title: Trails (series)

text: The combat of "Trails" is turn-based with tactical elements. Unlike most other turn-based games, the series lacks random encounters as most enemies are visible on the overworld. Combat takes place on a large grid, with characters only able to move across a set number of squares or perform a single ability each turn. Turns are listed on a timeline on the screen, which can be manipulated with certain abilities. In addition to basic attacks and item usage, every character has abilities known as Crafts and Arts. Crafts are unique to each character and are usually unlocked or strengthened by leveling up. S-Crafts are a character's ultimate ability fueled by a meter that builds as they deal and take damage. When full, players can use it at any time to bypass the turn order to perform skills such as dealing large amounts of damage or supporting their party with healing and buffs.


title: Trails (series)

text: Arts are magic-like spells that are powerful but take time to cast. Rather than being unique to any specific character or monster like Crafts, Arts are determined by the type and specific arrangement of Quartz, items cited for its similarity to Materia from "Final Fantasy VII". Each successive game usually introduces new gameplay mechanics, such as the addition of "Persona"-like social events in "Trails of Cold Steel" or the optional action-based combat system in "Kuro no Kiseki".


title: Trails (series)

text: "Trails" is split into four story arcs so far: "Trails in the Sky", "Crossbell", "Trails of Cold Steel", and "Kuro no Kiseki". The series also has a few spin-offs, some of which feature other styles of gameplay.


title: Trails (series)

text: The first arc of the series, "Trails in the Sky", consists of three games. They are set within the Liberl Kingdom and primarily follow Estelle Bright and her adopted brother Joshua, members of the Bracer's Guild, a civilian peacekeeping and monster-hunting organization. The first game, "Trails in the Sky", released in Japan in 2004 for Windows and for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) in 2006. The second game, "Trails in the Sky SC", continues the plot of the first and was released in Japan for Windows in 2006 and the PSP the following year. The third game, "Trails in the Sky the 3rd", follows Septian Church agent Kevin Graham, who is sent to an otherworldly dimension known as Phantasma alongside many characters from the previous two games. "Sky the 3rd" also features vignettes exploring character backstories as well as foreshadowing plot elements explored in later arcs. It was released in Japan in 2007 for Windows and the PSP in 2008.


title: Trails (series)

text: In 2010, Xseed Games announced they would localize and publish the trilogy in English. Despite the first game being finished in 2011, "SC" and "the 3rd" were not released until the mid-2010s due to several challenges during the localization process, such as slow communication with Falcom and occupational burnout due to the size of their scripts, with the first game alone having over 1.5 million Japanese characters.


title: Trails (series)

text: The "Crossbell" arc consists of two games. They are set in Crossbell, a city-state located between the great powers of Erebonia and Calvard. It follows rookie police investigator Lloyd Bannings and the Special Support Section, consisting of himself, Elie McDowell, Randy Orlando, and Tio Plato, as they protect the city from criminal activity and the geopolitical situation that looms over it. The first game, "Trails from Zero", was released in Japan for the PSP in 2010. The second, "Trails to Azure", was released in Japan for the PSP in 2011.


title: Trails (series)

text: The games did not see English releases for over a decade until NIS America took over rights to the series' English localization in 2019. They released "Trails from Zero" in 2022 with "Trails to Azure" scheduled to release in 2023 for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Windows.


title: Trails (series)

text: The "Trails of Cold Steel" arc follows Rean Schwarzer and Class VII, a specialized group of students attending Thors Military Academy in the Erebonian Empire. The first game, "Trails of Cold Steel" was released for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita in Japan in 2013. "Trails of Cold Steel II" directly continued with the events of the first game and was released for the PlayStation 3 and Vita in 2014.


title: Trails (series)

text: The third and fourth games, "Trails of Cold Steel III" and "Trails of Cold Steel IV", follow Rean in his new role as an instructor of a new Class VII at a branch campus of Thors. "Cold Steel III" was released for the PlayStation 4 (PS4) in Japan in 2017, while "Cold Steel IV" released the following year. A fifth game, "Trails into Reverie", was released in 2020 and acts as an epilogue to both the Crossbell and Erebonia arcs and follows Rean, Lloyd, and a masked character known as C.


title: Trails (series)

text: English versions of "Cold Steel" and "Cold Steel II" were released by Xseed Games in 2017 and 2018, respectively. NIS America would release "Cold Steel III" in 2019, "Cold Steel IV" in 2020, and is scheduled to release "Trails into Reverie" in 2023. A box set containing all five games was released in Japan for the PS4 in July 2022.


title: Trails (series)

text: "Kuro no Kiseki" follows Van Arkride, a mix of a detective and bounty hunter known as a Spriggan, and high schooler Agnes Claudel, who hires Van to search for eight artifacts that hold the key to solving an apocalyptic mystery. The arc is set in Calvard and is considered the start of the second half of the series. The first game, "Kuro no Kiseki", was released in Japan for the PlayStation 4 in 2021. It features an action-based battle system as well as updates to the traditional turn-based system. A second game, "Kuro no Kiseki II – Crimson Sin", was released in Japan for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in September 2022.


title: Trails (series)

text: Games of the arc are planned to be localized in English, although release platforms and dates have yet to be announced.


title: Trails (series)

text: "Trails" has seen several spinoffs and works in other types of media, including manga, audio dramas, and anime. "Ys vs. Trails in the Sky" is a crossover fighting game featuring characters from "Trails" and Falcom's "Ys" series. It was released exclusively in Japan in July 2010 but received an English fan translation patch in October 2021. "" was released in Japan in July 2012 and is scheduled for release worldwide in 2023. It does not take place within Zemuria and also differs from the rest of the series by being an action role-playing game. "" is a Japanese-only gacha game developed by UserJoy Technology. It was first released in 2016 as a browser game before being ported to several other platforms.


title: Trails (series)

text: An original video animation adaptation of "Trails in the Sky SC" was produced by Kinema Citrus; part one released in November 2011 while the second was released in February 2012. They were licensed by Sentai Filmworks for release in North America that same year. "", an anime television series produced by Tatsunoko Production, is scheduled to air in Japan in January 2023.


title: Trails (series)

text: Several manga adaptations of games in the series have been released. "Trails in the Sky" also received a novelization. Other manga, such as "The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero Pre-Story -The Ring of Judgment-" and "Trails in the Sky Gaiden: The Tale of Loewe", are original works that provide backstory to certain characters. Several characters from the series also appeared in "Minna Atsumare! Falcom Gakuen", a four-part comedy manga which later saw two short anime adaptations in the mid-2010s.


title: Trails (series)

text: Audio drama adaptations of the games have also been produced, with a few set between the games and filling in details glossed over. Transcripts of two "Trails of Cold Steel" dramas were translated by Xseed Games and published online as promotional material for "Trails of Cold Steel II". A musical stage play based on "Trails of Cold Steel" ran in January 2017.


title: Trails (series)

text: "Trails" has been praised for its worldbuilding and character arcs, with its scope and sense of continuity being compared to the "A Song of Ice and Fire" novels by George R. R. Martin, the Forgotten Realms setting for "Dungeons & Dragons", and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite the series' English localization being praised for their quality, their slow release pace has been criticized, with them tending to lag years behind the original Japanese games. The music written for the series by Falcom Sound Team jdk, the company's team of composers, has also been praised.


title: Trails (series)

text: Characters or other elements from "Trails" have been featured in crossover promotions with other games, including "", "Chain Chronicle V", "Dead or Alive 5", "Fantasy Earth Zero", "Langrisser Mobile", "", "Valkyrie Anatomia", and a few Japanese mobile games. Characters from the series were also featured in a 2019 collaboration event with VREX, a virtual reality game arcade and café in Japan. , a was the largest article on the Japanese Wikipedia at over 440,000 characters. , the series had sold over seven million copies worldwide.


title: Tyronn Lue

text: Tyronn Jamar Lue (pronounced "Ta-RON LEW"; born May 3, 1977) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He formerly served as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, helping them win their first NBA title in franchise history.


title: Tyronn Lue

text: A former point guard, Lue played college basketball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers before being selected by the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 1998 NBA draft with the 23rd overall pick. He was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers shortly thereafter. As a member of the Lakers, Lue won two NBA championships in his first three seasons.


title: Tyronn Lue

text: After his playing career ended in 2009, Lue became Director of Basketball Development for the Boston Celtics. In 2014, he was hired by the Cavaliers as associate head coach. Lue was promoted to head coach during the 2015–16 season, replacing the fired David Blatt. That same season, Lue coached the Cavaliers to their first NBA championship and became one of the few rookie coaches in the NBA to ever lead his team to a title. Lue coached the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in the 2016–17 and 2017–18 seasons; in both seasons, the Cavaliers were defeated by the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. Lue was fired by Cleveland in October 2018. Lue went on to be the head coach of the Clippers and led them to their first Conference Finals appearance in franchise history.


title: Tyronn Lue

text: Lue graduated from Raytown Senior High School in Raytown, Missouri. He later attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he played basketball and studied sociology. Lue was a key member of the 1995-96 team that won the NIT, defeating St. Joseph's in the finals. He finished his Cornhuskers career ranked third all-time in assists (432), fourth in three-pointers made (145) and attempted (407), fifth in steals (154) and seventh in scoring (1,577). Lue led Nebraska in assists in each of his three seasons and finished his career tied with Dave Hoppen for most games with 30 or more points (7). He declared for the NBA draft after his junior season.


title: Tyronn Lue

text: Lue opted for early entry into the 1998 NBA draft. He was selected 23rd overall by the Denver Nuggets but was traded on draft night to the Los Angeles Lakers with Tony Battie in exchange for Nick Van Exel. His first three years with the Lakers were disappointing. His playing time was limited and he suffered from injuries in 2000.


title: Tyronn Lue

text: Lue excelled in the 2001 playoffs. Due to his quickness, he was specifically used to guard Allen Iverson during Game 1 of the Finals. In a memorable moment in Game 1, Iverson executed a crossover and made a shot in front of Lue, then stepped over him. Although the 76ers won Game 1, the Lakers won the next four and the NBA championship, with Lue appearing in each NBA Finals game.


title: Tyronn Lue

text: In the off-season of 2001, Lue signed with the Washington Wizards, where he got considerably more playing time and subsequently became a better point guard.


title: Tyronn Lue

text: Lue played with the Orlando Magic in 2003–04 and had a lot of minutes alongside Tracy McGrady, but the team had the worst record in the NBA that season: 21–61.


