ShutScrew

Sore Mouth

2005-03-23T11:16:00.000-08:00

Also called doby mouth, pustular dermatitis , or contagious ecthyma (CE) viral disease of sheep and goats. Blisters, pustules, ulcers, and scabs form on the lips especially but also on the face and ears. In severe cases sores form inside the mouth. Infections occur in the spring and summer and heal in about a month. Humans who work around the sheep sometimes become infected.

Aymé, Marcel

2005-03-22T20:17:00.000-08:00

He grew up in the country among farmers, in a world of close-knit families bounded by the barnyard on one side, the schoolhouse on the other.

Tigris-euphrates River System

2005-03-17T04:08:00.000-08:00

Great river system of Southwest Asia, comprising the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which have their sources within 50 miles (80 km) of each other in eastern Turkey and travel southeast through northern Syria and Iraq to the head of the Persian Gulf. The lower portion of the region that they define, known as Mesopotamia (Greek: “Land Between the Rivers”), was one of the cradles of

Dinosaur, The asteroid theory

2005-03-15T02:08:00.000-08:00

The discovery of an abnormally high concentration of the rare metal iridium at, or very close to, the K–T boundary provides what has been recognized as one of those rare instantaneous geologic time markers that seem to be worldwide. This iridium anomaly, or spike, was first found by Walter Alvarez in the Cretaceous–Tertiary stratigraphic sequence at Gubbio, Italy,

Wagner, Richard

2005-03-13T23:49:00.000-08:00

For the next 15 years Wagner was not to present any further new works. Until 1858 he lived in Zürich, composing, writing treatises, and conducting (he directed the London Philharmonic concerts in 1855). Having already studied the Siegfried legend and the Norse myths as a possible basis for an opera, and having written an operatic “poem,” Siegfrieds Tod (Siegfried's Death), in which he

Yohannes Iv

2005-03-12T00:31:00.000-08:00

Superior weaponry allowed Yohannes, a dejazmatch (earl) of Tigray in northern Ethiopia, to fight his way to the Ethiopian throne on January

Ammannati, Bartolommeo

2005-03-09T22:05:00.000-08:00

Ammannati began his career as a sculptor, carving statues in various Italian cities in the 1530s and '40s. He trained first under Baccio Bandinelli and then under Jacopo Sansovino

Baghdad

2005-03-08T23:51:00.000-08:00

Among the most important of Baghdad's museums are the Iraqi Museum (1923), containing important archaeological treasures from ancient Mesopotamian history; the National

Paradzhanov, Sergey Yosifovich

2005-03-05T20:41:00.000-08:00

Paradzhanov studied music at the Tbilisi Conservatory and cinema at the State Institute of Cinematography. In 1952 he joined the Kiev Dovzhenko Studios, but the early motion pictures that he

Alitalialinee Aeree Italiane

2005-03-04T06:54:00.000-08:00

The company was established in 1946 as Alitalia–Aerolinee Italiane Internazionali and flew its first route, from Turin to Rome, in 1947. In 1957 it merged with the other Italian airline, LAI, or Linee Aeree

Utrecht

2005-03-02T10:22:00.000-08:00

The site of successive Roman, Frisian, and Frankish fortresses, Utrecht became

Queen Anne's

2005-02-28T01:25:00.000-08:00

County, eastern Maryland, U.S., bordered by the Chester River to the north, Delaware to the east, and Chesapeake Bay to the west. It consists of a coastal lowland and includes Kent Island, which is linked across the bay to Anne Arundel county by the William Preston Lane, Jr., Memorial Bridge (completed 1952). The southeastern corner of the county includes part of Tuckahoe State

Saint Clair River

2005-02-25T10:54:00.000-08:00

Outlet for Lake Huron, forming part of the boundary between Michigan, U.S. (west), and Ontario, Can. (east). Flowing southward into Lake Saint Clair, with a fall of 5.7 feet (1.7 m) in 39 miles (63 km), the river discharges through a seven-mouth delta, with the South Channel (27-foot [8-metre] minimum depth) used for deep-drafted vessels. The islands in the delta form popular summer resorts, the largest being

Gray, Harold (lincoln)

2005-02-23T04:09:00.000-08:00

After graduating from Purdue University, Lafayette, Ind., in 1917, Gray joined the staff of the Chicago Tribune, to which he returned after brief service in the U.S. Army. After leaving the Tribune in 1919, he did commercial art and for a five-year period

Spanish Netherlands

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

Although the provinces of the Low Countries had for some years and for many reasons been chafing under foreign rule, the revolt against Spain received its major impetus from the zeal of members of the nascent Calvinist movement.

