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National Republican party

(Encyclopedia)National Republican party, in U.S. history, a short-lived political party opposed to Andrew Jackson. In the election of 1828, which Jackson won overwhelmingly, some of the supporters of his opponent, ...

O. Henry

(Encyclopedia)O. Henry, pseud. of William Sydney Porter, 1862–1910, American short-story writer, b. Greensboro, N.C. He went to Texas in 1882 and worked at various jobs—as teller in an Austin bank (1891–94) a...

Nobel Prize

(Encyclopedia)CE5 CE6 Nobel Prize, award given for outstanding achievement in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, peace, or literature. The awards were established by the will of Alfred Nobel, who left...

book lung

(Encyclopedia)book lung, terrestrial respiratory organ characteristic of arachnids such as scorpions and primitive spiders. Each book lung consists of hollow flat plates. Air bathes the outer surface of the plates ...

gamma globulin

(Encyclopedia)gamma globulin, a group of globulin proteins in human blood plasma, including most antibodies. These antibody substances are produced as a protective reaction of the body's immune system to the invasi...

asphyxia

(Encyclopedia)asphyxia ăsfĭkˈsēə [key], deficiency of oxygen and excess of carbon dioxide in the blood and body tissues. Asphyxia, often referred to as suffocation, usually results from an interruption of brea...

statin

(Encyclopedia)statin, any of a class of drugs that reduces the amount of cholesterol in the blood by interfering with the production of cholesterol in the liver; commonly prescribed statins include atorvastatin, lo...

Emmaus, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Emmaus ĕmāˈəs [key], in the Bible. 1 Place, outside Jerusalem, where Cleopas and another disciple met the risen Christ. 2 Place, where Judas Maccabeus defeated Gorgias. It is now called Imwas (Wes...

Beeroth

(Encyclopedia)Beeroth bē-ēˈrŏth, bēˈĭ– [key], in the Bible. 1 City important as a road station, now Bira (West Bank). 2 Same as Bene-jaakan. ...

Balls Bluff

(Encyclopedia)Balls Bluff, hill on the south bank of the Potomac River, near Leesburg, Va. In the Civil War, Union troops who had crossed the river were severely repulsed there on Oct. 21, 1861. Dissatisfaction wit...