title: History of the Internet

text: A number of protocols were developed to deliver messages among groups of time-sharing computers over alternative transmission systems, such as UUCP and IBM's VNET email system. Email could be passed this way between a number of networks, including ARPANET, BITNET and NSFNET, as well as to hosts connected directly to other sites via UUCP. See the history of SMTP protocol.


title: History of the Internet

text: In addition, UUCP allowed the publication of text files that could be read by many others. The News software developed by Steve Daniel and Tom Truscott in 1979 was used to distribute news and bulletin board-like messages. This quickly grew into discussion groups, known as newsgroups, on a wide range of topics. On ARPANET and NSFNET similar discussion groups would form via mailing lists, discussing both technical issues and more culturally focused topics (such as science fiction, discussed on the sflovers mailing list).


title: History of the Internet

text: During the early years of the Internet, email and similar mechanisms were also fundamental to allow people to access resources that were not available due to the absence of online connectivity. UUCP was often used to distribute files using the 'alt.binary' groups. Also, FTP e-mail gateways allowed people that lived outside the US and Europe to download files using ftp commands written inside email messages. The file was encoded, broken in pieces and sent by email; the receiver had to reassemble and decode it later, and it was the only way for people living overseas to download items such as the earlier Linux versions using the slow dial-up connections available at the time. After the popularization of the Web and the HTTP protocol such tools were slowly abandoned.


title: History of the Internet

text: Resource or file sharing has been an important activity on computer networks from well before the Internet was established and was supported in a variety of ways including bulletin board systems (1978), Usenet (1980), Kermit (1981), and many others. The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) for use on the Internet was standardized in 1985 and is still in use today. A variety of tools were developed to aid the use of FTP by helping users discover files they might want to transfer, including the Wide Area Information Server (WAIS) in 1991, Gopher in 1991, Archie in 1991, Veronica in 1992, Jughead in 1993, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) in 1988, and eventually the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1991 with Web directories and Web search engines.


title: History of the Internet

text: In 1999, Napster became the first peer-to-peer file sharing system. Napster used a central server for indexing and peer discovery, but the storage and transfer of files was decentralized. A variety of peer-to-peer file sharing programs and services with different levels of decentralization and anonymity followed, including: Gnutella, eDonkey2000, and Freenet in 2000, FastTrack, Kazaa, Limewire, and BitTorrent in 2001, and Poisoned in 2003.


title: History of the Internet

text: All of these tools are general purpose and can be used to share a wide variety of content, but sharing of music files, software, and later movies and videos are major uses. And while some of this sharing is legal, large portions are not. Lawsuits and other legal actions caused Napster in 2001, eDonkey2000 in 2005, Kazaa in 2006, and Limewire in 2010 to shut down or refocus their efforts. The Pirate Bay, founded in Sweden in 2003, continues despite a trial and appeal in 2009 and 2010 that resulted in jail terms and large fines for several of its founders. File sharing remains contentious and controversial with charges of theft of intellectual property on the one hand and charges of censorship on the other.


title: History of the Internet

text: File hosting allowed for people to expand their computer's hard drives and "host" their files on a server. Most file hosting services offer free storage, as well as larger storage amount for a fee. These services have greatly expanded the internet for business and personal use.


title: History of the Internet

text: Google Drive, launched on April 24, 2012, has become the most popular file hosting service. Google Drive allows users to store, edit, and share files with themselves and other users. Not only does this application allow for file editing, hosting, and sharing. It also acts as Google's own free-to-access office programs, such as Google Docs, Google Slides, and Google Sheets. This application served as a useful tool for University professors and students, as well as those who are in need of Cloud storage.


title: History of the Internet

text: Dropbox, released in June 2007 is a similar file hosting service that allows users to keep all of their files in a folder on their computer, which is synced with Dropbox's servers. This differs from Google Drive as it is not web-browser based. Now, Dropbox works to keep workers and files in sync and efficient.


title: History of the Internet

text: Mega, having over 200 million users, is an encrypted storage and communication system that offers users free and paid storage, with an emphasis on privacy. Being three of the largest file hosting services, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Mega all represent the core ideas and values of these services.


title: History of the Internet

text: The earliest form of online piracy began with a P2P (peer to peer) music sharing service named Napster, launched in 1999. Sites like LimeWire, The Pirate Bay, and BitTorrent allowed for anyone to engage in online piracy, sending ripples through the media industry. With online piracy came a change in the media industry as a whole.


title: History of the Internet

text: Total global mobile data traffic reached 588 exabytes during 2020, a 150-fold increase from 3.86 exabytes/year in 2010. Most recently, smartphones accounted for 95% of this mobile data traffic with video accounting for 66% by type of data. Mobile traffic travels by radio frequency to the closest cell phone tower and its base station where the radio signal is converted into an optical signal that is transmitted over high-capacity optical networking systems that convey the information to data centers. The optical backbones enable much of this traffic as well as a host of emerging mobile services including the Internet of things, 3-D virtual reality, gaming and autonomous vehicles. The most popular mobile phone application is texting, of which 2.1 trillion messages were logged in 2020. The texting phenomenon began on December 3, 1992, when Neil Papworth sent the first text message of “Merry Christmas” over a commercial cell phone network to the CEO of Vodafone.


title: History of the Internet

text: The first mobile phone with Internet connectivity was the Nokia 9000 Communicator, launched in Finland in 1996. The viability of Internet services access on mobile phones was limited until prices came down from that model, and network providers started to develop systems and services conveniently accessible on phones. NTT DoCoMo in Japan launched the first mobile Internet service, i-mode, in 1999 and this is considered the birth of the mobile phone Internet services. In 2001, the mobile phone email system by Research in Motion (now BlackBerry Limited) for their BlackBerry product was launched in America. To make efficient use of the small screen and tiny keypad and one-handed operation typical of mobile phones, a specific document and networking model was created for mobile devices, the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). Most mobile device Internet services operate using WAP. The growth of mobile phone services was initially a primarily Asian phenomenon with Japan, South Korea and Taiwan all soon finding the majority of their Internet users accessing resources by phone rather than by PC. Developing countries followed, with India, South Africa, Kenya, the Philippines, and Pakistan all reporting that the majority of their domestic users accessed the Internet from a mobile phone rather than a PC. The European and North American use of the Internet was influenced by a large installed base of personal computers, and the growth of mobile phone Internet access was more gradual, but had reached national penetration levels of 20–30% in most Western countries. The cross-over occurred in 2008, when more Internet access devices were mobile phones than personal computers. In many parts of the developing world, the ratio is as much as 10 mobile phone users to one PC user.


title: History of the Internet

text: Global Internet traffic continues to grow at a rapid rate, rising 23% from 2020 to 2021 when the number of active Internet users reached 4.66 billion people, representing half of the global population. Further demand for data, and the capacity to satisfy this demand, are forecast to increase to 717 terabits per second in 2021. This capacity stems from the optical amplification and WDM systems that are the common basis of virtually every metro, regional, national, international and submarine telecommunications networks. These optical networking systems have been installed throughout the 5 billion kilometers of fiber optic lines deployed around the world. Continued growth in traffic is expected for the foreseeable future from a combination of new users, increased mobile phone adoption, machine-to-machine connections, connected homes, 5G devices and the burgeoning requirement for cloud and Internet services such as Amazon, Facebook, Apple Music and YouTube.


title: History of the Internet

text: There are nearly insurmountable problems in supplying a historiography of the Internet's development. The process of digitization represents a twofold challenge both for historiography in general and, in particular, for historical communication research. A sense of the difficulty in documenting early developments that led to the internet can be gathered from the quote:


title: History of the Internet

text: Historian Andrew L. Russell wrote in 2012 that "“Internet history” also suffers from a ... methodological ... problem: it tends to be too close to its sources. Many Internet pioneers are alive, active, and eager to shape the histories that describe their accomplishments. Many museums and historians are equally eager to interview the pioneers and to publicize their stories."


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone, sold under many brand names, is an antidepressant medication. It is used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and difficulties with sleep. The medication is taken orally.


title: Trazodone

text: Common side-effects include dry mouth, feeling faint, vomiting, and headache. More serious side effects may include suicide, mania, irregular heart rate, and pathologically prolonged erections. It is unclear if use during pregnancy or breastfeeding is safe. It is a phenylpiperazine compound of the serotonin antagonist and reuptake inhibitor (SARI) class. Trazodone also has sedating effects.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone was approved for medical use in the United States in 1981. It is available as a generic medication. In 2020, it was the 21st most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 26million prescriptions.


title: Trazodone

text: The primary use of trazodone is the treatment of unipolar major depression with or without anxiety. Data from open and double-blind trials suggest the antidepressant efficacy of trazodone is comparable to that of amitriptyline, doxepin, and mianserin. Also, trazodone showed anxiolytic properties, low cardiotoxicity, and relatively mild side effects.


title: Trazodone

text: Because trazodone has minimal anticholinergic activity, it was especially welcomed as a treatment for geriatric patients with depression when it first became available. Three double-blind studies reported trazodone has antidepressant efficacy similar to that of other antidepressants in geriatric patients. However, a side effect of trazodone, orthostatic hypotension, which may cause dizziness and increase the risk of falling, can have devastating consequences for elderly patients; thus, this side effect, along with sedation, often makes trazodone less acceptable for this population, compared with newer compounds that share its lack of anticholinergic activity but not the rest of its side-effect profile. Still, trazodone is often helpful for geriatric patients with depression who have severe agitation and insomnia.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone is usually used at a dosage of 150 to 300mg/day for the treatment of depression. Lower doses have also been used to augment other antidepressants, or when initiating therapy. Higher doses up to 600mg/day have been used in more severe cases of depression, for instance in hospitalized patients. Trazodone is usually administered multiple times per day, but once-daily administration may be similarly effective.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone is often used in the treatment of anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). However, use of trazodone in anxiety disorders is off-label and evidence of its effectiveness for these indications is variable and limited. Benefits for OCD appear to be mild. Besides anxiety, trazodone has been used to treat sleep disturbances and nightmares in PTSD. Trazodone is often used as an alternative to benzodiazepines in the treatment of anxiety disorders.