Hinduism, Challenges to Brahmanism (7th-2nd century BC)

2005-02-19T08:50:00.000-08:00

The century from about 550 BC onward was a period of great change in the religious life of India. This century saw the rise of breakaway sects of ascetics who denied the authority of the Vedas and of the Brahmans and who followed founders claiming to have discovered the secret of obtaining release from transmigration. By far the most important of these were Siddhartha Gautama,

Ear Disease, Impacted earwax

2005-02-18T17:27:00.000-08:00

The waxy substance produced by glands in the skin of the outer-ear canal normally is carried outward by slow migration to the outer layers of skin. When wax is produced too rapidly, it can accumulate, completely filling the outer-ear canal and blocking the passage of sound to the tympanic membrane, causing a painless impairment of hearing. Large plugs of earwax need

Manx

2005-02-16T08:13:00.000-08:00

Breed of tailless domestic cat of unknown origin but presumed by tradition to have come from the Isle of Man. Noted for being affectionate, loyal, and courageous, the Manx is distinguished both by its taillessness and by its characteristic hopping gait. It is compactly built, with a rounded head; large, round eyes; and small, wide-set ears. The rump is also rounded and, because

Elixir

2005-02-13T00:59:00.000-08:00

In alchemy, substance thought to be capable of changing base metals into gold. The same term, more fully elixir vitae, “elixir of life,” was given to the substance that would indefinitely prolong life—a liquid that was believed to be allied with the philosopher's stone. Chinese Taoists not only sought the “pill of immortality” but developed techniques (meditation, breathing

Literature, Latin America.

2005-02-11T21:05:00.000-08:00

The Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes was the most prominent novelist of Latin America to publish a book in 1994. It was a year of particular significance for Latin-American writers of Fuentes' generation as well as for earlier writers. Fuentes published the novel Diana, o la cazadora solitaria, part of his lifelong project "The Era of Time." The novel, set in the world of Mexican

Jevons, William Stanley

2005-02-10T17:21:00.000-08:00

English logician and economist whose book The Theory of Political Economy (1871) expounded the “final” (marginal) utility theory of value. Jevons's work, along with similar discoveries made by Karl Menger in Vienna (1871) and by Léon Walras in Switzerland (1874), marked the opening of a new period in the history of economic

Herat School

2005-02-07T17:09:00.000-08:00

15th-century style of miniature painting that flourished in Herat, western Afghanistan, under the patronage of the Timurids. Shah Rokh, the son of the Islamic conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), founded the school, but it was his son Baysunqur Mirza (died 1433) who developed it into an important centre of painting, bringing to his court artists from all over Persia and Afghanistan.

Ariminum, Council Of

2005-02-06T03:18:00.000-08:00

It was attended by some 400 bishops of the Western Roman Empire, with the Eastern bishops simultaneously meeting at Seleucia (now Silifke, Turkey). The majority of bishops at

Tasmania, Plant and animal life

2005-02-03T15:10:00.000-08:00

In general, the wettest areas have temperate rain forest, especially the beech or myrtle; areas having 30 to 60 inches of rain annually carry good-quality eucalypt forest; and the drier areas carry poor-quality eucalypt forest or savanna woodland. In certain areas, particularly in the forest of the south and southwest, an almost impenetrable thicket known as horizontal

Anti-masonic Movement

2005-02-01T11:36:00.000-08:00

In the history of the United States, popular movement based on public indignation at and suspicion of the secret fraternal order known as the Masons, or Freemasons. Opponents of this society seized upon the uproar to create the Anti-Masonic Party. It was the first American third party, the first political party to hold a national nominating convention, and the first

Breccia

2005-01-30T08:55:00.000-08:00

There are three categories of breccia: sedimentary, pyroclastic or igneous, and cataclastic. The constituent fragments may be of one lithology such as a rock fractured in position, or of many

Ecoterrorism

2005-01-29T11:58:00.000-08:00

Ecoterrorism

Buteshire

2005-01-26T14:07:00.000-08:00

Excavations in the islands have revealed evidence of human habitation

Nerchinsk, Treaty Of

2005-01-25T22:11:00.000-08:00

(1689), peace settlement between Russia and the Manchu Chinese empire that checked Russia's eastward expansion by removing its outposts from the Amur River basin. By the treaty's terms Russia lost easy access to the Sea of Okhotsk and Far Eastern markets but secured its claim to Transbaikalia (the area east of Lake Baikal) and gained the right of passage to Beijing for its

