Live at Home". On August 19, 2002, an incident occurred while the band was performing at the Ilha do Ermal festival in Portugal. While performing the second song of their set, Chad Kroeger was sprayed with a full bottle of water hurled from somewhere within the audience. After finishing the song, Chad asked the crowd, "Do you want to hear some rock 'n' roll or do you want to go home?" A person in the audience then threw a rock at Chad's head. The band then left stage, with Chad and Vikedal giving the finger to the audience as they left. The band's label, Roadrunner, posted video footage of the entire incident on their website.


title: Nickelback

text: In 2003, Nickelback released "The Long Road". The album was certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA in March 2005 and it had sold 3,591,000 copies as of April 2011. It has sold over 5 million copies worldwide and, in 2003 alone, the album sold 2 million copies worldwide. It debuted at No. 6 on the "Billboard" 200. This was their first album produced by Joey Moi, a former classmate of the band's.


title: Nickelback

text: "The Long Road" was ranked No. 157 on "Billboard"'s "200 Albums of the Decade". It spawned five singles. The lead single was "Someday". The band also released "Feelin' Way Too Damn Good" as a single, which peaked at number three on the Mainstream Rock Charts. "Figured You Out" was also released as a single and topped the Mainstream Rock Charts for 13 consecutive weeks.


title: Nickelback

text: Just after New Year's Day 2005, drummer Ryan Vikedal was replaced by 3 Doors Down's drummer Daniel Adair. Nickelback promptly went into the studio with their new drummer from January through May 2005. The sessions resulted in their fifth studio album, "All the Right Reasons" which was released on October 3, 2005. It peaked at number one on the "Billboard" 200 with 323,350 copies in its first week in the United States, as well as producing five U.S. Hot 100 top 20 singles: "Photograph", "Savin' Me", "Far Away", "If Everyone Cared" and "Rockstar". Three of these became U.S. Hot 100 top 10 singles. Also, the album peaked at number one on the Canadian albums chart. The album sold more than 12 million singles and over 9 million ringtones. The album also made Nickelback the first band in Nielsen BDS history to have 5 singles on the CHR charts. It included appearances by Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, who played a guitar solo on the song "Follow You Home" and sang backing vocals on "Rock Star"—and a posthumously sampled appearance by Chad Kroeger's friend Dimebag Darrell from Pantera, culled from guitar outtakes. "All the Right Reasons" had sold over 7 million copies in the U.S. to June 19, 2010.


title: Nickelback

text: The band spent much of 2006 and 2007 touring across the globe. In the fall of 2006, the band opened for Bon Jovi on the European leg of the Have a Nice Day Tour. Over 2 million fans attended Nickelback's shows during those two years.


title: Nickelback

text: The band played at Sturgis, South Dakota to over 35,000 people at the 2006 Sturgis Bike Rally. The performance was filmed with 15 high-definition cameras. They released the DVD and Blu-ray of it in 2009, several years after the performance. In November 2006, the band won an American Music Award for best pop/rock album, surprising the band itself. "We just kinda showed up because we were supposed to give one of these away tonight," Chad Kroeger said after receiving the award. Chad Kroeger added he had thought the Red Hot Chili Peppers would win the award.


title: Nickelback

text: After taking much of 2007 off, the band started recording a new album in earnest. In July 2008, the band signed with Live Nation for three touring and album cycles, with an option for a fourth. On September 4, 2008, it was announced that the first single from the upcoming album would be "If Today Was Your Last Day", to be released on September 30, 2008. This announcement was however never confirmed: Roadrunner Records actually chose to release another song, "Gotta Be Somebody," as the first single. It became Nickelback's 5th and so far final single to hit the No. 1 spot on the U.S. Adult Top 40 chart. The new album, produced by Mutt Lange and titled "Dark Horse", was released on November 18, 2008. "Something in Your Mouth" was released as the second single to rock radio only on December 15, 2008, where it reached number one. "If Today Was Your Last Day" was eventually released as a single after all on March 31, 2009: it became the third single from the album. Four more singles were released later in 2009, "I'd Come for You", "Burn It to the Ground" and "Never Gonna Be Alone" released in September and "Shakin' Hands" as the seventh single on November 16. Its eighth single, "This Afternoon", was released on March 23, 2010. "Dark Horse" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on December 9, 2008, only three weeks after its North American release. All eight singles were major hits which finished at or near the top of at least one high-profile chart.


