EarlyBerry

Mahavamsa

2005-03-17T04:14:00.000-08:00

The text—written in

Malayan Lar

2005-03-15T17:13:00.000-08:00

Species of gibbon (q.v.).

Motion Picture, History Of The, Great Britain

2005-03-13T08:30:00.000-08:00

In Great Britain the post-World War II cinema was even more literary than in France, relying heavily on the adaptation of classics in the work of such directors as Laurence Olivier (Henry V, 1944; Hamlet, 1948; Richard III, 1955), David Lean (Great Expectations, 1946; Oliver Twist, 1948), and Anthony Asquith (The Importance of Being Earnest, 1952). Even less-conventional films had literary sources (Carol

Argand Diagram

2005-03-10T18:25:00.000-08:00

Graphic portrayal of complex numbers, those of the form a + bi, in which a and b are real numbers and i is the square root of -1; it was devised by the Swiss mathematician Jean Robert Argand in about 1806. One axis represents the pure imaginary numbers (those consisting of the bi portion only); the second represents the real numbers (a values only). This permits the complex numbers to

Epistemology, St. Augustine

2005-03-09T05:50:00.000-08:00

St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430) claimed that human knowledge would be impossible if God did not illumine the human mind and thereby allow it to see, grasp, or understand ideas. There are two components to his theory: ideas and illumination. Ideas as Augustine construed them are the same as Plato's; they are timeless, immutable, and accessible only to the mind, not to the senses. They

Sukhothai Style

2005-03-06T09:05:00.000-08:00

The most direct influence on Sukhothai style

Ataturk Dam

2005-03-05T00:01:00.000-08:00

Dam on the Euphrates River in southeastern Turkey, the centrepiece of the Southeastern Anatolia Project. The Ataturk Dam is the largest in a series of 22 dams and 19 hydroelectric stations built on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the 1980s and '90s in order to provide irrigation water and hydroelectricity to arid southeastern Turkey. Completed in 1990, the Ataturk Dam is one of

Hardwicke, Philip Yorke, 1st Earl Of, Viscount Royston

2005-03-03T06:58:00.000-08:00

Called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1715, Hardwicke afterward joined Lincoln's Inn, of which he

Earth Sciences, Crystallography

2005-02-28T23:47:00.000-08:00

In the 19th century crystallographers were only able to study the external form of minerals, and it was not until 1895 when the German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered X rays that it became possible to consider their internal structure. In 1912 another German physicist, Max von Laue, realized that X rays were scattered and deflected at regular angles when they passed

Allied-signal Inc.

2005-02-27T06:49:00.000-08:00

The corporation was formed in 1920 in the consolidation of several chemical manufacturers; the Barrett Company (founded 1903), supplying coal-tar chemicals and roofing; General Chemical Company (founded 1899), specializing in industrial acids; National Aniline

Sachsenspiegel

2005-02-25T08:53:00.000-08:00

The most important of the medieval compilations of Saxon customary law. Collected in the early 13th century by Eike von Repgow (also spelled Repkow, Repchow, or Repgau), a knight and a judge, it was written originally in Latin and later in German and showed little Roman influence, largely because Roman law was still virtually unknown at that time and had not penetrated

Periyar

2005-02-20T10:04:00.000-08:00

River and lake in southern Kerala state, southwestern India. The river, 140 mi (225 km) long, rises in the Western Ghats range near the border with Tamil Nadu state and flows north to Periyar Lake in Kottayam district. The lake, 12 sq mi (31 sq km) in area, is an artificial reservoir created by damming the river. It lies at an altitude of 2,800 ft (850 m), is ringed by mountain peaks, and is surrounded by a wildlife

Giant Mountains

2005-02-19T08:22:00.000-08:00

The traditional textile industry—wool, cotton, and

Kamakura Period

2005-02-17T22:06:00.000-08:00

In Japanese history, the period from 1192 to 1333 during which the basis of feudalism was firmly established. It was named for the city where Minamoto Yoritomo set up the headquarters of his military government, commonly known as the Kamakura shogunate. After his decisive victory over the rival Taira family at the battle of Dannoura (1185), Yoritomo created his own military administration