Kircher, Athanasius

2005-01-22T03:31:00.000-08:00

Kircher learned Greek and Hebrew at the Jesuit school in Fulda, pursued scientific and humanistic studies at Paderborn, Cologne, and Koblenz, and in 1628 was ordained at Mainz. He fled the

Tulunid Dynasty

2005-01-20T00:59:00.000-08:00

First local dynasty of Egypt and Syria to exist independently of the 'Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad, ruling 868–905. Its founder, Ahmad ibn Tulun, a Turk, arrived in Egypt in 868 as vice governor and promptly (868–872) established a military and financial foothold in the province by organizing an independent Egyptian army and securing the management of the Egyptian and Syrian treasuries. Insufficient

Hugh Of Saint-victor

2005-01-18T18:54:00.000-08:00

Of noble birth, Hugh joined the Augustinian canons at the monastery of Hamersleben, near Halberstadt (now in Germany). He went to Paris (c. 1115) with his uncle, Archdeacon Reinhard of Halberstadt, and settled at

Baseball

2005-01-16T02:07:00.000-08:00

Game played with a bat, a ball, and gloves between two teams of nine players each on a field with four white bases laid out in a diamond (i.e., a square oriented so that its diagonal line is vertical). Teams alternate positions as batters (offense) and fielders (defense), exchanging places when three members of the batting team are “put out.” As batters, players try to hit the ball

Philip I

2005-01-15T04:59:00.000-08:00

Philip was the son of the future Holy Roman emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg and Mary of Burgundy. At his mother's death (1482) he succeeded to her Netherlands dominions, with Maximilian acting as regent for him during his minority. When Philip

Bokassa, Jean-bédel

2005-01-12T07:20:00.000-08:00

African military officer and political leader (b. Feb. 22, 1921, Bobangui, Oubangui-Chari, French Equatorial Africa [now in Central African Republic]--d. Nov. 3, 1996, Bangui, Central African Republic), was president of the Central African Republic (1966-77) and self-styled emperor of the Central African Empire (1977-79). His rule was characterized by brutality and greed. After the assassination of his father,

Radial Keratotomy

2005-01-11T04:31:00.000-08:00

Surgical procedure to correct myopia (nearsightedness) by reducing the radius of curvature of the cornea and astigmatism (asymmetrical curvature of the cornea). A series of 4 to 8 equally spaced deep cuts are made in the peripheral cornea, leaving the central cornea above the pupil clear. Intraocular pressure then pushes the weakened central cornea outward, flattening

Abandonment

2005-01-09T23:23:00.000-08:00

In Anglo-American property law, the relinquishment of possession of property with an intent to terminate all ownership interests in that property. Abandonment may occur by throwing away the property, by losing it and making no attempt to retrieve it, by vacating the property with no intention of returning to it, or by any other act manifesting a complete disclaimer

Muar

2005-01-07T10:17:00.000-08:00

Also called Bandar Maharani, town and port on the southwestern coast of West Malaysia (Malaya). It lies along the strait of Malacca, at the mouth of the Muar River. An old town, it was occupied by the end of the 14th century AD by Parameswara, founder of the Malay kingdom of Malacca (Melaka). Naval battles involving neighbouring sultanates and kingdoms were fought at Muar in 1517, 1615, and 1616. The present town of Muar was

Chanel, Gabrielle

2005-01-05T19:02:00.000-08:00

Byname Coco French dress designer who ruled over Parisian haute couture for almost six decades. Her elegantly casual designs inspired women of fashion to abandon complicated, uncomfortable clothes and to adopt her now-classic innovations—i.e., jersey dresses and suits, bell-bottom trousers, bobbed hair, trench coats, turtleneck sweaters, costume jewelry,

Holden, William

2005-01-03T19:00:00.000-08:00

While attending Pasadena Junior College, Beedle acted in local radio plays and became involved with the Pasadena Playhouse. He was discovered by a Paramount Pictures talent scout and given the more

Kerang

2004-12-31T14:00:00.000-08:00

Kerang is now on the rail line to Melbourne, 150 miles (240 km) southeast, and is the centre of an area of intensive irrigation

Allantois

2004-12-30T22:25:00.000-08:00

An extra-embryonic membrane of reptiles, birds, and mammals arising as a pouch, or sac, from the hindgut. In reptiles and birds it expands greatly between two other membranes, the amnion and chorion, to serve as a temporary respiratory organ while its cavity stores fetal excretions. In mammals other than marsupials the allantois is intimately associated with the chorion,

Ghaybah

2004-12-26T15:18:00.000-08:00

Ghaybah is applied loosely to anyone whom God has withdrawn from the world and kept invisible to the eyes of ordinary men. The life of such a blessed

