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Amin, Idi ... amora

Amin, Idi military officer and president (1971-79) of Uganda whose regime was noted for its brutality. amine any member of a family of nitrogen-containing organic compounds that is derived, either in principle or in practice, from ammonia (NH3). amino acid any of a group of organic molecules that consist of a basic amino group (NH2), an acidic carboxyl group (COOH), and an organic R group (or side chain) that is unique to each amino acid. The term amino acid is short for "alpha-amino [alpha-amino] carboxylic acid." Each molecule contains a ... aminoglycoside any of several natural and semisynthetic compounds that are used to treat bacterial diseases. The term aminoglycoside is derived from the chemical structure of these compounds, which are made up of amino groups (NH2) attached to glycosides (derivatives of sugar). The first aminoglycoside, the antibiotic streptomycin, was discovered in 1943 ... Amiot, Jean-Joseph-Marie Jesuit missionary whose writings made accessible to Europeans the thought and life of East Asia. Amir Ali, Sayyid jurist, writer, and Muslim leader who favoured British rule in India rather than possible Hindu domination of an independent India. Amir Khosrow poet and historian, considered one of India's greatest Persian-language poets. Amir, 'Abd al-Hakim military official who helped establish Egypt as a republic in 1952 and, as leader of the army, was one of the most powerful figures in Egypt until his death. As army chief of staff he led Egyptian forces to defeat in the Six-Day War of June 1967. Amirante Isles group of coral islands in the western Indian Ocean, lying about 200 miles (320 km) southwest of the Seychelles group and forming, with the Seychelles and other islands, the Republic of Seychelles. The Amirante Isles were known to Persian Gulf traders centuries ago and were sighted by the Portuguese navigator ... Amiriyyah, Al- industrial district of Al-Iskandariyyah (Alexandria) muhafazah (governorate), northern Egypt. The centre of the 913-square-mile (2,365-square-km) district, which adjoins Lake Maryut (Mareotis) on the southwest, is Al-'Amiriyyah town. This town was originally a small gypsum-mining centre on the desert roads leading south to Cairo and west along the coast to Marsa ... Amis and Amiles chief characters in an Old French metrical romance, based on an older and widespread legend of friendship and sacrifice. In its simplest form the story tells of the knights Amis and Amiles and of their lifelong devotion to one another. Amis, Martin English satirist known for his virtuoso storytelling technique and his dark views of contemporary English society. Amis, Sir Kingsley novelist, poet, critic, and teacher who created in his first novel, Lucky Jim, a comic figure that became a household word in Great Britain in the 1950s. Amish member of a Christian group in North America, primarily the Old Order Amish Mennonite Church. The church originated in the late 17th century among followers of Jakob Ammann. Amistad mutiny (July 2, 1839), slave rebellion that took place on the slave ship Amistad near the coast of Cuba and had important political and legal repercussions in the American abolition movement. The mutineers were captured and tried in the United States, and a surprising victory for the country's antislavery forces resulted ... Amitabha in Mahayana Buddhism, and particularly in the so-called Pure Land sects, the great saviour buddha. As related in the Sukhavati-vyuha-sutras (the fundamental scriptures of the Pure Land sects), many ages ago a monk named Dharmakara made a number of vows, the 18th of which promised that, on his attaining buddhahood, ... Amitayur-dhyana-sutra (Sanskrit: "Discourse Concerning Meditation on Amitayus"), one of three texts basic to Pure Land Buddhism. Together with the larger and smaller Sukhavati-vyuha-sutras (Sanskrit: "Description of the Western Paradise Sutras"), this text envisions rebirth in the celestial Pure Land of Amitayus, the Buddha of Infinite Life (virtually identical with Amitabha, "Infinite ... Amiternum in ancient Italy, a Sabine town 5 miles (8 km) north of present L'Aquila in the Aterno (ancient Aternus) River valley. It was stormed by the Romans in 293 BC, but the fertility of its fields helped it to regain its prosperity as a Roman municipality (municipium), especially under the ... Amman capital and largest city of Jordan. It is the residence of the king and the seat of government. The city is built on rolling hills at the eastern boundary of the 'Ajlun Mountains, on the small, partly perennial Wadi 'Amman and its tributaries. Amman, Jost painter and printmaker, one of the most prolific and skilled book illustrators of the 16th century. Ammann, Othmar Herman engineer and designer of numerous long suspension bridges, including the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge over New York harbour, at its completion (1965) the longest single span in the world. Ammann, Simon Swiss ski jumper who won the individual normal hill and the individual large hill gold medals at both the 2002 and 2010 Olympic Winter Games, becoming the first man to sweep the individual ski jumping events at two Olympics. Ammannati, Bartolommeo Italian sculptor and architect whose buildings mark the transition from the classicizing Renaissance to the more exuberant Baroque style. Ammers-Kuller, Jo van Dutch writer best known for her historical novels. ammeter instrument for measuring either direct or alternating electric current, in amperes. An ammeter can measure a wide range of current values because at high values only a small portion of the current is directed through the meter mechanism; a shunt in parallel with the meter carries the major portion. Ammianus Marcellinus last major Roman historian, whose work continued the history of the later Roman Empire to 378. ammonia colourless, pungent gas composed of nitrogen and hydrogen. It is the simplest stable compound of these elements and serves as a starting material for the production of many commercially important nitrogen compounds. ammonia-soda process modern method of manufacturing the industrial alkali sodium carbonate, also known as soda ash. The process was devised and first put to commercial use by Ernest