title: Nickelback

text: On November 26, 2008, the band announced the tour for the support of the album. Live Nation produced the tour and the band kicked off in Nashville, Tennessee, with Seether, and Saving Abel as their opening acts. The band then announced that they were about to tour in the UK with Black Stone Cherry as their opening act. The band then announced the second leg of the tour of North America with the opening acts being Hinder, Papa Roach, and once again, Saving Abel. The band then went on tour around Australia and New Zealand with Sick Puppies as their supporting act. For the second leg of the Europe tour, the band played with their opening act Daughtry. The third leg of the North America tour kicked off with Breaking Benjamin, Sick Puppies and Shinedown opening up for the band. The band concluded their tour with the fourth leg in North America which included Buckcherry and Three Days Grace. The tour was very successful and the band sold over 1.6 million tickets with 146 shows.


title: Nickelback

text: The album also remained in the top 20 on the Billboard 200 for weeks after its release. The album was certified two times platinum in April 2009, and had by April 2010 sold over 3 million copies in the U.S. However, critical reception of the album has been mostly mixed to negative. In 2009, the band won three Juno Awards for Juno Fan Choice Award, group of the year, and album of the year; the band performed their single "Something in Your Mouth" at the ceremony. In 2010, Billboard year end charts listed "Dark Horse" as the top-selling rock and metal album of the year. The band was also listed at the top selling hard rock artist. On January 29, 2010, they released a Tap-Tap rhythm game for on the App Store, contrary to the band's prior comments against other music related video games such as "Guitar Hero".


title: Nickelback

text: On February 28, 2010, Nickelback gave a performance at the beginning of the concert portion of the 2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony, performing "Burn It to the Ground". In October 2010 Nickelback finished their Dark Horse Tour.


title: Nickelback

text: Chad Kroeger said in an interview with Billboard.com in September 2010 that songwriting for the next Nickelback album was planned to commence as early as February 2011 with "about four tunes" already in mind. Adair mentioned that the band wanted to go back to the musical style of "All The Right Reasons", which he described as "more organic".


title: Nickelback

text: Nickelback announced their new album, "Here and Now", on September 8, 2011, along with its two lead singles, "Bottoms Up" and "When We Stand Together". Kroeger said "We're four people who love making music, the way we like to make it. We entered the studio this year with a vision, and it all came together. We're extremely happy with the results, and can't wait to share them with our fans." The album was released on November 21, 2011, with the band calling it "Nickelblack Monday", a play on Nickelback and Black Monday. Two singles were released to radio stations on September 26, and September 27 for purchase on iTunes. "Here and Now" peaked at number two on the "Billboard" 200, selling 226,714 copies in its first week of release, with "Christmas" by Michael Bublé taking number one by a margin of only 419 copies.


title: Nickelback

text: As part of promotion for the album, Nickelback was booked to perform at the halftime shows for both an NFL Thanksgiving Day game at Ford Field in Detroit on November 24, and the 99th Grey Cup in the band's hometown of Vancouver on November 27. Also, as a promotion the band played to Jimmy Kimmel upon the album's release. The band is nominated for 4 Juno Awards in 2012, and scheduled to perform at the ceremony. Nickelback announced their Here and Now Tour on January 11, 2012, they are going to tour with Seether, Bush and My Darkest Days. The band released a music video for their fourth single off of the album Lullaby. The band officially announced the compilation album "The Best of Nickelback Volume 1" through social media on October 3, 2013. Frontman Chad Kroeger had previously stated in an interview that the greatest hits album was to feature songs from previous albums along with new songs but the unveiled track listing ultimately contained only previously released material.


title: Nickelback

text: According to an interview with Chad Kroeger on CFOX-FM, the band planned to release their eighth studio album before the end of 2014. The lead rock single was also announced, "Edge of a Revolution", was released in August 2014. The track was described as a "departure" for Nickelback and a political song. Frequent collaborator Chris Lord-Alge returned to mix some of the tracks on the album. It was also announced the band had signed to Republic Records. The lead single from the album is titled "Edge of a Revolution", and was scheduled to be sent for adds on Rock radio and be released to iTunes on August 18. The lead pop single, and second overall, was announced to be "What Are You Waiting For?", and was released in September. "What Are You Waiting For?" was released as a single on digital retailers on September 9, 2014. On August 22, 2014, Nickelback announced the album's title to be "No Fixed Address", and released it on November 17, 2014.