Panama, Relief

2004-12-23T22:58:00.000-08:00

A central spine of mountain ranges extends almost the entire length of Panama, dividing the country into Atlantic- and Pacific-facing slopes. The two principal ranges, the Tabasará Mountains (Cordillera Central) in the west and the Cordillera de San Blas in the east, are separated near the centre of the country by a saddle of lower land. This depression (the Panama Canal

Italic Languages

2004-12-22T15:24:00.000-08:00

Fundamental works on Osco-Umbrian, most with selected texts, include Robert von Planta, Grammatik der oskisch-umbrischen Dialekte, 2 vol. (1892–97, reissued 1973); Carl Darling Buck, A Grammar of Oscan and Umbrian, new ed. (1928, reprinted 1995); Gino Bottiglioni, Manuale dei dialetti italici: Osco, Umbro, e dialetti minori (1954); A. Ernout, Le dialecte ombrien: lexique du vocabulaire des “Tables Eugubines” et des inscriptions (1961); and Gerhard Meiser, Lautgeschichte der umbrischen Sprache (1986). A detailed treatment of Paelignian, one of the central Oscan “minor dialects,” is Rafael Jiménez Zamudio, Estudio del dialecto peligno y su entorno lingüístico (1986). The most complete edition of Osco-Umbrian and Faliscan texts is Emil Vetter, Handbuch der italischen Dialekte, vol. 1, Texte mit Erklärung, Glossen, Wörterverzeichnis (1953); it is supplemented by Paolo Poccetti, Nuovi documenti italici (1979). Special studies of some of the more important Oscan texts include Annalisa Franchi De Bellis, Le iovile capuane (1981), and Il cippo abellano (1988). The most accurate text of the Iguvine Tables is found in Aldo L. Prosdocimi, Le tavole iguvine, vol. 1 (1984), with introduction and notes in Italian. Special studies of the Iguvine Tables include James Wilson Poultney, The Bronze Tables of Iguvium (1959); and Giacomo Devoto (ed.), Tabulae Iguvinae, rev. ed. (1940), in Latin. The authoritative edition of the South Picene texts is Anna Marinetti, Le iscrizioni sudpicene (1985– ); Ignacio-Javier Adiego Lajara, Protosabelio, osco-umbro, sudpiceno (1992), in Spanish, is also useful. A grammatical description of Faliscan with many of the texts is provided by Gabriella Giacomelli, La lingua falisca (1963). Similar treatment is given to Venetic in G.B. Pellegrini and Aldo L. Prosdocimi, La lingua venetica, 2 vol. (1967); Michel Lejeune, Manuel de la langue vénète (1974); and Giulia Fogolari et al., I Veneti antichi: lingua e cultura (1988). Important studies of onomastic material (so prominent in the Italic language texts) include, for Oscan, Michel Lejeune, L'anthroponymie osque (1976); and for Venetic, Michel Lejeune, Ateste à l'heure de la romanisation (étude anthroponymique) (1978); and Jürgen Untermann, Die venetischen Personennamen, 2 vol. (1961). Questions of ancient Italic poetics are treated in Calvert Watkins, How to Kill a Dragon: Aspects of Indo-European Poetics (1995), especially chapters 10 and 17–20.

Canadian Imperial Bank Of Commerce

2004-12-19T23:27:00.000-08:00

The bank was established in 1858 as the Bank of Canada and reorganized in 1867 as the Canadian Bank of Commerce. The present name was assumed upon the merger in 1961 of the Canadian Bank of Commerce and the Imperial Bank of Canada (established in 1875). Over the years the bank has absorbed

Indian Territory

2004-12-18T16:28:00.000-08:00

Originally “all of that part of the United States west of the Mississippi, and not within the States of Missouri and Louisiana, or the Territory of Arkansas.” Never an organized territory, it was soon restricted to the present state of Oklahoma, excepting the panhandle and Greer county. The Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, Cherokee, and Chickasaw tribes were forcibly moved to

Deception Bay

2004-12-15T23:17:00.000-08:00

Bay and resort town, southeastern Queensland, Australia. In 1823 the explorer John Oxley named the local stream the Deception River (now called the Caboolture River), because of the numerous shoals at its mouth. The river gave its name to the bay into which it flows, which in turn gave its name to the community. The town of Deception Bay offers safe swimming areas, fishing, boating,

Cyperaceae

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

Sedge family of monocotyledonous flowering plants, a division of the order Cyperales. The Cyperaceae are grasslike herbaceous plants found especially in wet regions throughout the world.

