for preformated text, 
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 for headings. Most systems will ignore the case of tags and attributes but lower case should be used for compatibility with XHTML. The web Consortium (W3C) is the international standards body for HTML. See also weblint.  
 immediate-release coating — An immediate-release coating is a tablet coating that breaks down immediately in the body. 
 
 immigration border patrol — (in the US) a law enforcement agency responsible for issues regarding border laws and immigration 
 
 implicit function theorem — a theorem that gives conditions under which a function written in implicit form can be written in explicit form. 
 
 infinite impulse response — (electronics, DSP)   A type of digital signal filter, in which every sample of output is the weighted sum of past and current samples of input, using all past samples, but the weights of past samples are an inverse function of the sample age, approaching zero for old samples. 
 
 instrumental conditioning — conditioning (def 1). 
 
 intermittent claudication — pain and cramp in the calf muscles, aggravated by walking and caused by an insufficient supply of blood 
 
 international atomic time — a system of measuring time based on atomic clocks that measure the second as the basic unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Abbreviation: IAT. 
 
 international match point — a unit of scoring in contract bridge tournaments held in Europe. Abbreviation: IMP. 
 
 jean-maurice-Émile baudot — (person)   (1845-1903) The inventor of the Baudot code. Baudot joined the French Post & Telegraph Administration in 1869 as a telegraph operator. In his own time he developed a code for sending several messages at once. In 1874 Baudot patented his first printing telegraph where signals were translated onto paper tape. The Baudot code was adopted first in France and then by other nations for  and  transmissions. The unit of transmission speed, baud, is named after him. 
 
 konigsberg bridge problem — a mathematical problem in graph theory, solved by Leonhard Euler, to show that it is impossible to cross all seven bridges of the Prussian city of Königsberg in a continuous path without recrossing any bridge. 
 
 leaf distribution limited — A UK connectivity software supplier which also provides SERVELAN, a country-wide Internet access service. E-mail: <[email protected]>. Address: 7 Elmwood, Chineham Business Park, Crockford Lane, BASINGSTOKE RG24 0WG. Telephone: +44 (1256) 707 777. Fax: +44 (1256) 707 555. 
 
 letter of acknowledgement — a letter that you receive from someone, telling you that something you have sent to them has arrived 
 
 letters of administration — a formal document nominating a specified person to take over, administer, and dispose of an estate when there is no executor to carry out the testator's will 
 
 limited-slip differential — an automotive differential that can transfer power from a wheel that has lost traction to one that has not. 
 
 lowest common denominator — least common denominator. 
 
 make one's blood run cold — the fluid that circulates in the principal vascular system of human beings and other vertebrates, in humans consisting of plasma in which the red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are suspended. 
 
 marcus aurelius antoninus — Marcus Aurelius, Marcus Aurelius. 
 
 marcus-valerius-martialis — (Marcus Valerius Martialis) a.d. 43?–104? Roman epigrammatist, born in Spain. 
 
 medical officer of health — a person appointed by a local or national authority to be in charge of its health policy 
 
 metal oxide semiconductor — a three-layer sandwich of a metal, an insulator (usually an oxide of the substrate), and a semiconductor substrate, used in integrated circuits. Abbreviation: MOS. 
 
 metal-free phthalocyanine — phthalocyanine (def 1). 
 
 methylrosaniline chloride — gentian violet. 
 
 metropolitan area network — (MAN) A data network intended to serve an area the size of a large city. Such networks are being implemented by innovative techniques, such as running optical fibre through subway tunnels. A popular example of a MAN is SMDS. See also Local Area Network, Wide Area Network. 
 
 mount kenya national park — a national park in Kenya, located in the regions of Mount Kenya that are above 3200 m (10 500 ft); now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the park covers 1420 sq km (548 sq miles) 
 
 multi-scene control board — preset board. 
 
 multiple mirror telescope — a reflecting telescope on Mount Hopkins, in Arizona, that features six computer-linked mirrors set on a single mount. Abbreviation: MMT. 
 
