| | - Askaniya-Nova Nature Reserve
- (from the article "Ukraine") Numerous nature and game reserves reflect Ukraine's commitment to the conservation of its biological heritage. The country's first nature reserve, Askaniya-Nova, began as a private wildlife refuge in 1875; today it protects a portion of virgin steppe. Some 40 different mammals, including the onager and Przewalski's horse, have been introduced ...
- Askari, Ja'far al-
- army officer and Iraqi political leader who played an important role in the Arab nationalist movements during and after World War I.
- Askaria, al-
- (from the article "Iraq") ...neighbouring Syria and Jordan. The sectarian violence increased after a Sunni-backed group of al-Qaeda terrorists on February 22 bombed and seriously damaged the much-revered Shi'ite shrine of al-Askaria in the city of Samarra', north of Baghdad. Shi'ite militias retaliated by destroying Sunni mosques or simply converting them to Shi'ite mosques. ...
- Aske, Robert
- (from the article "Pilgrimage of Grace") ...to treat with men in arms against him (although professing their loyalty), and the Lincolnshire movement collapsed on October 19. Meanwhile, a more serious rising had begun in Yorkshire, led by Robert Aske, a country gentleman and lawyer. Aske took York and by October 24 was supported by about 30,000 ...
- Askia Dawud
- (from the article "Guang") The Gonja state was founded between 1550 and 1575 by the Malinke cavalrymen of Askia Dawud, emperor of Songhai from 1549 to 1582. In the 17th century a Mande chief called Jakpa established a ruling dynasty and expanded the state's territory. Gonja was incorporated into the Asante empire during the ...
- Askia Dynasty
- Muslim family that ruled the extensive Songhai empire of West Africa, centred on Timbuktu, in present Mali, from 1492 to 1591. Its members included the dynasty's founder, Muhammad I Askia (q.v.), Askia Musa (reigned 1528-31), and Askia Ismail (reigned 1537-39). [2 Related Articles]
- Askia Ismail
- (from the article "Muhammad I Askia") In 1537 his third successor, his son Askia Ismail, recalled his father to Gao. To reward him, Muhammad bequeathed to him his green turban and his caliph's sabre. In 1538, during a period of temporary calm, this founder of a dynasty died. He was buried in Gao, under a pyramid ...
- Askia Musa
- (from the article "Muhammad I Askia") ...plotted against him and in 1528 killed his new general in chief, Yaya, another of Muhammad's brothers, who had remained faithful to him. Musa then dispossessed his father, taking the name Askia Musa. He kept this title for three years before being assassinated himself by one of his brothers. Now ...
- Askja
- largest caldera (volcanic crater) in the Dyngjufjoll volcanic massif, in east-central Iceland. It lies 20 miles (32 km) north of Vatnajokull, the island's largest ice field. Its rugged peaks, up to 4,954 feet (1,510 m) above sea level, encircle a 4.25-square-mile (11-square-kilometre) lake that occupies the caldera. Askja (Icelandic: "Box") ...
- Askr and Embla
- in Norse mythology, the first man and first woman, respectively, parents of the human race. They were created from tree trunks found on the seashore by three gods-Odin and his two brothers, Vili and Ve (some sources name the gods Odin, Hoenir, and Lodur). From each creator Askr and Embla ... [1 Related Articles]
- Asma'i, al-
- noted scholar and anthologist, one of the three leading members of the Basra school of Arabic philology. [1 Related Articles]
- Asmara
- city, capital of Eritrea. It is located on the northern tip of the Ethiopian Plateau at an elevation of 7,628 feet (2,325 metres). Asmara lies on the Eritrean Railway and is a major road junction; its international airport, built in 1962, is 2.5 miles (4 km) southeast, and its port ... [6 Related Articles]
- Asmarthya
- (from the article "Indian philosophy") ...with such central issues as the relation between the finite individual ( jiva) and the absolute spirit (Brahman) and the possible bodily existence of a liberated individual. To Asmarthya, an early Vedanta interpreter, is ascribed the view that the finite individual and the absolute are both identical and different (as ...