Daedala

2004-12-11T15:11:00.000-08:00

Ancient festival of Hera, consort of the supreme god Zeus. The Daedala was celebrated on Mount Cithaeron in Greece. In the festival, a wooden image dressed as a bride was carried in procession, then burnt with sacrificed animals and a wooden sacrificial altar. A myth existed that Zeus had won back the estranged Hera by arousing her jealousy with such an image. The Daedala

Spotlight: Sub-saharan Africa In A New Era

2004-12-10T22:28:00.000-08:00

Although 41 of the 48 governments in the region had committed themselves to establishing multiparty parliamentary systems, by year's end only 9 could be judged to have met the criteria for pluralism

Performing Arts, Eastern and Southeastern Europe.

2004-12-10T15:38:00.000-08:00

One of the most original and most perfectly achieved films of the year, Aleksandr Sokurov's Russky kovcheg (Russian Ark) used digital resources to make a 96-minute film in a single shot as the camera explored the endless galleries of St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum. Pavel Lungin's Oligarkh (Tycoon) was a ferocious portrayal of corruption that instilled and linked big

Bonefish

2004-12-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

Also called Banana Fish, or Ladyfish (Albula vulpes), marine game fish of the family Albulidae (order Elopiformes). It inhabits shallow coastal and island waters in tropical seas and is admired by anglers for its speed and strength. Maximum length and weight are about 76 cm (30 inches) and 6.4 kg (14 pounds). The bonefish has a deeply notched caudal fin (near the tail) and a small mouth beneath a pointed, piglike

Culture System

2004-12-07T17:56:00.000-08:00

According to the system, a villager should provide land rent to the government by setting aside one-fifth

Argentina, Alfonsín's administration

2004-12-05T16:54:00.000-08:00

Soon after his inauguration in December 1983, Alfonsín reversed legislation passed under Bignone by announcing plans to prosecute several members of the defunct military government, including former presidents Videla, Viola, and Galtieri. He also repealed a law granting amnesty to those accused of crimes and human rights violations during the Dirty War, and hundreds

Janet, Pierre(-marie-félix)

2004-12-05T08:08:00.000-08:00

Psychologist and neurologist influential in bringing about in France and the United States a connection between academic psychology and the clinical treatment of mental illnesses. He stressed psychological factors in hypnosis and contributed to the modern concept of mental and emotional disorders involving anxiety, phobias, and other

Pendred's Syndrome

2004-12-04T05:36:00.000-08:00

Hereditary metabolic condition that is characterized by deafness and defective incorporation of iodine into thyroid hormone, resulting in goitre or enlargement of the thyroid gland. Pendred's syndrome is a major cause of congenital deafness. It does not produce symptoms of hypothyroidism (deficiency of thyroid activity) in most patients, nor does the condition

Philippe And Mathilde, Prince And Princess Of Belgium

2004-12-02T03:00:00.000-08:00

The social event of the decade in Belgium was the marriage of Crown Prince Philippe to Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz on Dec. 4, 1999. The 39-year-old prince had kept his relationship with the 26-year-old speech therapist private until their engagement was announced in September 1999. In three months' time, Mathilde went from a life of relative anonymity to becoming one of Belgium's most well-known

Draco

2004-12-01T10:19:00.000-08:00

Draco species are usually green with dull-coloured cross bars,

Abdulla, Muhammed Said

2004-11-29T08:48:00.000-08:00

Abdulla, after completing his formal education, began his career as an inspector in the Colonial Health Department. After 10 years there, however, he decided to become a journalist. In 1948 he was made editor of the newspaper Zanzibari, and during the next decade he also

Fish, Hamilton

2004-11-29T05:55:00.000-08:00

A lawyer involved in New York Whig politics, Fish served in the U.S. Senate from 1851 to 1857, when he transferred his allegiance to the newly formed Republican Party. During the American Civil War (1861–65) he became chairman

Jewish Religious Year

2004-11-27T17:58:00.000-08:00

The cycle of Sabbaths and holidays that are commonly observed by the Jewish religious community—and officially in Israel by the Jewish secular community as well. The Sabbath and festivals are bound to the Jewish calendar, reoccur at fixed intervals, and are celebrated at home and in the synagogue according to ritual set forth in Jewish law and hallowed by Jewish

Bach, Johann Christian

2004-11-26T02:40:00.000-08:00

At the age of 20 he made his way

Dahmer, Jeffrey

2004-11-25T15:59:00.000-08:00

While Dahmer was a teenager, he experienced fantasies of killing and mutilating men. He committed his first murder in Bath township, Ohio, in 1978. A second murder followed in 1987, and during the next five years he

