FalseKnee

Altai Mountains

2005-04-04T19:21:00.000-07:00

The system has three main subdivisions: the Altai proper (formerly

Law, Crime, And Law Enforcement, International Organizations.

2005-04-03T13:50:00.000-07:00

New regional organizations included the Arctic Council, which was inaugurated in September and comprised Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and the U.S.; the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, the Saami Council, and the Russian Association of Indigenous Minorities of the North, Siberia, and the Far East were named as "permanent participants." The council

Sacchetti, Franco

2005-04-03T09:19:00.000-07:00

Sacchetti was born of a noble Florentine family. Both as merchant and as public official he traveled widely. In his letters, in some of his verses, and in the Sposizioni di Vangeli (“Expositions on the Gospels”) he expressed

Hoopoe

2005-04-01T22:14:00.000-08:00

(Upupa epops), strikingly crested bird found from southern Europe and Africa to southeastern Asia, the sole member of the family Upupidae of the roller order, Coraciiformes. About 28 centimetres (11 inches) long, it is pinkish brown on the head and shoulders, with a long, black-tipped, erectile crest and black-and-white barred wings and tail. The hoopoe takes insects

Ambush Bug

2005-04-01T11:55:00.000-08:00

Any member of the insect family Phymatidae (order Heteroptera), which contains about 200 species, generally in the tropical Americas and Asia. As its common name indicates, the ambush bug hides on a flower or plant; when prey approaches closely enough, the ambush bug grasps it with its front legs. The upper section (tibia) of each foreleg has teethlike structures that mesh

Morecambe Bay

2005-04-01T11:09:00.000-08:00

Bay of the Irish Sea deeply indenting the northwest coast of England between the port of Barrow-in-Furness to the north and the seaside resorts of Morecambe and Heysham to the south. The bay separates the Furness region of the historic county of Lancashire (now in the administrative county of Cumbria) from the remainder of Lancashire. Much of the Lake District massif,

Kardelj, Edvard

2005-03-31T19:31:00.000-08:00

The son of a railroad worker, Kardelj graduated from the Ljubljana Teachers' College. From the age of 16 he was a member of the outlawed Communist

Levene, Phoebus (aaron Theodor)

2005-03-31T18:12:00.000-08:00

On receiving his M.D. degree from the St. Petersburg Imperial Medical Academy in 1891, Levene fled from Russian anti-Semitism and settled in New York City. While practicing medicine there, he studied chemistry at Columbia University and ultimately decided to devote

Elijah Ben Solomon

2005-03-31T09:32:00.000-08:00

The best accounts available in English are found in Solomon Schechter, Studies in Judaism, First Series (1896, reissued 1945); and Louis Ginzberg, Students, Scholars, and Saints (1928, reprinted 1985).

São Francisco River

2005-03-29T02:17:00.000-08:00

The upper-middle basin is an agricultural region in which cotton, beans, rice, and corn (maize) are grown. The

Talca

2005-03-28T17:35:00.000-08:00

Formerly San Agustín De Talca, capital of Talca provincia and Maule región, central Chile, in the Central Valley near the Maule River. Founded in 1692, it was destroyed by earthquakes in 1742 and 1928; completely rebuilt, it is now a major urban centre midway between Santiago, 160 miles (260 km) to the north-northeast, and Concepción. It lies in the nation's greatest wine-making zone and contains Chile's largest match industry,

Grabbe, Christian Dietrich

2005-03-27T08:44:00.000-08:00

Grabbe studied law in Leipzig and made unsuccessful attempts at acting and directing in Berlin. After quarrelling with the poet Heinrich Heine and members of Young Germany (a politically radical literary movement) and failing in attempts to get

Sabi River

2005-03-27T07:36:00.000-08:00

Also called Save River, river of southeastern Africa, flowing through Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The river rises as the Sabi about 50 miles (80 km) south of Harare (formerly Salisbury) and flows southeast from the Zimbabwean highveld to its confluence with the Odzi. It then turns south, drops over the Chivirira (“Place of Boiling”) Falls, and is joined by the Lundi at the Mozambique border. The river continues

