otitis media, inflammation of the lining of the middle ear. Otitis media is one of the most common infections in childhood, with about three-quarters of children affected by age three. There are three types of otitis media. Acute otitis media commonly develops in association with an infection of

therapeutics: Pain: Acute pain serves a useful function as a protective mechanism that leads to the removal of the source of the pain, whether it be localized injury or infection. Chronic pain serves a less useful function and is often more difficult to treat. Although acute pain…

meningococcus: …bacterium Neisseria meningitidis, which causes meningococcal meningitis in humans, who are the only natural hosts in which it causes disease. The bacteria are spherical, ranging in diameter from 0.6 to 1.0 μm (micrometre; 1 μm = 10−6 metre); they frequently occur in pairs, with adjacent sides flattened. They are strongly…

ionizing radiation injury, tissue destruction or changes caused by deeply penetrating electromagnetic waves of high frequency or subatomic particles that form positively and negatively charged particles in the tissues, including individual cells that receive the radiation. Sources for radiation may

MERS: Complications include acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), kidney failure, and pericarditis (inflammation of the membranous sac that envelops the heart). More than 60 percent of infected persons who develop serious illness require hospitalization, and individuals die in more than 30 percent of reported…

common cold, acute viral infection that starts in the upper respiratory tract, sometimes spreads to the lower respiratory structures, and may cause secondary infections in the eyes or middle ears. More than 200 agents can cause symptoms of the common cold, including parainfluenza, influenza,

stress: Types of stress and effects: In humans, acute stress is characterized by immediate danger that occurs within a short span of time and that activates the fight-or-flight response of the sympathetic nervous system; narrowly avoiding an automobile accident and being chased by a dog are examples of acute stress. Chronic stress is…

immune system: Acute-phase response: These proteins, collectively called acute-phase proteins, bind to bacteria and, by doing so, activate complement proteins that destroy the pathogen. The acute-phase proteins act similarly to antibodies but are more democratic—that is, they do not distinguish between pathogens as antibodies do but instead attack a wide range of microorganisms…

immune system: Acute-phase response: When the body is invaded by a pathogen, macrophages release the protein signals interleukin-1 (IL-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) to help fight the infection. One of their effects is to raise the temperature of the body, causing the fever that often accompanies infection. (The…

Blessed Carlo Acutis ; beatified October 10, 2020) was an English-born Italian computer programmer who was beatified (the second of three stages in the process of canonization) by the Roman Catholic Church in 2020. Only 15 years old when he died of leukemia, his beatification and his interest in

Sir John Hawkwood was a mercenary captain who for 30 years played a role in the wars of 14th-century Italy. The son of a tanner, Hawkwood chose a soldier’s career, serving in the French wars of Edward III, who probably bestowed a knighthood on him. After the Treaty of Brétigny temporarily ended

air-cushion machine: The former are classed as aerostatic craft (ACVs); the latter are called aerodynamic ground-effect machines (GEMs).

insurance: Limitations on amount recoverable: …either full replacement cost or actual cash value (ACV). Under the former, the owner suffers no reduction in loss recovery due to depreciation of the property from its original value. This basis applies if the owner took out coverage that is at least equal to a named percentage—for example, 80…

Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union: …by the merger of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA), a large union representing workers in the men’s clothing industry, with the Textile Workers Union of America, a smaller union founded in 1939. The ACWA was originally formed when militant elements within the United Garment Workers, a relatively conservative…

All-China Women’s Federation (ACWF), the official, state-sponsored organization representing women’s interests in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Founded on April 3, 1949, the basic mission of the All-China Women’s Federation’s (ACWF) is to represent and safeguard the rights and interests of

olefin: …known as acyclic dialkenes, or acyclic dienes, with the general formula CnH2n-2, contain two double bonds; they undergo reactions similar to the monoolefins. The best-known dienes are butadiene and isoprene, used in the manufacture of synthetic rubber.

olefin: …known as acyclic dialkenes, or acyclic dienes, with the general formula CnH2n-2, contain two double bonds; they undergo reactions similar to the monoolefins. The best-known dienes are butadiene and isoprene, used in the manufacture of synthetic rubber.

olefin: …known as acyclic dialkenes, or acyclic dienes, with the general formula CnH2n-2, contain two double bonds; they undergo reactions similar to the monoolefins. The best-known dienes are butadiene and isoprene, used in the manufacture of synthetic rubber.

