MedicalBook

Aaron

2005-11-18T18:15:00.000-08:00

Aaron is described in the Old Testament book of Exodus as a son of Amram and Jochebed of the tribe of Levi, three years older than his brother Moses. He acted together with his brother in the desperate situation of the Israelites in Egypt and took an active part in the Exodus. Although Moses was the actual leader, Aaron acted as his “mouth.” The two brothers went to the pharaoh

Israel, Transportation

2005-10-16T15:10:00.000-07:00

Israel has developed a modern, well-marked highway system, and road transport is more significant to the country's commercial and passenger services than transport by rail. Bus companies provide efficient service within and between all cities and towns, supplemented by private taxis and sheruts—privately owned and operated shuttles—which run on urban and interurban

Back Swimmer

2005-08-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

Any insect of the family Notonectidae (order Heteroptera), containing approximately 200 species. These relatively small insects occur worldwide. Most are less than 15 mm (0.6 inch) in length. Their long, oarlike legs are used when they swim on their backs, which are shaped like the keel and sides of a boat. The back swimmer has an oval head and an elongated body. It is a good example

Terauchi Masatake, Count (hakushaku)

2005-07-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

He was born into a family of retainers of the Choshu clan and originally was named Tada Jusaburo. Masatake changed his name when he was adopted into the Terauchi family during his youth. He entered the military at the age of 12 and became

Oats

2005-07-25T23:20:00.000-07:00

The wild oat was first found in western Europe, apparently as

Gezer

2005-07-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

The excavations at Gezer sponsored by the Palestine Exploration Fund during 1902–05 and 1907–09 disclosed strata covering most periods

Syringomyelia

2005-07-08T09:15:00.000-07:00

Chronic, progressive disease characterized principally by the development of a cyst, called a syrinx, near the spinal cord or brain stem. Symptoms include gradual dissociated sensory loss, muscle wasting, and spasticity. The cause of the disease is unknown but is thought to be a developmental defect. Symptoms ordinarily appear between 10 and 30 years of age; males are

Dagan

2005-07-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Dagon West Semitic god of crop fertility, worshiped extensively throughout the ancient Middle East. Dagan was the Hebrew and Ugaritic common noun for “grain,” and the god Dagan was the legendary inventor of the plow. His cult is attested as early as about 2500 BC, and, according to texts found at Ras Shamra (ancient Ugarit), he was the father of the god Baal. Dagan had an important temple

Mace, James

2005-06-30T15:30:00.000-07:00

Traveling as a youth with a show booth in which he played the violin and gave boxing exhibitions, Mace attracted

Jackdaw

2005-06-22T21:55:00.000-07:00

Also called Daw (species Corvus monedula), crowlike black bird with gray nape and pearly eyes of the family Corvidae (q.v.; order Passeriformes). Jackdaws, which are 33 cm (13 inches) long, breed in colonies in tree holes, cliffs, and tall buildings: their flocks fly in formation around the site. They lay four to six light, greenish blue eggs that are spotted and blotched. The bird's

Alabama Platform

2005-06-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

In U.S. history, Southern political leader William L. Yancey's response (1848) to the antislavery Wilmot Proviso (q.v.). The Alabama platform insisted that the U.S. government protect slavery in territories ceded to the United States by Mexico and that no territorial legislature be allowed to prohibit slavery. The Democratic Party declined to adopt Yancey's platform at the

Cranberry

2005-06-03T15:50:00.000-07:00

Fruit of any of several small creeping or trailing plants of the genus Vaccinium (family Ericaceae), related to the blueberries. The small-fruited, or northern, cranberry (V. oxycoccus) is found in marshy land in northern North America and Asia and in northern and central Europe. Its stems are wiry and creeping; the leaves are evergreen, oval or elliptical,

Anomoean

2005-06-01T10:35:00.000-07:00

(from Greek anomoios, “unlike”), any member of a religious group of the 4th century that represented an extreme form of Arianism (q.v.), a Christian heresy that held that the essential difference between God and Christ was that God had always existed, while Christ was created by God. Aëtius, the founder of the Anomoeans, reasoned that the doctrine carried to its logical conclusion

