Defeat device means a device which measures, senses, or responds to operating variables (e.g., engine speed, temperature, intake pressure or any other parameter) for the purpose of activating, modulating, delaying or deactivating the operation of any component or the function of the emission control system such that the effectiveness of the emission control system is reduced under conditions encountered during normal operation, unless the use of such a device is substantially included in the applied emission certification test procedures.      

Source: Resolution MEPC.176(58), amendments to the Annex of the Protocol of 1978 relating to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (Revised MARPOL Annex VI), 10 October 2008, International Maritime Organization

The changes of forested areas to non-forest land use such as arable land, urban use, logged area or wasteland.

The dependent variable is the variable of which the value is measured for each and every change in the independent variable.

The dependent variable is the variable of which the value is measured for each and every change in the independent variable.

An area that receives an average annual precipitation of less than 250 mm (9.8 in) or an area in which more water is lost than falls as precipitation

a large burrowing land tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) of arid regions of the southwestern United States and adjacent Mexico

The degradation of land in arid, semi arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various climatic variations, but primarily from human activities

A wide variety of teaching techniques and lesson adaptations that educators use to instruct a diverse group of students, with diverse learning needs, in the same course, classroom, or learning environment

 Variables that can only take on a finite number of values 

An impairment of the normal state of the living animal or plant body or one of its parts that interrupts or modifies the performance of the vital functions,

Total distance moved by an object along a particular direction.

deoxyribonucleic acid, a self-replicating material which is present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes. It is the carrier of genetic information.

A trial, usually used in the context of medicine, when assessing the effects of a new drug or treatment on humans. Neither the patients nor the scientists concerned know which treatment a particular individual is receiving until after completion of the trial. This helps to avoid bias and increase the validity of the trial.