Allosteric Control

In enzymology, inhibition or activation of an enzyme by a small regulatory molecule that interacts at a site (allosteric site) other than the active site (at which catalytic activity occurs). The interaction changes the shape of the enzyme so as to affect the formation at the active site of the usual complex between the enzyme and its substrate (the compound upon which

Commercial Fishing, Shellfish

The crustaceans include lobsters, crabs, crayfish, and both shrimp and the closely related but larger prawns. The shells consist mainly of a hard, inedible substance called chitin. Crustaceans molt frequently

Buchanan, James M.

Buchanan attended Middle Tennessee State College (B.S., 1940), the University of Tennessee (M.A., 1941), and - after five years in the navy - the University of Chicago

Asvaghosa

Asvaghosa was born a Brahman. Legend obscures the man, but it is known that he was an outspoken opponent of Buddhism until, after a heated debate with a noted Buddhist scholar

Fibrin

An insoluble protein that is produced in response to bleeding and is the major component of the blood clot. Fibrin is a tough protein substance that is arranged in long fibrous chains; it is formed from fibrinogen, a soluble protein that is produced by the liver and found in blood plasma. When tissue damage results in bleeding, fibrinogen is converted at the wound into

Roulette

(from French: �small wheel�), gambling game in which players bet on which red or black numbered compartment of a revolving wheel a small ball (spun in the opposite direction) will come to rest within. Bets are placed on a table marked to correspond with the compartments of the wheel. It is a gambling game universally played in the gambling casinos of Europe, North and South

Ealing Studios

Also called �Associated Talking Pictures, Ltd.� English motion-picture studio, internationally remembered for a series of witty comedies that reflected the social conditions of post-World War II Britain. Founded in 1929 by two of England's best known producers, Basil Dean and Reginald Baker, with the financial support of the Courtauld family, manufacturers of textiles, the company opened its own distribution outlet

F�

City, Bavaria Land (state), south-central Germany, situated at the junction of the Pegnitz and Rednitz rivers (which there form the Regnitz), just northwest of N�rnberg. It was originally a Franconian settlement dating from the mid-8th century. The royal palace of Furti (the �Furt�) was first mentioned in 1007, when the village was assigned to the newly formed bishopric of Bamberg.

Papiamento

Also spelled �Papiamentu, � creole language based on Spanish, spoken on the islands of Cura�ao, Aruba, and Bonaire, in the Caribbean Sea. Papiamento is apparently based on a Spanish pidgin or creole language, with early influences from Portuguese and, more recently, strong Dutch influences (Dutch is the official language of Cura�ao). Twenty-five percent of the vocabulary of Papiamento is of Dutch

Spratly Islands

Before 1970 the main significance attached to the islands

Spratly Islands

International organization founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. Members in the late 1990s included Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United

Rifleman

A New Zealand wren of the family Xenicidae (q.v.).

Housman, Laurence

Among Housman's earliest works were illustrations for Christina Rossetti's Goblin

Sarcee

Also spelled �Sarsi, � North American Plains Indian people of Athabascan linguistic stock who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries near the upper Saskatchewan and Athabaska rivers. They probably moved southward to this region near the end of the 17th century when they became the northern neighbours of the Blackfoot Indians, from whom they received some protection from enemies. Their name

Murcia

City, capital of Murcia provincia and comunidad aut�noma (�autonomous community�), southeastern Spain. It lies at the confluence of the Segura and Guadalent�n (Sangonera) rivers in a fertile, irrigated area known as the huerta (orchard land), northeast of Granada city. The site was settled before the Roman occupation of southern Spain in the 3rd century BC, but its name even

Frank, Jacob

Frank often traveled in the Balkans and there met followers of Shabbetai. An uneducated visionary,

Ch�tellerault

Town, Vienne d�partement, Poitou-Charentes r�gion, west-central France. It lies north-northeast of Poitiers, on the main road from Paris to Bordeaux. Situated on the Vienne River, it derives its name from a 10th-century castle built by the 2nd Viscount Airaud of the district. The Henri IV bridge over the Vienne River was built between 1575 and 1611. The 16th-century Maison des Sybilles,

Finsen, Niels Ryberg

Finsen was born into a prominent Icelandic family that was involved in the administration of

Biblical Literature, Tobit

The other Jewish short story possibly dating from Persian times is the book of Tobit, named after the father of its hero. From the fragments of the book discovered at Qumran, scholars now know that the original form of the name was Tobi. Tobit was from the Hebrew tribe of Naphtali and lived as an exile in Nineveh; his son was Tobias. Obeying the tenets of Jewish piety, Tobit

Philadelphia

Philadelphia has been described either as the elegant but rather jaded great lady or as the overage and sickly spinster of American cities. A more realistic look at Philadelphia, however, shows it to be a very

Sordello

Sordello became famous when, in 1224, at the court of Richard of

Gobi, Plant life

Vegetation, as mentioned above, is sparse and rare. On the plateau and on the plains beneath the mountains, small bushlike vegetation occurs: echinochloa (a type of succulent grass found in warm regions), yellowwood bean caper, winter fat (a shrub covered with densely matted hairs), Dzungarian reaumur, nitre bush, and bushlike halophytic vegetation. In the salt marshes,

China, Conflicts within the international alliance

China's alliance with the United States and Great Britain was marked by deep conflict. Great Britain gave highest priority to the defeat of its main enemy, Germany. The U.S. Navy in the Pacific had been seriously weakened by the Japanese air attack at Pearl Harbor and required many months to rebuild. During the winter of 1941 - 42 the grand strategy of the United States and Great

Fashoda Incident

The disputes arose from the common desire of each country to link up its disparate colonial possessions in Africa. Great Britain's aim was to link Uganda to Egypt by building a railway from the Cape of Good Hope to Cairo, while France, by pushing

Addams, Jane

Addams graduated from Rockford Female Seminary in Illinois in 1881 and was granted a degree the following

Chang Tsai

The son of a magistrate, Chang studied Buddhism and Taoism but found his true inspiration in the Confucian Classics. In his chief work, Cheng-meng (�Correct Discipline for Beginners�), he declared that the universe is a unity,

Jackson, Thomas Jonathan

Byname �Stonewall Jackson � Confederate general in the American Civil War, one of its most skillful tacticians, who gained his sobriquet �Stonewall� by his stand at the First Battle of Bull Run (called First Manassas by the South) in 1861.

Cacomistle

Also spelled �Cacomixl� (Bassariscus), either of two species of large-eyed, long-tailed carnivores related to the raccoon (family Procyonidae). Cacomistles are grayish brown with lighter underparts and white patches over their eyes. The total length is about 60 - 100 cm (24 - 40 inches), about half of which is the bushy, black-and-white-ringed tail. The animals weigh about 1 kg (2.2 pounds) and have small faces with long

Mu Gia Pass

Vietnamese �Deo Mugia, � mountain pass in the Annamese Cordillera (Cha�ne Annamitique) between northern Vietnam and Laos, 55 miles (90 km) northwest of Dong Hoi, Vietnam. The pass lies 1,371 feet (418 m) above sea level and carries the road from Tan Ap in Vietnam to Muang Khammouan (formerly called Thakhek) in Laos, on the Mekong River. The strategic pass was the principal point of entry of the Ho Chi Minh Trail access