Middle West

2005-05-18T01:35:00.000-07:00

Also called Midwest, or North Central States, region, northern and central United States, lying midway between the Appalachian and Rocky mountains and north of the Ohio River and the 37th parallel. The Middle West, as defined by the federal government, comprises the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Actually composed of

Ugaritic Alphabet

2005-05-16T07:05:00.000-07:00

Cuneiform writing system used on the Syrian coast from the 15th to 13th century BC. It is believed that it was invented independent of other cuneiform writing systems and of the linear North Semitic alphabet, though similarities in certain letters suggest that it may have been patterned after the North Semitic alphabet. Unlike the North Semitic alphabet, however, Ugaritic

Nagauta

2005-05-14T04:55:00.000-07:00

The standard complete instrumentation of a nagauta piece consists of singers; players of the three-stringed, plucked samisen; and performers

Pematangsiantar

2005-03-15T06:14:00.000-08:00

City, Sumatera Utara provinsi (�province�), Sumatra, Indonesia. It is about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Medan, the provincial capital, with which it is connected by a major road and railway. The second most populous city in the province, after Medan, Pematangsiantar is inhabited mainly by Batak; there are also Chinese and Indians who are mostly traders, merchants, and businessmen.

Rurik

2005-03-14T19:02:00.000-08:00

Rurik was a Viking, or Varangian, prince. His story is told in the The Russian Primary Chronicle (compiled at the beginning of the 12th century) but is not accepted at face value by modern historians. According to the chronicle, the people of Novgorod, tired of political strife, invited the Varangians about AD 862 to

Powell, Maud

2005-03-11T01:13:00.000-08:00

Powell early displayed musical talent and took up the violin. Encouraged especially by her mother, an amateur musician and composer, she studied under teachers in Aurora, Illinois, and in Chicago. At age nine she made a six-week

Iberian Peninsula

2005-03-04T19:42:00.000-08:00

Peninsula in southwestern Europe, occupied by Spain and Portugal. Its name derives from its ancient inhabitants whom the Greeks called Iberians, probably after the Ebro (Iberus), the peninsula's second longest river (after the Tagus). The Pyrenees form an effective land barrier in the northeast from the rest of Europe, and in the south at Gibraltar the peninsula is separated

Marriott, J(ohn) Willard

2005-03-03T15:38:00.000-08:00

The son of a Mormon rancher, Marriott worked his way through Weber College in Ogden and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, graduating in 1926. He opened a small root beer and barbecue stand in Washington, D.C., in 1927 and by 1932 had

Akosombo Dam

2005-03-02T04:55:00.000-08:00

Rock-fill dam on the Volta River, near Akosombo, Ghana, completed in 1965 as part of the Volta River Project. Its construction was jointly financed by the government of Ghana, the World Bank, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The dam rises 440 feet (134 m) above ground level and has a crest 2,201 feet (671 m) wide and a volume of 10,451,000 cubic yards (7,991,000 cubic m). The dam impounds Lake Volta; this huge reservoir

Vietnam, Climate

2005-03-01T14:28:00.000-08:00

The northern part of Vietnam is on the edge of the tropical climatic zone. During January, the coldest month of the year, Hanoi has a mean temperature of 63� F (17� C), while the annual average temperature is 74� F (23� C). Farther south, the average annual temperature in Hue is 77� F (25� C) and in Ho Chi Minh City is 81� F (27� C); in the highland city of Da Lat, it drops to 70� F (21� C). The winter season in northern Vietnam lasts

As You Like It

2005-02-28T09:47:00.000-08:00

The play has two principal settings: the court that Frederick has usurped from his brother, the rightful duke (known as Duke Senior), and the Forest of Arden, where the Duke and his followers

Alaungpaya Dynasty

2005-02-27T04:30:00.000-08:00

Also called �Konbaung� the last ruling dynasty (1752 - 1885) of Myanmar (Burma). The dynasty's collapse in the face of British imperial might marked the end of Myanmar sovereignty for more than 60 years. (Some authorities limit the name Konbaung dynasty to the period beginning with King Bodawpaya in 1782 and continuing to 1885.) The Alaungpaya dynasty led Myanmar in an era of expansionism that was only brought to an

P�rez De Cu�llar, Javier

2005-02-26T15:04:00.000-08:00

After attending the Catholic University in Lima, P�rez de Cu�llar joined the foreign ministry in 1940 and the diplomatic service in 1944. After serving in embassies in France, the United Kingdom, Bolivia, and Brazil, he returned in 1961 to the Ministry

Atherosclerosis

2005-02-25T00:11:00.000-08:00

An arteriosclerosis characterized by the deposition of fatty substances in and fibrosis of the inner layer of the arteries. See arteriosclerosis.

