HighScissors

Neoregelia

2005-11-18T06:45:00.000-08:00

Neoregelia leaves are often mottled, marbled,

Nova Lima

2005-10-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

City, east-central Minas Gerais estado (“state”), Brazil. It lies along the Cristais River at 2,444 feet (745 m) above sea level. Nova Lima was made the seat of a municipality in 1891 and became a city in 1936. It is known for its Mineração Morro Velho (“Old Mountain Mine”), British-owned from 1834 until 1959, when it was sold to a Brazilian concern. The air-cooled shaft, which penetrates 8,501 feet (2,591 m), is one of the deepest

Alienation

2005-07-27T06:15:00.000-07:00

In social sciences, the state of feeling estranged or separated from one's milieu, work, products of work, or self. Despite its popularity in the analysis of contemporary life, the idea of alienation remains an ambiguous concept with elusive meanings, the following variants being most common: (1) powerlessness, the feeling that one's destiny is not under one's own control

Racine, Jean

2005-07-24T19:05:00.000-07:00

In full Jean-baptiste Racine French dramatic poet and historiographer renowned for his mastery of French classical tragedy. His reputation rests on the plays he wrote between 1664 and 1677, notably Andromaque (1667), Britannicus (1669), Bérénice (1670), Bajazet (1672), and Phèdre (1677).

Dandolo Family

2005-07-07T21:45:00.000-07:00

An ancient Italian family distinguished in the history of Venice. It rose quickly to prominence when expansion from the lagoons to the mainland began. By the 11th century it was rich, and by the 12th (when the branches of San Luca, San Severo, and San Moisè can already be distinguished) it was competing for the highest posts in church and state. In the middle decades of the 12th

Gehry, Frank O.

2005-07-06T01:55:00.000-07:00

Gehry's family immigrated to Los Angeles in 1947. He studied architecture at the University of Southern California (1949–51; 1954) and city planning at Harvard University (1956–57). After working for several architectural firms, he established his

Arenig Series

2005-06-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

Also called Arenigian Series, the second of six divisions (in ascending order) constituting the Ordovician System, representing all those rocks deposited worldwide during the Arenigian Age (488 to 478 million years ago). The series' name is derived from the Arenig mountains in Gwynedd county in North Wales, which serve as the type area in Great Britain for rocks of this age. Welsh rock strata belonging

Yangtze River, The upper course

2005-06-03T04:15:00.000-07:00

The upper course of the Yangtze flows across the Plateau of Tibet and descends through deep valleys in the mountains east of the plateau, emerging onto the Yunnan-Kweichou (Yunkwei) Plateau. The summers are warm and the winters cold. The source of the Yangtze is the Wu-lan-mu-lun (Ulan Muren) River, which originates in glacial meltwaters on the slopes of the T'ang-ku-la

Montserrat

2005-05-31T22:45:00.000-07:00

Island and overseas territory of the United Kingdom. Located in the Lesser Antilles chain, this pear-shaped island is known as the “Emerald Isle of the Caribbean.” The de facto capital is St. John's, in the northern part of the island. Plymouth, on the southwestern coast, was the capital and only port of entry until 1997, when volcanic eruptions destroyed much of the town and the

Beach Grass

2005-05-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

American beach grass (A. breviligulata) grows along the Atlantic coast and in the Great Lakes region. European beach grass (A. arenaria) has been

Quinidine

2005-05-15T19:35:00.000-07:00

Drug used in the treatment of abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmia) and malaria. Obtained from the bark of the Cinchona tree, quinidine shares many of the pharmacological actions of quinine; i.e., both have antimalarial and fever-reducing activity. The main use of quinidine, however, involves its activity as a myocardial depressant—that is, it depresses the excitability

Irish Terrier

2005-05-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

Dog developed in Ireland, one of the oldest breeds of terriers. Nicknamed the “daredevil,” it has earned the reputation of being adaptable, loyal, spirited, and recklessly courageous. It served as a messenger and sentinel dog in World War I, and it has been used to hunt and to retrieve game. The Irish terrier is a sturdily built dog with racier lines than those of other terriers.

