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SARS

(Encyclopedia)SARS or severe acute respiratory syndrome, communicable viral disease that can progress to a potentially fatal pneumonia. The first symptoms of SARS are usually a high fever, headache and body aches, ...

Charles XII, king of Sweden

(Encyclopedia)Charles XII, 1682–1718, king of Sweden (1697–1718), son and successor of Charles XI. The regency under which he succeeded was abolished in 1697 at the request of the Riksdag. At the coronation he ...

mushroom poisoning

(Encyclopedia)mushroom poisoning, fungal poisoning caused by ingestion of certain mushrooms (fungal organisms), most commonly Amanita phalloides and Amanita muscaria and related species. Symptoms, caused by toxic p...

Communist party, in the United States

(Encyclopedia)Communist party, in the United States, political party that espoused the Marxist-Leninist principles of communism. In 1945, Browder's policy was attacked as being one of the “right deviationism,â€...

chemical warfare

(Encyclopedia)chemical warfare, employment in war of incendiaries, poison gases, and other chemical substances. Ancient armies attacking or defending fortified cities threw burning oil and fireballs. A primitive ty...

touch

(Encyclopedia)touch, tactile sensation received by the skin, enabling the organism to detect objects or substances in contact with the body. End organs (nerve endings) in the skin convey the impression to the brain...

sense

(Encyclopedia)sense, faculty by which external or internal stimuli are conveyed to the brain centers, where they are registered as sensations. Sensory reception occurs in higher animals through a process known as t...

Williams, William Sherley

(Encyclopedia)Williams, William Sherley, 1787–1849, American trader and trapper, known as Old Bill Williams, b. Rutherford co., N.C. Much of his early life was spent in Missouri, where he was a traveling preacher...

polar front

(Encyclopedia)polar front, zone of transition between polar and tropical air masses. Its average position during the winter is at about 30° lat. and during the summer at about 60° lat. In the N Atlantic Ocean, fo...

Tlaxcala , state, Mexico

(Encyclopedia)Tlaxcala tläskäˈlä [key], state (1990 pop. 761,277), 1,555 sq mi (4,027 sq km), E central Mexico. Tlaxcala is the capital. It is the smallest and one of the most densely populated Mexican states. ...