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automation ... autotroph

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 ... [25 Related Articles]
automatism: technique first used by Surrealist painters and poets to express the creative force of the unconscious in art. [3 Related Articles]
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 ...
automatism: (from the article "crime") ...a verdict is very rare in those countries that recognize this defense. Another very rare condition that wholly exempts individuals from criminal liability is a form of involuntary conduct known as automatism, a state in which the conscious mind does not control bodily movements-such as during sleepwalking-thus rendering an individual ...
Automatistes, Les: (from the article "Canada") ...landscape theme. In Quebec, where art tended to be more theoretical than in the other provinces, painting evolved through a number of movements. A Surrealist-influenced group in Montreal known as Les Automatistes dominated the Canadian art scene in the 1940s, with members such as Jean-Paul Riopelle and Fernand Leduc gaining ...
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). [1 Related Articles]
automimicry: (from the article "mimicry") The phenomenon of automimicry involves the advantage gained by some members of a species from its resemblance to others of the same species. Males of many bees and wasps, although defenseless, are protected from predators by their resemblance to females that are equipped with stingers. Some butterflies are able to ...
automobile: a usually four-wheeled vehicle designed primarily for passenger transportation and commonly propelled by an internal-combustion engine using a volatile fuel. [41 Related Articles]
Automobile Association: (from the article "automobile club") ...Switzerland, for example, developed a form, the triptyque, that exempted motorists from paying customs duties on their autos when crossing national borders. Britain's Royal Automobile Club (RAC) and Automobile Association (AA) pioneered nationwide patrols, first by bicycle and later on motorbikes. The first roadside telephone box for motorist assistance was ...
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 Club de France: (from the article "automobile club") The first automobile club was the Automobile Club de France, formed in 1895 in Paris. Similar groups soon appeared in Great Britain and Belgium, and reciprocal arrangements between the French and British clubs were established by 1898. National clubs were formed in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland by 1900. The American ...
Automobile Club of Switzerland: (from the article "automobile club") Many clubs have actively promoted highway construction and safety and lobbied for legislation and programs in the interests of motorists. The Automobile Club of Switzerland, for example, developed a form, the triptyque, that exempted motorists from paying customs duties on their autos when crossing national borders. Britain's Royal Automobile Club ...
Automobile Competition Committee: (from the article "automobile racing") Unlike most European and other countries, the United States has no single automobile racing body. The governing bodies noted above for various kinds of racing are members of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States-FIA, basically an advisory and liaison organization.
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 driving; ... [38 Related Articles]
automorphic number: (from the article "number game") An automorphic number is an integer whose square ends with the given integer, as (25)² = 625, and (76)² = 5776. Strobogrammatic numbers read the same after having been rotated through 180°; e.g., 69, 96, 1001.
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 ...
Automotive Engineers, Society of: (from the article "petroleum refining") ...a wide range of products with special characteristics. Automotive oils represent the largest product segment in the market. In the United States, specifications for these products are defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), which issues viscosity ratings with numbers that range from 5 to 50. In the United ...
automotive industry: all those companies and activities involved in the manufacture of motor vehicles, including most components, such as engines and bodies, but excluding tires, batteries, and fuel. The industry's principal products are passenger automobiles and light trucks, including pickups, vans, and sport utility vehicles. Commercial vehicles (i.e., delivery trucks and large ... [36 Related Articles]
automotive service station: (from the article "operations research") For example, an analysis of the cars stopping at urban automotive service stations located at intersections of two streets revealed that almost all came from four of the 16 possible routes through the intersection (four ways of entering times four ways of leaving). Examination of the percentage of cars in ...
autonomic ganglion: (from the article "nervous system, human") ...originates in the brainstem or the spinal cord, and the second set, called ganglion cells or postganglionic neurons, lies outside the central nervous system in collections of nerve cells called autonomic ganglia. Parasympathetic ganglia tend to lie close to or within the organs or tissues that their neurons innervate, whereas ...
autonomic nervous system: in vertebrates, the part of the nervous system that controls and regulates the internal organs without any conscious recognition or effort by the organism. The autonomic nervous system comprises two antagonistic sets of nerves, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic nervous system connects the internal organs to the ... [14 Related Articles]
autonomous church: (from the article "Eastern Orthodoxy") There are also "autonomous" churches (retaining a token canonical dependence upon a mother see) in Crete, Finland, and Japan. The first nine autocephalous churches are headed by "patriarchs," the others by archbishops or metropolitans. These titles are strictly honorary.