Kwazulu/natal

2005-02-15T23:36:00.000-08:00

Formerly Natal, province of the Republic of South Africa, occupying the southeastern portion of the country. It is bounded on the east by the Indian Ocean, on the south by Eastern province, on the west by Lesotho and Free State province, on the northwest by Mpumalanga province, and on the north by Swaziland and Mozambique. Within KwaZulu/Natal is an enclave of Eastern province consisting

Gaucher's Disease

2005-02-13T14:43:00.000-08:00

Rare inherited metabolic disorder characterized by anemia, mental and neurologic impairment, yellowish pigmentation of the skin, and bone deterioration resulting in pathological fractures. Gaucher's disease results when a defect in the body's synthesis of the enzyme glucocerebrosidase allows the lipid glucocerebroside to accumulate in the body's storage

Cabbage Looper

2005-02-10T15:47:00.000-08:00

Distinctive green, white-lined larva, or caterpillar, of Trichoplusia ni, of the owlet moth family Noctuidae (order Lepidoptera). Like other larvae in this family, the cabbage looper lacks the usual lepidopteran legs beneath the mid-region of the body, which therefore rises up in a loop when the tail advances while the head stands still. It is an economic pest of cabbages

Pacific Ocean, Physical environment

2005-02-09T05:39:00.000-08:00

Otis W. Freeman, Geography of the Pacific (1951), surveys the physical features of the ocean; and Alan E.M. Nairn and Francis G. Stehli (eds.), The Ocean Basins and Margins, vol. 7, The Pacific Ocean, 2 vol. (1985–88), is comprehensive and highly detailed. Zvi Ben-Avraham (ed.), The Evolution of the Pacific Ocean Margins (1989); and H.W. Menard, Marine Geology of the Pacific (1964), explore marine geology and geophysics. See also Bruno Wauthy, Physical Ocean Environment in the South Pacific Commission Area (1986), a short but valuable summary of the oceanography of the central and South Pacific, prepared as a regional report under the United Nations Environment Programme.

Arrupe, Pedro

2005-02-06T02:41:00.000-08:00

Arrupe studied medicine at the University of Madrid, but, after witnessing the poverty in that city, he left school to join the Jesuits in 1927. When the Spanish government dissolved the Jesuit order in Spain in 1932, Arrupe continued his religious studies elsewhere in Europe and in the United States,

Han T'o-chou

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

Pinyin Han Tuozhou minister to the Chinese emperor Ning Tsung (reigned 1194–1224) of the Sung dynasty (960–1279). Han tried to recover territory in northern China that had been taken from the Sung several generations earlier by the Juchen tribes of Inner Asia. The ensuing war proved disastrous. More Sung territory was lost and a large indemnity was demanded by the

Greifswald

2005-01-31T05:33:00.000-08:00

City, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania Land (state), northeastern Germany. It lies 20 miles (30 km) southeast of Stralsund near the mouth of the Ryck River, which empties into Greifswalder Bay on the Baltic Sea. First mentioned in 1209 as a market settlement of the Eldena monastery and chartered in 1250, Greifswald joined the Hanseatic League in 1278. It passed to Sweden in 1648 and to Prussia in 1815. Notable

Topiary

2005-01-30T00:36:00.000-08:00

The training of living trees and shrubs into artificial, decorative shapes. Thickly leaved evergreen shrubs are used in topiary; the best subjects are box, cypress, and yew, although others—such as rosemary, holly, and box honeysuckle—are used with success. Topiary is said to have been invented by a friend of the ancient Roman emperor Augustus and is known to have been

