LongKnot

Water Flea

2005-03-27T04:46:00.000-08:00

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

2005-03-25T02:26:00.000-08:00

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

2005-03-24T00:57:00.000-08:00

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

2005-03-21T06:17:00.000-08:00

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

2005-03-19T18:54:00.000-08:00

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

2005-03-19T13:13:00.000-08:00

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

Barotrauma

2005-03-17T19:45:00.000-08:00

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

2005-03-16T18:19:00.000-08:00

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

2005-03-16T14:43:00.000-08:00

Wilkins,

Robards, Jason

2005-03-15T05:50:00.000-08:00

Because of the bitterness and disillusionment expressed by his father, onetime stage and film leading man Jason Robards, Sr. (1892–1963), the younger Robards avoided acting

Niccolite

2005-03-14T10:35:00.000-08:00

An ore mineral of nickel, nickel arsenide (NiAs). It is commonly found associated with other nickel arsenides and sulfides, as in the Natsume nickel deposits, Japan; Andreas-Berg, Ger.; Sudbury, Ont.; and Silver Cliff, Colo. Niccolite is classified in a group of sulfide minerals that exhibit a characteristic hexagonal structure. The name, a derivative of the German word Kupfernickel,

Elias Of Cortona

2005-03-12T06:54:00.000-08:00

In 1217 Elias headed the new Franciscan mission to the Holy Land as first minister provincial of Syria. He visited holy places in Palestine with Francis, returning with him

Business And Industry Review, Clothing.

2005-03-11T05:59:00.000-08:00

In 1995 the apparel industry continued its slump as consumers directed discretionary income toward the purchase of cars and home-related and electronic products. Both Martha Stewart (see BIOGRAPHIES), who was held responsible for the "Martha Stewartization" of America, and the aging of the baby-boom generation were cited as reasons for the shift. Also, women--who continued

Dessalines, Jean-jacques

2005-03-10T22:32:00.000-08:00

Dessalines was brought to the French West Indian colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti) as a slave. He worked as a field hand for a black master until 1791, when he joined the slave rebellion that broke out in the colony amid the turmoil caused by the French Revolution. In the decade that

Estates-general

2005-03-10T20:47:00.000-08:00

The origins of the Estates-General are to be found in traditions of counsel and aid and the development of corporate representation

Abbott, Lyman

2005-03-08T17:48:00.000-08:00

Abbott left law practice to study theology and was ordained in 1860. After serving in two pastorates he became associate editor of Harper's Magazine and in 1870 editor of the Illustrated Christian Weekly. In 1876 he joined Henry Ward Beecher's Christian

Bouaflé

2005-03-07T21:39:00.000-08:00

Town, central Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). Bouaflé lies on the north bank of the Bandama Rouge River. It is the chief trade centre (coffee, yams, cassava, and plantains) of a transitional zone of dense forest and savanna, which is mainly inhabited by the agricultural Guro (Gouro) and Gagu (Gagou) peoples. Pop. (1988) 34,562.

Devotio Moderna

2005-03-06T23:20:00.000-08:00

Religious movement within Roman Catholicism from the end of the 14th to the 16th century stressing meditation and the inner life, attaching little importance to ritual and external works, and downgrading the highly speculative spirituality of the 13th and 14th centuries. Devotio moderna (Latin: “modern devotion”) originated in the Netherlands and spread to Germany, northern

Resistance

2005-03-06T03:49:00.000-08:00

In electricity, property of an electric circuit or part of a circuit that transforms electric energy into heat energy in opposing electric current. Resistance involves collisions of the current-carrying charged particles with fixed particles that make up the structure of the conductors. Resistance is often considered as localized in such devices as lamps,

Wüthrich, Kurt

2005-03-04T18:09:00.000-08:00

After receiving a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Basel in 1964, Wüthrich took his postdoctoral training in Switzerland and the United