- Asmat
- (from the article "bisj pole") ...left on the trunk when the tree is felled. The complex religious significance and symbolism associated with bisj poles is reflected in the ceremony surrounding their creation. In the Asmat area, for example, the mangrove tree, representing the enemy, is ceremonially stalked and cut down. As the bark is stripped ...
- asmatika
- (from the article "kontakion") ...to date from the 13th century. Manuscripts containing soloists' sections are called psaltika (from psaltes, "church singer"). Choral parts are preserved in asmatika (from asma, "song"). The musical settings tend to be melismatic-i.e., elaborate melodies with many notes per syllable. Kontakia that have retained a...
- Asmodeus
- in Jewish legend, the king of demons. According to the apocryphal book of Tobit, Asmodeus, smitten with love for Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, killed her seven successive husbands on their wedding nights. Following instructions given to him by the angel Raphael, Tobias overcame Asmodeus and married Sarah. [2 Related Articles]
- Asnyk, Adam
- Polish poet and playwright renowned for the simplicity of his poetic style.
- Aso Taro
- Japanese Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) politician who served as prime minister of Japan from Sept. 24, 2008. He succeeded Fukuda Yasuo. [3 Related Articles]
- Aso, Mount
- volcano, Kumamoto ken (prefecture), Kyushu, Japan, rising to an elevation of 5,223 feet (1,592 m). It has the largest active crater in the world, measuring 71 miles (114 km) in circumference, 17 miles (27 km) from north to south, and 10 miles (16 km) from east to west. Its caldera ... [1 Related Articles]
- Asociacion Internacional de Radiodifusion
- (from the article "broadcasting") ...Union was formed in 1969 as an intergovernmental organization within the framework of the Arab League; the secretariat is in Cairo, and the technical centre is located in Khartoum, The Sudan. The Asociacion Internacional de Radiodifusion primarily covers North, Central, and South America but includes some European countries. Its central ...
- Asoka
- last major emperor in the Mauryan dynasty of India. His vigorous patronage of Buddhism during his reign (c. 265-238 BC; also given as c. 273-232 BC) furthered the expansion of that religion throughout India. Following his successful but bloody conquest of the Kalinga country on the east coast, Asoka renounced ... [24 Related Articles]
- Asoka
- (from the article "Indo-Aryan languages") ...northwest. The Niya documents, official documents written in Prakrit dating from the 3rd century AD, also belong to the northwest. The earliest inscriptional Middle Indo-Aryan is that of the Asokan inscriptions (3rd century BC). These are more or less full translations from original edicts issued in the language of the ...
- Asolo
- (from the article "Cornaro, Caterina") ...of which were foiled by the Venetians, who gradually usurped Caterina's power and finally forced the queen to abdicate (1489). She was received with honour at Venice and given the castle and town of Asolo, which she governed beneficently. She died after having fled Asolo when her castle was occupied ...
- Asomtavruli alphabet
- (from the article "Georgian language") Historically, the Georgian language was written in three scripts. Asomtavruli evolved into Khutsuri, an ecclesiastical script of 38 letters, including 6 vowels. Neither script is currently in use. Mkhedruli, a lay alphabet originally of 40 letters (7 are now obsolete), 6 of them vowels, is the script commonly used at ...
- Asososca, Lake
- (from the article "Nicaragua") There are six freshwater lakes near the city of Managua. They include Lake Managua, which covers an area of 400 square miles (1,035 square km), Lake Asososca, which acts as the city's reservoir of drinking water, and Lake Jiloa, which is slightly alkaline and is a favourite bathing resort. Lake ...
- asp
- anglicized form of aspis, name used in classical antiquity for a venomous snake, probably the Egyptian cobra, Naja haje. It was the symbol of royalty in Egypt, and its bite was used for the execution of favoured criminals in Greco-Roman times. Cleopatra is said ...