title: Trazodone

text: Low-dose trazodone is used off-label in the treatment of insomnia and is considered to be effective and safe for this indication. It may also be used to treat antidepressant-related insomnia. Trazodone was the second-most prescribed agent for insomnia in the early 2000s, though most studies of trazodone for treatment of sleep disturbances have been in depressed individuals.


title: Trazodone

text: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in the late 2010s, including a Cochrane review, found low-dose trazodone to be an effective medication for short-term treatment of insomnia both in depressed and non-depressed people. Trazodone slightly improves subjective sleep quality ( = –0.34 to –0.41) and reduces number of nighttime awakenings ( = –0.31, = –0.51). Conversely, it does not appear to affect sleep onset, total sleep time, time awake after sleep onset, or sleep efficiency. It appears to increase deep sleep, in contrast to certain other hypnotics. The quality of evidence of trazodone for short-term treatment of insomnia was rated as low to moderate. There is no evidence available at present to inform long-term use of trazodone in the treatment of insomnia.


title: Trazodone

text: The benefits of trazodone for insomnia must be weighed against potential adverse effects such as morning grogginess, daytime sleepiness, cognitive and motor impairment, and postural hypotension, among others. Quality safety data on use of trazodone as a sleep aid are currently lacking.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone is used at low doses in the range of 25 to 150mg/day for insomnia. Higher doses of 200 to 600mg/day have also been studied.


title: Trazodone

text: The American Academy of Sleep Medicine's 2017 clinical practice guidelines recommended against the use of trazodone in the treatment of insomnia due to inadequate evidence and due to harms potentially outweighing benefits.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone is often used in combination with other antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in order to augment their antidepressant and anxiolytic effects and to reduce side effects such as sexual dysfunction, anxiety, and insomnia.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone is provided as the hydrochloride salt and is available in the form of 50mg, 100mg, 150mg, and 300mg oral tablets.


title: Trazodone

text: Because of its lack of anticholinergic side effects, trazodone is especially useful in situations in which antimuscarinic effects are particularly problematic (e.g., in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia, closed-angle glaucoma, or severe constipation). Trazodone's propensity to cause sedation is a dual-edged sword. For many patients, the relief from agitation, anxiety, and insomnia can be rapid; for other patients, including those individuals with considerable psychomotor retardation and feelings of low energy, therapeutic doses of trazodone may not be tolerable because of sedation. Trazodone elicits orthostatic hypotension in some people, probably as a consequence of α-adrenergic receptor blockade. The unmasking of bipolar disorder may occur with trazodone and other antidepressants.


title: Trazodone

text: Precautions for trazodone include known hypersensitivity to trazodone and under 18 years and combined with other antidepressant medications, it may increase the possibility of suicidal thoughts or actions.


title: Trazodone

text: While trazodone is not a true member of the SSRI class of antidepressants, it does still share many properties of SSRIs, especially the possibility of discontinuation syndrome if the medication is stopped too quickly. Care must, therefore, be taken when coming off the medication, usually by a gradual process of tapering down the dose over a period of time.


title: Trazodone

text: Antidepressants may increase the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children and young adults. Close monitoring for emergence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors is thus recommended.


title: Trazodone

text: Since trazodone may impair the mental and/or physical abilities required for performance of potentially hazardous tasks, such as operating an automobile or machinery, the patient should be cautioned not to engage in such activities while impaired. Compared to the reversible MAOI antidepressant drug moclobemide, more impairment of vigilance occurs with trazodone. Trazodone has been found to impair driving ability.


title: Trazodone

text: Case reports have noted cardiac arrhythmias emerging in relation to trazodone treatment, both in patients with pre-existing mitral valve prolapse and in patients with negative personal and family histories of cardiac disease.


title: Trazodone

text: QT prolongation has been reported with trazodone therapy. Arrhythmia identified include isolated PVCs, ventricular couplets, and in two patients short episodes (three to four beats) of ventricular tachycardia. Several post-marketing reports have been made of arrhythmia in trazodone-treated patients who have pre-existing cardiac disease and in some patients who did not have pre-existing cardiac disease. Until the results of prospective studies are available, patients with pre-existing cardiac disease should be closely monitored, particularly for cardiac arrhythmias. Trazodone is not recommended for use during the initial recovery phase of myocardial infarction. Concomitant administration of drugs that prolong the QT interval or that are inhibitors of CYP3A4 may increase the risk of cardiac arrhythmia.


title: Trazodone

text: A relatively rare side effect associated with trazodone is priapism, likely due to its antagonism at α-adrenergic receptors. More than 200 cases have been reported, and the manufacturer estimated that the incidence of any abnormal erectile function is about one in 6,000 male patients treated with trazodone. The risk for this side effect appears to be greatest during the first month of treatment at low dosages (i.e. <150mg/day). Early recognition of any abnormal erectile function is important, including prolonged or inappropriate erections, and should prompt discontinuation of trazodone treatment. Spontaneous orgasms have also been reported with trazodone in men.


title: Trazodone

text: Clinical reports have described trazodone-associated psychosexual side effects in women as well, including increased libido, priapism of the clitoris, and spontaneous orgasms.


title: Trazodone

text: Rare cases of liver toxicity have been observed, possibly due to the formation of reactive metabolites.


title: Trazodone

text: Elevated prolactin concentrations have been observed in people taking trazodone. They appear to be increased by around 1.5- to 2-fold.


title: Trazodone

text: Studies on trazodone and cognitive function are mixed, with some finding improvement, others finding no change, and some finding impairment.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone is associated with increased risk of falls in older adults. It has also been associated with increased risk of hip fractures in older adults.


title: Trazodone

text: Sufficient data in humans are lacking. Use should be justified by the severity of the condition to be treated.


title: Trazodone

text: There are reported cases of high doses of trazodone precipitating serotonin syndrome. There are also reports of patients taking multiple SSRIs with trazodone and precipitating serotonin syndrome.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone appears to be relatively safer than TCAs, MAOIs, and a few of the other second-generation antidepressants in overdose situations, especially when it is the only agent taken. Fatalities are rare, and uneventful recoveries have been reported after ingestion of doses as high as 6,000–9,200mg. In one report, 9 of 294 cases of overdose were fatal, and all nine patients had also taken other central nervous system (CNS) depressants. When trazodone overdoses occur, clinicians should carefully monitor for low blood pressure, a potentially serious toxic effect. In a report of a fatal trazodone overdose, torsades de pointes and complete atrioventricular block developed, along with subsequent multiple organ failure, with a trazodone plasma concentration of 25.4mg/L on admission.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone is metabolized by several liver enzymes, including CYP3A4, CYP2D6, and CYP1A2. Its active metabolite "meta"-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP) is known to be formed by CYP3A4 and metabolized by CYP2D6. Inhibition or induction of the aforementioned enzymes by various other substances may alter the metabolism of trazodone and/or mCPP, leading to increased and/or decreased blood concentrations. The enzymes in question are known to be inhibited and induced by many medications, herbs, and foods, and as such, trazodone may interact with these substances. Potent CYP3A4 inhibitors such as clarithromycin, erythromycin, fluvoxamine, grapefruit juice, ketoconazole, and ritonavir may lead to increased concentrations of trazodone and decreased concentrations of mCPP, while CYP3A4 inducers like carbamazepine, enzalutamide, phenytoin, phenobarbital, and St. John's wort may result in decreased trazodone concentrations and increased mCPP concentrations. CYP2D6 inhibitors may result in increased concentrations of both trazodone and mCPP while CYP2D6 inducers may decrease their concentrations. Examples of potent CYP2D6 inhibitors include bupropion, cannabidiol, duloxetine, fluoxetine, paroxetine, quinidine, and ritonavir, while CYP2D6 inducers include dexamethasone, glutethimide, and haloperidol. CYP1A2 inhibitors may increase trazodone concentrations while CYP1A2 inducers may decrease trazodone concentrations. Examples of potent CYP1A2 inhibitors include ethinylestradiol (found in hormonal birth control), fluoroquinolones (e.g., ciprofloxacin), fluvoxamine, and St. John's wort, while potent CYP1A2 inducers include phenytoin, rifampin, ritonavir, and tobacco.


title: Trazodone

text: A study found that ritonavir, a strong CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 inhibitor and moderate CYP1A2 inducer, increased trazodone peak levels by 1.34-fold, increased area-under-the-curve levels by 2.4-fold, and decreased the clearance of trazodone by 50%. This was associated with adverse effects such as nausea, hypotension, and syncope. Another study found that the strong CYP3A4 inducer carbamazepine reduced concentrations of trazodone by 60 to 74%. The strong CYP2D6 inhibitor thioridazine has been reported to increase concentrations of trazodone by 1.36-fold and concentrations of mCPP by 1.54-fold. On the other hand, CYP2D6 genotype has not been found to predict trazodone or mCPP concentrations with trazodone therapy, although it did correlate with side effects like dizziness and prolonged corrected QT interval.


title: Trazodone

text: Combination of trazodone with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), or monoamine oxidase inhibitors has a theoretical risk of serotonin syndrome. However, trazodone has been studied in combination with SSRIs and seemed to be safe in this context. On the other hand, cases of excessive sedation and serotonin syndrome have been reported with the combinations of trazodone and fluoxetine or paroxetine. This may be due to combined potentiation of the serotonin system. However, it may also be related to the fact that fluoxetine and paroxetine are strong inhibitors of CYP2D6 and fluoxetine is additionally a weak or moderate inhibitor of CYP3A4. Accordingly, fluoxetine has been reported to result in increased levels of trazodone and mCPP by 1.31- to 1.65-fold and by 2.97- to 3.39-fold, respectively.


title: Trazodone

text: Smokers have lower levels of trazodone and higher ratios of mCPP to trazodone. Trazodone levels were 30% lower in smokers and mCPP to trazodone ratio was 1.29-fold higher in smokers, whereas mCPP concentrations were not different between smokers and non-smokers. Smoking is known to induce CYP1A2, and this may be involved in these findings.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone is a mixed agonist and antagonist of various serotonin receptors, antagonist of adrenergic receptors, weak histamine H receptor antagonist, and weak serotonin reuptake inhibitor. More specifically, it is an antagonist of 5-HT and 5-HT receptors, a partial agonist of the 5-HT receptor, and an antagonist of the α- and α-adrenergic receptors. It is also a ligand of the 5-HT receptor with lower affinity than for the 5-HT receptor. However, it is unknown whether trazodone acts as a full agonist, partial agonist, or antagonist of the 5-HT receptor. Trazodone is a 5-HT receptor partial agonist similarly to buspirone and tandospirone but with comparatively greater intrinsic activity. A range of weak affinities (K) have been reported for trazodone at the human histamine H receptor, including 220nM, 350nM, 500nM, and 1,100nM.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone has a minor active metabolite known as "meta"-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP), and this metabolite may contribute to some degree to the pharmacological properties of trazodone. In contrast to trazodone, mCPP is an agonist of various serotonin receptors. It has relatively low affinity for α-adrenergic receptors unlike trazodone, but does high affinity for α-adrenergic receptors and weak affinity for the H receptor. In addition to direct interactions with serotonin receptors, mCPP is a serotonin releasing agent similarly to agents like fenfluramine and MDMA. In contrast to these serotonin releasing agents however, mCPP does not appear to cause long-term serotonin depletion (a property thought to be related to serotonergic neurotoxicity).


