TrueCoat

Brandt, Bill

2005-03-19T10:18:00.000-08:00

Following early schooling in Germany and a stay in Switzerland, during which he took up photography, Brandt briefly worked in the Paris studio of the American artist and photographer Man Ray in 1929. In 1931 he returned

Hasa, Al-

2005-03-16T21:06:00.000-08:00

Arabic Al-Ahsa' oasis and region in eastern Saudi Arabia. Al-Hasa oasis, the largest oasis in Saudi Arabia, lies about 40 miles (65 km) west of the Persian Gulf. It has about 30,000 acres (12,000 hectares) of palm groves and other crops that are irrigated by the flow of 60 or more artesian springs. Many varieties of dates are grown on the more than 3 million trees in the oasis. The oasis's population consists of almost

Frederick William Iii

2005-03-14T17:57:00.000-08:00

His policy of neutrality in the Wars of the Second

Macdonald, John Sandfield

2005-03-12T23:28:00.000-08:00

Macdonald was called to the bar in 1840, and the next year he was elected to the Canadian Parliament for Glengarry, a seat he held for 16 years. He supported constitutional government and in 1849–51 served as solicitor general. He held the posts of speaker

Zoe

2005-03-11T01:45:00.000-08:00

Also called Brotherhood of Theologians in Eastern Orthodoxy, a semimonastic Greek association patterned on Western religious orders. Founded in 1907 by Eusebius Matthopoulos, Zoe (Greek: “Life”) brought together groups of more than 100 unmarried and highly disciplined members, bound by the monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience; approximately half of the brothers were ordained priests, and the rest

Oberto I

2005-03-08T22:23:00.000-08:00

Oberto was of a family that apparently arrived in Italy in the 9th century with Charlemagne, perhaps from Bavaria. Oberto acquired Genoa and

Abdülmecid Ii

2005-03-06T02:27:00.000-08:00

Following Ottoman custom, Abdülmecid was confined to the palace until he was 40, during which time his father, Abdülaziz, and three of his cousins reigned. When his fourth cousin took the throne as Mehmed VI in 1918, Abdülmecid became crown prince.

Terman, Lewis M(adison)

2005-03-05T13:33:00.000-08:00

Terman joined the faculty of Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif. (1910), where he became professor of education in 1916, the year he published The Measurement of Intelligence, a guide for his Stanford revision and

Genesis Apocryphon

2005-03-02T16:48:00.000-08:00

Pseudepigraphal work (not accepted in any canon of scripture), one of the most important works of the Essene community of Jews, part of whose library was discovered in 1947 in caves at Qumran, near the Dead Sea, in Palestine. The scroll, the last of seven scrolls discovered in Cave I, is also the least well preserved. Examination of the entire scroll showed it to be a collection

Mammal

2005-03-01T11:46:00.000-08:00

Any member of the class Mammalia, a group of vertebrate animals in which the young are nourished with milk from special secreting glands (mammae) of the mother. In addition to these characteristic milk glands, mammals are distinguished by several other unique features. Hair is a typical mammalian feature, although in many whales it has secondarily disappeared except

Television And Radio

2005-02-26T11:33:00.000-08:00

At the prompting of the American Radio Relay League, which represented 170,000 amateur (ham) radio operators, President Clinton on October 22 signed a congressional resolution recognizing the continuing importance of amateur radio and urging the FCC to permit the service to employ new technology and provide "reasonable accommodation" for its future growth. Although not

Frederick Charles, Prince Of Prussia

2005-02-24T13:44:00.000-08:00

The eldest son of Prince Charles of Prussia and nephew of the future German emperor William I, Frederick Charles was educated from childhood for a military career. He became a colonel in 1852 and a major general in 1854, in which year he married Princess

Qasim, 'abd Al-karim

2005-02-22T06:26:00.000-08:00

Qasim attended the Iraqi military academy and advanced steadily through the ranks until by 1955 he had become a high-ranking officer. Like many Iraqis, he disliked the socially conservative and pro-Western policies of the monarchy. By 1957 Qasim had