Mfengu

2005-03-15T07:40:00.000-08:00

The Mfengu are descendants of refugees from the Mfecane in Natal, largely of Hlubi, Bhele, and Zizi origin, who made their way to the eastern Cape, where they were succoured by local chiefs. In the wars of 1835, 1846, and 1851 - 53, the Mfengu fought on the British side

Gossart, Jan

2005-03-14T16:50:00.000-08:00

Gossart is most likely to be identified with Jennyn van Hennegouwe, who is registered as a master in the Guild of St. Luke at Antwerp in 1503. His most important early work extant is the Adoration of the Kings, which

Caucasian Languages, Phonology

2005-03-11T05:11:00.001-08:00

The sound system of the Kartvelian languages is relatively uniform, with only the vowel systems exhibiting considerable differences. Apart from the five cardinal vowels a, e, i, o, u, which exist in all the Kartvelian languages, the Svan dialects show several additional vowels: the front (or palatalized) vowels, �, �, �, and a high central vowel, {schwa} (as the a in English �sofa

Caucasian Languages, Phonology

2005-03-11T05:11:00.000-08:00

Gandhara

2005-03-07T07:24:00.000-08:00

In ancient times Gandhara was a trade crossroads and cultural meeting place between India, Central Asia, and the Middle East. The region was subject to Achaemenian Persia in the 6th and 5th centuries BC and

Nigeria

2005-03-06T17:21:00.000-08:00

The first national conventions of the five political parties that had been granted legal status were held in November 1996. The parties elected their leaders as follows:

Carlsbad

2005-03-05T03:58:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1889) of Eddy county, southeastern New Mexico, U.S. It lies on the right bank of the Pecos River. Founded in 1887 and first known as Eddy (for its founder Charles B. Eddy), it was renamed in 1899 for the European spa of Carlsbad (now Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic), because of nearby mineral springs that reputedly had the same mineral content as that of their namesake. The centre (since

Jouvenet, Jean

2005-03-04T08:05:00.000-08:00

Jouvenet was the most celebrated of a family of artists and was son and pupil of Laurent Jouvenet. On arriving in Paris in 1661 he attracted the attention

Canth, Minna

2005-03-03T16:57:00.000-08:00

In 1863 she entered the seminary at Jyv�skyl�, where she married her teacher, J.F. Canth, in 1865. Widowed in 1879, with seven children, she went into business at Kuopio but still found time to produce literary works that had a powerful

X Ray

2005-03-02T23:21:00.000-08:00

There are two methods in general use for detecting X rays. The first method relies on the X rays producing a photochemical change in a photographic emulsion. The blackening of the film is related to the

Accelerometer

2005-03-01T11:55:00.000-08:00

Instrument that measures the rate at which the velocity of an object is changing (i.e., its acceleration). Acceleration cannot be measured directly. An accelerometer, therefore, measures the force exerted by restraints that are placed on a reference mass to hold its position fixed in an accelerating body. Acceleration is computed using the relationship between restraint

Sesshu

2005-02-28T10:51:00.000-08:00

Original surname �Oda�, also called �Toyo, �Unkoku�, or �Bikeisai� artist of the Muromachi period, one of the greatest masters of the Japanese art of sumi-e, or monochrome ink painting. Sesshu adapted Chinese models to Japanese artistic ideals and aesthetic sensibilities. He painted landscapes, Zen Buddhist pictures, and screens decorated with birds, flowers, and animals.

Floral Decoration

2005-02-27T04:01:00.000-08:00

Since the earliest days of civilization, humans have used floral decorations, composed of living or dried cut-plant materials or artificial facsimiles, to embellish their environment and persons. Flowers have played

�vila

2005-02-26T22:45:00.000-08:00

In full� �vila De Los Caballeros, � city and capital of �vila province, in the Castile-Le�n comunidad aut�noma (�autonomous community�), central Spain. The city of �vila is situated on the Adaja River at 3,715 feet (1,132 m) above sea level and is surrounded by the lofty Sierra de Gredos (south) and the Sierra de Guadarrama (east). The city lies 54 miles (87 km) west of Madrid. A pre-Roman settlement on the site became part of Roman Lusitania

Araguari

2005-02-25T14:13:00.000-08:00

City, western Minas Gerais state, Brazil, on the Jord�o River, a tributary of the Parana�ba River, at 3,051 feet (930 m) above sea level. Formerly called Freguesia do Brejo Alegre, the settlement was made the seat of a municipality in 1882 and was elevated to city rank in 1888. Araguari's main source of income is from the large herds of cattle raised in the hinterlands, where rice, corn (maize), feij

