118 résultats pour "blood"
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Blood.
substances. For example, a person who is blood type A positive will not make antibodies against the A or Rh markers, but will make antibodies against the B marker,which is not on that person’s own red blood cells. If blood containing the B marker (from types B positive, B negative, AB positive, or AB negative) is transfused into thisperson, then the transfused red blood cells will be rapidly destroyed by the patient’s anti-B antibodies. In this case, the transfusion will do the patient no good a...
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Circulatory System.
C Additional Functions In addition to oxygen, the circulatory system also transports nutrients derived from digested food to the body. These nutrients enter the bloodstream by passingthrough the walls of the intestine. The nutrients are absorbed through a network of capillaries and veins that drain the intestines, called the hepatic portal circulation.The hepatic portal circulation carries the nutrients to the liver for further metabolic processing. The liver stores a variety of substances, suc...
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Stroke.
IV DIAGNOSIS The symptoms typical of a stroke can also be caused by other conditions, including brain tumors, various infections, and overdoses of certain drugs. A patient that hasstrokelike symptoms may undergo a battery of imaging techniques to rule out other medical problems and confirm that a stroke has occurred. The key imagingtechnique used in diagnosing strokes is computed tomography (also known as CT or CAT scanning), which employs X rays to obtain images of the internal structures oft...
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Heart.
situation. A Cardiac Cycle Although the right and left halves of the heart are separate, they both contract in unison, producing a single heartbeat. The sequence of events from the beginning ofone heartbeat to the beginning of the next is called the cardiac cycle. The cardiac cycle has two phases: diastole, when the heart’s chambers are relaxed, and systole,when the chambers contract to move blood. During the systolic phase, the atria contract first, followed by contraction of the ventricles. T...
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Kidney.
secretion. An additional function of the kidney is the processing of vitamin D; the kidney converts this vitamin to an active form that stimulates bone development. Several hormones are produced in the kidney. One of these, erythropoietin, influences the production of red blood cells in the bone marrow. When the kidney detectsthat the number of red blood cells in the body is declining, it secretes erythropoietin. This hormone travels in the bloodstream to the bone marrow, stimulating theproducti...
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Coronary Heart Disease.
when a patient is at rest may indicate that the blood supply of the heart is not normal, and the ECG can often detect damage from a previous heart attack. In anexercise stress test, an ECG is recorded while a patient is performing physical activity such as walking on a treadmill or riding a stationary bicycle. As the intensity ofexercise increases, the doctor looks for specific changes in the ECG that indicate the heart is not getting enough oxygen. In cardiac catheterization, a long, thin, flex...
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Liver.
by bacterial infections. But hepatitis is most often caused by one of several viruses. The hepatitis A virus (HAV) can produce flulike symptoms and jaundice, but manypeople who contract it have no symptoms. The disease tends to resolve on its own. Because HAV lives in feces in the intestinal tract, hepatitis A is prevalent in areaswhere drinking water is contaminated with raw sewage. Good hygiene practices and a hepatitis A vaccination are effective measures of prevention. Hepatitis B is a more...
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Leukemia.
leukemia, and normal or mildly decreased in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Nearly all chronic leukemia patients have increased white cell counts. In chronic myelocyticleukemia, some of these leukemic white cells are capable of functioning as normal cells do by fighting infectious microbes. Hence, infection is no more common than in ahealthy individual. In chronic lymphocytic leukemia the blood contains large numbers of malignant lymphocytes that do not function normally. Normal lymphocytescoexist...
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Diabetes Mellitus.
Once diabetes is diagnosed, treatment consists of controlling the amount of glucose in the blood and preventing complications. Depending on the type of diabetes, thiscan be accomplished through regular physical exercise, a carefully controlled diet, and medication. Individuals with Type 1 diabetes must receive insulin, often two to four times a day, to provide the body with the hormone it does not produce. Insulin cannot be takenorally, because it is destroyed in the digestive system. Consequent...
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Surgery.
III SURGICAL PROCEDURES Surgical procedures are classified as optional, required, elective, urgent, and emergent based on the patient’s medical condition. Optional surgery consists of operationsthat are not required but which the patient chooses to undergo as with some types of cosmetic surgery. Required surgery is performed when only surgery will correct aproblem—such as cataracts—but the surgery can be delayed for a period of weeks or months. Elective surgical procedures usually involve cond...
