CutArmy

Kitakami-sammyaku

2005-03-18T15:06:00.000-08:00

(Japanese: Kitakami Range), mountain range, in northeastern Honshu, Japan, paralleling the Pacific coast and extending for about 155 mi (250 km) from southern Aomori Prefecture, through Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, to terminate in the Ojika Peninsula. The range has a maximum breadth of 50 mi and is nearly wedge shaped. The highest peak, Hayachine-san, rises to an elevation of 6,280 ft (1,914 m)

Permafrost, Features related to seasonal frost

2005-03-16T18:24:00.000-08:00

Many microgeomorphic features common to the periglacial environment may or may not be associated with permafrost.

Land Of Ten Thousand Sinks

2005-03-16T11:43:00.000-08:00

In west-central Kentucky, U.S., area of numerous sinkholes and caves in the Pennyrile (or Pennyroyal) region. The area includes the interconnected caves of Mammoth Cave National Park and Flint Ridge Cave System. Abundant surface and underground water together with limestones deposited during the Early Carboniferous Epoch (360 to 320 million years ago) have combined to create

Water Plantain

2005-03-14T13:47:00.000-08:00

Any freshwater perennial herb of the genus Alisma, commonly found in lakes, ponds, and ditches. The three or four species are widely distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and Australia. Water-plantain leaves float or extend out of the water. They are sometimes ribbonlike or grasslike, are without lobes, and are often heart-shaped

Wagner, Richard

2005-03-14T06:57:00.000-08:00

For a realistic analysis of Wagner's complex character, see Ernest Newman, The Life of Richard Wagner, 4 vol. (1933–47). Ronald Taylor, Richard Wagner: The Life, Art and Thought (1979), emphasizes the historical background of his life; Charles Osborne, Wagner and His World (1977), is a brief introductory biography. Important sources include The Diary of Richard Wagner, ed. by Joachim Bergfeld (1980); Cosima Wagner's Diaries, ed. by Martin Gregor-Dellin and Dietrich Mack (1978– ); and Wagner's Mein Leben, 2 vol. (1870–81; Eng. trans., My Life, 1911). See also the official German and English biographies by C.F. Glasenapp, Das Leben Richard Wagners, 6 vol. (1894–1911); and W.A. Ellis, Life of Richard Wagner, 6 vol. (1900–08). Robert W. Gutman, Richard Wagner: The Man, His Mind and His Music (1968), is a largely hostile biography. An analytical introduction to Wagner's music dramas is Ernest Newman, The Wagner Operas (1949; republished with the title Wagner Nights, 1950). A detailed study of Wagner's development as a musical dramatist is Jack M. Stein, Richard Wagner and the Synthesis of the Arts (1960). A.O. Lorenz, Das Geheimnis der Form bei Richard Wagner, 4 vol. (1924–33), provides an exhaustive bar-by-bar analysis of the musical construction of his major works. George Bernard Shaw, The Perfect Wagnerite, 4th ed. (1922, reprinted 1967), which has much of value to say about the social, political, and economic ideas behind The Ring; Jungian interpretation of the same work is Robert Donington, Wagner's Ring and Its Symbols, 2nd ed. (1969).

Moses, Sir Charles (joseph Alfred)

2005-03-13T01:22:00.000-08:00

Moses graduated from the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, Eng. (1918), and was stationed with the British army in Ireland before immigrating

Siljan, Lake

2005-03-11T19:06:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Silja, lake in the administrative län (county) of Dalarna, central Sweden. Covering an area of 112 square miles (290 square km; including Orsa and In lakes, 137 square miles [354 square km]), it is Dalarna's largest lake and Sweden's third. After receiving the Österdal River at Mora, the lake stretches for a length of 25 miles (40 km) toward the southeast and extends into two bays, the wide Rätt to the northeast

Shiraz Rug

2005-03-10T15:43:00.000-08:00

Handwoven floor covering made in the district around the city of Shiraz in southern Iran. The best known are the Qashqa'i rugs, products of nomadic tribesmen. A group of tribes—some Arab, some Turkish, forming the Khamseh Confederation—weaves rugs somewhat similar to the Qashqa'i pieces in a variety of patterns, as do the inhabitants of certain Iranian weaving villages in

Ibn Tufayl

2005-03-09T18:25:00.000-08:00

Moorish philosopher and physician who is known for his Hayy ibn yaqzan (c. 1175; Eng. trans. by L.E. Goodman, Hayy ibn Yaqzan by Ibn Tufayl, 1972), a philosophical romance in which he describes the self-education