 my favourite toy language — (jargon, language)   (MFTL) Describes a talk on a programming language design that is heavy on syntax (with lots of BNF), sometimes even talks about semantics (e.g. type systems), but rarely, if ever, has any content (see content-free). More broadly applied to talks - even when the topic is not a programming language --- in which the subject matter is gone into in unnecessary and meticulous detail at the sacrifice of any conceptual content. "Well, it was a typical MFTL talk". 2. A language about which the developers are passionate (often to the point of prosyletic zeal) but no one else cares about. Applied to the language by those outside the originating group. "He cornered me about type resolution in his MFTL." The first great goal in the mind of the designer of an MFTL is usually to write a compiler for it, then bootstrap the design away from contamination by lesser languages by writing a compiler for it in itself. Thus, the standard put-down question at an MFTL talk is "Has it been used for anything besides its own compiler?". On the other hand, a language that *cannot* be used to write its own compiler is beneath contempt. See break-even point, toolsmith. 
 
 national insurance number — a number allocated to UK citizens so that they can pay national insurance 
 
 national unity government — a government formed by a coalition of parties, esp in time of national emergency 
 
 non-algorithmic procedure — heuristic 
 
 normal equivalent deviate — a value x such that the integral of a normal curve over all those values of the independent variable less than x is equal to the given probability. 
 
 object relational mapping — (programming, database)   (ORM) The software development activity that defines a correspondence between objects in a program and rows in a database table. Atomic object properties correspond to columns in the table, non-atomic data types and relations between objects are represented as foreign keys referring to other tables. An object persistence mechanism is responsible for maintaining the correspondence between objects and the database contents at run-time. 
 
 on the horns of a dilemma — one of the bony, permanent, hollow paired growths, often curved and pointed, that project from the upper part of the head of certain ungulate mammals, as cattle, sheep, goats, or antelopes. 
 
 peripheral nervous system — the portion of the nervous system lying outside the brain and spinal cord. 
 
 permanent virtual circuit — (networking)   (PVC, or in ATM terminology, "Permanent Virtual Connection") A virtual circuit that is permanently established, saving the time associated with circuit establishment and tear-down. 
 
 personal-opinion telegram — a type of domestic telegram sent at the lowest rate with a minimum charge for 20 words or less to elected federal or state officials on a subject of national or regional interest. 
 
 personalized number plate — a car registration plate that has the owner's initials or name on it 
 
 petropavlovsk-kamchatskiy — seaport in E Asian Russia, on Kamchatka Peninsula: pop. 210,000 
 
 please clean my room sign — A please clean my room sign is a sign that a guest in a hotel hangs outside their room to tell the cleaner the room is available for cleaning. 
 
 polycystic ovary syndrome — a hormonal disorder in which the Graafian follicles in the ovary fail to develop completely so that they are unable to ovulate, remaining as multiple cysts that distend the ovary. The results can include reduced fertility, obesity, and hirsutism 
 
 polymerase chain reaction — a technique in which a known DNA sequence is synthesized at high temperatures by means of a polymerase, producing millions of copies for statistical analysis: used in DNA fingerprinting, in detecting minute quantities of cancer cells, etc. 
 
 polynomial-time algorithm — (complexity)   A known algorithm (or Turing Machine) that is guaranteed to terminate within a number of steps which is a polynomial function of the size of the problem. See also computational complexity, exponential time, nondeterministic polynomial-time (NP), NP-complete. 
 
 prices and incomes policy — voluntary or statutory regulation of the level of increases in prices and incomes 
 
 primary domain controller — (networking)   (PDC) Each Windows NT domain has a Primary Domain Controller and zero or more Backup Domain Controllers. The PDC holds the SAM database and authenticates access requests from workstations and servers in the domain. 
 
 profit and loss statement — A profit and loss statement is a statement that is compiled at the end of a financial year showing that year's revenue and expense items and indicating gross and net profit or loss.