Jewett, Frank Baldwin

2005-03-27T06:52:00.000-08:00

After receiving the B.A. in 1898 from Throop Polytechnical Institute (now the California Institute of Technology) and the Ph.D. in 1902 from the University of Chicago,

X Ray

2005-03-25T19:01:00.000-08:00

Early experiments with X rays presented evidence that is difficult to explain unless one thinks of X rays as consisting of waves. Other experiments, however, indicated that X rays consist of particles. This dual nature is not restricted to X rays; indeed, it is a general property of all forms of energy and matter. X rays (and the other forms of electromagnetic radiation)

Spaak, Paul-henri

2005-03-25T09:06:00.000-08:00

Belgium's foremost statesman in the decades following World War II and a leading advocate of European cooperation. He played a major role in forming the European Economic Community (EEC; now European Community), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and Benelux, the customs union of Belgium, The Netherlands,

Cela, Camilo José

2005-03-24T22:10:00.000-08:00

In full Camilo José Cela Trulock Spanish writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1989. He is perhaps best known for his novel La familia de Pascual Duarte (1942; The Family of Pascual Duarte) and is considered to have given new life to Spanish literature. His literary production—primarily novels, short narratives, and travel diaries—is characterized by experimentation

Nephrosclerosis

2005-03-23T20:51:00.000-08:00

Hardening of the walls of the small arteries and arterioles (small arteries that convey blood from arteries to the even smaller capillaries) of the kidney. This condition is caused by hypertension (high blood pressure). Hypertension can be present in a person for 20 to 30 years without evidence of kidney involvement; such persons usually die of other effects of hypertension

Arundel, Thomas Howard, 2nd (or 14th) Earl Of, Earl Of Surrey, Earl Of Norfolk

2005-03-23T09:42:00.000-08:00

The son of Philip Howard, the first earl of the Howard line, he was educated at Westminster School and at Trinity College, Cambridge. On April 18, 1604, he was restored to his father's earldom of Arundel and to the

Rainmaking

2005-03-22T15:03:00.000-08:00

Any process of increasing the amount of precipitation discharged from a cloud. Primitive methods, such as rain dances or the throwing of pebbles into water, failed to produce rain, but modern techniques of seeding supercooled clouds with frozen carbon dioxide or silver iodide offer some possibility of increasing rainfall amounts substantially.

Kazembe

2005-03-21T13:26:00.000-08:00

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

Central Asia, History Of, The Uzbeks

2005-03-20T14:54:00.000-08:00

The early history of the Uzbek people (whose rulers were descendants of a younger brother of Batu, khan of the Golden Horde) is wrapped in obscurity, but by the mid-15th century they had migrated from their original homeland, east of the Ural Mountains, southeast toward the lower Syr Darya, whence, under their leader, Abu'l-Khayr Khan, they began to threaten the Timurids across

Bhaktivedanta, A(bhay) C(haranaravinda)

2005-03-19T01:59:00.000-08:00

In 1920 Bhaktivedanta completed his B.A. in chemistry at the Scottish Churches' College in Calcutta; by that time, his family had arranged a marriage for him, and he later established

Roman Republic

2005-03-18T08:12:00.000-08:00

French République Romaine, Italian Repubblica Romana, republic established in February 1798 by French troops occupying Rome and its environs. The pope was forced into exile, and the new republic was set up under an executive of seven consuls. In November 1798 Ferdinand IV of Naples sent an army that recaptured Rome, but the French returned victoriously the next month. The reestablished republic lasted only until 1799, when the Austrian-Russian

Minamoto Shitago

2005-03-16T22:50:00.000-08:00

Although he was a descendant of the emperor Saga and was a member of the powerful Minamoto clan, Shitago was barred from high political position because he did not belong to the Fujiwara family, which controlled the government. Instead he devoted himself to scholarly and literary pursuits and became recognized

Chandos (of Sudeley), Grey Brydges, 5th Baron

2005-03-16T08:03:00.000-08:00

Brydges was member of Parliament for Cricklade in 1597–98. Because of his family's friendship with Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, Brydges was imprisoned in 1601 after Essex' unsuccessful revolt against Queen Elizabeth I; he was soon released. He succeeded to the

Pithecanthropus

2005-03-16T03:42:00.000-08:00

Former genus name assigned to fossil hominids including Java man (q.v.) and Peking man (q.v.), both now classified as Homo erectus.