- Asp, Anna
- (from the article "1983: Other Winners") ...Screenplay: Horton Foote for Tender MerciesAdapted Screenplay: James L. Brooks for Terms of EndearmentCinematography: Sven Nykvist for Fanny & AlexanderArt Direction: Anna Asp for Fanny & AlexanderOriginal Score: Bill Conti for The Right StuffBest Adaptation Score: Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand for...
- Aspalathus
- (from the article "scrubland") Among the fynbos, the most diverse plant genera are Erica, Aspalathus, and Senecio, shrubs respectively in the heather, bean, and daisy families. Other richly represented families include the sedges, irises, grasses, lilies, and orchids, all of which consist of small, herbaceous plants that grow beneath the shrub canopy. The most ...
- Aspar, Flavius Ardaburius
- Roman general of Alani descent, influential in the Eastern Roman Empire under the emperors Marcian (ruled 450-457) and Leo I (ruled 457-474). [2 Related Articles]
- Asparagales
- the asparagus or orchid order of monocotyledonous flowering plants, containing 16-24 families, 1,122 genera, and more than 26,000 species. [1 Related Articles]
- asparaginase
- (from the article "drug") Hydroxyurea inhibits the enzyme ribonucleotide reductase, an important element in DNA synthesis. It is used to reduce the high granulocyte count found in chronic myelocytic leukemia. Asparaginase breaks down the amino acid asparagine to aspartic acid and ammonia. Some cancer cells, particularly in certain forms of leukemia, require this amino ...
- asparagine
- an amino acid closely related to aspartic acid (q.v.), and an important component of proteins. First isolated in 1932 from asparagus, from which its name is derived, asparagine is widely distributed in plant proteins. It is one of several so-called nonessential amino acids in warm-blooded animals: they can synthesize it ... [1 Related Articles]
- Asparagus
- genus of the lily family (Liliaceae) with about 300 species native from Siberia to southern Africa. Best known is the garden asparagus, Asparagus officinalis, cultivated as a green vegetable for its succulent spring stalks. Several African species are grown as ornamental plants. [4 Related Articles]
- asparagus beetle
- any member of two genera that are important pests of the leaf beetle family, Chrysomelidae (order Coleoptera). The adult beetles are red, yellow, and black in colour, and about 7 mm (almost 0.3 inch) long. They feed on and deposit oval black eggs on young asparagus plants.
- Asparagus officinalis
- (from the article "Asparagus") genus of the lily family (Liliaceae) with about 300 species native from Siberia to southern Africa. Best known is the garden asparagus, Asparagus officinalis, cultivated as a green vegetable for its succulent spring stalks. Several African species are grown as ornamental plants.stem structure
- asparagus stone
- (from the article "asparagus stone") gem-quality, asparagus-green apatite. See apatite.
apatiteapatite...its softness (Mohs hardness 5, compared with the 7 to 9 of most g
- asparagusic acid
- (from the article "organosulfur compound") ...agent than a six-membered cyclic disulfide, such as 1,2-dithiane, would be. At the same time, in the reduced dithiol form, the thiol groups are in sufficient proximity to facilitate reoxidation. Asparagusic acid (4-carboxy-1,2-dithiolane), found in asparagus roots, is considered to be a major factor in the natural resistance (i.e., survival ...
- aspartame
- (from the article "sweetener") Aspartame, or aspartylphenylalanine (marketed as NutraSweet, Equal, Egal, or Canderal), was discovered in 1965. It has some caloric value (though negligible) and is about 150-200 times as sweet as sucrose. Its safety remains controversial, but it is now the most popular sweetening ingredient in diet soft drinks. It tends to ...
- aspartase
- (from the article "metabolism") In many microorganisms, ammonia (NH3) can be removed from aspartate via a reaction catalyzed by aspartase [27]; the other product, fumarate, is an intermediate of the TCA cycle.nervous systemnervous systemAmino acids...greatly in concentration from one region to the next. However, ...