Autonomous Space Transfer and Robotic Orbiter: (from the article "Military Affairs") ...Research Project Agency (DARPA) began a space mission to test the abilities of one satellite to perform various maintenance operations on another. The Orbital Express mission was composed of the Autonomous Space Transfer and Robotic Orbiter (ASTRO) and the NextSat target satellite. ASTRO successfully approached NextSat and docked with it ...
autonomy: (from the article "bioethics") ...along these lines, known as the "four principles" of bioethics, attempts to describe a set of minimum moral conditions on the behaviour of health care professionals. The first principle, autonomy, entails that health care professionals should respect the autonomous decisions of competent adults. The second principle, beneficence, holds that they ...
autonomy: (from the article "Jesus Christ") ...nor did he denounce Moses and the law. Nevertheless, during his Galilean ministry some people regarded him with hostility and suspicion, partly because of the crowds and partly because of his autonomy. It was impossible to know what someone who was autonomous might do next, and this could be dangerous, ...
Autonomy Law: (from the article "Nicaragua") The vast majority of Nicaraguans speak Spanish. It is the sole official language in all but the east coast regions where, under the 1987 constitution and the Atlantic Coast Autonomy Law enacted the same year, Miskito, Sumo, Rama, and Creole English have equal status with Spanish. On the west coast, ...
Autonomy Party: (from the article "Puerto Rico") ...the Spanish government. In 1887 the liberal movement was denounced as disloyal and was violently suppressed; however, such treatment only solidified popular support for the movement, and in 1897 the Autonomy Party was formed in Puerto Rico through cooperation with the Liberal Party in Spain. The new autonomous government was ...
autophagocytosis: (from the article "lysosome") ...endocytosis, autophagocytosis, and phagocytosis. In endocytosis, extracellular macromolecules are taken up into the cell to form membrane-bound vesicles called endosomes that fuse with lysosomes. Autophagocytosis is the process by which old organelles are removed from a cell; they are enveloped by internal membranes that then fuse with lysosomes. Phagocytosis is ...
autophone: (from the article "musical instrument") ...drums). This ancient system-based on the material producing sound-was adopted by the Belgian instrument maker and acoustician Victor-Charles Mahillon, who named his four main classes autophones, or instruments made of a sonorous material that vibrates to produce sound (e.g., bells, rattles); membranophones, in which a stretched skin is caused to ...
autopista: (from the article "Caracas") ...of traffic congestion. The public transportation system, although deficient, improved greatly with the inauguration, in 1983, of a modern subway system. Traffic is also facilitated by a system of autopistas, multilane divided highways extending east-west through the valley and connecting the city with interior locations. Railroads, which ...
autopolyploidy: (from the article "evolution") Polyploidy is a mode of quantum speciation that yields the beginnings of a new species in just one or two generations. There are two kinds of polyploids-autopolyploids, which derive from a single species, and allopolyploids, which stem from a combination of chromosome sets from different species. Allopolyploid plant species are ...
autoprotolysis: (from the article "ammonia") ...of water (81 at 25 °C [77 °F]), so it is a better solvent for organic materials. However, it is still high enough to allow ammonia to act as a moderately good ionizing solvent. Ammonia also self-ionizes, although less so than does water.2NH₃ &rlhar2; NH₄⁺ + NH₂⁻water
autopsy: dissection and examination of a dead body and its organs and structures. An autopsy may be performed to determine the cause of death, to observe the effects of disease, and to establish the evolution and mechanisms of disease processes. The word autopsy is derived from the Greek ... [3 Related Articles]
autoradiography: (from the article "morphology") ...depend on careful dissection, or cutting apart, of an organism and on accurate descriptions of the parts. The study of the structure of tissues and cells has been extended by the techniques of autoradiography and histochemistry. In the former, a tissue is supplied with a radioactive substance and allowed to ...
autoreceptor: (from the article "nervous system") ...itself. Cholinergic receptors also exist on the presynaptic terminals of neurons that release acetylcholine as well as on terminals that release other neurotransmitters. These receptors are called autoreceptors, and they probably regulate the release of neurotransmitter at the terminal.