Papua

2005-03-08T23:36:00.000-08:00

Formerly (1969–2002) Irian Jaya (until 1969) Irian Barat propinsi (province), Indonesia, the western half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands—including the individual islands of Yapen, Adi, Waigeo, Batanta, Kofiau, Salawati, Misool, and Yos Sudarsa and the Schouten Islands. Papua fronts the Ceram and Banda seas to the west, the Arafura Sea to the southwest, and the Pacific Ocean to the north; it is bounded by Papua

Hermann Von Reichenau,

2005-03-08T13:55:00.000-08:00

The son of a Swabian count, Hermann was lame from youth,

Duckpins

2005-03-06T00:08:00.000-08:00

Bowling game played on a standard tenpin lane with smaller pins and balls. Duckpins are 9.4 inches (23.3 cm) tall. The ball that is used to knock the pins down is a maximum of 5 inches in diameter and 3 pounds 12 ounces (1.7 kg) in weight, and it has no finger holes. Three balls may be rolled in each frame of the 10-frame game. There is no bonus for knocking down all 10 pins with three balls. Other rules are

Distortion

2005-03-05T17:21:00.000-08:00

In acoustics and electronics, any change in a signal that alters the basic waveform or the relationship between various frequency components; it is usually a degradation of the signal. Straight amplification or attenuation without alteration of the waveform is not usually considered to be distortion. Amplitude distortion refers to unequal amplification

Earth, Geologic History Of

2005-03-05T05:52:00.000-08:00

Evolution of the continents, oceans, atmosphere, and biosphere. The layers of rock at the Earth's surface contain evidence of the evolutionary processes undergone by these components of the terrestrial environment during the times at which each layer was formed. By studying this rock record from the very beginning, it is thus possible to trace their development

New Castle

2005-03-04T10:55:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1822) of Henry county, eastern Indiana, U.S. It lies along the Blue River, 50 miles (80 km) east of Indianapolis. Founded in 1819 and named by Ezekiel Leavell for his hometown in Kentucky, it was incorporated in 1839. In 1900 a decade of expansion began when automobile and piano manufacturing, as well as other industries, were started there. During this same period, the large-scale commercial

Kiangsi, The people

2005-03-03T14:56:00.000-08:00

The language

Cyprus, Religions

2005-03-02T05:21:00.000-08:00

The Greek Cypriots are primarily Eastern Orthodox Christians. Their church, the Church of Cyprus, is autocephalous (not under the authority of any patriarch); this privilege was granted to Archbishop Anthemius in AD 488 by the Byzantine emperor Zeno. Under the Ottoman Empire, the archbishop of the Church of Cyprus was made responsible for the secular as well as the religious

Smith, Joseph, Iii

2005-02-28T15:55:00.000-08:00

Smith was a boy of 11 when his father was murdered by a mob, and he did not go to Utah with Brigham Young's group but remained in Nauvoo, Ill., with his mother and a group of followers

Ma'mun, Al-

2005-02-27T17:53:00.000-08:00

In full Abu Al-'abbas 'abd Allah Al-ma'mun Ibn Ar-rashid seventh 'Abbasid caliph (813–833), known for his attempts to end sectarian rivalry in Islam and to impose upon his subjects a rationalist Muslim creed.

Syrtos

2005-02-27T05:51:00.000-08:00

Ancient chain dance of Greece. It was described by Lucian (c. AD 125–190) and is still danced today in many varieties in the Greek islands. Traditionally, it was danced by segregated lines of men and women, a youth leading the line of girls; lines now are frequently mixed. The dancers in the chain maintain a simple fundamental step, but the leader improvises, often breaking away

France, History Of, The Jacobin dictatorship

2005-02-24T21:28:00.000-08:00

The Convention consolidated its revolutionary government in the Law of 14 Frimaire Year II (Dec. 4, 1793; for a discussion of the Revolutionary calendar, see below). To organize the Revolution, to promote confidence and compliance, efficiency and control, this law centralized authority in a parliamentary dictatorship, with the Committee of Public Safety at the helm. The committee

Differential Analyzer

2005-02-24T16:27:00.000-08:00

The American electrical engineer Vannevar Bush and others at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology invented the first continuous integraph, later called a differential analyzer, during the early 1930s.

