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ephedrine ... Epinay, Louise-Florence-Petronille Tardieu d'Esclavelles, dame de La Live d'

ephedrine alkaloid used as a decongestant drug. It is obtainable from plants of the genus Ephedra, particularly the Chinese species E. sinica, and it has been used in China for more than 5,000 years to treat asthma and hay fever. It is effective when administered orally, and its effects persist for ... ephemeral in botany, any short-lived plant, usually one that has one or more generations per year, growing only during favourable periods (as when adequate moisture is available) and passing the unfavourable periods in the form of seeds. The seed coats of some species contain a growth inhibitor that can be washed ... ephemeris table giving the positions of one or more celestial bodies, often published with supplementary information. Ephemerides were constructed as early as the 4th century BC and are still essential today to the astronomer and navigator. Ephemeris Time (ET), the first dynamical time scale in history; it was defined by the International Astronomical Union in the 1950s and was superseded by Barycentric Dynamical Time in 1984. (See dynamical time.) Ephesians, Letter of Paul to the New Testament writing once thought to have been composed by Paul in prison but more likely the work of one of Paul's disciples, who probably wrote the text sometime before AD 90 while consulting Paul's letter to the Colossians. The words "in Ephesus" are lacking in the earliest manuscripts and ... Ephesus the most important Greek city in Ionian Asia Minor, the ruins of which lie near the modern village of Selcuk in western Turkey. Ephesus, councils of three assemblies held in Asia Minor to resolve problems of the early Christian Church. Ephialtes leader of the radical democrats at Athens in the 460s, who by his reforms prepared the way for the final development of Athenian democracy. His hostility toward Sparta and his advocacy of power for the Athenian common people made him the enemy of the pro-Spartan politician Cimon, who had the ... ephod part of the ceremonial dress of the high priest of ancient Israel described in the Old Testament (Ex. 28:6-8; 39:2-5). It was worn outside the robe and probably kept in place by a girdle and by shoulder pieces, from which hung the breast piece (or pouch) containing the sacred lots ... ephor (Greek ephoros), title of the highest Spartan magistrates, five in number, who with the kings formed the main executive wing of the state. In antiquity, time periods were recorded by the names of the ephors on a list that dated back to 754 BC. The origins of the ephorate are ... Ephorus Greek historian, the author of the first universal history, who, despite his defects, was esteemed in Classical times and is considered the best of the historians writing in his period. Ephraem Syrus, Saint Christian theologian, poet, hymnist, and doctor of the church who, as doctrinal consultant to Eastern churchmen, composed numerous theological-biblical commentaries and polemical works that, in witnessing to the common Christian tradition, have exerted widespread influence on the Greek and Latin churches. He is recognized as the most authoritative representative of ... Ephraim one of the 12 tribes of Israel that in biblical times comprised the people of Israel who later became the Jewish people. The tribe was named after one of the younger sons of Joseph, himself a son of Jacob. Ephrata city, seat (1909) of Grant county, central Washington, U.S., near the south end of Grand Coulee Dam. Settled in 1882 by ranchers who raised horses, the community was named in 1892, probably for the biblical city. The surrounding farmland was developed by irrigation, first with water from wells, now with ... Ephrata Community U.S. Protestant monastic settlement, an offshoot of the Germantown Dunkers, founded in 1732 by Johann Conrad Beissel on Cocalico Creek in Lancaster County, Pa.; the present town of Ephrata grew up around it. Beissel and his followers observed the sabbath on the seventh day and espoused ascetic ideals. In the ... Ephron, Nora American author, screenwriter, and film director known for romantic comedies featuring biting wit and strong female characters. Epi island of Vanuatu, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It is volcanic in origin and is 27 miles (43 km) long and 11 miles (18 km) wide, with an area of 171 square miles (444 square km). It rises to 2,733 feet (833 metres). Although Epi is fertile, its copra plantations ... epic long narrative poem recounting heroic deeds, although the term has also been loosely used to describe novels, such as Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, and motion pictures, such as Sergey Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible. In literary usage, the term encompasses both oral and written compositions. The prime examples of the ... epic formula convention of language and theme peculiar to oral epic poetry that is often carried over to