autorefrigerated cascade cycle: (from the article "petroleum refining") ...of long-distance transport. Since liquefied natural gas would occupy only 0.16 percent of the gaseous volume, an international trade has naturally developed in LNG. Modern liquefaction plants employ autorefrigerated cascade cycles, in which the gas is stripped of carbon dioxide, dried, and then subjected to a series of compression-expansion steps ...
autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity: (from the article "Engle, Robert F.") ...extreme volatility. While periods of strong turbulence caused large fluctuations in prices in stock markets, these were often followed by relative calm and slight fluctuations. Inherent in Engle's autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (known as ARCH) model approach was the concept that, while most volatility is embedded in the random error, its ...
autoregulation: (from the article "renal system") ...and, to a lesser extent, in an organ removed from the body and kept viable by having salt solutions of physiologically suitable concentrations circulated through it; it is commonly referred to as autoregulation.
autoscopic hallucination: (from the article "hallucination") ...prolonged intense concentration (e.g., by gazing at some object). The hallucinations may be of the type in which the person perceives his "inner self" to leave his body to view himself (autoscopic hallucination) or to be transported to new surroundings. Alternatively, the hallucinations may take the form of unique visual ...
autosomal dominant: (from the article "connective tissue disease") Marfan syndrome is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait; in other words, the gene involved is not a sex gene. No more than 15 percent of cases occur as an isolated instance in a family and may be attributable to a new mutation. Death is usually due to heart failure ...
autosomal recessive: (from the article "connective tissue disease") ...(thinning of the bones), which may result in fractures, and thrombosis (blood clotting) of the coronary blood vessels and the medium-size peripheral blood vessels. Homocystinuria is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait (it is not manifested unless inherited from both parents). Affected persons have a deficiency of cystathionine synthetase, the ...
autosome: (from the article "sex chromosome") ...and other mammals are designated by scientists as X and Y. In humans the sex chromosomes comprise one pair of the total of 23 pairs of chromosomes. The other 22 pairs of chromosomes are called autosomes.hereditySex linkage...X chromosomes exhibit what ...
autostrada: national Italian expressway system built by the government as toll roads. The first, from Venice to Turin, was begun in 1924; construction was continuing in the early 1980s. The autostrada has three undivided lanes on a 33-foot (10-metre) roadway with 3-ft shoulders. Access is limited, with restrictions on commercial vehicles. ... [1 Related Articles]
Autostrada del Sole: (from the article "expressway") ...West Germany resumed construction of the autobahns in 1957, with three four-year plans for federal highways. By 1970 it had about one-fourth of the European total. In 1964 Italy completed the Autostrada del Sole, stretching almost 500 miles (800 km) from Milan to Naples, to which numerous branches, spurs, and ...
autosuggestion: (from the article "Coue, Emile") ...clinic at Nancy introduced a method of psychotherapy characterized by frequent repetition of the formula, "Every day, and in every way, I am becoming better and better." This method of autosuggestion came to be called Coueism.
autotelism: the belief that a work of art, especially a work of literature, is an end in itself or provides its own justification and does not exist to serve a moral or didactic purpose. It was adopted by proponents of New Criticism in the 1920s and is similar to the "art ...
autotomy: the ability of certain animals to release part of the body that has been grasped by an external agent. A notable example is found among lizards that break off the tail when it is seized by a predator. The phenomenon is found also among certain worms, salamanders, and spiders. The ... [5 Related Articles]
autotransformer dimmer: (from the article "stage design") ...more AC load current is thus able to pass through it, and any lights connected to the dimmer will come on. Like the resistance dimmer, however, the saturable core dimmer is no longer used. The autotransformer dimmer controls current flow by varying the voltage in the circuit. It was rarely ...
autotransplant: (from the article "transplant") A tissue removed from one part of the body and transplanted to another site in the same individual is called an autograft. Autografts cannot be rejected. Similarly, grafts between identical twins or highly inbred animals-isografts-are accepted by the recipients indefinitely. Grafts from a donor to a recipient of the same ...
autotroph: (from the article "angiosperm") All but a few angiosperms are autotrophs: they are green plants (primary producers) that use solar radiation, carbon dioxide, water, and minerals to synthesize organic compounds; oxygen is a by-product of these metabolic reactions. The few exceptions are either saprophytes (e.g., the Indian pipe Monotropa uniflora; Ericaceae) that use connections ...