MedicalWhip

Estate Agent Covent Garden

2006-10-26T03:25:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services. They are an estate agent covent garden amongst other London areas such as Soho and Oxford Circus.

Tarhun

2005-03-19T01:41:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Taru, Tarhu, Tarhunt, Tarhunna, or Tarhuis, ancient Anatolian weather god. His name appears in Hittite and Assyrian records (c. 1400–612 BC) and later as an element in Hellenistic personal names, primarily from Cilicia. Tarhunt was the Luwian form and Tarhun (Tarhunna) probably the Hittite, from the common root tarh-, “to conquer.” The weather god was one of the supreme deities of the Hittite pantheon and was regarded as the embodiment

Minamoto Yoriyoshi

2005-03-16T19:55:00.000-08:00

After aiding the central government in quelling several uprisings by Ainu tribesmen, Yoriyoshi was sent to crush a rebellion led by Abe Yoritoki of the powerful Abe warrior clan of northern Japan (1051). The fighting was characterized by repeated pauses, defeats

John

2005-03-15T21:49:00.000-08:00

John took part in the commission that drew up the constitution of 1831 and succeeded to the throne upon the death of his brother, King Frederick Augustus II. He was persuaded by

Bala

2005-03-13T20:28:00.000-08:00

Welsh Y Bala market town, Gwynedd county, historic county of Merioneth (Meirionnydd), Wales, in Snowdonia National Park at the northern end of mountain-girt Bala Lake (Llyn Tegid), the largest natural lake in Wales. The town was founded under a charter of 1324. In the 18th century it became famous both for its knitted stockings and for its huge Methodist revival meetings; it was the home of the

Sea Bass

2005-03-10T15:28:00.000-08:00

Any of the numerous fishes of the family Serranidae (order Perciformes), most of which are marine and found in the shallower regions of warm and tropical seas. The family includes about 400 species, many of them well-known food and sport fishes. Although the term sea bass may be used for the family as a whole, the fishes themselves

Generation Of 1898

2005-03-09T16:55:00.000-08:00

The shock of Spain's defeat in the war, which left it stripped of the last vestiges of its empire and its international prestige,

Fahrenheit Temperature Scale

2005-03-07T23:24:00.000-08:00

Scale based on 32° for the freezing point of water and 212° for the boiling point of water, the interval between the two being divided into 180 equal parts. The 18th-century German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit originally took as the zero of his scale the temperature of an equal ice-salt mixture and selected the values of 30° and 90° for the freezing point of water and normal body

Avon, River

2005-03-05T23:00:00.000-08:00

Also called Upper Avon or Warwickshire Avon river, eastern tributary of the River Severn that rises near Naseby in central England and flows generally southwestward for 96 miles (154 km) through the counties of Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire. The river shares the name Avon (derived from a Celtic word meaning “river”) with several other rivers in Great Britain, including the Avon

Ucayali River

2005-03-02T16:21:00.000-08:00

Spanish Río Ucayali, headwater of the Amazon, formed by the junction of the Apurímac and Urubamba rivers in east-central Peru. The Ucayali meanders northward from this junction for about 910 miles (1,465 km) through a densely forested floodplain east of the Andes to its junction with the Marañón River, 55 miles (90 km) south-southwest of Iquitos. This confluence is considered to mark the head of the Amazon.

Spanish Literature, The novel

2005-02-28T00:30:00.000-08:00

In Ramón Pérez de Ayala, the novel was at once a polished art form and a forum for philosophical discussion. Belarmino y Apolonio (1921; Belarmino and Apolonio), a projection of the old debate between faith and reason, made its characters almost symbolic, as did Tigre Juan (1926; Tiger Juan), on the traditional theme of honour. Gabriel Miró's perfect descriptive prose retarded the

Cumanagoto

2005-02-27T11:04:00.000-08:00

Indians of northeastern Venezuela at the time of the Spanish conquest. Since the 17th century they have not existed as a tribal or cultural unit. The Cumanagoto spoke a Cariban language, related to that of the Palenque. They were agricultural, growing corn (maize), manioc, sweet potatoes, and other native crops, as well as coca trees, source of the drug cocaine. Wild foods were