the written form. The most obvious epic formulas are the "fixed epithets," stereotyped descriptive phrases that can be varied in different places in the poetic line to suit the demands of the metre. These ... epic simile an extended simile often running to several lines, used typically in epic poetry to intensify the heroic stature of the subject and to serve as decoration. An example from the Iliad follows: As when the shudder of the west wind suddenly rising scatters across the water, and the water darkens ... epic theatre form of didactic drama presenting a series of loosely connected scenes that avoid illusion and often interrupt the story line to address the audience directly with analysis, argument, or documentation. Epic theatre is now most often associated with the dramatic theory and practice evolved by the playwright-director Bertolt Brecht in ... epicanthic fold fold of skin across the inner corner of the eye (canthus). The epicanthic fold produces the eye shape characteristic of persons from central and eastern Asia; it is also seen in some Native American peoples and occasionally in Europeans (e.g., Scandinavians and Poles). epicentre point on the surface of the Earth that is directly above the underground point (called the focus) where fault rupture commences, producing an earthquake. The effects of the earthquake may not be most severe in the vicinity of the epicentre. The epicentre can be located by computing arcs from each ... Epicharmus Greek poet who, according to the Suda lexicon of the 10th century AD, was the originator of Sicilian (or Dorian) comedy. He was born in a Dorian colony, either Megara Hybaea or Syracuse, both on Sicily, or Cos, one of the Dodecanese islands. He has been credited with more than ... epiclesis (Greek: "invocation"), in the Christian eucharistic prayer (anaphora), the special invocation of the Holy Spirit; in most Eastern Christian liturgies it follows the words of institution-the words used, according to the New Testament, by Jesus himself at the Last Supper-"This is my body . . . this is my blood" ... Epictetus Greek potter and painter who worked in Athens. His work is praised for its care, grace, vitality, delicate line, and fine draftsmanship. He signed his works as both maker and decorator. Epictetus Greek philosopher associated with the Stoics, remembered for the religious tone of his teachings, which commended him to numerous early Christian thinkers. Epicureanism in a strict sense, the philosophy taught by Epicurus (341-270 BCE). In a broad sense, it is a system of ethics embracing every conception or form of life that can be traced to the principles of his philosophy. In ancient polemics, as often since, the term was employed with an ... Epicurus Greek philosopher, author of an ethical philosophy of simple pleasure, friendship, and retirement. He founded schools of philosophy that survived directly from the 4th century BC until the 4th century AD. Epidaurus in ancient Greece, important commercial centre on the eastern coast of the Argolid in the northeastern Peloponnese; it is famed for its 4th-century-BC temple of Asclepius, the god of healing. Excavations of the sacred precinct reveal that it contained temples to Asclepius and Artemis, a theatre, stadium, gymnasiums, baths, a ... epideictic oratory according to Aristotle, a type of suasive speech designed primarily for rhetorical effect. Epideictic oratory was panegyrical, declamatory, and demonstrative. Its aim was to condemn or to eulogize an individual, cause, occasion, movement, city, or state. An outstanding example of this type of speech is a funeral oration by the ... epidemic an occurrence of disease that is temporarily of high prevalence. An epidemic occurring over a wide geographical area (e.g., worldwide) is called a pandemic. The rise and decline in epidemic prevalence of an infectious disease is a probability phenomenon dependent upon transfer of an effective dose of the infectious agent ... epidemiology branch of medical science that studies the distribution of disease in human populations and the factors determining that distribution, chiefly by the use of statistics. Unlike other medical disciplines, epidemiology concerns itself with groups of people rather than individual patients and is frequently retrospective, or historical, in nature. It developed ... Epidendrum genus of tropical orchids, family Orchidaceae, with about 1,000 species that are distributed from southeastern North America to central South America. Epidendrum species are primarily epiphytic (supported by other plants and having aerial roots exposed to the humid atmosphere), but some grow on rocks or in soil. Flowers are usually ... epidermal tooth any of several hard, horny projections analogous to but not homologous with true teeth (see tooth). Epidermal teeth are found in the jawless fish (e.g., lampreys), on the edges of the jaws of tadpoles (larval frogs and toads), in the mouth of the platypus, where horny plates replace the true ... epidermis in zoology, protective