Saigon River

2005-02-24T06:54:00.000-08:00

Vietnamese �Song Sai Gon� river in southern Vietnam that rises near Phum Daung, southeastern Cambodia, and flows south and south-southeast for about 140 miles (225 km). In its lower course it embraces Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) on the east and forms an estuary at the head of Ganh Rai Bay, an outlying part of the Mekong delta. The Saigon is joined 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Ho Chi Minh City by the Dong Nai River,

France, History Of, Gaul and Germany at the end of the 5th century

2005-02-22T23:10:00.000-08:00

Preceding the arrival of the Franks, other Germans had already entered Gaul. The area south of the Loire was divided between two groups. One, the Visigoths, occupied Aquitaine, Provence, and most of Spain. Their king, Euric (ruled 466 - 484), was the most powerful monarch in the West. The other group, the Burgundians, ruled much of the Rh�ne valley. In northern Gaul the Alemanni occupied

Q

2005-02-21T10:39:00.000-08:00

Pseudonym of Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch (q.v.).

Epideictic Oratory

2005-02-20T19:38:00.000-08:00

Also called �ceremonial oratory� according to Aristotle, a type of suasive speech designed primarily for rhetorical effect. Epideictic oratory was panegyrical, declamatory, and demonstrative. Its aim was to condemn or to eulogize an individual, cause, occasion, movement, city, or state. An outstanding example of this type of speech is a funeral oration by the Athenian statesman Pericles in honour

Jacaranda

2005-02-19T20:20:00.000-08:00

Any plant of the genus Jacaranda (family Bignoniaceae), especially the two ornamental trees J. mimosifolia and J. cuspidifolia. They are widely grown in warm parts of the world and in greenhouses for their showy blue or violet flowers and attractive, oppositely paired, compound leaves. The genus includes about 50 species native to Central and South America and to the

Annelid, Leeches

2005-02-18T19:48:00.000-08:00

Leeches have 34 segments, and elongation occurs by the subdivision of these segments. Leeches have a small sucker at the anterior end and a large sucker at the posterior end. A clitellum is present in the mid-region during the reproductive period. The poorly developed eyes are paired structures at the anterior end. Setae are absent.

Rheinberger, Joseph (gabriel)

2005-02-17T10:30:00.000-08:00

Rheinberger studied organ at Vaduz and became organist at the parish church when he was only seven years old. He later studied at Feldkirch and Munich and in 1867 became professor of organ and composition at the Munich

Ob River, Plant and animal life

2005-02-16T15:57:00.000-08:00

Rich meadows extend in bands 1 to 2 miles (2 to 3 km) wide for great distances along the banks of the Ob and cover many of the numerous islands. Pine, cedar, silver fir, aspen, and birch also grow on the banks and occasionally constitute isolated forests on the higher ground of the floodplain. Large areas near the river are covered with willow, snowball trees (Viburnum), bird cherry

Jansson, Tove

2005-02-15T19:08:00.000-08:00

Jansson was the

Athanasian Creed

2005-02-14T18:18:00.000-08:00

Also called �Quicumque Vult (from the opening words in Latin)� a Christian profession of faith in about 40 verses. It is regarded as authoritative in the Roman Catholic and some Protestant churches. It has two sections, one dealing with the Trinity and the other with the Incarnation; and it begins and ends with stern warnings that unswerving adherence to such truths is indispensable to salvation. The virulence of these damnatory

Aerospace Industry, Inspection technologies

2005-02-13T10:33:00.000-08:00

The most critical portion of maintenance work is inspection to detect cracks, flaws, debonds, delamination, corrosion, and other detrimental changes before they threaten the aircraft. Inspectors do much of their work visually, often using nothing more sophisticated than a flashlight and a mirror. For most of the remainder, they use ultrasound, X-rays, eddy currents,

Braconid

2005-02-12T18:16:00.000-08:00

Many species are valuable in the control

Managerial Economics

2005-02-11T13:36:00.000-08:00

Application of economic principles to decision-making in business firms or of other management units. The basic concepts are derived mainly from microeconomic theory, which studies the behaviour of individual consumers, firms, and industries, but new tools of analysis have been added. Statistical methods, for example, are becoming increasingly important in

