ReadyGun

Banner System

2005-11-17T20:10:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade–Giles romanization) Ch'i-ping, Pinyin Qibing, the military organization used by the Manchu tribes of Manchuria (now Northeast China) to conquer and control China in the 17th century. The Banner system was developed by the Manchu leader Nurhachi (1559–1626), who in 1601 organized his warriors into four companies of 300 men each. The companies were distinguished by banners of different colours—yellow, red, white, and blue. In 1615 four more

Halftone Process

2005-10-15T16:05:00.000-07:00

In printing, a technique of breaking up an image into a series of dots so as to reproduce the full tone range of a photograph or tone art work. Breaking up is usually done by a screen inserted over the plate being exposed. The screens are made with a varying number of lines per inch, depending on the application; for newspapers, the range is 50 to 85, and for magazines, 100 to 120. The highest

Monday

2005-07-28T13:55:00.000-07:00

Second day of the week (q.v.).

Bewick, Thomas

2005-07-26T19:30:00.000-07:00

Bewick, a precocious youth, was apprenticed to a local metal engraver when he was 14 years old. He progressed rapidly and, after his apprenticeship, entered

Ghezzi, Pier Leone

2005-07-24T08:25:00.000-07:00

Ghezzi made religious paintings for Roman churches but was best known for penned and etched caricatures of Rome's residents and tourists. He often portrayed a single figure with exaggerated anatomy and appropriate eccentricities of clothing and posture. In group portraits he produced

Theosophy

2005-07-07T09:55:00.000-07:00

Religious philosophy with mystical concerns that can be traced to the ancient world but that has been of catalytic significance in religious thought in the 19th and 20th centuries. The term theosophy is derived from the Greek theos, “god,” and sophia, “wisdom,” and is generally translated as “divine wisdom.” All theosophical speculation has as its foundation the mystical

Arrian

2005-07-05T15:25:00.000-07:00

Latin in full Flavius Arrianus Greek historian and philosopher who was the author of a work describing the campaigns of Alexander the Great. Entitled Anabasis, presumably in order to recall Xenophon's work of that title, it describes Alexander's military exploits in seven books; an eighth, the Indica, tells of Indian customs and the voyage of Nearchus in the Persian

Pala Dynasty

2005-06-17T03:25:00.000-07:00

Ruling dynasty in Bihar and Bengal, India, from the 8th to the 12th century. Its founder, Gopala, was a local chieftain who rose to power in the mid-8th century during a period of anarchy. His successor, Dharmapala (reigned c. 770–810), greatly expanded the kingdom and for a while was in control of Kannauj. Pala power was maintained under Devapala (reigned c. 810–850), who carried out raids in the north, the

Tibet, Superstitions

2005-06-13T22:10:00.000-07:00

Superstition is prominent in Tibet. A traveler who encounters either a funeral procession, the source of running water, or a passerby carrying a pitcher of water is considered to have good fortune awaiting him. If a vulture or an owl perches on a rooftop, it is believed that death or misfortune will soon befall the household. If snow falls during a marriage procession,

Kirstein, Lincoln Edward

2005-06-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

U.S. arts patron (b. May 4, 1907, Rochester, N.Y.--d. Jan. 5, 1996, New York, N.Y.), was a dance authority and cofounder and general director (1948-89) of the New York City Ballet. Together with choreographer George Balanchine, he changed the course of dance in the U.S. Their collaboration lasted until Balanchine's death in 1983. Kirstein was ambitious, financially independent, and keenly interested in high culture.

Atwater, Wilbur Olin

2005-05-31T00:15:00.000-07:00

Upon completing his undergraduate work at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., Atwater continued his studies at Yale University, where his Ph.D. thesis discussed for the first time how chemical techniques could be applied to food. After further study in Germany,

China, The struggle for central authority

2005-05-17T03:20:00.000-07:00

Under Hsien-tsung (reigned 805/806–820) the T'ang regained a great deal of its power. Hsien-tsung, a tough and ruthless ruler who kept a firm hand on affairs, is notable chiefly for his successful policies toward the provinces. Rebellions in Szechwan (806) and the Yangtze Delta (807) were quickly put down. After an abortive campaign (809–810) that was badly bungled by a favourite eunuch commander, the

Gracchus, Gaius Sempronius

2005-03-15T01:50:00.000-08:00

Gaius Sempronius was the son of a Roman aristocrat whose family had regularly held the highest offices of state for the past century and was connected to the most