C�diz

2005-02-24T20:29:00.000-08:00

The eastern part of the provincia is crossed by wooded spurs of

Robert I

2005-02-23T00:18:00.000-08:00

Byname �Robert The Magnificent, or The Devil, �French �Robert Le Magnifique, or Le Diable� duke of Normandy (1027 - 35), the younger son of Richard II of Normandy and the father, by his mistress Arlette, of William the Conqueror of England. On the death of his father (1026/27), Robert contested the duchy with his elder brother Richard III, legally the heir, until the latter's opportune death a few years later. A strong ruler, Robert succeeded in exacting the obedience of

School Drama

2005-02-22T03:58:00.000-08:00

Any play performed by students in schools and colleges throughout Europe during the Renaissance. At first these plays were written by scholars in Latin as educational works, especially in Jesuit schools, but they later were viewed as entertainment as well. The works included translations and imitations of such Latin authors as Terence and Plautus, as well as original

Drabble, Margaret

2005-02-21T23:17:00.000-08:00

The daughter of a judge and sister of novelist A.S. Byatt, Margaret Drabble began writing after leaving Cambridge University. The central characters of her

Baku Rug

2005-02-20T22:56:00.000-08:00

Also called �Chilia Rug, � handwoven floor covering made near Baku in the eastern Caucasus. It is a variety of Dagestan rug in modified Persian design, the ground pattern usually bearing rows of the pear or leaf forms of the Seraband rugs but larger in scale and more geometric and complex in form. Stepped medallions and stepped cornerpieces may show a toothed outline, resembling the corners

Peter, Hugh

2005-02-18T06:31:00.000-08:00

Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, he was ordained a priest in the Anglican Church in 1623. He went to London in 1626 and was appointed preacher at St. Sepulchre's, but his unorthodox views led to the suspension of his preaching license in 1627. He

Group Insurance

2005-02-17T03:49:00.000-08:00

The concept of group insurance

Theobald I

2005-02-16T23:49:00.000-08:00

Theobald earned his nickname �the Cheat� fighting with his neighbours, among them the kings of France, the dukes of Normandy, and the church of Reims. He seized the area around Blois about 940 and later augmented his holdings with the counties of Chartres and Ch�teaudun. In 945 Hugh the Great made Theobald responsible for holding the French

Arval Brothers

2005-02-15T14:22:00.000-08:00

Latin �Fratres Arvales, � in ancient Rome, college or priesthood whose chief original duty was to offer annual public sacrifice for the fertility of the fields. The brotherhood, probably of great antiquity, was almost forgotten in republican times but was revived by Augustus and probably lasted until the time of Theodosius I. It consisted of 12 members, elected for life from the highest ranks,

Venice Majolica

2005-02-14T23:08:00.000-08:00

Majolica also spelled �Maiolica, � tin-glazed earthenware made at Venice that reached its stylistic zenith in the 16th century. The workshops of Maestro Ludovico (fl. 1540 - 45), Domenigo da Venezia (fl. 1550 - 60), and Jacomo da Pesaro (fl. 1543) produced outstanding ware of this type. Venetian potters excelled in painting arrangements of decorative trophies, globes, musical instruments, and other apparatus, executed in a brilliant

Indonesia

2005-02-13T16:18:00.000-08:00

Officially �Republic of Indonesia�, Indonesian �Republik Indonesia� country located off the coast of the Southeast Asian mainland in the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is an archipelago that lies across the Equator and spans a distance equivalent to one-eighth of the Earth's circumference. Its islands can be grouped into the Greater Sunda Islands of Sumatra (Sumatera), Java (Jawa), the southern extent of Borneo known as Kalimantan, and