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First Aid.
IV SEVERE BLEEDING The presence of blood over a considerable area of a person’s body does not always indicate severe bleeding. The blood may ooze from multiple small wounds or besmeared, giving the appearance of more blood than is actually present. The rate at which blood is lost from a wound depends on the size and kind of blood vesselruptured. Bright red, spurting blood indicates injury to an artery while welling or steadily flowing, dark red blood indicates injury to a vein. Welling or spur...
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Spider (arthropod) - biology.
The spider’s abdomen is soft and saclike. On the underside of the tip of the abdomen are three pairs of spinnerets. Each spinneret is studded with many fine, hairliketubes called spigots, which produce a variety of silk threads. The spigots lead to several large silk glands inside the abdomen. Silk is formed as a liquid inside theseabdominal glands. As the silk is drawn out through the spigots, protein molecules within the silk line up parallel to one another, causing the silk to harden and form...
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Protein.
Myosin, the protein chiefly responsible for muscle contraction, combines with actin, another muscle protein, forming actomyosin, the different filaments of whichshorten, causing the contracting action. VI GLOBULAR PROTEINS Unlike fibrous proteins, globular proteins are spherical and highly soluble. They play a dynamic role in body metabolism. Examples are albumin, globulin, casein,hemoglobin, all of the enzymes, and protein hormones. The albumins and globulins are classes of soluble proteins a...
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Respiratory System.
rapidly, or laughs while swallowing, the swallowing reflex may not work, and food or fluid can enter the larynx. Food, fluid, or other substances in the larynx initiate acough reflex as the body attempts to clear the larynx of the obstruction. If the cough reflex does not work, a person can choke, a life-threatening situation. TheHeimlich maneuver is a technique used to clear a blocked larynx ( see First Aid). A surgical procedure called a tracheotomy is used to bypass the larynx and get air to...
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Insect - biology.
they almost always have six legs. In some insects, such as beetles, the legs are practically identical, but in other insects each pair is a slightly different shape. Still otherinsects have specialized leg structures. Examples are praying mantises, which have grasping and stabbing forelegs armed with lethal spines, and grasshoppers andfleas, which have large, muscular hind legs that catapult them into the air. Mole crickets’ front legs are modified for digging, and backswimmers have hind legs de...
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Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.
child transmission is particularly prevalent in Africa. D Misperceptions About HIV Transmission The routes of HIV transmission are well documented by scientists, but health officials continually grapple with people’s unfounded fears concerning the potential for HIVtransmission by other means. HIV differs from other infectious viruses in that it dies quickly if exposed to the environment. No evidence has linked HIV transmission tocasual contact with an infected person, such as a handshake, huggi...
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Anatomy.
The body defends itself against foreign proteins and infectious microorganisms by means of a complex dual system that depends on recognizing a portion of the surfacepattern of the invader. The two parts of the system are termed cellular immunity, in which lymphocytes are the effective agent, and humoral immunity, based on theaction of antibody molecules. When particular lymphocytes recognize a foreign molecular pattern (termed an antigen), they release antibodies in great numbers; other lymphocy...
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Stress (psychology).
blood flow is diverted from the internal organs and skin to the brain and muscles. Breathing speeds up, the pupils dilate, and perspiration increases. This reaction issometimes called the fight-or-flight response because it energizes the body to either confront or flee from a threat. Another part of the stress response involves the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland, parts of the brain that are important in regulating hormones and many otherbodily functions. In times of stress, the hypothal...
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Drug.
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INTRODUCTION
Drug, substance that affects the function of living cells, used
normalizing chemical activity in the emotional centers of the brain. Antianxiety drugs, also referred to as tranquilizers, treat anxiety by decreasing the activity in theanxiety centers of the brain. Sedative-hypnotic drugs are used both as sedatives to reduce anxiety and as hypnotics to induce sleep. Sedative-hypnotic drugs act by reducing brain-cell activity.Stimulant drugs, on the other hand, increase neuronal (nerve cell) activity and reduce fatigue and appetite. Analgesic drugs reduce pain...
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Race - biology.
distributed as a cline, generally varying along a north-south line. Skin color is lightest in northern Europeans, especially in those who live around the Baltic Sea, andbecomes gradually darker as one moves toward southern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and into northern Africa and northern subtropical Africa. Skin isdarkest in people who live in the tropical regions of Africa. The lack of clear-cut discontinuities makes any racial boundary based on skin color totally arbitrary. Sim...
