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tempering

(Encyclopedia)tempering, process involving slow and moderate heating to increase the hardness and toughness of metals that have undergone previous heat treatment. Metals are usually hardened (see hardening) by bein...

American Civil Liberties Union

(Encyclopedia)American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. Founded (1920) by such prominent figur...

personality

(Encyclopedia)personality, in psychology, the patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion unique to an individual, and the ways they interact to help or hinder the adjustment of a person to other people and situatio...

septicemia

(Encyclopedia)septicemia sĕptĭsēˈmēə [key], invasion of the bloodstream by virulent bacteria that multiply and discharge their toxic products. The disorder, which is serious and sometimes fatal, is commonly k...

Food and Drug Administration

(Encyclopedia)Food and Drug Administration (FDA), agency of the Public Health Service division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is charged with protecting public health by ensuring that foods...

monoclonal antibody

(Encyclopedia)monoclonal antibody, an antibody that is mass produced in the laboratory from a single clone and that recognizes only one antigen. Monoclonal antibodies are typically made by fusing a normally short-l...

Unknown Soldier, Tomb of the

(Encyclopedia)Unknown Soldier, Tomb of the, form of memorial to a nation's war dead, adopted by many countries after World War I. The Tomb of the Unknowns, a memorial to the American dead of World Wars I and II, th...

Vajpayee, Atal Bihari

(Encyclopedia)Vajpayee, Atal Bihari äˈtäl bihärˈē väjˈpīˌ [key], 1926–2018, Indian politician, prime minister of India (1996, 1998–2004). He began his career as a journalist, entering politics as an u...

infant respiratory distress syndrome

(Encyclopedia)infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS) or hyaline membrane disease hīˈəlĭn, –līnˌ [key], respiratory distress syndrome of newborns, most common in infants born prematurely or by cesarean ...

placebo

(Encyclopedia)placebo pləsēˈbō [key], inert substance given instead of a potent drug. Placebo medications are sometimes prescribed when a drug is not really needed or when one would not be appropriate because t...