- aspartate
- (from the article "metabolism") In many microorganisms, ammonia (NH3) can be removed from aspartate via a reaction catalyzed by aspartase [27]; the other product, fumarate, is an intermediate of the TCA cycle.metabolismPyrimidine ribonucleotidesThe biosynthetic pathway for the pyrimidine nucleotides is somewhat simpler than that ...
- aspartate carbamoyltransferase
- (from the article "metabolism") ...is that catalyzed by aspartate carbamoyltransferase [70a]. This step initiates a sequence of reactions that leads to the formation of pyrimidine nucleotides such as UTP and CTP [74]. Studies of aspartate carbamoyltransferase have revealed that the affinity of this enzyme for its substrate (aspartate) is markedly decreased by the presence ...
- aspartate family
- (from the article "metabolism") ...step that uniquely leads to the end product. This phenomenon, called end-product inhibition, is illustrated by the multienzyme, branched pathway for the formation from oxaloacetate of the "aspartate family" of amino acids (Figure 10). The system of interlocking controls is described in greater detail in Figure 12. As mentioned previously ...
- aspartic acid
- an amino acid (q.v.) obtainable as a product of the hydrolysis of proteins. First isolated in 1868 from legumin in plant seeds, aspartic acid is one of several so-called nonessential amino acids for mammals; i.e., they can synthesize it from oxaloacetic acid (formed in the metabolism of carbohydrates) and do ... [1 Related Articles]
- aspartokinase
- (from the article "metabolism") ...regulated as are the rates of lysine, methionine, and isoleucine, an imbalance in the supply of isoleucine might result. This risk is overcome in E. coli by the existence of three different aspartokinase enzymes, all of which catalyze the first step common to the production of all the products derived ...
- Asparukh
- (from the article "Bulgar") The fifth product of the breakup of Great Bulgaria was the horde that Kurt's son Asparukh led westward across the Dniester River and then southward across the Danube. There, on the plain between the Danube and the Balkan Mountains, they established the kernel of the so-called first Bulgarian empire-the state ...
- Aspasia
- mistress of the Athenian statesman Pericles and a vivid figure in Athenian society. Although Aspasia came from the Greek Anatolian city of Miletus and was not a citizen of Athens, she lived with Pericles from about 445 until his death in 429. Because a law sponsored by Pericles in 451 ... [1 Related Articles]
- Aspdin, Joseph
- (from the article "building construction") ...times. It was improved in the late 18th century by the British engineer John Smeaton, who added powdered brick to the mix and made the first modern concrete by adding pebbles as coarse aggregate. Joseph Aspdin patented the first true artificial cement, which he called Portland Cement, in 1824; the ...
- aspect
- (from the article "Indo-European languages") The Proto-Indo-European verb had three aspects: imperfective, perfective, and stative. Aspect refers to the nature of an action as described by the speaker-e.g., an event occurring once, an event recurring repeatedly, a continuing process, or a state. The difference between English simple and "progressive" verb forms is largely one of ...
- aspect ratio
- (from the article "motion picture, history of the") The aspect ratio (the ratio of width to height) of the projected motion-picture image had been standardized at 1.33 to 1 since 1932, but, as television eroded the film industry's domestic audience, the studios increased screen size as a way of attracting audiences back into theatres. For both optical and ...
- Aspect, Alain
- (from the article "quantum mechanics") ...on the state of proton 2 following a measurement on proton 1 is believed to be instantaneous; the effect happens before a light signal initiated by the measuring event at proton 1 reaches proton 2. Alain Aspect and his coworkers in Paris demonstrated this result in 1982 with an ingenious ...
- Aspen
- city, seat (1881) of Pitkin county, west-central Colorado, U.S., on the Roaring Fork River at the eastern edge of the White River National Forest (elevation 7,907 feet [2,410 metres]). Founded by prospectors c. 1878 and named for the local stands of aspen trees, it became a booming silver-mining town of ...
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