olefin: Acyclic monoolefins have the general formula CnH2n, C being a carbon atom, H a hydrogen atom, and n an integer. They are rare in nature but can be formed in large quantities through industrial processing. One of the first processes used to produce them, developed…

isoprenoid: Monoterpenes: Acyclic monoterpene hydrocarbons are few in number, but their oxygenated derivatives are more widespread in nature and of greater importance.

acyclovir, antiviral drug used to control the symptoms of infections involving herpes simplex virus (HSV), which causes herpes simplex, or varicella-zoster virus (VZV; a type of herpesvirus), which causes shingles and chickenpox. Acyclovir was first discovered in the mid-1970s and is effective

acyclovir, antiviral drug used to control the symptoms of infections involving herpes simplex virus (HSV), which causes herpes simplex, or varicella-zoster virus (VZV; a type of herpesvirus), which causes shingles and chickenpox. Acyclovir was first discovered in the mid-1970s and is effective

azide: …(carboxylic acid) group as in acyl azide.

metabolism: Formation of fatty acyl coenzyme A molecules: …fatty acyl coenzyme A, forming acyl carnitine, which can cross the inner membrane of the mitochondrion and there return the acyl group to coenzyme A.

carboxylic acid: Hydrolysis of acid derivatives: …acid derivatives to hydrolyze are acyl chlorides, which require only the addition of water. Carboxylic acid salts are converted to the corresponding acids instantaneously at room temperature simply on treatment with water and a strong acid such as hydrochloric acid (shown as H+ in the equations above). Carboxylic esters, nitriles,…

carboxylic acid: Acyl halides: The functional group of an acyl halide (acid halide) is an acyl group (RCO―) bonded to a halogen atom. They are named by changing the suffix -ic acid in the name of the parent carboxylic acid to -yl halide. Because…

metabolism: Fatty acids: …relatively small molecule known as acyl-carrier protein (ACP–SH); in higher organisms ACP–SH is part of a multienzyme complex called fatty acid synthetase. ACP–SH is involved in all of the reactions leading to the synthesis of a fatty acid such as palmitic acid from acetyl coenzyme A and malonyl coenzyme A.…

amine: Substitution: Isocyanates are themselves acylating agents, of a type that also includes isothiocyanates (RN=C=S), ketenes (R2C=C=O), and carbon dioxide (O=C=O). They react more or less readily with primary and most secondary amines to form, respectively, ureas, thioureas (RNHCSNHR), amides, and salts of carbamic acid (RNHCO2−RNH3+).

amine: Substitution: Acylation is one of the most important reactions of primary and secondary amines; a hydrogen atom is replaced by an acyl group (a group derived from an acid, such as RCOOH or RSO3H, by removal of ―OH, such as RC(=O)―, RS(O)2―, and so on). Reagents…

muscle disease: Lipid storage myopathies: The acylcarnitine that is formed crosses the outer and inner mitochondrial membranes and then is split in the presence of another form of the enzyme acyltransferase to give carnitine and the acyl molecule, which is then oxidized. A deficiency of carnitine results in the storage of…

metabolism: Formation of fatty acyl coenzyme A molecules: …are catalyzed by the enzyme carnitine acyl transferase. Defects in this enzyme or in the carnitine carrier are inborn errors of metabolism. In obligate anaerobic bacteria the linkage of fatty acids to coenzyme A may require the formation of a fatty acyl phosphate—i.e., the phosphorylation of the fatty acid by…

fat: …vegetable oils, consisting primarily of glycerides, which are esters formed by the reaction of three molecules of fatty acids with one molecule of glycerol (see oil).

aphid: Types of aphids: The pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) has two colour morphs, pale green and pinkish red. It overwinters on clover and alfalfa, migrating to peas in spring. The yellow bean mosaic virus it transmits is often responsible for killing pea plants. Each female produces 50 to 100 young…

György Aczél was a politician, communist ideologist, and the preeminent personality in the cultural policy of the János Kádár regime (1956–88) in Hungary. Born to a lower-middle-class Jewish family, Aczél joined the communist youth movement in 1935. After World War II he rose to the middle levels

advertisement, a public announcement—generally print, audio, or video—made to promote a commodity, service, or idea through various media, including billboards, direct mail, print magazines and newspapers, radio, television, and the World Wide Web. While advertising is used to a limited extent in