title: Nickelback

text: No Fixed Address Tour was their fifth headlining concert tour, in support of "No Fixed Address". The tour was announced on November 5, 2014, as well as The Pretty Reckless, Pop Evil, and Lifehouse as the support act for the majority of the shows in North American while Monster Truck was support act in Australia and Europe (2016). The second North American leg of the tour had to be canceled when lead vocalist Chad Kroeger required surgery for a cyst on his voice box. The entire leg of the European tour was postponed until Autumn 2016.


title: Nickelback

text: On August 19, 2016, Nickelback released a cover of Don Henley's song "Dirty Laundry" to streaming services. On January 23, 2017, a new single, "Feed the Machine" was announced to be released on February 1, alongside specific details of a 2017 tour. On January 25, Nickelback signed with BMG Rights Management to release their ninth album, also titled "Feed the Machine". The album was released on June 16, 2017. The band released their second single from the album, "Song on Fire", on April 28, 2017. Shortly after the release of the album, the band began a 44-city tour on June 23, 2017, in North America, co-headlined with Daughtry, Shaman's Harvest and Cheap Trick as supporting acts.


title: Nickelback

text: In early 2019, band members spoke of recording a tenth studio album, though Chad Kroeger conceded there was no timetable or rush for the band to complete it. Mike Kroeger spoke of his personal desire to move in more of a heavy metal direction, or wanting to do an album of Slayer cover songs.


title: Nickelback

text: On August 14, 2020, the band released a cover of The Charlie Daniels Band song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", featuring Dave Martone.


title: Nickelback

text: In a July 2021 interview bassist Mike Kroeger commented when asked about the band's progress on new music saying "That is happening right now, music is being composed and recorded up in Canada. We were out there, and something came up and our producer had to take some time off. So I took that opportunity to return home to Los Angeles with family and spend a little time at home but I'll be headed back up there in a couple of weeks to pick it up again." When asked about a potential timeframe for a release date, Kroeger said "it'll be done when it's done", explaining that the band would rather not be confined to a timescale for fear of making "a shitty record". "Release dates are primarily arrived at by business interests, like record labels and whatever. We don't have one of those", he said. "We've been managing ourselves for about a year. So, the answer is no. We're doing it on our schedule, at our own pace, and it'll be done when it's done. 'Cause we've blown up deadlines in the past lots of times. Because we feel that you can make a good record and be late, but you can't, or you shouldn't, make a shitty record to be on time. So we won't be pressed for time.


title: Nickelback

text: In August 2022, Nickelback began posting small snippets and teasers of new music via their official social media accounts with the date "09.07.2022" being branded on the posts.


title: Nickelback

text: On August 26, 2022, students attending school at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia received a newsletter stating they were invited to attend and participate in a video shoot Nickelback would be hosting on August 30, 2022, for their single, outside the Convocation Mall on campus.


title: Nickelback

text: The album title was revealed to be "Get Rollin'". The lead single "San Quentin" was released on September 7, 2022.


title: Nickelback

text: Nickelback has been described as various genres, including post-grunge, hard rock, pop rock, alternative rock, heavy metal, alternative metal, and nu metal. Their earlier sound has been classified as grunge.


title: Nickelback

text: Nickelback have cited bands and musicians such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Marley, Metallica, Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers,


title: Nickelback

text: Review aggregator Metacritic reports that five of Nickelback's six most recent studio albums since becoming a mainstream act—"The Long Road", "All the Right Reasons", "Dark Horse", "Here and Now", and "No Fixed Address"—have scores of 62, 41, 49, 51, and 54, respectively, out of 100, indicating generally mixed reviews. AllMusic reviewer Liana Jones gave their first commercially successful album, "Silver Side Up", 3 stars out of 5, and complimented their "intensity and raw passion" and realistic storytelling.


