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...America.Superorder AustralidelphiaNearly 200 Australasian species and 1 South American species in 5 orders.Order Diprotodontia116 or more species in 10 families. Primarily herbivorous. Family Macropodidae (kangaroos, wallabies,....

Dipsacaceae, or the teasel family, includes 11 genera and 290 species, most of them Eurasian or African (many are from the Mediterranean region). They are herbs with bilaterally symmetric flowers clustered in heads or involucres, a well-developed epicalyx, and fruits that are dry and single-seeded, with awns or bristles. Dipsacus sativus (teasel) is noted for its compact head of flowers......

teasel or honeysuckle order of flowering plants, containing 45 genera and about 1,100 species, which are distributed worldwide but centred mainly in the Northern Hemisphere. The order is best known for its ornamental plants, such as Lonicera (honeysuckle), Viburnum (arrowwood and guelder rose), and Scabiosa (scabious, or...

any of about 15 species constituting the genus Dipsacus of the family Dipsacaceae, native to Europe, the Mediterranean area, and tropical Africa. Many teasels are prickly, coarse biennials with opposite leaves that join at the base to form a rainwater-holding trough around the stem. The tall-domed heads of numerous, four-lobed flowers sit on a crownlike circle of spiny, narrow bracts (leaf...

...fruiting heads have been used since Roman times to raise the nap of woolen fabrics in a process known as fulling. The plant is raised commercially in both Europe and North America for this purpose. Common teasel (D. fullonum, sometimes D. sylvestris) is similar but has upright rather than hooked bracts that are not useful for fulling. Common teasel is treated as a weed in.....

...sometimes D. sylvestris) is similar but has upright rather than hooked bracts that are not useful for fulling. Common teasel is treated as a weed in both Europe and North America. D. inermis from the Himalayas produces white flowers and leaves that are divided into many segments. Shepherd’s rod (D. pilosus), native to Europe, has a globe-shaped flower head......

...for fulling. Common teasel is treated as a weed in both Europe and North America. D. inermis from the Himalayas produces white flowers and leaves that are divided into many segments. Shepherd’s rod (D. pilosus), native to Europe, has a globe-shaped flower head and white blooms with violet anthers....

Fuller’s teasel (D. sativus), nearly 1 m (3 feet) tall, bears pale lilac heads of flowers with hooked bracts. The spiny, dry fruiting heads have been used since Roman times to raise the nap of woolen fabrics in a process known as fulling. The plant is raised commercially in both Europe and North America for this purpose. Common teasel (D. fullonum, sometimes D.......

...fruiting heads have been used since Roman times to raise the nap of woolen fabrics in a process known as fulling. The plant is raised commercially in both Europe and North America for this purpose. Common teasel (D. fullonum, sometimes D. sylvestris) is similar but has upright rather than hooked bracts that are not useful for fulling. Common teasel is treated as a weed in.....

In addition to B. blandingii and B. pulverulenta, African cat snakes also include members of the genus Dipsadoboa. This genus is made up of 11 or more species that are primarily restricted to rainforests and open woodlands south of the Sahara; they are uniformly green to brown in colour, with yellow or orange......

a serpent with a bite said to produce intense thirst. The snake was the subject of a story told by several Greek authors, including Sophocles. According to the legend, Zeus was grateful to those who revealed to him the identity of the god who had stolen fire. He rewarded the informants by giving them the antidote to old age, which they packed onto the back of ...

a serpent with a bite said to produce intense thirst. The snake was the subject of a story told by several Greek authors, including Sophocles. According to the legend, Zeus was grateful to those who revealed to him the identity of the god who had stolen fire. He rewarded the informants by giving them the antidote to old age, which they packed onto the back of ...