title: Tyronn Lue

text: After the season concluded, Lue, McGrady, Juwan Howard, and Reece Gaines were traded to the Houston Rockets for Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato. In Houston, Lue saw a notable decrease in playing time due to the overabundance of point guards on the Rockets' roster.


title: Tyronn Lue

text: Lue was traded mid-season to the Atlanta Hawks for Jon Barry. Lue starred in Atlanta, although again his team had the worst record in the NBA and their worst record in franchise history: 13–69.


title: Tyronn Lue

text: On February 16, 2008, Lue was acquired by the Sacramento Kings in a trade that sent Mike Bibby to the Hawks. He was waived by the Kings on February 28, 2008, without playing a game for them. After clearing waivers, Lue signed a contract with the Dallas Mavericks on March 4.


title: Tyronn Lue

text: On February 5, 2009, Lue was traded back to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Keith Bogans and cash considerations. In Lue's final year as an NBA player, the Dwight Howard-led Magic advanced to the 2009 Finals but lost to Lue's former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.


title: Tyronn Lue

text: On June 23, 2014, Lue joined the Cleveland Cavaliers as associate head coach, becoming the highest-paid assistant coach in the NBA. Lue had been a top candidate for the Cavaliers' head coaching job, which eventually went to David Blatt.


title: Tyronn Lue

text: On January 22, 2016, Lue was named head coach of the Cavaliers immediately following the mid-season firing of Blatt. He was signed to a three-year contract. Lue coached the Cavaliers to an NBA championship that spring. In May, the Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, continuing their unbeaten streak in the 2016 playoffs and making Lue the first coach in NBA history to win his first 10 postseason games. Eight days later, Lue led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals, becoming one of the few coaches to reach the Finals after becoming head coach in midseason. On June 19, 2016, the Cavaliers won their first NBA championship. Lue became the second rookie head coach in two years to win the title, the third head coach (along with Paul Westhead in 1979–80 and Pat Riley in 1981–82) to win a championship after becoming head coach in midseason, and the 14th person to have won an NBA championship as a head coach and as a player.


title: Tyronn Lue

text: In the 2016–17 NBA season, Lue coached the Cavaliers to a 51–31 record. In the playoffs, the Cavaliers went 12–1 heading into the 2017 NBA Finals before losing to the Golden State Warriors in five games.


title: Tyronn Lue

text: On March 19, 2018, Lue announced that he would take a leave of absence from coaching the Cavaliers, citing recurrent chest pain. Lue returned to coach before the regular season ended and helped the Cavaliers reach the 2018 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Warriors in four games.


title: Tyronn Lue

text: Lue's coaching style in Cleveland relied on flexibility and LeBron James's consistency; he shuffled players around James to adjust to matchups. In 2016, his Finals team followed the Warriors' own blueprint to beat them. Lue's style was described as undisciplined and unprepared in the regular season, but in the playoffs, he has been praised for his ability to "think several moves ahead and create matchup advantages". At the 2016 ESPY Awards, Lue was named Best Coach/Manager and the Cavaliers were named Best Team.


title: Tyronn Lue

text: After Cleveland fired him, Lue worked in an informal role with head coach Doc Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers. Prior to the 2019–20 season, Lue was named the lead assistant coach on Rivers' staff.


title: Tyronn Lue

text: On October 20, 2020, Lue was promoted to Clippers head coach after Rivers' departure. In his first season, Lue led the Clippers to the Western Conference Finals, their first conference finals appearance in franchise history, but lost to the Phoenix Suns in six games.


title: Tyronn Lue

text: Lue is a first cousin once removed of Boston Celtics small forward Jayson Tatum. As a native of St. Louis, Tatum grew up within two hours of Lue's hometown of Mexico, Missouri, and often attended his family barbecues.


title: QVC

text: QVC (short for "Quality Value Convenience") is an American free-to-air television network, and flagship shopping channel specializing in televised home shopping, owned by Qurate Retail Group. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States, QVC broadcasts to more than 350 million households in seven countries, including channels in the UK, Germany, Japan, and Italy, along with a joint venture in China with China National Radio called CNR Mall.


title: QVC

text: QVC was founded on June 13, 1986, by Joseph Segel and investors including Ralph Roberts, the founder and chairperson of Comcast. Roberts was able to arrange deals in which cable companies received investment stakes in QVC in exchange for carrying the channel. Sears was one of the first brands that QVC would represent, with a two-year exclusive agreement to sell Sears products through television shopping. The corporation later set a new record for first full-year fiscal sales for a new public company of $112 million. The channel was launched on November 24, 1986, with program hosts Kathy Levine, John Eastman, Bob Bowersox, and Cindy Briggs-Moore. Each November 24, QVC celebrated their birthday annually through 2008. Initially broadcasting live from 7:30 p.m. until midnight ET each weekday and 24 hours a day each weekend, the channel extended its live programming to 24/7/364 in January 1987. Former QUBE host and producer, Ron Giles, was named an executive vice president and executive producer at QVC in late 1987. In October 1988, the board of directors elected Michael C. Boyd to the position of senior executive vice president and chief operating officer. In early 1990, Boyd would take the title of president, reportedly to relieve some of Segel's load.


title: QVC

text: In July 1989, QVC acquired the Cable Value Network, founded by Irwin L. Jacobs. The $380 million deal contributed to a loss of $17 million during the next fiscal quarter, and then led to difficulties in the couple of years that followed.


title: QVC

text: QVC first offered to buy out the Burbank-based Shop Television Network on March 16, 1991, a bid rejected by its producers and the Los Angeles Superior Court, and which carried blocks of time offering JCPenney merchandise. On May 21, 1991, it acquired the channel and its 4 million subscribers, with a liability of $2 million to its producers, along with a license to carry JCPenney brands on-air.


title: QVC

text: A QVC offer to buy rival Home Shopping Network in March 1992 was sidetracked by antitrust concerns. On July 12, 1993, QVC offered to acquire Home Shopping in a stock swap valued at about $1.1 billion, but talks faltered when QVC pursued a bid for Paramount in fall 1993. Liberty Media Corp. held a controlling interest in the St. Petersburg, Florida-based Home Shopping Network along with their share of QVC.


title: QVC

text: Introduced to televised shopping by designer Diane von Fürstenberg a decade before their marriage, Fox founder Barry Diller pursued slick "infotainment"-style programming as his next television venture. After resigning as chairman of Fox Inc. in early 1992, Diller's Arrow Investments purchased a $25 million stake in QVC, or just under 3 percent of the company, in December 1992 and Diller succeeded Segel as chairman and chief executive on January 18, 1993.


title: QVC

text: Diller, known for building Fox as a fourth national television network in just five years, replaced QVC's second channel, The Fashion Channel, with Q2. Debuting in spring 1994, Q2 was aimed at younger, more economic shoppers, and broadcast from New York City. The spin-off network was shelved in 1996, costing QVC $55 million.


title: QVC

text: QVC, under Diller, first placed a hostile $9.6 billion bid for Paramount in September 1993, when talks for a friendly merger between Paramount and Viacom, worth $7.2 billion at the time, were already under way. QVC's more attractive bid was forced on Paramount in the February 4, 1994 decision of Paramount Communications, Inc. v. QVC Network, Inc. by the Delaware Supreme Court. Following Viacom's merger with Blockbuster that gave Viacom the financial lead, Diller proposed that QVC financial backer BellSouth could buy QVC shares after the merger to boost the value of QVC's stock to Paramount shareholders. Diller dropped the proposal when reminded of its legal challenges and on February 14, 1994, QVC lost its bid for Paramount to a $9.85 billion bid from Viacom. Diller's reported five-word response to the end of what "The Los Angeles Times" called "the biggest takeover war of the 1990s" was: "They won. We lost. Next."


title: QVC

text: Diller changed the name of QVC Network to QVC, Inc. in 1994, while creating a holding company to allow the firm to diversify and build assets and divisions separately. Among the changes were the creation of two new divisions, Q Direct, to produce infomercials and 60- and 120-second direct response TV commercials, and QVC Interactive, an online-shopping service. QVC launched their internet shopping site, iQVC, on September 15, 1996.


title: QVC

text: QVC's shopping channel based in Mexico, airing in non-primetime programming hours on Canal 4, launched November 1, 1993 in a partnership with Televisa, and known domestically as CVC (a Spanish translation of the network's full name). The operation closed on August 4, 1995, after the devaluation of the Mexican peso during a monetary transition, and a general national loathing of long-form home shopping and paid programming content.


title: QVC

text: On September 29, 1994, QVC Vice President Douglas Briggs unveiled the QVC Local, a customized, $1.7 million state-of-the-art television studio in a bus, in Washington, D.C. In January 1995, QVC kicked off the "Quest for America's Best: 50 in 50 Tour," a 50-week nationwide product search to promote local and regional products with live broadcasts from every State. The QVC Local traveled 88,796 miles of American road during the 50 in 50 Tour in 1995.


title: QVC

text: Comcast and TCI spin-off company Liberty Media completed their acquisition of the company on February 2, 1995, and Diller resigned. Douglas S. Briggs was announced as QVC Inc. CEO on March 6, 1995, after overseeing the daily business of the company as president of QVC electronic retailing and executive vice president of QVC Inc. since February 1994. Briggs was tasked with boosting Diller's many start-up ventures, including QVC UK and Q2.


title: QVC

text: On September 24, 1997, at 7pm ET, QVC signed off their live broadcast from their previous studio and celebrated the opening of their new broadcast center and corporate offices, Studio Park, a nearly 17-acre property with more than 58,000 square feet of filming studios in West Chester, Pennsylvania.


title: QVC

text: QVC tested a retail concept in 2000 at The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota with a limited-term lease on a 500 square-foot store. The next year, QVC signed a ten-year lease on a 2,500 square-foot store with broadcasting capabilities and opened QVC @ The Mall on August 8, 2001. The Mall of America store remained the only location for this format and the store closed at the conclusion of the ten-year lease on March 22, 2011.


title: QVC

text: In 1998, two former hosts filed a class-action lawsuit against QVC, claiming that they were discriminated against by the shopping channel based on their race. The lawsuit went on to state that QVC refused to allow non-white hosts any permanent daytime/primetime spots, which relegated them to the overnight hours, otherwise known as the "graveyard shift." Because of this, the non-white hosts were paid considerably less than the white hosts.


title: QVC

text: On July 3, 2003, Comcast sold its majority share to Liberty Media, which purchased the remaining 56.5% of QVC it didn't already own for $7.9 billion. Comcast, for which QVC was a financial asset, not a strategic one, continued to carry QVC for its 21 million cable subscribers.