title: Nickelback

text: Despite their commercial success, Nickelback has been the subject of numerous jokes and a vocal negative response for some audiences, some of which is attributed to the perceived derivative, repetitive and formulaic nature of their music, as well as their over-use of hedonistic themes involving strippers, sex, prostitutes, drugs, and alcohol consumption. However, in a review for the band's latest album "Feed the Machine", AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that they had mostly done away with the crude and vulgar lyrical content they'd become known for, and praised the band for evolving their sound. In the 2010s, Nickelback became the subject of internet memes that were critical of their music, a status that the band came to embrace. In May 2013, the readers of "Rolling Stone" magazine named Nickelback the second-worst band of the 1990s, behind only Creed. In November 2011, users of the music-oriented dating site Tastebuds.fm voted Nickelback as the number one "musical turnoff". In March 2019, U.S. representatives Mark Pocan and Rodney Davis got into a friendly debate on the merits of the band while speaking on the floor of the House of Representatives. In an interview in 2014, Kroeger commented that the criticism helped him "grow a thick skin", and that without it, they would be "this just whatever band".


title: Nickelback

text: Following their 2008 album, "Dark Horse", "ChartAttack" credited the band's success to knowing their target audience: "Chad Kroeger is a genius because he knows exactly what people want and precisely how far he can go. He turned out an extremely racy album that's loaded with songs about gettin' drunk and doin' it all without breaking any taboos, and with enough love and moral authority to grease its passage into the mainstream. Rejoice, North America. This is your world." "Billboard" gave praise to the band: "The bulletproof Nickelback provides affordable fun that promises good returns in hard times." Various fellow musicians, like Chris Martin of Coldplay as well as producer Timbaland and singer Keyshia Cole, have publicly shown support for the band.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by long-term respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. The main symptoms include shortness of breath and a cough, which may or may not produce mucus. COPD progressively worsens, with everyday activities such as walking or dressing becoming difficult. While COPD is incurable, it is preventable and treatable.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: The two most common conditions of COPD are emphysema and chronic bronchitis and they have been the two classic COPD phenotypes. Emphysema is defined as enlarged airspaces (alveoli) whose walls have broken down resulting in permanent damage to the lung tissue. Chronic bronchitis is defined as a productive cough that is present for at least three months each year for two years. Both of these conditions can exist without airflow limitation when they are not classed as COPD. Emphysema is just one of the structural abnormalities that can limit airflow and can exist without airflow limitation in a significant number of people. Chronic bronchitis does not always result in airflow limitation but in young adults who smoke the risk of developing COPD is high. Many definitions of COPD in the past included emphysema and chronic bronchitis, but these have never been included in GOLD report definitions. Emphysema and chronic bronchitis remain the predominant phenotypes of COPD but there is often overlap between them and a number of other phenotypes have also been described.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: The most common cause of COPD is tobacco smoking. Other risk factors include indoor and outdoor air pollution including dust, exposure to occupational irritants such as dust from grains, cadmium dust or fumes, and genetics, such as alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency . In developing countries, common sources of indoor air pollution are the use of coal and biomass such as wood and dry dung as fuel for cooking and heating. Most people living in European cities are exposed to damaging levels of air pollution. The diagnosis is based on poor airflow as measured by spirometry.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Most cases of COPD can be prevented by reducing exposure to risk factors such as smoking and indoor and outdoor pollutants. While treatment can slow worsening, there is no conclusive evidence that any medications can change the long-term decline in lung function. COPD treatments include smoking cessation, vaccinations, pulmonary rehabilitation, inhaled bronchodilators and corticosteroids. Some people may benefit from long-term oxygen therapy, lung volume reduction and lung transplantation. In those who have periods of acute worsening, increased use of medications, antibiotics, corticosteroids and hospitalization may be needed.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: As of 2015, COPD affected about 174.5 million people (2.4% of the global population). It typically occurs in males and females over the age of 35–40. In 2019 it caused 3.2 million deaths, 80% occurring in lower and middle income countries, up from 2.4 million deaths in 1990. The number of deaths is projected to increase further because of continued exposure to risk factors and an aging population. In the United States in 2010 the economic cost was put at US$32.1 billion and projected to rise to US$49 billion in 2020. In the United Kingdom this cost is estimated at £3.8 billion annually.