...Amours de Voyage (1858) goes beyond this to the full-scale verse novel, using multiple internal narrators and vivid contemporary detail. Dipsychus (published posthumously in 1865 but not available in an unexpurgated version until 1951) is a remarkable closet drama that debates issues of belief and morality with a frankness, and......

any member of an order of insects containing the two-winged or so-called true flies. Although many winged insects are commonly called flies, the name is strictly applicable only to members of Diptera. One of the largest insect orders, it numbers more than 120,000 species that are relatively small, with soft bodies. Although the mouthparts of flies are of the sucking type, individuals show consider...

any member of an order of insects containing the two-winged or so-called true flies. Although many winged insects are commonly called flies, the name is strictly applicable only to members of Diptera. One of the largest insect orders, it numbers more than 120,000 species that are relatively small, with soft bodies. Although the mouthparts of flies are of the sucking type, individuals show consider...

...by a thick, peltate, indusium-like structure; 2 genera (Matonia and Phanerosorus) with about 4 species, distributed in the Old World tropics.Family Dipteridaceae (umbrella ferns)Leaves fan-shaped, venation free or finely reticulate with free, included veinlets; sporangia with oblique...

...finely reticulate with free, included veinlets; sporangia with oblique annuli; sori small, with paraphyses; stem with solenostele (stele with 1 leaf gap), covered with bristlelike hairs; 1 genus (Dipteris) with about 8 species.Family CheiropleuriaceaeLeaves dimorphic, with complex reticulate veins, the sterile leav...

family of largely South Asian and African timber trees, in the hibiscus, or mallow, order (Malvales), comprising 17 genera and 680 species. Few species grow east of Wallace’s Line, the boundary between the Oriental and Australian faunal regions proposed by the 19th-century British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. The lowland forests of West Malesia may be dominated by members of the family...

...where half of the species occurs; about 90 percent of the species are Asian. There are eight species of Acer with compound leaves that are sometimes placed in a separate genus, Negundo. Dipteronia is a genus of central and southern China with only one or two species....

genus of very primitive lungfish, among the earliest known, found as fossils in European and North American Devonian rocks (the Devonian Period lasted from 416 million to 359 million years ago). Lungfishes, along with coelacanths, tetrapods, and their relatives, are part of a lobe-finned group of jawed vertebrates distinct from ray-finned (or “true”) fishes (Actino...

...cedars (Cedrela odorata), Brazilian rosewoods (Dalbergia nigra), and many other species. Some types, however, are threatened by intensive exploitation. Other trees, such as the coumarou, or tonka bean (Dipteryx odorata), yield perfumes, flavourings, and pharmaceutical ingredients. However, the rubber and Brazil nut trees produce more-valuable commodities. The rubber....

tree of the Central American tropical forest canopy whose trunk forks repeatedly, resulting in a graceful, rounded crown. Bunches of flowers are produced at the end of the tree’s branches after the onset of the rainy season, so that, within a month or two, the forest canopy is speckled with the purple crowns of flowering almendro. The very dense, hard wood is covered by smooth, pinkish to g...

Diptychs, or two-panel ivories, seem to have been very popular both for use as book covers and for ceremonial purposes. The most impressive of them were imperial. In these each leaf was made up of five panels; on the central one was a portrait of the emperor; at the sides were standing figures of the consuls; below were scenes, usually of tribute bearers; and above were angels upholding a bust......

...John II’s son Ferdinand with Isabella of Castile (1469) had brought about the unification of Spain, Catalonia became of secondary importance in Spanish affairs. Though it retained its autonomy and Generalitat (assembly), by the 17th century its conflict of interest with Castile, along with the decline of the Spanish monarchy’s prestige, led to the first of a series of Catalan sepa...

The legislature, known as the Cortes Generales, is composed of two chambers (cámaras): a lower chamber, the Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados), and an upper chamber, the Senate (Senado). As with most legislatures in parliamentary systems, more power is vested in the lower chamber. The Congress of Deputies has 350 members, who are......

...into this otherwise severely geometric scheme, but it was not until about 760 bc that a renewed interest in figures became paramount. The major achievement in this development was that of the Dipylon Master, who specialized in monumental vases used as markers over the graves of rich Athenians. These vases incorporated scenes with animal and human figures: funerals, battles, and......

Dipyridamole, a coronary artery vasodilator, decreases platelet adhesiveness to damaged endothelium. The drug prevents platelet aggregation and release by increasing the concentration of platelet cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) in two ways: by inhibiting an enzyme (phosphodiesterase) that degrades cAMP and by increasing the stimulating effect of prostacyclin on an enzyme (adenylate......