Extrametrical

2005-02-12T15:16:00.000-08:00

In prosody, exceeding the usual or prescribed number of syllables in a given metre. Also, in reference to a syllable or syllables not counted in metrical analysis. In the following final couplet from a sonnet by William Shakespeare, the ending syllables are extrametrical: Yet him for this my love no whit disdaineth;Suns of the world may stain when heaven's sun

Trainer

2005-02-11T17:42:00.000-08:00

In military aviation, an airplane that is designed and used to train pilots to operate advanced aircraft effectively. The complicated modern military airplane requires a high degree of skill on the part of pilots. Military training programs commonly make use of a single-engine aircraft for primary training phases, with twin-jet trainers for transition

Quantification

2005-02-10T20:43:00.000-08:00

In logic, the attachment of signs of quantity to the predicate or subject of a proposition. The universal quantifier, symbolized by (-) or (-), where the blank is filled by a variable, is used to express that the formula following holds for all values of the particular variable quantified. The existential quantifier, symbolized ($-), expresses that the formula following holds

Arduino, Giovanni

2005-02-09T16:47:00.000-08:00

From an early age, Arduino showed an interest in mining, establishing a reputation throughout northern Italy

Murillo, Bartolom� Esteban

2005-02-08T07:57:00.000-08:00

Among Murillo's earliest works is the Virgin of the Rosary (c. 1642). In the vestigial

Bloch, Jean-richard

2005-02-07T05:05:00.000-08:00

In 1910, while teaching in Poitiers, Bloch started L'Effort libre, a �review of revolutionary civilization.� His essay Naissance d'une culture (1936; �Birth of a Culture�) called for an art that would associate the democratic tradition with a proletarian culture. The stories in

K�rner, Wilhelm

2005-02-06T21:40:00.000-08:00

German organic chemist who in 1874 showed how to determine the relative positions of two substituents, such as methyl, on the benzene ring. For example, o-xylene forms two different mononitro derivatives; m-xylene forms three; and p-xylene forms only one. This method permitted further advances in the study and development

Tributyl Phosphate

2005-02-05T21:47:00.000-08:00

An organic liquid solvent used in the extraction of uranium and plutonium salts from reactor effluents, as a solvent for nitrocellulose and cellulose acetate, and as a heat-exchange medium. A phosphorus-containing compound with molecular formula (C4H9)3PO4, it is prepared by reaction of phosphorus oxychloride with butyl alcohol. Tributyl phosphate is corrosive to

Cromwellian Chair

2005-02-04T18:02:00.000-08:00

Sturdy, squarish chair with a leather back and seat, studded with brass-headed nails, made in England in the mid-17th century during the Puritan period and named after Oliver Cromwell. Because luxury and almost any kind of ornament were shunned in the prevailing climate of austerity, the only decoration was the pattern of bright nail heads and bobbin turning, a series

Tsvet, Mikhail Semyonovich

2005-02-03T13:50:00.000-08:00

Tsvet studied in Geneva, Switz., receiving his doctorate in 1896, and in 1901 he received a degree from the

Tsvet, Mikhail Semyonovich

2005-02-02T15:54:00.000-08:00

Tsvet studied in Geneva, Switz., receiving his doctorate in 1896, and in 1901 he received a degree from the

Bottle Gourd

2005-02-01T10:20:00.000-08:00

Many forms of the bottle gourd have been cultivated for specific purposes, and the sizes of the vines, leaves, and flowers, as well as the sizes and shapes of the fruits, vary greatly.