Osasco

2005-03-04T00:03:00.000-08:00

City, southeastern São Paulo estado (“state”), Brazil. Located at 2,360 feet (720 m) above sea level, Osasco lies along the Tietê River. It is 12 miles (20 km) northwest of São Paulo city, the state capital, and is part of its metropolitan area. Osasco has experienced extremely rapid growth owing to the increasing concentration of heavy industry in the suburban regions of São Paulo, bringing

Malan, François Stephanus

2005-03-02T20:41:00.000-08:00

Malan was a leader of the Afrikaner Bond (a political party of Dutch South Africans) and editor (1895) of its newspaper. He was originally antagonistic to

Latrobe Valley

2005-03-01T08:46:00.000-08:00

The Latrobe River rises in the Eastern Highlands near Mount Baw Baw in the Gippsland district. Flowing in a southeasterly direction, it passes the cities of Moe and Yallourn, where it turns to flow almost directly east, past Traralgon. The Latrobe is joined

Kershaw

2005-03-01T03:43:00.000-08:00

Minahasan

2005-02-27T20:57:00.000-08:00

People inhabiting the northernmost extension of the island of Celebes, Indonesia, in and around the port town of Manado. Of Proto-Malay stock, the Minahasan, formerly headed by chiefs, are now organized patrilineally under headmen, and land is owned communally by each village. Extended families are bound to undivided estates that are apportioned according to the

Connecticut, Cultural life

2005-02-27T18:08:00.000-08:00

Numerous sites important in Connecticut's past or associated with

Anatolia, Early Bronze Age

2005-02-25T19:34:00.000-08:00

The period following the Chalcolithic in Anatolia is generally referred to as the Bronze Age. In its earlier phases the predominant metal was in fact pure copper, but the older term Copper Age created confusion and has been discarded. Archaeological convention divides the Bronze Age into three subphases: early, middle, and late. The beginning of the Bronze Age, in

Henogamy

2005-02-24T00:15:00.000-08:00

The custom by which one, and only one, member of a family is permitted to marry. The classic example is that of the patrilineal Nambudiri Brahmans of Malabar in Tamil Nadu, India; among them, only eldest sons were permitted to marry Nambudiri women and have legitimate children. The custom is concerned with the need to keep property intact and to limit the number of legitimate

Gray Seal

2005-02-23T15:05:00.000-08:00

(Halichoerus grypus), seal of the family Phocidae, found in North Atlantic waters along the coast of Newfoundland, the British Isles, and in the Baltic region. It is spotted gray and black and is characterized by a robust appearance and heavy head. The male grows to about 3 m (10 feet) in length and 300 kg (660 pounds) in weight; the female is smaller. Gregarious and rather

Argonaut

2005-02-23T14:55:00.000-08:00

First submarine to navigate extensively in the open sea, built in 1897 by the American engineer and naval architect Simon Lake. Designed to send out divers rather than to sink ships, the Argonaut was fitted with wheels for travel on the bottom of the sea and had an airtight chamber with a hatch that could be opened to the sea when the air pressure of the chamber and of the water

Ramazan Dynasty

2005-02-22T02:29:00.000-08:00

In 1352 Ramazan, founder of the dynasty, was recognized by the Mamluk sultan of Egypt as the ruler of the Üçok branch of Oguz Turkmen in Çukurova. After a period of attempts to overthrow Mamluk suzerainty, the dynasty's principality about 1418 came under direct Mamluk control and lost its

Burbage, Richard

2005-02-20T17:29:00.000-08:00

The son of the actor and theatre manager and owner James Burbage, Richard had attained wide popularity as an actor by age 20. He was a member of the Earl of Leicester's company and remained with it through its evolution into the King's Men in 1603. He

Seibert, Florence

2005-02-19T15:13:00.000-08:00

Seibert contracted polio at age three, but became an outstanding student, graduating at the top of her high-school class and winning a scholarship to Goucher College, Towson, Maryland, from which she