Buzzard

2005-02-10T14:48:00.000-08:00

Any of several birds of prey of the genus Buteo and, in North America, various New World vultures (family Cathartidae), especially the turkey vulture (Cathartes aura; see photograph). Similarly, in Australia a large hawk of the genus Hamirostra is called a black-breasted buzzard. In North America, Buteo species are called buteos, buzzard hawks, or simply

Ear Disease, Labyrinthitis

2005-02-09T20:04:00.000-08:00

Labyrinthitis, an inflammation of the labyrinth of the inner ear, happens when infection occurs as a result of meningitis, syphilis, acute otitis media and mastoiditis, or chronic otitis media and cholesteatoma. Loss of both equilibrium and hearing occurs in the affected ear. Prompt antibiotic treatment sometimes arrests the damage and allows for the possibility

San Francisco Gotera

2005-02-08T18:30:00.000-08:00

City, eastern El Salvador, on the R�o Grande de San Miguel. Formerly called Gotera, its name was modified in 1887 to honour Francisco Moraz�n, the former Central American president. It is an agricultural and livestock-trading centre. Gold and silver are mined nearby at El Divisadero. Pop. (1985 est.) 15,113.

Argentina, The Gran Chaco

2005-02-07T06:45:00.000-08:00

The western sector of the North region, the Gran Chaco, extends beyond the international border at the Pilcomayo River into Paraguay, where it is called the Chaco Boreal (�Northern Chaco�) by Argentines. The Argentine sector between the Pilcomayo River and the Bermejo River is known as the Chaco Central. Argentines have named the area southward to latitude 30� S, where the

Rya Rug

2005-02-06T14:58:00.000-08:00

Floor covering handmade in Sweden and Finland using techniques resembling those employed in Oriental carpets but having extremely long, recumbent pile and great flexibility. In one Swedish type the nap is produced by Ghiordes knots that include a third warp, the fabric having been made on a cloth loom with open shed. Early examples of rya rugs, which were intended

Powhatan War

2005-02-05T15:50:00.000-08:00

(1622 - 44), relentless struggle between the Powhatan Indian confederacy and early English settlers in the tidewater section of Virginia and southern Maryland. The conflict resulted in the destruction of the Indian power. English colonists who had settled in Jamestown (1607) were at first strongly motivated by their need of native corn (maize) to keep peace with the Powhatans

Libya

2005-02-04T13:02:00.000-08:00

A socialist country of North Africa, Libya lies on the Mediterranean Sea. Area: 1,757,000 sq km (678,400 sq mi). Pop. (1996 est.): 5,446,000. Cap.: Tripoli (policy-making body meets in Surt). Monetary unit: Libyan dinar, with (Oct. 11, 1996) an official rate of 0.36 dinar to U.S. $1 (0.56 dinar = � 1 sterling). De facto chief of state in 1996, Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi; secretary of the General People's Congress (nominal chief of state), Zanati Muhammad az-Zanati;

Permafrost, Climatic change

2005-02-03T14:06:00.000-08:00

Permafrost is the result of present climate. Many temperature profiles show, however, that permafrost is not in equilibrium with present climate at the sites of measurement. Some areas show, for example, that climatic warming since the last third of the 19th century has caused a warming of the permafrost to a depth of more than 100 metres. In such areas much of the permafrost

Stradbroke Island

2005-02-02T00:58:00.000-08:00

Two islands consisting of North and South sections, off Moreton Bay, southeastern Queensland, Australia, named for the Earl of Stradbroke in 1827. It was originally one island, but a storm in 1892 severed it in two by creating Jumpinpin Channel. South Stradbroke is about 14 mi (23 km) long and 1/2 mi wide. North Stradbroke, facing Brisbane across the bay, is about 24 mi long and up to 7 mi wide and

Liquid Crystal

2005-02-01T03:08:00.000-08:00

Substance that blends the structures and properties of the normally disparate liquid and crystalline solid states. Liquids can flow, for example, while solids cannot, and crystalline solids possess special symmetry properties that liquids lack. Ordinary solids melt into ordinary liquids as the temperature increases - e.g., ice melts into liquid water. Some solids

Ibn An-nafis

2005-01-31T19:47:00.000-08:00

In full �'Ala' ad-Din Abu al-'Ala' 'Ali ibn Abi al-Haram al-Qurayshi ad-Dimashqi ibn an-Nafis � Arab physician who first described the pulmonary circulation of the blood. In finding that the wall between the right and left ventricles of the heart is solid and without pores, he disputed Galen's view that the blood passes directly from the right to the left side of the heart. Ibn an-Nafis correctly stated that the blood must pass from the right ventricle to the left