Fari�a, Richard; And Fari�a, Mimi

2005-01-31T05:09:00.000-08:00

Mimi Fari�a's original name �Margarita Mimi Baez� American husband-and-wife folksinging duo who were significant figures in the folk music revival of the 1960s. Richard, also a novelist, was killed in a motorcycle accident just after the publication of his first novel, Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me (1966; filmed

Fari�a, Richard; And Fari�a, Mimi

2005-01-30T13:42:00.000-08:00

Furniture, Fabrics

2005-01-29T03:49:00.000-08:00

The use of fabrics in furnishing rooms is closely bound up with the need for heating. In the primitively heated rooms of the Middle Ages, textiles were used to keep out cold and drafts. In 12th- and 13th-century churches, painted textile drapery can still be discerned beneath the picture friezes. In rather cold churches, just as in poorly heated homes, loosely hung textile

Roman Religion, Religious art

2005-01-28T22:58:00.000-08:00

A vast gallery of architecture, sculpture, numismatics, painting, and mosaics illustrates Roman religion and helps to fill the gaps left by the fragmentary, though extensive, literary and epigraphic record. Starting with primitive statuettes and terra-cotta temple decorations, this array eventually included masterpieces such as the Apollo of Veii. Other works

Playa

2005-01-27T00:28:00.000-08:00

Enclosed basins of salt and clay accumulation may originate from numerous causes. Tectonic causes include faulting, as in the East African Rift Valley and Death Valley, and warping, as in Lake Eyre in Australia, Lake Chad in central Africa, and Shatt al-Jarid (Chott Djerid) in Tunisia. Wind deflation can produce shallow basins with downwind dunes, as in southeastern Australia.

Tyrrhenian Sea

2005-01-26T17:59:00.000-08:00

Latin �Mare Tyrrhenum, �Italian �Mare Tirreno, � arm of the Mediterranean Sea, between the western coast of Italy and the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily. It is connected with the Ligurian Sea (northwest) through the Tuscan Archipelago and with the Ionian Sea (southeast) through the Strait of Messina. Chief inlets of the sea include the Bay of Naples and the gulfs of Gaeta, Salerno, Policastro, and Sant'Eufemia.

Sabadell

2005-01-25T22:20:00.000-08:00

City, Barcelona provincia, in the comunidad aut�noma (�autonomous community�) of Catalonia, northeastern Spain. The city, just north of Barcelona in the Vall�s parish, originated as an Iberian and Roman settlement known as Arragona and became a medieval fief of the Castle of Arahona. Called Sabadell in the 12th century, in 1373 it was incorporated as a royal village (with municipal

Alewife

2005-01-24T14:43:00.000-08:00

Also called �Sawbelly, Grayback, Gaspereau, or Branch Herring� (Pomolobus, or Alosa, pseudoharengus), important North American food fish of the herring family, Clupeidae. Deeper-bodied than the true herring, the alewife has a pronounced saw-edge on the underside; it grows to about 30 cm (1 foot). Except for members of a few lake populations, it spends several years along the Atlantic coast of North America before

Kwanzaa

2005-01-23T21:39:00.000-08:00

, also spelled �Kwanza � adaptation of an African harvest festival, celebrated from December 26 to January 1. It was created in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, a professor of black studies at California State University in Long Beach, who added an additional �a� to the end of the name to distinguish it from the African festival. Although Kwanzaa is primarily an African American holiday, it has also come to be

Chatti

2005-01-22T22:28:00.000-08:00

Germanic tribe that became one of the most powerful opponents of the Romans during the 1st century AD. At that time the Chatti expanded from their homeland near the upper Visurgis (Weser) River, across the Taunus highlands to the Moenus (Main) River valley, defeating the Cherusci and other neighbouring tribes. In AD 83 the emperor Domitian drove them back from the Taunus. They

Alexander Ii

2005-01-21T23:50:00.000-08:00

He studied under Lanfranc at Bec. As bishop of Lucca he worked for the abolition of simony and the enforcement of clerical celibacy. Though he was elected pope, the German court nominated Peter Cadalus of Parma as Honorius II, and Alexander was not recognized by the empire until 1064. In 1062 the antipope was dropped by the German regents, and

Dyckia

2005-01-20T01:07:00.000-08:00

Genus of usually stemless plants of the pineapple family (Bromeliaceae), consisting of about 80 South American species. These plants' long, stiff leaves, which grow in dense rosettes, are spiny-edged, sharp-tipped, and often fleshy. The small flowers usually are yellow or orange. Two species, D. rariflora and D. sulphurea (D. brevifolia), are commonly cultivated indoors as decorative