Wicklow

2005-01-28T03:01:00.000-08:00

Irish Cill Mhantáin county in the province of Leinster, Ireland. With an area of 782 sq mi (2,025 sq km), it is bounded on the east by the Irish Sea and by Counties Wexford (south), Carlow and Kildare (west), and Dublin (north). County Wicklow includes much of the Leinster Chain mountain range, notably the Wicklow Mountains, and has fertile lowland areas. Much of its coast comprises rocky cliffs and excellent

Alvensleben-erxleben, Gustav, Graf Von (count Of)

2005-01-25T21:08:00.000-08:00

As a member of the Prussian general staff (1847–58), Alvensleben participated in the suppression of the revolution of 1849 in Baden and was named chief of staff for the troops that remained in occupation. In 1854 he

Cold-bloodedness

2005-01-24T23:48:00.000-08:00

Also called Poikilothermy, Ectothermy, or Heterothermy, the state of having a variable body temperature that is usually only slightly higher than the environmental temperature. This state distinguishes fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrate animals from warm-blooded, or homoiothermic, animals (birds and mammals). Because of their dependence upon environmental warmth for metabolic functioning, the distribution

Lens Dislocation

2005-01-21T02:22:00.000-08:00

Abnormal position of the crystalline lens of the eye. The dislocation, which may be congenital or acquired, has as its immediate cause weakness or loss of a portion of the ligaments that anchor the lens to the ciliary muscle.

Sinkiang, Uygur Autonomous Region Of, Plant and animal life

2005-01-19T11:40:00.000-08:00

Because of the great expanses of desert, the plant life of much of Sinkiang is monotonous. There are pine forests in the Tien Shan and tugrak woods in many places on the edge of the Takla Makan Desert. Apart from these trees, the most common are varieties of poplar and willow. In the Tien Shan and other mountains there is a great assortment of wild plants and flowers, many

Technocracy

2005-01-17T20:04:00.000-08:00

Government by technicians who are guided solely by the imperatives of their technology. The concept developed in the United States early in the 20th century as an expression of the Progressive movement and became a subject of considerable public interest in the 1930s during the Great Depression. The origins of the technocracy movement may be traced to Frederick W. Taylor's

Zanthoxylum

2005-01-16T10:23:00.000-08:00

The prickly ash genus of the rue family (Rutaceae), comprising about 200 species of aromatic trees and shrubs native to the middle latitudes of North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. There are both deciduous and evergreen species. They have small, greenish flowers and fruits that consist of groups of two-valved capsules, each containing a single shiny

Japanese Red Army

2005-01-14T22:59:00.000-08:00

In full United Red Army Japanese Rengo Sekigun militant Japanese organization that was formed in 1969 in the merger of two far-left factions. Beginning in 1970, the Red Army undertook several major terrorist operations, including the hijacking of several Japan Air Lines airplanes, a massacre at Tel Aviv's Lod Airport (1972), and the seizure and occupation of embassies in various countries. In 1971–72 the organization underwent severe

Kufah

2005-01-11T13:41:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kufa, medieval city of Iraq that was a centre of Arab culture and learning from the 8th to the 10th century. It was founded in 638 as a garrison town by 'Umar I, the second caliph. The city lay on the Hindiyah branch of the Euphrates River, about 7 miles (11 km) northeast of an-Najaf. It was populated largely by South Arabians and Iranians and served as the seat of the governor of Iraq, sometimes

Tsumeb

2005-01-09T01:51:00.000-08:00

In 1851 Sir Francis Galton, a British explorer, made note of copper ore deposits in the vicinity of what later became the town of Tsumeb. An Anglo-German company acquired

Allen, Henry

2005-01-07T14:19:00.000-08:00

The son of a longtime New Orleans brass-band leader, Allen played in his father's band before joining King Oliver's big band in the Midwest in 1927 and then Luis Russell's New York band in 1929–32. Allen was in Fletcher Henderson's big band

Disease

2005-01-05T23:26:00.000-08:00

A harmful deviation from the normal structural or functional state of an organism. A diseased organism commonly exhibits signs or symptoms indicative of its abnormal state. Thus, the normal condition of an organism must be understood in order to recognize the hallmarks of disease. Nevertheless, a sharp demarcation between disease and health is not always

Neorealism

2005-01-04T08:02:00.000-08:00

Italian Neorealismo, Italian literary and cinematic movement, flourishing especially after World War II, seeking to deal realistically with the events leading up to the war and with the social problems that were engendered during the period and afterwards.