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Human Nutrition.
is one of the most preventable types of cancer. Nutritionists caution that most Americans need to eat more complex carbohydrates. In the typical American diet, only 40 to 50 percent of total calories come fromcarbohydrates—a lower percentage than found in most of the world. To make matters worse, half of the carbohydrate calories consumed by the typical American comefrom processed foods filled with simple sugars. Experts recommend that these foods make up no more that 10 percent of our diet, bec...
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Heredity - biology.
allele from the mother and a mutated allele from the father. In both of these cases, the child will be a carrier. The child develops the disease only if he or she receives amutated allele from each parent. When both parents are carriers, there is a 25 percent chance that a child will be disease-free, a 25 percent chance that it will have thedisease, and a 50 percent chance that it will be a carrier. Examples of genetic diseases that follow the dominant-recessive pattern include sickle-cell anemi...
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Hormone.
women is called a follicle-stimulating hormone. When a follicle-stimulating hormone binds to an ovary cell, it stimulates the enzymes needed for the synthesis ofestradiol, a female sex hormone. Another gonadotropin called luteinizing hormone regulates the production of eggs in women and the production of the male sexhormone testosterone. Produced in the male gonads, or testes, testosterone regulates changes to the male body during puberty, influences sexual behavior, and playsa role in growth. T...
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Skin.
I
INTRODUCTION
Skin, outer body covering of an animal. The term skin
III SKIN APPENDAGES In humans, the skin appendages, or structures embedded in the skin, include hair, nails, and several types of glands. Glands are groups of cells that produce andsecrete substances needed by other parts of the body. In other vertebrates, the skin appendages include scales (in fish and reptiles) and feathers (in birds). Together,the skin and the skin appendages are known as the integumentary system of the body. A Hair Hair is a distinguishing characteristic of mammals, a gro...
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Cancer (medicine).
unable to repair the DNA damage, p53 instructs the cell to undergo programmed cell death, or apoptosis , putting a stop to runaway cell division before it starts. Programmed cell death is a normal part of cell life and is tightly controlled by many genes, primarily p53. In a cancerous cell, one or more mutations prevent these genes from doing their jobs. When mutated, p53 allows a cell to continue to divide, even with damaged DNA.This can lead to additional mutations in proto-oncogenes or tumor...
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Vitamin.
Vitamin B 1, or thiamine, promotes the metabolism of carbohydrates, enabling these nutrients to release their energy. Thiamine also plays a role in the functioning of the nervous system, muscles, and heart. The body does not store thiamine and people who are malnourished may develop thiamine deficiency. Mild thiamine deficiency cancause fatigue, muscle weakness, and loss of appetite. Severe thiamine deficiency causes beriberi, a disease characterized by muscle weakness, swelling of the heart,and...
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Stem Cell.
The medical profession used adult stem cells to treat diseases long before anyone isolated one. In 1968 scientists performed the first successful bone marrowtransplant, a procedure in which a patient receives an infusion of healthy bone marrow cells. The purpose of such transplants is to restore the blood-making capabilitiesof the patient’s diseased bone marrow after extremely strong chemotherapy has destroyed that bone marrow. From the beginning investigators suspected that stemcells in the inf...
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Human Disease.
disease can be transmitted through food infected with mutated proteins. B Spread of Infectious Disease Some pathogens are spread from one person to another by direct contact. They leave the first person through body openings, mucous membranes, and skin wounds,and they enter the second person through similar channels. For example, the viruses that cause respiratory diseases such as influenza and the common cold are spreadin moisture droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. A hand that...
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Aerospace Medicine - astronomy.
medically as aeroembolism and popularly as the bends, leads to confusion, paralysis, or neurocirculatory collapse. The most characteristic symptoms of the bends arepain in the large joints resulting from pressure of the gas on tendons and nerves, together with spasm of the blood vessels. Preflight inhalation of pure oxygen toeliminate nitrogen from the system has proved valuable as a preventive measure. Rapid decompression, resulting from accidental failure at high altitudes of thepressure withi...
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Shark - biology.
