silicosis: …are all related to a fibrosis that reduces the elasticity of the lung. In the actual disease process, the tiny particles of inhaled silica are taken up in the lungs by scavenger cells, called macrophages, that serve to protect the body from bacterial invasion. Silica particles, however, cannot be digested…

actin: …G-actin (monomeric globular actin) and F-actin (polymeric fibrous actin), the form involved in muscle contraction.

astrocyte: Fibrous astrocytes are prevalent among myelinated nerve fibres in the white matter of the central nervous system. Organelles seen in the somata of neurons also are seen in astrocytes, but they appear to be much sparser. These cells are characterized by the presence of numerous…

fibrous dysplasia, rare congenital developmental disorder beginning in childhood and characterized by replacement of solid calcified bone with fibrous tissue, often only on one side of the body and primarily in the long bones and pelvis. The disease appears to result from a genetic mutation that

joint: Fibrous joints: In fibrous joints the articulating parts are separated by white connective tissue (collagen) fibres, which pass from one part to the other. There are two types of fibrous joints: suture and gomphosis.

human cardiovascular system: Pericardium: …portion of the sac, or fibrous pericardium, is firmly attached to the diaphragm below, the mediastinal pleura on the side, and the sternum in front. It gradually blends with the coverings of the superior vena cava and the pulmonary (lung) arteries and veins leading to and from the heart. (The…

protein: The shape of protein molecules: …unidimensional structure of the threadlike fibrous proteins; both were recognized many years before the technique of X-ray diffraction was developed. Solutions of fibrous proteins are extremely viscous (i.e., sticky); those of the globular proteins have low viscosity (i.e., they flow easily). A 5 percent solution of a globular protein—ovalbumin, for…

root: Types of roots and root systems: …single seed leaf) have a fibrous root system, characterized by a mass of roots of about equal diameter. This network of roots does not arise as branches of the primary root but consists of many branching roots that emerge from the base of the stem.

mineral: Inosilicates: …different: amphiboles exhibit needlelike or fibrous crystals, while pyroxenes take the form of stubby prisms. In addition, the different chain structures of the two groups result in different cleavage angles.

begonia: Types: Fibrous-rooted begonias can be further divided into the wax, or bedding, begonias (Semperflorens-Cultorum group), including the offshoots of B. semperflorens used most often as summer bedding plants; the so-called cane stem types (angelwing begonias), characterized by their tall stems; and the hairy begonias, which have…

fibula, brooch, or pin, originally used in Greek and Roman dress for fastening garments. The fibula developed in a variety of shapes, but all were based on the safety-pin principle. Greek fibulae from the 7th century bc were elaborately decorated along the long catch plate: rows of animals, such as

fibula, outer of two bones of the lower leg or hind limb, presumably so named (fibula is Latin for “brooch”) because the inner bone, the tibia, and the fibula together resemble an ancient brooch, or pin. In humans the head of the fibula is joined to the head of the tibia by ligaments and does not

Lepidoptera: Thorax: In primitive moths a fingerlike lobe on the forewing overlaps the base of the hind wing. In most moths a strong bristle or cluster of bristles (frenulum) near the base of the hind wing engages a catch (retinaculum) on the forewing. In some moths and in the skippers and butterflies,…

camping: History: …of Camping and Caravanning (Fédération Internationale de Camping et de Caravanning; FICC) was formed—the first international camping organization.

Television: October 2, 1949, Lexington, Kentucky), Billy Ficca (b. 1949), Richard Lloyd (b. October 25, 1951, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), and Fred Smith (b. April 10, 1948, New York, New York).