Interior Design, Industrial interiors

2005-01-02T10:29:00.000-08:00

Industrial interiors do not usually involve interior designers. There are, of course, many industrial spaces, such as workshops, laboratories, and factories, that have been planned by architects and designers, and there are a few that have stressed some aesthetic considerations. By and large, however, industrial interiors are created as strictly functional spaces.

Chrestien, Florent

2004-12-30T11:36:00.000-08:00

The son of Guillaume Chrestien, an eminent physician and writer on physiology, he became a pupil of Henri Estienne, the Hellenist, at an early age. Later, he was appointed tutor to Henry of Navarre, afterward Henry IV of France, who made him his librarian.

Perseus

2004-12-29T05:44:00.000-08:00

The elder son of King Philip V of Macedonia, Perseus commanded troops in his father's wars against Rome (199) and Aetolia (189). After three years of intriguing against his brother Demetrius, accusing

Xenakis, Iannis

2004-12-27T20:44:00.000-08:00

Romanian-born Greek-French composer and architect (b. May 29, 1922, Braila, Rom.—d. Feb. 4, 2001, Paris, France), based his music on mathematical principles, particularly theories of probability. Although his music was generated by the rigorous application of nonmusical ideas, the results were often powerful and moving. He created orchestral, ensemble, and solo works for traditional instruments

Bernini, Gian Lorenzo

2004-12-24T01:57:00.000-08:00

Bernini's career began under his father, Pietro Bernini, a Florentine sculptor of some talent who ultimately moved to Rome. The young prodigy worked so diligently that he earned the praise of the painter Annibale Carracci and the patronage of Pope Paul V and soon established himself as a wholly independent sculptor. He was strongly influenced by his close study

Waite, Morrison Remick

2004-12-23T02:13:00.000-08:00

Seventh chief justice of the United States (1874–88), who frequently spoke for the Supreme Court in interpreting the post-Civil War constitutional amendments and in redefining governmental jurisdiction over commerce in view of the great expansion of American business. Reacting against the extreme nationalism predominant during

Bribie Island

2004-12-20T16:52:00.000-08:00

Island off the southeastern coast of Queensland, Australia, at the northern extremity of Moreton Bay. The island is 20 miles (32 km) long and from 1 to 5 miles wide and has an area of 59 square miles (153 square km). Its surface, generally low with some higher sand ridges, is wooded with cypress pine. Matthew Flinders, the English navigator, landed in 1799 at its southern tip, which he named Skirmish

Bribie Island

2004-12-19T01:46:00.000-08:00

International organization comprising 25 European countries and governing common economic, social, and security policies. Originally confined to western Europe, the EU has expanded to include several central and eastern European countries. The EU's members are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland,

Chan Ii

2004-12-17T21:16:00.000-08:00

When Chan's father, King Eng, died in 1796, the Thais had superiority. In 1802 Chan was recognized as the king of Cambodia by the Thais, and he was crowned in the Thai capital of Bangkok in 1806. The advisers to the

Mycosis

2004-12-15T10:10:00.000-08:00

Plural Mycoses, in humans and domestic animals, a disease caused by any fungus that invades the tissues, causing superficial, subcutaneous, or systemic disease. Superficial fungal infections, also called dermatophytosis, are confined to the skin and are caused by Microsporum, Trichophyton, or Epidermophyton; athlete's foot, for example, is caused by Trichophyton or Epidermophyton