China, Industry

2005-02-20T00:14:00.000-08:00

The development of industry has been given considerable attention since the advent of the Communist regime. Overall industrial output has grown at a rate of more than 10 percent per year, and China's industrial work force probably exceeds the combined total for all other developing countries. Industry has surpassed all other sectors in economic growth and degree

Akhtal, Al-

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

Al-Akhtal (“The Loquacious”) was a Christian but did not take the duties of his religion seriously, being addicted to drink and women. He was a favourite panegyrist and friend of the Umayyad caliph Yazid I and his generals

Gabardine

2005-02-16T01:00:00.000-08:00

Any of several varieties of worsted, cotton, silk, and mixed tightly woven fabrics, embodying certain features in common and chiefly made into suits and overcoats. It is a relatively strong and firm cloth, made with a twill weave, and somewhat resembling whipcord but of lighter texture. The weft, or filling, lies entirely at the back and is therefore not visible from the

Biblical Literature, The Second Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians

2005-02-14T19:40:00.000-08:00

A feature of II Thessalonians that resembles the otherwise most unusual feature of I Thessalonians is its excessively long thanksgiving. Within this thanksgiving there is an excursus dealing with the timing of the Parousia, but in II Thessalonians Paul aggressively argues against any expectation of an imminent coming of Christ that might be expected from

Cinematography

2005-02-13T23:48:00.000-08:00

The art and technology of motion-picture photography. It involves such techniques as the general composition of a scene; the lighting of the set or location; the choice of cameras, lenses, filters, and film stock; the camera angle and movements; and the integration of any special effects. All these concerns may involve a sizable crew on a feature film, headed by a person

Metabolism, Oxidation of the carbon skeleton

2005-02-10T01:30:00.000-08:00

As indicated in Figure 2, the carbon skeletons of amino acids (i.e., the portion of the molecule remaining after the removal of nitrogen) are fragmented to form only a few end products; all of them are intermediates of either glycolysis or the TCA cycle. The number and complexity of the catabolic steps by which each amino acid arrives at its catabolic end

Stafford, Sir Edward William

2005-02-07T07:30:00.000-08:00

The son of a landed Irish family, Stafford began farming sheep in New Zealand (1843), was elected superintendent of Nelson province (1853) and representative from Nelson to the General Assembly (1855), and formed his first ministry in 1856. During this five-year term as premier,

Puerto Barrios

2005-02-04T22:28:00.000-08:00

Town, northeastern Guatemala, on Amatique Bay, off the Gulf of Honduras. Until the 1970s it was the principal port of Guatemala, used primarily for shipping agricultural commodities. It was constructed at the beginning of the 20th century as the Caribbean terminus of the railway built by foreign contractors from the coast to Guatemala City, which realized a century-old

Pitcairn Island

2005-02-03T07:23:00.000-08:00

Isolated, volcanic formation in the south-central Pacific Ocean, 1,350 miles (2,170 km) southeast of Tahiti. It is the only inhabited island of the British colony of Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno Islands, which is commonly referred to as the Pitcairn Islands, or Pitcairn. The main island, with an area of about 2 square miles (5 square km), is a rugged half crater rising to 1,100 feet (about

Arabia, History Of, Arabia since 1962

2005-01-31T11:50:00.000-08:00

Political changes in Yemen and Saudi Arabia during the early 1960s epitomized a vast transformation of the Arabian Peninsula that affected the lives of most of its inhabitants. In 1962 Egyptian-trained Yemeni officers led a coup d'état and invited Egypt to send troops to support the republic. The imam's forces, although backed by Saudi Arabia during five years of war against

Mauritania, Transportation

2005-01-29T19:55:00.000-08:00

Transport by pack animals—camels in the north, oxen and donkeys in the south—has retained considerable importance in a society in which a subsistence and barter economy prevails, although transport between cities and regions is increasingly by truck. Considerable hazards, however, confront road builders; among these are moving sand dunes, flash floods in the south,

Perak

2005-01-27T08:13:00.000-08:00

Traditional region, northwestern West Malaysia (Malaya), bordering Thailand to the north and fronting the Strait of Malacca to the west. Its area includes a large portion of West Malaysia's west-coast plains and centres upon the Perak River, which flows north-to-south between the Keledang Range to the east and the Bintang Range to the west; both of these mountain ranges