Fruitworm Beetle

2005-02-25T01:09:00.000-08:00

Any of a few genera of insects in the family Byfuridae (order Coleoptera) whose larvae feed on fruit. A common example of this family of small, hairy, oval beetles is the raspberry fruitworm (Byturus rubi). The small, pale larva, which is covered with short fine hairs, attacks the raspberry fruit. The adult, which ranges in colour from reddish yellow to black, is about 4 mm (0.16 inch)

Tadpole Shrimp

2005-02-23T04:19:00.000-08:00

(order Notostraca), any member of a small group of crustaceans (class Branchiopoda), composed of the genera Triops and Lepidurus. The approximately 15 known species are strictly freshwater forms, inhabiting lakes, ponds, and temporary pools, chiefly in Europe and North America. The common name tadpole shrimp derives from the animal's distinctive body shape—a large, oval

Scandinavian Literature, Norwegian and Icelandic literature

2005-02-21T08:41:00.000-08:00

The roots of Norwegian literature reach back more than 1,000 years and become inextricably intertwined with early Icelandic literature. Although a large part of this early literature was composed either in Iceland or elsewhere in Scandinavia by Icelanders, the Norwegian element in it is considerable and indisputable, even though this cannot always be isolated

Kido Takayoshi

2005-02-18T11:51:00.000-08:00

Born into an influential warrior family, Kido early became active in the politics

Anatase

2005-02-16T02:53:00.000-08:00

One of three minerals composed of titanium dioxide (TiO2), the other two being rutile and brookite. It is found as hard, brilliant crystals of tetragonal symmetry and various colours in veins in igneous and metamorphic rocks and commonly in placer deposits of detritus. Notable vein deposits exist in many regions of the Alps; placer deposits are common in Minas Gerais

Aelle

2005-02-14T04:23:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Aella, or Aelli Anglo-Saxon ruler who is credited with the foundation of the kingdom of the South Saxons, or Sussex. Aelle is said to have landed near Selsey Bill (in modern West Sussex, Eng.) in 477. He immediately made war on the Britons, and in 491 he and his son Cissa massacred a British garrison at the former Roman fort of Anderida (modern Pevensey, East Sussex). His subsequent fate is

Arnobius The Elder

2005-02-12T03:28:00.000-08:00

Arnobius was born a pagan but had become a Christian by AD 300. He taught rhetoric at Sicca Veneria in Africa during the reign (284–305) of the Roman emperor Diocletian. Because of his former paganism, Arnobius was suspected, notably by the local bishop,

Alexander I

2005-02-11T23:42:00.000-08:00

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

Nadi, Nedo; And Nadi, Aldo

2005-02-08T03:12:00.000-08:00

Italian brothers who were among the greatest and most versatile fencers in the history of the sport. At the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium, the Nadi brothers led Italy to a sweep of the gold medals in the three team events. Nedo also captured the gold medal in the individual foil and

Mcminnville

2005-02-06T14:33:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1886) of Yamhill county, northwestern Oregon, U.S., on the South Yamhill River. Settled in 1844 and named for McMinnville, Tennessee, it developed as a service centre for Yamhill Valley farmers. Linfield College (1849), affiliated with the American Baptist Churches, sponsors the Linfield Research Institute, a scientific laboratory. The economy is geared to lumber and food-processing

Earth, Magnetospheric substormsunbalanced flux transfer

2005-02-05T21:50:00.000-08:00

Magnetospheric substorm is the name applied to the collection of processes that occur throughout the magnetosphere at the time of an auroral and magnetic disturbance. The term substorm was originally used to signify that the processes produce an event, localized in time and space, which is distinct from a magnetic storm. During a typical three-hour substorm, the

Macarius Magnes

2005-02-02T21:40:00.000-08:00

Of Macarius' origin and career, nothing is known except that he is probably identified with the bishop of Magnesia, later Manisa, Tur., who, at the Synod of the

Pembrokeshire

2005-02-01T02:07:00.000-08:00

Also called Pembroke , Welsh Sir Benfro county of southwestern Wales, bounded on the northeast by Ceredigion, on the east by Carmarthenshire, on the south by the Bristol Channel, and on the west and northwest by St. Bride's Bay and Cardigan Bay of St. George's Channel. The county's rugged and convoluted coastline forms a peninsula with several protruding headlands, including St. David's Head, the most westerly

