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There is a growing body of evidence that many of the thousands of prescription and over-the-counter medications ultimately make their way into water bodies and drinking-water supplies. Typical wastewater treatment plants may not be effective at…

A disease of the nervous system characterized by a progressive dementia that leads to profound impairment in cognition and behavior. Dementia occurs in a number of brain diseases where the impairment in cognitive abilities represents a decline from…

Any of a group of drugs of diverse chemical structure and physiological effects that are used for the relief of pain. Analgesics are drugs, including opiates, synthetic opioids, and salicylates, that are used primarily for pain relief (see…

Any living organism taxonomically assigned to the classification kingdom known as Animalia. Members of the kingdom Animalia—that is, animals (see illustration)—possess certain characteristics that distinguish them from organisms belonging to the…

A psychiatric disorder in which a dramatic reduction in caloric intake consequent to excessive dieting leads to significant bodily, physiological, biochemical, emotional, psychological, and behavioral disturbances. Anorexia nervosa is one of three…

A chemical substance, produced by microorganisms, plants, marine organisms, and synthetically, that has the capacity in dilute solutions to inhibit the growth of bacteria or destroy bacteria. Antibiotics are important antibacterial agents. Most are…

The capability that a bacterium acquires to counteract an inhibitory chemical molecule or compound that was formerly effective in killing it or preventing its growth. Antibiotic resistance in bacteria (Fig. 1) is a hot topic in the media and in…

Chemical compounds biosynthetically or synthetically produced that destroy or usefully suppress the growth or metabolism of a variety of microscopic or submicroscopic forms of life. On the basis of their primary activity, antimicrobial agents (see…

A group of distinct psychiatric disorders including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder, specific phobia, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Whereas fear is an adaptive emotion that is…