Tyrant

2005-03-15T19:46:00.000-08:00

Greek Tyrannos a cruel and oppressive ruler or, in ancient Greece, a ruler who seized power unconstitutionally or inherited such power. In the 10th and 9th centuries BC, monarchy had been the usual form of government in the Greek states; the aristocratic regimes that had replaced monarchy were by the 7th century BC themselves unpopular. Thus the opportunity arose for ambitious men to seize

Goatfish

2005-03-14T21:59:00.000-08:00

Goatfishes are characterized by two well-separated dorsal fins and by a pair of long, sensory chin barbels. The barbels are used to find the small, bottom-living invertebrates on which the fishes feed; when not in use, the barbels are flattened into a groove on the throat. Inhabitants

Byzantine Rite

2005-03-14T13:35:00.000-08:00

The Byzantine rite originated in the Greek city of Antioch (in modern southern Turkey), one of the earliest and most celebrated centres of Christianity; but it was developed and perfected in Byzantium,

David Ap Llywelyn

2005-03-12T21:02:00.000-08:00

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

Benacerraf, Baruj

2005-03-12T11:42:00.000-08:00

From the age of five until the outbreak of World War II, Benacerraf

Heiss, Carol

2005-03-12T03:08:00.000-08:00

Heiss began to skate at age six, and she won the world championships in 1956, a title she held for four more years. She also captured the North American championship in 1957 and 1959 and the U.S. national championship from 1957 through 1960. Although narrowly defeated by Tenley Albright of the

Biblical Literature, The conquest of Canaan

2005-03-11T19:57:00.000-08:00

As told by the Deuteronomist, the conquest of Canaan by Joshua and the Israelite tribes was swift and decisive. No conquest of central Canaan (in the region of Shechem), however, is mentioned in the book; and some scholars interpret this to mean that the central hill country was already occupied either by ancestors of the later Israelite tribes prior to the time of Moses

Ichikawa Family

2005-03-11T19:46:00.000-08:00

Kabuki actors flourishing in Edo (modern Tokyo) from the 17th century to the present. The most famous names are Danjuro, Ebizo, Danzo, and Ebijuro, and, according to kabuki convention, these names were assumed by a natural or adopted son of the Ichikawa family when his skill entitled him to inherit the mantle of a famous ancestor. Thus, there have been 12 Danjuros (the highest honorific

Swatow

2005-03-10T09:19:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Shan-t'ou, or (Pinyin) Shantou, city in eastern Kwangtung sheng (province), southern China. Swatow lies on the coast of the South China Sea a few miles west of the mouth of the Han River, which, with its tributary, the Mei River, drains most of eastern Kwangtung. The Han forms a delta, and Swatow is on an inlet that extends some 9.5 miles (15 km) inland on the southwest part of the delta. The city stands at the narrow seaward

Solanaceae

2005-03-09T23:01:00.000-08:00

The nightshade, or potato, family of flowering plants (order Solanales), with about 95 genera and at least 2,400 species, many of considerable economic importance as food and drug plants. Among the most important of these are the potato (Solanum tuberosum); eggplant (S. melongena); tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum); garden, or capsicum, pepper (Capsicum annuum and C. frutescens); tobacco

Aleardi, Aleardo, Conte

2005-03-08T17:07:00.000-08:00

Brought up in Verona, then controlled by Austria, he studied law at the University of Padua. His love lyrics, Le lettere a Maria (1846; “The Letters