Aqueous Humour

2005-01-30T16:41:00.000-08:00

Watery, alkaline liquid that occupies the anterior and posterior chambers of the eye - the space in front of the iris and lens and the ringlike space encircling the lens. The aqueous humour resembles blood plasma in composition, but contains much less protein, less glucose, more lactic acid, and much more ascorbic acid. Aqueous humour is formed from the blood by filtration

Fadeyev, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich

2005-01-29T16:27:00.000-08:00

Fadeyev passed his youth in the Ural Mountains and in eastern Siberia, receiving his schooling in Vladivostok. He joined the Communist

Torez

2005-01-28T08:46:00.000-08:00

Formerly �(until 1964) Chistyakovo� city, Donetsk oblast (province), Ukraine. Torez is a typical coal-mining centre of the Donets Basin coalfield, but in Soviet times its industrial base was considerably widened. It is now a centre for engineering industries, especially electrical engineering, and for building materials. The city of Torez has been replanned in modern style, and its streets have been widened.

Khartoum

2005-01-27T11:10:00.000-08:00

Arabic �Al-Khurtum� (�Elephant's Trunk�), city, executive capital of The Sudan, just south of the confluence of the Blue and White Nile rivers. It has bridge connections with its sister towns, Khartoum North and Omdurman, with which it forms The Sudan's largest conurbation. Originally an Egyptian army camp (pitched 1821), Khartoum grew into a garrisoned army town. The Mahdists besieged and destroyed

Qala'un

2005-01-26T04:02:00.000-08:00

In the 1250s Qala'un was an early and devoted supporter of the Mamluk commander Baybars, and, after the latter became sultan of Egypt and Syria in 1260, Qala'un's career advanced rapidly. Upon the death of Baybars in 1277, Qala'un quickly deposed and exiled two of Baybars' sons who had briefly succeeded to the sultanate,

Fribourg

2005-01-25T20:35:00.000-08:00

German �Freiburg, � canton, western Switzerland, bounded by Lake Neuch�tel and the cantons of Vaud on the west and south and Bern on the east, with enclaves within Vaud. Occupying an area of 644 sq mi (1,669 sq km), it lies in an elevated plain (Swiss Plateau) and rises from flat land in the west through a hilly region up to the PreAlps in the south and east. The highest summits are to the south in La Gruy�re

Addo Elephant National Park

2005-01-24T13:00:00.000-08:00

National park in Eastern province, South Africa. It has an area of 208 square miles (540 square km) and consists of two sections connected by a corridor. The southern part of the park lies in the Sundays River valley south of the Suurberg Range, north of Port Elizabeth, and was established as Addo Elephant National Park in 1931. It is largely covered with dense, impenetrable evergreen

Dyer, Sir Edward

2005-01-23T01:04:00.000-08:00

Educated at the University of Oxford, Dyer went to court under the patronage of the Earl of Leicester. Dyer was a friend of Sir Philip Sidney, on whose death he wrote an elegy

Bas-relief

2005-01-22T06:12:00.000-08:00

Sculptural relief in which the projection from the surrounding surface is slight (see photograph). See relief.

Ski Jumping

2005-01-21T06:59:00.000-08:00

Competitive skiing event in which contestants ski down a steep ramp that curves upward at the end, or takeoff point. Skiers leap from the end, trying to cover as much horizontal distance in the air as possible. Ski jumping has been included in the Winter Olympics since the 1924 Games in Chamonix, France. Upon addition of a second, much bigger hill to the 1964 Olympics, the event was

Argentina, National consolidation, 1852 - 80

2005-01-20T18:36:00.000-08:00

General Urquiza called a constitutional convention that met in Santa Fe in 1852. Buenos Aires refused to participate, but the convention adopted a constitution for the whole country that went into effect on May 25, 1853. Buenos Aires recoiled from the new confederation, the first elected president of which was Urquiza and the first capital of which was Paran�. The porte�o dissidence

Mid Bedfordshire

2005-01-19T16:55:00.000-08:00

District, administrative county of Bedfordshire, south-central England. The district lies almost entirely within the historic county of Bedfordshire, but a small area north of Sandy belongs to the historic county of Cambridgeshire. Predominantly rural, Mid Bedfordshire extends across a broad valley within the River Ouse catchment basin and is crossed by a low