China, The Self-Strengthening Movement

2005-02-18T02:48:00.000-08:00

Upon the Hsien-feng emperor's death at Cheng-te in 1861, his antiforeign entourage entered Peking and seized power; but Tz'u-hsi, the mother of the newly enthroned boy emperor Tsai-ch'un (reigned as the T'ung-chih emperor, 1861–75), and Prince Kung succeeded in crushing their opponents by a coup d'état in October. There emerged a new system in which the leadership in Peking was shared by

Bunner, Henry Cuyler

2005-02-17T11:11:00.000-08:00

Educated in New York City, Bunner served on the staff of the Arcadian, at 22 becoming assistant editor and later editor of Puck until his death. He developed Puck from a new, struggling comic weekly into a powerful social and political

Mckenna, Joseph

2005-02-15T14:06:00.000-08:00

McKenna grew up in California and was admitted to the state bar in 1865. A Republican, he served as Solano county district attorney (1866–70) and in the California state legislature (1875–76). Despite the prevailing anti-Roman Catholic sentiments that contributed to two defeats at the polls, McKenna was elected in

Marsa Al-burayqah

2005-02-14T05:40:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Marsa El-brega, Mediterranean port on the Gulf of Sidra, northeastern Libya. The site, which was located by a small fishing village destroyed during World War II, contained nothing but land mines when it was chosen as the terminal for Libya's first oil pipeline, running from Zaltan, 105 miles (169 km) south. After 1960 a new port and town were built from prefabricated materials, including breakwaters

Ear, Human, Auditory ossicles

2005-02-14T01:31:00.000-08:00

Crossing the middle-ear cavity is the short ossicular chain formed by three tiny bones that link the tympanic membrane with the oval window and inner ear (Figure 2). From the outside inward they are the malleus (hammer), the incus (anvil), and the stapes (stirrup). The malleus more closely resembles a club than a hammer, and the incus looks more like a premolar tooth with uneven

Axholme, Isle Of

2005-02-12T13:06:00.000-08:00

Area of about 80 square miles (210 square km) west of the River Trent in the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire, historic county of Lincolnshire, England. A tract of low flatland less than 100 feet (30 metres) above sea level, it was formerly surrounded by fens. Drainage works, begun in the 17th century by Cornelius Vermuyden and subsequently extended and improved, have transformed

Eckstine, Billy

2005-02-11T06:28:00.000-08:00

Eckstine left Howard University after winning an amateur contest in 1933 and began singing in nightclubs and with xance bands. From 1939 to 1943 he sang with Earl Hines's band, and at his urging Hines hired

Nadir Shah

2005-02-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

Nadr Qoli Beg had an obscure beginning in the Turkish Afshar tribe, which was loyal to the Safavid shahs of Iran. After serving under a local chieftain, Nadr formed and led a band of robbers, showing marked powers of leadership.

All-america Team

2005-02-10T04:49:00.000-08:00

The first All-America team comprised football players, picked by Caspar

Anchovy Pear

2005-02-09T16:58:00.000-08:00

(Grias cauliflora), evergreen tree of the family Lecythidaceae, native to the West Indies. The name is also applied to its edible fruit, for which the tree is cultivated. The plant grows to about 15 m (50 feet) tall and bears spear-shaped, glossy leaves about 90 cm long that are produced in palmlike tufts. The fragrant yellow flowers are about 5 cm across. The fruit, which contains one

Buzkashi

2005-02-07T09:04:00.000-08:00

Buzkashi has two main forms: the traditional, grassroots game, known as tudabaray (Persian [Dari]: “coming out of the crowd”), and the modern government-sponsored version, qarajay (“black place”). Both feature mounted

Motor-paced Race

2005-02-07T05:27:00.000-08:00

In bicycle racing, a form of competition in which each bicycle racer competes behind a motorbike or motorcycle. (Originally, racers followed tandem bicycles or multicycles.) The bicycles used have small front wheels, enabling the rider to move close to a freely moving roller on a bar projecting from the rear of the pacing motorbike and thus to take full advantage of

