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autoantibody ... automotive ceramics

autoantibody harmful antibody that attacks components of the body called self antigens. Normally autoantibodies are routinely eliminated by the immune system's self-regulatory process-probably through the neutralization of autoantibody-producing lymphocytes before they mature. At times this process fails, and antibodies that react to self constituents proliferate. Autobahn high-speed, limited-access highway, the basis of the first modern national expressway system. Planned in Germany in the early 1930s, the Autobahnen were extended to a national highway network (Reichsautobahnen) of 2,108 km (1,310 miles) by 1942. West Germany embarked on an ambitious reconstruction of the system after World War II, ... autobiography the biography of oneself narrated by oneself. Autobiographical works can take many forms, from the intimate writings made during life that were not necessarily intended for publication (including letters, diaries, journals, memoirs, and reminiscences) to a formal book-length autobiography. Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, The book by Gertrude Stein, written in the voice of her lifelong companion, Alice B. Toklas. Published in 1933, the work ostensibly contains Toklas's first-person account not of her own life but of Stein's, written from Toklas's viewpoint and replete with Toklas's sensibilities, observations, and mannerisms. The work was originally published ... Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, The novel by James Weldon Johnson, published in 1912. This fictional autobiography, originally issued anonymously in order to suggest authenticity, explores the intricacies of racial identity through the eventful life of its mixed-race (and unnamed) narrator. Autobiography of Malcolm X, The biography, published in 1965, of the American black militant religious leader and activist who was born Malcolm Little. Written by Alex Haley, who had conducted extensive audiotaped interviews with Malcolm X just before his assassination in 1965, the book gained renown as a classic work on the black American experience. Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, The novel by Ernest J. Gaines, published in 1971. The novel is set in rural southern Louisiana and spans 100 years of American history-from the early 1860s to the onset of the civil rights movement in the 1960s-in following the life of the elderly Jane Pittman, who witnessed those years. autocephalous church in the modern usage of Eastern Orthodox canon law, church that enjoys total canonical and administrative independence and elects its own primates and bishops. The term autocephalous was used in medieval Byzantine law in its literal sense of "self-headed" (Greek: autokephalos), or independent, and was applied in church law to ... autoclave vessel, usually of steel, able to withstand high temperatures and pressures. The chemical industry uses various types of autoclaves in manufacturing dyes and in other chemical reactions requiring high pressures. In bacteriology and medicine, instruments are sterilized by being placed in water in an autoclave and heating the water above ... autogiro rotary-wing aircraft, superseded after World War II by the more efficient helicopter. It employed a propeller for forward motion and a freely rotating, unmotorized rotor for lift. In searching for an aircraft that could be slowed down in flight and landed vertically, experimenters built many prototypes that were difficult to ... autograph any manuscript handwritten by its author, either in alphabetical or musical notation. (The term also refers to a person's handwritten signature.) Aside from its antiquarian or associative value, an autograph may be an early or corrected draft of a manuscript and provide valuable evidence of the stages of composition or ... autoharp stringed instrument of the zither family popular for accompaniment in folk music and country and western music. A musician may position the instrument on a table, on the lap while seated, or resting against the left shoulder. An autoharp player strums the strings with a stiff felt or plastic pick ... autohypnosis hypnosis that is self-induced. Though feasible and possibly productive of useful results, it is often a sterile procedure because the autohypnotist usually tries too hard to direct consciously the activities that he wishes to take place at the hypnotic level of awareness, thus nullifying the effort. A form of self-hypnosis, ... autoimmunity the state in which the immune system reacts against the body's own normal components, producing disease or functional changes. autokinetic effect illusory movement of a single still object, usually a stationary pinpoint of light used in psychology experiments in dark rooms. As one stares at a fixed point of light, one's eye muscles become fatigued, causing a slight eye movement. Without the usual reference points available in the everyday environment, the ... Autolycus in Greek mythology, the maternal grandfather, through his daughter Anticleia, of the hero Odysseus. In Homer's Odyssey the god Hermes rewards Autolycus's faithful sacrifices to him by granting Autolycus skill in trickery, but later ancient authors made him the god's son. He was believed to live at the foot of ... Automat any of a chain of cafeterias in New York City and Philadelphia, where low-priced prepared food and beverages were obtained, especially from coin-operated compartments. automata theory body of physical and logical principles underlying the operation of any electromechanical device (an automaton) that converts information from one form into another according to a definite procedure. Real or hypothetical