Paraquat and diquat, the bipyridylium compounds, are deadly if ingested. Skin contact or inhalation of a concentrate of paraquat can cause fatal lung damage. Because no specific antidote is known, treatment consists of minimizing the body’s absorption of the poison....

...Papas, the Magdalena flows northward in the structural depression between the Cordilleras Central and Oriental for almost 1,000 miles (1,600 km) to empty into the Caribbean near Barranquilla. The Dique Canal, begun during the colonial period, links its lower course with the coastal city of Cartagena. The Cauca River, which contributes a substantial part of its total flow, rises in the......

town, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. The town lies just north of the Dīr River, an affluent of the Panjkora, and is connected by road with Malākand, 70 mi (110 km) south. Mullā Ilyās, a 17th-century holy man, is said to have been the founder. Cottage industry includes the making of clothing and footwear. There is also a wood-processing plant....

...chiefly inhabiting the area on both sides of the middle Shabeelle and south-central Somalia; and the Isaaq, who live in the central and western parts of northern Somalia. In addition, there are the Dir, living in the northwestern corner of the country but also dispersed throughout southern Somalia, and the Tunni, occupying the stretch of coast between Marka and Kismaayo. Toward the Kenyan......

The Dirac wave equation also describes the behaviour of both protons and neutrons and thus predicts the existence of their antiparticles. Antiprotons can be produced by bombarding protons with protons. If enough energy is available—that is, if the incident proton has a kinetic energy of at least 5.6 gigaelectron volts (GeV; 109 eV)—extra particles of proton mass will......

in physics, the amount of angular momentum associated with a subatomic particle or nucleus and measured in multiples of a unit called the Dirac h, or h-bar (ℏ), equal to the Planck constant divided by 2πぱい. For electrons, neutrons, and protons, the multiple is 0.5; pions have zero spin. The total angular momentum of nuclei more complex than the proton is the vector sum of...

English theoretical physicist who was one of the founders of quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics. Dirac is most famous for his 1928 relativistic quantum theory of the electron and his prediction of the existence of antiparticles. In 1933 he shared the Nobel Prize for Physics with the Austrian physicist E...

English theoretical physicist who was one of the founders of quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics. Dirac is most famous for his 1928 relativistic quantum theory of the electron and his prediction of the existence of antiparticles. In 1933 he shared the Nobel Prize for Physics with the Austrian physicist E...

...is not to be found in ordinary stable matter. However, it was discovered in 1932 among particles produced in the interactions of cosmic rays in matter and thus provided experimental confirmation of Dirac’s theory....

The Dirac wave equation also describes the behaviour of both protons and neutrons and thus predicts the existence of their antiparticles. Antiprotons can be produced by bombarding protons with protons. If enough energy is available—that is, if the incident proton has a kinetic energy of at least 5.6 gigaelectron volts (GeV; 109 eV)—extra particles of proton mass will......

...is not to be found in ordinary stable matter. However, it was discovered in 1932 among particles produced in the interactions of cosmic rays in matter and thus provided experimental confirmation of Dirac’s theory....

...the pilgrimage to Mecca), long-distance commerce, and the exchange of poetry and other cultural activities. Hereditary tribal Bedouin groups claimed certain lands as their dirah (tribal territory), where their flocks could graze and water. As international boundaries were drawn in the desert, governments increasingly limited tribal mobility. Saudi......

...from Sicyon, or after escaping from prison, Antiope bore Amphion and Zethus, who were brought up by herdsmen. Later she joined them; they recognized her, and they deposed Lycus and killed his wife, Dirce. According to one story, because of Dirce’s murder, Dionysus, to whose worship she had been devoted, caused Antiope to go mad. She wandered restlessly over all of Greece until she was cu...

poet whose popularity in Portugal up to the 20th century was second only to that of Luís de Camões....

town, east-central Ethiopia, located on the eastern edge of the East African Rift Valley, 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Harer. It lies at the intersection of roads from Addis Ababa, Harer, and Djibouti and has an airport. Dire Dawa, for long a caravan centre, developed as the chief outlet for Harer trade after 1904, when it became the terminus of the railroad from the port of Djibouti (since exte...

