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Erie, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Erie, Lake, 9,940 sq mi (25,745 sq km), 241 mi (388 km) long and from 30 to 57 mi (48–92 km) wide, bordered on the N by S Ont., Canada, on the E by W N.Y., on the S by NW Pa. and N Ohio, and on the ...

hypertension

(Encyclopedia)hypertension or high blood pressure, elevated blood pressure resulting from an increase in the amount of blood pumped by the heart or from increased resistance to the flow of blood through the small a...

International Monetary Fund

(Encyclopedia)International Monetary Fund (IMF), specialized agency of the United Nations, established in 1945. It was planned at the Bretton Woods Conference (1944), and its headquarters are in Washington, D.C. Th...

compressor

(Encyclopedia)compressor, machine that decreases the volume of air or other gas by the application of pressure. Compressor types range from the simple hand pump and the piston-equipped compressor used to inflate ti...

da Silva, Luiz Inácio

(Encyclopedia)da Silva, Luiz Inácio lo͞oēshˈ ēnäsˈyo͞o dä sēlˈvə [key], 1945–, Brazilian labor leader and politician, known as Lula, b. Vargem Grande (now Caetés), Pernambuco. Born into a poor family...

corrupt practices

(Encyclopedia)corrupt practices, in politics, fraud connected with elections. The term also refers to various offenses by public officials, including bribery, the sale of offices, granting of public contracts to fa...

cysteine

(Encyclopedia)CE5 CE5 cysteine sĭsˈtēn [key], organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins. Only the l-stereoisomer participates in the biosynthesis of mammalian protein...

chapel

(Encyclopedia)chapel, subsidiary place of worship. It is either an alcove or chamber within a church, a separate building, or a room set apart for the purpose of worship in a secular building. A movable shrine cont...

sentence

(Encyclopedia)sentence, in criminal law, punishment that a court orders, imposed on a person convicted of criminal activity. Sentences typically consist of fines, corporal punishment, imprisonment for varying perio...

Shatt al Arab

(Encyclopedia)Shatt al Arab shät äl äˈräb [key], tidal river, 120 mi (193 km) long, formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, flowing SE to the Persian Gulf, forming part of the Iraq-Iran bo...