Parakeet

2005-01-25T13:51:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Parrakeet any of numerous seed-eating parrots of small size, slender build, and long, tapering tail. In this sense the name is given to some 115 species in 30 genera of the subfamily Psittacinae (family Psittacidae) and has influenced another parrot name, lorikeet (see parrot). To indicate size only, the name is sometimes extended to little parrots with short, blunt tails, as the hanging

Libertarianism, Nonaggression axiom

2005-01-23T08:23:00.000-08:00

According to the principle that libertarians call the nonaggression axiom, all acts of aggression against the rights of others—whether committed by individuals or by governments—are unjust. Indeed, libertarians believe that the primary purpose of government is to protect citizens from the illegitimate use of force. Accordingly, governments may not use force

Fibre

2005-01-22T06:56:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Fiber, in textile production, basic unit of raw material having suitable length, pliability, and strength for conversion into yarns and fabrics. A fibre of extreme length is a filament. Fibres can occur naturally or can be produced artificially. See Man-Made Fibres; natural fibre.

Andrew, John Albion

2005-01-19T05:04:00.000-08:00

Andrew entered political life as a Whig opposed to the Mexican War (1846–48). In 1848 he joined the Free-Soil movement against the spread of slavery. After the passage of the Kansas–Nebraska Act (1854), which permitted those

Lowell, A(bbott) Lawrence

2005-01-17T17:54:00.000-08:00

A member of a prominent Boston family, Lowell was the brother of the astronomer Percival Lowell and of the poet Amy Lowell. He graduated from Harvard (A.B. 1877, LL.B. 1880) and practiced law in Boston for 17 years before turning

Lågen

2005-01-16T17:02:00.000-08:00

Also called Numedalslågen river, southeastern Norway. Rising in the Hardanger Plateau, the Lågen flows generally east and north, then southeast through Numedalen, a valley in Buskerud fylke (county), past Rødberg and Kongsberg, through Vestfold fylke and into the Skagerrak (an arm of the North Sea) at Larvik. With a total length of 209 miles (337 km), it is the third longest river in the country. Near Kongsberg,

Paraguay, Flag Of

2005-01-13T16:32:00.000-08:00

Isolated from much of the rest of Spanish-dominated South America, Paraguay developed a unique flag design. The earliest known emblem (c. 1812) of local independence was based on the Spanish flag; it had red-yellow-blue stripes with a coat of arms. Later the colour blue was used in two quite different flags—one of equal horizontal stripes of blue and yellow, the other a plain

Zion

2005-01-12T14:01:00.000-08:00

In the Old Testament, the easternmost of the two hills of ancient Jerusalem. It was the site of the Jebusite city captured by David, king of Israel and Judah, in the 10th century BC (2 Samuel 5:6–9) and established by him as his royal capital. Some scholars believe that the name also belonged to the “stronghold of Zion” taken by David (2 Samuel 5:7), which may have been the fortress of the city. The

Consonance And Dissonance

2005-01-10T21:34:00.000-08:00

In music, the impression of stability and repose (consonance) in relation to the impression of tension or clash (dissonance) experienced by a listener when certain combinations of tones or notes are sounded together. In certain musical styles, movement to and from consonance and dissonance gives shape and a sense of direction, for example, through increases and decreases

Mander, Carel Van

2005-01-07T13:46:00.000-08:00

Born of a noble family at Meulebeke,

Kilimanjaro

2005-01-06T02:44:00.000-08:00

Grade Scale

2005-01-03T10:03:00.000-08:00

In sedimentology, division of a continuous range of particle sizes into a series of discrete groups, called grades. Several such scales have been devised for the purpose of standardizing terms and providing a basis for statistical analysis. On most scales, the finest particles are designated clay, followed by silt and then sand; other grades, which vary from scale

Malakal

2004-12-30T21:36:00.000-08:00

Town, east-central Sudan. It lies along the right bank of the White Nile just below the latter's confluence with the Sobat River, 430 miles (690 km) south of Khartoum. The Junqali project, a joint Sudanese-Egyptian plan aimed at increasing agricultural production, diverts the waters of the White Nile from the As-Sudd swamps by means of a 224-mile (360-kilometre) canal that starts from the