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone's 5-HT receptor antagonism and weak serotonin reuptake inhibition form the basis of its common label as an antidepressant of the serotonin antagonist and reuptake inhibitor (SARI) type.


title: Trazodone

text: Studies have estimated occupancy of target sites by trazodone based on trazodone concentrations in blood and brain and on the affinities of trazodone for the human targets in question. Roughly half of brain 5-HT receptors are blocked by 1mg of trazodone and essentially all 5-HT receptors are saturated at 10mg of trazodone, but the clinically effective hypnotic doses of trazodone are in the 25–100mg range. The occupancy of the serotonin transporter (SERT) by trazodone is estimated to be 86% at 100mg/day and 90% at 150mg/day. Trazodone may almost completely occupy the 5-HT and 5-HT receptors at doses of 100 to 150mg/day. Significant occupancy of a number of other sites may also occur. However, another study estimated much lower occupancy of the SERT and 5-HT receptors by trazodone.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone may act predominantly as a 5-HT receptor antagonist to mediate its therapeutic benefits against anxiety and depression. Its inhibitory effects on serotonin reuptake and 5-HT receptors are comparatively weak. In relation to these properties, trazodone does not have similar properties to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and is not particularly associated with increased appetite and weight gain—unlike other 5-HT antagonists like mirtazapine. Moderate 5-HT partial agonism may contribute to trazodone's antidepressant and anxiolytic actions to some extent as well.


title: Trazodone

text: The combined actions of 5-HT and 5HT receptor antagonism with serotonin reuptake inhibition only occur at moderate to high doses of trazodone. Doses of trazodone lower than those effective for antidepressant action are frequently used for the effective treatment of insomnia. Low doses exploit trazodone's potent actions as a 5-HT receptor antagonist, and its properties as an antagonist of H and α-adrenergic receptors, but do not adequately exploit its SERT or 5-HT inhibition properties, which are weaker. Since insomnia is one of the most frequent residual symptoms of depression after treatment with an SSRI, a hypnotic is often necessary for patients with a major depressive episode. Not only can a hypnotic potentially relieve the insomnia itself, but treating insomnia in patients with major depression may also increase remission rates due to improvement of other symptoms such as loss of energy and depressed mood. Thus, the ability of low doses of trazodone to improve sleep in depressed patients may be an important mechanism whereby trazodone can augment the efficacy of other antidepressants.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone's potent α-adrenergic blockade may cause some side effects like orthostatic hypotension and sedation. Conversely, along with 5-HT and H receptor antagonism, it may contribute to its efficacy as a hypnotic. Trazodone lacks any affinity for the muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, so does not produce anticholinergic side effects.


title: Trazodone

text: mCPP, a non-selective serotonin receptor modulator and serotonin releasing agent, is an active metabolite of trazodone and has been suggested to possibly play a role in its therapeutic benefits. However, research has not supported this hypothesis and mCPP might actually antagonize the efficacy of trazodone as well as produce additional side effects.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone is well-absorbed after oral administration. Its bioavailability is 65 to 80%. Peak blood levels of trazodone occur 1 to 2hours after ingestion and peak levels of the metabolite mCPP occur after 2 to 4hours. Absorption is somewhat delayed and enhanced by food.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone is not sequestered into any tissue. The medication is 89 to 95% protein-bound. The volume of distribution of trazodone is 0.8 to 1.5L/kg. Trazodone is highly lipophilic.


title: Trazodone

text: The metabolic pathways involved in the metabolism are not well-characterized. In any case, the cytochrome P450 enzymes CYP3A4, CYP2D6, and CYP1A2 may all be involved to varying extents. Trazodone is known to be extensively metabolized by the liver via hydroxylation, "N"-oxidation, and "N"-dealkylation. Several metabolites of trazodone have been identified, including a dihydrodiol metabolite (via hydroxylation), a metabolite hydroxylated at the "para" position of the "meta"-chlorophenyl ring (via CYP2D6), oxotriazolepyridinepropionic acid (TPA) and mCPP (both via "N"-dealkylation of the piperazinyl nitrogen mediated by CYP3A4), and a metabolite formed by N-oxidation of the piperazinyl nitrogen. CYP1A2, CYP2D6, and CYP3A4 genotypes all do not seem to predict concentrations of trazodone or mCPP. In any case, there are large interindividual variations in the metabolism of trazodone. In addition, poor metabolizers of dextromethorphan, a CYP2D6 substrate, eliminate mCPP more slowly and have higher concentrations of mCPP than do extensive metabolizers.


title: Trazodone

text: mCPP is formed from trazodone by CYP3A4 and is metabolized via hydroxylation by CYP2D6 (to a "para"-hydroxylated metabolite). It may contribute to the pharmacological actions of trazodone. mCPP levels are only 10% of those of trazodone during therapy with trazodone, but is nonetheless present at concentrations known to produce psychic and physical effects in humans when mCPP has been administered alone. In any case, the actions of trazodone, such as its serotonin antagonism, might partially overwhelm those of mCPP. As a consequence of the production of mCPP as a metabolite, patients administered trazodone may test positive on EMIT II urine tests for the presence of MDMA ("ecstasy").


title: Trazodone

text: The elimination of trazodone is biphasic: the first phase's half-life (distribution) is 3 to 6hours, and the following phase's half-life (elimination) is 4.1 to 14.6hours. The elimination half-life of extended-release trazodone is 9.1 to 13.2hours. The elimination half-life of mCPP is 2.6 to 16.0hours and is longer than that of trazodone. Metabolites are conjugated to gluconic acid or glutathione and around 70 to 75% of C-labelled trazodone was found to be excreted in the urine within 72hours. The remaining drug and its metabolites are excreted in the faeces via biliary elimination. Less than 1% of the drug is excreted in its unchanged form. After an oral dose of trazodone, it was found to be excreted 20% in the urine as TPA and conjugates, 9% as the dihydrodiol metabolite, and less than 1% as unconjugated mCPP. mCPP is glucuronidated and sulfated similarly to other trazodone metabolites.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone is a triazolopyridine derivative and a phenylpiperazine that is structurally related to nefazodone and etoperidone, each of which are derivatives of it. Flibanserin is an analogue of trazodone.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone was developed in Italy, in the 1960s, by Angelini Research Laboratories as a second-generation antidepressant. It was developed according to the mental pain hypothesis, which was postulated from studying patients and which proposes that major depression is associated with a decreased pain threshold. In sharp contrast to most other antidepressants available at the time of its development, trazodone showed minimal effects on muscarinic cholinergic receptors. Trazodone was patented and marketed in many countries all over the world. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1981 and was the first non-tricyclic or MAOI antidepressant approved in the US.


title: Trazodone

text: "Trazodone" is the generic name of the drug and its , , and , while "trazodone hydrochloride" is its , , , and .


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone has been marketed under a large number of brand names throughout the world. Major brand names include Desyrel (worldwide), Donaren (Brazil), Molipaxin (Ireland, United Kingdom), Oleptro (United States), Trazorel (Canada), and Trittico (worldwide).


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone may be effective in the treatment of sexual dysfunction, for instance female sexual dysfunction and erectile dysfunction. A 2003 systematic review and meta-analysis found some indication that trazodone may be useful in the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Besides trazodone alone, a combination of trazodone and bupropion (developmental code names and tentative brand names S1P-104, S1P-205, Lorexys, and Orexa) is under development for the treatment of erectile dysfunction and female sexual dysfunction.<ref name="AdisInsight-Bupropion/Trazodone"></ref> As of September 2021, it is in phase 2 clinical trials for these indications. It has been in this stage of clinical development since at least February 2015.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone may be useful in the treatment of certain symptoms like sleep disturbances in alcohol withdrawal and recovery. However, reviews have recommended against use of trazodone for alcohol withdrawal due to inadequate evidence. Very limited evidence suggests that trazodone might be useful in the treatment of certain symptoms in cocaine use disorder. Trazodone has been reported to be effective in the treatment of sleep apnea. Cochrane reviews found that trazodone was not effective in the treatment of agitation in dementia. Another Cochrane review found that trazodone might be useful in the treatment of sleep disturbances in dementia. Further systematic reviews have found that trazodone may be effective for behavioral and psychological symptoms in dementias such as frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone has been studied as an adjunctive therapy in the treatment of schizophrenia. It has been reported to decrease negative symptoms without worsening positive symptoms although improvement in negative symptoms was modest. Trazodone has also been reported to be effective in treating antipsychotic-related extrapyramidal symptoms such as akathisia. Trazodone has been studied and reported to be effective in the treatment of bulimia, but there is limited evidence to support this use. It might be useful in the treatment of night eating disorder as well. Trazodone might be effective in the treatment of adjustment disorder. It may also be effective in the treatment of bruxism in children and adolescents.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone may be useful in the treatment of certain chronic pain disorders. There is limited but conflicting evidence to support the use of trazodone in the treatment of headaches and migraines in children. Trazodone may be useful in the treatment of fibromyalgia as well as diabetic neuropathy. It may also be useful in the treatment of burning mouth syndrome. A 2004 narrative review claimed that trazodone could be used in the treatment of complex regional pain syndrome. Trazodone may also be effective in the treatment of functional gastrointestinal disorders. It may be effective in the treatment of non-cardiac chest pain as well.


title: Trazodone

text: Trazodone has been used to reduce anxiety and stress, to improve sleep, and to produce sedation in dogs and cats in veterinary medicine.