Patricio Aylwin: …became the spokesperson for the Coalition of Parties for Democracy (Concertación de los Partidos por la Democracia; CPD). The CPD was a grouping of political parties created in February 1988, originally under the name Command for No (Comando por el No). After the resounding “no” vote that paved the way…

biblical literature: The life of Jesus: …a full biography of accurate chronology is not possible. The New Testament writers were less concerned with such difficulties than the person who attempts to construct some chronological accounts in retrospect. Both the indifference of early secular historians and the confusions and approximations attributable to the simultaneous use of Roman…

Democratic Action (AD), social-democratic political party of Venezuela. Democratic Action was founded in 1936–37 as the National Democratic Party during a period when Venezuela’s government had relaxed its restrictive laws regulating political organizations. By the end of 1937, however, the

Waldenses: Early history: …under ban with his bull Ad abolendam (1184), issued during the Synod of Verona.

Tommy Lee Jones: …Pitt) in the futuristic drama Ad Astra (2019). In 2020 he costarred with Robert De Niro and Morgan Freeman in The Comeback Trail, a comedy about an insurance scam.

Cicero: Letters and poetry: …the letters: to Atticus (Ad Atticum) in 16 books; to his friends (Ad familiares) in 16 books; to Brutus (Ad Brutum); and, in 3 books, to his brother (Ad Quintum fratrem). The letters constitute a primary historical source such as exists for no other part of the ancient world.…

fallacy: Material fallacies: …so, and (f) the argument ad baculum (an appeal “to force”), which rests on a threatened or implied use of force to induce acceptance of its conclusion. (4) The fallacy of circular argument, known as petitio principii (“begging the question”), occurs when the premises presume, openly or covertly, the very…

Cicero: Letters and poetry: …16 books; to Brutus (Ad Brutum); and, in 3 books, to his brother (Ad Quintum fratrem). The letters constitute a primary historical source such as exists for no other part of the ancient world. They often enable events to be dated with a precision that would not otherwise be…

Stoicism: Stoic elements in Pauline and patristic thought: …in his Ad Demetrianum (To Demetrius), a denunciation of an enemy to Christianity, in which Cyprian castigates the ill treatment of slaves (who, no less than their masters, are formed of the same matter and endowed with the same soul and live according to the same law). The beliefs…

Cicero: Letters and poetry: …books; to his friends (Ad familiares) in 16 books; to Brutus (Ad Brutum); and, in 3 books, to his brother (Ad Quintum fratrem). The letters constitute a primary historical source such as exists for no other part of the ancient world. They often enable events to be dated with…

Seneca: Philosophical works and tragedies: …son; Ad Helviam matrem (To Mother Helvia), Seneca’s mother on his exile; and Ad Polybium (To Polybius), a powerful freedman on the loss of a son but with a sycophantic plea for recall from Corsica. The De ira (On Anger) deals at length with the passion, its consequences, and…

ad hominem, type of argument or attack that appeals to prejudice or feelings or irrelevantly impugns another person’s character instead of addressing the facts or claims made by the latter. Ad hominem arguments are often taught to be a type of fallacy, an erroneous form of argumentation, although

fallacy: Material fallacies: …respect, ( e) the argument ad ignorantiam (an appeal “to ignorance”), which argues that something (e.g., extrasensory perception) is so since no one has shown that it is not so, and (f) the argument ad baculum (an appeal “to force”), which rests on a threatened or implied use of force…

Italy: Relations to the papacy: …as outlined in the decree Ad liberandam (“To Free the Holy Land”) at the fourth Lateran Council in 1215. Innocent’s program required a level of commitment never before achieved, especially in financial and logistical terms. Frederick’s assumption of the cross demonstrated his support for Innocent’s program but raised problems, chiefly…

accompaniment: …this type, as opposed to ad libitum accompaniment, the unessential ornamentation or the optional reduplication of a part, performed on a secondary instrument. Obbligato accompaniments were sometimes written out, among them one originally improvised by Bach for a movement of his Sonata in B Minor for flute and harpsichord. In…

mathematics: Analytic geometry: …notation in his paper “Ad Locos Planos et Solidos Isagoge” (1636; “Introduction to Plane and Solid Loci”). The title of the paper refers to the ancient classification of curves as plane (straight lines, circles), solid (ellipses, parabolas, and hyperbolas), or linear (curves defined kinematically or by a locus condition).…

Seneca: Philosophical works and tragedies: …the Consolationes, Ad Marciam (To Marcia) consoles a lady on the loss of a son; Ad Helviam matrem (To Mother Helvia), Seneca’s mother on his exile; and Ad Polybium (To Polybius), a powerful freedman on the loss of a son but with a sycophantic plea for recall from Corsica.…