Mercer, David

2005-01-19T03:50:00.000-08:00

Mercer left school at the age of 14 and became a medical laboratory technician. He eventually joined the Royal Navy and, after his discharge in 1948, studied painting at King's College, Newcastle

Carnivore, Annotated classification

2005-01-18T13:25:00.000-08:00

Although the terrestrial and marine carnivores are grouped together in the following classification, many authors separate them into two orders. In this article the split is indicated by erecting two suborders, the Fissipedia and Pinnipedia, based largely on the degree of specialization undergone by the members as they evolved and adapted to radically different

Atholl

2005-01-17T21:15:00.000-08:00

Mountainous traditional region covering approximately 450 square miles (1,165 square km) in northern Perth and Kinross council area, historic county of Perthshire, Scotland. Enclosed by several ranges of the Grampians, which exceed 3,000 feet (900 metres) in elevation, the Atholl basin, with an elevation of 1,500 feet (457 metres), is entered by the passes of Drumochter in the north and Killiecrankie

Encomium

2005-01-16T10:12:00.000-08:00

A prose or poetic work in which a person, thing, or abstract idea is glorified. Originally an encomium was a Greek choral song honouring the hero of the Olympic Games and sung at the victory celebration at the end of the Games. The Greek writers Simonides of Ceos and Pindar wrote some of the earliest of these original encomia. The term later took on the broader meaning

Biblical Literature, Baruch

2005-01-15T13:42:00.000-08:00

The apocryphon of Baruch, which is extant in Greek and was included in the Septuagint, is attributed to Baruch, secretary to the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah (7th - 6th century BCE). It was Baruch who read Jeremiah's letter to the exiles in Babylon. After hearing his words, the Jews repented and confessed their sins. The first part of the book of Baruch (1:1 - 3, 8), containing a confession

Chan-chiang

2005-01-14T00:38:00.000-08:00

Originally Chan-chiang was a minor fishing port in the area dominated by the city of Hai-k'ang (Lei-chou), some 22 miles (35 km) to the southwest, and at one time harboured a notorious

Caboolture

2005-01-13T15:59:00.000-08:00

Town, southeastern Queensland, Australia, on the Caboolture River. The town was originally a livestock station. Its name was derived from cabul-tur, the Aboriginal word for the carpet snake. To relieve shortages brought about by the American Civil War in the 1860s, Caboolture became a cotton-farming centre. Today, citrus fruits, tobacco, and vegetables are grown, and dairy

Ibn Battutah

2005-01-12T10:29:00.000-08:00

The greatest medieval Arab traveller and the author of one of the most famous travel books, the Rihlah (Travels), which describes his extensive travels covering some 75,000 miles (more than 120,000 km) in trips to almost all the Muslim countries and to regions as far as China and Sumatra.

Annelid, External features

2005-01-11T22:23:00.000-08:00

The body of an annelid is often described as a tube within a tube. The inner tube, or digestive tract, is separated from the outer tube, or body wall, by the coelom. The head region (prostomium) is followed by a series of segments similar to each other in appearance. The body in many species, especially in the sedentary polychaetes, is separated into two or three regions. The

Eye Disease

2005-01-10T05:23:00.000-08:00

This article briefly describes the more common diseases of the eye and its associated structures, and the methods used in examination and diagnosis; it also indicates the treatment and prognosis. The first part deals with conditions affecting the orbit, lids, and external eye, and the second with

X Ray

2005-01-09T19:55:00.000-08:00

Two types of secondary

Pole Of Inaccessibility

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

The term is also used occasionally

Edinburgh Review, The, Or The Critical Journal

2005-01-07T13:33:00.000-08:00

Scottish magazine that was published from 1802 to 1929, and which contributed to the development of the modern periodical and to modern standards of literary criticism. The Edinburgh Review was founded by Francis Jeffrey, Sydney Smith, and Henry Brougham as a quarterly publication, with Jeffrey as its first and longtime editor. It was intended as an outlet for liberal views

Sabatier, Paul

2005-01-06T14:27:00.000-08:00

A Calvinist from birth, Sabatier began his studies at the Protestant faculty of theology in Paris in 1880 and became pastor of St. Nicholas, Strasbourg, in 1885. He was expelled from Alsace in 1889 because he refused to