Tetrameter

2005-02-05T16:19:00.000-08:00

Line of poetic verse that consists of four metrical feet. In English versification, the feet are usually iambs (an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one, as in the word {breve}be|cause¢ ), trochees (a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one, as in the word ti¢|ger),{breve} or a combination of the two. Iambic tetrameter is, next to iambic pentameter, the most common

Brown, Ronald Harmon

2005-02-05T14:33:00.000-08:00

U.S. politician (b. Aug. 1, 1941, Washington, D.C.--d. April 3, 1996, near Dubrovnik, Croatia), was regarded as an adroit deal maker and political strategist who helped resuscitate both the Democratic Party as its national chairman (1989-93) and the U.S. Department of Commerce as its secretary (1993-96). A prominent member of Pres. Bill Clinton's Cabinet, he wielded heavy influence in international trade but was

Thomas, Ambrose

2005-02-04T18:40:00.000-08:00

Thomas attended the Paris Conservatory, concluding his studies by winning the Prix de Rome in 1832 for his cantata Hermann et Ketty. Upon his return from Rome in 1835 he launched himself on a career as an opera composer and began teaching at the conservatory

Lord Howe Island

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

Island dependency of New South Wales, Australia, situated in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, 436 miles (702 km) northeast of Sydney. Volcanic in origin, it has an area of 7 square miles (17 square km). The island is well wooded but has little arable land. National parks cover 70 percent of the island, which harbours rare vegetation and bird life. It was discovered in 1788 and named after Admiral

Than Tun, Thakin

2005-02-01T10:04:00.000-08:00

Than Tun was educated at Rangoon (Yangon) Teachers' Training School and taught at a high school in Rangoon. Influenced at an early age by Marxist writings, he joined in 1936 the nationalist Dobama Asi-ayone (We-Burmans Association). Than Tun helped form the

Orvieto

2005-01-31T01:36:00.000-08:00

Town, Terni provincia, in the Umbria regione of central Italy. The town is situated atop an isolated rock 640 feet (195 m) above the junction of the Paglia and Chiana rivers. An Etruscan and later a Roman city (in late Roman times it was called Urbs Vetus, from which its Italian name is derived), Orvieto was the seat of a Lombard duchy and of a Tuscan countship before becoming an independent

Prussia

2005-01-31T01:00:00.000-08:00

German Preussen , Polish Prusy in European history, any of certain areas of eastern and central Europe, respectively (1) the land of the Prussians on the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea, which came under Polish and German rule in the Middle Ages; (2) the kingdom ruled from 1701 by the German Hohenzollern dynasty, including Prussia and Brandenburg, with Berlin as its capital, which seized much of northern

Arts, Central Asian, Music

2005-01-29T02:43:00.000-08:00

Richard A. Waterman et al., “Bibliography of Asiatic Musics,” 13th installment, Notes of the Music Library Association, 8:100–118 (1950); Mark Slobin, “Zentralasien,” in Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, vol. 14 (1968), see sect. 1, “Afghanistan and the Sedentary Population of Turkestan”; and Record notes for “Afghanistan,” vol. 1–4, series Anthology of the World's Music, include photographs, musical illustrations; H.G. Farmer, “Turkestani Music,” Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed., vol. 8, pp. 610–612 (1954), historical background and general information; A. Huth, “Instruments of East Turkestan,” ibid., pp. 608–610, historical background; Johanna Spector, “Musical Tradition and Innovation,” in Edward Allworth (ed.), Central Asia: A Century of Russian Rule, pp. 434–484 (1967), detailed information on Turkistani music, with emphasis on the court tradition, including excellent illustrations and charts. (Music of the Turkic nomads, Mongolia, and Siberia): Ernst Emsheimer et al., The Music of the Mongols (1943, reprinted 1971), the classic work; Mark Slobin, Kirgiz Instrumental Music (1969), detailed study of one Central Asian tradition. (Music of the Himalayan peoples): P. Crossley-Holland, “Tibetan Music,” Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, vol. 8, pp. 456–464, a thorough basic survey; Luther G. Jerstad, Mani-rimdu: Sherpa Dance-Drama (1969), a thorough account of a specific Himalayan tradition.