Pantheon, building in Rome that was begun in 27 bc by the statesman Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, probably as a building of the ordinary Classical temple type—rectangular with a gabled roof supported by a colonnade on all sides. It was completely rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian sometime between ad 118

fallacy: Material fallacies: …injustice, ( c) the argument ad misericordiam (an appeal “to pity”), as when a trial lawyer, rather than arguing for his client’s innocence, tries to move the jury to sympathy for him, (d) the argument ad verecundiam (an appeal “to awe”), which seeks to secure acceptance of the conclusion on…

Seneca: Philosophical works and tragedies: …exile; and Ad Polybium (To Polybius), a powerful freedman on the loss of a son but with a sycophantic plea for recall from Corsica. The De ira (On Anger) deals at length with the passion, its consequences, and control. The De clementia (On Mercy), an exhortatory address to Nero,…

fallacy: Material fallacies: …false, ( b) the argument ad populum (an appeal “to the people”), which, instead of offering logical reasons, appeals to such popular attitudes as the dislike of injustice, ( c) the argument ad misericordiam (an appeal “to pity”), as when a trial lawyer, rather than arguing for his client’s innocence,…

Cicero: Letters and poetry: …books, to his brother (Ad Quintum fratrem). The letters constitute a primary historical source such as exists for no other part of the ancient world. They often enable events to be dated with a precision that would not otherwise be possible, and they have been used, though with no…

Hincmar of Reims: Hincmar in Ad reclusos et simplices (“To the Cloistered and Simple”) upheld the traditional distinction between divine foreknowledge and predestination and maintained that God does not damn a sinner in advance. Because of widespread criticism that such a doctrine was not biblical, Hincmar wrote De predestinatione Dei…

ad valorem tax, any tax imposed on the basis of the monetary value of the taxed item. Literally the term means “according to value.” Traditionally, most customs and excises had “specific” rates; the tax base was defined in terms of physical units such as gallons, pounds, or individual items. Ad

fallacy: Material fallacies: …for him, (d) the argument ad verecundiam (an appeal “to awe”), which seeks to secure acceptance of the conclusion on the grounds of its endorsement by persons whose views are held in general respect, ( e) the argument ad ignorantiam (an appeal “to ignorance”), which argues that something (e.g., extrasensory…

ad watch, a term used to describe efforts by the media to report on and evaluate the veracity of political advertising. Although the media have long described advertising during political campaigns, Washington Post columnist David Broder is often credited with having shaped the rise of modern-day

Dinder River, tributary of the Blue Nile, rising in the Ethiopian highlands west of Lake Tana. It flows northwest past Dongur, descends into the Sudanese plain, and runs in numerous meanders to join the Blue Nile below Sannār, Sudan. The river, 300 miles (480 km) long, is navigable for the lower

Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), a liberal independent political organization in the United States. It was formed in 1947 by a group of labour leaders, civic and political leaders, and academics who were liberal in their views on national affairs, internationalist in world outlook, and

Anatolia: Caria, Lycia, and Cilicia in the Achaemenian period: … (351–344), his wife and successor, Ada (344–341), and Pixodarus, the youngest son (341–334).

Ada, city, seat (1907) of Pontotoc county, south-central Oklahoma, U.S. It lies along Clear Boggy Creek, south of the Canadian River, and was named for the daughter of the first postmaster, William J. Reed, who built a log store there in 1889. The railroad arrived in 1900, and the city developed as

computer programming language: Ada: Ada was named for Augusta Ada King, countess of Lovelace, who was an assistant to the 19th-century English inventor Charles Babbage, and is sometimes called the first computer programmer. Ada, the language, was developed in the early 1980s for the U.S. Department of Defense…

science fiction: Alternate histories and parallel universes: …Vladimir Nabokov’s involved and elegant Ada (1969). Alternate histories tend to cluster around particularly dramatic and colourful junctures of history, with World War II and the American Civil War as particular favourites. Some ventured farther out, postulating a global Roman Empire or a world in which dinosaurs avoided extinction.