Tsvet, Mikhail Semyonovich

2004-11-23T22:49:00.000-08:00

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

Lenard, Philipp

2004-11-23T03:00:00.000-08:00

After working as a lecturer and as an assistant to Heinrich

Arabia, History Of

2004-11-22T22:55:00.000-08:00

Some time after the rise of Islam in the first quarter of the 7th century AD and the emergence of the Arabian Muslims as the founders of one of the great empires of history, the name “'Arab” came to be used by these Muslims themselves and by the nations with whom they came in contact to indicate all people of Arabian

Arabian Religion

2004-11-21T10:15:00.000-08:00

Beliefs of Arabia comprising the polytheistic beliefs and practices that existed before the rise of Islam in the 7th century AD. Arabia is here understood in the broad sense of the term to include the confines of the Syrian desert. The religion of Palmyra, which belongs to the Aramaic sphere, is excluded from this account. The monotheistic religions that had already spread

Hugh Iii

2004-11-20T14:47:00.000-08:00

Succeeding his cousin Hugh II as king of Cyprus in 1267, he obtained the disputed crown of the dwindling crusader kingdom of Jerusalem two years later. The efforts of his rival, Charles I of Anjou, king of Sicily, who also claimed his rights to be a king of Jerusalem, and the resistance

Scythebill

2004-11-19T11:17:00.000-08:00

Also called Sabrebill, or Sicklebill, any of several birds of Central and South American tropical forests, belonging to the genus Campylorhamphus. The five species are woodcreepers (family Dendrocolaptidae, order Passeriformes), with long downcurved bills that are as much as one-third of the bird's total length, which is about 23 cm (9 inches).

Wilkes, John

2004-11-18T22:21:00.000-08:00

Outspoken 18th-century journalist and popular London politician who came to be regarded as a victim of persecution and as a champion of liberty because he was repeatedly expelled from Parliament. His widespread popular support may have been the beginning of English Radicalism.

Chauk

2004-11-17T21:26:00.000-08:00

Town and port, north-central Myanmar (Burma). Situated in the Irrawaddy River basin, it is a petroleum port for the Singu-Chauk oil fields. Traditionally, people of the Mon group gathered asphalt in the area to weatherproof houses. In 1902 the British discovered the Chauk-Lonywa oil field. Later, crude oil from Chauk was sent by a 350-mile (563-kilometre) pipeline to Syriam for refining.

Dandin

2004-11-16T02:07:00.000-08:00

The Dasakumaracarita relates the vicissitudes of 10 princes in their pursuit of love and royal power.

Acrocephalosyndactyly

2004-11-15T02:32:00.000-08:00

Also called Apert's Syndrome congenital malformation of the skeleton, affecting the skull, hands, and feet, first described by the French pediatrician Eugène Apert. The head is shortened front-to-back and appears pointed (acrocephaly) because of premature closing of the cranial sutures between the individual bones that make up the skull. The bones and skin of the hands and feet are fused (syndactyly),

Iriga

2004-11-14T09:01:00.000-08:00

City, southeastern Luzon, Philippines. It is located in the central part of Bicol Peninsula, about 20 miles (30 km) southeast of Naga. Iriga is named for the extinct volcano (3,976 feet [1,212 m]) in whose shadow it stands. The land surrounding Mount Iriga is extremely rough and suitable mainly for abaca (Manila hemp) plantations. Agriculture is the main economic activity in the area. Inc. city,

Nepheline

2004-11-14T08:56:00.000-08:00

Also called nephelite , or eleolite the most common feldspathoid mineral, an aluminosilicate of sodium and potassium (Na3KAl4Si4O16). It is sometimes used as a substitute for feldspars in the manufacture of glass and ceramics. Nepheline is the characteristic mineral of alkaline plutonic rocks, particularly nephelinesyenites and nephelinegneisses. It occurs in beautiful crystal form with mica, garnet,

Karate

2004-11-11T13:03:00.000-08:00

Unarmed martial-arts discipline employing kicking, striking, and defensive blocking with arms and legs. Emphasis is on concentrating as much of the body's power as possible at the point and instant of impact. Striking surfaces include the hands (particularly the knuckles and the outer edge), ball of the foot, heel, forearm, knee, and elbow. All are toughened by practice

Keen, William Williams

2004-11-11T09:59:00.000-08:00

After graduating (M.D., 1862) from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Keen was a surgeon for the U.S. Army in 1862–64 during the American Civil War. The next two years he did postgraduate work in Paris and Berlin. On his return to the United States, he became a lecturer in surgical pathology