title: QVC

text: On Wednesday, March 24, 2004, the FTC sued QVC over violating a June 2000 order barring the company from making misleading claims about dietary supplements. A March 2009 settlement with the FTC charged QVC with paying $6 million for consumer redress and a $1.5 million civil penalty and for QVC to discontinue the dietary supplements products.


title: QVC

text: In 2006, the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia settled a dispute between QVC and HSN over the use of the phrase "Christmas in July," QVC maintaining their use of it since 1987, and HSN claiming copyright on it in 2000.


title: QVC

text: CEO Douglas Briggs announced his retirement in April 2005 and on November 1, 2005, Michael A. George, who previously served as chief marketing officer and general manager of the U.S. consumer business at Dell Inc, was named successor. George was named QVC CEO on April 15, 2006.


title: QVC

text: On September 23, 2007, QVC U.S. rebranded itself, changing its logo on-air and online. The rebranding was accompanied by an advertising campaign with the tagline "iQdoU?" ("I shop QVC, do you?") that had preceded the rebrand with billboards in major U.S. cities. The iQdoU? campaign also included a "teaser" website.


title: QVC

text: QVC was the first shopping network to offer a native high-definition simulcast channel in May 2009. Formerly, the cut for its standard definition feed in a presentation was made to the right of the screen rather than on both sides of the 4:3 frame, allowing the network to place its graphics fully to the left and lower portions of the screen to maximize camera presentation space. Eventually, the standard definition feed was converted to a downscaled letterboxing of the 16:9 HD channel at the provider's headend level.


title: QVC

text: On September 30, 2010, at 11 p.m., QVC began broadcasting in Italy, both on satellite and through digital terrestrial television. In 2012, QVC partnered with China National Radio to take over operations of its home shopping network and associated internet e-commerce site, CNR Mall. In 2014 the joint venture reached 89 million households.


title: QVC

text: In 2013, QVC partnered with Ion Media Networks to bring its programming to broadcast television, through Ion Television. QVC began to be carried as the fifth digital subchannel on most Ion Television owned-and-operated stations beginning on August 5, 2013; due to technical limitations caused by the number of subchannels Ion requires its stations to carry, QVC is carried in a squeezed full-screen format and is transmitted in standard definition. The channel is also broadcast on digital subchannels of low-powered television stations in selected areas. The broadcast service is branded as "QVC Over the Air", with an accompanying on-screen bug appearing on the lower right corner of the screen during the network's programming.


title: QVC

text: After integrating their shopping experience with Facebook in 2008 and with Instagram in 2012, QVC launched "toGather", a social shopping platform resembling Pinterest in July 2013. The site allowed members to set up a personalized newsfeed to view shopping recommendations from people and brands they chose to follow. QVC shut down the site in January 2015.


title: QVC

text: On July 6, 2017, QVC's parent company, Liberty Interactive, announced its intention to purchase the remaining 62% of stock it did not already own of HSN, the rival home shopping channel. The all-stock deal is valued at $2.1 billion ($40.36 a share). In 2018, Liberty Interactive rebranded itself as Qurate Retail Group, trading under the new NASDAQ tickers QRTEA and QRTEB, with Mike George remaining as president and CEO.


title: QVC

text: In 2018, Qurate named Leslie Ferraro as President of their QVC and HSN units. Ferraro concluded her 17-year run at The Walt Disney Company where she most recently served as co-chair of Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media and president of Disney Consumer Products and reported to work at Qurate on September 16. On February 6, 2019, QVC again rebranded itself, the new logo with a square shape intended to resemble a computer or a phone screen emphasizing its digital and mobile platforms. The reimagined 'Q' in a sleek, mobile-friendly format, has a lever that is supposed to symbolize an open door, said Susan Ripke, QVC's vice president of brand strategy. On Monday, October 7, 2019, QVC ceased its 24/7 live broadcasting model in favor of airing nineteen hours of live and five hours of repeated programming daily. On November 22, 2019, QVC reinstated a twentieth hour of live programming daily.


title: QVC

text: As early as March 16, 2020, QVC saw changes to their operations due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, with on-air product representatives appearing via Skype from around the world, calling in to live broadcasts with program hosts and models practicing social distancing. QVC remained live on-air 20 hours a day, with QVC2 temporarily cutting back to one live hour per day. Employees not essential to the West Chester, Pennsylvania live broadcast shifted to remote work, while all fulfillment centers in Pennsylvania, Virginia, California, and North and South Carolina remained operational with the introduction of health and safety measures and enhanced sanitation practices. Additionally, despite posted revenue gains, Qurate laid off 450 employees in July 2020 "to simplify and streamline its operating structure."


title: QVC

text: Approximately 75% of QVC's 1.2 million-square-foot Rocky Mount, North Carolina distribution center was damaged in a December 18, 2021 fire, which resulted in one employee death and around 2,000 layoffs.


title: QVC

text: On August 22, 2013, QVC launched a timeshift channel called QVC Plus (the first such channel operated by a home shopping network), made available initially on cable provider Bright House Networks and satellite provider DirecTV, which broadcasts the channel's programming on a three-hour tape delay. On April 1, 2017, QVC Plus was rebranded as QVC2 as a destination for more live programming, broadcasting live 12 hours a day, Monday through Friday from noon to midnight ET, and Saturdays and Sundays from 10am-10pm ET. After four months of reduced programming on QVC2 due to the global coronavirus pandemic, QVC2 ceased live programming on July 14, 2020, focusing thereafter only on repeated QVC programming. QVC2 restored live programming with 2 hours live programming daily on December 9, 2020, which increased to 13 hours live daily on July 1, 2021.


title: QVC

text: On April 1, 2019, Beauty iQ's broadcast channel was rebranded as QVC3, airing rebroadcasts of previously recorded QVC and QVC2 programming 24 hours a day. On June 1, 2022, it took over the cable carriage formerly held by ShopHQ's secondary channel, ShopHQ Health.


title: QVC

text: On October 25, 2016, QVC announced the creation of Beauty iQ, a female-oriented television channel based entirely on beauty products. The network was launched on both DirecTV and Dish Network on October 31, 2016. Beauty iQ aired live programming Monday through Friday, 8pm- Midnight ET. Beauty iQ ceased live programming on March 13, 2019. Beginning April 23, 2019, QVC introduced Beauty iQ as their first digital-only channel, in order to better target its younger audience. On March 1, 2021, BeautyiQ converted to QVC NOW, a mix of various repeated QVC programming.


title: QVC

text: All of QVC's operations (U.S., UK, Germany, Japan, Italy, and China) run 24 hours a day, although live programming hours vary between each region.


title: QVC

text: QVC has its headquarters in West Chester, Pennsylvania by U.S. Route 202. The $100 million QVC Studio Park complex, located on an plot of land, opened in 1997.


title: QVC

text: QVC's U.S. operations are based in the Studio Park complex, which houses its corporate headquarters, studio and broadcasting facilities. Studio Park is the former corporate offices of the computer company Commodore. Call center facilities are located in Chesapeake, Virginia, and San Antonio, Texas. QVC's distribution centers are located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Suffolk, Virginia, Florence, South Carolina, Rocky Mount, North Carolina and Ontario, California. Its 2013 sales were worth $5.84 billion.


title: QVC

text: QVC broadcasts live in the United States 20/7. The four hours from 3am until 7am Eastern time, loop the "Today's Special Value" feature for Pacific Time Zone viewers, and previously aired programming. QVC broadcasts 364 days a year to more than 100 million households, and ranks as the number two television network in terms of revenue (#1 in home shopping networks), with sales in 2015 giving a net revenue of $8.7 billion. The only day on which QVC does not broadcast its usual format is Christmas, when the station runs a taped telecast of the West Chester Christmas Parade and other pre-recorded programming.


title: QVC

text: Every year the "QVC Presents 'FFANY Shoes on Sale'" event is broadcast in which donated designer shoes are sold at half the suggested retail price and 80% of the proceeds go to breast cancer research and education. It is organized with the Fashion Footwear Association of New York, which runs a coinciding Shoes on Sale initiative along with an awards gala.


title: QVC

text: QVC UK was launched on October 1, 1993. QVC UK's headquarters and broadcasting facilities are in Chiswick Park, West London. Call centre and distribution warehouse are situated in Knowsley in Merseyside. QVC UK also runs an outlet store in Warrington; another was in Shrewsbury, but this closed in June 2020. QVC UK also operates three channels made up mostly of rerun segments from the live channel, QVC Beauty, QVC Extra and QVC Style. The company's UK sales in 2013 were worth $660 million, now reaching to 27 million households in Britain and Ireland.


title: QVC

text: QVC UK's main channel broadcasts live 364 days a year from 09:00 to 01:00. For the 8 'non-live' hours a day and on one day a year, Christmas Day, the main channel shows rerun segments from the live channel.


title: QVC

text: QVC Germany, incorporated in Düsseldorf, runs call centre operations from sites in Bochum and Kassel, whilst distribution is handled from a dedicated warehouse in Hückelhoven. The company's 2013 sales were worth $970 million.


title: QVC

text: QVC Germany first broadcast December 1, 1996 and reaches 41 million households in Germany and Austria. QVC Germany broadcasts live 17 hours a day, 363.5 days a year (the channel goes off-air on Christmas Eve (with no programming after noon) and Christmas Day). QVC has two additional channels in Germany, QVC 2 and QVC Style.


title: QVC

text: QVC Japan, a joint venture with Mitsui & Co., is based in Makuhari, where its broadcast studio, corporate headquarters, and call center facility are located. Distribution facilities are in Sakura City. The company's 2013 sales were worth $1.02 billion.


title: QVC

text: QVC Japan first broadcast on April 1, 2001, and reaches 27 million households. The channel once broadcast live programming 24 hours a day and now airs 19 live programming hours daily.


title: QVC

text: QVC Italy first broadcast on October 1, 2010. QVC Italy's headquarters and broadcasting facilities are located at Brugherio, near Milan and the distribution center is located in Castel San Giovanni. The company's 2013 sales were worth $130 million.


title: QVC

text: QVC Italy broadcasts live 17 hours a day (although the channel runs 24 hours a day), 364 days a year to 25 million households. The primary distribution platforms for QVC Italy are digital terrestrial television and satellite.