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), association of Indian business organizations, dedicated to promoting the growth and global competitiveness of Indian businesses. Established in 1927, it is the oldest and largest business association in India, comprising thousands of

Jorge Luis Borges: Life: …stories, those later collected in Ficciones (1944, revised 1956; “Fictions,” Eng. trans. Ficciones) and the volume of English translations titled The Aleph, and Other Stories, 1933–1969 (1970). During this time, he and another writer, Adolfo Bioy Casares, jointly wrote detective stories under the pseudonym H. Bustos Domecq (combining ancestral names…

Hegelianism: Polemics during the life of Hegel: 1816–31: …Christian Weisse of Leipzig and Immanuel Fichte, the son of the more famous Johann Fichte, who reproached him for his panlogism and proposed to unify thought and experience in the concept of a free God, the Creator. Among the most loyal disciples of Hegel were Hermann Hinrichs, his collaborator, and…

Johann Gottlieb Fichte was a German philosopher and patriot, one of the great transcendental idealists. Fichte was the son of a ribbon weaver. Educated at the Pforta school (1774–80) and at the universities of Jena (1780) and of Leipzig (1781–84), he started work as a tutor. In this capacity he

Fichtel Hills, mountains in northeastern Bavaria Land (state), southeastern Germany. They lie at the Czech border between the Franconian Forest in the northwest, the Ore Mountains (in German, Erzgebirge; in Czech, Krušné Hory) in the northeast, and the Upper Palatinate Forest (a section of the

Ore Mountains: …on the Czech side and Fichtel Mountain (3,983 feet [1,214 metres]) on the German side, are in the centre of the range. Loučná (3,136 feet [956 metres]) is at the northeastern end and Špičák (3,658 feet [1,115 metres]) at the southwestern end. The name of this range rightly suggests the…

Fichtel Hills, mountains in northeastern Bavaria Land (state), southeastern Germany. They lie at the Czech border between the Franconian Forest in the northwest, the Ore Mountains (in German, Erzgebirge; in Czech, Krušné Hory) in the northeast, and the Upper Palatinate Forest (a section of the

Humpen glass: Fichtelgebirgehumpen are decorated with mountain landscapes. None of the surviving examples of Humpen dates before the middle of the 16th century. The best examples come from southern Germany but cannot be attributed to any particular manufacturer.

gastropod: Classification: … (Bursidae), triton shells (Cymatiidae), and fig shells (Ficidae); frog and triton shells often live in rocky areas; most species large in size. Suborder Neogastropoda (Stenoglossa) Carnivorous or scavengers with rachiglossate (with 3 denticles) or taxoglossate (with 2 denticles) radula; shell often with long siphonal canal; proboscis well developed and often…

Rosales: Moraceae: laurifolia contains the proteolytic enzyme ficin, which digests Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworm, or nematode), the agent of ascariasis, without harming the human host. It is used extensively in South America and Panama. Ficus species in Fiji and China are used to treat toothache. The latex of Antiaris toxicaria (upas tree) contains…

Marsilio Ficino was an Italian philosopher, theologian, and linguist whose translations and commentaries on the writings of Plato and other classical Greek authors generated the Florentine Platonist Renaissance that influenced European thought for two centuries. Ficino was the son of a physician

principles of physical science: Diffusion: Secondly, Fick’s law states that the random wandering causes an average drift of particles from regions where they are denser to regions where they are rarer, and that the mean drift rate is proportional to the gradient of density and in the opposite sense to the…

principles of physical science: Diffusion: Secondly, Fick’s law states that the random wandering causes an average drift of particles from regions where they are denser to regions where they are rarer, and that the mean drift rate is proportional to the gradient of density and in the opposite sense to the…

contact lens: …of glass, was developed by Adolf Fick in 1887 to correct irregular astigmatism. The early lenses, however, were uncomfortable and could not be worn for long. Until the development of optical instruments that could measure the curvature of the cornea (the transparent surface of the eye that covers the iris…

August Fick was a German comparative linguist, a pioneer in Indo-European etymological research who made the first comprehensive study of the common vocabulary of Indo-European languages and sought to determine their prototype. Fick presented his reconstruction of a parent language of remote

August Fick was a German comparative linguist, a pioneer in Indo-European etymological research who made the first comprehensive study of the common vocabulary of Indo-European languages and sought to determine their prototype. Fick presented his reconstruction of a parent language of remote

diplomatics: Post-Renaissance scholarship: …and Austrian scholars, among whom Julius von Ficker investigated the differentiation between actum and datum (that is, between verbal legal procedure and its formal documentation), and Theodor von Sickel defined a basic technique of studying and comparing the script of charters and thus of identifying the individual notaries or scribes.…