Westerwald Stoneware

2005-01-29T00:26:00.000-08:00

Salt-glazed stoneware produced in German towns such as Höhr, Grenzau, and Grenzhausen in the area known as the Westerwald. Their products (jugs, tankards, and the like), made from the 15th century to the present day, are molded, stamped with dies, and sometimes incised. Westerwald pottery received impetus from the immigration in the late 16th century of Anno Knütgen and his

Gymnodinium

2005-01-28T20:51:00.000-08:00

Genus of marine or freshwater organisms called dinoflagellates. Members of the genus are bilaterally symmetrical with a delicate pellicle (or envelope) and disk-shaped chromatophores, which, when present, contain yellow, brown, green, or blue pigments. The genus is claimed by both botanists and zoologists, for, like all dinoflagellates, it has both plantlike and animal-like

River, Deltas and time

2005-01-27T02:50:00.000-08:00

The most significant effect is that the site of deposition shifts dramatically with time.

Rouvier, Maurice

2005-01-26T11:52:00.000-08:00

Having launched the republican journal L'Égalité in 1870, Rouvier, a supporter of Léon Gambetta—one of the founding fathers of the Third Republic—served as deputy in the National Assembly

Hyaluronidase

2005-01-24T16:11:00.000-08:00

Any of a group of enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis (chemical decomposition involving the elements of water) of certain complex carbohydrates such as hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfates. The enzymes have been found in insects, leeches, snake venom, mammalian tissues (testis being the richest mammalian source), and in bacteria.

Rayburn, Sam

2005-01-23T16:04:00.000-08:00

Reared on a farm after his family moved to Texas, young Rayburn taught school

Bouaké

2005-01-22T17:20:00.000-08:00

City, central Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). It lies on the road and railroad from Abidjan (the national capital) to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta). Bouaké was established as a French military post in 1899; it became an autonomous municipality in 1969. The city is the nation's second largest community and the commercial and transportation hub of the interior. Cotton,

Gulu

2005-01-22T13:55:00.000-08:00

Town, northwestern Uganda, situated about 175 miles (285 km) north of Kampala (the national capital) at an elevation of about 3,600 feet (1,100 m). It is the marketing centre of the main agricultural region of northern Uganda; cotton, tea, coffee, corn (maize), sorghum, and tobacco are grown in the surrounding area. Processing industries in Gulu handle cotton, coffee, tea, and oilseed and grain milling.

Ankara

2005-01-20T15:02:00.000-08:00

While the date of the city's foundation is uncertain, archaeological evidence indicates habitation at least since the Stone Age, and a thriving Phrygian town was located in the area at the end of the 2nd millennium

Shabaka

2005-01-19T07:00:00.000-08:00

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

Mental Disorder, Major affective disorders

2005-01-19T06:59:00.000-08:00

The DSM-III defines two major, or severe, affective disorders: bipolar disorder and major depression. A person with bipolar disorder, which has traditionally been called manic-depressive psychosis, typically experiences discrete episodes of depression and then of mania lasting for a few weeks or months, with intervening periods of complete normality. The sequence

Haakon Vii

2005-01-18T16:54:00.000-08:00

The second son of the future king Frederick VIII of Denmark, he was originally called Prince Charles (Carl) of Denmark. He was trained for a naval career. In 1896 he married Princess Maud, daughter of England's Edward VII. He was offered the Norwegian crown in