Anatta

2004-12-12T09:51:00.000-08:00

Sanskrit Anatman, in Buddhism, the doctrine that there is in humans no permanent, underlying substance that can be called the soul. Instead, the individual is compounded of five factors of consciousness (Pali: khandha; Sanskrit: skandha) that are constantly changing. The concept of anatta, or anatman, is a departure from the Hindu belief in atman (“the self”). The absence of a self, anicca (the impermanence

Fa Ngum

2004-12-11T23:09:00.000-08:00

Fa Ngum was the grandson of Souvanna Khamphong, the last in a long line of local rulers of the principality of Muang Swa, later called Luang Prabang, on the upper Mekong River. According to local legend, Souvanna Khamphong banished Fa Ngum's father for having seduced

Houston, Edwin James

2004-12-08T22:25:00.000-08:00

A Philadelphia high school teacher, Houston collaborated with Elihu Thomson in experimenting on induction coils, dynamos, wireless transmission, and the design of an arc lighting system (patented in 1881) that was widely successful

Hyades

2004-12-06T11:29:00.000-08:00

Cluster of several hundred stars in the zodiacal constellation Taurus. As seen from Earth, the bright star Aldebaran appears to be a member of the cluster, but in fact Aldebaran is much closer to the Earth than the Hyades' distance of about 130 light-years. Five genuine members of the group are visible to the unaided eye. Their name (Greek: “the rainy ones”) is derived from the

Essential Oil

2004-12-04T07:41:00.000-08:00

Distillation is the most common method

Subatomic Particle, The weak nuclear force

2004-12-02T15:53:00.000-08:00

Since the 1930s physicists have been aware of a force within the atomic nucleus that is responsible for certain types of radioactivity that are classed together as beta decay. A typical example of beta decay occurs when a neutron transmutes into a proton. The force that underlies this process is known as the weak nuclear force to distinguish it from the strong nuclear

Asyut

2004-12-01T05:25:00.000-08:00

Asy

Zara, Siege Of

2004-11-28T05:08:00.000-08:00

(1202), a major episode of the Fourth Crusade; the first attack on a Christian city by a crusading army, it foreshadowed the same army's assault on Constantinople, the Byzantine capital, in 1203–04. Zara (modern Zadar, Croatia), a vassal city of the Venetian republic, rebelled against Venice in 1186 and placed itself under the protection of King Béla III of Hungary. Anxious to reassert their

Xavier, Saint Francis

2004-11-28T02:26:00.000-08:00

James Brodrick, Saint Francis Xavier, 1506–1552 (1952), a standard biography in English; Georg Schurhammer, Franz Xaver: Sein Leben und seine Zeit (1955–71; Francis Xavier: His Life and Times, 1973), the definitive biography.

Steichen, Edward

2004-11-27T10:22:00.000-08:00

Pioneer of American photography who, with Alfred Stieglitz, was a leader of the Photo-Secession Group. His style evolved from painterly impressionism to a sharp realism after World War I. His portraits of artists and celebrities from the 1920s and '30s are remarkable evocations of character. In 1955 he organized the “Family of Man” exhibition

Arnold, Benedict

2004-11-25T16:00:00.000-08:00

Upon the outbreak of hostilities at Lexington, Massachusetts (April 1775), Arnold volunteered for service and participated with

Epidermis

2004-11-24T13:01:00.000-08:00

In botany, outermost, protoderm-derived layer of cells covering the stem, root, leaf, flower, fruit, and seed parts of a plant. The epidermis and its waxy cuticle provide a protective barrier against mechanical injury, water loss, and infection. Various modified epidermal cells regulate transpiration, increase water absorption, and secrete substances.