Chad, Flag Of

2004-12-28T10:32:00.000-08:00

When French West Africa was under colonial rule, little was done to develop a sense of nationality; emphasis was on the culture and political and economic systems of France. The independence movement in Africa in the mid-20th century therefore found Chad, like most other territories, with few precedents for establishing its own symbols. When the Republic of Chad was

Latin Literature, History

2004-12-27T17:11:00.000-08:00

Quintus Fabius Pictor wrote his pioneering history of Rome during the Second Punic War, using public and private records and writing in Greek. His immediate successors followed suit. Latin historical writing began with Cato's Origines. After him there were as many historiasters, or worthless historians, as the poetasters disdained by Cicero. The first great exception

Black Fly

2004-12-25T02:39:00.000-08:00

Also called buffalo gnat , or turkey gnat any member of the insect family Simuliidae (order Diptera), usually black or dark gray. About 300 species of worldwide distribution are known. The black fly is small and humpbacked, with gauzy wings, stout antennae and legs, and rather short mouthparts adapted for sucking blood. The females bite and are sometimes so abundant that they may kill chickens, birds, and other domestic

Gadfly Petrel

2004-12-23T15:32:00.000-08:00

Any of several species of petrels distinguished from others by their fluttering type of flight. See petrel.

Fainting

2004-12-21T18:55:00.000-08:00

In physiology, loss of consciousness owing to a temporary decrease in the blood supply to the brain. See syncope.

Christian Viii

2004-12-18T11:24:00.000-08:00

While still crown prince of Denmark and recent stadtholder (governor) of Norway, Christian accepted election as king of Norway in 1814 by the Norwegian independence faction, which refused to recognize the cession of Norway

Strasbourg

2004-12-17T04:05:00.000-08:00

Besides its traditional role as the chief city of Alsace, Strasbourg is also the seat of the Council of Europe, an episcopal see, a university town, and an international communications centre. The river port, which lies east of the

Cereal Processing, Semolina

2004-12-14T21:33:00.000-08:00

Semolina, not flour, is the form of cereal used, and various plain macaroni products are made by combining the correct form of semolina, from durum wheat, with water. Richer alimentary pastes are made with the addition of eggs in fresh, dried, or frozen form, and egg noodles are popular. In low-income families, alimentary pastes often provide the bulk of the calories in the

Mansehra

2004-12-12T02:54:00.000-08:00

Town, northeastern North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. The town is situated at the southern end of the Pakhli Plain on the Bhut Stream, a tributary to the Siran River, at an elevation of 3,682 feet (1,122 m) above sea level. It is a market town surrounded by pine-covered hills and has a flour mill, a woolen-yarn mill, and an agricultural research centre. The nearby Asokan rock edicts

Trace Element

2004-12-10T16:43:00.000-08:00

Also called Micronutrient, in biology, any chemical element required by living organisms in minute amounts, usually as part of a vital enzyme, a cell-produced catalytic protein. Exact needs vary among species, but commonly required plant micronutrients include copper, boron, zinc, manganese, and molybdenum. Animals also require manganese, iodine, and cobalt. Lack of a necessary plant micronutrient

Mahalwari System

2004-12-09T05:07:00.000-08:00

For revenue purposes the name was applied to any compact area containing one or more villages, which were called “estates.” The

Ocean, Antarctic Circumpolar Current

2004-12-06T14:40:00.000-08:00

The Southern Ocean links the major oceans by a deep circumpolar belt in the 50°–60° S range. In this belt flows the Antarctic Circumpolar Current from west to east, encircling the globe at high latitudes. It transports 125 million cubic metres of seawater per second over a path of about 24,000 kilometres and is the most important factor in diminishing the differences between oceans.