title: Karl Malone

text: Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone spent his first 18 seasons (1985–2003) in the NBA with the Utah Jazz and formed a formidable duo with his teammate John Stockton. He was a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, a 14-time NBA All-Star, and an 11-time member of the All-NBA first team. His 36,928 career points scored rank third all-time in NBA history behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James, and he holds the records for most free throws attempted and made, in addition to being tied for the second-most first-team All-NBA selections with Kobe Bryant and behind LeBron James.


title: Karl Malone

text: Malone played college basketball at Louisiana Tech University. In his three seasons with Louisiana Tech, he helped the Bulldogs basketball team to its first-ever NCAA tournament in 1984 and to first place in the Southland Conference in 1985. The Utah Jazz selected him in the first round of the 1985 NBA draft with the 13th overall pick. Malone appeared in the playoffs every season in his career, including the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998 with the Jazz. He played his final season with the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom he played his third Finals in 2004. Malone also competed with the United States national team in the Summer Olympic Games of 1992 and 1996; in both years he won gold medals. In 1996, as part of the NBA's 50th Anniversary, Malone was honored as one of the 50 greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team. In October 2021, Malone was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.


title: Karl Malone

text: After retiring from the NBA, Malone joined the staff of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team in 2007 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 twice – for his individual career, and as a member of the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team.


title: Karl Malone

text: Born in Summerfield, Louisiana, Malone was the youngest of nine children and during his childhood lived on a farm with his single mother, Shirley. His father, Shedrick Hay, was raising a family with another woman he married and committed suicide when Karl Malone was 3; Malone first disclosed that suicide in 1994. As a child, Malone often worked at the farm and chopped trees, hunted, and fished. He attended Summerfield High School and led his basketball team to three consecutive Louisiana Class C titles from 1979 to his senior season in 1981.


title: Karl Malone

text: Although recruited by University of Arkansas basketball coach Eddie Sutton, Malone enrolled at Louisiana Tech University, which was closer to home. He joined the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team in his second year because his grades were too low for freshman eligibility; Malone played under coach Andy Russo. In his second season with Louisiana Tech (1983–84), Malone averaged 18.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Louisiana Tech finished the 1984–85 season 29–3, at the top of the Southland Conference, and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history; the team finished at the Sweet 16 round. In each of his three seasons with the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, Malone was an All-Southland selection.


title: Karl Malone

text: In the 1985 NBA draft, the Utah Jazz selected Karl Malone with the 13th overall pick. According to Malone's official NBA biography: "If professional scouts had correctly predicted the impact Karl Malone would have on the NBA, Malone would have been picked much higher than 13th in the 1985 NBA Draft." In fact, Malone was so convinced the Dallas Mavericks were going to select him with the eighth choice that he had already rented an apartment in Dallas. Instead, the Mavericks selected Detlef Schrempf. Under head coach Frank Layden, Malone averaged 14.9 points and 8.9 rebounds in his first season and made the 1986 NBA All-Rookie Team after coming in third for Rookie of the Year votes. On January 14, 1986, the Jazz beat the Houston Rockets 105–102 to snap the Rockets' 20-game winning streak at home. Malone scored 29 points in that game, including four free throws followed by a three-pointer by Pace Mannion to rally from a 96–89 deficit with 5 minutes and 36 seconds remaining to a 96–96 tie. For the third consecutive season, the Jazz made the postseason but lost the first round of the 1986 playoffs to the Dallas Mavericks. In the four playoff games, Malone improved in his scoring with a 20 points per game average but was still subpar in shooting (49.6% field goals) and rebounds (8.9). After his second season, Malone became the Jazz's leader in average scoring (21.7 points) and rebounding (10.4 rebounds); in 24 of 29 games between February 1 and April 3, 1987, he was the leading scorer of the game.


title: Karl Malone

text: By the 1987–88 season, Malone was the foundation of the offense and John Stockton was the floor general. Malone made his first All-Star Game in 1988 on the strength of 27.1 points per game, and made his first All-NBA team at the end of the season. This was the first of 14 consecutive All-Star appearances for Malone. In the 1988 NBA All-Star Game, Malone led the Western Conference All-Star team with 22 points. The Jazz finished 47–35, third place in the Midwest Division, and defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round. In the next round, the defending champions Los Angeles Lakers, led by perennial All-Stars Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, defeated the Jazz in seven games. In the seventh game of the series, Malone scored 31 points and had 15 rebounds, but the Lakers beat the Jazz 109–98 and eventually won the 1988 NBA Finals. In 11 playoff games in 1988, Malone averaged 29.7 points and 11.8 rebounds.


title: Karl Malone

text: Malone signed a 10-year contract during the 1988 offseason worth $18 million. In December 1988, Jerry Sloan succeeded Layden as head coach as Layden became team president. Malone averaged 29.1 points in , good for second in the NBA behind Michael Jordan, and 10.7 rebounds, which was fifth in the league. This scoring average was Malone's highest so far in his career. At the 1989 NBA All-Star Game, Malone finished with 28 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists en route to his first NBA All-Star MVP. The Jazz finished 51–31, but were swept in three games in the first round by the Golden State Warriors. This season marked Malone's first with the All-NBA First Team honor.


title: Karl Malone

text: During the , Malone increased his scoring to 31 points and his rebounding to 11.1 a game and again was selected to the All-NBA First Team. In the first game of the season, Malone recorded 40 points, 16 rebounds and 5 assists in a 122–113 win over the Denver Nuggets. On December 5, 1989, Malone scored 21 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in a 94–80 win over the home team, Cleveland Cavaliers. Seventeen days later, Malone recorded 52 points and 17 rebounds in a 114-100 road win over the Charlotte Hornets. On January 27, 1990, Malone scored a career-high 61 points in a 144–96 victory against the Milwaukee Bucks. He made 21 of 26 field goals and 19 of 23 free throws. It was the most points scored by a Jazz player since the team moved to Utah from New Orleans. Although Malone was voted to the NBA All-Star Game for the third consecutive season, because of an ankle injury he sat out the game. He led the team in scoring in 24 of the last 26 games of the season; on March 29, 1990, against the Golden State Warriors, Malone scored 49 points, and on April 12 against the Lakers he scored 45. The Jazz, finishing the season 55–27, lost to the Phoenix Suns within five games in the first round of the playoffs, in which Malone averaged 25.2 points and 10.2 rebounds. For the second straight season, Malone finished second in the league in points per game behind Michael Jordan.


title: Karl Malone

text: From January 19 to March 4, 1991, Malone led the Jazz in scoring for 19 straight games; after starting the season 7–8 the team went 21–9 in January and February 1991. Malone scored 16 points and took 11 rebounds in the 1991 NBA All-Star Game, his fourth consecutive All-Star appearance for the West, and averaged 29.0 points and 11.8 rebounds each regular-season game. He was among four Jazz players with double-figure scoring averages, the others being the newly acquired Jeff Malone (no relation) as well as John Stockton and Thurl Bailey. In four games, the Jazz eliminated the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 1991 playoffs but lost to the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round. Malone made the All-NBA First Team for the third consecutive season.


title: Karl Malone

text: As he had done in 1989–90, Malone finished the 1991–92 season second in the league in scoring, averaging 28.0 points per game. He made the All-NBA First Team for the fourth straight year. It was also a breakout season for the Jazz; during the 1992 NBA Playoffs, the team made the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history. Malone scored 40 or more points in five games this season. Despite his continued success and achievements, Malone encountered trouble for committing a flagrant foul. On December 14, 1991, when the Jazz played against the Detroit Pistons, Malone elbowed the Pistons' Isiah Thomas on the forehead. Thomas needed 40 stitches over his eye, and the NBA suspended Malone for the next game without pay and fined him $10,000. In its first-ever franchise Western Conference Finals appearance, in six games the Jazz lost in the playoffs for the second straight season to the Portland Trail Blazers. Malone averaged 29.1 points on 52.1% shooting and 11.9 rebounds in the 1992 playoffs.


title: Karl Malone

text: Throughout the 1990s, Malone put up stellar numbers: in , he averaged 27.0 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, 25.2 points and 11.5 rebounds in , 26.7 points and 10.6 rebounds in , and 25.7 points and 9.8 rebounds in . Following the 1992 Summer Olympics in which Malone helped the American national team, dubbed the "Dream Team", win a gold medal, Malone expressed opposition to Magic Johnson, who had recently tested positive for HIV and retired from the NBA in 1991, making a comeback to the league. Malone's point of view diverged from the support for Johnson from his Olympic and Los Angeles Lakers teammates, and the NBA implemented AIDS-related precautions after Johnson's revelation. On February 4, 1993, in a game against the Lakers, Malone surpassed 16,000 career points. He and his teammate John Stockton shared the All-Star MVP award in 1993. In the West's 135–132 overtime win, Malone scored 28 points and pulled in 10 rebounds.


title: Karl Malone

text: Malone started all 82 games of 1993–94 and helped the Jazz make the Western Conference Finals for the second time in franchise history and his career. In his ninth season, Malone led the Jazz in scoring (25.2), rebounding (11.5), and blocked shots (126), made 49.7% of field goal attempts, and played 3,329 minutes, the second-most that season in the league behind Latrell Sprewell's 3,533. On March 29, 1994, Malone recorded a career-high 23 rebounds, but the Jazz lost to the Golden State Warriors 116–113. However, Malone made only 8 of 29 field goals that night and commented post-game: "My rebounds are not going to be tomorrow's headline...Tomorrow's headline is going to be all those easy shots I missed." The eventual NBA champion Houston Rockets eliminated the Jazz from the Western Conference Finals in five games. Although Malone scored 32 points in the Jazz' 104–99 Game 2 loss, along with Stockton's 18, they and the Jazz were no match for the Rockets with high-scoring center Hakeem Olajuwon. Midway into the fourth quarter, Malone and Olajuwon scored on four consecutive possessions by their teams, leading up to a 93–93 tie.


title: Karl Malone

text: For the first time in team history, in 1994–95, the Utah Jazz won 60 games. In addition, the team won 15 consecutive away games (the best such streak by the team, then the second-best streak in the league). Malone's 26.7 points per game ranked fourth in the NBA, and Malone became the 19th NBA player to reach 20,000 career points on January 20, 1995. In the 1995 playoffs, the Jazz lost to the Houston Rockets for the second consecutive year, this time in the first round. The Rockets became NBA champions for the second straight season.