Shadkhan

2005-01-30T00:48:00.000-08:00

Plural Shadkhanim, one who undertakes to arrange a Jewish marriage. Such service was virtually indispensible during the Middle Ages when custom frowned on courtships and numerous Jewish families lived in semi-isolation in small communities. Shadkhanim were thus relied upon to gather and evaluate information on the personal qualities and background of potential spouses in

Colonialism, Western, Colonial wars of the first half of the 18th century

2005-01-27T14:48:00.000-08:00

From 1689 to 1763 the British and French fought four wars that were mainly European in origin but which determined the colonial situation, in some cases for two centuries. Spain entered all four, first in alliance with England and later in partnership with France, though it played a secondary role.

Graveyard School

2005-01-25T07:43:00.000-08:00

Genre of 18th-century British poetry that focused on death and bereavement. The graveyard school consisted largely of imitations of Robert Blair's popular long poem of morbid appeal, The Grave (1743), and of Edward Young's celebrated blank-verse dramatic rhapsody Night Thoughts (1742–45). These poems express the sorrow and pain of bereavement, evoke the horror of death's physical

Chan-chiang

2005-01-23T01:38:00.000-08:00

Originally Chan-chiang was a minor fishing port in the area dominated by the city of Hai-k'ang (Lei-chou), some 22 miles (35 km) to the southwest, and at one time harboured a notorious

Domino Whist

2005-01-21T22:09:00.000-08:00

Domino game for four players. Partners are drawn for as in the card game whist; the player drawing the highest domino leads. Each player takes seven dominoes, or bones. There are no tricks, trumps, or honours. The bones are played as in ordinary dominoes, a hand being finished when one of the players plays his last bone or when both ends are blocked. Pips are then counted, and

Spalding, Henry Harmon

2005-01-20T07:22:00.000-08:00

Spalding was educated at Plattsbury (N.Y.) Academy, Western Reserve College (Ohio), and Lane Theological Seminary (Cincinnati) and was ordained in the Presbyterian ministry

Syria

2005-01-17T03:52:00.000-08:00

As 1996 began, Syria resumed peace talks with Israel. Two rounds of

Halfbeak

2005-01-13T18:36:00.000-08:00

Any of about 70 species of marine and freshwater fishes of the family Exocoetidae (order Atheriniformes), sometimes placed in the family Hemirhamphidae. Halfbeaks are named for their unusual jaws—the upper is short and triangular, and the lower is long, slim, and beaklike. The fish are silvery, slender, and up to about 45 centimetres (18 inches) long. They can skip across the water

Liliaceae

2005-01-12T22:31:00.000-08:00

The lily family of the flowering plant order Liliales, with about 280 genera and some 4,000 species of herbs and shrubs, native primarily to temperate and subtropical regions. Members of the family usually have six-segmented flowers and three-chambered capsular fruits; occasionally the fruits are berries. The leaves usually have parallel veins and are clustered at the

Abdelkader

2005-01-09T00:06:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Abd El-kader, or Abdul-qadir, Arabic in full 'abd Al-qadir Ibn Muhyi Ad-din Ibn Mustafa Al-hasani Al-jaza'iri amir of Mascara (from 1832), the military and religious leader who founded the Algerian state and led the Algerians in their 19th-century struggle against French domination (1840–46).

Thelon River

2005-01-08T21:27:00.000-08:00

Stream in eastern Fort Smith region, Northwest Territories, and central Keewatin region, Nunavut territory, Canada. It drains a major portion of the Barren Grounds (a sub-Arctic prairie region). Arising from several lakes, including Whitefish and Lynx, east of Great Slave Lake, the river flows through Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary (where there are musk-oxen) in an easterly

Outlawry

2005-01-05T02:08:00.000-08:00

Act of putting a person beyond the protection of the law for his refusal to become amenable to the court having legal jurisdiction. In the past, this deprivation of legal benefits was invoked when a defendant or other person was in civil or criminal contempt of court; and, in cases of alleged treason or the commission of a felony (referred to as major outlawry), it amounted

Animal, Critical appraisal

2005-01-04T13:16:00.000-08:00

This classification includes only extant groups. Because the aschelminths have not been studied adequately by modern methods, there is no consensus on their classification, and the system used here differs in some respects from that in the article aschelminth. The classification in this article is based on morphological work carried out in the late 1980s and remains