Sharks have two-chambered hearts that are relatively small compared to the rest of their bodies. Blood flows from the heart to the gills, where it collects oxygen fromwater and then distributes it to the other organs and tissues. The small heart produces weak blood pressure, and many sharks must swim continuously to create themuscular contractions needed to circulate blood throughout their bodies. Most sharks are cold-blooded—that is, they do not generate heat by digesting food. Instead, the bod...
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Endocrine System.
thermostat. When the heat in a house falls, the thermostat responds by switching the furnace on, and when the temperature is too warm, the thermostat switches thefurnace off. Usually, the change that a hormone produces also serves to regulate that hormone's secretion. For example, parathyroid hormone causes the body toincrease the level of calcium in the blood. As calcium levels rise, the secretion of parathyroid hormone then decreases. This feedback mechanism allows for tight controlover hormon...
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Diseases of Animals.
infected animal. It may also spread in milk or in garbage that contains contaminated meat. Typical symptoms include blisters that appear on the mouth and feet;animals may become lame when their hooves degenerate. Canine distemper is a highly contagious disease caused by the paramyxovirus, which is transmitted in discharges from the nose and eyes. Symptoms begin with fever,malaise, and nasal and ocular discharges and may progress to convulsions and other nervous system disorders. Parvoviruses aff...
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Whale - biology.
III BEHAVIOR OF WHALES Studies of whales in captivity have taught scientists much about the complex social behavior of whales. Since the late 1980s, advances in the use of satellite trackingsystems have also broadened opportunities for scientists to observe how whales behave in the wild. A Swimming and Diving Whales swim by making powerful up-and-down movements of the tail flukes, which provide thrust. The power comes from body muscles that flex the lower spine upand down in a wavelike motion...
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Dentistry.
Together with dentists, dental hygienists and dental assistants make up the team that provides dental care to patients. Hygienists record patient medical histories, suchas blood pressure and pulse. They clean teeth, apply sealants and fluoride treatments, teach patients sound oral hygiene practices, and often assist with X rays. Manyhygienists receive a two-year associate degree, while others may choose to enroll in a four-year program at a university or in a master’s degree program. There are25...
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Bat - biology.
tomb bat has rather small ears. The shapes of bat ears are extremely varied. The wide ears of the Australian false vampire bat meet above the head and are fused.Many bats are able to turn their ears in the direction of faint noises. Bat hearing and its use in echolocation are highly developed. Some bats have large, conspicuous eyes, while others may have small beady eyes. This variation suggests that vision plays different roles in the lives of various species.Despite the familiar expression, 'b...
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Malaria.
last long and is unlikely to be fatal. Infants and children are especially vulnerable to malaria because they have not yet built up immunity to the parasite. Some peoplehave genetic traits that help them resist malaria. Sickle-cell anemia and thalassemia, for example, are inherited blood disorders linked to malaria resistance. Travelers who lack immunity to malaria should take precautionary measures when visiting areas where the disease is prevalent. Such measures include using insectrepellents,...
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Hercules (mythology)
I
INTRODUCTION
Pollaiuolo's Hercules et Antaeus
In a wrestling match, Hercules triumphed over the mighty giant Antaeus, who received his strength from his mother, the
Earth goddess Gaia.
Pollaiuolo’s Hercules and the HydraAmong his 12 labors, the mythological hero Hercules had to kill the nine-headed Hydra. Each time Hercules cut off onehead, two more grew in its place. Hercules solved the problem by, as soon as he cut off one head, burning with a torchthe spot where it had been to stop its regrowth. Hercules and the Hydra (about 1460, Uffizi, Florence, Italy) was paintedby Italian artist Antonio Pollaiuolo. Hercules is shown wearing the skin of the Nemean lion, which he had kil...
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Physiology.
III RECENT ADVANCES Among the most important advances of the 20th century are the discovery of new hormones; recognition of the role of vitamins; discovery of blood types; developmentof the electrocardiograph and electroencephalograph, to record the activity of the heart and brain; discovery of the cause and cure of pernicious anemia by GeorgeRichards Minot, William Parry Murphy, and George Hoyt Whipple, all American physicians; and greater understanding of metabolism, the role of enzymes, and...
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From Julius Caesar - anthology.
Let but the commons hear this testament—Which, pardon me, I do not mean to read—And they would go and kiss dead Caesar's wounds,And dip their napkins in his sacred blood,Yea, beg a hair of him for memory,And, dying, mention it within their wills,Bequeathing it as a rich legacyUnto their issue.FIFTH PLEBEIAN : We'll hear the will. Read it, Mark Antony. ALL THE PLEBEIANS : The will, the will! We will hear Caesar's will. ANTONY : Have patience, gentle friends, I must not read it. It is not meet you...