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: A cardinal symptom of COPD is the chronic and progressive shortness of breath which is most characteristic of the condition. Shortness of breath (breathlessness) is often the most distressing symptom responsible for the associated anxiety and level of disability experienced. Symptoms of wheezing and chest tightness associated with breathlessness can be variable over the course of a day or between days and are not always present. Chest tightness often follows exertion. Many people with more advanced COPD breathe through pursed lips, which can improve shortness of breath. Shortness of breath is often responsible for reduced physical activity and low levels of physical activity are associated with worse outcomes. In severe and very severe cases there may be constant tiredness, weight loss, muscle loss and anorexia. People with COPD often have increased breathlessness and frequent colds before seeking treatment.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: The most often first symptom of COPD is a chronic cough, which may or may not be productive of mucus as phlegm. Phlegm coughed up as sputum can be intermittent and may be swallowed or spat out depending on social or cultural factors and is therefore not always easy to evaluate. However, an accompanying productive cough is only seen in up to 30% of cases. Sometimes limited airflow may develop in the absence of a cough. Symptoms are usually worse in the morning.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: A chronic productive cough is the result of mucus hypersecretion and when it persists for more than three months each year for at least two years, it is defined as chronic bronchitis. Chronic bronchitis can occur before the restricted airflow diagnostic of COPD. Some people with COPD attribute the symptoms to the consequences of smoking. In severe COPD, vigorous coughing may lead to rib fractures or to a brief loss of consciousness.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: An acute exacerbation is a sudden worsening of signs and symptoms that lasts for several days. The key symptom is increased breathlessness, other more pronounced symptoms are of excessive mucus, increased cough and wheeze. A commonly found sign is air trapping giving a difficulty in complete exhalation.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: The usual cause of an exacerbation is a viral infection, most often the common cold. The common cold is usually associated with the winter months but can occur at any time. Other respiratory infections may be bacterial or in combination sometimes secondary to a viral infection. The most common bacterial infection is caused by "Haemophilus influenzae". Other risks include exposure to tobacco smoke (active and passive) and environmental pollutantsboth indoor and outdoor. During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospital admissions for COPD exacerbations sharply decreased which may be attributable to reduction of emissions and cleaner air. There has also been a marked decrease in the number of cold and flu infections during this time.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Smoke from wildfires is proving an increasing risk in many parts of the world and government agencies have published protective advice on their websites. In the US the EPA advises that the use of dust masks do not give protection from the fine particles in wildfires and instead advise the use of well-fitting "particulate masks". This same advice is offered in Canada to the effects of their forest fires. Bushfires in Australia add to the high risk factors for COPD and its worsening for farmers.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: The number of exacerbations is not seen to relate to any stage of the disease; those with two or more a year are classed as "frequent exacerbators" and these lead to a worsening in the disease progression. Frailty in ageing increases exacerbations and hospitalization.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Acute exacerbations in COPD are often unexplained and thought to have many causes other than infections. A study has emphasized the possibility of a pulmonary embolism as sometimes being responsible in these cases. Signs can include pleuritic chest pain and heart failure without signs of infection. Such emboli could respond to anticoagulants.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: COPD often occurs along with a number of other conditions (comorbidities) due in part to shared risk factors. Common comorbidities include cardiovascular disease, skeletal muscle dysfunction, metabolic syndrome, osteoporosis, depression, anxiety, asthma and lung cancer. Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (A1AD) is an important risk factor for COPD. It is advised that everybody with COPD be screened for A1AD. Metabolic syndrome has been seen to affect up to fifty percent of those with COPD and significantly affects the outcomes. When comorbid with COPD there is more systemic inflammation. It is not known if it co-exists with COPD or develops as a consequence of the pathology. Metabolic syndrome on its own has a high rate of morbidity and mortality and this rate is amplified when comorbid with COPD. Tuberculosis is a risk factor for the development of COPD, and is also a potential comorbidity. Most people with COPD die from comorbidities and not from respiratory problems.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Anxiety and depression are often complications of COPD. Other complications include a reduced quality of life and increased disability, cor pulmonale, frequent chest infections including pneumonia, secondary polycythemia, respiratory failure, pneumothorax, lung cancer, and cachexia (muscle wasting).