title: QVC

text: On August 1, 2015, QVC reached its seventh international market with France. Before the launch, the company said it expected to create about 200 jobs in its first two years in the country. QVC France broadcast from their studio and administration facility in Seine-Saint-Denis live on weekdays from 15:00 to 23:00 and weekends from 11:00 to 23:00, online, on mobile devices and on major satellite TV, cable TV and internet TV. The channel's corporate website said QVC stood for: "Qualité, Valeur, Confiance," replacing "convenience" with (the French for) "trust".


title: QVC

text: Qurate Retail Group ceased operations of QVC France on March 13, 2019, stating that "QVC France had underperformed against financial and operational expectations, in large part due to unique in-market structural challenges and market dynamics that evolved in the years following the launch of the operation."


title: QVC

text: QVC/CNR (China) is based in Beijing and operates both a television broadcast and associated e-commerce website cnrmall.com. The China operation is a 51/49 joint venture between state-owned China National Radio and QVC, based on the pre-existing CNR channel reaching 35 million households, with plans to grow to 195 million households that have digital cable. Chinese law prohibits private control of television stations, so this is the maximum position QVC can hold in its Chinese operations. QVC/CNR broadcasts live 17 hours a day. The company's 2013 sales were worth $110 million.


title: QVC

text: Since August 11, 1987, QVC has branded their daily featured product as "Today's Special Value". Originally, "Today's Special Value" ("TSV") was a product specially priced for one day only, but since 2017, contrary to its name, it is offered for a variable amount of time, for up to two weeks.


title: Antonov An-26

text: The Antonov An-26 (NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.


title: Antonov An-26

text: While the An-24T tactical transport had proved successful in supporting Soviet troops in austere locations, its ventral loading hatch restricted the handling of cargo, and in particular vehicles, and made it less effective than hoped in parachuting men and supplies. As a result, interest in a version with a retractable cargo ramp increased, and the Antonov design bureau decided in 1966 to begin development on the new An-26 derivative, in advance of an official order. The cargo ramp was based on that design and allowed the cargo deck to be sealed and pressurised in flight. When loading cargo, it could either be lowered to allow vehicles to be driven in, or slid beneath the aircraft's fuselage, so that cargo could be loaded straight in off a truck bed. In March 1968, the OKB received official permission to begin development. Particular attention was given to the military mission, and the majority of early An-26 production was delivered to the VTA (voyenno-transportnaya aviatsiya).


title: Antonov An-26

text: Using the majority of the An-24 airframe, it has high-set cantilevered wings, wing-mounted twin turboprops with a turbojet engine in the starboard nacelle for use as an auxiliary power unit and also for extra take-off thrust, plus long main undercarriage legs. The An-26 includes military equipment, such as tip-up paratroop canvas seats, an overhead traveling hoist, bulged observation windows and parachute static line attachment cables. It can be configured in 20-30 minutes from the troop transport or freight mission to the medical evacuation role with up to 24 stretchers fitted.


title: Antonov An-26

text: The An-26 made its public debut at the 27th Paris Air Show at Le Bourget where the second prototype, CCCP-26184 (c/n00202), was shown in the static aircraft park.


title: Antonov An-26

text: The An-26 is also manufactured without a license agreement in China by the Xian Aircraft factory as the Y-14, later changed to be included in the Xian Y7 series.


title: Antonov An-26

text: The An-26 has a secondary bomber role with underwing bomb racks. The racks are attached to the fuselage in front of and behind the rear landing gear. In the bombing role it was extensively used by the Vietnam People's Air Force during the Cambodian–Vietnamese War and Sudanese Air Force during the Second Sudanese Civil War and the War in Darfur. Russian Forces have also trained with the An-26 as a bomber.


title: Antonov An-26

text: One An-26 was involved in the Purulia Incident in 1995 in which arms were dropped in the Purulia district of West Bengal, India. The reason behind the drop is not disclosed to the public due to national security.


title: Skyactiv

text: Skyactiv (branded as SKYACTIV) is a brand name for a series of automobile technologies developed by Mazda that increase fuel efficiency and engine output. The initial announcement of the Skyactiv technologies included new engines, transmissions, body, and chassis, which appeared in Mazda products from 2011 onwards.


title: Skyactiv

text: The precursor of Skyactiv, which featured a Mazda Sky-G 2.3-liter direct injection gas engine, a Mazda Sky-D 2.2-liter diesel engine, a Sky-Drive automatic transmission, a Mazda Kiyora with Sky-G 1.3 engine and Sky-Drive automatic transmission, was unveiled at the 40th Tokyo Motor Show in 2008. The Skyactiv concept features a revised suspension geometry, improved automatic and manual transmission, and various improvements to Mazda's L- engine such as direct injection, upgraded exhaust manifold, increased compression ratio for cleaner burn and higher thermal efficiency, etc. Mazda's previous chassis for the Mazda3 and Mazda6 were carried over to the new vehicles.


title: Skyactiv

text: The Skyactiv-G is a family of direct injection petrol engines. The engine compression ratio is increased to 14.0:1. To reduce the risk of engine knock at high compression, residual gas is reduced by using 4-2-1 engine exhaust systems, implementing a piston cavity, and optimizing fuel injection. In addition, combustion duration is shortened by intensifying air flow, increasing injection pressure, and using multi-hole injectors.


title: Skyactiv

text: It features an all-aluminum construction with chain-driven dual overhead camshafts with VVT and gasoline direct injection; with direct ignition, it meets ULEV emission standards. Skyactiv-G engines for the U.S. market have a lower compression ratio of 13:1 allowing them to operate on standard instead of premium fuel with an approximate 3-5 percent reduction in torque and fuel economy.


title: Skyactiv

text: The Skyactiv-G 1.3 (P3-VPS) is a naturally aspirated variant with engine displacement and features a bore and an stroke. The engine was unveiled at the 2011 Automotive Engineering Exposition.


title: Skyactiv

text: Five Mazda engineers were awarded the 2011 Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers Medal on April 20, 2012 specifically for the "development of a petrol engine (1.3 L) with a super-high compression ratio and achieving fuel efficiency of 30 km per litre (under Japan's 10-15 cycle)". The engine was first used in the Mazda Demio 1.3-Skyactiv, being the only Skyactiv engine to be paired with a CVT.


title: Skyactiv

text: The Skyactiv-G 1.5, or (PR-VP RS) for RWD applications and (P5 VPS F-P5) for FWD applications, is a naturally aspirated engine with a bore and an stroke.


title: Skyactiv

text: This 4 cylinder engine was introduced in the 14MY Mazda3 for the Asian and European markets, it develops at 6,000 rpm and of torque at 4,000 rpm (Asia Markets). This new petrol engine added to the Skyactiv line-up achieves a high compression ratio of 13.0:1 (14.0:1 in some markets). It greatly improves dynamic performance and fuel economy over the MZR 1.5 engine of the previous model.


title: Skyactiv

text: This naturally aspirated engine features an engine displacement of , with a bore X stroke of . The U.S. version has a compression ratio of 13.0:1 producing at 6000 rpm and of torque at 4600 rpm. In some markets, the and of torque with Flexifuel E85 is available.


title: Skyactiv

text: According to Mazda, it is more fuel efficient than the engine it replaces. Versus the engine in the 2011 Mazda3 (with an automatic transmission), they improved fuel economy from to in town, and from to on the highway compared to the 2011 model.


title: Skyactiv

text: The MX-5 ND2 2019 facelift received an updated engine producing with maximum RPM raised from 6800 to 7500 rpm and includes a larger intake manifold, increased injection pressure and a new exhaust system that scavenges the cylinders more quickly.


title: Skyactiv

text: The Skyactiv-G 2.5 (PY-VPS) is a naturally aspirated engine first used in the 2013 Mazda 6 and features an bore and a stroke.


title: Skyactiv

text: Skyactiv-G 2.5 engines manufactured from 2018 onwards feature cylinder deactivation to improve fuel efficiency. In July 2019, approximately 262,000 Mazda vehicles using the engine were recalled for a faulty powertrain control module that may cause a misfire or a loss in power.


title: Skyactiv

text: The turbocharged version or (PY-VPTS) operates with a 10.5:1 compression ratio, and produces at 5,000 rpm and at 2,500 rpm on 93 AKI octane (98 RON) gasoline, and at 5,000 rpm and at 2,000 rpm on 87 AKI octane (91 RON). Maximum boost pressure is 17.4 psi. A specially-designed set of passages and butterfly valves acts at low engine RPMs to force exhaust gases through smaller orifices, spooling the turbo more quickly and minimizing turbo lag. Additionally, the engine has a unique 4-3-1 exhaust manifold to improve exhaust scavenging and a cooled exhaust gas recirculation system, both designed to reduce combustion chamber temperatures and allow for increased boost with better fuel mileage. On the CX-9 and CX-5, the engine is equipped with an air-to-air intercooler, while on the Mazda3 and CX-30, an air-to-liquid intercooler is integrated into the intake manifold to save space.


title: Skyactiv

text: For the CX-60, the engine is paired with a plug-in hybrid system which includes a electric motor and a 17.8 kWh lithium-ion battery. Combined outputs are and of torque.


title: Skyactiv

text: The Skyactiv-G 3.3 is a longitudinally-positioned, inline-six 3.3-litre turbocharged petrol engine that was introduced in the Mazda CX-60 in 2022. It produces and .


title: Skyactiv

text: Skyactiv-X is the first commercial petrol engine to use homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI), in which the fuel-air mixture ignites spontaneously when compressed by a smaller, separately ignited charge of fuel. This allows it to reach a compression ratio of 16:1 instead of 14.0:1 of previous generation and operate much leaner than a spark ignition engine, reducing fuel consumption and emissions.


title: Skyactiv

text: This engine targets 20-30% greater fuel efficiency by utilising HCCI technology. In order to handle ignition problems caused by compression ignition, each cylinder also incorporates a spark plug featuring Spark Controlled Compression Ignition (SPCCI) technology. A small Roots-type supercharger further expands the compression ignition operating window by feeding more air into the engine, leaning out the mixture sufficiently for compression ignition even at higher speeds.


title: Skyactiv

text: SPCCI works by drawing in a lean, homogeneous air-fuel mixture, it then compresses the mixture until it approaches the point at which it would spontaneously detonate. A second injector then adds a secondary charge of fuel directly on the spark plug. This secondary charge is ignited by the spark plug, causing the cylinder pressure to very quickly rise to a point where the rest of the fuel undergoes compression ignition. The presence of the spark plug allows the engine to also operate as a spark-ignition engine under some operating conditions, such as high-speed high-load situations. Revealed June 5, 2019, the output is and .