Solvay, who built a plant in 1865 in Couillet, Belg., and was improved in the 1870s by the German-born British chemist Ludwig Mond. Ammonite any member of an ancient Semitic people whose principal city was Rabbath Ammon, in Palestine. The "sons of Ammon" were in perennial, though sporadic, conflict with the Israelites. After a long period of seminomadic existence, the Ammonites established a kingdom north of Moab in the 13th century BC. With difficulty, ... ammonium chloride the salt of ammonia and hydrogen chloride. Its principal use is as an electrolyte in dry cells, and it is also extensively employed as a constituent of galvanizing, tinning, and soldering fluxes to remove oxide coatings from metals and thereby improve the adhesion of the solders. It is a component ... ammonium hydroxide solution of ammonia gas in water, a common commercial form of ammonia. It is a colourless liquid with a strong characteristic odour. In concentrated form, ammonium hydroxide can cause burns on contact with the skin; ordinary household ammonia, used as a cleanser, is dilute ammonium hydroxide. ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3), a salt of ammonia and nitric acid, used widely in fertilizers and explosives. The commercial grade contains about 33.5 percent nitrogen, all of which is in forms utilizable by plants; it is the most common nitrogenous component of artificial fertilizers. Ammonium nitrate also is employed to modify the detonation ... Ammonius Hermiae Greek philosopher whose thinking was primarily oriented toward logic and the sciences. He spent a good part of his intellectual life in writing critical works on Aristotle. As a student, he worked closely with Proclus and, later in life, was appointed the head of the Alexandrian school. His major commentaries, ... ammonoid any of a group of extinct cephalopods (of the phylum Mollusca), forms related to the modern pearly nautilus (Nautilus), that are frequently found as fossils in marine rocks dating from the Devonian Period (began 416 million years ago) to the Cretaceous Period (ended 65.5 million years ago). Ammons, A.R. American poet who was one of the leading late 20th-century exponents of the Transcendentalist tradition. Ammons, Gene American jazz tenor saxophonist, noted for his big sound and blues-inflected, "soulful" improvising. ammunition the projectiles and propelling charges used in small arms, artillery, and other guns. Ammunition size is usually expressed in terms of calibre, which is the diameter of the projectile as measured in millimetres or inches. In general, projectiles less than 20 mm or .60 inch in diameter are classified as ... amnesia loss of memory occurring most often as a result of damage to the brain from trauma, stroke, Alzheimer disease, alcohol and drug toxicity, or infection. Amnesia may be anterograde, in which events following the causative trauma or disease are forgotten, or retrograde, in which events preceding the causative event are ... amnesty in criminal law, sovereign act of oblivion or forgetfulness (from Greek amnesia) for past acts, granted by a government to persons who have been guilty of crimes. It is often conditional upon their return to obedience and duty within a prescribed period. Amnesty is granted usually for political crimes against ... Amnesty International international nongovernmental organization (NGO) founded in London on May 28, 1961, that seeks to publicize violations by governments and other entities of rights recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), especially freedom of speech and of conscience and the right against torture. AI actively seeks the release of ... amniocentesis the surgical insertion of a hollow needle through the abdominal wall and into the uterus of a pregnant female and the aspiration of fluid from the amniotic sac for analysis. Examination of the amniotic fluid itself as well as the fetal cells found in the fluid can reveal such things ... amnion in reptiles, birds, and mammals, a membrane forming a fluid-filled cavity (the amniotic sac) that encloses the embryo. The amniotic sac and the fluid it contains are sometimes referred to as the bag of waters. Amniota a group of limbed vertebrates that includes all living reptiles (class Reptilia), birds (class Aves), mammals (class Mammalia), and their extinct relatives and ancestors. The amniotes are the evolutionary branch (clade) of the tetrapods (superclass Tetrapoda) in which the embryo develops within a set of protective extra-embryonic membranes-the amnion, chorion, ... Amoco Corporation former American oil company, one of the largest producers and marketers of petroleum products in the United States, which was bought in 1998 by the giant British Petroleum (BP PLC). amoeba any of the microscopic unicellular protozoans of the rhizopodan order Amoebida. The well-known type species, Amoeba proteus, is found on decaying bottom vegetation of freshwater streams and ponds. There are numerous parasitic amoebas. Of six species found in the human alimentary tract, Entamoeba histolytica causes amebic dysentery. Two related free-living ... Amoghasiddhi in Mahayana and Vajrayana (Tantric) Buddhism, one of the five "self-born" Buddhas. See Dhyani-Buddha. Amol town, northern Iran, on the Harhaz River. The exact date of the founding of the town is unknown and enshrouded in legend, but it is certain that there has been a town on the site since Sasanian times. During the Sasanian period (AD 224-651), the district of Amol, together with ... Amon Egyptian deity who was revered as king of the gods. Amonkar, Kishori Indian classical vocalist, recognized as one of the foremost singers in the Hindustani tradition and as an innovative exponent of the Jaipur gharana (community of musicians sharing a distinctive musical style). Amontons, Guillaume French physicist and inventor of scientific instruments, best known for his work on friction and temperature measurement. amora in ancient times, a Jewish scholar attached to one of several academies in Palestine (Tiberias, Sepphoris, Caesarea) or in Babylonia (Nehardea, Sura, Pumbedita). The amoraim collaborated in writing the Gemara, collected interpretations of and commentaries on the Mishna (the authoritative code of Jewish oral laws) and on its critical marginal ...