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Cognitive impairment is common in those with COPD as it is for other lung conditions that affect airflow. Cognitive impairment is associated with the declining ability to cope with the basic activities of daily living.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: It is unclear if those with COPD are at greater risk of contracting COVID-19, though if infected they are at risk of hospitalization and developing severe COVID-19.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Differentiating COVID-19 symptoms from an exacerbation is difficult; mild prodromal symptoms may delay its recognition and where they include loss of taste or smell COVID-19 is to be suspected.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Many definitions of COPD in the past included chronic bronchitis and emphysema but these have never been included in GOLD report definitions. Emphysema is defined as enlarged airspaces (alveoli) whose walls break down resulting in permanent damage to the lung tissue and is just one of the structural abnormalities that can limit airflow. The condition can exist without airflow limitation but commonly it does. Chronic bronchitis is defined as a productive cough that is present for at least three months each year for two years but does not always result in airflow limitation although the risk of developing COPD is great. These older definitions grouped the two types as "type A" and "type B". Type A were emphysema types known as "pink puffers" due to their pink complexion, fast breathing rate and pursed lips. Type B were chronic bronchitic types referred to as "blue bloaters" due to low oxygen levels causing a bluish color to the skin and lips and swollen ankles. These differences were suggested to be due to the presence or not of collateral ventilation, evident in emphysema and lacking in chronic bronchitis. This terminology was no longer accepted as useful, as most people with COPD have a combination of both emphysema and airway disease. These are now recognized as the two major phenotypes of COPD – emphysematous phenotype and chronic bronchitic phenotype.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: The two classic emphysematous and chronic bronchitic phenotypes are fundamentally different conditions with unique underlying mechanisms. It has since been recognized that COPD is more complex, with a diverse group of disorders of differing risk factors and clinical courses that has resulted in a number of other subtypes or phenotypes of COPD being accepted and proposed. Spirometry measures are inadequate for defining phenotypes and chest X-ray, CT and MRI scans have been mostly employed. Most cases of COPD are diagnosed at a late stage and the use of imaging methods would allow earlier detection and treatment.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: The identification and recognition of different phenotypes can guide appropriate treatment approaches. For example, the PDE4 inhibitor roflumilast is targeted at the chronic-bronchitic phenotype.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Two inflammatory phenotypes show a phenotype stability; the neutrophilic inflammatory phenotype and the eosinophilic inflammatory phenotype. Mepolizumab, a monoclonal antibody, has been shown to have benefit in treating the eosinophilic inflammatory type rather than the use of oral corticosteroids, but further studies have been called for.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Another recognized phenotype is the frequent exacerbator. The frequent exacerbator has two or more exacerbations a year, has a poor prognosis and is described as a moderately stable phenotype.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: A pulmonary vascular COPD phenotype has been described due to cardiovascular dysfunction. A molecular phenotype of CFTR dysfunction is shared with cystic fibrosis. A combined phenotype of chronic bronchitis and bronchiectasis has been described with a difficulty noted of determining the best treatment.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: The only genotype is the alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) genetic subtype and this has a specific treatment.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: The cause of the development of COPD is the exposure to harmful particles or gases, including tobacco smoke, that irritate the lung causing inflammation that interacts with a number of host factors. Such exposure needs to be significant or long-term. The greatest risk factor for the development of COPD is tobacco smoke. However, less than 50 percent of heavy smokers develop COPD, so other factors need to be considered, including exposure to indoor and outdoor pollutants, allergens, occupational exposure, and host factors. Host factors include a genetic susceptibility, factors associated with poverty, aging and physical inactivity. Asthma and tuberculosis are also recognized as risk factors, as the cormorbidity of COPD is reported to be 12 times higher in patients with asthma after adjusting for smoking history. In Europe airway hyperresponsiveness is rated as the second most important risk factor after smoking.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: A host factor of an airway branching variation, arising during development has been described. The respiratory tree is a filter for harmful substances and any variant has the potential to disrupt this. A variation has been found to be associated with the development of chronic bronchitis and another with the development of emphysema. A branch variant in the central airway is specifically associated with an increased susceptibility for the later development of COPD. A genetic association for the variants has been sometimes found with "FGF10".