Suzanne Farrell is an American dancer especially known for her performances with New York City Ballet. Roberta Sue Ficker began studying ballet at the age of eight. In 1960 she won a scholarship to the School of American Ballet, the training school of New York City Ballet. She made her first New

history of Latin America: Brazil: …speech known as the “Fico” (“I am staying”). When Pedro proclaimed its independence on Sept. 7, 1822, and subsequently became its first emperor, Brazil’s progression from Portuguese colony to autonomous country was complete. There was some armed resistance from Portuguese garrisons in Brazil, but the struggle was brief.

credit score: …individual’s credit score is the FICO method, which was developed in the United States in 1958 by Fair, Isaac and Company (later renamed FICO). The FICO score’s range differs across countries. The standard FICO score in the United States is between 300 and 850, with a median score of about…

Slovakia: History of Slovakia: …of the populist party Smer, Robert Fico, becoming prime minister.

fiction, literature created from the imagination, not presented as fact, though it may be based on a true story or situation. Types of literature in the fiction genre include the novel, short story, and novella. The word is from the Latin fictiō, “the act of making, fashioning, or

J. Hillis Miller: …theory can be seen in Fiction and Repetition (1982), The Linguistic Moment (1985), The Ethics of Reading: Kant, de Man, Eliot, Trollope, James, and Benjamin (1987), Versions of Pygmalion (1990), Victorian Subjects (1991), Hawthorne and History: Defacing It (1991), Topographies (1995), Reading Narrative (1998), Speech Acts in Literature (2001), and…

The Art of Fiction: …as a rebuttal to “Fiction as One of the Fine Arts,” a lecture given by Sir Walter Besant in 1884, and is a manifesto of literary realism that decries the popular demand for novels that are saturated with sentimentality or pessimism. It was published separately in 1885.

philosophy of mathematics: Nominalism: Mathematical fictionalists agree with paraphrase nominalists that there are no such things as abstract objects and, hence, no such things as numbers. They think that paraphrase nominalists are mistaken, however, in their claims about what mathematical sentences such as “4 is even” really mean. Fictionalists think…

biography: Fictionalized biography: The books in this fifth category belong to biographical literature only by courtesy. Materials are freely invented, scenes and conversations are imagined; unlike the previous category, this class often depends almost entirely upon secondary sources and cursory research. Its authors, well represented on…

inertial force, any force invoked by an observer to maintain the validity of Isaac Newton’s second law of motion in a reference frame that is rotating or otherwise accelerating at a constant rate. For specific inertial forces, see centrifugal force; Coriolis force; d’Alembert’s

legal personhood, fundamental aspect of Western law that allows a person, corporation, or other entity to engage in the legal system. A legal person can own property, be sued by or sue others, agree to contracts, and engage in other actions within a legal system. The concept of legal personhood has

India: Family and kinship: …a single caste recognize a fictive kinship relation and a sense of mutual obligation, but ideas of fictive kinship extend also to the village as a whole. Thus, for example, a woman who marries and goes to another village never ceases to be regarded as a daughter of her village.…

industrial glass: The glass transformation range: Known as the fictive temperature, (Tf)1 is the temperature at which the liquid structure is frozen into the glassy state. (Tf)2 represents the fictive temperature of the glass formed by fast cooling.

Ficus, (genus Ficus), genus of about 900 species of trees, shrubs, and vines in the family Moraceae, many of which are commonly known as figs. Native primarily to tropical areas of East Asia, they are distributed throughout the world’s tropics. Many are tall forest trees that are buttressed by

banyan, (Ficus benghalensis), unusually shaped tree of the mulberry family (Moraceae) native to the Indian subcontinent. The banyan reaches a height up to 30 metres (100 feet) and spreads laterally indefinitely. Aerial roots that develop from its branches descend and take root in the soil to become

Ficus: Major species: lyrata), the weeping fig (F. benjamina), and some climbing species such as the climbing fig (F. pumila) are also popular ornamentals.