British rock band whose supple, slightly blues-tinged guitar rock was popular in the late 1970s and ’80s. The original members were Mark Knopfler (b. Aug. 12, 1949Glasgow, Scot.), David Knopfler ...

(species Canis dirus), wolf that existed during the Pleistocene Epoch (1,600,000 to 10,000 years ago). It is probably the most common mammalian species to be found preserved in the La Brea Tar Pits in southern California. The dire wolf differed from the modern wolf in several ways: it was larger and it had a more massive skull, a smaller brain, and relatively light limbs. The sp...

the secret intelligence agency of Cuba. The agency was established with the help of the Soviet KGB in 1961, following Fidel Castro’s rise to power. The DGI provided Castro with advanced warning of the Bay of Pigs invasion backed by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency in 1962. The agency is responsible for intelligence, counterintelligence, and disinformation activities inside Cuba and abro...

When so-called direct-access storage devices (DASDs; primarily magnetic disks) were developed, it became possible to access a random data block on the disk. (A data block is the unit of transfer between main memory and auxiliary storage and usually consists of several records.) Files can then be indexed so that an arbitrary record can be located and fetched......

Carcinogens that are thought to produce cancer in laboratory animals by altering the DNA are referred to as genotoxic carcinogens. They are either direct-acting or indirect-acting chemicals....

...slow down and reduce the magnitude of these vibratory motions. Modern shock absorbers are hydraulic devices that oppose both the compression and the stretch of the springs. The direct-acting, or strut, type is attached to the vehicle frame and the axle by two eyes. One eye is attached to a piston that slides in an oil-filled cylinder attached to the other eye. Any relative motion between the......

French clandestine extremist group that emerged in 1979 and is believed to have been an amalgam of earlier groups. Sometimes compared with older radical and militant groups such as the Italian Red Brigades and the German Red Army Faction, Direct Action was said to subscribe to an ideology described variously as communist, anarchist, or Maoist, with strong symp...

Communications satellites located in geostationary orbit about the Earth are used to send television signals directly to the homes of viewers—a form of transmission called direct broadcast satellite (DBS) television. Transmission occurs in the Ku band, located around 12 gigahertz (12 billion cycles per second) in the radio frequency spectrum. At these superhigh frequencies, radio waves......

...as full, or absorption, costing methods, in that the overhead rates are intended to include provisions for all manufacturing costs. Both process and job-order costing methods can also be adapted to variable costing in which only variable manufacturing costs are included in product cost. Variable costs rise or fall in proportion to the quantity of output. Total fixed costs, in contrast, are the....

...more than one type of transistor gives the circuit designer additional freedom not available for vacuum tube circuits and allows many clever circuits to be constructed. This becomes apparent in the direct coupling of successive amplifier stages. There are many ways to couple a signal from one circuit to another. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Consideration must be given to the......

flow of electric charge that does not change direction. Direct current is produced by batteries, fuel cells, rectifiers, and generators with commutators. Direct current was supplanted by alternating current (AC) for common commercial power in the late 1880s because it was then uneconomical to transform it to the high voltages needed for long-distance transmission. Techniques that were developed in...

The simplest direct-current (DC) circuit consists of a resistor connected across a source of electromotive force. The symbol for a resistor is shown in Figure 15; here the value of R, 60Ω, is given by the numerical value adjacent to the symbol. The symbol for a source of electromotive force, E, is shown with the associated value of the voltage. Convention gives the terminal......

An elementary form of a direct-current (DC) motor is shown in Figure 6 of the article on electric generator. A stationary magnetic field is produced across the rotor by poles on the stator. These poles may be encircled by field coils carrying direct current, or they may contain permanent magnets. The rotor or armature consists of an iron core with a coil accommodated in slots. The ends of the......