Avignon

2005-01-03T00:50:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Vaucluse département, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, southeastern France, at a point on the east bank of the Rhône River where the narrow valley opens into a broad delta plain, northwest of Nîmes. A stronghold of the Gallic tribe of Cavares that became the Roman city of Avennio, it was a much-fought-over prize, although never of primary importance until

Van, Lake

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

Turkish Van Gölü, lake, largest body of water in Turkey and the second largest in the Middle East. The lake is located in the region of eastern Anatolia near the border of Iran. It covers an area of 1,434 square miles (3,713 square km) and is more than 74 miles (119 km) across at its widest point. Known to the ancient Greek geographers as Thospitis Lacus, or Arsissa Lacus, its modern Turkish name, Van Gölü, is derived

Poland, History Of

2005-01-01T07:26:00.000-08:00

History of the area from the 10th century to the present.

Radical

2004-12-30T18:44:00.000-08:00

In politics, one who desires extreme change of part or all of the social order. The word was first used in a political sense in England, and its introduction is generally ascribed to Charles James Fox, who in 1797 declared for a “radical reform” consisting of a drastic expansion of the franchise to the point of universal manhood suffrage. The term radical thereafter began

Qabbani, Nizar

2004-12-30T18:23:00.000-08:00

Syrian poet and diplomat (b. March 21, 1923, Damascus, Syria--d. April 30, 1998, London, Eng.), was one of the most widely read Arab poets of the 20th century. Written in simple but eloquent language, his verses, some of which were set to music, won him the hearts of countless Arabic speakers throughout the Middle East and Africa. Qabbani, who was born into a middle-class merchant family, was also the

Pre-columbian Civilizations, Internal division and external expansion

2004-12-28T21:46:00.000-08:00

For some time there had been palace intrigue in Cuzco over who would succeed Viracocha Inca to the throne. The Emperor chose Inca Urcon ('Inka 'Urqon) as his successor, but the two generals Vicaquirao and Apo Mayta preferred another son, Cusi Inca Yupanqui (Kusi 'Inka Yupanki). As the Chanca approached Cuzco, Viracocha Inca and Inca Urcon withdrew to a fort near Calca, while

Boulemane

2004-12-27T22:32:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Boulman, town, north-central Morocco. The town, located at an elevation of about 5,500 feet (1,700 m) above sea level in the Middle (Moyen) Atlas mountains, is a market centre serving Berber seminomads and is connected by road with Fès city (northwest) and er-Rachidia town (south). Pop. (1982) 3,295.

Wild Radish

2004-12-26T13:34:00.000-08:00

Also called Jointed Charlock (species Raphanus raphanistrum), widespread annual weed of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to Eurasia and naturalized in North America. It is believed by some authorities to be the ancestor of the domestic radish (R. sativus). Wild radish has a stout taproot, a rosette of unequally divided leaves and very bristly flowering stalks 60 cm (2 feet) tall. The four-petaled

Mott, Sir Nevill Francis

2004-12-26T04:36:00.000-08:00

British physicist (b. Sept. 30, 1905, Leeds, Eng.--d. Aug. 8, 1996, Milton Keynes, Eng.), shared the 1977 Nobel Prize for Physics with Philip Anderson and John Van Vleck for research into the electronic properties of noncrystalline, or amorphous, solids. This work showed that amorphous materials, which are easier and less expensive to manufacture than crystalline substances, could be used in such

Literature, United States.

2004-12-25T14:52:00.000-08:00

Most serious readers of American fiction would have to say that 2002 was an unusual year because the novel that dominated the best-seller list from late spring on was a first novel—California writer Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones—and the National Book Award (NBA) nominees in fiction, some of them first books, were

Small Arm, Single shot

2004-12-24T14:05:00.000-08:00

During World War I, most armies developed attachments for standard service rifles that permitted the launching of “rifle” grenades. However, although range was increased with these devices, accuracy remained poor. An effective answer was a shoulder-fired grenade launcher developed in the 1950s by the Springfield Armory. Resembling a single-shot, break-open, sawed-off

Christian Vii

2004-12-22T14:38:00.000-08:00

The son of Frederick V, Christian VII came to the throne in 1766. His mental instability has been attributed to a brutal childhood governor and to morally corrupt court pages. After his 1766 marriage