Arts, Native American, Andean peoples

2005-01-05T10:29:00.000-08:00

Andean tribes, across the mountains from the J�varo, also favour pentatonic scales, but they evolved a more sophisticated musical style during prehistory and in the period of Spanish colonization. They retain fragments of ancient ceremonial music, such as the invocation to the rain god on the Island of Taquila in Lake Titicaca - a repetitious tune for whistle and

Kirchhoff's Circuit Rules

2005-01-04T09:19:00.000-08:00

The first rule, the junction theorem, states that the sum of the currents into a specific junction in the circuit equals the sum of the currents out of the

Waddenzee

2005-01-03T03:22:00.000-08:00

Shallow inlet of the North Sea between the West Frisian Islands and the northern Netherlands mainland. The inlet extends from Noord-Holland to the northeast, where the islands gradually curve toward the mainland and the channel narrows to a few miles. Until the completion of the IJsselmeer dam (Afsluitdijk), Waddenzee formed the northern part of the former Zuiderzee.

Delisle, Guillaume

2005-01-01T23:34:00.000-08:00

A brother of the astronomer Joseph-Nicolas Delisle and a student of the astronomer Jean-Dominique Cassini, Delisle learned to fix accurate positions by astronomical observation. The accuracy of his continental outlines and his reduction of gross errors in determining lines of longitude

Wells, Henry

2004-12-31T04:25:00.000-08:00

Wells gained experience as an agent for Harnden's Express at Albany, N.Y., and then as a founder of Livingston, Wells, and Pomeroy's Express, operating between Albany and Buffalo. In 1844, together with William Fargo (q.v.) and Daniel Dunning,

Kirkwall

2004-12-29T09:09:00.000-08:00

Royal burgh (town), seaport, and chief town of the Orkney Islands, Scotland, off the northern tip of the Scottish mainland. It was designated a royal burgh in 1486. Early Norse influence persisted as late as the building of the 12th-century red sandstone St. Magnus Cathedral, a dominant feature of the present town. The ruins of the Earl's Palace and 17th-century houses standing gable-end

Indiana

2004-12-28T00:36:00.000-08:00

Borough (town), seat of Indiana county, west-central Pennsylvania, U.S., in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, 46 miles (74 km) northeast of Pittsburgh. Settled about 1764, it was laid out in 1805 on land donated for a county seat by George Clymer of Philadelphia, a signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. It was incorporated in 1816. Prior to the American Civil War, Indiana was a station

Orwell, George

2004-12-27T04:51:00.000-08:00

Born Eric Arthur Blair, Orwell never entirely abandoned his original name, but his first book (Down and Out in Paris and London) appeared as the work

Mahalapye

2004-12-26T23:01:00.000-08:00

Village, eastern Botswana. It lies midway along the Mafikeng-Bulawayo railway and is 125 miles (200 km) northeast of Gaborone, the national capital. The name Mahalapye refers to an impala. The village is situated on a plateau with good pasturage, and its economy is based on cattle raising and extensive mixed farming of sorghum, corn (maize), and beans. Mahalapye has one of the country's

Myanmar, Traditional regions

2004-12-25T04:52:00.000-08:00

Speakers of Burmese and Mon historically have lived in the plains, while speakers of a dialect of Burmese retaining archaic features occupied the Arakan and Tenasserim coastal plains. The hills were inhabited by those speaking Shan, Kachin, Chin, and numerous other languages. In the plains the division between northern and southern Myanmar (Upper and Lower Burma,

Murger, Henri

2004-12-24T13:28:00.000-08:00

The son of a concierge and a tailor, Murger left school at 13. Later he became secretary to Count Aleksey Tolstoy and was able to improve his education. He began writing poems and became part of the bohemian life in Paris, but he was often destitute and his health deteriorated. Both

Human Disease, Diseases of genetic origin

2004-12-23T13:39:00.000-08:00

Certain human diseases result from mutations in the genetic complement (genome) contained in the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of chromosomes. A gene is a discrete linear sequence of nucleotide bases (molecular units) of the DNA that codes for, or directs, the synthesis of a protein, and there may be as many as 100,000 genes in the human genome. Proteins, many of which are enzymes