A direct-current (DC) generator is a rotating machine that supplies an electrical output with unidirectional voltage and current. The basic principles of operation are the same as those for synchronous generators. Voltage is induced in coils by the rate of change of the magnetic field through the coils as the machine rotates. This induced voltage is inherently alternating in form since the coil......

Electric-traction systems can be broadly divided into those using alternating current and those using direct current. With direct current, the most popular line voltages for overhead wire supply systems have been 1,500 and 3,000. Third-rail systems are predominantly in the 600–750 volt range. The disadvantages of direct current are that expensive substations are required at frequent......

Direct-current transmission is occasionally used because it allows propeller speed and engine speed to be completely independent. Alternating-current transmission with synchronous propulsion motors also is used, usually in high-powered propulsion plants because it avoids the commutation problems that handicap high-power direct-current machinery. Exact electrical synchronization of motor speed......

Because census information is obtained by using a fixed questionnaire for interviewing, there are two broad types of resulting data: direct data, the answers to specific questions on the schedule; and derived data, the facts discovered by classifying and interrelating the answers to various questions. Direct information, in turn, is of two sorts: items such as name, address, and the like, used......

...Thus, for thousands of years the kind of association in which democracy was practiced, the tribe or the city-state, was small enough to be suitable for some form of democracy by assembly, or “direct democracy.” Much later, beginning in the 18th century, as the typical association became the nation-state or country, direct democracy gave way to representative democracy—a......

...and a juvenile form is termed indirect development. Echinoderm development in which large eggs with abundant yolk transform into juvenile echinoderms without passing through a larval stage is termed direct development....

In direct-digital control a single digital computer replaces a group of single-loop analogue controllers. Its greater computational ability makes the substitution possible and also permits the application of more complex advanced-control techniques....

...yards (76 cubic metres) of uncompacted waste to a regional processing or disposal location. Closed compactor-type trailers are also available, but they must be equipped with ejector mechanisms. In a direct discharge type of station, several collection trucks empty directly into the transport vehicle. In a storage discharge type of station, refuse is first emptied into a storage pit or onto a......

The goal of the North American Numbering Plan was to enable any telephone user to dial directly any other telephone user within North America. Although the concept of direct distance dialing (DDD) originated in the 1940s, the necessary switching equipment was not introduced until 1951. As the acceptance of DDD grew, so did the need to expand the number of possible area codes. By 1976, 132 out......

any of a class of coloured, water-soluble compounds that have an affinity for fibre and are taken up directly, such as the benzidine derivatives. Direct dyes are usually cheap and easily applied, and they can yield bright colours. Washfastness is poor but may be improved by aftertreatment. Most packaged dyes sold for home use are direct dyes....

As early as 1860, electric action was used experimentally, and it came into wide use at the end of the 19th century. Direct electric action, in which an electromagnet pulls the pallet open, is sometimes used, but a combination of electric and pneumatic mechanism is more general. In this system the depression of a key completes an electrical circuit, which energizes an electromagnet, allowing......

Most of these energy converters, sometimes called static energy-conversion devices, use electrons as their “working fluid” in place of the vapour or gas employed by such dynamic heat engines as the external-combustion and internal-combustion engines mentioned above. In recent years, direct energy-conversion devices have received much attention because of the necessity to develop......

Elementary structures are of two types. The first type involves direct or restricted exchange, which allows the exchange of sisters as wives between groups. This system is a consequence of a rule requiring marriage to cross-cousins and more distant relatives on either side of the family who are addressed with the same term as cross-cousins. The second type involves generalized exchange, which......

...of providing interior heating was an open fire. Such a source, along with related methods such as fireplaces, cast-iron stoves, and modern space heaters fueled by gas or electricity, is known as direct heating because the conversion of energy into heat takes place at the site to be heated. A more common form of heating in modern times is known as central, or indirect, heating. It consists of......

Many automobile engines now use a distributor-less ignition system, or direct-ignition system, in which a high-voltage pulse is directly applied to coils that sit on top of the spark plugs (known as coil-on-plug). The major components of these systems are a coil pack, an ignition module, a crankshaft reluctor ring, a magnetic sensor, and an electronic control module. The ignition module......