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Alcohol abuse can lead to alcoholic lung disease and is seen to be an independent risk factor for COPD.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Mucociliary clearance is disrupted by chronic exposure to alcohol; macrophage activity is diminished and an inflammatory response promoted. The damage leads to a susceptibility for infection, including COVID-19, more so when combined with smoking; smoking induces the upregulation of the expression of ACE2 a recognized factor in the development of COVID-19.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: The primary risk factor for COPD globally is tobacco smoking with an increased rate of developing COPD shown in smokers and ex-smokers. Of those who smoke, about 20% will get COPD, increasing to less than 50% in heavy smokers. In the United States and United Kingdom, of those with COPD, 80–95% are either current or previous smokers. Several studies indicate that women are more susceptible than men to the harmful effects of tobacco smoke. For the same amount of cigarette smoking, women have a higher risk of COPD than men. In non-smokers, exposure to second-hand smoke (passive smoking) is the cause of 1.2 million deaths from the more than 8 million deaths worldwide due to tobacco smoke. Women who smoke during pregnancy, and during the early life of the child is a risk factor for the later development of COPD in their child.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Inhaled smoke triggers the release of excessive proteases in lungs, which then degrades elastin, the major component of alveoli (which allows rapid gas exchange in the lungs). Smoke also impairs the action of cilia, inhibiting mucociliary clearance that clears the bronchi of mucus, cellular debris and unwanted fluid.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Other types of tobacco smoke, such as from cigar, pipe, water-pipe and hookah use, also confer a risk. Water-pipe or hookah smoke appears to be as harmful or even more harmful than smoking cigarettes.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Marijuana is the second most commonly smoked substance, but evidence linking its use to COPD is very limited. Limited evidence shows that marijuana does not accelerate lung function decline. A low use of marijuana gives a bronchodilatory effect rather than the bronchoconstrictive effect from tobacco use, but it is often smoked in combination with tobacco or on its own by tobacco smokers. Higher use however has shown a decline in the FEV1. There is evidence of it causing some respiratory problems and its use in combination may have a cumulative toxic effect suggesting it as a risk factor for spontaneous pneumothorax, bullous emphysema, COPD and lung cancer. A noted difference between marijuana use and tobacco was that respiratory problems were resolved with stopping usage unlike the continued decline with stopping tobacco smoking. Respiratory symptoms reported with marijuana use included chronic cough, increased sputum production and wheezing but not shortness of breath. Also these symptoms were typically reported ten years ahead of their affecting tobacco smokers. Another study found that chronic marijuana smokers even with the additional use of tobacco developed similar respiratory problems, but did not seem to develop airflow limitation and COPD.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Exposure to particulates can bring about the development of COPD, or its exacerbations. Those with COPD are more susceptible to the harmful effects of particulate exposure that can cause acute exacerbations brought about by infections. Black carbon also known as "soot", is an air pollutant associated with an increased risk of hospitalization due to the exacerbations caused. Long-term exposure is indicated as an increased rate of mortality in COPD. Studies have shown that people who live in large cities have a higher rate of COPD compared to people who live in rural areas. Areas with poor outdoor air quality, including that from exhaust gas, generally have higher rates of COPD. Urban air pollution significantly effects the developing lung and its maturation, and contributes a potential risk factor for the later development of COPD. The overall effect in relation to smoking, is believed to be small.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Poorly ventilated fires used for cooking and heating, are often fueled by coal or biomass such as wood and dry dung, leading to indoor air pollution and are one of the most common causes of COPD in developing countries. Women are affected more as they have a greater exposure. These fuels are used as the main source of energy in 80% of homes in India, China and sub-Saharan Africa.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Intense and prolonged exposure to workplace dusts, chemicals and fumes increases the risk of COPD in smokers, nonsmokers and never-smokers. Substances implicated in occupational exposure and listed in the UK, include organic and inorganic dusts such as cadmium, silica, dust from grains and flour and fumes from cadmium and welding that promote respiratory symptoms. Workplace exposure is believed to be the cause in 10–20% of cases and in the United States, it is believed to be related to around 30% of cases among never smokers and probably represents a greater risk in countries without sufficient regulations. The negative effects of dust exposure and cigarette smoke exposure appear to be cumulative.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Genetics play a role in the development of COPD. It is more common among relatives of those with COPD who smoke than unrelated smokers. The most well known genetic risk factor is alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) and this is the only genotype (genetic subtype) with a specific treatment. This risk is particularly high if someone deficient in alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) also smokes. It is responsible for about 1–5% of cases and the condition is present in about three to four in 10,000 people.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: The COPDGene study is an ongoing longitudinal study into the epidemiology of COPD, identifying phenotypes and looking for their likely association with susceptible genes. Genome wide analyses in concert with the "International COPD Genetics Consortium" has identified more than 80 genome regions associated with COPD and further studies in these regions has been called for. Whole genome sequencing is an ongoing