Trinidad And Tobago, Plant and animal life

2004-12-22T06:41:00.000-08:00

Vegetation zones are well defined on both islands. In general, the highest areas coincide with the most luxuriant tropical rain forest vegetation. Cultivated estates or small settlements are established in clearings on the hills. In the dry season the hills are dotted with the orange flowers of the mountain immortelle, a large flowering tree that grows to a height

Wolfenb�

2004-12-21T05:01:00.000-08:00

City, Lower Saxony Land (state), northwestern Germany. The city lies along the Oker River, just south of Brunswick. First mentioned in 1118, it grew around the castle that became a favourite Welf residence about 1283. Chartered in 1540, it was captured by the Protestant Schmalkaldic League in 1542 and was transferred to Brunswick in 1753 - 54. The old town has many Renaissance and Baroque half-timbered

Zapolska, Gabriela

2004-12-20T04:35:00.000-08:00

Having tried unsuccessfully to pursue an acting career in Paris, Zapolska started writing cheap, sensationalist novels full of bitterness toward middle-class values, morality, and hypocrisy. Of her several novels written

Chachalaca

2004-12-19T23:21:00.000-08:00

Any of several small birds of the curassow family. See curassow.

Sea Anemone

2004-12-18T17:36:00.000-08:00

Any member of the invertebrate order Actiniaria (class Anthozoa, phylum Cnidaria), primarily sedentary marine animals resembling flowers. They are found from the tidal zone of all oceans to depths of more than 10,000 m (about 33,000 feet). Some live in brackish water. They are largest, most numerous, and most colourful in warmer seas. The colourful Tealia

Polish Literature, The literature of Socialist Realism

2004-12-17T22:53:00.000-08:00

During 1949 - 55, the only officially acceptable literature conformed to the Soviet version of Socialist Realism, and those who wrote it followed the dictates of the Communist Party. A new type of hero was created - the ordinary man or woman actively engaged in �productive� work. Those elements in the social scene that served to present an idea of revolutionary progress were

Augustinian

2004-12-16T21:52:00.000-08:00

Also called �Austin, � in the Roman Catholic Church, member of any of the religious orders and congregations of men and women whose constitutions are based on the Rule of St. Augustine, instructions on the religious life written by Augustine, the great Western theologian, and widely disseminated after his death, AD 430. More specifically, the name is used to designate members of two main branches

Armory Show

2004-12-15T15:58:00.000-08:00

Formally �International Exhibition of Modern Art� an exhibition of painting and sculpture held from Feb. 17 to March 15, 1913, at the Sixty-ninth Regiment Armory in New York City. The show, a decisive event in the development of American art, was originally conceived by its organizers, the Association of American Painters and Sculptors, as a selection of representational works exclusively by American artists, members both of

Beiderbecke, Bix

2004-12-14T13:27:00.000-08:00

As a boy Beiderbecke was expelled from Lake Forest Academy in suburban Chicago. In 1923 he joined the Wolverines, a youthful group with whom

Claudius, Matthias

2004-12-13T06:16:00.000-08:00

After studying at Jena, Claudius held a series of editorial and minor official positions until in 1788 he acquired a sinecure in the Schleswig-Holstein bank. He edited the Wandsbecker Bote (1771 - 75), popular not only

Ekibastuz

2004-12-12T17:42:00.000-08:00

City and major opencut coal-mining centre in northeastern Kazakstan, on the Ertis-Qaraghandy Canal. Coal was discovered in the region in 1876 and was mined on a small scale. Only after construction of a railway in 1953 did large-scale exploitation of Ekibastuz' rich but low-grade coal seams begin. In the 1970s Ekibastuz was the third largest coal-mining centre in the Soviet Union,

Karachi

2004-12-11T02:03:00.000-08:00

City and capital of Sindh province, southern Pakistan. It is the country's largest city and principal seaport and is a major commercial and industrial centre. Karachi is located on the coast of the Arabian Sea immediately northwest of the Indus River Delta. The city proper covers an area of 228 square miles (591 square km), while the metropolitan area of Greater Karachi spreads