title: Skyactiv

text: Mazda is developing an inline-six variant of the Skyactiv-X, with displacements of 3.0 and 3.3 liters and a rear-wheel-drive layout. It was believed that production of the new engine would begin in 2022 with the Mazda CX-60 and possibly a fourth generation rear-wheel drive Mazda6. However, according to Road & Track magazine, in the March 2022 edition of Autocar magazine Mazda Europe's Development & Engineering Senior Manager Joachim Kunz stated that there were no plans for a Mazda rear drive sedan, since Mazda was prioritizing SUV sales.


title: Skyactiv

text: Skyactiv-D is a family of turbocharged diesel engines, designed to comply with global emissions regulations.


title: Skyactiv

text: To eliminate the need of NOx and particulate treatment in contemporary diesel engines, the cylinder compression ratio is reduced to 14.0:1. Cold engine start is achieved via multi-hole piezo injectors with 3 programmable injection patterns, and adoption of ceramic glow plugs. Engine misfiring is prevented via variable valve lift at exhaust, which opens exhaust valves during the intake stroke, which increases engine air temperature. The Skyactiv-D also uses a two-stage turbocharger, in which one small and one large turbo are selectively operated, according to driving conditions.


title: Skyactiv

text: The Skyactiv-D 1.5 (S5-DPTS/S5-DPTR) is a first introduced in the fourth generation Mazda Demio/Mazda2. It features a compression ratio of 14:1.


title: Skyactiv

text: The Skyactiv-D 2.2 (SH-VPTS/SH-VPTR) is a that was the first Skyactiv-D engine used in production vehicles. It was first used in the Mazda CX-5. In the Mazda6, it produces and . An upgraded version of the Skyactiv-D was run in the 2013 Rolex Sports Car Series season and helped Mazda win the GX manufacturer's championship. The engine is slated to be used again in two Lola LMP2s in the United SportsCar Series.


title: Skyactiv

text: The Skyactiv-D 3.3 is a longitudinally-positioned, inline-six that was introduced in the Mazda CX-60 in 2022.


title: Skyactiv

text: The Skyactiv-D is the first low compression diesel in a production car, having a significantly lower compression in the first generation of 14:1 rather than higher compression ratios of 16:1 and higher. Numerous university studies have investigated the benefits of low compression diesel for decades, with the major benefit noted in single cylinder university tests of being a drastic reduction in NOx emissions, while also reducing particulate matter and combustion noise. These studies all concluded that while there were noticeable reductions in emissions, this came at the expense of difficult cold starts. Mazda resolved this in the Skyactiv-D by using piezoelectric fuel injectors with multiple nozzles that changes the pattern depending on operating conditions. Furthermore, exhaust valves are left slightly open as the engine starts causing exhaust gases to be sucked into the cylinders helping the engine to warm up quickly.


title: Skyactiv

text: The CX-5 with Skyactiv-D engines were reported to have oil levels rising earlier than expected upon release, which required owners to check the vehicle's engine oil every 1000 kilometres or every month and return to the dealer if the oil appeared over the level of the dipstick. This procedure was initiated by Mazda worldwide as a precaution. Mazda did however resolve the issue in the first few months of the engine being available, with the resolution being a software change and a change of dipsticks with a corrected level.


title: Skyactiv

text: At launch in 2012, Mazda claimed the Skyactiv-D engine would only comply with Euro 5 emission standards (NOx of 0.18 g/km), and further work was required to achieve stricter emission standards.


title: Skyactiv

text: In the aftermath of the Volkswagen emissions scandal, the Japanese government performed testing of all diesel engines produced in Japan to ensure Japanese manufacturers were not falsifying emissions as had been done by Volkswagen. It was determined that the Skyactiv-D engine was the only engine which tested at or near the standard.


title: Skyactiv

text: At the 2019 New York Motor show, Mazda announced that it would commence pre-sales of the 2019 CX-5 with the Skyactiv-D 2.2L engine. To achieve the US EPA emissions standards though has resulted is significant performance and economy penalties in comparison with the Euro 5 compliant engine. The Australian version of the engine is a good comparison with that in the US, with both countries requiring identical diesel quality and using the higher specification of the engine.


title: Skyactiv

text: In September 2016, Mazda recalled 130,000 vehicles in Japan over a defect that could lead to diesel engine failure.


title: Skyactiv

text: Although most problems were fixed later on the 2.2 suffered from bad carbon build up that would block the intake manifold. Other faults include the turbo diversion valve failure that required replacement of the complete twin turbo unit.


title: Skyactiv

text: The Skyactiv-Hybrid technology is an electric hybrid engine technology using Skyactiv-G engine with technology from Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive, originally licensed for use with the Sky engine for vehicles sold in 2013.


title: Skyactiv

text: The first retail Mazda Skyactiv-Hybrid vehicle, a Mazda3 Skyactiv-Hybrid with Skyactiv-G 2.0 engine with 14:1 compression, was unveiled at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show.


title: Skyactiv

text: The Skyactiv-CNG engine is powered by compressed natural gas. The first retail Mazda Skyactiv-CNG prototype vehicle, a Mazda3 Skyactiv-CNG Concept, was unveiled in 2013 Tokyo Motor Show.


title: Skyactiv

text: The Skyactiv-R engine is Mazda's new generation rotary engine. However, the engine has never been shown to the public to prove its existence.


title: Skyactiv

text: The Mazda RX-Vision Concept, powered by a Skyactiv-R rotary engine, was unveiled in 2015 Tokyo Motor Show.


title: Skyactiv

text: The Skyactiv-Drive is a family of automatic transmissions, named SKY-Drive. Mazda rejected dual-clutch technology in automatic transmissions, because the dual-clutch behavior in certain situations was sub-optimal. Instead, Mazda chose to re-design the conventional automatic transmission, making the torque converter take less duty while a multi-plate clutch disengages the torque converter most of the time. The new Skyactiv automatic transmission is designed to have six or eight gears forward, one reverse gear, a short torque converter, and a clutch integrated with the torque converter.


title: Skyactiv

text: To achieve lighter shift effort with a short shift lever stroke, the lever ratio is increased. However, to overcome the shorter internal stroke, a small module spline is used. Shift throws are reduced by 15 percent, making it the shortest shifting of any passenger car.


title: Skyactiv

text: To allow weight reduction, the triple-shafted gear train is made with reverse and first gears on the same shaft, and the use of a shorter secondary shaft.


title: Skyactiv

text: The Skyactiv-Body is a next-generation, lightweight, highly-rigid car body, with improved crash safety performance. It is 8% lighter and 30% more rigid than previous generations.


title: Skyactiv

text: The Skyactiv Multi-Solution Scalable Architecture is a rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive car platform designed with a longitudinal engine layout.


title: Açaí palm

text: The açaí palm (, , "asai"), "Euterpe oleracea," is a species of palm tree (Arecaceae) cultivated for its fruit (açaí berries, or simply açaí), hearts of palm (a vegetable), leaves, and trunk wood. Global demand for the fruit has expanded rapidly in the 21st century, and the tree is cultivated for that purpose primarily.


title: Açaí palm

text: The species is native to eastern Amazonia, especially in Brazil, mainly in swamps and floodplains. Açaí palms are tall, slender trees growing to more than tall, with pinnate leaves up to long. The fruit is small, round, and black-purple in color. The fruit became a staple food in floodplain areas around the 18th century, but its consumption in urban areas and promotion as a health food only began in the mid 1990s along with the popularization of other Amazonian fruits outside the region.


title: Açaí palm

text: The common name comes from the Portuguese adaptation of the Tupian word "", meaning "[fruit that] cries or expels water". The importance of the fruit as a staple food in the Amazon River delta gives rise to the local legend of how the plant got its name. The folklore says that chief Itaqui ordered all newborns put to death owing to a period of famine. When his own daughter gave birth and the child was sacrificed, she cried and died beneath a newly sprouted tree. The tree fed the tribe and was called açaí because that was the daughter's name (Iaçá) spelled backwards.


title: Açaí palm

text: The fruit, commonly known as açaí berry or açaí, is a small, round, black-purple drupe about in circumference, similar in appearance to a grape, but smaller and with less pulp and produced in branched panicles of 500 to 900 fruits. The exocarp of the ripe fruits is a deep purple color, or green, depending on the kind of açaí and its maturity. The mesocarp is pulpy and thin, with a consistent thickness of or less. It surrounds the voluminous and hard endocarp, which contains a single large seed about in diameter. The seed makes up about 60-80% of the fruit. The palm bears fruit year round but the berry cannot be harvested during the rainy season.


title: Açaí palm

text: There are two harvests: one is normally between January and June, while the other is between August and December. The last harvest is the most important.


title: Açaí palm

text: A powdered preparation of freeze-dried açaí fruit pulp and skin was reported to contain (per 100 g of dry powder) 534 calories, 52 g carbohydrates, 8 g protein, and 33 g total fat. The carbohydrate portion included 44 g of dietary fiber with low sugar levels, and the fat portion consisted of oleic acid (56% of total fats), palmitic acid (24%), and linoleic acid (13%). The powder was also shown to contain (per 100 g) negligible vitamin C, 260 mg calcium, 4 mg iron, and 1002 IU vitamin A.


title: Açaí palm

text: A comparative analysis from " studies reported that açaí has intermediate polyphenol content relative to 11 varieties of frozen juice pulps, scoring lower than acerola, mango, strawberry, and grapes. The extent to which polyphenols as dietary antioxidants may promote health is unknown, as no credible evidence indicates any antioxidant role for polyphenols in vivo.


title: Açaí palm

text: When three commercially available juice mixes, containing unspecified percentages of açaí juice, were compared for in vitro antioxidant capacity against red wine, tea, six types of pure fruit juice, and pomegranate juice, the average antioxidant capacity ranked lower than that of pomegranate juice, Concord grape juice, blueberry juice, and red wine. The average was roughly equivalent to that of black cherry or cranberry juice, and was higher than that of orange juice, apple juice, and tea.


title: Açaí palm

text: The medical watchdog website Quackwatch said that "açaí juice has only middling levels of antioxidants – less than that of Concord grape, blueberry, and black cherry juices, but more than cranberry, orange, and apple juices."


title: Açaí palm

text: The anthocyanins of açaí likely have relevance to antioxidant capacity only in the plant's natural defense mechanisms, and in vitro. Anthocyanins in açaí accounted for only about 10% of the overall antioxidant capacity in vitro. The Linus Pauling Institute and European Food Safety Authority state that "the relative contribution of dietary flavonoids to (...) antioxidant function in vivo is likely to be very small or negligible". But unlike controlled test tube conditions, in vivo anthocyanins have been shown to be poorly conserved (less than 5%), and most of what is absorbed exists as chemically modified metabolites destined for rapid excretion.


