SeparateWing

Charadriiform, Auks (suborder Alcae)

2005-04-05T00:25:00.000-07:00

Alcids breed in island colonies along Arctic and north temperate seacoasts, with the exception of a few murrelets that breed inland on mountains. Even these must remain within flying distance of the sea. The breeding behaviour of the pigeon guillemot (Cepphus columba) is fairly typical of the family. This species breeds on islands and coasts of the North Pacific,

Insurance

2005-04-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

International insurance is surveyed in Paul P. Rogers, Bruno Schönfelder, and Ehrenfried Schütte, Insurance in Socialist East Europe (1988); Bernard Wasow and Raymond D. Hill (eds.), The Insurance Industry in Economic Development (1986); Robert M. Crowe (ed.), Insurance in the World's Economies (1982); Michael E. Hogue and Douglas G. Olson (eds.), World Insurance Outlook (1982); Wenlee Ting, Multinational Risk Assessment and Management: Strategies for Investment and Marketing Decisions (1988); Werner Pfenningstorf and Donald G. Gifford, A Comparative Study of Liability Law and Compensation Schemes in Ten Countries and the United States (1991); and Norman A. Baglini, Global Risk Management: How U.S. International Corporations Manage Foreign Risks (1983).

San Francisco

2005-04-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

City, northeastern Córdoba provincia, north-central Argentina, on the border of Santa Fé provincia at the northern edge of the Pampa. Founded in 1886 and given city status in 1915, it has been a railroad centre since the 19th century and is a commercial and manufacturing centre for an agricultural (grain and flax) and pastoral area. Light manufacturing is important, as are dairy

Qatar

2005-04-02T22:01:00.000-08:00

In 2002 Qatar continued to figure prominently in regional and international news, largely as a result of its ongoing chairmanship of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and its 57 member countries. Qatar was a prominent interlocutor with international and regional organizations and, in particular, with the United Nations, the United States, and other allied

Qatar

2005-03-31T02:21:00.000-08:00

French national theatre created in 1920 to bring theatre to the general public. Its first director, Firmin Gémier, had been the director of the Théâtre Antoine and had made a number of attempts to create a people's theatre. Initially the TNP offered productions from the other national companies in a large hall with inexpensive tickets. It had no acting company, could not

Ob River, Plant and animal life

2005-03-31T00:08:00.000-08:00

Rich meadows extend in bands 1 to 2 miles (2 to 3 km) wide for great distances along the banks of the Ob and cover many of the numerous islands. Pine, cedar, silver fir, aspen, and birch also grow on the banks and occasionally constitute isolated forests on the higher ground of the floodplain. Large areas near the river are covered with willow, snowball trees (Viburnum), bird cherry

North Germanic Languages

2005-03-29T23:06:00.000-08:00

About 125 inscriptions dated from AD 200 to 600, carved in the older runic alphabet (futhark), are chronologically and linguistically the oldest evidence of any Germanic language. Most are from Scandinavia, but enough have been found in southeastern Europe to suggest that the use of runes was also familiar to other Germanic tribes. Most inscriptions are brief, marking ownership

Nepal, Drainage

2005-03-29T07:02:00.000-08:00

The Kathmandu Valley, the political and cultural hub of the nation, is drained by the Baghmati River, flowing southward, which washes the steps of the sacred temple of Pasupatinatha (Pashupatinath) and rushes out of the valley through the deeply cut Chhobar gorge. Some sandy layers of the lacustrine beds act as aquifers (water-bearing strata of permeable rock, sand, or gravel),

Knaben Wunderhorn, Des

2005-03-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

(1805–08; German: “The Boy's Magic Horn”), anthology of German folk songs, subtitled Alte deutsche Lieder (“Old German Songs”), that established its editors, the poet Clemens Brentano and the antiquarian Achim von Arnim (qq.v.), as leaders of the Romantic movement by reviving enthusiasm for the Volkslied (“folk song,” or “peasant song”) tradition in German lyric poetry. Reputedly genuine folk

Shamanism

2005-03-28T08:01:00.000-08:00

Among the peoples of northern Asia, shamanism developed into a more definitely articulated and specialized form than among other peoples. Shamanism as practiced there is distinguished by its special clothing, accessories, and rites as well as by the specific worldview connected with them. North Asiatic shamanism in the 19th century, which may be taken as the classical

Pribilof Canyon

2005-03-25T16:36:00.000-08:00

A long submarine canyon rising from the Bering Abyssal Plain on the floor of the Bering Sea southeast of the Pribilof Islands, Alaska. It runs across the edge of the continental slope and is 265 miles (426 km) long with walls 6,000 feet (1,800 m) high. The canyon is characterized by a V-shaped valley with steep and rocky walls, and its floor is covered by sands and gravels. It is believed to have