Balance Beam

2004-11-10T10:32:00.000-08:00

Gymnastics apparatus used in women's competition. It is a wooden beam 5 metres (16.4 feet) long, 10 cm (4 inches) wide, and raised 125 cm (4.1 feet) from the floor. The performer begins the exercise by mounting the beam by either a vault or a jump and executes movements that must include steps, running, jumps, turns, sitting positions, and some held, or posed, positions. The duration of the exercise

Kazembe

2004-11-07T05:55:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Cazembe, the largest and most highly organized of the Lunda kingdoms (see Luba-Lunda states) in central Africa, and the title of all its rulers. At the height of its power (c. 1800), Kazembe occupied almost all of the territory now included in the Katanga region of Congo (Kinshasa) and in northern Zambia. Apparently created about 1740 by an exploring party from western Lunda, the kingdom rapidly

Wylie, Elinor

2004-11-05T23:58:00.000-08:00

Elinor Hoyt grew up from age 12 in Washington, D.C., where her father served as assistant U.S. attorney general and later as solicitor general. In 1904 she graduated from

Grafton

2004-11-05T15:05:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1878) of Taylor county, northern West Virginia, U.S., on the Tygart Valley River, north of Tygart Lake. Settled in 1852 by construction crews of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, it is thought to be named for the “graftin' on” (junction) point for branch rail lines. It was chartered in 1856. During the American Civil War it was a key rail centre and was occupied by both Confederate and

Lignite

2004-11-04T09:02:00.000-08:00

Brown to black coal that has been formed from peat under moderate pressure; it is one of the first products of coalification and is intermediate between peat and subbituminous coal. Dry lignite contains about 60 to 75 percent carbon. It has been estimated that about 45 percent of the world's total coal reserves are lignitic, but these reserves have not been exploited to any

Crocker, Charles

2004-11-02T23:59:00.000-08:00

Crocker was forced to quit school at an early age to help support his family. After his family moved to Indiana, he did various jobs—farming, working in a sawmill, and serving as an apprentice in a blacksmith

Ya-an

2004-11-02T16:59:00.000-08:00

Established as the seat of a county under the Ch'in (221–206 BC) and Han (206 BC–AD 220) dynasties,

India, Coastal areas

2004-10-30T14:08:00.000-07:00

Most of the coast of India flanks the Eastern and Western Ghats. In the northwest, however, much of coastal Gujarat lies to the northwest of the Western Ghats, extending around the Gulf of Khambhat (Cambay) and into the salt marshes of the Kathiawar and Kachchh (Kutch) peninsulas. These tidal marshes include the Great Rann of Kachchh along the border with Pakistan and the Little

Ring

2004-10-30T11:06:00.000-07:00

Basically, a ring consists of three parts: the circle, or hoop;

Gammarid

2004-10-29T18:07:00.000-07:00

Any member of the family Gammaridae, the largest of 80 or so families that make up the crustacean order Amphipoda. The name is sometimes also used to refer to amphipods of the genus Gammarus. The body of a gammarid is of basic amphipod shape: it is flattened from side to side, with seven pairs of thoracic walking legs (the first two pairs often enlarged) and six pairs of abdominal

Mosaferid Dynasty

2004-10-29T08:20:00.000-07:00

The founder of the dynasty was Mohammad ebn Mosafer (ruled c. 916–941), military commander of the strategic mountain fortresses of Tarom and Samiran in Daylam, in northwestern Iran. With the increasing weakness of the Justanid dynasty that ruled the region, Mohammad increased his power and gained control of most of Daylam. After

David Ap Llywelyn

2004-10-27T18:01:00.000-07:00

His father, Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, had made Gwynedd the centre of Welsh power, and his mother, Joan, was the illegitimate daughter of King John of England (ruled 1199–1216). Although Llywelyn designated David as his successor, his half brother Gruffudd opposed him. While the aged Llywelyn

Caucasian Languages, The Lezgian languages

2004-10-26T14:56:00.000-07:00

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

Alcobaça

2004-10-25T19:15:00.000-07:00

Town and concelho (township), Leiria distrito (“district”), west-central Portugal. It lies at the confluence of the Alcoa and Baça rivers, just south-southwest of the city of Leiria. Alcobaça is notable for its Cistercian monastery (Mosteiro de Santa Maria), founded in 1152 by King Afonso I in thanksgiving for the reconquest of Santarém from the Moors and rebuilt in the 13th century.

