sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or crib death Unex¬ pected death of an apparently well infant. It occurs almost always during sleep at night and usually at 2^f months of age. Sleeping facedown and exposure to cigarette smoke have been implicated. It is more common in cases of premature birth, low birth weight, and poor prenatal care. Many cases that would once have been labeled SIDS prove to be due to suffo¬ cation in bedding or overheating. Some babies who die of SIDS have been found to have brain stem abnormalities that interfere with their response to high levels of carbon dioxide in the blood.
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Sudetenland > sugarcane I 1839
Sudetenland Nsii-'da-Fn-.landN Sections of northern and western Bohe¬ mia and northern Moravia around the Sudeten mountain ranges. Formerly part of Austria, the predominantly German-speaking area was incorpo¬ rated into Czechoslovakia after World War I. Discontent among the Sude¬ ten Germans was exploited in the mid-1930s by the Nazi Party and its local leader Konrad Henlein. The inflammatory situation convinced Brit¬ ain and France that, to avoid war, Czechoslovakia must be persuaded to give the region autonomy. Adolf Hitler’s demand that the region be ceded to Germany was initially rejected, but the cession was later accomplished by the Munich agreement. After World War II the region was restored to Czechoslovakia, which expelled its German inhabitants and repopulated the area with Czechs.
Sudra See Shudra
Suetonius \swe-'to-ne-9s, .su-o-'to-ne-osV Latin Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (b. ad 69, probably Rome—d. after 122) Roman biogra¬ pher and antiquarian. Suetonius’s family was of the knightly class. His writings include Concerning Illustrious Men, short biographies of liter¬ ary figures that were the ultimate source of nearly all that is known about the lives of eminent Roman authors. Lives of the Caesars, his other major work, is seasoned with bits of gossip and scandal related to the first 11 emperors; it is largely responsible for the vivid picture of Roman society and its decadent leaders that dominated historical thought until modified in modern times by the discovery of nonliterary evidence.
Suez, Gulf of Northwestern extension of the Red Sea. It is located between Africa and the Sinai Peninsula and is roughly 195 mi (314 km) long and 12-20 mi (19-32 km) wide. Linked to the Mediterranean Sea by the Suez Canal, it is an important shipping route. In the 1970s and ’80s, oil was discovered at numerous locations in the gulf.
Suez Canal Ship canal, Isthmus of Suez, Egypt. Connecting the Red Sea with the eastern Mediterranean Sea, it extends 100 mi (160 km) from Port Said to the Gulf of Suez and allows ships to sail directly between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. Built by the French-owned Suez Canal Co., it was completed in 1869 after 11 years of construction. Its ownership remained largely in French and British hands until Egypt nationalized it in 1956, setting off an international crisis (see Suez Crisis). It has a minimum width of 179 ft (55 m) and a depth of about 40 ft (12 m) at low tide. Though protected by international treaty, the canal has been closed twice. The first closing was during the Suez Crisis. The canal again was closed by the Six-D ay War (1967) and remained inoperative until 1975. It is one of the world’s most heavily used shipping lanes.
Suez Crisis (1956) International crisis that arose when Egyptian presi¬ dent Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal after Western coun¬ tries withdrew promised financial aid to build the Aswan High Dam. The French and British, who had controlling interests in the company that owned the canal, sent troops to occupy the canal zone. Their ally Israel seized the Sinai Peninsula. International opposition quickly forced the French and British out, and Israel withdrew in 1957. The incident led to the resignation of Britain’s prime minister, Anthony Eden, and was widely perceived as heralding the end of Britain as a major international power. Nasser’s prestige, by contrast, soared within the developing world. See also Arab-Israeli Wars.
Suffolk Administrative (pop., 2001: 668,548) and historic county, east¬ ern England, on the North Sea. There are prehistoric flint mines in the north of the county. During Anglo-Saxon times Suffolk formed part of the kingdom of East Anglia; the Sutton Hoo ship burial dates from this time. Its medieval prosperity was based largely on the woolen cloth industry. Since then, agriculture has been the major economic activity; crops include cereals, sugar beets, and vegetables. The Suffolk town of New¬ market is famous for its racing stables, and the Suffolk coast is dotted with holiday resorts. The county seat is Ipswich.
Suffolk Breed of medium-wool, dark-faced, hornless sheep developed in England in the early 19th century by mating Norfolk horned ewes (females) with Southdown rams (males). Suffolks are prolific, early- maturing sheep with excellent mutton carcasses. They are energetic and have an alert carriage and great stamina. Introduced into the U.S. in 1888, the Suffolk is a popular lamb producer.
Suffolk, Thomas Howard, 1 st earl of (b. Aug. 24, 1561—d. May 28, 1626, London, Eng.) English naval officer and politician. Son of the 4th duke of Norfolk, Howard held naval commands and distinguished himself in the attack on the Spanish Armada (1588). He led naval forays
against the Spanish in the reign of Elizabeth I. Created earl of Suffolk in 1603, he served James I as lord chamberlain (1603-14) and lord high trea¬ surer (1614-18). In 1618 he was deprived of his office on charges of embezzlement and was briefly imprisoned with his wife, who had taken bribes from Spain.
Sufism Vsti-.fi-zonA Mystical movement within Islam that seeks to find divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of God. It consists of a variety of mystical paths that are designed to ascertain the nature of mankind and God and to facilitate the experience of divine love and wisdom in the world. Sufism arose as an organized movement after the death of Muhammad (ad 632), among different groups who found orthodox Islam to be spiritually stifling. The practices of contemporary Sufi orders and suborders vary, but most include the recitation of the name of God or of certain phrases from the Qu’ran as a way to loosen the bonds of the lower self, enabling the soul to experience the higher reality toward which it naturally aspires. Though Sufi practitioners have often been at odds with the mainstream of Islamic theology and law, the importance of Sufism in the history of Islam is incalculable. Sufi literature, especially love poetry, represents a golden age in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Urdu languages. See also Ahmadiyyah; dervish; Malamatiyyah; tariqa.
sugar Any of numerous sweet, colourless organic compounds that dis¬ solve readily in water and occur in the sap of seed plants and the milk of mammals. Sugars (whose names end in - ose ) are the simplest carbohy¬ drates. The most common is sucrose, a disaccharide; there are numerous others, including glucose and fructose (both monosaccharides); invert sugar (a 50:50 mixture of glucose and fructose produced by enzyme action on sucrose); and maltose (produced in the malting of barley) and lactose (both disaccharides). Commercial production of sugars is almost entirely for food.
Sugar Act (1764) British legislation to raise revenue from North Ameri¬ can colonies. A revision of the unenforced Molasses Act of 1733, it imposed new duties on sugar and molasses imported into the colonies from non-British Caribbean sources and provided for the seizure of car¬ goes violating the new rules. The act was the first attempt to recoup from the colonies the expenses of the French and Indian War and the cost of maintaining British troops in North America. The colonists objected to the act as taxation without representation, and some merchants agreed not to import British goods. Protests increased with passage of the Stamp Act.