Art, African, Igbo

2005-03-08T09:58:00.000-08:00

On both sides of the Niger, but mainly to the east, live the Igbo. Traditionally they have lived in small and often isolated settlements scattered through the forest. Only on the northern and western edges of the area, under influence from Igala and Benin, are hereditary rulers found. In Igbo society there is strong social pressure toward individual distinction, and

Arabian Desert, Physiography

2005-03-07T18:17:00.000-08:00

Plateaus are a common desert feature. Jordan east of the Dead

Celestine Iv

2005-03-06T20:20:00.000-08:00

The nephew of Pope Urban III, Celestine had been made cardinal priest of St. Mark's in 1227 and cardinal bishop of Sabina in 1239 by his predecessor, Gregory IX, whom he was elected to succeed on Oct. 25, 1241. He was the first pope to be elected in a conclave, which had been set up by the senator of Rome, Matthew Rosso Orsini, who hoped to break

Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl Of, Baron Cooper Of Pawlett, Baron Ashley Of Wimborne St. Giles

2005-03-06T03:13:00.000-08:00

He was the eldest son of Cropley Cooper (a younger brother of the 5th Earl of Shaftesbury) and of Anne, daughter of the 4th Duke of Marlborough. He became Lord

New Castile

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

Spanish Castilla La Nueva, historic provincial region, central upland Spain. It generally includes the area of the Moorish kingdom of Toledo annexed to the former kingdom of Castile in the 11th century AD. In modern Spanish geographic usage, New Castile as an administrative region included the provinces of Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Madrid, and Toledo. Its area was 27,940 square miles (72,363 square km).

Floral Decoration, 17th century

2005-03-05T16:58:00.000-08:00

The arrangement of plant materials truly became an art and an important decorative device in the 17th century. During this period of worldwide exploration, colonization, and commerce, new plants were introduced into Europe, where an avid interest in horticulture developed. Still-life paintings of the late 16th, 17th, and early 18th centuries reveal what a great variety of

Puget Sound

2005-03-04T21:31:00.000-08:00

Deep inlet of the eastern North Pacific Ocean indenting northwestern Washington, U.S. It stretches south for 100 miles (160 km) from Admiralty Inlet and Whidbey Island (beyond which lie the straits of Georgia and Juan de Fuca). Hood Canal is a large western extension. The sound is the submerged northern end of the Cowlitz-Puget trough, which extends for some 350 miles (565 km) between the

French Literature, Nerval

2005-03-03T18:26:00.000-08:00

For a long while Gérard de Nerval was seen as the translator of German literature (notably his adaptation of Goethe's Faust) and as a charming minor Romantic. Later critics have seen as his real contribution to poetry the 12 sonnets of Les Chimères, composed between about 1844 and 1854, and the prose poems added to the spiritual odyssey Aurélia (1855). The dense symbolic allusiveness

Cabañas

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

Department, north central El Salvador, bordered to the north and east by the Río Lempa Valley, with an area of 426 sq mi (1,104 sq km). It was formed in 1873. The production of indigo, important in the 19th century, has declined. Grain, sugar, rice, and beans are cultivated, and livestock is raised for dairy produce. Cabañas is noted for pottery, made from the excellent local clay deposits and centred

Jacob, François

2005-03-02T11:30:00.000-08:00

Jacob received his M.D. degree (1947) and a doctorate in science (1954) from the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Science, respectively, in Paris. Most of the work of Jacob,

Indes Orientales, Compagnie Française Des

2005-03-01T16:51:00.000-08:00

(French: “French Company of the East Indies”), one of the companies known as the French East India Company (q.v.).