Schaffhausen

2004-12-05T08:28:00.000-08:00

French Schaffhouse, capital of Schaffhausen canton, northern Switzerland, on the right bank of the Rhine, west of Lake Constance (Bodensee). The site was first mentioned in 1045 as Villa Scafhusun. About 1049 Count Eberhard III of Nellenburg founded there the Benedictine monastery of All Saints, around which the community developed. The town became a free imperial city between 1190 and 1218 but fell under

Priapea

2004-12-03T18:58:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Priapeia poems in honour of the the god of fertility Priapus. Although there are ancient Greek poems addressed to him, the name Priapea is mainly applied to a collection of 85 or 86 short Latin poems composed in various metres and dealing with the fertility god who, with his sickle, protected gardens and vineyards against thieves and from whose axe-hewn image of figwood or willow

Thoracic Squeeze

2004-12-02T09:08:00.000-08:00

Because the lung tissue is elastic and interspersed with tubules

Quang Ngai

2004-12-01T08:10:00.000-08:00

Town, central Vietnam, on the South China Sea coast. It is a minor port on the south bank of the Tra Khuc River estuary, 125 miles (200 km) southeast of Hue. The town has lighter (barge) facilities, a hospital, and a commercial airport. Across the river at Sin Tinh a highway penetrates the interior to a short distance beyond Phuoc Lam; the highway to Cong Tum in the central highlands begins

Blois

2004-12-01T05:44:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Loir-et-Cher département, Centre region, central France, on the Loire River, northeast of Tours. First mentioned in the 6th century by Gregory of Tours, it was by the early Middle Ages seat of the powerful counts of Blois, from whom descended the Capetian kings of France. At the end of the 14th century, Blois was acquired by Louis de France, duc d'Orléans. Joan of

Aerospace Industry, Working of materials

2004-11-30T19:32:00.000-08:00

Metals are cut, shaped, bored, bent, and formed by tools and machines operated manually or, increasingly, under the control of computers programmed to guide the necessary operations consistently and with greater precision than can normally be provided by humans. The parallels for electrical and electronic fabrication are robotic tools for insertion of components

Kymi

2004-11-29T19:52:00.000-08:00

In full Kymen Lääni, Swedish Kymmene Län, lääni (province), southeastern Finland, bounded by the Gulf of Finland (south) and by Russia (east). The province has a land area of 4,145 square miles (10,736 square km) and includes the southern section of the Saimaa lake system, which is drained by the Kymijoki and Vuoksi rivers. Kymijoki valley industries include timber processing and wood products, iron and steel, textile milling,

Cyclosilicate

2004-11-28T14:09:00.000-08:00

Compound with a structure in which silicate tetrahedrons (a central silicon atom surrounded by four oxygen atoms at the corners of a tetrahedron) are arranged in rings. Each tetrahedron shares two of its oxygen atoms with other tetrahedrons; the rings formed may have three (e.g., benitoite), four (e.g., axinite), or six members (e.g., beryl). The cyclosilicates have chemical formulas

Apurímac

2004-11-26T14:39:00.000-08:00

The name “Apurímac” is a Quechua term meaning “great oracle,” or “lordly speaker.” From as early as 1800 BC the surrounding mountains have supported gold-mining activities, evidenced by the uncovering

Exercise, Overall conditioning

2004-11-25T17:37:00.000-08:00

Much emphasis has been given in the foregoing discussion to aerobic fitness, because this form of conditioning is extremely important. It should be noted, however, that other types of conditioning also have benefits. A total exercise program should include strengthening exercises, to maintain body mass and appropriate levels of strength for daily functioning,

Arabian Sea

2004-11-24T13:38:00.000-08:00

Geology and hydrology of the Arabian Sea are dealt with in N.K. Panikkar and R. Jayaraman, “Biological and Oceanographic Differences Between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal as Observed from the Indian Region,” Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences, 64:231–240 (1966); Henry Stommel and Warren S. Wooster, “Reconnaissance of the Somali Current During the Southwest Monsoon,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 54(1):8–13 (July 1965). Economic resources are outlined in J.H. Ryther et al., “Primary Organic Production in Relation to the Chemistry and Hydrography of the Western Indian Ocean,” Limnology and Oceanography, 11:371–380 (1966). A series of short reports in Science, 209(4456):588–603 (Aug. 1, 1980), summarizes the results of the Indian Ocean Experiment in 1979 surveying the Somali Current and the western equatorial Indian Ocean.

'abd Al-malik

2004-11-23T14:02:00.000-08:00

The best account of 'Abd al-Malik's reign is in J. Wellhausen, Das arabische Reich und sein Sturz (1902; The Arab Kingdom and Its Fall, 1927). Also useful are Sir William Muir, The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline, and Fall, new ed. (1924); and P.K. Hitti, History of the Arabs, 10th ed. (1970).

