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A common medicine used to relieve mild to moderate pain and reduce fever. Acetaminophen (N-acetyl-p-aminophenol), or paracetamol, is a white crystalline compound with the molecular formula C8H9NO2 (Fig. 1). It is a member of the aniline family of…

Technologies to optimize the performance of optical systems wherein controllable optical elements maintain a sharply focused image in the presence of wavefront aberrations. The practical development of adaptive optics started in the late 1960s. Main…

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…

A member of a group of organic compounds that can be considered as derived from ammonia by replacement of one or more hydrogens by organic functional groups. Generally amines are bases of widely varying strengths, but a few that are acidic are…

An ongoing current event in which a large number of living species are threatened with extinction or are going extinct because of environmentally destructive human activities. The Earth is presently in the midst of a mass extinction event. In the…

Earth's oldest desert and the most arid place outside of Antarctica's Dry Valleys. Located along the edge of the Pacific Ocean and to the west of the Andes in Chile's Antofagasta Province, the Atacama Desert (Fig. 1) has long been recognized as…

An analytical technique for determining the composition of a sample in terms of the chemical elements present and their quantities or concentrations. Unlike other methods of elemental analysis, however, the sample is decomposed into its constituent…

A neurodevelopmental condition that impairs the way that a person relates to and communicates with other people. Persons with autism have difficulties with social communication and interaction. They also can have unusual behaviors, such as…

The ongoing lower level of species extinction intensity occurring between episodes of mass extinctions. Extinction is a normal part of the history of life. Out of every 100 species that have ever lived on Earth, 99 are no longer in existence.…

A quantum-mechanical theory of the motion of electrons in solids. The band theory of solids' name comes from the fact that it predicts certain restricted ranges, or bands, for the energies of electrons in solids. In a solid, the energy level of an…