Albany

2005-03-01T11:17:00.000-08:00

Southernmost town and seaport of Western Australia. It lies on the northern shore of Princess Royal Harbour, King George Sound. The naturally broad, deep, sheltered harbour was visited and charted by George Vancouver in 1791. In 1826 the first European settlement in the state, a penal colony called Frederickstown (after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany), was established

Offa

2005-02-28T14:15:00.000-08:00

A member of an ancient Mercian ruling family, Offa seized power in the civil war

Ze'evi, Rechavam

2005-02-27T16:23:00.000-08:00

Israeli soldier and politician (b. Aug. 20, 1926, Jerusalem, Palestine—d. Oct. 17, 2001, Jerusalem, Israel), pursued hard-line ultranationalist policies, most notably in support of his outspoken belief that all Palestinians should be removed from the Israel-occupied territories in Gaza and the West Bank and transferred to Arab countries and his claim that the kingdom of Jordan should

Aniliidae

2005-02-26T17:27:00.000-08:00

Family of harmless burrowing snakes, composed of three genera and more than 10 species with primitive features such as a vestigial pelvic girdle, an external claw on each side of the anal opening, and two lungs. One genus, the false coral snake (Anilius), is South American. Its most common species, A. scytale, has red and black rings, grows to 75 cm (30 inches), and eats other snakes and

Eyelid

2005-02-26T07:48:00.000-08:00

Movable shield of skin and tissue that protects the eyeball from mechanical injury and helps to provide the moist chamber essential for the normal functioning of the conjunctiva and cornea. The conjunctiva is the mucous membrane that lines the eyelid and covers all the visible portion of the eyeball except the cornea, the transparent part of the eyeball that

Cheng Ch'eng-kung

2005-02-25T17:29:00.000-08:00

Earl Swisher, “Chêng Ch'êng-kung,” in A.W. Hummel (ed.), Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period, 1644–1912, vol. 1, pp. 108–110 (1943, reprinted 1970), is a very brief but reliable biography. See also the articles on Cheng Ching and Cheng Chih-lung. W. Campbell, Formosa Under the Dutch (1903), is still the most detailed English-language account of the Cheng regime on Taiwan.

Permafrost, Active wedges, inactive wedges, and ice-wedge casts

2005-02-25T03:23:00.000-08:00

Ice wedges may be classified as active, inactive, and ice-wedge casts. Active ice wedges are those that are actively growing. The wedge may not crack every year, but during many or most years cracking does occur, and an increment of ice is added. Ice wedges require a much more rigorous climate to grow than does permafrost. The permafrost table must be chilled to -15° to -20° C (5° to -4° F) for

Gum

2005-02-24T09:05:00.000-08:00

In botany, adhesive substance of vegetable origin, mostly obtained as exudate from the bark of trees or shrubs belonging to the family Fabaceae (Leguminosae) of the pea order Fabales. Some plant gums are used in the form of water solutions in the manufacture of cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and foods. When the water evaporates, a film having a considerable adhesive character

Mignet, François

2005-02-23T04:11:00.000-08:00

Educated at Avignon, Mignet became professor there in 1815; he returned to Aix for his law studies and was called to the bar in 1818. His first work, the Essai sur les institutions de Saint Louis, was acclaimed by the Academy of Inscriptions

Wagner, (wilhelm) Richard

2005-02-22T23:17:00.000-08:00

German dramatic composer and theorist whose operas and music had a revolutionary influence on the course of Western music, either by extension of his discoveries or reaction against them. Among his major works are The Flying Dutchman (1843), Tannhäuser (1845), Lohengrin (1850), Tristan und Isolde (1865), Parsifal (1882), and his great tetralogy, The Ring of the Nibelung (1869–76).

Antarctic Ocean

2005-02-22T03:40:00.000-08:00

Also called Southern Ocean, the southern portions of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans and their tributary seas surrounding Antarctica. Unbroken by any other continental landmass, the Antarctic Ocean's narrowest constriction is the Drake Passage, 600 miles (1,000 km) wide, between South America and the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. The structure of the ocean floor includes a continental shelf

Animal Disease

2005-02-20T22:30:00.000-08:00

Concern with diseases that afflict animals dates from the earliest human contacts with animals and is reflected in early views of religion and magic. Diseases of animals remain a concern principally because of the economic losses they cause and the possible transmission

Humbert Of Silva Candida

2005-02-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

A monk of the Benedictine monastery of Moyenmoutier, in the Vosges mountains, France,