Zambezi River, Navigation

2004-11-22T05:59:00.000-08:00

Given its numerous natural barriers—sandbars at the mouth, shallowness, and rapids and cataracts—the Zambezi is of little economic significance as a trade route. About 1,620 miles of the river, however, are navigable by shallow-draft steamers. The longest stretch of unbroken water runs from the river delta about 400 miles upstream to the Cahora Bassa Dam. Above the dam Lake

Isabella I

2004-11-22T04:57:00.000-08:00

Byname Isabella the Catholic , Spanish Isabel la Católica queen of Castile (1474–1504) and of Aragon (1479–1504), ruling the two kingdoms jointly from 1479 with her husband, Ferdinand II of Aragon (Ferdinand V of Castile). Their rule effected the permanent union of Spain and the beginning of an overseas empire in the New World, led by Christopher Columbus under Isabella's

Sprint

2004-11-20T10:10:00.000-08:00

Racers compete in groups of two (sometimes called a match sprint) or three, and they frequently spend the early laps of the race moving relatively slowly and trying to manoeuvre their opponents into the lead, while at the same time following close

Hyatt, Anna Vaughn

2004-11-19T02:34:00.000-08:00

Anna Hyatt was the daughter of noted Harvard paleontologist Alpheus Hyatt. She was educated privately and began her study of sculpture with Henry H. Kitson in Boston. She later attended the Art Students

Wage And Salary, Wages-fund theory

2004-11-18T19:24:00.000-08:00

Smith said that the demand for labour could not increase except in proportion to the increase of the funds destined for the payment of wages. Ricardo maintained that an increase in capital would result in an increase in demand for labour. Statements such as these foreshadowed the wages-fund theory, which held that a predetermined fund of wealth existed for the payment

National Army Museum

2004-11-18T03:23:00.000-08:00

The collections of the National Army Museum relate to all aspects of the British army from the Battle of Agincourt (1415) to the present day. They include material from the militia, yeomanry, volunteers,

Gossart, Jan

2004-11-17T04:14:00.000-08:00

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

Clare

2004-11-15T19:30:00.000-08:00

Irish An Clár county in the province of Munster, Ireland. It has an area of 1,231 square miles (3,188 square km) and is bounded by Counties Galway (north), Tipperary (east), and Limerick (southeast); by the long estuary of the River Shannon (south); and by the Atlantic Ocean (west). The largest towns are Ennis, the county town (seat), and Kilrush. The seat of the Roman Catholic diocese is in Ennis, and the Church of

Eilhart Von Oberg

2004-11-14T03:46:00.000-08:00

German poet important in the history of the court epic and the development of the Tristan and Isolde story in Romance literature. Eilhart was a member of a Brunswick family mentioned in the records of Henry III of Saxony. His epic, Tristrant und Isalde, a laboured version of an Old French source now lost, dates from the last quarter of the 12th century. Uncertainty

Caracas, Transportation

2004-11-14T03:32:00.000-08:00

Caracas is linked directly with other major urban centres of the world by air and ocean transport. Maiquetía Airport, located 10 miles by road from Caracas on the coast, provides international connections as well as domestic flights to all parts of the republic. Two smaller airports, La Carlota and Francisco de Miranda, also serve the city. La Guaira and, to a lesser extent,

Rare-earth Element, Ion exchange

2004-11-13T13:34:00.000-08:00

Ion exchange is a method of separation based on differential absorption and elution (washing off) of substances from certain solid supporting materials, often powdered or finely divided materials held in glass tubes. The technique was first used in the rare-earth field during World War II to separate fission products obtained from nuclear reactors. In December

Tsou Yen

2004-11-12T13:35:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Zou Yan Chinese philosopher of the ancient state of Ch'i (present-day Shantung), and leading exponent of the Yin–Yang school. The only account of his life is a brief one in the Shih chi (“Historical Records”). To him is attributed the association of the Five Agents theory with the Yin–Yang doctrine. Nature was thought to consist of changing combinations of the Five Agents (metal, wood,

Amphibole Asbestos

2004-11-10T23:46:00.000-08:00

A variety of the silicate mineral actinolite (q.v.).