fig, (Ficus carica), plant of the mulberry family (Moraceae) and its edible fruit. The common fig is indigenous to an area extending from Asiatic Turkey to northern India, but natural seedlings grow in most Mediterranean countries; it is cultivated in warm climates. In the Mediterranean region the

fig: Physical description: …of tree, known as a caprifig, produces inedible figs that house the fig wasp young. It has short-styled female flowers that are adapted to the egg-laying habits of the fig wasp (Blastophaga) and also contains male flowers near the apex. Pollen from the caprifigs is carried by the fig wasps…

India rubber plant, (Ficus elastica), large tree of the family Moraceae, once an important source of an inferior natural rubber. It was largely replaced as a source of rubber by the unrelated rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) in the early 20th century. The India rubber plant is native to Southeast

banyan, (Ficus benghalensis), unusually shaped tree of the mulberry family (Moraceae) native to the Indian subcontinent. The banyan reaches a height up to 30 metres (100 feet) and spreads laterally indefinitely. Aerial roots that develop from its branches descend and take root in the soil to become

Ficus: Major species: One freestanding New World species, F. insipida, has the highest photosynthetic rate of any forest tree measured, supporting rapid growth and abundant fruiting. It can quickly colonize abandoned farm fields in large numbers, but, as the forest matures, most die as other plants take over.

Ficus: Major species: The fiddle-leaf fig (F. lyrata), the weeping fig (F. benjamina), and some climbing species such as the climbing fig (F. pumila) are also popular ornamentals.

Ficus: Major species: obtusifolia and F. nymphaeifolia, are known as strangler figs. The seeds of strangler figs germinate on a host tree and grow around its trunk in a strangling latticework, eventually killing the host tree. One freestanding New World species, F. insipida, has the highest photosynthetic rate of any…

Ficus: Major species: …species, including the New World F. obtusifolia and F. nymphaeifolia, are known as strangler figs. The seeds of strangler figs germinate on a host tree and grow around its trunk in a strangling latticework, eventually killing the host tree. One freestanding New World species, F. insipida, has the highest photosynthetic

tree: Trees of special interest: The wonderboom (F. salicifolia) of Africa grows in a similar manner; a specimen at Pretoria has a spread of 50 metres (55 yards). Because of their unusual growth habits, some tropical ficuses are called strangler figs. Often they begin life high in a palm or some…

Ficus: Major species: …climbing species such as the climbing fig (F. pumila) are also popular ornamentals.

Bodhi tree: …to Buddhist tradition, the specific sacred fig (Ficus religiosa) under which the Buddha sat when he attained Enlightenment (Bodhi) at Bodh Gaya in Bihar, India. The Mahabodhi Temple, which marks the place of the Buddha’s Enlightenment, features a descendant of the original Bodhi tree and is a major site of…

Ficus: Major species: …notable Ficus species is the sycamore fig (F. sycomorus), which has mulberry-like leaves, hard wood, and edible fruit.

International Federation for Information and Documentation, international library organization that was founded in 1895 as the Institut International de Bibliographie (IIB) to promote a unified and centralized approach to bibliographic classification. The IIB was founded by two Belgian lawyers,

defender of the faith, a title belonging to the sovereign of England in the same way as Christianissimus (“most Christian”) belonged to the king of France. The title was first conferred by Pope Leo X on Henry VIII (Oct. 11, 1521) as a reward for the king’s pamphlet Assertio septem sacramentorum

Nilo-Saharan languages: Writing: An adapted form of the Fidal script, which was used for writing Amharic, has been developed for the orthographies of a number of Nilo-Saharan languages spoken in Ethiopia. Other orthographic traditions of writing for African languages generally are based on the Latin script, because it was mostly European missionaries who…

hidalgo, in Spain, a hereditary noble or, in the later Middle Ages and the modern era, a knight or member of the gentry. The term appeared in the 12th century as fidalgus, or Castilian hidalgo, supposedly a contraction of hijo de algo, “son of something,” and it applied to all nobles, but

