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Twenty-one Demands

(Encyclopedia)Twenty-one Demands (1915), instrument by which Japan secured temporary hegemony over China. Japan used its declaration of war against Germany (Aug., 1914) as grounds for invading Kiaochow, the German ...

schistosomiasis

(Encyclopedia)schistosomiasis bĭlˌhärzīˈəsĭs [key], or snail fever, parasitic disease caused by blood flukes, trematode worms of the genus Schistosoma. Three species are human parasites: S. mansoni, S. japon...

Somalia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Somalia sōmäˈleə [key], officially Federal Republic of Somalia, country (2015 est. pop. 10,616,000), 246,200 sq mi (637,657 sq km), extreme E Africa. It is directly south of the Arabian pen...

Palestine Liberation Organization

(Encyclopedia)Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), coordinating council for Palestinian organizations, founded (1964) by Egypt and the Arab League and initially controlled by Egypt. Composed of various guerrill...

Bengal

(Encyclopedia)Bengal bĕng-gôlˈ, bĕn– [key], region, 77,442 sq mi (200,575 sq km), E India and Bangladesh, on the Bay of Bengal. The inland section is mountainous, with peaks up to 12,000 ft (3,660 m) high in ...

totalitarianism

(Encyclopedia)totalitarianism tōtălˌĭtârˈēənĭzəm [key], a modern autocratic government in which the state involves itself in all facets of society, including the daily life of its citizens. A totalitarian...

reclamation of land

(Encyclopedia)reclamation of land, practice of converting land deemed unproductive into arable land by such methods as irrigation, drainage, flood control, altering the texture and mineral and organic content of so...

Dilantin

(Encyclopedia)Dilantin dīˈlăntĭn [key], trade name for diphenylhydantoin, an anticonvulsant drug. The first nonsedative antiepileptic agent, it is still widely used to control the grand mal type of epilepsy. It...

Akure

(Encyclopedia)Akure äko͞oˈrā [key], town (1991 est. pop. 143,000), S Nigeria. Timber is cut nearby and processed in Akure, which is also a cacao marketing center. Akure was a small independent Yoruba kingdom un...

fallow land

(Encyclopedia)fallow land, cropland that is not seeded for a season; it may or may not be plowed. The land may be cultivated or chemically treated for control of weeds and other pests or may be left unaltered. Allo...