Avalon Peninsula

2005-03-14T06:06:00.000-08:00

Peninsula in southeastern Newfoundland, Canada; it is joined to the main part of the island by a 4-mi- (6-km-) wide isthmus between Placentia and Trinity bays and extends for about 110 mi with a maximum width of 60 mi. Its high point is about 1,000 ft (300 m) on the Atlantic coast south of St. John's, and it is deeply indented by Conception Bay (north) and St. Mary's Bay (south). Probably first visited in 1497 by

Force, Juliana Rieser

2005-03-12T14:03:00.000-08:00

Juliana Reiser (later changed to Rieser) at an early age went to work as a secretary. After directing a secretarial school in New York City, she

Pregnancy, Amniocentesis

2005-03-09T11:40:00.000-08:00

In the procedure of amniocentesis, amniotic fluid is aspirated (withdrawn) from the uterus by a needle inserted through a woman's abdomen, using ultrasound to circumnavigate the fetus and placenta. Spinal cord defects and a host of genetic abnormalities such as Down syndrome and autosomal recessive diseases such as Tay-Sachs disease and cystic fibrosis can be

Tsuyama

2005-03-08T03:45:00.000-08:00

City, Okayama ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It lies along the upper Yoshii River, in the centre of the Tsuyama basin. A castle was built there in 1442. An important post town during the Tokugawa period (1603 - 1867), Tsuyama is still a centre of traditional home industries, producing tabi (socks), sickles, and silk gauze textiles. The remains of the castle and old buildings around it attract

Yemen

2005-03-07T08:31:00.000-08:00

A republic of the southwestern Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has coastlines on the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea. Area: 527,970 sq km (203,850 sq mi), including 55,871 sq km of undemarcated area bordered by Saudi Arabia and claimed by the former Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen). Pop. (1995 est.): 13,058,000. Cap.: San'a`. Monetary unit: Yemen Rial, with (Oct. 6, 1995) an official par value of YRls 50 to U.S. $1 (YRls 79.04 = �1 sterling) and a free

Cacus And Caca

2005-03-06T06:32:00.000-08:00

In Roman religion, brother and sister, respectively, originally fire deities of the early Roman settlement on the Palatine Hill, where �Cacus' stairs� were later situated. The Roman poet Virgil described Cacus as the son of the flame god Vulcan and as a monstrous fire-breathing brigand who terrorized the countryside. He stole some of the giant Geryon's cattle from the

Arno River

2005-03-05T03:58:00.000-08:00

Italian �Fiume Arno, �Latin �Arnus, � principal stream of the Toscana (Tuscany) region, in central Italy. Rising on the slopes of Monte Falterona in the Tuscan Apennines, it flows for 150 mi (240 km) to the Ligurian Sea, receiving the Sieve, Pesa, Elsa, and Era rivers. Its drainage basin covers 3,184 sq mi (8,247 sq km). Navigation on the river is negligible. In its upper course the Arno flows generally south through the former lake basin

Kwangsi, Education

2005-03-04T20:55:00.000-08:00

A special educational feature in Kwangsi is the program for the education of national minorities. Minority languages are used for instruction in primary and middle schools, written scripts, such as that for Chuang, are developed for spoken minority languages wherever needed, minority teachers are trained, and government subsidies are provided for minority

Spain, Literature

2005-03-03T08:14:00.000-08:00

In the 9th century there flourished such court poets as 'Abbas ibn Nasih, 'Abbas ibn Firnas, Yahya al-Ghazal, and the knight Sa'id ibn Judi. Towering above all these, however, was Muhammad ibn Hani', nicknamed the �Mutanabbi of the West� (Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi was a 10th-century poet of Iraq), who by virtue of his religious ideas was obliged to forsake his native land and enter into the service of the

Ethiopia, Drainage

2005-03-02T05:10:00.000-08:00

Ethiopia has three principal drainage systems. The first and largest is the western system, which includes the watersheds of the Blue Nile (known as the Abay in Ethiopia), the Tekeze, and the Baro rivers. All three rivers flow west to the White Nile in The Sudan. The second system is the Rift Valley internal drainage system, composed of the Awash River, the Lakes Region, and

Welch, William Henry

2005-03-01T14:45:00.000-08:00

Undertaking graduate medical study in Germany (1876 - 78), Welch was working in the