Price

2005-02-20T10:39:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1894) of Carbon county, central Utah, U.S., on the Price River, 65 miles (105 km) southeast of Provo. Settled in 1877 by Mormons, it was named for the river discovered in 1869 by William Price, a bishop of the Mormon church. Its growth was spurred by the arrival of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad in 1883. Coal production, livestock, and agriculture (sugar beets and grains) are major economic

Arabia, History Of, Wahhabi-sharifian dispute

2005-02-19T14:05:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile,

Rotimi, Ola

2005-02-19T05:16:00.000-08:00

Rotimi was born to an Ijaw mother and a Yoruba father, and cultural diversity was a frequent theme in his work. Educated in Nigeria in Port Harcourt and Lagos, he traveled to the United States in 1959 to study at Boston University. After receiving a B.A. in fine arts in 1963, he attended the Yale School

Joveyni, 'ata Malek

2005-02-19T04:21:00.000-08:00

Born into a well-known and highly respected family of governors and civil servants,

U Thong Style

2005-02-17T14:24:00.000-08:00

One of the canonical styles for Buddha icons developed in Thailand (Siam) in the southern capital of Ayutthaya, beginning in the 14th century. To retain the greatest spiritual potency, Buddha icons in Thai temples had to resemble as closely as possible an original prototype that tradition erroneously believed had been made during the lifetime of the Buddha. Of the

Cabanis, Pierre-jean-georges

2005-02-17T08:45:00.000-08:00

Cabanis' early interest in poetry and medicine and a budding political

Kerry

2005-02-17T01:01:00.000-08:00

Irish Ciarraí county in the province of Munster, southwestern Ireland. With an area of 1,815 square miles (4,701 square km), it is bounded by Counties Limerick and Cork to the east and by the Atlantic Ocean or its inlets to the south, west, and north. Tralee is the county seat. The principal highlands of Kerry, among which are the highest mountains in Ireland, are of sandstone. Three, and part of a fourth,

Epistemology, Pre-Socratics

2005-02-15T18:24:00.000-08:00

The central focus of ancient Greek philosophy was its attempt to solve the problem of motion. Many pre-Socratic philosophers thought that no logically coherent account of motion and change could be given. This problem was a concern of metaphysics, not epistemology, however, and in the present context it suffices merely to allude to the arguments of Parmenides and

Race, Human rights versus property rights

2005-02-15T05:10:00.000-08:00

Chattel slavery was not established without its critics. From the beginning, many Englishmen condemned the presence of slavery in English territories. They argued that theirs was a society of free men and of democratic institutions and that it was committed to the preservation of human rights, justice, and equality. For several hundred years, trends in English

Priesthood, Ancient Judaism

2005-02-15T02:02:00.000-08:00

When Christianity became the legal religion of the Roman Empire after AD 313, it had already inherited from its Jewish background a concept of an organized priesthood. The Jewish priesthood had been centralized in the Temple at Jerusalem (destroyed by the Romans in AD 70) since the 10th century BC. The Hebrew designations for those who exercised oracular, divinatory, and ecstatic

France, History Of, The shrinking of the frontiers and peripheral areas

2005-02-13T20:07:00.000-08:00

These events undermined the Frankish hegemony. In Brittany the Franks maintained control of the eastern region but had to cope with raids by the Bretons, who had established heavily populated settlements in the western part of the peninsula. To the southwest the Gascons, a highland people from the Pyrenees, had been driven northward by the Visigoths in 578 and settled

Ardennes

2005-02-13T01:22:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ardenne wooded plateau covering part of the ancient Forest of Ardennes, occupying most of the Belgian provinces of Luxembourg, Namur, and Liège; part of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg; and the French département of Ardennes. It is an old plateau comprising the western extension of the Middle Rhine Highlands, stretching in a northeast-southwest direction and covering more

England, Theatre

2005-02-12T18:50:00.000-08:00

Theatre is probably the performing art for which England is best known. Theatrical performance as such emerged during the Middle Ages in the form of mumming plays, which borrowed elements from wandering entertainers, traditional and ancient folk agricultural rituals, and dances such as the Morris dance (with its set character parts). Under the influence of Christianity,