Welch, Elisabeth Margaret

2004-12-21T13:09:00.000-08:00

American-born British musical theatre and cabaret singer (b. Feb. 27, 1904, New York, N.Y.—d. July 15, 2003, Northolt, Middlesex, Eng.), was known for her show-stopping performances in plays by Cole Porter, Ivor Novello, and Noël Coward. Welch began her career in New York City, where she created a sensation in 1931 with her rendition of Porter's “Love for Sale.” She was a cabaret singer in Paris before becoming

Saavedra (ramírez De Baquendano), ángel De, Duque De Rivas

2004-12-20T09:24:00.000-08:00

After entering politics Saavedra was condemned to death in 1823 for his extreme liberal views. He fled to London and lived subsequently in Italy,

Constance, Lake

2004-12-20T03:29:00.000-08:00

Also called Lake of Constance , Constance also spelled Konstanz , German Bodensee , Latin Lacus Brigantinus lake bordering Switzerland, Germany, and Austria and occupying an old glacier basin at an elevation of 1,299 feet (396 m). It has an area of 209 square miles (541 square km) and is about 40 miles (65 km) long and up to 8 miles (13 km) wide, with an average depth of 295 feet (90 m) and a maximum depth of 827 feet (252 m). It has about 125 miles (200 km) of shoreline. In the west, near Konstanz (Constance), it is divided by the Bodan mountain ridge

Topeka

2004-12-18T17:33:00.000-08:00

The name Topeka is of uncertain Indian origin; one interpretation is “smoky hill,” and another is “a good place to dig potatoes.” The present site was chosen in 1854 by a group of antislavery colonists from Lawrence, led by Charles Robinson, a resident agent of

Cadogan, William Cadogan, 1st Earl

2004-12-18T13:53:00.000-08:00

The son of a Dublin barrister, Cadogan began his military career in 1690. In 1702 he was made quartermaster general to Marlborough, who had just been appointed commander of the allied armies

Ambridge

2004-12-16T08:23:00.000-08:00

Borough (town), Beaver county, western Pennsylvania, U.S., on the Ohio River, just northwest of Pittsburgh. Within its boundaries is the former village of Economy (1824–1904) established by the communal Harmony Society, led by George Rapp. The Rappites (Harmonists) were religious immigrants from Württemberg, Germany, who had previously settled at Harmony, Pennsylvania, and Harmonie

Absentee Ownership

2004-12-15T09:07:00.000-08:00

Absentee

Romans, Letter Of Paul To The

2004-12-15T01:14:00.000-08:00

The longest and doctrinally most significant of St. Paul the Apostle's New Testament writings, probably composed at Corinth in about AD 57; it was addressed to the Christian Church at Rome, whose congregation Paul hoped to visit for the first time on his way to Spain. The letter has been intensely studied since early Christian times and was the basis of Martin Luther's teaching

Kamban, Gudmundur

2004-12-13T21:18:00.000-08:00

Kamban's greatest work is the

Selberg, Atle

2004-12-13T07:32:00.000-08:00

Selberg

Harding, Chester

2004-12-11T07:21:00.000-08:00

Early in his life, Harding worked as a chair maker, peddler, innkeeper, and house painter. He eventually began to paint signs in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and became a self-taught, itinerant portrait

Auerbach, Erich

2004-12-11T06:04:00.000-08:00

After gaining a doctorate in philology at the University of Greifswald, Germany, in 1921, Auerbach served as librarian for the Prussian State Library. From 1927 to 1947 he was professor of Romance philology at the University of Marburg in Germany and at the Turkish State University

Palate

2004-12-10T13:49:00.000-08:00

The hard palate, which composes two-thirds of the total palate area, is a plate of bone covered by a moist,

Cambric

2004-12-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

Lightweight, closely woven, plain cotton cloth first made in Cambrai, France, and originally a fine linen fabric. Printed cambric was used in London by 1595 for bands, cuffs, and ruffs. Modern cambric is made from choice American or Egyptian cotton, with both warp and weft, or filling, yarns ranging from 60 to 80 in size (count), and is usually lightly calendered to produce a slight gloss