outermost portion of the skin. There are two layers of epidermis, the living basal layer, which is next to the dermis, and the external stratum corneum, or horny layer, which is composed of dead, keratin-filled cells that have migrated outward from the basal layer. The melanocytes, responsible ... epidermis in botany, outermost, protoderm-derived layer of cells covering the stem, root, leaf, flower, fruit, and seed parts of a plant. The epidermis and its waxy cuticle provide a protective barrier against mechanical injury, water loss, and infection. Various modified epidermal cells regulate transpiration, increase water absorption, and secrete substances. epididyme either of a pair of elongated crescent-shaped structures attached to each of the two male reproductive organs, the testes (see testis). Sperm cells produced in the testes are transported to the epididymes, where they mature and are stored. Each epididymis has three regions, called, respectively, the head, body, and tail. ... epididymitis inflammation of the epididymis, the cordlike structure that runs along the posterior of the testis (testicle) and contains spermatozoa. In young men, epididymitis is most often caused by sexually transmitted agents such as Chlamydia and gonococcus, while in older men it is more likely to occur sporadically-e.g., from intestinal bacteria ... epidote any of a group of colorless to green or yellow-green silicate minerals with the general chemical formula A2B3(SiO4)(Si2O7)O(OH), in which A is usually calcium (Ca), though manganese (Mn) or cerium (Ce) is sometimes substituted; and B is generally aluminum (Al), with the main substitution being ferric iron (Fe+3). Structurally the ... epidote-amphibolite facies one of the major divisions of the mineral-facies classification of metamorphic rocks, the rocks of which form under moderate temperature and pressure conditions (250-400 C [500-750 F] and up to 4 kilobars [1 kilobar equals about 15,000 pounds per square inch]). This facies grades into the greenschist facies under less ... epigenetics the study of the chemical modification of specific genes or gene-associated proteins of an organism. Epigenetic modifications can define how the information in genes is expressed and used by cells. The term epigenetics came into general use in the early 1940s, when British embryologist Conrad Waddington used it to describe ... epigenomics the study of chemical changes that regulate the expression, or use, of the entire collection of DNA molecules in an organism's cells. This collection of genetic material is known as the organism's genome. Genomes serve as dynamic blueprints, directly or indirectly enabling the synthesis of all the macromolecules needed for ... epigram originally an inscription suitable for carving on a monument, but since the time of the Greek Anthology (q.v.) applied to any brief and pithy verse, particularly if astringent and purporting to point a moral. By extension the term is also applied to any striking sentence in a novel, play, poem, ... epigraphy the study of written matter recorded on hard or durable material. The term is derived from the Classical Greek epigraphein ("to write upon, incise") and epigraphe ("inscription"). epilepsy chronic neurological disorder characterized by sudden and recurrent seizures which are caused by an absence or excess of signaling of nerve cells in the brain. Seizures may include convulsions, lapses of consciousness, strange movements or sensations in parts of the body, odd behaviours, and emotional disturbances. Epileptic seizures typically last ... Epilobium genus of about 200 plants, in the evening primrose family (Onagraceae), native to most temperate regions. It includes fireweed (q.v.; species E. angustifolium), which rapidly covers newly burned areas. The young parts of some species can be cooked and eaten as potherbs. The plants are sometimes cultivated but must be ... epilogue a supplementary element in a literary work. Epimenides Cretan seer, reputed author of religious and poetical writings, including a Theogony, Cretica, and other mystical works. Religious theories of an Orphic character were attributed to him as well. He conducted purificatory rites at Athens about 500 BCE, according to Plato (about 600 according to Aristotle). Stories of his advanced ... Epinal town, capital of the Vosges departement, Lorraine region, northeastern France, on the Moselle River, south-southeast of Nancy. The town, located on two arms of the Moselle, is divided into four parts. The town proper, known as the grande ville ("large town"), or vieille ville ("old town"), stands on the right ... Epinay, Louise-Florence-Petronille Tardieu d'Esclavelles, dame de La Live d' a distinguished figure in advanced literary circles in 18th-century France. Though she wrote a good deal herself, she is more famous for her friendships with three of the outstanding French writers and thinkers of her day, Denis Diderot, Baron Friedrich de Grimm, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.