Fibrous Dysplasia

2005-02-11T17:42:00.000-08:00

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

Norway, Daily life and social customs

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

Although Norway is in most ways very modern, it has maintained many of its traditions. Storytelling and folklore, in which trolls play a prominent role, are still common. On festive occasions folk costumes are worn and folk singing is performed—especially on Grunnlovsdagen (Constitution Day), commonly called Syttende Mai (May 17), the date of its celebration. Other popular

Dabola

2005-02-10T11:23:00.000-08:00

Town, central Guinea, western Africa, situated at the eastern edge of the Fouta Djallon plateau near the Bouka branch of the Tinkisso River. Dabola lies on the Conakry–Kankan railway near the intersection of roads from Mamou, Kouroussa, and Faranah. Dabola is a chief trading centre for rice, peanuts (groundnuts), millet, and cattle and also has a peanut-oil-processing plant.

Rashi

2005-02-09T20:39:00.000-08:00

Acronym of Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaqi renowned medieval French commentator on the Bible and Talmud (the authoritative Jewish compendium of law, lore, and commentary). Rashi combined the two basic methods of interpretation, literal and nonliteral, in his influential Bible commentary. His commentary on the Talmud was a landmark in Talmudic exegesis, and his work still serves

Henderson, Lawrence Joseph

2005-02-09T18:30:00.000-08:00

Henderson spent most of his career at Harvard Medical School (1904–42), where he was professor of biological chemistry (1919–34) and chemistry (1934–42). Soon after his arrival there he began investigating how acid–base neutrality is maintained in body fluids.

Germany, Religious war and the Peace of Augsburg

2005-02-07T10:59:00.000-08:00

After the diet of 1530, Charles left Germany for more than a decade, occupied with troubles in the Mediterranean, the Netherlands, and, once again, France. In 1535 he campaigned against Tunis to subdue the Barbary pirates who, as a naval arm of the Ottomans and as corsairs and privateers, had been making navigation unsafe. Renewed war with France was temporarily halted in 1538 by a treaty

Steely Dan

2005-02-06T10:38:00.000-08:00

Named after a prosthetic phallus in William S. Burroughs's novel Naked

Baseball

2005-02-06T09:45:00.000-08:00

The Yankees advanced to the World Series by defeating the Boston Red Sox 4 games to 1 in the American League Championship Series (ALCS). In the opener at New York, after being down 3–0, the Yankees rallied and won it 4–3 on Bernie Williams's leadoff home run in the 10th. The next day the Yankees again prevailed, this time by 3–2. Game three at Boston's Fenway Park was a much-awaited pitching

Nature Worship, Mountains

2005-02-05T18:40:00.000-08:00

Especially prominent mountains are favourite places for cults of high places, particularly when they are isolated as island mountains, mountains with snowcaps, or uninhabited high mountain ranges. The psychological roots of the cults of high places lie in the belief that mountains are close to the sky (as heavenly ladders), that clouds surrounding the mountaintops

Annabergite

2005-02-05T05:02:00.000-08:00

Hydrated nickel arsenate mineral that is very similar to erythrite (q.v.).

Babcock, Stephen Moulton

2005-02-03T10:44:00.000-08:00

Agricultural research chemist, often called the father of scientific dairying chiefly because of his development of the Babcock test, a simple method of measuring the butterfat content of milk. Introduced in 1890, the test discouraged milk adulteration, stimulated improvement of dairy production, and aided in factory manufacture

Zaporizhzhya

2005-02-03T07:16:00.000-08:00

Russian Zaporozhye, also spelled Zaporozhe, or Zaporozje, formerly (until 1921) Aleksandrovsk, city and administrative centre of Zaporizhzhya oblast (province), southeastern Ukraine, on the Dnieper River just below its former rapids. In 1770 the fortress of Aleksandrovsk was established to ensure government control over the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks, whose headquarters were on nearby Khortitsa Island. The settlement became a town in 1806. The growth of the city dates

Apprenticeship

2005-02-03T04:42:00.000-08:00

Training in an art, trade, or craft under a legal agreement that defines the duration and conditions of the relationship between master and apprentice.