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: collaboration (2019) with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to identify rare genetic determinants.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: COPD is a progressive lung disease in which chronic, incompletely reversible poor airflow (airflow limitation) and an inability to breathe out fully (air trapping) exist. The poor airflow is the result of small airways disease and emphysema (the breakdown of lung tissue). The relative contributions of these two factors vary between people. Air trapping precedes lung hyperinflation.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: COPD develops as a significant and chronic inflammatory response to inhaled irritants which ultimately leads to bronchial and alveolar remodelling in the lung known as small airways disease. Thus, airway remodelling with narrowing of peripheral airway and emphysema are responsible for the alteration of lung function. Mucociliary clearance is particularly altered with a dysregulation of cilia and mucus production. Small airway disease sometimes called chronic bronchiolitis, appears to be the precursor for the development of emphysema.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: The inflammatory cells involved include neutrophils and macrophages, two types of white blood cells. Those who smoke additionally have cytotoxic T cell involvement and some people with COPD have eosinophil involvement similar to that in asthma. Part of this cell response is brought on by inflammatory mediators such as chemotactic factors. Other processes involved with lung damage include oxidative stress produced by high concentrations of free radicals in tobacco smoke and released by inflammatory cells and breakdown of the connective tissue of the lungs by proteases (particularly elastase) that are insufficiently inhibited by protease inhibitors. The destruction of the connective tissue of the lungs leads to emphysema, which then contributes to the poor airflow and finally, poor absorption and release of respiratory gases. General muscle wasting that often occurs in COPD may be partly due to inflammatory mediators released by the lungs into the blood.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Narrowing of the airways occurs due to inflammation and subsequent scarring within them. This contributes to the inability to breathe out fully. The greatest reduction in air flow occurs when breathing out, as the pressure in the chest is compressing the airways at this time. This can result in more air from the previous breath remaining within the lungs when the next breath is started, resulting in an increase in the total volume of air in the lungs at any given time, a process called air trapping which is closely followed by hyperinflation. Hyperinflation from exercise is linked to shortness of breath in COPD, as breathing in is less comfortable when the lungs are already partly filled. Hyperinflation may also worsen during an exacerbation. There may also be a degree of airway hyperresponsiveness to irritants similar to those found in asthma.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Low oxygen levels and eventually, high carbon dioxide levels in the blood, can occur from poor gas exchange due to decreased ventilation from airway obstruction, hyperinflation and a reduced desire to breathe. During exacerbations, airway inflammation is also increased, resulting in increased hyperinflation, reduced expiratory airflow and worsening of gas transfer. This can lead to low blood oxygen levels which if present for a prolonged period, can result in narrowing of the arteries in the lungs, while emphysema leads to the breakdown of capillaries in the lungs. Both of these conditions may result in pulmonary heart disease also classically known as "cor pulmonale".


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: The diagnosis of COPD should be considered in anyone over the age of 35 to 40 who has shortness of breath, a chronic cough, sputum production, or frequent winter colds and a history of exposure to risk factors for the disease. Spirometry is then used to confirm the diagnosis.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Spirometry measures the amount of airflow obstruction present and is generally carried out after the use of a bronchodilator, a medication to open up the airways. Two main components are measured to make the diagnosis, the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), which is the greatest volume of air that can be breathed out in the first second of a breath and the forced vital capacity (FVC), which is the greatest volume of air that can be breathed out in a single large breath. Normally, 75–80% of the FVC comes out in the first second and a FEV1/FVC ratio less than 70% in someone with symptoms of COPD defines a person as having the disease. Based on these measurements, spirometry would lead to over-diagnosis of COPD in the elderly. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence criteria additionally require a FEV1 less than 80% of predicted. People with COPD also exhibit a decrease in diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide due to decreased surface area in the alveoli, as well as damage to the capillary bed. Testing the peak expiratory flow (the maximum speed of expiration), commonly used in asthma diagnosis, is not sufficient for the diagnosis of COPD.


title: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

text: Screening using spirometry in those without symptoms has uncertain effect and is generally not recommended; however, it is recommended for those without symptoms but with a known risk factor.