Ikhshidids Dynasty

2005-02-28T19:13:00.000-08:00

Muslim Turkish dynasty from Fergana in Central Asia that ruled Egypt and Syria from 935 to 969. The founder, Muhammad ibn Tughj, appointed governor of Egypt in 935, two years later obtained the title ikhshid (Persian: �prince, ruler�) from the 'Abbasid caliph ar-Radi; he then secured his position in Egypt and Syria against opposition from Muhammad ibn Ra'iq, 'Abbasid amir al-umara' (commander in chief),

Baccarat Glass

2005-02-27T19:27:00.000-08:00

Glassware produced by an important glasshouse founded in 1765 at Baccarat, Fr. Originally a producer of soda glass for windows, tableware, and industrial uses, Baccarat was acquired by a Belgian manufacturer of lead crystal in 1817 and since then has specialized in producing this type of glass. In 1823 the firm won its first gold medal in an international exposition for glass, and

Economic Affairs

2005-02-26T03:47:00.000-08:00

Amid a global financial crisis and intense efforts to prepare for the introduction of the European Union common currency (the euro) and the computer problem caused by the year 2000 date change, industrywide consolidation both within and across national borders continued to reshape the financial services landscape in 1998. At the same time, 1998 was marked by ongoing efforts

Hand Tool, The Acheulian industry

2005-02-25T10:57:00.000-08:00

As the Pleistocene Epoch progressed, humans slowly developed the primitive chopper into a better instrument. About half a million years ago a superior implement finally appeared after nearly 2,000,000 years of effort. The industry, or style, is known as the Acheulian, and the typical implement was the flint hand ax (sometimes called a fist hatchet). Throughout the ages the plump

Sari

2005-02-24T06:42:00.000-08:00

Situated

Anderson, Maxwell

2005-02-23T20:51:00.000-08:00

Anderson was educated at the University of North Dakota and Stanford University. He collaborated with Laurence Stallings in the World War I comedy What Price Glory? (1924), his first hit, a realistically ribald and profane view of World War I. Saturday's

Villahermosa

2005-02-22T21:09:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Tabasco state, southeastern Mexico. It is in the Gulf lowlands at 33 ft (10 m) above sea level, on the R�o Grijalva. Founded in 1596 as Villa Felipe II, the settlement has also been known as San Juan de Villa Hermosa and as San Juan Bautista; it was given its present name, meaning �beautiful city,� in 1915. The city's cathedral was built in 1614; its archaeological museum is one of the

Quinar�

2005-02-21T14:57:00.000-08:00

Region, southwestern Guinea-Bissau, West Africa, bordered by the regions of Tombali on the south and east, Bafat� on the northeast, Oio on the north, and Biombo on the northwest. Quinar� fronts the Atlantic Ocean and the region of Bolama to the southwest. It has an area of 1,139 sq mi (2,920 sq km). The Rio Grande de Buba flows east - west through the centre of the region and empties into the

Mountain, Andean-type belts

2005-02-20T18:53:00.000-08:00

At some continental margins, oceanic lithosphere is subducted. At some of these sites, the landscape is dominated by volcanoes, such as along the Cascades of western North America or in Japan, but at others, such as along much of the Andes of South America, volcanoes constitute only a small or even negligible part of the relief. At Andean-type margins, the crust is typically

Affidavit

2005-02-19T09:34:00.000-08:00

A written statement of fact made voluntarily, confirmed by the oath or affirmation of the party making it, and signed before a notary or other officer empowered to administer such oaths. Affidavits generally name the place of execution and certify that the person making it states certain facts and appeared before the officer on a certain date and �subscribed and

Philip Ii

2005-02-18T21:33:00.000-08:00

In 358 he invaded Paeonia, and then he defeated the Illyrians decisively, in a battle that already suggests a master of war. The next year his marriage with Olympias, the Molossian princess of Epirus (the mother of Alexander the Great), helped to stabilize his western frontier. Now he ventured to antagonize Athens by recapturing Amphipolis, the strategic key securing the

Cell, The electron-transport chain

2005-02-17T16:40:00.000-08:00

The proteins of this chain are embedded in the cristae membrane, actually traversing the lipid bilayer and protruding from the inner and outer surfaces. The coenzymes are dissolved in the lipid and diffuse through the membrane or across its surface. The proteins are arranged in three large complexes, each composed of a number of polypeptide chains. Each complex