title: Karl Malone

text: On January 13, 1996, Malone renewed his contract with the Jazz. The Jazz only made it as far as the Western Conference Finals in this period, losing to the Portland Trail Blazers (1992), the Houston Rockets (1994) and the Seattle SuperSonics (1996).


title: Karl Malone

text: Malone returned from a gold medal winning-effort at the 1996 Summer Olympics leading the Jazz to two consecutive NBA Finals appearances. During the 1996–97 season, Malone put up a resurgent 27.4 points per game while leading the Jazz to a 64–18 record, the most regular-season wins in team history. Malone won his first NBA Most Valuable Player award, and the Jazz were the top team in the Western Conference and the playoff champions in that conference. After sweeping the Los Angeles Clippers and defeating the Los Angeles Lakers, the Jazz took on the Houston Rockets, led by the aging trio of Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, and Clyde Drexler. The Jazz beat them in six games (the last victory coming on a last-second shot by Stockton). Malone finally reached the NBA Finals in 1997, where they played the Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. In a matchup of the two previous MVPs, the Bulls won the first two games at the United Center. Malone struggled from the field, going 6 of 20 for 20 points in Game 2. However, the Jazz won the next two games at the Delta Center behind Malone's 37 points in Game 3 and 23 in Game 4, including a game-winning fastbreak lay-up off a spectacular assist by Stockton in the last minute. The Bulls won the next two games and the series, with Malone struggling from the foul line in Game 6.


title: Karl Malone

text: The next season saw the Jazz once again dominate. Malone put up 27 points per game and just missed out on his second MVP award, losing to Jordan. Nevertheless, the Jazz posted a 62–20 record, which was the best in the NBA. The Jazz once again were seated at the top of the Western Conference, and in the 1998 playoffs they defeated the Rockets, Spurs, and Lakers via a sweep en route to their second consecutive Finals appearance. The rematch with the Chicago Bulls would start differently, as Malone put up 21 points and the Jazz won Game 1, 88–85. Malone found himself unable to put up consistently high numbers, due in large part to the swarming defense of defenders Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen. In Game 5 of the 1998 Finals, Malone led the Jazz in scoring with 39 points, and the Jazz beat the Bulls 83–81 in Chicago. Malone scored his 39 points on 17-for-27 shooting and also made 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 turnover. Many of his shots were "mid-range turnaround jumpers from the left side".


title: Karl Malone

text: A sixth game of the Finals was held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, and by trailing the series 3–2 the team was one loss away from losing the series. Malone scored 31 points and made 11 rebounds. Although the Jazz held leads of 49–45 by halftime and 66–61 after the third quarter, the team squandered their lead in the fourth and would lose after Malone lost a pass in the post. With 18.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Jazz leading 86–85, Bulls guard/forward Michael Jordan stole the ball just passed to Malone and with 5.2 seconds left made a jump shot that gave the Bulls an 87–86 lead. John Stockton missed a game-winning jump shot. Jordan's shot has been dubbed the "greatest shot" of his career, and the Bulls' 1998 title was their third consecutive championship and sixth since 1991.


title: Karl Malone

text: On November 12, 1998, during the lockout that shortened the 1998–99 season, Malone declared on his Los Angeles-based radio show that he would demand a trade from the Jazz after the end of the lockout, citing a lack of respect from the team owner Larry H. Miller and the Utah media, which he dubbed "goons". A week later, Malone backed off on his trade demands, stating in an interview that he would still love to play for the Jazz with "everything else being equal". The NBA regular season resumed in February and Malone won his second MVP award, with the Jazz going 37–13 during the 50-game regular season. They lost in the second round that year to the Trail Blazers, and for the next several years the Jazz fell out of title contention. The Jazz won Game 5 of the second-round 1999 round against the Blazers 88–71 to force a sixth game, and Malone scored 23 points. In that game, Malone elbowed the Blazers' Brian Grant, something he also did in Game 1 and for which he was fined $10,000. Despite the decline of his team and his advancing age, Malone averaged 25.5, 23.2, 22.4, and 20.6 points per game in his last four seasons with Utah. In the 2002–2003 season, Malone passed Wilt Chamberlain for second on the all-time scoring list with 36,374 points. He became a free agent in 2003, the year Stockton had retired. For the time Malone and point guard John Stockton played together on the Jazz (1984–2003), the two formed one of the most productive guard–forward combinations in NBA history. Playing coach Jerry Sloan's scrappy and tough style and perfecting the pick and roll to a maximum degree of efficiency, the Jazz regularly made the playoffs with a winning record. Malone led the Jazz to multiple 50-win seasons with the exception of 1992–93 (47–35).


title: Karl Malone

text: Malone played in the NBA for one more season, joining the Los Angeles Lakers in an attempt to win a championship. All-Star point guard Gary Payton also joined the Lakers in an attempt to win his first NBA championship, and with Malone, Payton, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, the Lakers were favorites to win the title. The Lakers rolled out to a dominant 18–3 start to the season, but on December 21, Malone suffered a knee injury against the Phoenix Suns that forced him to miss 39 games. Malone returned by the season's end, as the Lakers entered the playoffs with 56 wins and the number 2 seed in the playoffs. In the first round against the Houston Rockets, Malone posted double-figure scoring in 4 games, including a 30-point and 13-rebound effort in the Lakers' game 4 victory. The Lakers advanced to face the San Antonio Spurs in the conference semifinals, where Malone played a critical role on defense against Tim Duncan, despite not scoring more than 13 points in any game during the series. The Lakers defeated the Spurs in 6 games in the conference semifinals before defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in 6 games in the conference finals to advance to the NBA Finals. He scored 17 points on two occasions against Minnesota and averaged 11.5 points and 8.8 rebounds a game in the playoffs.


title: Karl Malone

text: The 40-year-old Malone's quest to win an NBA championship failed as the Lakers were defeated in five games by the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals. Malone sprained his right knee in game three and played injured in games three and four before missing the fifth and final game of the series.


title: Karl Malone

text: After his season with the Lakers, Malone became a free agent. He had knee surgery during the summer of 2004, and personal problems with Lakers guard Kobe Bryant prompted Malone not to return for another season with the team. The New York Knicks sought to sign Malone for 2004–05. In early February 2005, prior to the 2005 NBA All-Star Game, Malone's agent speculated that Malone would sign with the San Antonio Spurs. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich confirmed his team was interested in signing Malone, should he decide to play one more season.


title: Karl Malone

text: At a press conference on February 13, 2005, at the Delta Center, Malone officially announced his retirement from the NBA after 19 seasons.


title: Karl Malone

text: The Utah Jazz retired Malone's jersey number 32 on March 23, 2006, when the Jazz hosted the Washington Wizards. He was also honored with the unveiling of a bronze statue outside the EnergySolutions Arena next to teammate John Stockton, and the renaming of a portion of 100 South in Salt Lake City in his honor. The location where the statues stand is now the intersection of Stockton and Malone.


title: Karl Malone

text: In 1984, Malone and Stockton were both cut from the United States men's national basketball team but joined the team in 1992, when national basketball teams welcomed NBA players. Prior to that only professionals from leagues other than the NBA were allowed to compete, and that greatly disadvantaged the United States.


title: Karl Malone

text: The Oregon National Guard made Malone an honorary member after the U.S. national team beat the Venezuelan team 127–80 in the gold-medal game of the 1992 Olympic qualifier tournament.


title: Karl Malone

text: Malone played in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics and won gold medals with the US team both years. In the 1996 Olympics, Malone averaged 8.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game and made 56.9% of two-point field goal attempts and 52.9% of free-throw attempts. In 2010, he was inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame along with the rest of the original Dream Team.


title: Karl Malone

text: On May 31, 2007, Malone became director of basketball promotion and assistant strength and conditioning coach at his alma mater Louisiana Tech University and donated $350,000 to the university athletic department.


title: Karl Malone

text: Malone is regarded as one of the best power forwards in the history of the NBA and was known as "the Mailman" for his consistent delivery. He collected two regular-season MVP Awards, eleven NBA First Team nominations and was also selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team three times.


title: Karl Malone

text: Malone led the NBA in free throws taken and made a league-record seven times. He was a physical defender and rebounder, and one of the most durable players ever in the NBA. He maintained a high level of play even at age 40, becoming the oldest player to both log a triple-double and to be a starter on an NBA Finals-bound team. Malone's work ethic showed prominently in his formative years in the NBA, when he raised his free throw shooting percentage from below 50% to 75%.


title: Karl Malone

text: Malone wore number 32 for the Utah Jazz. He wore number 11 for the Los Angeles Lakers (number 32 was retired honoring Magic Johnson, though Johnson himself offered to have it unretired for Malone to wear, an offer Malone refused) and also for the Dream Team (the players wore 4 to 15 to adhere to FIBA rules). Malone was photographed with a number 32 jersey at his Lakers introductory press conference.


title: Karl Malone

text: Over 1,476 NBA games (fourth all-time), and 1,471 starts (most all-time, never coming off the bench after his rookie season), Malone scored 36,928 points (25.0 per game), third-best all-time, on .516 shooting. His high field goal percentage benefited from three factors, namely, the pick-and-roll offense; his physical power, enabling him to overpower most forwards, and his ability to run the court, allowing him to convert fastbreak dunks and lay-ups off assists by Stockton. Malone notched 10.1 rebounds and 1.41 steals per game for his career. In addition, Malone played 1,412 games with Stockton, most all-time for two players on the same team, and missed just ten games out of a possible 1,444 games during his time with the Jazz (three because of suspension).


title: Karl Malone

text: Malone married Kay Kinsey, winner of the 1988 Miss Idaho USA pageant, on December 24, 1990. They have four children: daughter Kadee (born November 8, 1991), daughter Kylee (born April 7, 1993), son Karl Jr. "K.J." (born May 8, 1995), and daughter Karlee (born 1998). K.J. played football at LSU, and was invited to the 2018 NFL Combine.