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Aging - biology.
Different theories have been proposed to explain how SF works. One theory is based on the assumption that aging, and diseases that occur more frequently withadvancing age, are caused by structural damage to cells. This damage accumulates in tiny amounts each time the cell divides, eventually preventing the cell fromcarrying out normal functions. One cause of this damage may be free radicals, which are chemical compounds found in the environment and also generated by normal chemical reactions in...
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Alternative Medicine.
The field of chiropractic was founded by David Daniel Palmer in the 1890s. He believed that joint subluxation, or a partial dislocation, is a causal factor in disease andthat removal of the subluxation by thrusting on the bony projections of the vertebrae restores health. In addition to manipulating and adjusting bone and tissue, particularly in the spinal column, chiropractors use a variety of manual, mechanical, and electrical treatments.Chiropractors are most widely recognized for providing d...
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Genetic Engineering.
Pseudomonas fluorescens bacterium. The genetically altered Pseudomonas fluorescens bacterium produces light in proportion to the amount of its activity in breaking down the naphthalene, thus providing a way to monitor the efficiency of the process ( see Bioremediation). A3 Medicine In 1982 the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for the first time the medical use of a recombinant DNA protein, the hormone insulin, whichhad been cloned in large quantities by inserting th...
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Parkinson Disease.
III SYMPTOMS Parkinson disease most notably affects motor control (muscle activity). The disease progresses differently for each individual—symptoms develop swiftly in some peopleand slowly in others. Some Parkinson patients may develop problems that affect their intellect or ability to reason, or they may suffer from depression or anxiety. A Motor Control Problems Doctors look for the presence of four principal symptoms in patients they suspect may have Parkinson disease. Tremor (the involun...
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The Souls of Black Folk by W.
in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in onedark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder. The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife—this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. Inthis merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He would not Africanize America, f...
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Fish - biology.
pectoral fins provide fine movements, add forward thrust, or, together with the pelvic fins, serve as brakes. Typically, fins consist of a thin membrane stretched over afanlike series of thin rods called spines or rays. Most fish breathe underwater with the help of special respiratory organs called gills. Gills are made of a series of thin sheets or filaments through which blood circulates.As water moves into a fish’s mouth and passes over the gills, dissolved oxygen passes across the thin gill...
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Exercise.
broad, and most studies suggest a positive relationship between physical fitness and mental achievement. The relationship between regular aerobic exercise and cardiovascular health and longevity is well established. Regular exercise leads to a reduction in the risk ofcoronary heart disease, in which fatty deposits (plaque) form in blood vessels supplying the muscular wall of the heart, compromising oxygen delivery to the heartmuscle. In addition, with regular exercise the efficiency of the heart...
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Holocaust
I
INTRODUCTION
Holocaust, the almost complete destruction of Jews in Europe by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II (1939-1945).
relation to the Jews. He claimed that the Jews had achieved economic dominance and the ability to control and manipulate the mass media to their own advantage. Hewrote of the need to eradicate their powerful economic position, if necessary by means of their physical removal. IV UNIQUENESS OF NAZI ANTI-SEMITISM The linking of anti-Semitic accusations to race struggle is what made Nazism so genocidal. The Nazis believed the Jews were responsible for what they regarded as thedegeneracy of modern...
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Holocaust .
relation to the Jews. He claimed that the Jews had achieved economic dominance and the ability to control and manipulate the mass media to their own advantage. Hewrote of the need to eradicate their powerful economic position, if necessary by means of their physical removal. IV UNIQUENESS OF NAZI ANTI-SEMITISM The linking of anti-Semitic accusations to race struggle is what made Nazism so genocidal. The Nazis believed the Jews were responsible for what they regarded as thedegeneracy of modern...
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Camel - biology.
of water in the stomach or hump as was once commonly believed. Unlike other mammals, however, the camel can survive as long as three weeks without drinking,depending on the water content of its food. It can survive a water loss of about 40 percent of its normal body weight. In comparison, a loss of 15 percent is usually fatalfor humans. Camels can go without water due to several unique adaptations to their environment. The camel conserves more water in its body than any other mammal. It excretes...