Andaman And Nicobar Islands, The people

2005-02-16T14:49:00.000-08:00

The Nicobarese probably descend from both Malay and Myanmar (Mon or Talaing) peoples. Their dialects belong to the Mon-Khmer language group; English, Burmese, and Hindustani also are spoken. Most of the population is Hindu, although Christianity has been widely adopted and there is also a significant Muslim minority. The coconut and betel nut are major crops, and yams

Aquaculture: Fulfilling Its Promise

2005-02-15T15:16:00.000-08:00

For 25 centuries fish farming (aquaculture) has been a mainstay of Asian agriculture. Throughout China, India, and Thailand, it prospered on traditional small-scale farms. In recent years, however, fish farming has begun to suffer from problems associated with rapid growth and careless stewardship. As the 20th century draws to a close, aquaculture must redefine itself

Capsian Industry

2005-02-13T16:31:00.000-08:00

A Mesolithic (8000 BC - 2700 BC) cultural complex prominent in the inland areas of North Africa. Its most characteristic sites are in the area of the great salt lakes of what is now southern Tunisia, the type site being Jabal al-Maqta', near Qafsah (Capsa, French Gafsa). Although the tool kit of the Capsian is a classic example of the industries of the late W�rm Glacial Period, and, while it is apparently

Koch, Martin

2005-02-12T07:02:00.000-08:00

Koch came from a lower middle-class family, which his father deserted when the children were very young. The young Koch worked as a labourer's helper, studied art, and became active in the Good Templars Lodge. His first publication

Lancaster, Edmund, 1st Earl Of

2005-02-11T09:06:00.000-08:00

At the age of 10, Edmund was invested by Pope Innocent IV with the kingdom of Sicily (April 1255), as an expression of his conflict with the Holy Roman Emperor, who held Sicily; but Edmund was never more than an absentee titular

English Literature, Prose

2005-02-10T17:05:00.000-08:00

The earliest English prose work, the law code of King Aethelberht I of Kent, was written within a few years of St. Augustine of Canterbury's arrival in England (597). Other 7th- and 8th-century prose, similarly practical in character, includes more laws, wills, and charters. According to Cuthbert, who was a monk at Jarrow, Bede had just finished a translation of the Gospel of St. John

Ancient Rome, Administration of Rome and Italy

2005-02-09T03:23:00.000-08:00

Ordinary Roman citizens who were neither senators nor equites were of lesser consequence. Although still used, the old formula senatus populusque Romanus (�the Senate and the Roman people�) had changed its meaning: in effect, its populusque Romanus portion now meant �the emperor.� The �Roman people� had become the �Italian people,� and it was embodied in the person of Augustus,

Silverius, Saint

2005-02-08T02:32:00.000-08:00

Silverius was born to the future pope St. Hormisdas before Hormisdas had entered the priesthood. Silverius was a subdeacon when the Ostrogothic king Theodahad nominated him to the papacy. He was consecrated

Fargo

2005-02-07T22:44:00.000-08:00

Seat (1873) of Cass county and the largest city of North Dakota, U.S., on the Red River of the North, opposite Moorhead, Minn. Founded in 1871 by the Northern Pacific Railway, it served as an outfitting post for settlers, with its rail, steamboat, and stagecoach facilities. It was named for William George Fargo (of Wells, Fargo

Shamanism

2005-02-06T21:17:00.000-08:00

The term shamanism comes from the

Fyrd

2005-02-05T01:42:00.000-08:00

Tribal militia-like arrangement existing in Anglo-Saxon England from approximately AD 605. Local in character, it imposed military service upon every able-bodied free male. It was probably the duty of the ealderman, or sheriff, to call out and lead the fyrd. Fines imposed for neglecting the fyrd varied with the status of the individual, landholders receiving the heaviest

Gonda

2005-02-04T15:53:00.000-08:00

The area in which Gonda is situated is drained by the Rapti and other Ghaghara tributaries and

Wasil Ibn 'ata'

2005-02-03T01:19:00.000-08:00

As a young man Wasil went to Basra, Iraq, where he studied under the celebrated ascetic Hasan al-Basri and met other influential religious figures who lived there. In Wasil's time there began the discussions that led to the development of Islamic

Military Aircraft, Airborne early warning

2005-02-02T23:39:00.000-08:00

Carrier-based early-warning aircraft had a large radar to detect aircraft or ships; some could also control interceptor fighters defending the fleet. This kind of airborne warning and control system (AWACS) airplane appeared in land-based air forces to detect low-flying enemy raiders and direct interceptors toward them. The first aircraft of this type was a Soviet