title: Karl Malone

text: In 1998, the tabloid newspaper "The Globe" reported that Malone had been a defendant in paternity lawsuits, filed shortly after Malone began his professional basketball career in the late 1980s. The newspaper alleged that he was the father of three children: two by Bonita Ford, a woman approximately his age from his hometown of Summerfield, Louisiana, and one with Gloria Bell, who was 13 when she gave birth. Malone and Ford were both 17 when twins Daryl and Cheryl Ford were born; Malone was a 20-year-old college sophomore when Bell, at age 13, gave birth to Demetress Bell. In the aftermath of the "Globe" story, Malone met the Ford twins for the first time since visiting them in the hospital after they were born. Malone did not meet with Bell at that time, and his attorney insisted that Malone had settled the lawsuits before any conclusive establishment of paternity and thus still did not know whether he was truly the father of any of the children.


title: Karl Malone

text: The "Tribune" confirmed that the judge in the Bell lawsuit ruled Malone to be the father, not based on presented evidence, but rather because Malone did not respond to the suit. The paper also examined court documents detailing the evidence that was to have been presented had Malone responded and a trial ensued. One item listed was a laboratory blood test that concluded with over 99% certainty that Bell's father was either Malone or a brother of Malone. The paper also reported that applying the same blood sample to the Ford twins resulted in a similarly high probability of paternity by Malone. According to the "Tribune", Malone challenged the court's ruling with regard to Bell, claiming that the judgment holding him responsible for $125 per week in child support, plus past and future medical expenses, was excessive. Before Malone's appeal was adjudicated, the lawsuit was settled on confidential terms. In the case of the Ford twins, Malone was ruled to be their father when he violated a court order by refusing to reveal his assets or submit to a DNA test. Thereafter, another out-of-court settlement was reached.


title: Karl Malone

text: By the fall of 1998, Malone accepted his paternity of the Ford twins, and Kay Malone said publicly that the twins were members of the Malone family. Since that time, Karl Malone has maintained a relationship with the twins, each of whom later played college basketball at his alma mater, Louisiana Tech. Cheryl Ford went on to a professional basketball career with the Detroit Shock of the Women's National Basketball Association.


title: Karl Malone

text: Bell has played as an offensive lineman for the Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. In 2008, "The Buffalo News" reported that Bell's first and only meeting with Malone came shortly after Bell graduated from high school. According to Bell, Malone told him then that it was "too late" for them to have a father–son relationship. However, in 2014, the two repaired their relationship and were in regular contact by 2018.


title: Karl Malone

text: In 2018, Malone said about his relationship with his older children, "I didn't handle it right; I was wrong ... Father Time is the biggest thief that's out there, and you can't get that back."


title: Karl Malone

text: Malone donated $4,000 to the 2004 reelection campaign of President George W. Bush and $2,000 to the 2004 U.S. Senate campaign of Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska. In 2002, Malone donated $1,000 to the campaign of incumbent U.S. Representative Jim Matheson, a Democrat representing Utah's 2nd congressional district. Malone appeared on the "Great American Panel" segment of the Fox News talk show "Hannity" in March 2009. He advocated support for farmers in Louisiana who were about to lose their jobs due to the closing of Pilgrim's Pride plants.


title: Karl Malone

text: Malone has served on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association (NRA), a national firearms advocacy organization in the USA.


title: Karl Malone

text: Malone is an avid hunter and fisherman. He owns a summer home near the Kenai River in Alaska. In July 1998, Malone joined his Jazz teammates Chris Morris and Bryon Russell, some family members, corporate leadership of Q-Lube, and winners of a Q-Lube contest for a four-day fishing trip to Alaska.


title: Karl Malone

text: Malone is the owner of Teriyaki Grill, Eskamoe’s Frozen Custard & More, and Arby's in Ruston, Louisiana.


title: Karl Malone

text: He also owns two car dealerships in Utah and one in Louisiana. Karl Malone Toyota is in the Salt Lake City suburb of Draper, Utah, while Karl Malone Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram is in Heber City, Utah. Malone previously co-owned a Toyota dealership in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with Larry H. Miller Dealerships, but sold his share in 2010. He also co-owned a Honda dealership in Sandy, Utah, with John Stockton, but sold his share, again to Larry H. Miller Dealerships, in 2010. In 2019, he bought a Toyota dealership in Ruston, Louisiana, now called Karl Malone Toyota of Ruston.


title: Karl Malone

text: Malone also owns three Jiffy Lube franchises in Utah, and is a part owner of Burger King franchises in Utah and Idaho.


title: Karl Malone

text: Malone starred in the 1994 film "Rockwell" as a member of Porter Rockwell's team. He had a guest appearance as himself and as a superhero named "Pulverizer" on an episode of the animated show Static Shock in 2004. Malone also made a cameo appearance as himself in the 2004 comedy film "Soul Plane". He also has a recurring role in a skit called "All Alone with Karl Malone" on the television series "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"


title: Karl Malone

text: After the 1998 NBA Finals, Malone and Chicago Bulls power forward Dennis Rodman participated in a professional wrestling match in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) at their Bash at the Beach event in July 1998. Malone, a wrestling fan, teamed with his friend, Diamond Dallas Page, against Rodman and Hulk Hogan. In a poorly received match by some wrestling critics, the two power forwards exchanged "rudimentary headlocks, slams and clotheslines" for 23 minutes. Malone and DDP lost to Rodman and Hogan. The event was a massive financial success for the company, drawing the highest pay-per-view buyrate of 1998 and one of the highest in the company's history.


title: Truffle

text: A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, predominantly one of the many species of the genus "Tuber". In addition to "Tuber", many other genera of fungi are classified as truffles including "Geopora", "Peziza", "Choiromyces", "Leucangium", and over a hundred others. These genera belong to the class Pezizomycetes and the Pezizales order. Several truffle-like basidiomycetes are excluded from Pezizales, including "Rhizopogon" and "Glomus". Truffles are ectomycorrhizal fungi, so they are usually found in close association with tree roots. Spore dispersal is accomplished through fungivores, animals that eat fungi. These fungi have significant ecological roles in nutrient cycling and drought tolerance.


title: Truffle

text: Some truffle species are highly prized as food. French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin called truffles "the diamond of the kitchen". Edible truffles are used in Italian, French and numerous other national . Truffles are cultivated and harvested from natural environments.


title: Truffle

text: The first mention of truffles appears in the inscriptions of the neo-Sumerians regarding their Amorite enemy's eating habits (Third Dynasty of Ur, 20th century BCE) and later in writings of Theophrastus in the 4th century BCE. In classical times, their origins were a mystery that challenged many; Plutarch and others thought them to be the result of lightning, warmth, and water in the soil, while Juvenal thought thunder and rain to be instrumental in their origin. Cicero deemed them children of the earth, while Dioscorides thought they were tuberous roots.


title: Truffle

text: Rome and Thracia in the Classical period identified three kinds of truffles: "Tuber melanosporum", "T. magnificus", and "T. magnatum". The Romans instead used a variety of fungus called terfez, also sometimes called a "desert truffle". Terfez used in Rome came from Lesbos, Carthage, and especially Libya, where the coastal climate was less dry in ancient times. Their substance is pale, tinged with rose. Unlike truffles, terfez have little inherent flavour. The Romans used the terfez as a flavour carrier because the terfez tends to absorb surrounding flavours. Because Ancient Roman cuisine used many spices and flavourings, the terfez may have been appropriate in that context.


title: Truffle

text: Truffles were rarely used during the Middle Ages. Truffle hunting is mentioned by Bartolomeo Platina, the papal historian, in 1481, when he recorded that the sows of Notza were without equal in hunting truffles, but they should be muzzled to prevent them from eating the prize.


title: Truffle

text: During the Renaissance, truffles regained popularity in Europe and were honoured at the court of King Francis I of France. They were popular in Parisian markets in the 1780s, imported seasonally from truffle grounds, where peasants had long enjoyed them. Brillat-Savarin (1825) noted that they were so expensive they appeared only at the dinner tables of great nobles and kept women. They were sometimes served with turkey.


title: Truffle

text: The most learned men have sought to ascertain the secret and fancied they discovered the seed. Their promises, however, were vain, and no planting was ever followed by a harvest. This perhaps is all right, for as one of the great values of truffles is their dearness, perhaps they would be less highly esteemed if they were cheaper.


title: Truffle

text: Truffles can be cultivated. As early as 1808, attempts to cultivate truffles, known in French as , were successful. People had long observed that truffles were growing among the roots of certain trees, and in 1808, Joseph Talon, from Apt ( of Vaucluse) in southern France, had the idea of transplanting some seedlings that he had collected at the foot of oak trees known to host truffles in their root system.


title: Truffle

text: For discovering how to cultivate truffles, some sources now give priority to Pierre II Mauléon (1744–1831) of Loudun (in western France), who began to cultivate truffles around 1790. Mauléon saw an "obvious symbiosis" between the oak tree, the rocky soil, and the truffle and attempted to reproduce such an environment by taking acorns from trees known to have produced truffles and sowing them in chalky soil. His experiment was successful, with truffles found in the soil around the newly grown oak trees years later. In 1847, Auguste Rousseau of Carpentras (in Vaucluse) planted of oak trees (again from acorns found on the soil around truffle-producing oak trees), and he subsequently obtained large harvests of truffles. He received a prize at the 1855 World's Fair in Paris.


title: Truffle

text: Others imitated these successful attempts in France and Italy. In the late 19th century, an epidemic of phylloxera destroyed many of the vineyards in southern France. Another epidemic killed most of the silkworms there, too, making the fields of mulberry trees useless. Trufficulture became an important source of income for those affected. The calcareous and exposed vineyard soils were well-suited to the cultivation of truffles. By 1890, truffières (truffle plantations) covered 750 km of land in France, and 2,000 tonnes of truffles were produced in that year.


title: Truffle

text: From the 19th century to the present, truffle production fell by 97–99% to 20–50 tonnes annually. Reasons given for this decline include the Industrial Revolution, the subsequent rural flight and the multiple European wars of the 20th century, which reduced the rural population. For example, World War I resulted in the mobilisation of 65% of the agricultural workers from the region of Lot alone. Knowledge of truffle cultivation, the soil and the seasons was lost along with the people. Another consequence was no more grazing sheep or shepherds who pruned trees for feed and fuelwood, so former truffle plantations turned into closed forests that no longer produced truffles. Truffles were once sold at weekly markets (bi-weekly in the case of a market in Martel, Lot) and in quantities of two to six tonnes in good weeks, but only Lalbenque and Limogne today have weekly truffle markets. Prices have increased so that truffles, once seen as a food of the middle class, have become a luxury.