Daikoku

2004-12-08T23:30:00.000-08:00

In Japanese mythology, one of the Shichi-fuku-jin (Seven Gods of Luck); the god of wealth and guardian of farmers. He is depicted in legend and art as dark-skinned, stout, carrying a wish-granting mallet in his right hand, a bag of precious things slung over his back, and sitting on two rice bags. Rats are sometimes shown nibbling at the rice, further emphasizing the theme of

Quincy

2004-12-06T03:11:00.000-08:00

City, Norfolk county, eastern Massachusetts, U.S., on Boston Harbor, just southeast of Boston. In 1625 the site, which was settled by Captain Wollaston, was given the name Mount Wollaston, and a short time afterward, under the leadership of Thomas Morton, it was renamed Merry Mount; in 1627 Morton, an anti-Puritan, was exiled for celebrating May Day. Set off from Braintree and incorporated

China, The Nationalist Party

2004-12-04T17:24:00.000-08:00

The Nationalist Party had its origins in the earlier United League (T'ung-meng hui) against the Manchu. The name Nationalist Party was adopted in 1912. After the suppression of this expanded party by Yüan Shih-k'ai, elements from it were organized by Sun Yat-sen in 1914 into the Chinese Revolutionary Party, which failed to generate widespread support. Sun and a small group of veterans

Ramadi, Ar-

2004-12-04T01:13:00.000-08:00

Capital of al-Anbar muhafazah (governorate), central Iraq. It lies on the Euphrates River just northwest of Hawr (Lake) al-Habbaniyah. Ancient settlements existed in the vicinity, but ar-Ramadi was founded only in 1869 to encourage settlement by the nomadic Dulaym tribes, a goal that has been partially fulfilled. The town prospered after becoming the departure point of a trade route

Racine, Jean

2004-12-02T18:12:00.000-08:00

Racine was born into a provincial family of minor administrators. His mother died 13 months after he was born, and his father died two years later. His paternal grandparents took him in, and when his grandmother, Marie des Moulins, became a widow, she brought Racine, then age nine, with her to the convent of Port-Royal des Champs near Paris. Since a group of devout scholars and

Moshav

2004-12-01T05:43:00.000-08:00

Plural Moshavim, in Israel, a type of cooperative agricultural settlement. The moshav, which is generally based on the principle of private ownership of land, avoidance of hired labour, and communal marketing, represents an intermediate stage between privately owned settlements and the complete communal living of the kibbutz. Moshavim are built on land belonging to the Jewish

Stoicism, Renascence of Stoicism in modern times

2004-12-01T00:19:00.000-08:00

If the influence of Stoic doctrines during the Middle Ages was largely restricted to the resolution of problems of social and political significance, it remained for the Renaissance, in its passion for the rediscovery of Greek and Roman antiquity, to provide a basis for the rebirth of Stoic views in logic, epistemology, and metaphysics, as well as the documentation

Ford, Francis Xavier

2004-11-29T08:51:00.000-08:00

Ford was ordained in 1917 and went to China the next year in the first group of Maryknoll missionaries sent to that country. He founded the Maryknoll Seminary for Chinese Boys in Yang-chiang in 1921 and in 1922 established the first overseas convent

Staff

2004-11-28T21:51:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Stave, in the notation of Western music, five parallel horizontal lines that, with a clef, indicate the pitch of musical notes. The invention of the staff is traditionally ascribed to Guido of Arezzo in about the year 1000, although there are earlier manuscripts in which neumes (q.v.; signs from which musical notes evolved) are arranged around one or two lines in order to orient the

Mab

2004-11-28T17:03:00.000-08:00

Also called Queen Mab in English folklore, the queen of the fairies. Mab is a mischievous but basically benevolent figure. In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, she is referred to as the fairies' midwife, who delivers sleeping men of their innermost wishes in the form of dreams. In Michael Drayton's mock-epic fairy poem Nymphidia (1627), she is the wife of the fairy king Oberon and is the queen

Permafrost, Effects of water bodies

2004-11-27T17:13:00.000-08:00

Bodies of water, lakes, rivers, and the sea have a profound effect on the distribution of permafrost. A deep lake that does not freeze to the bottom during the winter will be underlain by a zone of thawed material. If the minimum horizontal dimension of the deep lake is about twice as much as the thickness of permafrost nearby, there probably exists an unfrozen vertical