Turkish Bath

2005-02-01T01:21:00.000-08:00

Kind of bath that originated in the Middle East and combines exposure to warm air, then steam or hot-air immersion, massage, and finally a cold-water bath or shower. The Turkish bath typically requires movement from one room or chamber to the next. Separate wash rooms and soaking pools may be included in the bath building, as are dressing and rest rooms. The Turkish bath

Aschelminth

2005-01-31T01:05:00.000-08:00

Phylum name �Aschelminthes, �or �Nemathelminthes, � phylum of wormlike invertebrates, mostly of microscopic size. The phylum includes five diverse classes: Nematoda (or Nemata), Rotifera, Gastrotricha, Kinorhyncha (or Echinodera), and Nematomorpha. The American zoologist Libbie H. Hyman, in her classic textbooks on the invertebrates, originally included Priapulida as a class of the aschelminths, but Priapulida are

Habsburg, House Of

2005-01-29T18:58:00.000-08:00

Albert IV's son Rudolf IV of Habsburg was elected German king as Rudolf I in 1273. It was he who, in 1282, bestowed Austria and Styria on his two sons Albert (the future German king Albert I) and Rudolf (reckoned as Rudolf II of Austria). From this date the age-long identification of the Habsburgs with Austria begins (see Austria, history of). The family's custom, however, was to vest the government

La Follette, Robert M(arion)

2005-01-28T01:45:00.000-08:00

U.S. leader of the Progressive Movement, who as governor of Wisconsin (1901 - 06) and U.S. senator (1906 - 25) was noted for his support of reform legislation. He was the unsuccessful presidential candidate of the League for Progressive Political Action (i.e., the Progressive party) in 1924, winning almost 5,000,000 votes, or about one-sixth of the total cast.

Highland Games

2005-01-26T14:28:00.000-08:00

Originally, athletic meetings carried out in the Scottish Highlands. The name now denotes similar athletic competitions in any part of the world, usually conducted under the auspices of a local Caledonian society and held according to what are believed to be traditional customs. The games originated in impromptu competitions at clan assemblies summoned by

Ascoli Piceno

2005-01-25T19:30:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Ascoli Piceno provincia, Marche regione, central Italy. Ascoli Piceno lies at the confluence of the Tronto and Castellano rivers. The ancient centre of the Picenes (early inhabitants of the Adriatic coast), it was conquered in the 3rd century BC by the Romans, who knew it as Asculum Picenum. After 1006 the city was ruled by its bishops and successive feudatories

Earth, The ring current

2005-01-24T16:48:00.000-08:00

Farther out, at 4 Re and beyond, is the next major source of magnetic field, the ring current. At this distance almost all atmospheric particles are fully ionized and, hence, subject to the effects of electric and magnetic fields. Furthermore, the density of the particles is so low that the time between collisions may be many days or months. Here, energetic charged particles

Vieira, Ant�nio

2005-01-23T16:43:00.000-08:00

Vieira went to Brazil with his parents as a child of six. Educated at the

African Violet

2005-01-22T02:51:00.000-08:00

African violet flowers are bilaterally symmetrical and violet, white, or pink in colour; they bloom throughout

Laima

2005-01-21T21:02:00.000-08:00

Also called �Laima-dalia� (from Lithuanian laime, �happiness,� �luck�), in Baltic religion, the goddess of fate, generally associated with the linden tree. Together with Dievs, the sky, and Saule, the sun, Laima determines the length and fortune of human life. In the course of each life she helps arrange marriages, oversees weddings, protects pregnant women, and appears at childbirth to pronounce each

China, The Ch'ing Empire

2005-01-20T21:55:00.000-08:00

After 1683 the Ch'ing rulers turned their attention to consolidating control over their frontiers. Taiwan became part of the empire, and military expeditions against perceived threats in north and west Asia created the largest empire China has ever known. From the late 17th to the early 18th century Ch'ing armies destroyed the Oyrat Empire based in Dzungaria and incorporated

Duchesse Lace

2005-01-19T16:42:00.000-08:00

A Belgian lace, named after Marie-Henriette, duchess of Brabant (later queen of the Belgians). It was made from c. 1840 throughout the 19th century both at Brussels and (particularly) at Bruges. Much inferior (except for a few Brussels specimens) to the lace that had made Brussels famous, it was cheap and commercially successful. In duchesse lace, floral motifs, bobbin-made and sometimes