Lbk Culture

2005-02-22T13:45:00.000-08:00

Formerly Danubian Culture, Neolithic culture that expanded over large areas of Europe north and west of the Danube River (from Slovakia to the Netherlands) about the 5th millennium BC. Farmers probably practiced a form of shifting cultivation on the loess soil. Emmer wheat and barley were grown, and domestic animals, usually cattle, were kept. The name LBK derives from an abbreviation of the German

Bathurst Island

2005-02-21T19:30:00.000-08:00

Island in the Timor Sea, Northern Territory, Australia, separated from Melville Island to the east by Apsley Strait. Densely wooded, it is triangular and has an area of about 1,000 square miles (2,600 square km). The island was explored in 1818 by Phillip Parker King, who recommended it for European settlement, and was named after the 3rd Earl Bathurst, secretary for war and the colonies

Paddle Tennis

2005-02-21T17:18:00.000-08:00

Small-scale form of tennis similar to a British shipboard game of the 1890s. Frank P. Beal, a New York City official, introduced paddle tennis on New York playgrounds in the early 1920s. He had invented it as a child in Albion, Mich. It became popular, and national championship tournaments are still held in the United States. Platform tennis, a later development, is sometimes called

Hyperventilation

2005-02-19T00:29:00.000-08:00

Rapid shallow breathing that provides the body with an excess of oxygen and a deficit of carbon dioxide. It most commonly occurs as a manifestation of anxiety or hysteria. It also occurs among pilots in unpressurized planes at high altitudes, who take short, rapid breaths rather than the normal slow, deep ones, in order to compensate for the smaller amount of available

O'grady, Standish James

2005-02-18T21:15:00.000-08:00

O'Grady graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, in 1868. Introduced to the ancient heroic and romantic literature

Narbonne

2005-02-17T23:10:00.000-08:00

Narbonne was the site of Narbo Martius (Narbo), the first colony founded by the Romans in Gaul (118 BC), from which the town derived its name. Then on the Mediterranean, it became a flourishing port. In 413 it was seized by

Uccello, Paolo

2005-02-17T09:09:00.000-08:00

“The Creation of the Animals”; “The Creation of Adam”; “The Creation of Eve”; “The Fall” (frescoes, early 1430s; Sta. Maria Novella, Florence); “Sir John Hawkwood” (fresco, 1436; cathedral, Florence); “Scenes from Monastic Legends” (frescoes, c. 1440; S. Miniato al Monte, Florence); “The Flood,” “The Recession of the Flood,” “The Sacrifice of Noah,” and “The Drunkenness of Noah” (1447–48; Sta. Maria Novella); “The Battle of San Romano” (c. 1456; panels in the National Gallery, London; Uffizi, Florence; and the Louvre, Paris); “St. George and the Dragon” (1455–?60; Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris); “St. George and the Dragon” (c. 1460; National Gallery); “The Profanation of the Host” (c. 1466–69; Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino, Italy); “A Hunt in a Forest” (after 1460; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford); “The Founders of Florentine Art” (after 1460?; Louvre).

Turgenev, Ivan Sergeyevich

2005-02-16T00:42:00.000-08:00

Russian novelist, poet, and playwright, whose major works include the short-story collection A Sportsman's Sketches (1852) and the novels Rudin (1856), Home of the Gentry (1859), On the Eve (1860), and Fathers and Sons (1862). These works offer realistic, affectionate portrayals of the Russian peasantry and penetrating

Insurance, Credit insurance

2005-02-15T11:09:00.000-08:00

The use of credit in modern societies is so various and widespread that many types of insurance have grown up to cover some of the risks involved. Examples of these risks are the risk of bad debts from insolvency, death, and disability; the risk of loss of savings from bank failure; the risk attaching to home-loan debts when installments are not paid for various reasons,

Molinet, Jean

2005-02-13T11:52:00.000-08:00

Molinet studied in Paris and about 1464 entered the service of Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, becoming secretary to Georges Chastellain, chronicler

Gracchus, Tiberius Sempronius

2005-02-12T08:48:00.000-08:00

Born into an aristocratic Roman family, Tiberius Sempronius was heir to a nexus of political connections with other leading families—most

China, A land revolution

2005-02-11T09:51:00.000-08:00

One reason for Communist success was the social revolution in rural China. The CCP was now unrestrained by the multiclass alliance of the United Front period. In the middle of 1946, as civil war became more certain, the party leaders launched a land revolution. They saw land redistribution as an integral part of the larger struggle; by encouraging peasants to seize the

