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Possible definitions for octine

Achinese
One of the main ethnic groups on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. In the 13th cent. the Achinese became the first people in the archipelago to adopt Islam. After expelling the Portuguese in the 17th cent., the sultanate of Acheh was dominant in N Sumatra until it was conquered by the Dutch in 1904 (see Achinese War). Now part of the Indonesian republic, they are restive and are administered within a special district. They trace their descent through both maternal and paternal lines, and the position of women is high. They number roughly 2.1 million.


actin
One of two proteins responsible for contraction of muscle cells and the motility of other cells. It occurs as a monomer, G-actin, a globular protein, and in living cells as a polymer, F-actin, which resembles two strings of beads twisted around each other into thin filaments. The filaments occur in regular structures, alternated and interwoven with thick filaments that contain myosin, the other major muscle protein. The thick and thin filaments slide past each other, under the control of calcium ions, resulting in contraction (shortening) and relaxation (lengthening) of the muscle cells.


acting
Art of representing a character on a stage or before a camera by means of movement, gesture, and intonation. Acting in the Western tradition originated in Greece in the 6th cent. BC; the tragedian Thespis is traditionally regarded as founder of the profession. Aristotle defined acting as "the right management of the voice to express various emotions" and declared it a natural gift that he doubted could be taught. Acting declined as an art in the Middle Ages, when Christian liturgical drama was performed by craft guilds and amateurs. Modern professional acting emerged in the 16th cent. with Italy's commedia dell'arte troupes. It flourished during the era of W. Shakespeare. Not until the 18th cent., however, was acting considered a profession to be taken seriously, through the efforts in England of the actor-manager D. Garrick and the talents of such actors as S. Siddons, E. Kean, and H. Irving. Modern acting styles have been influenced by K. Stanislavsky's emphasis on the actor's identification with his role and by B. Brecht's insistence on the objectivity and discipline of the actor. The Stanislavsky method was adapted in the U.S. by L. Strasberg and Stella Adler (1901-1992) and is the basis of most contemporary training, which features the cultivation of emotional and sense memory, physical and vocal training, and improvisation.


actinide
Any of the series of 15 consecutive chemical elements in the periodic table from actinium to lawrencium (atomic numbers 89-103). All are radioactive heavy metals; and only the first four (actinium, thorium, protactinium, and uranium) occur in nature in appreciable quantities. The other 11 (the transuranium elements) are unstable and are produced only artificially. Actinides are ...

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