Eritrea, Drainage

2005-01-18T13:42:00.000-08:00

The Eritrean highlands are drained by four major rivers and numerous streams. Two of the rivers, the Gash and the Tekeze, flow westward into The Sudan. The Tekeze River (also known as the Satit) is a major tributary of the Atbara River, which eventually joins the Nile. The Gash River reaches the Atbara only during flood season. As it crosses the western lowlands, the Tekeze

Foreign Legion

2005-01-17T19:51:00.000-08:00

French �L�gion �trang�re, � a military corps consisting originally of foreign volunteers in the pay of France but now including large numbers of Frenchmen. Its officers are nearly all from the French army, and a foreign-born legionnaire becomes eligible for French citizenship after serving one enlistment (five years) with good conduct. Upon enlistment the recruit takes an oath to serve not

Tumba, Lake

2005-01-16T08:52:00.000-08:00

Lake, part of the Congo River basin, northwestern Congo (Kinshasa). Lake Tumba lies 75 miles (120 km) northwest of Lake Mai-Ndombe (formerly Lake L�opold II). It covers 190 square miles (500 square km) and is 6 - 20 feet (2 - 6 m) deep. The lake empties into the Congo River by Irebu channel, just opposite its confluence with the Ubangi River. Lake Tumba is shallow, with low shores, and is navigable by river

Biblical Literature, Jewish versions

2005-01-15T19:35:00.000-08:00

Though Jews in English-speaking lands generally utilized the King James Version and the Revised Version, the English versions have presented great difficulties. They contain departures from the traditional Hebrew text; they sometimes embody Christological interpretations; the headings were often doctrinally objectionable and the renderings in the legal

Madison River

2005-01-14T06:34:00.000-08:00

River in southwestern Montana and northwestern Wyoming, U.S. The Madison River rises in the northwestern corner of Yellowstone National Park at the junction of the Gibbon and Firehole rivers. It flows west through Hebgen Lake (impounded by a dam) into southwestern Montana, then turns north between the Madison Range (to the east) and the Gravelly Range and the Tobacco

Great Basin National Park

2005-01-13T16:50:00.000-08:00

The park consists mainly of the southern part of the Snake Range, a chain of peaks that trend north-south and rise abruptly from the surrounding desert

Abydos

2005-01-12T05:35:00.000-08:00

The history of Abydos is intimately associated with the political and religious development of Egypt

Argentina, Oil, steel, and motor vehicles

2005-01-11T11:31:00.000-08:00

The steel industry in Argentina

Madhya Pradesh, Transportation

2005-01-09T16:04:00.000-08:00

In comparison with other Indian states, Madhya Pradesh is poorly served with transport and communications facilities. The main railroads that pass through the state were originally laid down to connect the ports of Chennai (Madras), Mumbai (Bombay), and Kolkata (Calcutta) with their hinterlands. Important railway junctions include Bhopal, Ratlam, Khandwa, Bilaspur, and

Rabelais, Fran�ois

2005-01-08T18:01:00.000-08:00

Pseudonym �Alcofribas Nasier� French writer and priest who for his contemporaries was an eminent physician and humanist and for posterity is the author of the comic masterpiece Gargantua and Pantagruel. The four novels composing this work are outstanding for their rich use of Renaissance French and for their comedy, which ranges from gross burlesque

Say, L�on

2005-01-07T06:36:00.000-08:00

Say was born into a prominent Protestant family and was the grandson of another well-known economist, Jean-Baptiste Say. Early in his career, Say worked for the Journal des D�bats, later becoming its editor. He became known for his opposition to the Second Empire in general

Aerarium

2005-01-06T23:01:00.000-08:00

Treasury of ancient Rome, housed in the Temple of Saturn and the adjacent tabularium (record office) in the Forum. Under the republic (c. 509 - 27 BC) it was managed by two finance magistrates, the urban quaestors, and controlled by the Senate. In theory all revenues were paid into the aerarium, and all public payments were made from it. In practice, money was moved from the provinces

Mountain, Volcanism

2005-01-05T02:14:00.000-08:00

Most, but not all, volcanoes consist of material that is thought to have melted in the mantle (at depths of tens of kilometres), which rose through the overlying crust and was erupted onto the surface. To a large extent, the physical characteristics of the erupted material determines the shape and height of a volcano. Material of low density can produce taller mountains