Fibrous Dysplasia

2005-02-10T20:22:00.000-08:00

Also called Mccune-Albright syndrome rare congenital developmental disorder beginning in childhood, characterized by cyst formation and replacement of solid, calcified bone with fibrous tissue, often only on one side of the body, in the long bones and pelvis. Other signs include unilateral (one-sided) enlargement of the bones of the face and base of the skull, café au lait (pale brown) spots on the skin, and

Mobile River

2005-02-08T13:57:00.000-08:00

River formed by the confluence of the Tombigbee and Alabama rivers, southwestern Alabama, U.S. It enters Mobile Bay after a southerly course of 45 miles (72 km) through the delta region. With its tributaries it drains some 44,000 square miles (114,000 square km), making it the sixth largest river basin in the United States. Mobile, on the west side of the river at the head of the bay, is its chief

Shabaka

2005-02-07T22:40:00.000-08:00

Succeeding his brother Piankhi, in Cush (in the modern Sudan), Shabaka moved north, captured Bocchoris, the second king of the 24th dynasty, and, according to tradition, burned him alive. He probably made Memphis, near Cairo, his capital and adopted the titles of the

Carus

2005-02-06T08:09:00.000-08:00

Carus was probably from either Gaul or Illyricum and had served as prefect of the guard to the emperor Probus (276–282), whom he succeeded. Like his predecessors, Carus adopted the name Marcus Aurelius as a part of his imperial title. After a brief Danube campaign he led his troops against the Sasanians, penetrating beyond the Tigris, where he died suddenly and mysteriously,

Lipset, Seymour Martin

2005-02-06T05:27:00.000-08:00

After receiving his B.S. from City College of New York (1943), Lipset was a lecturer at the University of Toronto (1946–48) and then an assistant professor at the University of California,

X-trisomy

2005-02-04T09:23:00.000-08:00

Sex chromosome disorder of human females, in which three X chromosomes are present, rather than the normal pair. More common than Turner's syndrome, where only one X chromosome is present, X-trisomy usually remains undetected because affected individuals appear normal, experience puberty, and are usually fertile. Statistical studies suggest a slightly increased

Pénicaud Family

2005-02-03T20:55:00.000-08:00

French enamelers active in Limoges during the 16th century, considered to be among the finest such craftsmen of their time. They were noted for their work in grisaille enamel, monochromatically painted enamel work intended to look like sculpture. Nardon Pénicaud (c. 1470–c. 1542), the first recorded member of the family, worked in the French Gothic style, but his brother or son, Jean

Hanalei

2005-02-03T03:45:00.000-08:00

Village, Kauai county, on the north central coast of Kauai Island, Hawaii, U.S. Near the head of Hanalei (“crescent”) Bay, the village is in the scenic and fertile Hanalei or Hanohano (“majestic”) Valley (3,439 ft [1,048 m] deep), one of the state's few rice-producing regions. While some cattle are raised, the villagers are primarily paddy, taro, and vegetable farmers. Missionaries arrived at the

Amorphous Solid, Other preparation techniques

2005-02-01T09:49:00.000-08:00

Numerous other methods exist for preparing amorphous solids, and new methods are continually invented. In melt spinning, a jet of molten metal is propelled against the moving surface of a cold, rotating copper cylinder. A solid film of metallic glass is spun off as a continuous ribbon at a speed that can exceed a kilometre per minute. In laser glazing, a brief intense

Hearing Aid

2005-01-31T14:50:00.000-08:00

Modern hearing aids are electronic. Principal components are a microphone that converts sound

Tonkin

2005-01-30T22:21:00.000-08:00

Northern Vietnam

Obama, Barack, Jr.

2005-01-30T04:44:00.000-08:00

American politician who became the third African American, and the first African American male Democrat, to be elected to the U.S. Senate after the end of Reconstruction (1877). Obama's father, Barack Obama, Sr., was originally a goatherd in Kenya; he won a scholarship to study in the United States and eventually became a senior economist in the Kenyan

Infection, Temperature regulation

2005-01-29T01:15:00.000-08:00

Although it has been generally accepted that the usual range of deep body temperature is from 97.2° F to 100° F (36.2° C to 37.8° C), temperatures of 95.9° F to 101.2° F (35.5° C to 38.4° C) have been reported in normal individuals. The rectal temperature of a person may read 101° F (38.3° C) in the afternoon or after exercise. Core body temperature, in fact, varies with time of day, environmental temperature, physical activity, food intake,

Bujalance

2005-01-28T22:03:00.000-08:00

City, Córdoba provincia, in Andalusia comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”), southern Spain, located 24 miles (39 km) east of Córdoba city. There is evidence in Bujalance of early Roman occupation. The ancient city was also the site of a seven-towered castle built in 935 by 'Abd ar-Rahman III, the first caliph and greatest ruler of the Umayyad (Arab Muslim) dynasty of Spain; the castle's