Thomas, Dylan

2004-10-24T15:46:00.000-07:00

Thomas spent his childhood in southwestern Wales. His father taught English

Eastern Africa, Habitat

2004-10-23T04:12:00.000-07:00

A more useful way of grouping the East African peoples into types is according to their habitats, which can be summarized as follows: wet lowland, wet highland, semiarid, and arid. Wet lowland habitats are concentrated around Lake Victoria, and among the peoples found there about 1900 were the Ganda and Luo, both large in number. Wet highland habitats are less concentrated

Gauss

2004-10-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

Unit of magnetic induction in the centimetre-gram-second system of physical units. One gauss corresponds to the magnetic flux density that will induce an electromotive force of one abvolt (10-8 volt) in each linear centimetre of a wire moving laterally at one centimetre per second at right angles to a magnetic flux. One gauss corresponds to 10-4 tesla (T), the International

Rio De Janeiro

2004-10-21T18:08:00.000-07:00

Estado (“state”) of southeastern Brazil, bounded by the states of Espírito Santo (north), Minas Gerais (west), and São Paulo (southwest), while to the east lies the Atlantic Ocean. It is named for the city of Rio de Janeiro, the state capital, which was the capital of Brazil from 1763 to 1960 and remains the nation's main centre for cultural events, leisure, and tourism. It is Brazil's second largest

Kenite

2004-10-20T09:03:00.000-07:00

Member of a tribe of itinerant metalsmiths related to the Midianites and the Israelites who plied their trade while traveling in the region of the Arabah (the desert rift valley extending from the Sea of Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba) from at least the 13th century to the 9th century BC. The Kenites' name was derived from Cain, whose descendants they were believed to be. The Kenites

Ramat Gan

2004-10-19T21:12:00.000-07:00

City, west-central Israel, on the Plain of Sharon just east of Tel Aviv–Yafo. Founded in 1921, it is the largest satellite city in the Tel Aviv–Yafo metropolitan area, with fine residential quarters, extensive parks and gardens, including a national park, and the nation's principal athletic stadium, seating 50,000 persons. It is also the home of Bar-Ilan University, a religiously oriented

Open Stage

2004-10-18T01:40:00.000-07:00

Also called Thrust Stage, or Platform Stage, theatrical stage without a proscenium, projecting into the audience and surrounded on three sides by the audience. The open stage was used in the corrales of Spain's Golden Age of theatre (beginning about 1570) and in the traditional no theatre of Japan. It was also used in the first London playhouses, including the Globe, which were built during Elizabethan times. The open

Bruneau, Alfred

2004-10-16T10:29:00.000-07:00

A pupil of the French opera composer Jules Massenet at the Paris Conservatoire, Bruneau later worked as a copyist to the publisher Georges Hartmann. His earliest works included three choral symphonies and an opera, Kérim (1887). In 1888 he met the novelist Émile Zola, who became

ShutScrew

Sore Mouth

Aymé, Marcel

Tigris-euphrates River System

Dinosaur, The asteroid theory

Wagner, Richard

Yohannes Iv

Ammannati, Bartolommeo

Baghdad

Paradzhanov, Sergey Yosifovich

Alitalialinee Aeree Italiane

Utrecht

Queen Anne's

Saint Clair River

Gray, Harold (lincoln)

Spanish Netherlands

Hinduism, Challenges to Brahmanism (7th-2nd century BC)

Ear Disease, Impacted earwax

Manx

Elixir

Literature, Latin America.

Jevons, William Stanley

Herat School

Ariminum, Council Of

Tasmania, Plant and animal life

Anti-masonic Movement

Breccia

Ecoterrorism

Buteshire

Nerchinsk, Treaty Of

Kircher, Athanasius

Tulunid Dynasty

Hugh Of Saint-victor

Baseball

Philip I

Bokassa, Jean-bédel

Radial Keratotomy

Abandonment

Muar

Chanel, Gabrielle

Holden, William

Kerang

Allantois

Ghaybah

Panama, Relief

Italic Languages

Canadian Imperial Bank Of Commerce

Indian Territory

Deception Bay

Cyperaceae

Daedala

Spotlight: Sub-saharan Africa In A New Era

Performing Arts, Eastern and Southeastern Europe.

Bonefish

Culture System

Argentina, Alfonsín's administration

Janet, Pierre(-marie-félix)

Pendred's Syndrome

Philippe And Mathilde, Prince And Princess Of Belgium

Draco

Abdulla, Muhammed Said

Fish, Hamilton

Jewish Religious Year

Bach, Johann Christian

Dahmer, Jeffrey

Tsvet, Mikhail Semyonovich

Lenard, Philipp

Arabia, History Of

Arabian Religion

Hugh Iii

Scythebill

Wilkes, John

Chauk

Dandin

Acrocephalosyndactyly

Iriga

Nepheline

Karate

Keen, William Williams

Balance Beam

Alitalialinee Aeree Italiane