Through the initiative a specified number of voters may petition to invoke a popular vote on a proposed law or an amendment to a constitution. An initiative may be direct (a proposal supported by the required number of voters is submitted directly to a popular vote for decision) or indirect (the proposal is submitted to the legislature). If an indirect initiative is rejected, the proposition is......

Long-term capital movement divides into direct investments (in plant and equipment) and portfolio investments (in securities). In the 19th century direct investment in plant and equipment was preponderant. The United Kingdom was by far the most important contributor to direct investment overseas. In the early part of the century it even contributed to the industrial development of the United......

Hydrogenation of coal can be done directly, either from gaseous hydrogen or by a liquid hydrogen-donor solvent, or it can be done indirectly, through an intermediate series of compounds. In direct liquefaction, the macromolecular structure of the coal is broken down in such a manner that the yield of the correct size of molecules is maximized and the production of the very small molecules that......

Coverage on the BPP form can be written on a scheduled basis, whereby specific items of property are listed and insured, or on a blanket basis, whereby property at several locations can be insured for a single sum....

Coverage on the BPP form can be written on a scheduled basis, whereby specific items of property are listed and insured, or on a blanket basis, whereby property at several locations can be insured for a single sum.......

method of merchandising in which the seller’s offer is made through mass mailing of a circular or catalog or through an advertisement placed in a newspaper or magazine and in which the buyer places his order by mail. Delivery of the goods may be made by freight, express, or parcel post on a cash-on-delivery basis. Retail mail-order selling was developed primarily for rural customers, but it...

Direct marketing is direct contact between a seller (manufacturer or retailer) and a consumer. Generally speaking, a seller can measure response to an offer because of its direct addressability. Although direct marketing gained wide popularity as a marketing strategy only in the late 20th century, it has been successfully utilized for more than one hundred years. Sears, Roebuck and Company and......

...the recipient’s serum for the antigens carried by the donor’s cells, the blood is not suitable for transfusion because an unfavourable reaction might occur. The test for compatibility is called the direct match test. It involves testing the recipient’s serum with the donor’s cells and by the indirect Coombs test. These are adequate screening tests for most naturally ...

Eigen divided the methods used to disturb systems into indirect, or competition, methods and direct, or perturbation, methods. In the indirect approach, the relaxing system is continuously disturbed. The competition between the disturbance and the relaxation process results in the establishment of a stationary state, from which information about the relaxation process must be inferred.......

...over telecommunications lines from a central computer to individual machine tools in the factory, thus eliminating the use of the punched tape altogether. This form of numerical control is called direct numerical control, or DNC....

...to maturity, as short-term (maturing in less than five years, often in a matter of weeks) or long-term (maturing in more than five years, up to an indefinite period), (2) by type of issuer, as direct obligations (issued and backed by the government), contingent obligations (issued typically by a governmental corporation or other quasi-governmental body but guaranteed by the government), or......

The direct-optical viewfinder most commonly used, the bright-line viewfinder, is essentially an inverted Galilean telescope system, with an optically projected rectangle outlining the frame area. The viewed image is neither inverted nor reversed....

...metallic plutonium is usually obtained by high-temperature reduction of a halide salt (plutonium tetrafluoride or plutonium trifluoride) with calcium metal. Much use is also made of the so-called direct oxidation-reduction process, whereby PuO2 is reduced with calcium metal to plutonium metal and a calcium oxide slag:...

Architecturally integrated lifts must be designed in accordance with local building-safety codes: in New York City, for instance, only two types can be built into a theatre. One of these, the direct-plunger lift, is hydraulically driven, using a piston attached to a portion of the stage floor. The piston operates under hydraulic pressure (like the pure-power hoist) and is expanded and collapsed......

...party members to vote, or open (nonpartisan), enabling all voters to choose which party’s primary they wish to vote in without declaring any party affiliation. Primaries may be direct or indirect. A direct primary, which is now used in some form in all U.S. states, functions as a preliminary election whereby voters decide their party’s candidates. In an indirect primary, voters el...

method of applying a coloured pattern to cloth, invented by Thomas Bell of Scotland in 1783. A separate dye paste for each colour is applied to the fabric from a metal roller that is intaglio engraved according to the design. The technique can be used with almost any textile fabric. See also discharge printing; resist printing....