title: Açaí palm

text: A powdered preparation of freeze-dried açaí fruit pulp and skin was shown to contain cyanidin 3-O-glucoside and cyanidin 3-O-rutinoside as major anthocyanins (3.19 mg/g). The powdered preparation was also reported to contain twelve flavonoid-like compounds, including homoorientin, orientin, taxifolin deoxyhexose, isovitexin, scoparin, as well as proanthocyanidins (12.89 mg/g), and low levels of resveratrol (1.1 μg/g).


title: Açaí palm

text: In the 1980s, the Brazilian Gracie family marketed açaí as an energy drink or as crushed fruit served with granola and bananas; this demand led to the building of cottage industries and processing plants to pulp and freeze açaí for export.


title: Açaí palm

text: In the early 2000s, numerous companies flooded the internet with açaí advertising, many of them with counterfeit testimonials and products. In 2009, açaí scams were ranked #1 on the US FTC's "scams and rip-offs" list, so that by 2011 sales of açaí flattened as the fad waned.


title: Açaí palm

text: Açaí was promoted heavily for its antioxidants, and many false claims were made, including a reversal of diabetes and other chronic illnesses, as well as expanding the size of the penis and increasing men's sexual virility. According to the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest thousands of consumers had trouble stopping recurrent charges on their credit cards when they canceled free trials of some açai-based products. In 2003, American celebrity doctor Nicholas Perricone included açaí berries among "superfoods", but such extravagant marketing claims regarding açaí as miracle cures for everything from obesity to attention-deficit disorder were challenged in subsequent studies. Even some websites purporting to warn about açai-related scams are themselves perpetrating scams.


title: Açaí palm

text: By 2011, Ralph Carson, the formulator of MonaVie, cautioned the public that the product was in fact nothing more than "expensive flavored water" and that any claims made about it were "purely hypothetical, unsubstantiated and, quite frankly, bogus".


title: Açaí palm

text: The FTC handed down an $80 million judgement in January 2012 against five companies that were marketing açaí berry supplements with fraudulent claims that their products promoted weight loss and prevented colon cancer. One company, Central Coast Nutraceuticals, was ordered to pay a $1.5 million settlement.


title: Açaí palm

text: Brazil is a major producer, particularly in the state of Pará, which alone in 2019 produced more than 1.2 million tons of açaí, an amount equal to 95% of Brazil's total.


title: Açaí palm

text: Fresh açaí has been consumed as a dietary staple in the region around the Amazon river delta for centuries. The fruit is processed into pulp for supply to food product manufacturers or retailers, sold as frozen pulp, juice, or an ingredient in various products from beverages, including grain alcohol, smoothies, foods, cosmetics and supplements. In Brazil, it is commonly eaten as ".


title: Açaí palm

text: In a study of three traditional Caboclo populations in the Brazilian Amazon, açaí palm was described as the most important plant species because the fruit makes up a major component of their diet, up to 42% of the total food intake by weight.


title: Açaí palm

text: In North America, açaí is commonly sold in "açaí bowls", a combination of frozen açaí puree or açaí powder with other ingredients, such as nut milk, fruit juice, fruit, nuts, oatmeal, and sweeteners. Açaí bowls may contain more than 50 g of sugar (the equivalent of 12 teaspoons), or double what the American Heart Association recommends for an entire day, and have been described by nutritionists as a "sugar bomb", "glorified dessert" or "occasional treat", more akin to eating a bowl of ice cream than a meal.


title: Açaí palm

text: As of 2015, there are no scientifically controlled studies providing proof of any health benefits from consuming açaí. No açaí products have been evaluated by the FDA, and their efficacy is doubtful. Specifically, there is no scientific evidence that açaí consumption affects body weight, promotes weight loss or has any positive health effect.


title: Açaí palm

text: The oil is suitable for cooking or as a salad dressing, but is mainly used in cosmetics as shampoos, soaps or skin moisturizers.


title: Açaí palm

text: The oil compartments in açaí fruit contain polyphenols such as procyanidin oligomers and vanillic acid, syringic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, protocatechuic acid, and ferulic acid, which were shown to degrade substantially during storage or exposure to heat. Although these compounds are under study for potential health effects, there remains no substantial evidence that açaí polyphenols have any effect in humans. Açaí oil is green in color, has a bland aroma, and is high in oleic and palmitic fatty acids.


title: Açaí palm

text: Leaves of the palm may be made into hats, mats, baskets, brooms and roof thatch for homes, and trunk wood, resistant to pests, for building construction. Tree trunks may be processed to yield dietary minerals.


title: Açaí palm

text: Comprising 80% of the fruit mass, açaí seeds may be ground for livestock food or as a component of organic soil for plants. Planted seeds are used for new palm tree stock, which, under the right growing conditions, can require months to form seedlings. Seeds may become waste in landfills or used as fuel for producing bricks.


title: Açaí palm

text: Orally administered açaí has been tested as a contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the gastrointestinal system. Its anthocyanins have also been characterized for stability as a natural food coloring agent.


title: Redback spider

text: The redback spider ("Latrodectus hasselti"), also known as the Australian black widow, is a species of highly venomous spider believed to originate in South Australia or adjacent Western Australian deserts, but now found throughout Australia, Southeast Asia and New Zealand, with colonies elsewhere outside Australia. It is a member of the cosmopolitan genus "Latrodectus", the widow spiders. The adult female is easily recognised by her spherical black body with a prominent red stripe on the upper side of her abdomen and an hourglass-shaped red/orange streak on the underside. Females usually have a body length of about , while the male is much smaller, being only long.


title: Redback spider

text: Mainly nocturnal, the female redback lives in an untidy web in a warm sheltered location, commonly near or inside human residences. It preys on insects, spiders and small vertebrates that become ensnared in its web. It kills its prey by injecting a complex venom through its two fangs when it bites, before wrapping them in silk and sucking out the liquefied insides. Often, it first squirts its victim with what resembles 'superglue' from its spinnerets, immobilising the prey by sticking the victim's limbs and appendages to its own body. The redback spider then trusses the victim with silk. Once its prey is restrained, it is bitten repeatedly on the head, body and leg segments and is then hauled back to the redback spider's retreat. Sometimes a potentially dangerous victim can be left to struggle for hours until it is exhausted enough to approach safely. Male spiders and spiderlings often live on the periphery of the female spiders' web and steal leftovers. Other species of spider and parasitoid wasps prey on this species. The redback is one of a number of arachnids that usually display sexual cannibalism while mating.


title: Redback spider

text: After mating sperm is stored in the spermathecae, organs of the female reproductive tract, and can be used up to two years later to fertilise several clutches of eggs. Each clutch averages 250 eggs and is housed in a round white silken egg sac. The redback spider has a widespread distribution in Australia, and inadvertent introductions have led to established colonies in New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates, Japan and greenhouses in Belgium.


title: Redback spider

text: The redback is one of the few spider species that can be seriously harmful to humans, and its liking for habitats in built structures has led it to being responsible for a large number of serious spider bites in Australia. Predominantly neurotoxic to vertebrates, the venom gives rise to the syndrome of latrodectism in humans; this starts with pain around the bite site, which typically becomes severe and progresses up the bitten limb and persists for over 24 hours. Sweating in localised patches of skin occasionally occurs and is highly indicative of latrodectism. Generalised symptoms of nausea, vomiting, headache, and agitation may also occur and indicate severe envenomation. An antivenom has been available since 1956.


title: Redback spider

text: The common name "redback" is derived from the distinctive red stripe along the dorsal aspect of its abdomen. Other common names include red-striped spider, red-spot spider, jockey spider, Murra-ngura spider, Kapara spider and the Kanna-jeri spider.


title: Redback spider

text: Before DNA analysis, the taxonomy of the widow spider genus "Latrodectus" had been unclear—changes in the number of species reflect the difficulty of using morphology to determine subdivisions within the genus. Substantial interest in their systematics was most likely prompted by the medical importance of these venomous spiders. Swedish arachnologist Tamerlan Thorell described the redback spider in 1870 from specimens collected in Rockhampton and Bowen in central Queensland. He named it "Latrodectus hasseltii" in honour of colleague A.W.M. van Hasselt. In the same paper, he named a female from Cape York with an all-black abdomen "L. scelio", now regarded as the same species. These specimens are in the Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet in Stockholm.


title: Redback spider

text: German arachnologist Friedrich Dahl revised the genus in 1902 and named "L. ancorifer" from New Guinea, which was later regarded as a subspecies of the redback. Another subspecies, "L. h. aruensis", was described by Norwegian entomologist Embrik Strand in 1911. Subspecies "indica" (of "L. scelio") had been described by Eugène Simon in 1897, but its origin is unclear. Frederick Octavius Pickard-Cambridge questioned Dahl's separating species on what he considered minor anatomical details but Dahl dismissed Pickard-Cambridge as an "ignoramus". Pickard-Cambridge was unsure whether "L. hasselti" warranted species status, though he confirmed "scelio" and "hasselti" as a single species, other researchers such as Ludwig Carl Christian Koch noting the differences to be inconsistent. The redback was also considered by some to be conspecific with the katipō ("L. katipo"), which is native to New Zealand, though Koch regarded them as distinct.


title: Redback spider

text: Reviewing the genus "Latrodectus" in 1959, arachnologist Herbert Walter Levi concluded that the colour variations were largely continuous across the world and were not suitable for distinguishing the individual species. Instead, he focussed on differences in the morphology of the female sexual organs, and revised the number of recognised species from 22 to 6. This included reclassifying the redback and several other species as subspecies of the best-known member of the group, the black widow spider ("Latrodectus mactans"), found in North America and other regions. He did not consider the subspecies "L. h. ancorifer", "L. h. aruensis" and "L. h. indicus" distinct enough to warrant recognition. Subsequently, more reliable genetic studies have split the genus into about 30 species, and the redback has no recognised subspecies in modern classifications.


title: Redback spider

text: A member of the genus "Latrodectus" in the family Theridiidae, the redback belongs in a clade with the black widow spider, with the katipō as its closest relative. A 2004 molecular study supports the redback's status as a distinct species, as does the unique abdomen-presenting behaviour of the male during mating. The close relationship between the two species is shown when mating: the male redback is able to successfully mate with a female katipō producing hybrid offspring. However, the male katipō is too heavy to mate with the female redback, as it triggers a predatory response in the female when it approaches the web, causing the female to eat it. There is evidence of interbreeding between female katipō and male redbacks in the wild.