Mckellen, Sir Ian (murray)

2004-11-22T17:16:00.000-08:00

McKellen attended St. Catharine's College, Cambridge, where as a student actor he was often directed by John Barton, later of the Royal Shakespeare Company. After receiving a bachelor's degree in 1961, McKellen made his professional

China, A land revolution

2004-11-22T15:03:00.000-08:00

One reason for Communist success was the social revolution in rural China. The CCP was now unrestrained by the multiclass alliance of the United Front period. In the middle of 1946, as civil war became more certain, the party leaders launched a land revolution. They saw land redistribution as an integral part of the larger struggle; by encouraging peasants to seize the

Forel, Auguste-henri

2004-11-21T17:07:00.000-08:00

Forel studied medicine at the University of Zürich from 1866 to 1871 and then did work in neuroanatomy at the University of Vienna, where he received his medical degree in 1872. In 1879 he was appointed director of the Burghölzli Asylum

Jackson, Charles Thomas

2004-11-20T11:14:00.000-08:00

Jackson received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1829. He continued his medical studies at the University of Paris, also attending lectures on geology at the Royal School of Mines. He returned to Boston in 1832 and started a private medical practice but abandoned

Jehoram

2004-11-19T18:53:00.000-08:00

Jehoram, the son of Ahab and Jezebel and king (c. 849–c. 842 BC) of Israel, maintained close relations with Judah. Together with Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, Jehoram unsuccessfully attempted to subdue a revolt of Moab against Israel. As had his father, Jehoram later endeavoured to recover Ramoth-gilead from Hazael, king of Damascus. In this

Music

2004-11-18T23:08:00.000-08:00

Both the simple folk song and the complex electronic composition belong to the same activity, music. Both are humanly engineered; both are conceptual and auditory, and

Philemon, The Letter Of Paul To

2004-11-17T02:22:00.000-08:00

Also called The Epistle Of Saint Paul The Apostle To Philemon, brief New Testament letter written by Paul the Apostle to a wealthy Christian of Colossae, Asia Minor, on behalf of Onesimus, Philemon's former slave. Paul, writing from prison, expresses affection for the newly converted Onesimus and asks that he be received in the same spirit that would mark Paul's own arrival, even though Onesimus may be guilty of previous failings.

Camp, Walter

2004-11-16T15:51:00.000-08:00

As an undergraduate and then as a medical student at Yale (1876–81), Camp played halfback,

Biblical Literature, The Pharisees

2004-11-15T10:57:00.000-08:00

The Pharisees (possibly spiritual descendants of the Hasidim [Pious Ones], who were the exponents of Maccabean revolt) were strict adherents to the Law. Their name may come from parush—i.e., “separated” from what is unclean, or what is unholy. They were deeply concerned with the Mosaic Law and how to keep it, and they were innovators in adapting the Law to new situations. They

Brackley, Thomas Egerton, Viscount, Baron Ellesmere

2004-11-13T22:28:00.000-08:00

Educated at Brasenose College, Oxford, and called to the bar by Lincoln's Inn in 1572, Egerton was promoted rapidly under Queen Elizabeth I, becoming lord keeper of the great seal in

Fabergé, Peter Carl

2004-11-13T10:59:00.000-08:00

Of Huguenot descent, Fabergé was educated in Germany, Italy, France, and England. His father had by 1842 established himself in St. Petersburg as a jeweler, dealing also in fine decorative objects, a tradition Peter Carl continued after inheriting

Jñanadeva

2004-11-11T19:37:00.000-08:00

Jñanadeva was a founder of the devotional school of mysticism known as Varakari (“Pilgrim”), so called because of the emphasis it places on pilgrimages to the shrine of Vitthala (or Vithoba, a local

Kamáres Ware

2004-11-10T08:14:00.000-08:00

Style of painted pottery that flourished on Crete during the Middle Minoan period (c. 2100–c. 1550 BC). Surviving examples include ridged cups, small, round spouted jars, and large storage jars (pithoi), on which combinations of abstract curvilinear designs and stylized plant and marine motifs are painted in white and tones of red, orange, and yellow on black grounds.