Endocrine System, Subphylum Cephalochordata

2004-11-08T07:56:00.000-08:00

The cephalochordate brain contains neurosecretory neurons that possibly are related to a structure called Hatschek's pit, located near the brain. Hatschek's pit appears to be related to the neural gland and hence to the vertebrate pituitary gland. Treatment of amphioxus with GnRH or luteinizing hormone (LH) reportedly stimulates the onset of spermatogenesis

Hula

2004-11-06T01:10:00.000-08:00

Sensuous, mimetic Hawaiian dance, performed sitting or standing, with undulating gestures to instruments and chant. Originally the hula was a religious dance performed by trained dancers before king or people to promote fecundity, to honour the gods, or to praise the chiefs. Wristlets and anklets of whale teeth or bone and necklaces and fillets of leis (interwoven

Alekseyev, Mikhail Vasilyevich

2004-11-05T03:04:00.000-08:00

The son of a private soldier, Alekseyev entered the Russian Army in 1876 and was graduated in 1890 from

Racer

2004-11-05T00:11:00.000-08:00

Any of several large, swift snakes belonging to the family Colubridae. Blue racers are central and western North American subspecies of Coluber constrictor; they are plain bluish, greenish blue, gray, or brownish, sometimes with yellow bellies. The eastern subspecies is called black snake; it is all black except for its whitish chin and throat.

Arunachal Pradesh, Climate

2004-11-03T23:11:00.000-08:00

The climate of Arunachal Pradesh varies with topography and altitude. The foothill zone is subtropical and has a hot and humid climate; in the lower valleys, maximum summer temperatures reach 95° F (35° C), while winter minimums drop below 57° F (14° C). Annual rainfall in the state averages about 80 inches (2,000 millimetres), falling mostly between April and September; in East and West Siang districts

Stebbins, George Ledyard, Jr.

2004-11-03T02:43:00.000-08:00

Stebbins was educated

Dennett, Mary Coffin Ware

2004-11-01T21:43:00.000-08:00

Mary Ware graduated from Miss Capen's School for Girls in Northampton, Massachusetts, and entered the school of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. From 1894 to 1897 she taught design and decoration at the

Arts, Central Asian, The music of Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim

2004-11-01T09:10:00.000-08:00

Little is presently known about the music of Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim. Minstrels play a major role in the musical life of Nepal, where, under the influence of Indian practice, musicians are classified according to caste and each group is distinguished by specific instruments and repertoire. There appears to be a great deal of both Indian-related and indigenous folk

Welk, Lawrence

2004-10-31T04:13:00.000-08:00

Welk, who was raised in a German-speaking hamlet in North Dakota, did not learn English until he was 21, developing an accent that

Genet, Edmond-charles

2004-10-30T22:10:00.000-07:00

In 1781 Edmond succeeded his father, Edmé-Jacques Genet, as head of the translation department at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Breast Cancer

2004-10-29T08:55:00.000-07:00

Disease characterized by the growth of malignant cells in the mammary glands. Breast cancer can strike males and females, although women are about 100 times more likely to develop the disease than men. Most cancers in female breasts form shortly before, during, or after menopause, with three-quarters of all cases being diagnosed after age 50. Generally, the older a woman

'abdor Rahman Khan

2004-10-28T05:39:00.000-07:00

'Abdor Rahman was the son of Afzal Khan, whose father, Dost Mohammad Khan, had established the Barakzai dynasty in Afghanistan. Shir 'Ali's victory in 1869 drove 'Abdor Rahman into

French Literature, Allegory

2004-10-27T08:23:00.000-07:00

Allegory, popular from early times, was employed in Latin literature by such authorities as Augustine, Prudentius, Martianus Capella, and, in the late 12th century, Alain de Lille. It was used widely in religious and moralizing works, as in the long Pèlerinage de la vie humaine (“Pilgrimage of Human Life”) by Guillaume de Deguileville, Dante's contemporary and a precursor