title: Truffle

text: The situation changed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with researchers in France and Italy establishing mycorrhizas with truffle spores. Beginning from the 1980s, truffle plantations are compensating for some of the decline in wild truffles, and exist in various countries including France, Italy, Spain and Australia. About 80% of the truffles now produced in France come from specially planted truffle groves. Investments in cultivated plantations are underway in many parts of the world using controlled irrigation for regular and resilient production.


title: Truffle

text: A critical phase of the cultivation is the quality control of the mycorrhizal plants. Between 7 and 10 years are needed for the truffles to develop their mycorrhizal network, and only after that do the host plants come into production. Complete soil analysis to avoid contamination by other dominant fungi and very strict control of the formation of mycorrhizae are necessary to ensure the success of a plantation. Total investment per hectare for an irrigated and barrier-sealed plantation (against wild boars) can cost up to €10,000. Considering the level of initial investment and the maturity delay, farmers who have not taken care of both soil conditions and seedling conditions are at high risk of failure.


title: Truffle

text: The first black truffles ("Tuber melanosporum") to be produced in the Southern Hemisphere were harvested in Gisborne, New Zealand in 1993.


title: Truffle

text: New Zealand's first burgundy truffle was found in July 2012 at a Waipara truffle farm. It weighed 330 g and was found by the farm owner's beagle.


title: Truffle

text: In 1999, the first Australian truffles were harvested in Tasmania, the result of eight years of work. Trees were inoculated with the truffle fungus to create a local truffle industry. Their success and the value of the resulting truffles has encouraged a small industry to develop.


title: Truffle

text: Truffle production has expanded into the colder regions of Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia. In 2014, over of truffles were harvested by Truffle Hill, Manjimup, Western Australia.


title: Truffle

text: In June 2014, A grower harvested Australia's largest truffle from their property at Robertson, in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. It was a French black perigord fungus weighing in at and was valued at over $2,000 per kilogram.


title: Truffle

text: Périgord truffles were first farmed in Tennessee in 2007. At its peak in the 2008–2009 season, one farm produced about 200 pounds of truffles, but Eastern filbert blight almost entirely wiped out the hazel trees by 2013 and production dropped, essentially ending the business. Eastern filbert blight similarly destroyed the orchards of other once-promising commercial farms in East Tennessee, while newer farms in California, North Carolina, Oregon, and Arkansas were started. , the Appalachian truffle ("Tuber canaliculatum") was being developed as a potential market.


title: Truffle

text: The origin of the word "truffle" is from the Tamazight language in North Africa, where the truffle is native to the Atlas Mountains. In Moroccan Tamazight, the "truffle" is called "tireffas", which comes from the verb "youfess", meaning "to bury," referring to how deeply rooted truffles are under the soil.


title: Truffle

text: Other sources also attribute "truffle" to originate from the Latin term , meaning "swelling" or "lump", which became "tufer." However, the Tamazight term predates the Latin term, and is phonologically closer to the various European terms used today: Danish , Dutch , English truffle, French , German , Greek τρούφα "trúfa", Italian , Polish , Romanian , Spanish , and Swedish . Additionally, in Moroccan Arabic, the term used is "tirfa" (ترفة).


title: Truffle

text: The German word ("potato") is derived from the Italian term for truffle because of superficial similarities. In Portuguese, the words and are synonyms, the latter closer to the Latin term.


title: Truffle

text: Phylogenetic analysis has demonstrated the convergent evolution of the ectomycorrhizal trophic mode in diverse fungi. The subphylum, Pezizomycotina, containing the order Pezizales, is approximately 400 million years old. Within the order Pezizales, subterranean fungi evolved independently at least fifteen times. Contained within Pezizales are the families Tuberaceae, Pezizaceae, Pyronematacae, and Morchellaceae. All of these families contain lineages of subterranean or truffle fungi.


title: Truffle

text: The oldest ectomycorrhizal fossil is from the Eocene about 50 million years ago. This indicates that the soft bodies of ectomycorrhizal fungi do not easily fossilise. Molecular clockwork has suggested the evolution of ectomycorrhizal fungi occurred approximately 130 million years ago.


title: Truffle

text: The evolution of subterranean fruiting bodies has arisen numerous times within the Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Glomeromycota. For example, the genera "Rhizopogon" and "Hysterangium" of Basidiomycota both form subterranean fruiting bodies and play similar ecological roles as truffle forming ascomycetes. The ancestors of the Ascomycota genera "Geopora", "Tuber", and "Leucangium" originated in Laurasia during the Paleozoic era.


title: Truffle

text: Phylogenetic evidence suggests that most subterranean fruiting bodies evolved from above-ground mushrooms. Over time mushroom stipes and caps were reduced, and caps began to enclose reproductive tissue. The dispersal of sexual spores then shifted from wind and rain to utilising animals.


title: Truffle

text: The phylogeny and biogeography of the genus "Tuber" was investigated in 2008 using internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of nuclear DNA and revealed five major clades (Aestivum, Excavatum, Rufum, Melanosporum and Puberulum); this was later improved and expanded in 2010 to nine major clades using large subunits (LSU) of mitochondrial DNA. The Magnatum and Macrosporum clades were distinguished as distinct from the Aestivum clade. The Gibbosum clade was resolved as distinct from all other clades, and the Spinoreticulatum clade was separated from the Rufum clade.


title: Truffle

text: The truffle habit has evolved independently among several basidiomycete genera. Phylogenetic analysis has revealed that basidiomycete subterranean fruiting bodies, like their ascomycete counterparts, evolved from above ground mushrooms. For example, "Rhizopogon" species likely arose from an ancestor shared with "Suillus", a mushroom-forming genus. Studies have suggested that selection for subterranean fruiting bodies among ascomycetes and basidiomycetes occurred in water-limited environments.


title: Truffle

text: The black truffle or black Périgord truffle ("Tuber melanosporum"), the second-most commercially valuable species, is named after the Périgord region in France. Black truffles associate with oaks, hazelnut, cherry, and other deciduous trees and are harvested in late autumn and winter. The genome sequence of the black truffle was published in March 2010.


title: Truffle

text: The black summer truffle ("Tuber aestivum") is found across Europe and is prized for its culinary value. Burgundy truffles (designated "Tuber uncinatum", but the same species) are harvested in autumn until December and have aromatic flesh of a darker colour. These are associated with various trees and shrubs.


title: Truffle

text: Tuber magnatum, the high-value "white truffle" ("tartufo bianco d'Alba" in Italian) is found mainly in the Langhe and Montferrat areas of the Piedmont region in northern Italy, and most famously, in the countryside around the cities of Alba and Asti. A large percentage of Italy's white truffles also come from Molise.


title: Truffle

text: The "whitish truffle" ("Tuber borchii") is a similar species native to Tuscany, Abruzzo, Romagna, Umbria, the Marche, and Molise. It is reportedly not as aromatic as those from Piedmont, although those from Città di Castello are said to come quite close.


title: Truffle

text: In the U.S. Pacific Northwest, several species of truffle are harvested both recreationally and commercially, most notably, the "Leucangium carthusianum", Oregon black truffle; "Tuber gibbosum", Oregon spring white truffle; and "Tuber oregonense", the Oregon winter white truffle. "Kalapuya brunnea", the Oregon brown truffle, has also been commercially harvested and is of culinary note.


title: Truffle

text: The pecan truffle ("Tuber lyonii") syn. "texense" is found in the Southern United States, usually associated with pecan trees. Chefs who have experimented with them agree "they are very good and have potential as a food commodity". Although pecan farmers used to find them along with pecans and discard them, considering them a nuisance, they sell for about $160 a pound and have been used in some gourmet restaurants.


title: Truffle

text: The term "truffle" has been applied to several other genera of similar underground fungi. The genera "Terfezia" and "Tirmania" of the family Terfeziaceae are known as the "desert truffles" of Africa and the Middle East. "Pisolithus tinctorius", which was historically eaten in parts of Germany, is sometimes called "Bohemian truffle".


title: Truffle

text: "Geopora" spp. are important ectomycorrhizal partners of trees in woodlands and forests throughout the world. "Pinus edulis", a widespread pine species of the Southwest US, is dependent on "Geopora" for nutrient and water acquisition in arid environments. Like other truffle fungi, "Geopora" produces subterranean sporocarps as a means of sexual reproduction. "Geopora cooperi", also known as pine truffle or fuzzy truffle, is an edible species of this genus.


title: Truffle

text: "Rhizopogon" spp. are ectomycorrhizal members of the Basidiomycota and the order Boletales, a group of fungi that typically form mushrooms. Like their ascomycete counterparts, these fungi can create truffle-like fruiting bodies. "Rhizopogon" spp. are ecologically important in coniferous forests where they associate with various pines, firs, and Douglas fir. In addition to their ecological importance, these fungi hold economic value, as well. "Rhizopogon" spp. are commonly used to inoculate coniferous seedlings in nurseries and during reforestation.


title: Truffle

text: "Hysterangium" spp. are ectomycorrhizal members of the Basidiomycota and the order Hysterangiales that form sporocarps similar to true truffles. These fungi form mycelial mats of vegetative hyphae that may cover 25-40% of the forest floor in Douglas fir forests, thereby contributing to a significant portion of the biomass present in soils. Like other ectomycorrhizal fungi, "Hysterangium" spp. play a role in nutrient exchange in the nitrogen cycle by accessing nitrogen unavailable to host plants and acting as nitrogen sinks in forests.


title: Truffle

text: "Glomus" spp. are arbuscular mycorrhizae of the phylum Glomeromycota within the order Glomerales. Members of this genus have low host specificity, associating with a variety of plants including hardwoods, forbs, shrubs, and grasses. These fungi commonly occur throughout the Northern Hemisphere.


title: Truffle

text: The mycelia of truffles form symbiotic, mycorrhizal relationships with the roots of several tree species, including beech, birch, hazel, hornbeam, oak, pine, and poplar. Mutualistic ectomycorrhizal fungi such as truffles provide valuable nutrients to plants in exchange for carbohydrates. Ectomycorrhizal fungi cannot survive in the soil without their plant hosts. In fact, many of these fungi have lost the enzymes necessary for obtaining carbon through other means. For example, truffle fungi have lost their ability to degrade the cell walls of plants, limiting their capacity to decompose plant litter. Plant hosts can also depend on their associated truffle fungi. "Geopora", "Peziza", and "Tuber" spp. are vital in the establishment of oak communities.