Saint Bonaventure ; canonized April 14, 1482; feast day July 15) was a leading medieval theologian, minister general of the Franciscan order, and cardinal bishop of Albano. He wrote several works on the spiritual life and recodified the constitution of his order (1260). He was declared a doctor

fedayee, a term used in Islamic cultures to describe a devotee of a religious or national group willing to engage in self-immolation to attain a group goal. The term first appeared in the 11th–13th centuries in reference to the members of the Nizārī Ismāʿīlī sect of Assassins who would risk their

fedayee, a term used in Islamic cultures to describe a devotee of a religious or national group willing to engage in self-immolation to attain a group goal. The term first appeared in the 11th–13th centuries in reference to the members of the Nizārī Ismāʿīlī sect of Assassins who would risk their

fedayee: …leader Ṣaddām Ḥussein; members of Fedayeen Ṣaddām (Fidāʾī Ṣaddām) engaged in guerrilla operations against U.S. and British forces during the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq in 2003.

fiddle, medieval European bowed, stringed musical instrument. The medieval fiddle, a forerunner of the violin, emerged in 10th-century Europe, possibly deriving from the lira, a Byzantine version of the rabāb, an Arab bowed instrument. Medieval fiddles varied in size and shape but

violin, bowed stringed musical instrument that evolved during the Renaissance from earlier bowed instruments: the medieval fiddle; its 16th-century Italian offshoot, the lira da braccio; and the rebec. The violin is probably the best known and most widely distributed musical instrument in the

ground beetle: The Malayan leaf beetle, or fiddle beetle (Mormolyce), measuring approximately 100 mm (4 inches) long, resembles a violin with its slender head and thorax and wide elytra. This flat beetle uses its long head to probe into small openings in search of prey. It hides in…

Ficus: Major species: The fiddle-leaf fig (F. lyrata), the weeping fig (F. benjamina), and some climbing species such as the climbing fig (F. pumila) are also popular ornamentals.

philodendron: Major species: Of moderate size is the fiddle-leaf, or horsehead, philodendron (P. bipennifolium), with large fiddle-shaped glossy green leaves up to 15–25 cm (6–10 inches) wide and 45 cm (18 inches) long. Larger types include the spade-leaf philodendron (P. domesticum), with triangular leaves up to 60 cm (24 inches) long, and the…

plant: Subclass Polypodiidae: …coiled in the bud (fiddleheads) and uncurl in a type of leaf development called circinate vernation. Fern leaves are either whole or variously divided. The leaf types are differentiated into rachis (axis of a compound leaf), pinnae (primary divisions), and pinnules (ultimate segments of a pinna). Fern leaves often…

fiddler crab, any of the approximately 65 species of the genus Uca (order Decapoda of the subphylum Crustacea). They are named “fiddler” because the male holds one claw, always much larger than the other, somewhat like a violin. Both claws in the female are relatively small. In males, claws can be

Fiddler on the Roof, award-winning stage musical and film about universal themes of tradition and change, generational conflict, and oppression, set in a Jewish village in eastern Europe at the dawn of the 20th century. The play was adapted from celebrated Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem’s short

Norman Jewison: He followed with the musicals Fiddler on the Roof (1971) and Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), both adapted from Broadway productions and the first of which earned Jewison another Oscar nomination for best director.

guitarfish, an order (Rhinobatiformes) of fish closely related to the rays. The order contains some 47 to 50 species arranged in three families (Platyrhinidae, Rhinobatidae, and Rhynchobatidae). Guitarfish have a flattened forebody with pectoral fins fused to the sides of the head. The hindbody

chess: The world championship and FIDE: …FIDE, its French acronym for Fédération Internationale des Échecs.

fidei commissum, in Roman law and civil-law systems, a gift of property to a person (usually by will), imposing upon that person the obligation to transfer it to a specified ultimate recipient, the latter being a person legally incapable of taking the property directly or at least not in the amount

defender of the faith, a title belonging to the sovereign of England in the same way as Christianissimus (“most Christian”) belonged to the king of France. The title was first conferred by Pope Leo X on Henry VIII (Oct. 11, 1521) as a reward for the king’s pamphlet Assertio septem sacramentorum

fideism, a philosophical view extolling theological faith by making it the ultimate criterion of truth and minimizing the power of reason to know religious truths. Strict fideists assign no place to reason in discovering or understanding fundamental tenets of religion. For them blind faith is

Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient: …revival of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fidelio in Vienna that same year. Both roles brought her tremendous acclaim. Indeed, she is often credited with much of the success of the revival of Fidelio, which had not been well received in its premiere.