Daniel Mann: Mann reteamed with Hayward on Ada (1961), in which the actress played a former prostitute who marries a state governor (Dean Martin) and helps him fend off political rivals. The film was largely ignored, as was the melodrama Five Finger Exercise (1962), a flawed adaptation of the hit play by…

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), U.S. legislation that provided civil rights protections to individuals with physical and mental disabilities and guaranteed them equal opportunity in public accommodations, employment, transportation, state and local government services, and

American Dental Association (ADA), association of American dentists formed in 1859 in Niagara Falls, New York, and headquartered in Chicago. Its mission is promoting good dental health. Governance of the organization is provided through the House of Delegates, which is managed by the Board of

Riyadh: Government: …by its executive branch, the Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA). The ADA, which is responsible for the socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental development of the city, devises plans and procedures to improve the standard of services and facilities provided for city residents. The ADA does not rely upon the national budget for…

metabolic disease: Purine and pyrimidine disorders: Adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency results in the accumulation of 2′-deoxyadenosine in the circulating white blood cells (lymphocytes). This, in turn, causes a decreased number of lymphocytes and a drastically increased susceptibility to infection (severe combined immunodeficiency, SCID). Bone marrow transplantation may be curative, and gene…

Ada group, ivory carvings and a group of about 10 illuminated manuscripts, dating from the last quarter of the 8th century, the earliest examples of the art of the Court School of Charlemagne. The group is named after a Gospel book (c. 750; Trier, Cathedral Treasury) commissioned by Ada, supposed

science fiction: Alternate histories and parallel universes: …Vladimir Nabokov’s involved and elegant Ada (1969). Alternate histories tend to cluster around particularly dramatic and colourful junctures of history, with World War II and the American Civil War as particular favourites. Some ventured farther out, postulating a global Roman Empire or a world in which dinosaurs avoided extinction.

Americans with Disabilities Act: The ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA), which clarified and expanded several measures of the original law, was signed into law by Pres. George W. Bush in 2008 and went into effect at the beginning of 2009. The act rejected certain Supreme Court decisions that had altered the…

adab, term used in the modern Arab world to signify “literature.” Adab evolved from its earliest meaning to became a literary genre distinguished by its broad humanitarian concerns; it developed during the brilliant height of Abbasid culture in the 9th century and continued through the Middle Ages

Adab, ancient Sumerian city located south of Nippur (modern Niffer or Nuffar), Iraq. Excavations (1903–04) carried out by the American archaeologist Edgar James Banks revealed buildings dating from as early as the prehistoric period and as late as the reign of Ur-Nammu (reigned 2112–2095 bce). Adab

Iltutmish: …art of government; and the Ādāb al-muluk (“Conduct of the Kings”), the first Indo-Muslim classic on the art of government and warfare, was written for him. He was tolerant of the Hindus despite the urgings of his advisers, and he built up the waterworks, mosques, and amenities at Delhi to…

Arabic literature: The 20th century and beyond: …constant of Arabic literary criticism; Al-Ādāb, one of the most prominent literary journals founded in the Arabic-speaking region in the latter half of the 20th century, was established by the Lebanese writer Suhayl Idrīs specifically to forward such an approach. Beginning in the 1950s, a great deal of committed literature…

Japan: Decline of Kamakura society: The Adachi family was forced into revolt and defeated by the Hōjō in 1285, along with other warrior houses accused of plotting with them. Subsequently, the main Hōjō house turned increasingly inward and autocratic, further alienating other vassal houses. When the Andō family raised a revolt…

Adad, weather god of the Babylonian and Assyrian pantheon. The name Adad may have been brought into Mesopotamia toward the end of the 3rd millennium bc by Western (Amorite) Semites. His Sumerian equivalent was Ishkur and the West Semitic was Hadad. Adad had a twofold aspect, being both the giver

Ben-hadad I was the king of Damascus who led a coalition against the invading forces of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III, repulsing them at Karkar in 853. In a battle with him, King Ahab of Israel was killed (I Kings 22:29–36). Ben-hadad was murdered by the usurper

history of Mesopotamia: The rise of Assyria: …greater successes were achieved by Adad-nirari I (c. 1295–c. 1264). Defeating the Kassite king Nazimaruttash, he forced him to retreat. After that he defeated the kings of Mitanni, first Shattuara I, then Wasashatta. This enabled him for a time to incorporate all Mesopotamia into his empire as a province, although…

history of Mesopotamia: Assyria and Babylonia until Ashurnasirpal II: Adad-nirari II (c. 911–891) left detailed accounts of his wars and his efforts to improve agriculture. He led six campaigns against Aramaean intruders from northern Arabia. In two campaigns against Babylonia he forced Shamash-mudammiq (c. 930–904) to surrender extensive territories. Shamash-mudammiq was murdered, and a…

