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Possible definitions for quinia
quinine
Alkaloid found in the bark of cinchona trees and shrubs. The chemical structure of this heterocyclic compound is large and complex, with several rings. For the 300 years preceding the 1940s, when newer antimalarials were developed, quinine was the only drug known to Western medicine for the prevention and treatment of malaria. The first chemical compound ever used successfully against an infectious disease, it has benefited more people than any other such drug in history. Quinine is also occasionally used to treat pain and fever and is a flavoring agent in some carbonated beverages, incl. tonic water.
Guinea
Country, W Africa. Area: 94,926 sq mi (245,857 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 7,405,000 (incl. 700,000 refuges from Liberia and Sierra Leone). Capital: Conakry. The Fulani people are in the majority, followed by the Malinke and many other groups. Language: French (official). Religion: Islam. Currency: Guinean franc. Facing the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea has four topographical regions. Lower Guinea comprises the coast and coastal plain, which are sandy and interspersed with lagoons and mangrove swamps. To the east the Fouta Djallon highlands rise sharply from the coastal plain to elevations above 3,000 ft (900 m); W Africa's three major rivers--the Niger, Sé né gal, and Gambia--originate there. Upper Guinea comprises the Niger Plains. The Forest Region, an isolated forested highland in the southeast, rises to 5,748 ft (1,752 m) at Mt. Nimba, the country's highest peak. Most of the country has a humid tropical climate, while more than two-fifths is covered by tropical rain forest. Export crops include rice, bananas, and coffee. Guinea is the world's second-largest producer of bauxite. Its developing, mixed economy is based on agriculture, mining, and trade. It is a multiparty republic with one legislative house; the head of state and government is the president, assisted by the prime minister. In c.AD 900, successive migrations of the Susu swept down from the desert and pushed the original inhabitants, the Baga, to the Atlantic coast. Small kingdoms of the Susu rose in importance in the 13th cent. and later extended their rule to the coast. In the mid-15th cent. the Portuguese visited the coast and developed a slave trade. In the 16th cent. the Fulani established domination over the Fouta Djallon region; they ruled into the 19th cent. In the early 19th cent. the French arrived, and in 1849 proclaimed the coastal region a French protectorate. In 1895 French Guinea became part of the federation of French West Africa. In 1946 it was made an overseas territory of France, and in 1958 achieved independence. Following a military coup in 1984, Guinea began implementing Westernized government systems. A new constitution was adopted in 1991, and the first multiparty elections were held in 1993. During the 1990s, Guinea accommodated several hundred thousand war refugees from neighboring Liberia and ...
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