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Block Island

(Encyclopedia)Block Island, 7 mi (11.2 km) long and 3.5 mi (5.6 km) wide, off S R.I. at the eastern entrance to Long Island Sound. Visited by the Dutch navigator Adriaen Block in 1614, it was settled in 1661. The m...

bronchitis

(Encyclopedia)bronchitis brŏnkīˈtĭs [key], inflammation of the mucous membrane of the bronchial tubes. It can be caused by viral or bacterial infections or by allergic reactions to irritants such as tobacco smo...

Saint Helier

(Encyclopedia)Saint Helier sānt hĕlˈyər, Fr. săNtālyāˈ [key], town (1991 pop. 24,941), capital of Jersey, Channel Islands, Great Britain, on St. Aubin's Bay. The administrative and cultural center of Jersey...

Reinfeldt, Fredrik

(Encyclopedia)Reinfeldt, Fredrik frāˈdrĭk rīnˈfĕld [key] 1965–, Swedish politician. A member of the center-right Moderate party, he joined its Youth League in the 1980s, was first elected to parliament in 1...

Shirakawa, Hideki

(Encyclopedia)Shirakawa, Hideki, 1936–, Japanese chemist, Ph.D. Tokyo Institute of Technology, 1966. Shirakawa was a research assistant at the Tokyo Institute of Technology from 1966 to 1979. He then taught at th...

tide

(Encyclopedia)tide, alternate and regular rise and fall of sea level in oceans and other large bodies of water. These changes are caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon and, to a lesser extent, of the s...

Attila

(Encyclopedia)Attila ətĭlˈə, ătˈələ [key], d. 453, king of the Huns (445–53). After 434 he was coruler with his brother, whom he murdered in 445. In 434, Attila obtained tribute and great concessions for ...

Wilkes, John

(Encyclopedia)Wilkes, John, 1727–97, English politician and journalist. He studied at the Univ. of Leiden, returned to England in 1746, and purchased (1757) a seat in Parliament. Backed by Earl Temple, Wilkes fou...

Daschle, Tom

(Encyclopedia)Daschle, Tom (Thomas Andrew Daschle) dăshˈəl [key], 1947–, U.S. senator from South Dakota (1987–2005), b. Aberdeen, S.Dak. A Democrat, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 197...

cyclopropane

(Encyclopedia)cyclopropane, C3H6, a gaseous hydrocarbon. It is a cyclic alkane, its three carbon atoms being joined together in a ring. The angle between successive carbon-carbon bonds in the ring is only 60°, muc...