Muir, Edwin

2005-02-01T15:21:00.000-08:00

His stature as a poet

Scandinavian Literature, Swedish literature

2005-02-01T02:23:00.000-08:00

Swedish literature proper began in the late Middle Ages when, after a long period of linguistic change, Old Swedish emerged as a separate language. The foundations of a native literature were established in the 13th century. The oldest extant manuscript in Old Swedish was the Västgötalagan (“Law of West Gotland”), part of a legal code compiled in the 1220s. These legal documents

Sculpture, Western, Late Gothic

2005-01-31T10:12:00.000-08:00

In the years around 1400, when International Gothic flourished, Italian and northern artists had achieved some sort of rapprochement. Under the renewed influence of antique art, Italy drew away again, and it was not until the 16th century that the north showed any real disposition to follow suit in the imitation of Classical models. While painting and architecture of the

Vacuum Technology

2005-01-29T22:41:00.000-08:00

Capacities are available from 100 to 70,000 cu ft per minute, operating usually in the pressure range of 10 to 10-3 torr. The peak speed of the pump is developed in the pressure range of 1 to 10-2 torr, the speed at the lower end of the pressure range depending on the type of forepump used. A typical mechanical booster utilizes two figure-eight-shaped impellers, synchronized by external gears,

Dandolo, Enrico

2005-01-29T15:41:00.000-08:00

Dandolo's father, Vitale, had held important public positions; and during Enrico Dandolo's public life he was sent on many important missions for the Venetian government.

Fashoda Incident

2005-01-29T06:01:00.000-08:00

The disputes arose from the common desire of each country to link up its disparate colonial possessions in Africa. Great Britain's aim was to link Uganda to Egypt by building a railway from the Cape of Good Hope to Cairo, while France, by pushing

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Japan

2005-01-28T08:16:00.000-08:00

In Japan the Koji-ki (712; “Records of Ancient Matters”) and the Nihon-shoki (8th century; “Chronicles of Japan”), both of them official histories of Japan, were studded with fables, many of them on the theme of a small intelligent animal getting the better of a large stupid one. The same is true of the fudoki (local gazetteers dating from 713 and later). The form reached its height in the Kamakura

Aleni, Giulio

2005-01-27T18:47:00.000-08:00

Aleni entered the Society of Jesus in 1600 and was sent to the Far East. He landed at Macau in 1610 and went to China three years later. During his more than 30 years in China, he adopted that country's dress and manners. He built several churches

'ayyar

2005-01-27T03:19:00.000-08:00

Though 'ayyarun were found fighting for Islam on the frontiers of inner Asia, the most thorough documentation of these warriors describes their activities in Baghdad in the 10th–12th century, a picture that may not be typical of 'ayy

Spotsylvania Court House, Battle Of

2005-01-26T02:45:00.000-08:00

(May 8–19, 1864), Union failure to smash or outflank Confederate forces defending Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Following the Battle of the Wilderness (May 5–6), Union General Ulysses S. Grant moved his left flank forward, engaging the Confederate forces of General Robert E. Lee at Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia. The battle raged for about a week and a half, and

Parabasis

2005-01-25T17:34:00.000-08:00

Plural parabases an important choral ode in Greek Old Comedy delivered by the chorus at an intermission in the action while facing and moving toward the audience. It was used to express the author's views on political or religious topics of the day.

Miticide

2005-01-25T14:19:00.000-08:00

Also called Acaricide, any chemical substance used to control mites or ticks (especially species that damage ornamental or food plants), which are not susceptible to commonly used insecticides. Azobenzene, dicofol, ovex, and tetradifon are commonly used miticides. Many miticides kill eggs and larval stages as well as adult animals. Some are also toxic to honeybees and other beneficial