Jewfish

2005-01-26T05:53:00.000-08:00

Any of several large fishes of the sea bass (q.v.) family (Serranidae), especially Epinephelus itajara, found on the Atlantic coast of tropical America. This species sometimes attains a length of 2.5 metres (8 feet) and a weight of about 320 kilograms (700 pounds). The adult is dull olive-brown with faint spots and bands. Adult jewfish are usually solitary and typically remain in the same

Artaxerxes I

2005-01-23T02:48:00.000-08:00

He was surnamed in Greek Macrocheir (“Longhand”) and in Latin Longimanus. A younger son of Xerxes I and Amestris, he was raised to the throne by the commander of the guard, Artabanus, who had murdered Xerxes. A few months later, Artaxerxes slew Artabanus in a hand-to-hand fight. His reign, though generally peaceful, was

Florence

2005-01-20T21:50:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Lauderdale county, northwestern Alabama, U.S. It lies on the Tennessee River about 65 miles (105 km) west of Huntsville, forming with Sheffield, Tuscumbia, and Muscle Shoals a four-city metropolitan area in the Muscle Shoals region. Settlers first arrived and established a trading post there about 1779. The area was later purchased by a land company whose stockholders

Earth Sciences, The theory of plate tectonics

2005-01-18T06:37:00.000-08:00

Plate tectonics has revolutionized virtually every discipline of the Earth sciences since the late 1960s and early 1970s. It has served as a unifying model or paradigm for explaining geologic phenomena that were formerly considered in unrelated fashion. Plate tectonics describes seismic activity, volcanism, mountain building, and various other Earth processes in

Fu

2005-01-15T02:52:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization fu type of Chinese bronze vessel used as a food container, it was produced largely from the middle Zhou period (c. 900–c. 600 BC) through the Warring States period (475–221 BC). Rectangular in shape and divided into two parts, the vessel was supported by angular feet at each corner; the lid was almost a duplicate of the bottom (in principle much like the dui). In ancient documents the vessel was also

Niuafo'ou

2005-01-14T19:42:00.000-08:00

Northernmost island of Tonga, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The generally wooded land area of 19 square miles (49 square km) includes a volcanic peak 853 feet (260 m) high, a crater lake, and numerous hot springs. During a particularly violent eruption in 1946, the island's inhabitants were evacuated to 'Eua, several hundred miles to the south. They began returning to Niuafo'ou in 1958. Because

Lajes

2005-01-11T09:41:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Lages, city, east-central Santa Catarina estado (“state”), southern Brazil, lying north of the Caveiras River in the Paraná Mountains, at 3,000 feet (900 m) above sea level. Formed as a municipality in 1800, it was settled chiefly by Germans and in 1866 was elevated to city status. Livestock raising and industry are now the main economic activities. Principal products include lumber, corn (maize), feij

Gstaad

2005-01-09T07:56:00.000-08:00

Alpine village and resort, Saanen commune, Bern canton, west-central Switzerland, lying in the valley of the Saane River. Situated on the northwest side of the Bernese Alps, the village is a summer resort (with golf and tennis tournaments) and is also a fashionable winter-sports centre. Winter events in Gstaad include an annual horse show, skijoring (a sport in which a horse

Biblical Literature, Ezekiel

2005-01-08T00:02:00.000-08:00

The Book of Ezekiel, written by the prophetpriest Ezekiel, who lived both in Jerusalem prior to the Babylonian Exile (586 BCE) and in Babylon after the Exile, and also by an editor (or editors), who belongs to a “school” of the prophet similar to that of the prophet Isaiah, has captured the attention of readers for centuries because of its vivid imagery and symbolism. The book has also

Pavlova, Anna

2005-01-06T13:04:00.000-08:00

Pavlova studied at the Imperial School of Ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre from 1891, joined the Imperial Ballet in 1899, and became a prima ballerina in 1906. In 1909 she went to Paris on the historic tour of the Ballets Russes. After 1913 she danced independently with her own

Hydroponics

2005-01-04T07:39:00.000-08:00

Plants have long been grown with their roots immersed in solutions of water and fertilizer for scientific studies of their nutrition. Early commercial hydroponics (from Greek hydro, “water,” and ponos, “labour”) adopted this method of