Qiu Ying

2005-01-16T05:45:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Ch'iu Ying Chinese painter noted for his gongbi brush technique, used to produce highly detailed figure and architectural paintings and flower studies. Qiu did not pursue the other characteristic arts and activities of the man of letters that Chinese critics believed were marks of a great painter,

Wesley, Charles

2005-01-16T00:23:00.000-08:00

The youngest and third surviving son of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, Wesley entered Westminster School, London, in 1716. In 1726 he was elected to Christ Church College, Oxford, where he translated Greek and

Therapeutics, Diarrhea

2005-01-14T22:48:00.000-08:00

Acute diarrhea can result from food poisoning, laxatives, alcohol, and some antacids but usually is caused by an acute infection with bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureus. In infants, acute diarrhea is usually self-limiting, and treatment consists primarily of preventing dehydration. Traveler's diarrhea affects up to half of

Eam-elas

2005-01-14T01:18:00.000-08:00

Abbreviation of Greek Ethnikón Apeleftherotikón Métopon-ethnikós Laïkós Apeleftherotikós Strátos , English National Liberation Front-National Popular Liberation Army communist-sponsored resistance organization (formed September 1941) and its military wing (formed December 1942), which operated in occupied Greece during World War II. Fighting against the Germans and the Italians as well as against other guerrilla bands, particularly EDES (q.v.), EAM-ELAS became the most powerful guerrilla band in the country. It also established an effective

Naracoorte

2005-01-12T03:05:00.000-08:00

Town and rail junction, southeastern South Australia. It lies 190 miles (310 km) southeast of Adelaide, near the Victoria border. Founded as Kincraig in 1845, it took its present name in 1869 from an Aboriginal word meaning “large waterhole.” During the 1850s Naracoorte was an important stopping place along the route to the Victorian goldfields. Created a municipality in 1924, it now serves as a

Brazos River

2005-01-10T06:06:00.000-08:00

River rising in eastern New Mexico and western Texas, U.S., on the Llano Estacado (“Staked Plain”) near Lubbock, Texas. The Brazos is the longest river in Texas. Its three main upper forks are the Double Mountain, Salt, and Clear forks. Formed from the confluence of the Double Mountain and Salt forks near the Caprock Escarpment, the Brazos proper flows generally southeast to

Gahadavala Dynasty

2005-01-09T14:17:00.000-08:00

One of the many ruling families of North India on the eve of the Muslim conquests in the 12th–13th century. Its history, ranging between the second half of the 11th century and the mid-13th century, illustrates all the features of early medieval North Indian polity—dynastic hostilities and alliances, feudal-state structure, absolute dependence on Brahminical social ideology,

United Nations, Flag Of The

2005-01-08T03:48:00.000-08:00

In April 1945, near the end of World War II, 50 Allied nations gathered in San Francisco. The lapel button worn by delegates was “smoke blue,” a shade chosen by U.S. Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius, Jr. The design on the button, by Donal McLaughlin, showed a view of the Earth based on a projection centred on the North Pole. This indicated the worldwide scope of the new organization,

Cereal Processing, Testing

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

Cooking tests are used to ensure that the final product is satisfactory. Considerable research has been carried out to control factors tending to destroy the desirable yellow colour. Destruction of the colouring matter, a xanthophyll, can occur in mixing owing to excessive lipoxidase. Certain types of durum wheat may possess a high degree of lipoxidase activity,

Conseil De L'entente

2005-01-07T02:39:00.000-08:00

(French: “Entente Council”), French West African organization founded in 1959 and designed to promote the economic development of the region by raising funds, guaranteeing loans, and encouraging trade and investment. It operates through the Mutual Aid and Loan Guarantee Fund headquartered in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). The original member-states were Dahomey

Würzburg, University Of

2005-01-06T02:36:00.000-08:00

German in full Bayerische Julius-maximilians-universität Würzburg, autonomous, state-supported university in Würzburg, Ger., founded in 1582. Early a famous centre for the study of Roman Catholic theology, it was secularized in 1814 and became best known for its medical school. Among its teachers were the philosopher F.W. Schelling, the pathologist Rudolf Virchow, and the physicist Wilhelm Röntgen, who discovered X rays there in 1895.