Pacific Mountain System

2005-01-18T07:48:00.000-08:00

Juan Rodr�guez Cabrillo, a Portuguese explorer in the service of Spain, probably was the first European to explore the coast of California. He is thought to have sailed north in 1542, and his pilot, Bartolom� Ferrelo, may have reached as far as the present southern border of Oregon. Sir Francis Drake sailed the coast in 1579 and may have landed in Oregon. Juan P�rez landed on the

Wild Rice

2005-01-17T00:51:00.000-08:00

Also called �Indian Rice, Water Rice, or Water Oats� (species Zizania aquatica), coarse annual grass of the family Poaceae whose grain, now often considered a delicacy, has long been an important food of North American Indians. Despite its name, the plant is not related to rice (Oryza sativa). Wild rice grows in shallow water in marshes and along the shores of streams and lakes in north-central North America.

Computers, The Difference Engine

2005-01-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

Charles Babbage was an English mathematician and inventor: he invented the cowcatcher, reformed the British postal system, and was a pioneer in the fields of operations research and actuarial science. It was Babbage who first suggested that the weather of years past could be read from tree rings. He also had a lifelong fascination with keys, ciphers, and mechanical

Nervous System, Intracellular systems

2005-01-15T05:41:00.000-08:00

All living cells have the property of irritability, or responsiveness to environmental stimuli, which can affect the cell in different ways, producing, for example, electrical, chemical, or mechanical changes. These changes are expressed as a response, which may be the release of secretory products by gland cells, the contraction of muscle cells, the bending of a plant-stem

Ryde

2005-01-14T11:59:00.000-08:00

Town on the northeastern coast of the Isle of Wight, historic county of Hampshire, England, opposite Portsmouth on the mainland. It is located on the site of a former village called La Rye, which the French destroyed early in the 14th century. Still a small fishing hamlet by 1800, Ryde grew rapidly in the railway age as an attractive holiday resort (being incorporated in 1868). It is

Alexander I

2005-01-13T00:45:00.000-08:00

Russian �in full Aleksandr Pavlovich � emperor of Russia (1801 - 25), who alternately fought and befriended Napoleon I during the Napoleonic Wars but who ultimately (1813 - 15) helped form the coalition that defeated the emperor of the French. He took part in the Congress of Vienna (1814 - 15), drove for the establishment of the Holy Alliance (1815), and took part in the conferences that

Shi

2005-01-12T19:27:00.000-08:00

Also called �dan� the basic unit of weight in ancient China. The shi was created by Shi Huang Di, who became the first emperor of China in 221 BC and who is celebrated for his unification of regulations fixing the basic units. He fixed the shi at about 60 kg (132 pounds). The modern shi is equivalent to 71.68 kg (157.89 pounds).

Ado-ekiti

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

Town, Ondo state, southwestern Nigeria. It lies in the Yoruba Hills, at the intersection of roads from Akure, Ilawe, Ilesha, Ila (Illa), and Ikare, and is situated 92 miles (148 km) east-northeast of Ibadan. An urban and industrial centre of the region, it was founded by the Ekiti people, a Yoruba subgroup whose members belonged to the Ekiti-Parapo, a late 19th-century confederation of Yoruba

Vesalius, Andreas

2005-01-10T09:34:00.000-08:00

(Latin), Flemish �Andries Van Wesel� Renaissance Flemish physician who revolutionized the study of biology and the practice of medicine by his careful description of the anatomy of the human body. Basing his observations on dissections he made himself, he wrote and

Bruneau, Alfred

2005-01-09T07:59:00.000-08:00

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

Chandernagore

2005-01-08T01:11:00.000-08:00

Also called �Chandannagar� city, southeastern West Bengal state, northeastern India, just west of the Hooghly River and part of the Calcutta urban agglomeration. It is connected by road and rail with Calcutta and Burdwan. Settled in 1673 by the French and expanded commercially, it was captured by the English in 1757 and again in 1794 but was restored to France in 1815. Following the 1949 plebiscite, it merged with India.

Pigment

2005-01-07T23:14:00.000-08:00

Pigments are insoluble and are applied not as solutions but as finely ground solid particles mixed with a liquid. In general, the same pigments are employed in oil- and water-based paints, printing inks, and plastics. Pigments may be organic (i.e., contain carbon) or inorganic.