Nitro Compound

2005-01-02T07:51:00.000-08:00

Any of a family of chemical compounds in which the nitro group (-O-N=O) forms part of the molecular structure. The most common examples are organic substances in which a carbon atom is linked by a covalent bond to the nitrogen atom of the nitro group. Nitro compounds are polar, and those with no other chemically reactive grouping are colourless or pale yellow liquids that

Rya Rug

2004-12-31T10:17:00.000-08:00

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

North Africa, History Of, Carthaginian supremacy

2004-12-29T06:02:00.000-08:00

By the 5th century BC, active military participation by Tyre in the west had doubtlessly ceased; from the latter half of the 6th century Tyre was under Persian rule. Carthage thus became the leader of the western Phoenicians and in the 5th century formed an empire of its own, centred on North Africa, which included existing Phoenician settlements, new ones founded by Carthage

Interferon

2004-12-27T17:42:00.000-08:00

Interferon was named for its ability to interfere with viral proliferation. The various forms of interferon are the body's most rapidly produced and important defense against viruses. Interferons can also

Paul Iii

2004-12-24T05:22:00.000-08:00

The Farnese cardinal's diplomatic skills made him an invaluable aid to the five pontiffs in whose election he participated—Pius III, Julius II, Leo X, Adrian VI, and Clement VII—before he himself emerged as the Roman pontiff on Oct. 13, 1534. At the age of 67, Pope Paul, though apparently frail, was a man of great charm and determination. He was described in diplomatic reports as shrewd

Gainsborough Chair

2004-12-23T20:38:00.000-08:00

Type of English armchair made in the mid-18th century. A wide chair with a high back, it was normally upholstered in leather. The sides are open, and the short, upholstered arms are set well back from the seat, to which they are connected by a concave curving support. The arm supports and front legs are usually fluted or carved on the front face. The contemporary name was “French

Szczecin

2004-12-20T23:36:00.000-08:00

German Stettin, port city and capital, Szczecin województwo (province), extreme northwestern Poland, on the western bank of the Oder River near its mouth, 40 miles (65 km) from the Baltic Sea. Shipbuilding and shipping are the main occupations. Evidence suggests that the area was first inhabited by seafaring people 2,500 years ago. In the 8th and 9th centuries Szczecin was a Slavic fishing and commercial

Dubois, Eugène

2004-12-19T14:51:00.000-08:00

Appointed lecturer in anatomy at the University of Amsterdam (1886), Dubois investigated the comparative anatomy of the larynx in vertebrates but became increasingly interested in human evolution. In 1887 he went to the East Indies

Kabardino-balkaria

2004-12-16T04:29:00.000-08:00

Republic in southwestern Russia, on the northern flank of the Greater Caucasus range. It is divided into three main relief regions. In the south is the Greater Caucasus, the crest of which forms the boundary. Four mountain ranges—Glavny, Peredovoy, Skalisty, and Chornye—run parallel. The highest peaks are Elbrus (18,510 feet [5,642 m]) and Dykh-Tau (17,073 feet [5,204 m]). There are many, often extensive,

Paraldehyde

2004-12-14T16:05:00.000-08:00

Also called paracetaldehyde colourless liquid of disagreeable taste and pungent odour used in medicine as a sedative–hypnotic drug and in chemistry in the manufacture of organic chemicals. When administered as a medicine, it is largely excreted by the lungs and gives an unpleasant odour to the breath. It is most useful for recalcitrant cases and is an older drug for treatment of acute alcoholic

Rabih Az-zubayr

2004-12-12T14:45:00.000-08:00

Rabih was enslaved as a child and later enrolled in the military service of az-Zubayr Pasha, a Sudanese prince. Rabih was loyal and capable, and he rose to a position of command. When in 1878 az-Zubayr rebelled against the Egyptian administration of the Sudan,

Eclecticism

2004-12-11T22:05:00.000-08:00

(from Greek eklektikos, “selective”), in philosophy and theology, the practice of selecting doctrines from different systems of thought without adopting the whole parent system for each doctrine. It is distinct from syncretism—the attempt to reconcile or combine systems—inasmuch as it leaves the contradictions between them unresolved. In the sphere of abstract

Jezreel

2004-12-09T01:11:00.000-08:00

The Valley of Jezreel

Yuga

2004-12-04T06:30:00.000-08:00

In Hindu cosmology, an age of mankind. Each yuga is progressively shorter than the preceding one, corresponding to a decline in the moral and physical state of humanity. Four such yugas (called Krta, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali after throws of an Indian game of dice) make up the mahayuga (“great yuga”), and 2,000 mahayugas make up the basic cosmic cycle, the kalpa. The first yuga (Krta) was an age