Italy

2005-01-04T21:58:00.000-08:00

Officially �Italian Republic�, Italian �Italia� or �Repubblica Italiana� country of south-central Europe, occupying a peninsula that juts deep into the Mediterranean Sea. It has a shape that has been likened frequently to a high-heeled boot about to prod its triangular subject island of Sicily. Another important island, Sardinia, lies some 160 miles (260 kilometres) west of Italy's �shin.� The magnificent mountain barrier of the Alps forms a northern

Naqshbandiyah

2005-01-03T03:15:00.000-08:00

Orthodox fraternity of Muslim mystics (Sufis) found in India, China, the Central Asian republics, and Malaysia. It claims a lineage extending back to Abu Bakr, the first caliph. Baha' ad-Din (d. 1384), founder of the order at Bukhara, Turkistan, was called an-naqshband, �the painter,� because of the impression of God that the repetition of his prescribed ritual prayer (dhikr) should leave upon

Topeka

2005-01-02T18:09:00.000-08:00

The name Topeka is of uncertain Indian origin; one interpretation is �smoky hill,� and another is �a good place to dig potatoes.� The present site was chosen in 1854 by a group of antislavery colonists from Lawrence, led by Charles Robinson, a resident agent of

Jacobi, Mary Putnam

2005-01-01T16:28:00.000-08:00

Mary Putnam was the daughter of George Palmer Putnam, founder of the publishing firm of G.P. Putnam's Sons, and was an elder sister of Herbert Putnam, later librarian of Congress. The family returned from England in 1848, and Mary grew

China, Fiscal and legal system

2004-12-30T15:22:00.000-08:00

Kao-tsu had inherited a bankrupt state, and most of his measures were aimed at simple and cheap administration. His bureaucracy was very small, at both the central and local levels. The expenses of government were largely met out of endowments of land attached to each office, the rents from which paid office expenses and salaries; by interest on funds of money allocated

Williams, Marion

2004-12-29T14:47:00.000-08:00

U.S. gospel singer (b. Aug. 29, 1927, Miami, Fla.--d. July 2, 1994, Philadelphia, Pa.), drew on blues, jazz, folk, and calypso music as inspirations for her innovative vocals, which included octave-spanning leaps from contralto to spine-tingling falsetto tones; her exceptional artistry was often compared to that of Mahalia Jackson. As a child Williams began singing with the congregation at her

Cloete, Stuart

2004-12-28T18:26:00.000-08:00

Cloete farmed in South Africa for several years (1926 - 35) before turning to writing. His first novel, Turning Wheels (1937), expressed a negative view of Boer life and dealt with interracial love affairs. It stimulated

Postmodern Literature In Latin America

2004-12-27T01:00:00.000-08:00

Latin- American literature blossomed and received international acclaim in the 1960s and 1970s with the so-called boom in the novel, a movement signaled by the publication of major works by the Colombian Gabriel Garc�a M�rquez, the Mexican Carlos Fuentes, the Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa, the Argentine Julio Cort�zar, and the Chilean Jos� Donoso. (More recently, the Chilean

Earth, Types of seismic waves

2004-12-26T20:21:00.000-08:00

Three types of seismic waves are commonly identified: body waves, free oscillations, and surface waves. Body waves are those passing through the interior, as illustrated in Figure 16 . For large earthquakes, standing waves of the entire planet - free oscillations - are also excited. Intermediate between these types of seismic waves are surface waves, which travel around

Spring Tide

2004-12-25T01:27:00.000-08:00

Tide of maximal range, near the time of new and full moon when the Sun and Moon are in syzygy - i.e., aligned with the Earth. Conjunction is the time during new moon when the Sun and Moon lie on the same side of the Earth. The other syzygy condition, opposition, occurs during full moon when the Sun and Moon are positioned on opposite sides of the Earth. In either case of syzygy, the

China, Administration of the state

2004-12-24T02:17:00.000-08:00

The T'ang unification had been far more prolonged and bloody than the Sui conquest. That the T'ang regime lasted for nearly three centuries rather than three decades, as with the Sui, was largely the result of the system of government imposed on the conquered territories. The emperor Kao-tsu's role in the T'ang conquest was understated in the traditional histories compiled