Jordan: Biblical associations: …were the Assyrians, who under Adadnirari III (811/810–783 bce) overran the eastern part of the country as far as Edom. Revolts against Assyrian rule occurred in the 760s and 750s, but the country was retaken in 734–733 by Tiglath-pileser III (reigned 745–727 bce), who then devastated Israel, sent its people…

history of Mesopotamia: The Kassites in Babylonia: …the time of the kings Adad-shum-uṣur (c. 1216–c. 1187) and Melishipak (c. 1186–c. 1172) was Babylon able to experience a period of prosperity and peace. Their successors were again forced to fight, facing the conqueror King Shutruk-Nahhunte of Elam (c. 1185–c. 1155). Cruel and fierce, the Elamites finally destroyed the…

Adae, an important festival of the Akan people of western Africa that involves the invocation, propitiation, and veneration of ancestral spirits. Those are special days on which the ahene (traditional rulers; singular ohene) enter the nkonuafieso (stool house), the resting place for the spirits of

adage, a saying, often in metaphoric form, that embodies a common observation, such as "If the shoe fits, wear it,’’ "Out of the frying pan, into the fire,’’ or "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.’’ The scholar Erasmus published a well-known collection of adages as

Erasmus: The wandering scholar: …Aldine press Erasmus expanded his Adagia, or annotated collection of Greek and Latin adages, into a monument of erudition with over 3,000 entries; this was the book that first made him famous. The adage “Dutch ear” (auris Batava) is one of many hints that he was not an uncritical admirer…

Adagio for Strings, orchestra arrangement of the second movement of American composer Samuel Barber’s String Quartet (1936). It premiered on November 5, 1938. It has long been associated in the United States with national periods of mourning, having been performed at the funerals of U.S. presidents

percussion instrument: Idiophones: …for it, as was his Adagio für Harmonika K 356, both performed in 1791. Efforts to combine it with a keyboard enjoyed only a passing vogue. Among the last to write for it was the French composer Hector Berlioz in his 1830 orchestral fantasia on Shakespeare’s The Tempest; a decade…

Adagio in G Minor, composition attributed to Tomaso Albinoni. Widely familiar through its frequent use in film scores, the work is slow of pace, solemn of mood, and frequently transcribed for various combinations of instruments. It often appears on recordings of various short Baroque classics, and

percussion instrument: Idiophones: Mozart’s Adagio und Rondo K 617 was written for it, as was his Adagio für Harmonika K 356, both performed in 1791. Efforts to combine it with a keyboard enjoyed only a passing vogue. Among the last to write for it was the French composer Hector…

ʿādah, (Arabic: “custom”), in Islāmic law, a local custom that is given a particular consideration by judicial authorities even when it conflicts with some principle of canon law (Sharīʿah); in Indonesia it is known as adat, in North Africa it is ʿurf, and in East Africa, dustūr. Muslim communities

Buchi Emecheta: …included in the single volume Adah’s Story (1983). Those books introduce Emecheta’s three major themes: the quests for equal treatment, self-confidence, and dignity as a woman. Somewhat different in style is Emecheta’s novel Gwendolen (1989; also published as The Family), which addresses the issues of immigrant life in Great Britain,…

Adae, an important festival of the Akan people of western Africa that involves the invocation, propitiation, and veneration of ancestral spirits. Those are special days on which the ahene (traditional rulers; singular ohene) enter the nkonuafieso (stool house), the resting place for the spirits of

Adair v. United States, case in which on Jan. 27, 1908, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld “yellow dog” contracts forbidding workers to join labour unions. William Adair of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad fired O.B. Coppage for belonging to a labour union, an action in direct violation of the

John Adair was a Scottish surveyor and cartographer whose maps established a standard of excellence for his time and probably inspired the early 18th-century surveys of Scotland. Between 1680 and 1686 he completed maps of the counties adjoining the River Forth as well as charts of the Firth of

Adair v. United States: William Adair of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad fired O.B. Coppage for belonging to a labour union, an action in direct violation of the Erdman Act of 1898, which prohibited railroads engaged in interstate commerce from requiring workers to refrain from union membership as a…

Aleutian Islands: History: Adak (formerly Adak Station) was the site of a naval station (1942–97), its military installations used as a base for mounting the Attu campaign in May 1943. Before the closure of the naval station, Adak was once Alaska’s sixth largest city, with some 6,000 people.…