Accesi, Compagnia Degli

2004-10-26T05:15:00.000-07:00

Company that performed commedia dell'arte (improvised popular Italian comedy) in the early 1600s. The name means “the stimulated.” Leadership was provided by Tristano Martinelli (famous for his portrayal of Arlecchino, the mischievous servant) and Pier Maria Cecchini (known as the leading interpreter of the character Fritellino, as well as the author of valuable texts

Sesto San Giovanni

2004-10-25T04:12:00.000-07:00

Town, Milano province, Lombardia (Lombardy) region, northern Italy. A northeastern industrial suburb of Milan, it has blast furnaces, foundries, glassworks, and aircraft assembly plants and manufactures railway and electrical equipment. With one of the largest concentrations of organized labour in Italy, Sesto San Giovanni has long been a bastion of Italian Communism.

Pharmaceutical Industry, Dispersions

2004-10-24T22:36:00.000-07:00

Aerosols were formerly defined as colloidal systems consisting of very finely subdivided liquid or solid particles dispersed in a gas. Today the term aerosol, in general usage, has become synonymous with a pressurized package. For pharmaceutical purposes aerosols may be divided into two types. Space sprays disperse the medicament as a finely divided spray with

Requiem Mass

2004-10-22T18:45:00.000-07:00

Musical setting of the Mass for the Dead (missa pro defunctis), named for the beginning of the Latin of the Introit “Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine” (“Give them eternal rest, O Lord”). The polyphonic composition for the requiem mass differs from the normal mass in that it not only includes certain items of the Ordinary—e.g., Kyrie, Sanctus, Agnus Dei (the joyful portions, Gloria

Galactic Halo

2004-10-22T07:28:00.000-07:00

In astronomy, nearly spherical volume of thinly scattered stars, globular clusters of stars, and tenuous gas observed surrounding spiral galaxies, including the Milky Way—the galaxy in which the Earth is located. The roughly spherical halo of the Milky Way is thought to have a radius of some 50,000 light-years (about 5 ´ 1017 kilometres), and its gas is a source of radio emission, particularly

Bernini, Gian Lorenzo

2004-10-21T15:45:00.000-07:00

Bernini's career began under his father, Pietro Bernini, a Florentine sculptor of some talent who ultimately moved to Rome. The young prodigy worked so diligently that he earned the praise of the painter Annibale Carracci and the patronage of Pope Paul V and soon established himself as a wholly independent sculptor. He was strongly influenced by his close study

Ziyarah

2004-10-20T17:19:00.000-07:00

(Arabic: “visit”), in Islam, a visit to the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad in the mosque at Medina, Saudi Arabia; also a visit to the tomb of a saint or a holy person. The legitimacy of these latter visits has been questioned by many Muslim religious authorities, particularly by the Wahhabiyah, who consider ziyarah a bid'ah (innovation) that should be condemned by all true believers. The

Ussuri River

2004-10-19T17:11:00.000-07:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Wu-su-li Chiang, or (Pinyin) Wusuli Jiang, northward-flowing tributary of the Amur River that for a considerable distance forms the boundary between China (Heilungkiang province) and Russia (Siberia). The Ussuri is formed by the confluence of the Ulakhe and Arsenyevka rivers, both of which rise on the southwestern slopes of the Sikhote-Alin mountains. Its length from the source of the Ulakhe is 565 miles (909 km), and

Flamininus, Titus Quinctius

2004-10-17T07:24:00.000-07:00

Flamininus was a military tribune during the Second Punic War (218–201) and had a distinguished military career. Elected quaestor in 205, he exercised the authority (imperium) of a praetor at Tarentum in southern Italy, and he twice (202, 200) was involved in the distribution of lands to victorious troops. These veterans

Talc

2004-10-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

Since ancient times, soapstones

Defense Economics

2004-10-16T10:34:00.000-07:00

Field of national economic management concerned with the economic effects of military expenditure, the management of economics in wartime, and the management of peacetime military budgets.

Computers, Early history and overviews

2004-10-14T14:56:00.000-07:00

Charles Eames and Ray Eames, A Computer Perspective, ed. by Glen Fleck (1973, reprinted 1990), is a pictorial record of the authors' creation of a computer exhibition for IBM that covered developments from the 1890 U.S. Census up to the stored-program computer, 1890–1950.