Kuei

2004-11-09T17:21:00.000-08:00

Kuei are spirits of individuals who were not properly buried or whose families neglected the proper memorial offerings; they lack the means to ascend to the spirit world, hence their malevolent disposition. In traditional China,

Wahiawa

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

City, Honolulu county, west-central Oahu Island, Hawaii, U.S. It is situated on the 1,000-foot- (300-metre-) high Leilehua Plateau between the two forks of the Kaukonahua Stream. Wahiawa (meaning “place of noise”) is a commercial centre for nearby plantation communities and military installations (Schofield Barracks and Wheeler Air Force Base). It is the site of company housing developments

Huysmans, Joris-karl

2004-11-07T16:17:00.000-08:00

The only son of a French mother and a Dutch father, Huysmans at 20 began a long career in the Ministry of the Interior, writing many of his novels on official time (and notepaper). His early work, influenced by contemporary

Beti, Mongo

2004-11-06T08:29:00.000-08:00

A member of the Beti people, he wrote his books in French. An essential theme of Beti's early novels, which advocate the removal of all vestiges of colonialism, is the basic conflict of traditional modes of African society with the system of colonial rule. His first important novel,

Daniels, Charles

2004-11-05T16:00:00.000-08:00

At the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis, Missouri, Daniels was America's star swimmer, winning gold medals in the 220-yard and 440-yard freestyle and the 4 ´ 50-yard freestyle relay, a silver in the

Gwalior

2004-11-04T20:08:00.000-08:00

The old city of Gwalior centres on a walled fortress, one of the most famous in India,

Astringent

2004-11-03T03:27:00.000-08:00

Any of a group of substances that cause the contraction or shrinkage of tissues and that dry up secretions. Astringents are usually classified into three groups according to their mode of action: (1) those that decrease the blood supply by narrowing the small blood vessels (e.g., epinephrine and cocaine), (2) those that abstract water from the tissue (e.g., glycerol and alcohol

Abel, Sir Frederick Augustus

2004-11-03T02:36:00.000-08:00

English chemist and explosives specialist who, with the chemist Sir James Dewar, invented cordite (1889), later adopted as the standard explosive of the British army. Abel also made studies of dust explosions in coal mines, invented a device for testing the flash point of petroleum, and found a way to prevent guncotton from

Earth, Paleontological research

2004-11-01T23:40:00.000-08:00

Many paleontological observations are most easily explained by continental drift and/or polar wandering. For example, fossils of the freshwater reptile Mesosaurus, which lived 270,000,000 years ago, are found only in South America and Africa. The reptile's bone structure was such that it probably could not have swum across the Atlantic, but if South America and Africa had been

Accomplice

2004-11-01T11:14:00.000-08:00

An abettor is one who is present actually or constructively at the commission

Ciné-club

2004-10-30T17:19:00.000-07:00

Enthusiasts formed the first ciné-clubs in England in the mid-1920s to discuss

Economics

2004-10-30T00:52:00.000-07:00

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

Novello, Ivor

2004-10-29T09:07:00.000-07:00

Novello, the son of the celebrated Welsh singing teacher, Dame Clara Novello Davies, was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, and served with the Royal Naval Air Service during World War I. He became famous with a

Arabia, Plant life

2004-10-27T11:10:00.000-07:00

The date palm grows almost everywhere, except at very high elevations and in Dhofar, on the coast of which it is replaced by the coconut palm. The date is a source of food, and uses are found for the trunk, branches, and fibre of the date palm. Among places noted for high-quality date-palm production are Medina, Bishah, and Al-Hasa. Alfalfa (lucerne), widely used as fodder, often fills

Distress Signal

2004-10-26T08:11:00.000-07:00

A method by which a ship at sea can summon assistance. Distress signals are fixed by custom and by internationally agreed-on rules of the road at sea. The most important are: (1) visual signals, such as a flame, a red flare, an orange smoke signal, or a square flag displayed with a ball below; (2) sound signals, such as a gun or rocket fired at regular intervals, or a continuous sounding

Hagia Sophia

2004-10-26T03:30:00.000-07:00

Also called Church Of The Holy Wisdom, Turkish Ayasofya, cathedral built at Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) under the direction of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. It is a unique building and one of the world's great monuments, despite time's ravages. The structure, a domed basilica, was built in the amazingly short time of about six years, being completed in AD 537. The architects were Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus.