Sun Valley

2005-01-06T09:11:00.000-08:00

City, Blaine county, south-central Idaho, U.S. Sun Valley is a famous year-round recreation area and winter sports resort along the Big Wood River in Sawtooth National Forest, just east of Ketchum. Because of its fine snowpack and calm weather, it was developed by the Union Pacific Railroad, which built Sun Valley Lodge in 1936. From 1943 to 1946 the lodge served as a convalescent centre

Paphlagonia

2005-01-05T20:22:00.000-08:00

Ancient district of Anatolia adjoining the Black Sea, bounded by Bithynia in the west, Pontus in the east, and Galatia in the south. The Paphlagonians were one of the most ancient peoples of Anatolia. Passing under the rule of Lydia and Persia, they submitted to Alexander the Great (333 BC), after which they enjoyed a measure of independence. In the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC Paphlagonia

Earth, The contribution of orbiting satellites

2005-01-04T01:36:00.000-08:00

The development of artificial satellites whose orbits could be observed from Earth totally revolutionized man's ability to define the shape of the Earth and its gravity field. A value for the flattening of the ellipsoid that superseded all previous values was obtained within weeks after the launching of the Soviet Sputnik I in 1957. Since that time, scientists have

Combinatorics, Characterization problems of graph theory

2005-01-03T23:23:00.000-08:00

If there is a class C of graphs each of which possesses a certain set of properties P, then the set of properties P is said to characterize the class C, provided every graph G possessing the properties P belongs to the class C. Sometimes it happens that there are some exceptional graphs that possess the properties P. Many such characterizations are known. Here is presented a typical

Earth Sciences, Geologic time and the age of the Earth

2005-01-02T03:00:00.000-08:00

By mid-century the fossiliferous strata of Europe had been grouped into systems arrayed in chronological order. The stratigraphic column, a composite of these systems, was pieced together from exposures in different regions by application of the principles of superposition and faunal sequence. Time elapsed during the formation of a system became known as a

Tacna

2005-01-01T00:09:00.000-08:00

Capital of Tacna departamento, southern Peru, on the Caplina River at 1,844 feet (562 m) above sea level, in the arid Andean foothills. When the Spaniards arrived at the site in the 16th century, it was occupied by Aymara Indians. Later, the Spanish town of San Pedro de Tacna was founded, and the surrounding fertile soil and cool climate, as well as proximity to the Pacific port of Arica,

Minaret

2004-12-31T07:37:00.000-08:00

(Arabic: �beacon�), in Islamic religious architecture, the tower from which the faithful are called to prayer five times each day by a muezzin, or crier. Such a tower is always connected with a mosque and has one or more balconies or open galleries. At the time of the Prophet Muhammad, the call to prayer was made from the highest roof in the vicinity of the mosque. The earliest minarets

Andamanese Language

2004-12-30T03:38:00.000-08:00

Language spoken by the indigenous people of the Andaman Islands. The number of speakers of the language has been steadily decreasing. Andamanese dialects are usually classified into northern, central, and southern groups, with the southern dialects being the most archaic. The dialect of Little Andaman island is the southernmost of the Andamanese dialects and

Swimming

2004-12-29T01:40:00.000-08:00

Fu took the women's 3-m springboard

Para�ba Do Sul River

2004-12-28T04:08:00.000-08:00

Portuguese �Rio Para�ba Do Sul, � river, in eastern Brazil, formed by the junction of the Paraibuna and Paraitinga rivers, east of S�o Paulo, between Mogi das Cruzes and Jacare�. It flows east-northeastward, receiving tributaries from the Serra da Mantiqueira and the Serra do Mar and forming part of the border between Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro states. From its initial elevation of 5,000 ft (1,500 m), the river

Settlement

2004-12-27T21:37:00.000-08:00

In law, a compromise or agreement between litigants to settle the matters in dispute between them in order to dispose of and conclude their litigation. Generally, as a result of the settlement, prosecution of the action is withdrawn or dismissed without any judgment being entered (see nolle prosequi). In such cases, the settlement itself, as a binding contract between

Gatlinburg

2004-12-26T01:32:00.000-08:00

City, Sevier county, eastern Tennessee, U.S. It lies about 30 miles (50 km) southeast of Knoxville, at the northwestern entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. English and Scotch-Irish settlers began to arrive along the Little Pigeon River about 1795; by 1835 the settlement was called White Oak Flats. It was renamed in 1860 for Radford Gatlin, who opened a store there in 1855. In an American

Uyo

2004-12-25T19:22:00.000-08:00

Town, capital of Akwa Ibom state, southeastern Nigeria. Uyo lies on the road from Oron to Ikot Ekpene. A collecting station for palm oil and kernels, it is also a local trade centre (yams, cassava, palm produce) for an area inhabited mainly by the Ibibio people. The town has a brewery and a textile mill. It is the site of the University of Uyo (1983). Pop. (1991 est.) 66,860.