automata of varying complexity have become indispensable tools for the investigation and implementation of systems that have structures amenable ... Automated Transfer Vehicle unmanned European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft that carries supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). The first ATV, Jules Verne, named after the French author, was launched on March 9, 2008. automatic picture transmission station in meteorology, any of several hundred installations, located in most of the countries of the world, that can receive and display the weather-forecasting data that is continuously transmitted by orbiting artificial satellites launched by the United States. The information gathered by the sensing equipment in the satellites is received in ... automatic pilot device for controlling an aircraft or other vehicle without constant human intervention. automatic pistol handgun that utilizes either recoil or blowback to discharge the empty cartridge after each shot, reload, and cock the piece. The automatic pistol dates from the very late 19th century, when developments in ammunition made possible cartridges and bullets that would not be deformed by their handling in automatic loading, ... automatic rifle rifle that utilizes either its recoil or a portion of the gas propelling the projectile to remove the spent cartridge case, load a new cartridge, and cock the weapon to fire again. Automatic rifles (and pistols) are called autoloaders and are actually semiautomatic, since they customarily fire only one shot ... automatic transmission arrangement of gears, brakes, clutches, a fluid drive, and governing devices that automatically changes the speed ratio between the engine and the wheels of an automobile. Since its introduction in 1939, the fully automatic transmission has become optional or standard equipment on most passenger cars. When the transmission is in ... automatic writing in spiritualism, writing produced involuntarily when the subject's attention is ostensibly directed elsewhere. The phenomenon may occur when the subject is in an alert waking state or in a hypnotic trance, usually during a seance. What is produced may be unrelated words, fragments of poetry, epithets, puns, obscenities, or well-organized ... automation the application of machines to tasks once performed by human beings or, increasingly, to tasks that would otherwise be impossible. Although the term mechanization is often used to refer to the simple replacement of human labour by machines, automation generally implies the integration of machines into a self-governing system. Automation ... automatism technique first used by Surrealist painters and poets to express the creative force of the unconscious in art. automatism in spiritualism, the spontaneous performance of certain physical acts without the conscious control of the agent. In automatism a message is purportedly conveyed, usually through a spiritualist medium speaking in a trance during a seance (French: "sitting"), through automatic writing or through a joint experiment involving several persons (e.g., using ... automaton any of various mechanical objects that are relatively self-operating after they have been set in motion. The term automaton is also applied to a class of electromechanical devices-either theoretical or real-that transform information from one form into another on the basis of predetermined instructions or procedures (see automata theory). automobile a usually four-wheeled vehicle designed primarily for passenger transportation and commonly propelled by an internal-combustion engine using a volatile fuel. automobile club an organization of automobile owners. Begun as social clubs in which persons with an interest in motoring and motor racing could meet, such clubs later also developed into service organizations that provided members with emergency road service, assistance with planning trips and making reservations, auto insurance, and related services. Some ... Automobile Racing: Year in Review 1994 Automobile Racing: Year in Review 1995 Automobile Racing: Year in Review 1996 Automobile Racing: Year in Review 1997 Automobile Racing: Year in Review 1998 Automobile Racing: Year in Review 1999 Automobile Racing: Year in Review 2000 Automobile Racing: Year in Review 2001 Automobile Racing: Year in Review 2002 Automobile Racing: Year in Review 2003 Automobile Racing: Year in Review 2004 Automobile Racing: Year in Review 2005 Automobile Racing: Year in Review 2006 Automobile Racing: Year in Review 2008 Automobile Racing: Year in Review 2009 Automobile Racing: Year in Review 2010 Automobile Racing: Year in Review 2011 automobile racing professional and amateur automobile sport practiced throughout the world in a variety of forms on roads, tracks, or closed circuits. It includes Grand Prix racing, speedway racing, stock-car racing, sports-car racing, drag racing, midget-car racing, and karting, as well as hill climbs and trials (see hill climb; see also rally ... automorphism in mathematics, a correspondence that associates to every element in a set a unique element of the set (perhaps itself) and for which there is a companion correspondence, known as its inverse, such that one followed by the other produces the identity correspondence (I); i.e., the correspondence that associates every ... automotive ceramics advanced ceramic materials that are made into components for automobiles. Examples include spark plug insulators, catalysts and catalyst supports for emission control devices, and sensors of various kinds. This article briefly describes two important automotive applications of modern advanced ceramics-support structures for catalytic converter elements and various pressure and heat ...