Midas

2004-11-26T14:33:00.000-08:00

King of Phrygia (an ancient district in west-central Anatolia), first mentioned in extant Greek literature by Herodotus as having dedicated a throne at Delphi, before Gyges—i.e., before or little after 700 BC. Later reports that he married a daughter of Agamemnon, king of Aeolic Cyme, and that Midas, or Midacritus (a Greek sailor named for his royal patron?), traded with a western

Visual Pigment

2004-11-24T06:55:00.000-08:00

It is believed that all animals employ the same basic pigment structure, consisting of a coloured molecule, or chromophore (the carotenoid retinal, sometimes called retinene), and a protein, or opsin, of moderate size.

Asthma

2004-11-23T10:26:00.000-08:00

A chronic disorder of the lungs in which inflamed airways are prone to constrict, causing episodes of breathlessness, wheezing, coughing, and chest tightness that range in severity from mild to life-threatening. Inflamed airways become hypersensitive to a variety of stimuli, including dust mites, animal dander, pollen, air pollution, cigarette smoke, medications,

Tyrrell, Sir James

2004-11-23T09:31:00.000-08:00

Tyrrell fought on the Yorkist side in their victory over the Lancastrians at Tewkesbury

Florey, Howard Walter Florey, Baron

2004-11-22T05:17:00.000-08:00

Florey studied medicine at Adelaide and Oxford universities until 1924. After

Vitamin, Vitamin K group

2004-11-21T14:07:00.000-08:00

Vitamin K1 (20) is synthesized by plants; the members of the vitamin K2 (30) series are of microbial origin. Vitamin K2 (20) is the important form in mammalian tissue; all other forms are converted to K2 (20) from vitamin K3. Since vitamin K3 does not accumulate in tissue, it does not furnish any dietary vitamin K. Vitamins K4, K5, K6, and K7 have been synthesized and have vitamin K activity, but they are

Yamazaki Ansai

2004-11-20T09:12:00.000-08:00

A Buddhist monk early in life, Ansai began to study Confucianism and gradually turned against

Hay

2004-11-19T21:19:00.000-08:00

Town, south-central New South Wales, Australia, on the Murrumbidgee River. The settlement originated in 1840 as a coach station known as Lang's Crossing Place. Surveyed in 1858, it became a town the following year and was named after John Hay, a district parliamentary representative. Developed as a river port, it was proclaimed a municipality in 1872 and a shire in 1965. Situated at the junction

Pitesti

2004-11-18T22:47:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Arges judet (county), south-central Romania. It lies 70 miles (110 km) northwest of Bucharest and is situated in the Arges River valley, there sheltered by surrounding hills. Pitesti developed in the Middle Ages as a trading centre between the mountainous Transylvania region and the Danube Plain. It is first documented in 1388, though Roman coins and relics have been

Constantine

2004-11-17T16:13:00.000-08:00

Also called (after 1981) Qacentina , Arabic Blad el-Hawa , Phoenician Cirta city, northeast Algeria. A natural fortress, the city occupies a rocky, diamond-shaped plateau that is surrounded, except at the southwest, by a precipitous gorge through the eastern side of which flows the Rhumel River. The plateau is 2,130 feet (650 m) above sea level and from 500 to 1,000 feet (150 to 300 m) above the riverbed in the gorge. The cliffs of the gorge, at its narrowest, are 15 feet (4.5 m) apart and

Japanese Beetle

2004-11-16T08:08:00.000-08:00

(species Popillia japonica), an insect that is a major pest and belongs to the subfamily Rutelinae (family Scarabaeidae, order Coleoptera). It was accidentally introduced into the United States from Japan about 1916, probably as larvae in the soil around imported plants. Japanese beetles are known to feed on more than 200 species of plants, including a wide

Giurgiu

2004-11-14T00:49:00.000-08:00

Judet (county), southeastern Romania, occupying an area of 1,471 square miles (3,810 square km) bounded on the south by the Danube River and Bulgaria. The county, consisting mostly of lowlands, was formed in 1981 from a portion of Ilfov district. Besides the eastward-flowing Danube, the county is also drained southward by the Arges and Dimobovita rivers. At the junction of the Câlnistea and