Elda, city, Alicante provincia (province), in the comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) of Valencia, southeastern Spain, northwest of Alicante city. Of ancient origin, Elda was called Idella by the Iberians, early peoples of Spain. The city first achieved importance under the Moors, who

insurance: Suretyship: Surety and fidelity bonds fill the gap left by theft insurance, which always excludes losses from persons in a position of trust. A bond involves three contracting parties instead of two. The three parties are the principal, who is the person bonded; the obligee, the person who…

Louis IV: Acceptance of the imperial crown of Louis IV: …before the Frankfurt Diet (Fidem catholicam of May 17, 1338), he had the support not only of the cities but also of the empire’s ecclesiastical lords. He relied upon this support in promulgating a basic electoral law (Licet juris) in Frankfurt (August 3) and again in Coblenz, where he…

ancient Rome: Military tribunes with consular power: …first two major wars, against Fidenae and Veii. In 366 bc six undifferentiated military tribunes were replaced with five magistrates that had specific functions: two consuls for conducting wars, an urban praetor who handled lawsuits in Rome, and two curule aediles who managed various affairs in the city. In 362…

Fidenza, town, Emilia-Romagna regione, northern Italy. It is believed to have been the scene of St. Domninus’ martyrdom under the Roman emperor Maximian and was called Borgo San Donnino for more than 1,000 years. The town was renamed Fidenza in 1927, recalling its ancient name, Fidentia. Its

Italian literature: Poetry: Fidenziana poetry derives its name from a work by Camillo Scroffa, a poet who wrote Petrarchan parodies in a combination of Latin words and Italian form and syntax. Macaronic poetry, on the other hand, which refers to the Rabelaisian preoccupation of the characters with eating,…

Fides, Roman goddess, the deification of good faith and honesty. Many of the oldest Roman deities were embodiments of high ideals (e.g., Honos, Libertas); it was the function of Fides to oversee the moral integrity of the Romans. Closely associated with Jupiter, Fides was honoured with a temple

St. John Paul II: Ecclesiastical and theological contributions: In his encyclical Fides et ratio (1998; “Faith and Reason”), he argued for the importance of reason in the development of any meaningful faith. He was also the first pope to link the protection of the natural environment firmly to Catholic theology, declaring in 1999 that destruction of…

Fidesz, centre-right Hungarian political party. Fidesz (the Federation of Young Democrats) was founded in 1988 as an anticommunist party that promoted the development of a market economy and European integration. Initially, membership was restricted to those age 35 and younger, though this

International Federation of Human Rights, international nongovernmental organization of human rights groups focused on promoting adherence to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Established in 1922 with 10 members, the organization grew to include more than 150 human rights groups

stringed instrument: Lutes: …to time: the ancient Icelandic fidla is a bowed zither, as is the Korean ajaeng; the Scandinavian talharpa is a bowed lyre. The musical saw is classified as a bowed idiophone.

fiduciary, in law, a person who occupies a position of such power and confidence with regard to the property of another that the law requires him to act solely in the interest of the person whom he represents. Examples of fiduciaries are agents, executors and administrators, trustees, guardians,

insurance: Major types of surety bonds: Fiduciary bonds are required for court-appointed officials entrusted with managing the property of others; executors of estates and receivers in bankruptcy are frequently required to post fiduciary bonds.

money: Paper money: …gold or silver but of fiduciary money—promises to pay specified amounts of gold and silver. These promises were initially issued by individuals or companies as banknotes or as the transferable book entries that came to be called deposits. Although deposits and banknotes began as claims to gold or silver on…

fiddle, medieval European bowed, stringed musical instrument. The medieval fiddle, a forerunner of the violin, emerged in 10th-century Europe, possibly deriving from the lira, a Byzantine version of the rabāb, an Arab bowed instrument. Medieval fiddles varied in size and shape but

Arthur Fiedler was an American conductor who was maestro of the Boston Pops Orchestra for 50 seasons and the best-selling classical conductor of all time; his recordings with the Pops sold some 50,000,000 discs. (The Boston Pops Orchestra is the Boston Symphony minus its principal players.)

12 Angry Men: Cast: