Pharmaceutical Industry, Amination

Two important methods of amination (the process of adding an amino (-NH2) group to a compound) are reduction and ammonolysis. There are many reduction methods, but the most common is the reduction of the corresponding nitro compound by means of iron and acid. An example of ammonolysis is the preparation of aniline by heating chlorobenzene with excess aqueous ammonia,

Kuan-yin

In Chinese Buddhism, the bodhisattva of infinite compassion and mercy. See Avalokitesvara.

Adder

Any of several venomous snakes of the viper family, Viperidae, and the death adder, a viperlike member of the cobra snake family, Elapidae. The name adder may also be applied to certain other snakes, such as the hognose snake (q.v.), a harmless North American species. Among the adders of the viper family are included the common adder (Vipera berus), the puff adders (several species

Mercer, Joseph

Mercer overcame spindly legs and bad knees to become an outstanding left-half with Everton (1931 - 46), the champions of Britain's Football League in 1939. That year he was selected to play for England, and while in the Army

Byrnes, James F.

A self-taught lawyer, Byrnes entered public life in

Czech Literature

The body of writing in the Czech language. Before 1918 there was no independent nation of Czechoslovakia, and Bohemia and Moravia, the Czech-speaking regions that now constitute the Czech Republic, were for a long time provinces of the Habsburg Holy Roman and Austrian empires. Because of this, the evolution of the Czechs' literary language became historically linked

Abel, Carl Friedrich

After playing in the Dresden court orchestra (1743 - 58), Abel went to London in 1759 and became chamber musician to Queen Charlotte in 1764. When J.C. Bach arrived in London in 1762, they became friends and in 1765 established the �Bach and Abel� concerts

Small Arm, Single shot

During World War I, most armies developed attachments for standard service rifles that permitted the launching of �rifle� grenades. However, although range was increased with these devices, accuracy remained poor. An effective answer was a shoulder-fired grenade launcher developed in the 1950s by the Springfield Armory. Resembling a single-shot, break-open, sawed-off

Awash River

Formerly �Hawash River� river in eastern Ethiopia. It rises on a steep northern escarpment of the Eastern (Great) Rift Valley and is fed by Lakes Shala, Abiyata, Langano, and Ziway. Cotton is grown in the fertile Awash River valley, and dams (notably the Koka Dam, 1960) supply hydroelectric power. Herds of antelope and gazelle live in the Awash National Park. The river ends in a chain of salt lakes in the

Zamyatin, Yevgeny Ivanovich

Zamyatin also spelled �Zamiatin � Russian novelist, playwright, and satirist, one of the most brilliant and cultured minds of the post-revolutionary period, and creator of a peculiarly modern genre - the anti-Utopian novel. His influence as an experimental stylist and as an exponent of the cosmopolitan-humanist traditions

Actinolite

An amphibole mineral in the tremolite-actinolite-ferrotremolite series of calcium, magnesium, and iron silicates. The minerals in this series are abundant in regionally metamorphosed rocks, such as schists. Tremolite may weather to talc, and both tremolite and actinolite may alter to chlorite or carbonates. For chemical formula and detailed physical properties,

Iron Meteorite

Any meteorite consisting mainly of iron, usually combined with small amounts of nickel. When such meteorites, called irons, fall through the atmosphere, a thin, black crust of iron oxide may form that quickly weathers to rust. Though irons constitute only about 5 percent of meteorite falls, they are relatively easy to distinguish from terrestrial rock and last longer

Corchorus

Genus of flowering plants of the linden family Tiliaceae (order Malvales). The bark of C. capsularis and to a lesser extent that of C. olitorius constitute the chief source of jute (q.v.), and these species are much cultivated in India and Bangladesh. The leaves and young shoots are eaten as a vegetable in Europe and as a potherb in West Africa. The seeds, however, are poisonous.