Chaillu Massif

2004-12-03T17:25:00.000-08:00

Mountain range in south-central Gabon, rising to more than 3,300 feet (1,000 m) between the Ngounié and the Ogooué rivers; it forms the country's main watershed. The range contains Mount Milondo (3,346 feet [1,020 m]), the highest peak in Gabon, 53 miles (85 km) southwest of Koula-Moutou. Other high points in the range are Mount Iboundji (3,215 feet [980 m]) and Mount Mimongo (2,822 feet [860 m]). The granite massif is named for the explorer

Insurance, Suretyship

2004-11-30T22:28:00.000-08:00

Surety contracts are designed to protect businesses against the possible dishonesty of their employees. Surety and fidelity bonds fill the gap left by theft insurance, which always excludes losses from persons in a position of trust. A bond involves three contracting parties instead of two. The three parties are the principal, who is the person bonded; the obligee,

Hitogami

2004-11-28T19:15:00.000-08:00

(Japanese: “man-god”), a way of distinguishing certain characteristics of Japanese religion by focusing on the close relationship between a deity and his transmitter, such as a seer or a shaman. The Japanese scholar Hori Ichiro contrasts hitogami as a religious system with the ujigami (“guardian deity”) type of belief. Membership in the circle of believers is not dependent

Tasmania, Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

2004-11-26T20:51:00.000-08:00

Less than a third of Tasmania's area is agricultural land; almost all of it is used for grazing; just under half is sown pasture, and the rest is used for rough grazing or is open forest. Crops occupy only 4 percent of agricultural land but contribute one-third of the total value of agricultural production. Seasonal irrigation, mainly spray for crops and some pasture, is

Abel, Carl Friedrich

2004-11-22T18:22:00.000-08:00

After playing in the Dresden court orchestra (1743–58), Abel went to London in 1759 and became chamber musician to Queen Charlotte in 1764. When J.C. Bach arrived in London in 1762, they became friends and in 1765 established the “Bach and Abel” concerts

Bioceramics

2004-11-20T01:58:00.000-08:00

Ceramic products or components employed in medical and dental applications, mainly as implants and replacements. This article briefly describes the principal ceramic materials and surveys the uses to which they are put in medical and dental applications. For an explanation of important issues in biomedical uses of all materials (including ceramics), see the

Amundsen Gulf

2004-11-19T09:47:00.000-08:00

The

Län

2004-11-17T18:22:00.000-08:00

Administrative subdivision (county) of Sweden; see landskap.

Interior Design, Crete

2004-11-15T13:51:00.000-08:00

The most important buildings of the pre-Hellenic Minoan and Mycenaean periods were the citadel complexes, housing the entire court of the ruler. The palace of King Minos at Knossos in Crete (c. 1700–1400 BC) gives evidence of a small but sophisticated society with a taste for luxury and entertainment and a corresponding skill in applied decoration. Frescoes (paintings executed

Ezekiel

2004-11-13T19:47:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ezechiel, Hebrew Yehezqel prophet-priest of ancient Israel and the subject and in part the author of an Old Testament book that bears his name. Ezekiel's early oracles (from c. 592) in Jerusalem were pronouncements of violence and destruction; his later statements addressed the hopes of the Israelites exiled in Babylon. The faith of Ezekiel in the ultimate establishment of a new covenant

Dayton, University Of

2004-11-10T22:18:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Dayton, Ohio, U.S. The university is affiliated with the Marianist (Society of Mary) order of the Roman Catholic church. It is composed of the College of Arts and Sciences and schools of business administration, education, engineering, and law. The university offers a range of undergraduate and graduate degree

Olympic Games, Lake Placid, New York, U.S., 1932

2004-11-09T23:59:00.000-08:00

Controversies surrounding the speed skating

Alcalá De Henares

2004-11-06T07:55:00.000-08:00

City, Madrid provincia and comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”), central Spain. Known under the Romans as Complutum, the city was destroyed in 1000 and rebuilt in 1038 by the Moors, who called it Al-Qal'ah al-Nahr. It was reconquered in 1088 by Alfonso VI and granted with the surrounding lands to the archbishop of Toledo. The city contains the unique Gothic church of San Justo (built

Antarctica, Climate

2004-11-03T10:26:00.000-08:00

Morton J. Rubin (ed.), Studies in Antarctic Meteorology (1966); S. Orvig (ed.), Climates of the Polar Regions (1970); W.S. Weyant, The Antarctic Atmosphere: Climatology of the Surface Environment (1967); and W. Schwerdtfeger, Weather and Climate of the Antarctic (1984), include topical studies and a few general review articles.

