Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/731

* STRONG. 633 STROPHANTHUS. maties» In 1827 he accepted the chair of mathe- matics and natural pliilosophy in Kutgers Col- lege, a position which lie retained till lS(i2, when he retired from active life. ISlroni; made many important contributions to niathematical science. A new geometrical demonstration of the values of the sines and cosines of the sum and dill'erence of two arcs was given by him in 1818. He also gave a solution of the irreducible case of the cubic ecjuation, and devised a method for the application of the binomial theorem to the extraction of the roots of whole munbers. His two principal systematic works are A Treatise on Elonnilary and Higher Algebra (1859) and .i Treatise on the Differential and liitigral Calculus (1800). STRONG, William (1808-95). An American jurist, born in Somers, Conn. He graduated at Yale in 1828, and was admitted to the bar in Reading, Pa., in 18.32. In 1840 and again in 1848 he was elected to the national House of Representatives as a Democrat ; and from 1857 until 1SC8 he was a justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. From 1870 until 1880 he was associate justice of the L'nited States Supreme Court. He was a member of the Electoral Com- mission that decided the disputed Presidential election of 1876 and in that capacity contended that Congress had no power to canvass State returns for Presidential electors. He was for many j'ears connected with societies for the ad- vancement of Sunday schools and missionary work. STRONG, William L. (1827-1900). The last Mayor of New York previous to the formation of Greater New York. He was born in Richland County, Ohio ; was a drygoods salesman in Wooster and then in Manchester, Ohio; in 1853 went to New York City, where he engaged in similar business, and in 1869 became the head of the firm of William L. Strong & Co. In politics he was a Republican. From 1895 to 1898 lie was Mayor of New York, having been elected on a fusion ticket supported by Republicans and anti- Tanniianj- Democrats. STRONGBOW. A surname of Richard Fitz Gislehert. Earl of Pembroke, one of the leaders in the Anglo-Nocman conquest of Ireland (q.v.). STRONGYLUS (Neo-Lat., from Gk. arpoy- •yvos, round). A genus of nematode wonr.s, parasitic in man and other animals. The only true Strongylus infesting man is Strongylus hronchiulis. The male usually measures rather more than half an inch, while the female is up- ward of an inch in length. It is apparently a rather uncommon parasite, as few cases have been reported, though allied species occur in the lungs and air passages of pigs, calves, and sheep. Closely allied to Strongv'lus is the genus Eustroiigyius, which contains the species Eu- strongylus gigas, which is the largest nematode worm at present known to infest man or any other animal, the male measuring a foot in length, and one-fourth of an inch in diameter, while the female is more than three feet, its transverse diameter being fully half an inch. The body is cylindrical, and more or less tinged with redness; the head obtuse, and furnished with a simple oval aperture surrounded by six chitinous nodules. This worm occurs in the kid- neys and bladder, sometimes in the abdominal cavity and the omentum, more rarely in the lungs and liver of man and other animals. For- tunatcl}-, it is very rare in man; it is said that weasels arc the animals in which it is most com- monly found. STRONTIUM (Neo-Lat., from Sirontian, Argyllshire, Scotland). A metallic clement first isolated by Davy in 1808, its earth having been recognized as a distinct chemical substance after Cruilcshank (1790), Hope (1792), and Klaproth (1793) had discovered that it gives a peculiar coloration if introduced into a flame. Strontium occurs as the carbonate (strontianite), as the sulphate (celestite), as the silicate in combina- tion with barium and calcium (brewsterite) , also in small quantities in other minerals, such as arragonite, calcite. and dolomite. It further occurs in mineral and sea waters, and also in the ashes of certain plants. The metal may be obtained by the electrol.vsis of the moistened hydroxide or the chloride. Strontium (symbol, Sr; atomic weight, 87.61) is a yellow metal with a sjieeific gravity of 2.5; it melts at a moderate red heat. It is both nuiUeable and ductile, is less electro-positive than calcium and the alkali metals, oxidizes quickly on exposure to the air, and burns brilliantly when heated, forming the oxide. It combines with oxygen to form a mon- oxide (SrO) and a dioxide (SrO,). The former is a gray-white, porous, infusible solid that is usually prepared by igniting the nitrate. The hydrate formed by the action of water on the' oxide has the property of combining with crystal- lizable sugar to form a saccharate easily decora- posed by carbon dioxide, and hence is extensively used for the separation of sugar from beet-root molasses. The nitrate, which may be prepared by dissolving the carbonate in warm dilute nitric acid and evaporating to crystallization, finds use for pyrotechnic purposes, owing to the red flame with which it burns. STROPHADES, strOf'adez (Lat., from Gk. SrpooatUf). Two small islands in the Ionian Sea, now Strofadia and Strivali. The name was gi^en from the legend that the sons of Boreas pursued the Harpies to the islands, thence re- turning [GTpc(j>[ir, to turn) from their expedition. STROPHANTHUS (Neo-Lat.. from Gk. a-p6(pn(, strophos. twisted, bent, from arpiipeii', strephein, to turn, twist + oi'ftof, anthos, llnwer). A drug consisting of the seed of Strophanthus hispidus. a climbing African plant of the order Apocynaceae. From the seed can be obtained its active principle strophanthin, a bitter glueoside. This is a white, amorphous, or crystalline powder, soluble in water or alcohol. The physiological action of the drug is much like that of digitalis (q.v.). It slows the action of the heart, increases its contractility, and increases the arterial tension, though less than digitalis. Its action is more rapid, less protracted, and less certain than that of digitalis. It is also less diuretic, less apt to disturb the stomach, and is not cumulative. In large doses it is a direct poison to the voluntary muscles, which become tonically contracted and pass into a condition re- sembling rigor mortis. Strophanthus is a valua- ble cardiac stimulant and is used in cases in which digitalis is indicated, but in which, for any reason, it is necessary to substitute another drug. It is also of use when digitalis fails to act. The official tincture is the form generally employed.