Y�eh-fu

Pinyin �yuefu� form of Chinese poetry derived from the folk-ballad tradition. The y�eh-fu takes its name from the Y�eh Fu (�Music Bureau�), created in 120 BC by Emperor Wu-ti for the purpose of collecting songs and their musical scores for ceremonial occasions at court. The music for these songs was later lost, but the words remained, forming a collection of Han dynasty (206 BC - AD 220) folk poetry that served

Rambouillet, Catherine De Vivonne, Marquise De

Mme de Rambouillet was of noble background and was married at the age of 12 to Charles d'Angennes, later marquis de Rambouillet. Revolted by the coarseness of the French court under Henry IV and distressed by the amount

Arts, Central Asian, The music of Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim

Little is presently known about the music of Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim. Minstrels play a major role in the musical life of Nepal, where, under the influence of Indian practice, musicians are classified according to caste and each group is distinguished by specific instruments and repertoire. There appears to be a great deal of both Indian-related and indigenous folk

Conservatism

The term conservatism, although it has had different implications in varying historical and geographical contexts, is best reserved to denote a preference for institutions and practices that have evolved historically and that are thus

Clam Shrimp

Also called �Claw Shrimp, � any member of the crustacean order Conchostraca (subclass Branchiopoda), a group of about 200 species inhabiting shallow freshwater lakes, ponds, and temporary pools throughout the world. Clam shrimps are so called because their entire body is contained within a bivalve shell (carapace) that resembles the shell of a small mollusk. Inside the shell the trunk of the animal

Clodia

Profligate Roman beauty and sister of the demagogue Publius Clodius. She was married in 63 BC to Quintus Metellus Celer and was suspected of responsibility for his death in 59 BC. She was mistress to the poet Catullus, who wrote of her as Lesbia, and was the most important influence in his life. Another of her lovers was Marcus Caelius Rufus, whom Cicero defended against

Chi-lung

Conventional �Keelung� shih (municipality), northern Taiwan, and the principal port of Taipei, 16 mi (26 km) southwest. The municipality has an area of 51 sq mi (133 sq km). Chi-lung first became known by that name, said to have been a corruption of Ketangalan, the name of a tribe of aboriginal peoples who lived in the district, in the 17th century. The location was occupied in 1626 by the Spanish, who built a fort on the island

Amputation

In medicine, removal of any part of the body. Commonly the term is restricted to mean surgical removal of a part of or an entire limb, either upper or lower extremity. The reasons for surgical amputation in general are injury, infection, tumour, diabetes, or insufficient blood supply. Persons born without a limb or limbs are said to have suffered congenital amputation.

Mademoiselle

As an honorific title in the French royal court, it came to be used (without the adjunction of a proper name) to refer to or address the daughter of the king's eldest living brother, who was himself called monsieur. The first to be called mademoiselle was

Consanguinity

Kin are of two basic kinds: consanguineous (sharing common ancestors) and affinal (the kinsmen of one's spouse). In some societies other

Switzerland

With political maneuvering for the next general elections--scheduled

Kiev

Ukrainian �Kyyiv�, Russian �Kiyev� chief city and capital of Ukraine and capital of Kiev oblast (province). A port on the Dnieper River and a large railroad junction, it is a city with an ancient and proud history. As the centre of Kievan Rus, the first eastern Slavic state, 1,000 years ago it acquired the title �Mother of Rus Cities.� It was severely damaged during World War II, but by the mid-1950s it was fully restored, and

Berg, Gertrude

In December 1918, while enrolled in a playwriting extension course at Columbia University, Gertrude Edelstein met and married Lewis Berg. Having begun

Ear, Human, Function of the muscles of the middle ear

The muscles of the middle ear, the tensor tympani and the stapedius, can influence the transmission of sound by the ossicular chain. Contraction of the tensor tympani pulls the handle of the malleus inward and, as the name of the muscle suggests, tenses the tympanic membrane. Contraction of the stapedius pulls the stapes footplate outward from the oval window and

Mamou

Town, west-central Guinea. Located on the Conakry-Kankan railway and at the intersection of roads from Kindia, Dalaba, Dabola, and Faranah, Mamou was founded in 1908 as a collecting point on the railroad from Conakry (125 miles [201 km] southwest). It is the chief trading centre for the rice, cattle, citrus fruits, bananas, tomatoes, and mangoes raised in the surrounding agricultural area.

Saarinen, Eero

Finnish-born U.S. architect who was one of the leaders in a trend toward exploration and experiment in American architectural design during the 1950s.

As If, Philosophy Of

The system espoused by Hans Vaihinger in his major philosophical work Die Philosophie des Als Ob (1911; The Philosophy of �As If�), which proposed that man willingly accept falsehoods or fictions in order to live peacefully in an irrational world. Vaihinger, who saw life as a maze of contradictions and philosophy as a search for means to make life livable, began by accepting