title: Redback spider

text: The adult female redback has a body around long, with slender legs, the first pair of which are longer than the rest. The round abdomen is a deep black (occasionally brownish), with a red (sometimes orange) longitudinal stripe on the upper surface and an hourglass-shaped scarlet streak on the underside. Females with incomplete markings or all-black abdomens occasionally occur. The cephalothorax is much smaller than the abdomen, and is black. Redback spiderlings are grey with dark spots, and become darker with each moult. Juvenile females have additional white markings on the abdomen. The bright scarlet red colours may serve as a warning to potential predators. Each spider has a pair of venom glands, one attached to each of its chelicerae with very small fangs. Small compared to the female, the male redback is long and is light brown, with white markings on the upper side of the abdomen and a pale hourglass marking on the underside.


title: Redback spider

text: Another species in Australia with a similar physique, "Steatoda capensis", has been termed the "false redback spider", but it is uniformly black (or plum), and does not display the red stripe.


title: Redback spider

text: The redback is mainly nocturnal; the female remains concealed during the day, and spins her web during the night, usually remaining in the same location for most of her adult life. Classified as a gum-footed tangle web, the web is an irregular-looking tangle of fine but strong silk. Although the threads seem random, they are strategically placed for support and entrapment of prey. The rear portion of the web forms a funnel-like retreat area where the spider and egg sacs are found. This area has vertical, sticky catching threads that run to ground attachments. The vertical strands act as trip wires to initially alert the spider to the presence of prey or threats. They also snare and haul prey into the air when weaker horizontal strands that hold them down, known as guy lines, break when prey thrash around. These webs are usually placed between two flat surfaces, one beneath the other. The female spends more time in the funnel and less time moving around during cooler weather.


title: Redback spider

text: Redbacks usually prey on insects, but can capture larger animals that become entangled in the web, including trapdoor spiders, small lizards, and even on rare occasion snakes. One web was recorded as containing a dead mouse. The woodlouse ("Porcellio scaber") is a particularly common food item. Developing spiderlings need size-appropriate prey, and laboratory studies show that they are willing to consume common fruit flies ("Drosophila melanogaster"), mealworm larvae ("Tenebrio molitor"), muscoid flies and early nymphs of cockroaches. Food scraps and lighting attract insect prey to areas of human activity, which brings the redbacks. Once alerted to a creature becoming ensnared in a trap line, the redback advances to around a leg's length from its target, touching it and squirting a liquid glutinous silk over it to immobilise it. It then bites its victim repeatedly on the head, body and leg joints and wraps it in sticky and dry silk. Unlike other spiders, it does not rotate its prey while wrapping in silk, but like other spiders, it then injects a venom that liquefies its victim's innards. Once it has trussed the prey, the redback takes it to its retreat and begins sucking out the liquefied insides, generally 5 to 20 minutes after first attacking it. Redback spiders do not usually drink, except when starved.


title: Redback spider

text: Commonly, prey-stealing occurs where larger females take food items stored in other spiders' webs. When they encounter other spiders of the same species, often including those of the opposite sex, they engage in battle, and the defeated spider is eaten. If a male redback is accepted by a female, it is permitted to feed on the victims snared in the female's web. Baby spiders also steal food from their mother, which she tries to prevent. They also consume sticky silk as well as small midges and flies. Spiderlings are cannibalistic, more active ones sometimes eating their less active siblings.


title: Redback spider

text: Spiderlings hatch from their eggs after about 8 days and can emerge from the egg sac as early as 11 days after being laid, although cooler temperatures can significantly slow their development so that emergence does not occur for months. After hatching they spend about a week inside the egg sac, feeding on the yolk and molting once. Baby spiders appear from September to January (spring to early summer). Male spiders mature through five instars in about 45–90 days. Females mature through seven–eight instars in about 75–120 days. Males live for up to six or seven months, while females may live between two and three years. Laboratory tests have shown that redbacks may survive for an average of 100 days, and sometimes over 300 days without any food, those starved at 10 °C (50 ºF) faring better than those kept without food at 25 °C (77 ºF). Spiders are known to reduce their metabolic rates in response to starvation, and can distend their abdomens to store large amounts of food. Redbacks can survive temperatures from below freezing point to 40 °C (104 ºF), though they do need relatively warm summers, with temperatures of 15 to 25 °C (59 to 77 ºF) for two to three months, to survive and breed.


title: Redback spider

text: Redback spiderlings cohabit on the maternal web for several days to a week, during which time sibling cannibalism is often observed. They then leave by being carried on the wind. They follow light and climb to the top of nearby logs or rocks before extending their abdomens high in the air and producing a droplet of silk. The liquid silk is drawn out into a long gossamer thread that, when long enough, carries the spider away. This behaviour is known as ballooning or kiting. Eventually, the silken thread will adhere to an object where the young spider will establish its own web. They sometimes work cooperatively, climbing, releasing silk and being carried off in clusters. Juvenile spiders build webs, sometimes with other spiders.


title: Redback spider

text: Before a juvenile male leaves its mother's web, it builds a small sperm web on which it deposits its sperm from its gonads and then collects it back into each of its two palps (copulatory organs), because the gonads and palps are not internally connected. After it moults into its last instar, it sets off wandering to seek a female. The male spider does not eat during this period. How males find females is unclear, and it is possible they may balloon like juveniles. A Western Australian field study found that most males took 6 to 8 weeks to travel around with occasional journeys of over , but that only around 11–13% successfully found a mate. They are attracted by pheromones, which are secreted by unmated sexually mature female redback spiders onto their webs and include a serine derivative ("N"-3-methylbutyryl-"O"-("S")-2-methylbutyryl--serine). This is thought to be the sole method by which males assess a female's reproductive status, and their courtship dismantles much of the pheremone-marked web.


title: Redback spider

text: During mating, the male redback attempts to copulate by inserting one of its palps into the one of the female's two spermathecae, each of which has its own insemination orifice. It then tries and often succeeds in inserting the other palp into the female's second orifice. The redback spider is one of only two animals known where the male has been found to actively assist the female in sexual cannibalism. In the process of mating, the much smaller male somersaults to place his abdomen over the female's mouthparts. In about two of three cases, the female fully consumes the male while mating continues. Males which are not eaten die of their injuries soon after mating. Sacrifice during mating is thought to confer two advantages to the species. The first is the eating process allows for a longer period of copulation and thus fertilisation of more eggs. The second is females which have eaten a male are more likely to reject subsequent males. Although this prohibits future mating for the males, this is not a serious disadvantage, because the spiders are sufficiently sparse that less than 20% of males ever find a potential mate during their lifetimes, and in any case, the male is functionally sterile if he has used the contents of both of his palps in the first mating.


title: Redback spider

text: Some redback males have been observed using an alternative tactic that also ensures more of their genetic material is passed on. Juvenile female redbacks nearing their final moulting and adulthood have fully formed reproductive organs, but lack openings in the exoskeleton that allow access to the organs. Males will bite through the exoskeleton and deliver sperm without performing the somersault seen in males mating with adult females. The females then moult within a few days and deliver a clutch of fertilised eggs.


title: Redback spider

text: Once the female has mated, the sperm is stored in one or both of her spermathecae. The sperm can be used to fertilise several batches of eggs, over a period of up to two years (estimated from observations of closely related species), but typically restarts the female's pheromone production advertising her sexual availability about three months after mating. A female spider may lay four to ten egg sacs, each of which is around in diameter and contains on average around 250 eggs, though can be as few as 40 or as many as 500. She prepares a shallow concave disc around in diameter before laying eggs into it over a period of around five minutes before laying more silk to complete the sac, which becomes spherical, the whole process taking around one and a quarter hours. She can produce a new egg sac as early as one to three weeks after her last.


title: Redback spider

text: The redback spider is widespread across Australia. The current distribution reported by the World Spider Catalogue includes Southeast Asia and New Zealand. Colonies and individuals have been found elsewhere, including Japan, England, Belgium, the United Arab Emirates and Iran. It was believed at one time that the redback may have been introduced to Australia, because when it was first formally described in 1870, it appeared to be concentrated around sea ports. However, an earlier informal description (1850) from the Adelaide Hills is now known, and names in Australian Aboriginal languages also show that it was present well before European settlement. Its original range is thought to be a relatively small arid part of South Australia and Western Australia. Its spread has been inadvertently aided by modern buildings, which often provide habitats conducive to redback populations. The close relationship between the redback and the New Zealand katipō also supports the native status of both in their respective countries.


title: Redback spider

text: Outside urban areas, the redback is more often found in drier habitats ranging from sclerophyll forest to desert, even as harsh as the Simpson Desert. It became much more common in urban areas in the early decades of the 20th century, and is now found in all but the most inhospitable environments in Australia and its cities. It is particularly common in Brisbane, Perth and Alice Springs. It is wide spread throughout urban Australia, with most suburban backyards in the city of Canberra (for instance) having one or more nesting females in such places as firewood piles, stored brick stacks and around unused or restoring motor vehicles as well as generally behind the shed - as observed since at least the 1970s and probably earlier. The redback spider is commonly found in close proximity to human residences. Webs are usually built in dry, dark, sheltered sites, such as among rocks, in logs, tree hollows, shrubs, old tyres, sheds, outhouses, empty tins and boxes, children's toys or under rubbish or litter. Letterboxes and the undersurface of toilet seats are common sites. Populations can be controlled by clearing these habitats, squashing the spiders and their egg sacs, and using pesticide in outhouses. The CSIRO Division of Entomology recommends against the use of spider pesticides due to their toxicity, and because redbacks are rapid recolonists anyway.


title: Redback spider

text: Spiders in the French territory of New Caledonia in the Pacific were identified as "L. hasselti" in 1920, based on morphology. Their behaviour differs from Australian redbacks, as they do not engage in sexual cannibalism and are less prone to biting humans. The first recorded envenomation in New Caledonia was in 2007.


title: Redback spider

text: The redback spider's affinity for human-modified habitat has enabled it to spread to several countries via international shipping and trade. Furthermore, its tolerance to cold means that it has the ability to colonise many temperate countries with a winter climate cooler than Australia. This is concerning due to the risks to people being bitten who are unaware of its venomous nature, and also to the conservation of local threatened insect species that the redback might prey upon.