...belief in the existence of supposedly external objects—i.e., physical entities that are public and exist independently of the mind? Realists developed two main responses to this challenge: direct (or “naive”) realism and representative realism, also called the “causal theory.”...

This is any process in which iron is extracted from ore at a temperature below the melting points of the materials involved. Gangue remains in the spongelike product, known as direct-reduced iron, or DRI, and must be removed in a subsequent steelmaking process. Only high-grade ores and pellets made from superconcentrates (66 percent iron) are therefore really suitable for DR iron making....

This is any process in which iron is extracted from ore at a temperature below the melting points of the materials involved. Gangue remains in the spongelike product, known as direct-reduced iron, or DRI, and must be removed in a subsequent steelmaking process. Only high-grade ores and pellets made from superconcentrates (66 percent iron) are therefore really suitable for DR iron making....

The savings and loan association plan for loan repayment, the direct-reduction loan plan, was the prototype of present-day loan-amortization plans requiring the home buyer to make a fixed payment each month; part of the payment is applied to the principal and part to interest, the former increasing each month as the latter decreases. Because high inflation rates have made such fixed-rate......

...Hundredth.” He was himself responsible for about 85 melodies in the Psalter, which was completed by his successors in 1562. Bourgeois also wrote Le Droict Chemin de musique (1550; The Direct Road to Music) in which he proposed an adaptation of traditional solmization....

Solar radiation is made up of direct and diffuse radiation. Direct shortwave radiation reaches the surface without being absorbed or scattered from its line of propagation by the intervening atmosphere. The image of the Sun’s disk as a sharp and distinct object represents that portion of the solar radiation that reaches the viewer directly. Diffuse radiation, in contrast, reaches the surfac...

Indirect smelting in roasters and blast furnaces began to be replaced in the 1970s by several direct smelting processes conducted in relatively small, intensive reactors. These processes require neither the sintering of feed materials nor the use of metallurgical coke; also, they produce lower volumes of gas and dust that would require treatment with pollution-control equipment. In general,......

...(force per unit area) is applied to a material such as rock, the material experiences a change in dimension, volume, or shape. This change, or deformation, is called strain (εいぷしろん). Stresses can be axial—e.g., directional tension or simple compression—or shear (tangential), or all-sided (e.g., hydrostatic compression). The terms stress and pressure are sometimes u...

Disposable income involves a further adjustment to exclude obligatory payments in the form of direct taxes, compulsory payments to social-insurance schemes, and the like and to include simple transfers from other persons, institutions, or the government such as social-security benefits, pensions, and alimony. In some cases the boundary between voluntary and obligatory payments is blurred so......

The Henderson process, sometimes referred to as “direct transfer,” or “inverse halftone,” gravure, has won some acceptance in the printing of packaging materials. Retouched continuous-tone positives are used in preparation of halftone negatives and, by a contact-printing operation, halftone positives. These positives show dot size variations proportional to the desired....

...proboscis would clog with clotted blood. If the mouthparts are contaminated with blood that contains microorganisms, they can be injected, along with the saliva, into another person. This is called direct transmission of disease and occurs only if the fly, interrupted during a meal, finds a new victim before the microorganisms die. One contagious disease that might be spread this way is......

Direct-use fabrics are manufactured or incorporated into finished products, such as awnings and canopies, tarpaulins, tents, outdoor furniture, luggage, and footwear....

...and Walton’s pioneering experiments was a four-stage voltage multiplier assembled from four large rectifiers and high-voltage capacitors. Their circuit in effect combined four rectifier-type direct-voltage power supplies in series. The alternating voltage supplied by a high-voltage transformer was transmitted to the higher stages through an array of capacitors; a second group of......

The most obvious method of using a balance is known as direct weighing. The material to be weighed is put on one pan, with sufficient known weights on the other pan such that the beam will be in equilibrium. The difference between the zero reading and the reading with the pans loaded indicates the difference between loads in scale divisions. Such a direct weighing requires that the arms be of......