China, State and society

2004-12-24T07:35:00.000-08:00

The state barred literati from using the academies and literary societies for explicitly political activities. Scholars in Peking and in the rich cities of the Yangtze Delta turned from politics to the study of texts that marked the empirical school of scholarship (k'ao-cheng hs�eh). Influenced by their knowledge of European mathematics and mathematical astronomy,

Roma

2004-12-23T07:32:00.000-08:00

Town, south-central Queensland, Australia, principal settlement of the Maronoa district, on Bungil Creek. The town, surveyed in 1862 and declared a municipality in 1867, was named after Diamantina Roma Bowen, wife of the state's first governor. Linked to Brisbane (about 315 miles [510 km] east-southeast) by rail, air, and the Carnarvon and Warrego highways, it serves an agricultural and pastoral

Grade, Lew, Baron Grade Of Elstree

2004-12-22T23:06:00.000-08:00

The son of a Jewish tailor's assistant, he immigrated with his family to England in 1912 and dropped out of school at age 14 to help in the family business. At age 20 he changed his name to Grade and went into vaudeville as a Charleston dancer. Soon he began representing other

Atmosphere, Transition to an aerobic environment

2004-12-21T17:44:00.000-08:00

Pyrite and uraninite are minerals of iron and uranium, respectively, that are not stable in the presence of O2. Though they can be found in some modern river sediments, neither can survive in them for thousands of years. Yet, many sediments older than about 2,200,000,000 years contain well-rounded grains of these minerals. Their shapes and locations indicate prolonged exposure and

Feng Y�n-shan

2004-12-20T19:17:00.000-08:00

Pinyin �Feng Yunshan � Chinese missionary and social reformer, one of the original leaders of the Taiping Rebellion, an uprising that occupied most of South China between 1850 and 1864, brought death to an estimated 20,000,000 people, and radically altered governmental structure. Feng was a neighbour and schoolmate of Hung Hsiu-ch'�an, the religious

Pietersburg

2004-12-19T13:45:00.000-08:00

Town and capital of Northern province, South Africa. It is located about midway between Pretoria and the Zimbabwe border, at an elevation of 4,199 feet (1,280 m). The town was founded by Voortrekkers (Afrikaans: �Pioneers�) in 1886 on land purchased in 1884 from a local farmer and was named after Petrus (Piet) Joubert, a Boer general. It was the temporary capital in 1900 of both the Transvaal and the Orange

Norm

2004-12-18T11:54:00.000-08:00

Also called �Social Norm, � rule or standard of behaviour shared by members of a social group. Norms may be internalized - i.e., incorporated within the individual so that there is conformity without external rewards or punishments, or they may be enforced by positive or negative sanctions from without. The social unit sharing particular norms may be small (e.g., a clique of friends) or may include

Economics

2004-12-17T14:55:00.000-08:00

Social science that seeks to analyze and describe the production, distribution, and consumption of wealth.

Tiger Moth

2004-12-15T05:12:00.000-08:00

The fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea) is a serious pest. These

Dyer, Sir James

2004-12-14T18:55:00.000-08:00

Dyer's work, comprising three volumes of

Shu Ching

2004-12-13T16:35:00.000-08:00

The Shu Ching consists of 58 chapters. Of these, 33 (originally

Manchester, Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl Of, Viscount Mandeville, Baron Kimbolton Of Kimbolton

2004-12-12T20:06:00.000-08:00

Son of the 1st earl, Henry Montagu, he was educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. He sat in Parliament from 1624 to 1626 and in the latter year was raised to the peerage as Baron Kimbolton, but he was known generally by his courtesy title of Viscount Mandeville. At the beginning of the Long Parliament

Chemical Compound, Monoterpenes

2004-12-11T07:16:00.000-08:00

The monoterpenes are isolated from their natural sources by distillation of the plant matter with steam. They are volatile oils, less dense than water, and have normal boiling points in the range 150� - 185� C (300� - 365� F). Purification is usually achieved by fractional distillation at reduced pressures or by regeneration from a crystalline derivative. Acyclic monoterpene hydrocarbons