Dahomey

2004-10-31T15:42:00.000-08:00

Kingdom in western Africa that flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries in the region that is now southern Benin. According to tradition, at the beginning of the 17th century three brothers vied for the kingdom of Allada, which, like neighbouring Whydah (now Ouidah), had grown rich on the slave trade. When one of the brothers won control of Allada, the other two fled. One went southeast

Cabra

2004-10-29T01:35:00.000-07:00

Cabra has a ruined Moorish castle, and its parish church (the former cathedral) was originally a mosque. Called Baebro or Aegabro in ancient times, it was

Philip

2004-10-27T16:42:00.000-07:00

The youngest son of the Holy Roman emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, Philip was destined for the church. After being provost of the cathedral at Aachen, he was, in 1190 or 1191, elected bishop of Würzburg. Shortly after the death of his brother Frederick

Arts, Central Asian

2004-10-26T22:09:00.000-07:00

This immense

Caucasian Languages, The Lezgian languages

2004-10-23T19:30:00.000-07:00

This language group includes Lezgi (with 240,000 speakers in Dagestan and about 170,000 in Azerbaijan); Tabasaran (about 90,000); Agul (about 12,000); Rutul (about 15,000); Tsakhur (about 11,000); Archi (fewer than 1,000); Kryz (about 6,000); Budukh (about 2,000); Khinalug (about 1,500); and Udi (about 3,700). The majority of Lezgi languages are spoken in southern Dagestan, but some of them (Kryz, Budukh, Khinalug, Udi) are spoken chiefly in Azerbaijan; and one village

Valadon, Suzanne

2004-10-22T18:51:00.000-07:00

Valadon was the illegitimate daughter of a laundress, and, even before reaching her teens, she was surviving without her mother's support. She took a variety of jobs, including those of waitress

Roberts, Joseph Jenkins

2004-10-20T19:48:00.000-07:00

A native of Virginia, Roberts was the son of free “blacks” whose heritage was more than seven-eighths white. At the age of 20 he immigrated to Liberia with his mother and younger brothers, became a merchant, and also became an unofficial aide to the white governor of the colony, Thomas H.

Gaon

2004-10-17T08:27:00.000-07:00

Plural Geonim, the title accorded to the Jewish spiritual leaders and scholars who headed Talmudic academies that flourished, with lengthy interruptions, from the 7th to the 13th century in Babylonia and Palestine. The chief concern of the geonim was to interpret and develop Talmudic Law and to safeguard Jewish legal traditions by adjudicating points of legal controversy. Their

Madagascar, Settlement patterns

2004-10-16T10:23:00.000-07:00

Despite the importance of intensive rice cultivation, the land is used primarily for pastoral purposes. Cattle are kept in all parts of the island. Fewer are found in the dense forest areas of the eastern escarpment, but elsewhere pastoralism predominates, most often coexisting with the cultivation of subsistence crops. On the plateau, the valley floors and irrigable

Sea Buckthorn

2004-10-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

Also called Sallow Thorn (Hippophae rhamnoides, family Elaeagnaceae), willowlike shrub growing to about 2.5 m (about 8 feet) high with narrow leaves that are silvery on the underside and globose, orange-yellow fruits about 8 mm ( 1/3 inch) in diameter. It is common on sand dunes along the eastern and southeastern coasts of Great Britain and is widely distributed in the mountains of Europe and Asia. The sea

Manado

2004-10-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Menado, kotamadya (municipality) and capital of Sulawesi Utara provinsi (province), Celebes island, Indonesia, located near the tip of the north-northeastern arm of Celebes island on an inlet of the Celebes Sea. Manado lies at the foot of Mount Klabat (6,634 feet [2,022 m]), about 600 miles (970 km) northeast of Ujung Padang. A trade centre for the surrounding agricultural and lumbering area, it exports

Wurtz, Charles-adolphe

2004-10-10T18:22:00.000-07:00

Following medical studies and a period of teaching, Wurtz studied at Giessen and then at Strasbourg (1843). He became an assistant (1845) to Jean-Baptiste-André Dumas, whom he succeeded at the School of Medicine (1852). He was the first

Wurtz, Charles-adolphe

2004-10-08T00:23:00.000-07:00

ALS affects the motor neurons—i.e., those neurons that control muscular movements.