title: Redback spider

text: Redback spiders are also found in small colonies in areas of New Zealand. They are frequently intercepted by quarantine authorities, often among steel or car shipments. They were introduced into New Zealand in the early 1980s and now are found around Central Otago (including Alexandra, Bannockburn and near Wanaka) in the South Island and New Plymouth in the North Island. Authorities in the United Arab Emirates warn residents and visitors of redback spiders, which have been present since 1990. Colonies have also been established in greenhouses in Belgium, and isolated observations indicate possible presence in New Guinea, the Philippines, and India. Some redbacks were found in Preston, Lancashire, England, after a container of parts arrived from Australia; some may have escaped into the countryside before pest controllers could destroy them. One redback was found in a back garden in Dartford in Kent. Two females were discovered in the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas in 2010.


title: Redback spider

text: There is an established population of redback spiders in Osaka, Japan, thought to have arrived in cargoes of wood chips.


title: Redback spider

text: In 2008, redback spiders were found in Fukuoka, Japan. Over 700 have been found near the container terminal in Hakata Bay, Fukuoka City. Dispersal mechanisms within Japan are unclear, but redbacks are thought to have spread by walking or by being carried on vehicles. In September 2012, after being bitten a woman was hospitalised in the Higashi Ward of Fukuoka City. As Japan previously had no dangerous spiders, signs warning about redback spiders have been posted in parks around the city.


title: Redback spider

text: The black house spider ("Badumna insignis"), the cellar spider ("Pholcus phalangioides") and the giant daddy-long-legs spider ("Artema atlanta") are known to prey on the redback spider, and redbacks are often absent if these species are present in significant numbers. "Agenioideus nigricornis", a spider wasp, is a parasitoid of the adult redback. Other wasps of the families Eurytomidae and Ichneumonidae parasitise redback eggs, and mantid lacewings (Neuroptera and Mantispidae) prey on redback eggs.


title: Redback spider

text: The redback spider has been historically responsible for more envenomations requiring antivenom than any other creature in Australia. However, by 2017 the spider was blamed for only 250 envenomations requiring antivenom annually. Estimates of the number of people thought to be bitten by redback spiders each year across Australia range from 2,000 to 10,000. The larger female spider is responsible for almost all cases of redback spider bites. The smaller male was thought to be unable to envenomate a human, although some cases have been reported; their rarity is probably due to the male's smaller size and proportionally smaller fangs, rather than its being incapable of biting or lacking potent venom. The bite from both juvenile and mature females appears to have similar potency. The male bite usually only produces short-lived, mild pain. Most bites occur in the warmer months between December and April, in the afternoon or evening. As the female redback is slow-moving and rarely leaves her web, bites generally occur as a result of placing a hand or other body part too close to the spider, such as when reaching into dark holes or wall cavities. Bites often also occur when a hidden spider is disturbed in items such as clothes, shoes, gloves, building materials, garden tools or children's outdoor toys.


title: Redback spider

text: A 2004 review reported 46% of bites occurring on distal extremities of the limbs, 25% on proximal areas of limbs (upper arms and thighs), 21% on the trunk, and 7% on the head or neck. In some cases the same spider bites a victim multiple times. Historically, victims were often bitten on the genitalia, though this phenomenon disappeared as outhouses were superseded by plumbed indoor toilets. Conversely, bites on the head and neck have increased with use of safety helmets and ear muffs. Precautions to avoid being bitten include wearing gloves and shoes while gardening, not leaving clothes on the floor, and shaking out gloves or shoes before putting them on. Also, children can be educated not to touch spiders.


title: Redback spider

text: The redback and its relatives in the genus "Latrodectus" are considered dangerous, alongside funnel-web spiders ("Atrax" and "Hadronyche"), mouse spiders ("Missulena"), banana spiders ("Phoneutria") and recluse spiders ("Loxosceles"). Venom is produced by holocrine glands in the spider's chelicerae (mouth parts). Venom accumulates in the lumen of the glands and passes through paired ducts into the spider's two hollow fangs. The venom of the redback spider is thought to be similar to that of the other "Latrodectus" spiders. It contains a complex mixture of cellular constituents, enzymes and a number of high-molecular-weight toxins, including insect toxins and a vertebrate neurotoxin called alpha-latrotoxin, which causes intense pain in humans.


title: Redback spider

text: In vertebrates, alpha-latrotoxin produces its effect through destabilisation of cell membranes and degranulation of nerve terminals, resulting in excessive release of neurotransmitters, namely acetylcholine, norepinephrine and GABA. Excess neurotransmitter activity leads to clinical manifestations of envenomation, although the precise mechanisms are not well understood. Acetylcholine release accounts for neuromuscular manifestations, and norepinephrine release accounts for the cardiovascular manifestations. Female redbacks have an average of around 0.08–0.10 mg of venom, and experiments indicate that the median lethal dose (LD) for mice at room temperature is 10–20% of this quantity (0.27–0.91 mg/kg based on the mass of the mice used), but that it is considerably deadlier for mice kept at lower or higher temperatures. Pure alpha-latrotoxin has an LD in mice of 20–40 µg/kg.


title: Redback spider

text: The specific variant of the vertebrate toxin found in the redback was cloned and sequenced in 2012, and was found to be a sequence of 1180 amino acids, with a strong similarity to the equivalent molecule across the "Latrodectus mactans" clade. The syndromes caused by bites from any spiders of the genus "Latrodectus" have similarities; there is some evidence there is a higher incidence of sweating, and local and radiating pain with the redback, while black widow envenomation results in more back and abdominal pain, and abdominal rigidity is a feature common with bites from the west coast button spider ("Latrodectus indistinctus") of South Africa.


title: Redback spider

text: One crustacean-specific and two insect-specific neurotoxins have been recovered from the Mediterranean black widow ("L. tredecimguttatus"), as have small peptides that inhibit angiotensin-1-converting enzyme; the venom of the redback, although little-studied, likely has similar agents.


title: Redback spider

text: Redback antivenom was developed by Commonwealth Serum Laboratories, then a government body involved with discovering antivenoms for many venomous Australian creatures. Production involves the milking of venom from redbacks and repeatedly inoculating horses with non-lethal doses. The horse immune systems makes polyclonal antibodies. Blood plasma, containing the antibodies, is extracted by plasmapheresis. The plasma is treated with pepsin, and the active F(ab') fragments are separated and purified. Each vial contains 500 units of redback antivenom in approximately 1.5 ml, which is enough to inactivate 5 mg of redback spider venom in a test tube. The antivenom has been safely administered to women in various stages of pregnancy. Redback antivenom has been widely used in Australia since 1956, although evidence from controlled studies for its effectiveness has been lacking. Recent trials show antivenom has a low response rate little better than placebo, and any effect is less than might be achieved with optimal use of standard analgesics. Further studies are needed to confirm or refute its effectiveness. It appears clinically active against arachnidism caused by "Steatoda" spiders; however, as these cases are often mild and the evidence of its effectiveness is limited, this treatment is not recommended. Similarly, the antivenom has been reported as effective with bites of "L. katipo", and "L. tredecimguttatus". Animal studies also support its use against envenomation from other widow spiders, having successfully been tested against venom from "L. mactans", "L. hesperus", and "L. tredecimguttatus" (synonym "L. lugubris").


title: Redback spider

text: Envenomation from a redback spider bite produces a syndrome known as latrodectism. A small but significant percentage of people bitten develop significant pain or systemic symptoms. The diagnosis is made from the clinical condition, often based on the victim being aware of a bite and ideally with identification of the spider. Laboratory tests are rarely needed and there is no specific test for the venom or latrodectism.


title: Redback spider

text: The redback's small size means that swelling or puncture marks at the bite site are uncommon. The bite may be painful from the start, but more often only feels like a pinprick or mild burning sensation. Within an hour, a more severe local pain may develop with local sweating and sometimes piloerection (goosebumps)—these three symptoms together are a classic presentation of redback spider envenomation. Pain, swelling and redness can spread proximally up a limb or away from the bite site


title: Redback spider

text: and regional lymph nodes may become painful. Some subjects with delayed symptoms may present with a characteristic sweating and pain in the lower limbs, generally below the knees, or a burning sensation in the soles of the feet. This may eventuate even if the person was bitten somewhere else on their body.


title: Redback spider

text: Around one in three subjects develops systemic symptoms; after a number of hours, or rarely, delayed for more than 24 hours. Symptoms typically include nausea, vomiting, abdominal or chest pain, agitation, headache, generalised sweating and hypertension. Other non-specific systemic effects such as malaise and lethargy are also common. Rarely, other effects are reported such as neurological manifestations, fever and priapism (uncontrolled erection of the penis). Severe pain usually persists for over 24 hours after being bitten. Symptoms of envenomation may linger for weeks or even months. Rare complications include localised skin infection, seizure, coma, pulmonary oedema, or respiratory failure. Children, the elderly, or those with serious medical conditions are at much higher risk of severe effects resulting from a bite. Infants have died within hours of a bite, but adult fatalities have taken up to 30 days.


title: Redback spider

text: Children and infants may be unable to report being bitten, making it difficult to associate their symptoms with a spider bite. Symptoms seen in infants include inconsolable crying, refusing to feed and a general erythematous rash. Muscle aches and pains, and neck spasm are often seen in children over four years of age.


title: Redback spider

text: Unlike those of some other spiders, redback bites do not necrose. Latrodectism has been misdiagnosed as various medical conditions including acute hepatitis, sepsis, testicular torsion or an acute abdomen.


title: Redback spider

text: Treatment is based on the severity of the envenomation. The majority of cases do not require medical care, and patients with localised pain, swelling and redness usually require only local application of ice and simple oral analgesia such as paracetamol. Pressure immobilisation of the wound site is not recommended. Keeping the victim still and calm is beneficial.


title: Redback spider

text: Hospital assessment is recommended if simple pain relief does not resolve local pain, or systemic symptoms occur. Opioid analgesics may be necessary to relieve pain. Antivenom has been historically given for adults suffering severe local pain or systemic symptoms consistent with latrodectism, which include pain and swelling spreading proximally from site, distressing local or systemic pain, chest pain, abdominal pain, or excessive sweating (diaphoresis). A significant proportion of bites will not result in envenomation or any symptoms developing; around 2–20% of bite victims have been treated with antivenom. In an Australian study of 750 emergency hospital admissions for spider bites where the spider was definitively identified, 56 were from redbacks. Of these, 37 had significant pain lasting over 24 hours. Only six were treated with the antivenom.