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isoleucine

(Encyclopedia)CE5 isoleucine īˌsəlo͞oˈsēn [key], organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins. Only the l-stereoisomer appears in mammalian protein. It is one of several es...

AIDS, in medicine

(Encyclopedia)AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, fatal disease caused by a rapidly mutating retrovirus that attacks the immune system and leaves the victim vulnerable to infections, malignancies, and neuro...

circus

(Encyclopedia)circus [Lat.,=ring, circle], historically, the arena associated with the horse and chariot races and athletic contests known in ancient Rome as the Circensian games. The Roman circus was a round or ov...

Zapata, Emiliano

(Encyclopedia)Zapata, Emiliano āmēlyäˈnō säpäˈtä [key], c.1879–1919, Mexican revolutionary, b. Morelos. Zapata was of almost pure native descent. A tenant farmer, he occupied a social position between th...

Ehrlich, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Ehrlich, Paul poul ārˈlĭkh [key], 1854–1915, German bacteriologist. He directed (1896) an institute for serum research at Steglitz, near Berlin, that was transferred (1899) to Frankfurt-am-Main a...

dog days

(Encyclopedia)dog days, name for the most sultry period of summer, from about July 3 to Aug. 11. Named in early times by observers in countries bordering the Mediterranean, the period was reckoned as extending from...

Dowie, John Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Dowie, John Alexander douˈē [key], 1847–1907, founder of the Christian Catholic Church, b. Scotland. He emigrated (1860) to Australia, where he was ordained as a Congregational minister. Dowie's t...

Hoffmann, Friedrich

(Encyclopedia)Hoffmann, Friedrich hôfˈmän [key], 1660–1742, German physician. He taught and practiced at Halle from 1693. He studied and wrote on such varied topics as pediatrics, mineral waters, and meteorol...

Good Agricultural Practices

(Encyclopedia)Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), economically, socially, and environmentally responsible methods and technologies for the raising and marketing of agricultural and horticultural products. Good agric...

Jos Plateau

(Encyclopedia)Jos Plateau jôs [key], region, c.3,000 sq mi (7,770 sq km), alt. c.4,200 ft (1,280 m), central Nigeria, W Africa. The plateau, composed mainly of granite, slopes gently to the north and is covered by...