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Possible definitions for zigs

AIDS
Fatal transmissible disorder caused by HIV. AIDS, the last stage of HIV infection, is defined by the appearance of potentially lethal opportunistic infections. The first AIDS cases were identified in 1981, HIV was isolated in 1983, and blood tests were developed by 1985. In 2000, more than 35 million people worldwide were living with HIV, and over 15 million had died of AIDS. In the U.S., some 2 million people had been infected with HIV, 800,000 had been diagnosed with AIDS, and 450,000 had died. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the focus of infection, but the number of cases in S. and S.E. Asia and elsewhere continues to mount at an alarming rate as well. An initial acute illness usually resolves within weeks. Infected persons then generally have few or no symptoms for about 10 years. As the immune system deteriorates, they develop diseases such as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, cytomegalovirus, lymphoma, or Kaposi's sarcoma.


BIOS
Computer program that is typically stored in EPROM and used by the CPU to perform start-up procedures when the computer is turned on. Its two major procedures are determining what peripheral devices (keyboard, mouse, disk drives, printers, video cards, etc.) are available and loading the operating system (OS) into main memory. After start-up, the BIOS program manages data flow between the OS and the peripherals, so neither the OS nor the application programs need to know the details of the peripherals (such as hardware addresses).


Bissau
Seaport (pop., 1995: 233,000), capital of Guinea-Bissau. Lying on an estuary of the Gê ba River where it flows into the Atlantic Ocean, the port originated in 1687 as a Portuguese fortified post. In 1941 it replaced Bolama as the country's capital, and has since developed as an excellent roadstead for large vessels.


cigar
Cylindrical roll of tobacco for smoking, consisting of cut tobacco filler formed in a binder leaf and with a wrapper leaf rolled spirally around the bunch. Wrapper leaf, the most expensive leaf used in cigars, must be strong, elastic, silky in texture, and even in color; it must have a pleasant flavor and good burning properties. Cigars are bigger than cigarettes, and the odor and smoke they produce are stronger. Cigars were being smoked by Maya Indians by the 10th cent.; they were reported back to Spain by C. Columbus and other explorers and became popular there long before they spread to other European countries.


Dias
Portuguese navigator and explorer. Given command of an expedition to ascertain the S limit of Africa, he set sail in 1487. He sailed farther south than previous explorers and became the first European to round the Cape of Good Hope (1488). His voyage opened the sea route to Asia via the Atlantic and Indian oceans. He later commanded a ship in an expedition under P. À . Cabral, in which he participated in the discovery of Brazil; he was lost at sea when they ...

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