Aden Va-don, 'a-don\ Seaport city (pop., 2004 prelim.: 580,000), south¬ ern Yemen, on the Gulf of Aden. It was a principal terminus of the spice road of western Arabia for about 1,000 years before the 3rd century ad. It then became a trading centre under Yemeni, Ethiopian, and Arab con¬ trol. The Ottoman Empire captured the city in 1538, and the British (who established a garrison there around 1800) governed it from India (1839— 1937). It grew in importance as a coaling station and transshipment point after the opening of the Suez Canal. It was made a crown colony in 1937, incorporated in the Federation of South Arabia (1963-67), and served as the capital of South Yemen until that republic’s merger with North Yemen in 1990.
Aden, Gulf of Arm of the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Peninsula and Somalia. To the west, it narrows into the Gulf of Tadjoura; its east¬ ern limit is the meridian of Cape Guardafui. In these terms it is about 550 mi (885 km) long; geologically, it extends a total of 920 mi (1,480 km), to the eastern limits of the continental shelf beyond the Khuriyya Muriyya islands to the north and the island of Socotra to the south. Its marine life is rich in quantity and variety. Its coastline lacks large-scale fishing facili¬ ties but supports many fishing towns, as well as the major ports Aden and Djibouti.
Adena Vo-'de-noX culture Culture of various communities of ancient North American Indians who occupied the middle Ohio River valley c. 500 bc-ad 100. The Adena usually lived in villages containing circular houses constructed of poles and bark. They subsisted by hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plant foods, and they used a variety of stone tools and simple pottery. Adena ornaments of copper, mica, and seashells indicate trade with faraway peoples. See also Woodland culture.
Adenauer \'a-d 3 n-aur\, Konrad (b. Jan. 15, 1876, Cologne, German Empire—d. April 19, 1967, Rhon- dorf, W.Ger.) German statesman, first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Ger¬ many). Elected to the Cologne city council (1906), he served as the city’s lord mayor (1917-33). He was elected to the Prussian Staatsrat (state council) in 1920 and served as its speaker (1928-33). He lost his posts when the Nazis came to power, and in 1944 he was sent to a concen¬ tration camp. As World War II drew to a close, he played an important role in the formation of the Christian Democratic Union. As chancellor from 1949, Adenauer stressed indi¬ vidualism under the rule of law. His fear of Soviet expansion made him a strong supporter of NATO. He worked hard to reconcile Germany with its former enemies, especially France. He retired his post in 1963.
adenine \'a-d 3 n-,en\ Organic compound of the purine family, often called a base, consisting of two rings, each containing both nitrogen and carbon atoms, and an amino group. It occurs free in tea and in combined form in nucleic acids, ATP, vitamin B 12 , and several coenzymes. In DNA its complementary base is thymine. It or its corresponding nucleoside or nucle¬ otide may be prepared from nucleic acids by selective techniques of HYDROLYSIS.
adenoids Va-d 3 n-,6idz\ or pharyngeal tonsils N.far-on-'je-ol, fo-'rin-je-olX Mass of lymphoid tissue, similar to the (palatine) tonsils, on the back wall of the nasal pharynx. If the adenoids become infected in child¬ hood, their inflammation can obstruct nasal breathing and sinus drainage (promoting sinusitis) and block the eustachian tubes that connect to the middle ear (setting the stage for otitis). Surgical removal of enlarged or infected adenoids is frequently recommended.
adenosine triphosphate See ATP
adenovirus \ 1 a-d 3 n-o-'vI-r9s\ Any of a group of spheroidal viruses, made up of DNA wrapped in a protein coat, that cause sore throat and fever in humans, hepatitis in dogs, and several diseases in fowl, mice, cattle, pigs, and monkeys. An adenovirus develops within the nucleus of an infected cell. In humans, adenoviruses, like cold viruses, may cause infections of the upper respiratory tract, the eyes, and frequently the lymph nodes. Like cold viruses, adenoviruses are often found in inactive infec¬ tions in clinically healthy persons. Because only a few adenoviruses com¬ monly cause illness in humans, vaccines against them are possible.
Ades Vad-9s\, Thomas (b. March 1, 1971, London, Eng.) British com¬ poser. Trained as a pianist at the Guildhall School, he later attended King’s College, Cambridge. Initial recognition came for his virtuoso piano play¬ ing, but he started to write music in 1990 (Five Eliot Landscapes ) and was instantly acclaimed as a major composer for his inventiveness and remarkably assured technique. His controversial opera Powder Her Face (1995), about a 20th-century divorce scandal, attracted international atten¬ tion, as did his large symphonic work Asyla (1997).
ADHD See ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER
Adi Granth \,a-de-'granth\ (Punjabi: “First Book”) Sacred scripture of Sikhism. Composed of nearly 6,000 hymns of the Sikh Gurus and Hindu and Islamic saints, it is the central object of worship in all gurdwaras (temples). It is ritually opened and closed daily and is read continuously on special occasions. First compiled in 1604 by Arjan, it included his own hymns and those of his predecessors and the devotional songs of saints. In 1704 the last Guru, Gobind Singh, added more hymns and decreed that after his death the Granth would take the place of the Guru. Written mostly in Punjabi or Hindi, it contains the Mul Mantra (basic prayer), Japji (the most important scripture, written by Nanak), and hymns arranged accord¬ ing to the ragas in which they are to be sung.
Adige Va-de-ja\ River River, 255 mi (410 km) long, the longest in Italy after the Po. It rises below the Resia Pass and flows southeast through the Venosta valley. After receiving the Isarco River at Bolzano, it turns south across the Po lowlands to enter the Adriatic Sea south of Chioggia. It sup¬ plies hydroelectric power in its upper Alpine section and irrigation for the Veneto. Its floods, notably those of 1951 and 1966, do great damage and require constant control of the riverbank. The Adige has been the scene of many battles, especially in the Austrian-Italian campaign of 1916.
adipose tissue or fatty tissue Connective tissue consisting mainly of fat cells, specialized to synthesize and contain large globules of fat, within a structural network of fibres. It is found mainly under the skin but also in deposits between the muscles, in the intestines and in their mem¬ brane folds, around the heart, and elsewhere. The fat stored in this tissue comes from dietary fats or is produced in the body. It acts as a fuel reserve for times of starvation or great exertion, helps conserve body heat, and forms pads between organs.
Adirondack V.a-do-'ran-.dakX Mountains Mountains in northeastern New York state, U.S. They extend south from the St. Lawrence River val¬ ley and Lake Champlain to the Mohawk River valley. The Adirondack region covers more than 6 million acres (2.4 million hectares). It has more than 40 summits higher than 4,000 ft (1,219 m); the tallest, Mount Marcy (5,344 ft [1,629 mj), is the state’s highest. Samuel de Champain became the first European to sight the Adirondacks in 1609. The area was sparsely settled when in 1892 the state legislature created Adirondack Park, which has grown over the years to become, at more than 5 million acres (2 mil¬ lion hectares), the largest U.S. state or national park outside of Alaska.
Adler, Alfred (b. Feb. 7, 1870, Penzing, Austria—d. May 28, 1937, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scot.) Austrian psychiatrist. He earned his medical degree in Vienna, and from his earliest years as a physician he stressed consideration of the individual in relation to his total environ¬ ment. A student and associate of Sigmund Freud (1902-11), he eventually broke with Freud over the importance of early-childhood sexual conflicts