Shansi, The people

2004-11-12T06:58:00.000-08:00

Most of the province's people are of Han (Chinese) origin and speak the Northern Mandarin dialect of Chinese. The small minority populations include the Hui (Chinese Muslims), in the T'ai-yüan–Yü-tz'u region, and some Mongols and Manchu around Ta-t'ung. Most of the populace lives in agricultural villages. The highest rural densities occur in the T'ai-yüan Basin, in the southeast

Hinduism, Vaishnava Samhitas

2004-11-11T11:31:00.000-08:00

These consist of two groups of texts: Vaikhanasa Samhitas and Pañcaratra Samhitas. The latter group is the prevailing one; more than 200 titles are known, though the official number is 108. Vaikhanasa Samhitas (collections of the Vaishnava school of Vaikhanasas, who were originally ascetics) seem to have embodied the original temple manuals for the Bhagavatas (devotees), which by the 11th

Furniture, England

2004-11-09T17:07:00.000-08:00

After the Restoration, from 1660 onward, there was almost revolutionary progress in English cabinetmaking, as it came to be called at about this time. On its return, the exiled court introduced French and Dutch fashions, and the English craftsmen were considerably helped in supplying the tastes of the nobility by a large influx of foreign workmen. Furniture became lighter,

Aerarium

2004-11-08T02:07:00.000-08:00

Treasury of ancient Rome, housed in the Temple of Saturn and the adjacent tabularium (record office) in the Forum. Under the republic (c. 509–27 BC) it was managed by two finance magistrates, the urban quaestors, and controlled by the Senate. In theory all revenues were paid into the aerarium, and all public payments were made from it. In practice, money was moved from the provinces

Holbein Rug

2004-11-07T04:26:00.000-08:00

A different series, probably made in another area, have fields subdivided into rectangular panels, each

Scorpius X-1

2004-11-06T07:27:00.000-08:00

(catalog number Sco X-1), brightest X-ray source in the sky, the first such object discovered in the direction of the constellation Scorpius. Detected in 1962, its X-radiation is not only strong but, like other X-ray sources, quite variable as well. Its variability exhibits two states, one at higher output with great variability on a time scale of minutes and another at lower output

Zaehner, R.c.

2004-11-06T02:24:00.000-08:00

The son of Swiss parents who had immigrated to England, Zaehner studied Oriental languages at the University of Oxford, specializing in Persian, Armenian, and Avestan. He became a Roman Catholic in 1946. During

Aksum

2004-11-05T22:25:00.000-08:00

Despite common belief to the contrary, Aksum did not originate from one of the Semitic Sabaean kingdoms of southern Arabia but instead developed as a local power. At its apogee (3rd–6th century AD), Aksum became the greatest market of northeastern Africa; its merchants traded as far as Alexandria and

Sørensen, Villy

2004-11-04T14:18:00.000-08:00

Sørensen's first collection of short stories, Saere historier (Tiger in the Kitchen and Other Strange Stories), appeared in 1953; it was followed in 1955 by Ufarlige historier (“Harmless Stories”) and in 1964 by the important

Brill, Paul

2004-11-03T13:48:00.000-08:00

Also called Paulus Bril Flemish artist who was perhaps the most popular painter of landscapes in Rome in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. His early forest landscapes derive in style partly from Mannerism, but after 1600 he disciplined and simplified his compositions under the influence of the German painter Adam Elsheimer. His latest work was classical in character.

Blackwood, Caroline

2004-10-31T11:37:00.000-08:00

Blackwood, a descendant of the 18th-century dramatist Richard Brinsley Sheridan, lived in Northern Ireland until

Seyhi, Sinan

2004-10-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

Little is known of his life. Besides being a poet, Seyhi seems to have been a man of great learning and a disciple of the famous Turkish mystic and saint Haci (Hajji) Bayram Veli of Ankara, founder of the Bayrami order of dervishes. Seyhi also was reputedly a skilled

Annelid, Tissues and fluids

2004-10-28T14:11:00.000-07:00

The body cavity of annelids is lined by epithelium. Successive body segments are separated by walls that correspond to the external rings. In grooves between the segments of some oligochaetes are dorsal pores through which coelomic fluid may be discharged. As the leech develops, its coelom becomes nearly filled with connective tissue. Internal features of the