Celestina, La

2005-01-04T23:37:00.000-08:00

Originally published in 16 acts as the Comedia de Calisto y Melibea (1499; “Comedy of Calisto and Melibea”) and shortly thereafter in an expanded version with 21 acts as the Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea (1502), the work

Atlas Mountains, Transportation

2005-01-03T22:49:00.000-08:00

The massifs constitute an obstacle to traffic; roads and railroads traverse them by means of tunnels and viaducts, which are costly to build. Traffic between

Kheda

2005-01-03T03:11:00.000-08:00

Also called Kaira, city, east-central Gujarat state, west-central India. It is situated in the lowlands between the Sabarmati and Mahi rivers. The city existed as early as the 5th century AD. Early in the 18th century it passed to the Babi family but was taken by the Marathas in 1763 and handed over to the British in 1803. Kheda is now a trading centre for agricultural produce and has some light manufacturing industries.

Wilfrid, Saint

2005-01-01T09:18:00.000-08:00

One of the greatest English saints, a monk and bishop who was outstanding in bringing about close relations between the Anglo-Saxon Church and the papacy. He devoted his life to establishing the observances of the Roman Church over those of the Celtic Church and fought

Dom

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

Also called Domra, or Domb, widespread and versatile caste of scavengers, musicians, vagabonds, traders, and, sometimes, weavers in northern India and the Himalayas. Some scholars regard the Doms as originating from an aboriginal tribe. They list seven endogamous subcastes. The Doms are completely outside Brahminic control. They have their own deities and an elaborate demonology. Considerable

Bruni, Leonardo

2004-12-30T20:33:00.000-08:00

Bruni was secretary to the papal chancery from 1405 and served as chancellor of Florence from 1427 until his death in 1444. His Historiarum Florentini populi libri XII (1610; “Twelve Books of Histories of the Florentine People”) is the first history of Florence based on a critical examination of the

Agricultural Sciences, The

2004-12-29T20:15:00.000-08:00

Food is the most basic human need. The domestication and cultivation of plants and animals beginning almost 10,000 years

Dmitry (ii) Donskoy

2004-12-29T03:28:00.000-08:00

Son of Ivan II the Meek of Moscow (reigned 1353–59), Dmitry became ruler of Muscovy when he was only nine years old; three years later he convinced his suzerain, the great khan

Batabanó, Gulf Of

2004-12-27T04:37:00.000-08:00

Spanish Golfo De Batabanó, inlet of the Caribbean Sea, indenting southwestern Cuba. The gulf stretches from the shore of eastern Pinar del Río province approximately 80 miles (130 km) to the southwestern coast of Matanzas province and the Zapata Peninsula. At its northern edge lies La Habana province; 50 miles (80 km) to the south is the Isle of Juventud. The shallow gulf, economically important for sponge

Marañón River

2004-12-27T01:29:00.000-08:00

Spanish Río Marañón, headwater of the Amazon, rising in the snowcapped Andes above Lake Lauricocha in central Peru, about 100 miles (160 km) from the Pacific Ocean. It flows northwest across windswept plateaus 12,000 feet (3,650 m) high and carves a deep canyon between Andean ranges. As the Marañón passes through high jungle in its midcourse, it is marked by a series of unnavigable rapids and falls. Emerging from

Syrian Wars

2004-12-26T20:14:00.000-08:00

(3rd century BC), five conflicts fought between the leading Hellenistic states, chiefly the Seleucid kingdom and Ptolemaic Egypt, and, in a lesser way, Macedonia. The complex and devious diplomacy that surrounded the wars was characteristic of the Hellenistic monarchies. The main issue in dispute between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies was control of southern Syria.