Syracuse University

2004-10-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher education, located in Syracuse, New York, U.S. It offers more than 200 undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs through 15 colleges and schools. Research facilities include the All-University Gerontology Center (established 1972), the Center for Advanced Technology in Computer Applications and Software Engineering

O'brien, Fitz-james

2004-10-23T17:41:00.000-07:00

O'Brien was the son of a lawyer. He ran through his inheritance in two years in London, where he began to work in journalism. In 1852 he moved

Arnold, Harold Deforest

2004-10-22T17:56:00.000-07:00

Arnold studied at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where he received a Ph.B. (1906) and a M.S. (1907), and in 1911 he earned a doctorate at the University of Chicago. While working for the Western Electric

Grace Note

2004-10-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

Musical note constituting or being part of an ornament. See appoggiatura.

Gumma

2004-10-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

Soft, granulomatous, tumourlike mass, sometimes appearing during the late stages of syphilis, that occurs most often beneath the skin and mucous membranes but that may also be found in the bones, nervous system, and other organs and tissues. See also syphilis.

Bioelectricity

2004-10-20T13:20:00.000-07:00

Bioelectric effects were known in ancient times from

Computers, Compilers

2004-10-18T14:21:00.000-07:00

In 1952 Heinz Rutishauser,

Bolivia, Drainage

2004-10-18T09:23:00.000-07:00

The rivers of Bolivia belong to three major systems—the Amazon tributaries in the northwest, north, and northeast, the Pilcomayo-Paraguay system in the south and southeast, and an isolated, inland-draining system centring on Lakes Titicaca and Poopó on the Altiplano in the west. The Uyuni Salt Flat is a smaller inland-draining basin nearby but separate from the

Trier

2004-10-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

Regierungsbezirk (administrative district), western Rhineland-Palatinate Land (state), southwestern Germany. Trier is bordered by Luxembourg and Belgium to the west, North Rhine–Westphalia Land to the north, the Regierungsbezirk of Koblenz to the east, and Saarland Land to the south. The district forms a southern portion of the larger historical region of the Rhineland

Gondwana

2004-10-15T17:09:00.000-07:00

From the 14th to the 18th century the area was held by powerful Gond dynasties, which during Mughal times remained independent

Race, The enslavement of Africans

2004-10-15T16:28:00.000-07:00

Between 1660 and 1690, leaders of the Virginia colony began to establish practices that provided or sanctioned differential treatment for freed servants whose origins were in Europe. They conscripted poor whites, with whom they had never had interests in common, into the category of free men and made land, tools, animals, and other resources available to them. African Americans

Liquidity Preference

2004-10-13T05:38:00.000-07:00

In economics, the premium that wealth holders demand for exchanging ready money or bank deposits for safe, non-liquid assets such as government bonds. As originally employed by John Maynard Keynes, liquidity preference referred to the relationship between the quantity of money the public wishes to hold and the interest rate. According to Keynes, the public holds

Tirmidhi, At-

2004-10-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

The life of at-Tirmidhi is poorly documented. He journeyed to Khorasan, to Iraq, and to the Hejaz in search of material for his collection and studied with such renowned scholars of Had

Faience Fine

2004-10-09T11:11:00.000-07:00

Fine white English lead-glazed earthenware, or creamware, imported into France from about 1730 onward. Staffordshire “salt glaze” was imported first, followed by the improved Wedgwood “Queen's ware” and the Leeds “cream-coloured ware.” It was cheaper than French faience, or tin-glazed earthenware, and more durable and was therefore subjected to heavy tariffs in 1741 and 1749. A Franco-British