title: Truffle

text: "Tuber" species prefer argillaceous or calcareous soils that are well drained and neutral or alkaline. "Tuber" truffles fruit throughout the year, depending on the species, and can be found buried between the leaf litter and the soil. Most fungal biomass is found in the humus and litter layers of soil.


title: Truffle

text: Most truffle fungi produce both asexual spores (mitospores or conidia) and sexual spores (meiospores or ascospores/basidiospores). Conidia can be produced more readily and with less energy than ascospores and can disperse during disturbance events. Production of ascospores is energy intensive because the fungus must allocate resources to the production of large sporocarps. Ascospores are borne within sac-like structures called asci, which are contained within the sporocarp.


title: Truffle

text: Because truffle fungi produce their sexual fruiting bodies underground, spores cannot be spread by wind and water. Therefore, nearly all truffles depend on mycophagous animal vectors for spore dispersal. This is analogous to the dispersal of seeds in fruit of angiosperms. When the ascospores are fully developed, the truffle exudes volatile compounds that attract animal vectors. For successful dispersal, these spores must survive passage through the digestive tracts of animals. Ascospores have thick walls composed of chitin to help them endure the environment of animal guts.


title: Truffle

text: Animal vectors include birds, deer, and rodents such as voles, squirrels, and chipmunks. Many species of trees, such as "Quercus garryana", are dependent on the dispersal of sporocarps to inoculate isolated individuals. For example, the acorns of "Q. garryana" may be carried to new territory that lacks the necessary mycorrhizal fungi for establishment.


title: Truffle

text: Some mycophagous animals depend on truffles as their dominant food source. Flying squirrels, "Glaucomys sabrinus", of North America play a three-way symbiosis with truffles and their associated plants. "G. sabrinus" is particularly adapted to finding truffles using its refined sense of smell, visual clues, and long-term memory of prosperous populations of truffles. This intimacy between animals and truffles indirectly influences the success of mycorrhizal plant species.


title: Truffle

text: After ascospores are dispersed, they remain dormant until germination is initiated by exudates excreted from host plant roots. Following germination, hyphae form and seek out the roots of host plants. Arriving at roots, hyphae begin to form a mantle or sheath on the outer surface of root tips. Hyphae then enter the root cortex intercellularly to form the Hartig net for nutrient exchange. Hyphae can spread to other root tips colonising the entire root system of the host. Over time, the truffle fungus accumulates sufficient resources to form fruiting bodies. Rate of growth is correlated with increasing photosynthetic rates in the spring as trees leaf out.


title: Truffle

text: Truffle fungi receive carbohydrates from their host plants, providing them with valuable micro- and macronutrients. Plant macronutrients include potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, and sulfur. In contrast, micronutrients include iron, copper, zinc, and chloride. In truffle fungi, as in all ectomycorrhizae, the majority of nutrient exchange occurs in the Hartig net, the intercellular hyphal network between plant root cells. A unique feature of ectomycorrhizal fungi is the formation of the mantle on the outer surface of fine roots.


title: Truffle

text: Truffles have been suggested to co-locate with the orchid species "Epipactis helleborine" and "Cephalanthera damasonium", though this is not always the case.


title: Truffle

text: Truffle fungi are ecologically important in nutrient cycling. Plants obtain nutrients via their fine roots. Mycorrhizal fungi are much smaller than fine roots, so they have a higher surface area and a greater ability to explore soils for nutrients. Acquisition of nutrients includes the uptake of phosphorus, nitrate or ammonium, iron, magnesium, and other ions. Many ectomycorrhizal fungi form fungal mats in the upper layers of soils surrounding host plants. These mats have significantly higher carbon and fixed nitrogen concentrations than surrounding soils. Because these mats are nitrogen sinks, leaching of nutrients is reduced.


title: Truffle

text: Mycelial mats can also help maintain the structure of soils by holding organic matter in place and preventing erosion. Often, these networks of mycelium provide support for smaller organisms in the soil, such as bacteria and microscopic arthropods. Bacteria feed on the exudates released by mycelium and colonise the soil surrounding them. Microscopic arthropods such as mites feed directly on mycelium and release valuable nutrients for the uptake of other organisms. Thus, truffle fungi and other ectomycorrhizal fungi facilitate a complex system of nutrient exchange between plants, animals, and microbes.


title: Truffle

text: Plant community structure is often affected by the availability of compatible mycorrhizal fungi. In arid-land ecosystems, these fungi become essential for the survival of their host plants by enhancing the ability to withstand drought. A foundation species in arid-land ecosystems of the Southwest United States is "Pinus edulis", commonly known as pinyon pine. "P. edulis" associates with the subterranean fungi "Geopora" and "Rhizopogon".


title: Truffle

text: As global temperatures rise, so does the occurrence of severe droughts, detrimentally affecting the survival of aridland plants. This variability in climate has increased the mortality of "P. edulis". Therefore, the availability of compatible mycorrhizal inoculum can greatly affect the successful establishment of "P. edulis" seedlings. Associated ectomycorrhizal fungi will likely play a significant role in the survival of "P. edulis" with continuing global climate change.


title: Truffle

text: Because truffles are subterranean, they are often located with the help of an animal (sometimes called a truffler) possessing a refined sense of smell. Traditionally, pigs have been used to extract truffles. Both the female pig's natural truffle-seeking and her intent to eat the truffle were thought to be due to a compound within the truffle similar to androstenol, the sex pheromone of boar saliva, to which the sow is keenly attracted. Studies in 1990 demonstrated that the compound actively recognised by both truffle pigs and dogs is dimethyl sulfide.


title: Truffle

text: In Italy, the use of pigs to hunt truffles has been prohibited since 1985 because of damage caused by animals to truffle mycelia during the digging that dropped the production rate of the area for some years. An alternative to truffle pigs are dogs. Dogs offer an advantage because they do not have a strong desire to eat truffles, so they can be trained to locate sporocarps without digging them up. Pigs attempt to dig up truffles.


title: Truffle

text: Fly species of the genus "Suilla" can also detect the volatile compounds associated with subterranean fruiting bodies. These flies lay their eggs above truffles to provide food for their young. At ground level, "Suilla" flies can be seen flying above truffles.


title: Truffle

text: The mycelia or fruiting bodies release the volatile constituents responsible for the natural aroma of truffles or derive from truffle-associated microbes. The chemical ecology of truffle volatiles is complex, interacting with plants, insects, and mammals, which contribute to spore dispersal. Depending on the truffle species, lifecycle, or location, they include:


title: Truffle

text: Several truffle species and varieties are differentiated based on their relative contents or absence of sulfides, ethers or alcohols, respectively. The sweaty-musky aroma of truffles is similar to that of the pheromone androstenol that also occurs in humans. , the volatile profiles of seven black and six white truffle species have been studied.


title: Truffle

text: Because of their high price and their strong aroma, truffles are used sparingly. Supplies can be found commercially as unadulterated fresh produce or preserved, typically in a light brine.


title: Truffle

text: Their chemical compounds infuse well with fats such as butter, cream, cheeses, avocados, and coconut cream.


title: Truffle

text: As the volatile aromas dissipate quicker when heated, truffles are generally served raw and shaved over warm, simple foods where their flavour will be highlighted, such as buttered pasta or eggs. Thin truffle slices may be inserted into meats, under the skins of roasted fowl, in "foie gras" preparations, in "pâtés", or in stuffings. Some speciality cheeses contain truffles, as well. Truffles are also used for producing truffle salt and truffle honey.


title: Truffle

text: While chefs once peeled truffles, in modern times, most restaurants brush the truffle carefully and shave it or dice it with the skin on to make the most of the valuable ingredient. Some restaurants stamp out circular discs of truffle flesh and use the skins for sauces.


title: Truffle

text: Truffle oil is used as a lower-cost and convenient substitute for truffles, to provide flavouring, or to enhance the flavour and aroma of truffles in cooking. Some products called "truffle oils" contain no truffles or include pieces of inexpensive, unprised truffle varietals, which have no culinary value, simply for show. The vast majority is oil that has been artificially flavoured using a synthetic agent such as 2,4-dithiapentane.


title: Truffle

text: The scientific name is included on the ingredient list of truffle oils infused with natural truffles.


title: Truffle

text: Because more aromatic molecules in truffles are soluble in alcohol, they can carry a more complex and accurate truffle flavour than oil without synthetic flavourings. Many commercial producers use 2,4-dithiapentane regardless, as it has become the dominant flavour most consumers, unexposed to fresh truffles but familiar with oils, associate with them. Because most Western nations do not have ingredient labelling requirements for spirits, consumers often do not know if artificial flavourings have been used. It is used as a spirit in its own right, a cocktail mix or a food flavouring.


title: CSS

text: Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used for describing the presentation of a document written in a markup language such as HTML or XML (including XML dialects such as SVG, MathML or XHTML). CSS is a cornerstone technology of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and JavaScript.


title: CSS

text: CSS is designed to enable the separation of content and presentation, including layout, colors, and fonts. This separation can improve content accessibility; provide more flexibility and control in the specification of presentation characteristics; enable multiple web pages to share formatting by specifying the relevant CSS in a separate .css file, which reduces complexity and repetition in the structural content; and enable the .css file to be cached to improve the page load speed between the pages that share the file and its formatting.


title: CSS

text: Separation of formatting and content also makes it feasible to present the same markup page in different styles for different rendering methods, such as on-screen, in print, by voice (via speech-based browser or screen reader), and on Braille-based tactile devices. CSS also has rules for alternate formatting if the content is accessed on a mobile device.


title: CSS

text: The name "cascading" comes from the specified priority scheme to determine which style rule applies if more than one rule matches a particular element. This cascading priority scheme is predictable.


title: CSS

text: The CSS specifications are maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Internet media type (MIME type) codice_1 is registered for use with CSS by RFC 2318 (March 1998). The W3C operates a free CSS validation service for CSS documents.


title: CSS

text: In addition to HTML, other markup languages support the use of CSS including XHTML, plain XML, SVG, and XUL.