Kerosine Lamp

2004-12-25T15:05:00.000-08:00

Vessel containing kerosine with a wick for burning to provide light. Such lamps were widely used from the 1860s, when kerosine first became plentiful, until the development of electric lighting. Compared with other oil lamps they were safe, efficient, and simple to operate. The kerosine fed the wick by capillary action alone. An adjustment knob, the only mechanism needed,

Orthodox Judaism

2004-12-23T08:23:00.000-08:00

The religion of those Jews who adhere most strictly to traditional beliefs and practices. Jewish Orthodoxy resolutely refuses to accept the position of Reform Judaism that the Bible and other sacred Jewish writings contain not only eternally valid moral principles but also historically and culturally conditioned adaptations and interpretations of the

Tor

2004-12-21T08:15:00.000-08:00

Exposed rock mass of jointed and broken blocks. Tors are seldom more than 15 metres (50 feet) high and often occur as residues at the summits of inselbergs and at the highest points of pediments. Tors usually overlie unaltered bedrock and are thought to be formed either by freeze–thaw weathering or by groundwater weathering before exposure. There is often evidence of spheroidal

Gates Of Paradise

2004-12-20T16:05:00.000-08:00

Italian Porta Del Paradiso, the pair of gilded bronze doors (1425–52) designed by the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti for the east entrance of the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Florence. Each wing of the Gates of Paradise contains five rectangular reliefs of scenes from the Old Testament between figurated borders containing statuettes in niches and medallions with busts. The entire surface of the doors

Pembroke, William Herbert, 1st Earl Of, Baron Herbert Of Cardiff

2004-12-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

Also called (until 1551) Sir William Herbert the Earl of Pembroke of the second Herbert creation, a leading figure in the reigns of Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I of England. His father, Sir Richard Herbert, was an illegitimate son of William, the 1st Earl of Pembroke of the first creation. Sir William's first wife, Anne Parr, was a sister of Catherine Parr, who married Henry VIII

Metalmark

2004-12-17T17:30:00.000-08:00

Most males possess reduced front legs; females have functional

Smiles, Samuel

2004-12-17T09:15:00.000-08:00

One of 11 children left fatherless in 1832, Smiles learned the meaning of self-reliance. Although he qualified in medicine at Edinburgh

Temple, Shirley

2004-12-15T23:44:00.000-08:00

At age three Temple was picked from her dancing class to appear in Baby Burlesks, a series of one-reel comedies. In 1934 she gained recognition in her first feature film, the musical Stand Up and

Yoga

2004-12-15T01:05:00.000-08:00

The practical aspects of Yoga play a more important part than does its intellectual content, which is largely based on the philosophy of Sa

Lennep, Jacob Van

2004-12-13T17:00:00.000-08:00

Early in his career van Lennep found his natural genre, the historical novel, and his first such work, De pleegzoon (1833; The Adopted Son), was set in the 17th century. Like many of his later works it contains a strong element of adventure and a complicated plot. De lotgevallen

Lahmu And Lahamu

2004-12-13T13:35:00.000-08:00

Usually, Lahmu and Lahamu represent silt, but in some texts they seem to take the form

Down Syndrome

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

Also called Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, or (formerly) Mongolism, congenital disorder caused by an extra chromosome on the chromosome 21 pair, thus giving the person a total of 47 chromosomes rather than the normal 46. Persons born with Down syndrome are characterized by several of the following: broad, flat face; short neck; up-slanted eyes, sometimes with an inner epicanthal fold; low-set ears; small nose and enlarged tongue and lips; sloping

China, The era of barbarian invasions and rule

2004-12-11T23:22:00.000-08:00

For the first time, the power vacuum was filled by non-Chinese forces. In 304 a Sinicized Hsiung-nu chieftain, Liu Yüan, assumed the title of king of Han and started the conquest of northern China. Operating from bases in western and southern Shansi, the Hsiung-nu armies, supported by local Chinese rebels, conquered the ancient homeland of Chinese civilization; the fall and