Plymouth Company

2004-12-23T09:09:00.000-08:00

The Plymouth Company was less successful than its twin, the London Company (q.v.). In 1606 it established two colonies, and in 1607 settlers landed at the mouth of the

Extradition

2004-12-22T06:07:00.000-08:00

According

Chechaouene

2004-12-21T09:10:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Chechaouen �or �Chefchaouen�, French �Chaouen�, Spanish �Xauen�, Arabic �Shafshawan � Muslim holy city, northern Morocco, situated in the Rif mountain range. Founded in 1471 by the warrior Abu Youma and later moved by Sidi Ali ibn Rachid to its present site at the base of Mount El-Chaouene, the city became a refuge for Moors expelled from Spain. A holy city long closed to non-Muslims, it was occupied in 1920 by the Spanish, who restored it to the Moroccan kingdom in 1956. Chechaouene

South American Nomad, Shellfish gatherers

2004-12-20T23:41:00.000-08:00

In the south the Chono, Alacaluf, and Y�mana Indians occupied the whole Chilean archipelago southward to Cape Horn. This is a rugged terrain of islands and fjords with heavy rainfall, an average winter temperature of 32� F (0� C), and an average summer temperature of 50� F (10� C). The dense forests make land travel extremely difficult and horticulture impracticable. The area is poor

Hadera

2004-12-19T23:55:00.000-08:00

City, western Israel. It lies on the Plain of Sharon midway between Tel Aviv - Yafo and Haifa, near the Mediterranean Sea. The first Jewish settlement on the northern coastal plain, Hadera (from Arabic khadhir, �green�) was founded in 1890 by Jewish immigrants from tsarist-ruled Poland and Lithuania. The seasonal watercourse Nahal Hadera (then called by its Arabic name of Nahr Mufjir),

Calahorra

2004-12-18T22:04:00.000-08:00

Town, in the province and autonomous community (region) of La Rioja, northern Spain, on the south bank of the R�o Cidacos near its confluence with the Ebro, southeast of Logro�o city. Known as Calagurris to its original Celtiberian inhabitants, the town was famous for its four years' resistance to the Roman general Pompey (76 - 72 BC). The Romans later called it Calagurris Nassica

Russell, Ken

2004-12-17T04:27:00.000-08:00

The son of a shoe-store owner, Russell became a cadet at the Nautical College at Pangbourne and subsequently joined the British Merchant Navy. After training as an electrician in the

Ear Disease, Frostbite

2004-12-16T03:47:00.000-08:00

The exposed position of the outer ear makes it the part of the body most frequently affected by freezing, or frostbite. Humidity, duration of exposure, and, most of all, wind, in addition to degrees of temperature below freezing, predispose to the occurrence of frostbite. The frozen area begins along the upper and outer edge of the ear, which becomes yellow-white and waxy

Reproduction, Life cycles of animals

2004-12-15T04:37:00.000-08:00

Invertebrate animals have a rich variety of life cycles, especially among those forms that undergo metamorphosis, a radical physical change. Butterflies, for instance, have a caterpillar stage (larva), a dormant chrysalis stage (pupa), and an adult stage (imago). One remarkable aspect of this development is that, during the transition from caterpillar to adult, most of

Brucite

2004-12-14T08:06:00.000-08:00

Mineral composed of magnesium hydroxide, Mg(OH)2. It generally forms soft, waxy to glassy, white or pale-green, gray, or blue crystals, plate aggregates, or fibrous masses associated with other magnesium minerals (e.g., magnesite and dolomite). It commonly is present in serpentine and sometimes in phyllites, crystalline schists, and metamorphosed magnesian limestone. Notable

East Malaysia

2004-12-13T14:22:00.000-08:00

Wing of the 13-state federation of Malaysia; it consists of the states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern part of the island of Borneo and is separated from mainland Peninsular, or West, Malaysia on the Malay Peninsula by some 400 miles (640 km) of the South China Sea. Pop. (1991 prelim.) 3,385,119.

Franceville

2004-12-12T22:15:00.000-08:00

Franceville is now an active trading centre in a mining region. The exploitation of manganese at Mouanda and uranium at Mounana, both to the northwest,

Saudi Arabia

2004-12-11T21:00:00.000-08:00

The coastal parts of the territory that was to become Saudi Arabia participated in the broad trends of Arabian Peninsula history in the Islamic period - the rise of Islam in western Arabia in the 7th century,