Water Flea

Any member of the crustacean order Anomopoda (class Branchiopoda), a large group containing about 450 species distributed worldwide. Most forms are found in freshwater habitats, but a few occur in marine environments. The best known genus is Daphnia, ubiquitous in ponds and streams in Europe and North America. The water flea is microscopic in size, typically

Augustine, Saint

Two of Augustine's works stand out above the others for their lasting influence, but they have had very different fates. City of God was widely read in Augustine's time and throughout the Middle Ages and still demands attention today, but it is impossible to read without a determined effort to place it in its historical context. The Confessions was not much read in the

Gabrieli, Giovanni

Giovanni Gabrieli studied with his uncle, Andrea Gabrieli, whom he regarded with almost filial affection. To the latter's foreign travels and connections Giovanni owed his chance to become known

Vientiane

Also spelled  Viangchan,   largest city and capital of Laos, situated on a plain just northeast of the Mekong River. The city's central river port location in a country relying heavily on its rivers for transportation and its surrounding hinterland of intensive rice cultivation have made Vientiane the major economic centre of Laos. The city has a tropical monsoon climate, every month having

Yakima

Although culturally much like other Sahaptin Indians of the Plateau, the Yakima acquired historical distinction in the Yakima Indian Wars (1855–58), a failed attempt by

Quadros, Jânio Da Silva

Quadros graduated from the University of São Paulo in 1939. He practiced law and taught Portuguese

Barotrauma

Any of several disorders arising from changes in pressure upon the body. Man is adapted to live at an atmospheric pressure of 760 millimetres (the pressure at sea level). When he ventures under water or into the upper atmospheres of space, the surrounding pressure varies from that of his usual environment. Most body tissue is either solid or liquid and remains virtually

Hardanger Fjord

Inlet, Hordaland fylke (county), southwestern Norway. The country's second largest fjord and one of the most scenic, it extends inland northeastward for 70 miles (113 km) from Stord Island, at its entrance in the North Sea, to the Hardanger Plateau and has a maximum depth of 2,922 feet (891 m). Majestic mountains (rising to about 5,000 feet), from which pour many magnificent waterfalls, notably the

Wilkins, Maurice

Wilkins,