Tachism

2005-03-25T15:47:00.000-08:00

French Tachisme (from tache, “spot”), style of painting practiced in Paris after World War II and through the 1950s that, like its American equivalent, Action painting, featured the intuitive, spontaneous gesture of the artist's brushstroke. Developed by the young painters Hans Hartung, Gérard Schneider, Pierre Soulages, Frans Wols, Chao Wu-chi (Zao Wu-ki), and Georges Mathieu, Tachism was part

Malibran, Maria

2005-03-24T01:34:00.000-08:00

María and her mezzo-soprano sister Pauline Viardot were first instructed by their father, the tenor Manuel García, and at five years of age María sang a child's part in Ferdinando Paer's Agnese in Naples. She made her London debut at the King's Theatre in 1825 as Rosina

Moll Cutpurse

2005-03-23T23:17:00.000-08:00

London-born, she began her career as a pickpocket, or cutpurse, but after being caught four times, she assumed male attire and turned to highway robbery, until she was apprehended and jailed briefly at Newgate. She then achieved a

Swag

2005-03-22T16:01:00.000-08:00

The swag, or festoon, usually carved from

Addis Ababa

2005-03-21T11:28:00.000-08:00

Only since the late 19th century has Addis Ababa been the capital of the Ethiopian state. Its immediate predecessor, Entoto, was situated on a high tableland and was found to be unsatisfactory because of extreme cold

Astorga

2005-03-20T15:56:00.000-08:00

City, León provincia, in Castile-León comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”), northwestern Spain, on the left bank of the Tuerto River on a spur of the Manzanal mountain chain. It originated as the Roman Asturica Augusta (called a “magnificent city” by Pliny) and was an important administrative and military centre. The see of a bishop since the 3rd century, Astorga decayed

An Chung-shik

2005-03-19T04:46:00.000-08:00

As a promising young painter, An Chung-shik was sent to China for training by the Korean court. Upon his return he became a master of the popular Southern style, with its emphasis on fingertip technique. He was also a noted calligrapher who mastered all the writing styles. Interested in

Arguin Island

2005-03-18T20:36:00.000-08:00

Island off the coast of Mauritania; it lies about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Cape Blanc, in a sheltered Atlantic inlet (Arguin Bay). The island (4 by 2.5 miles [6 by 4 km]) was incorporated into the newly independent Mauritania in 1960. Aridity and poor anchorage have prevented the establishment of permanent settlements on it, but the coastal reefs, known as the Arguin Banks, are major fishing

Craig, James

2005-03-18T05:30:00.000-08:00

American ice hockey goaltender who was part of the U.S. hockey team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York, U.S. The American victory in the hockey tournament, known as the “miracle on ice,” was one of the greatest surprises in the history of the Olympics, and Craig, who started every game in goal, was a leading figure in the

Teramo

2005-03-17T02:26:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Teramo provincia, Abruzzi regione, central Italy. It lies at the confluence of the Tordino and Vezzola rivers, between the Adriatic Sea and the Gran Sasso d'Italia mountain group, northwest of Pescara. Teramo was built on the site of Interamna (Interamnia), a town of the ancient Praetuttii tribe, and was destroyed during the barbarian invasions. It was

Aerospace Industry, Fabrication processes and materials

2005-03-16T02:50:00.000-08:00

Fabrication involves the manufacture of individual components that make up larger assemblies or end products. This activity encompasses the working of metals and the incorporation of electrical and electronic devices into processors, circuit boards, and subassemblies for the components of navigation, communication, and control systems. Most of the basic

Martin, Gregory

2005-03-16T00:57:00.000-08:00

Roman Catholic biblical scholar, principal translator of the Latin Vulgate into English (Douai-Reims Bible). His version, in Bishop Richard Challoner's third revised edition (1752), was the standard Bible for English Roman Catholics until the 20th century, and his phraseology influenced the Anglican translators of the Authorized, or King

Water Glass

2005-03-15T23:24:00.000-08:00

Also called Sodium Silicate, or Soluble Glass, crystal-like lumps that range from colourless to white or grayish white and resemble glass but can be dissolved in water to form a syrupy liquid. Some forms are slightly soluble, and some are almost insoluble; they are best dissolved by heating with water under pressure. A little water dissolves water glass more readily than much water does. The solutions are strongly

Hero And Leander

2005-03-15T04:41:00.000-08:00

The story is preserved in

Hero And Leander

2005-03-13T22:58:00.000-08:00

India's second largest trade union federation after the Indian National Trade Union Congress. The AITUC was formed by the Indian National Congress (the central organ of the independence movement) in 1920 to represent India at the International Labour Organisation of the League of Nations. During the 1920s British communists, in trying to organize trade unions, gained control

Hetzer, Ludwig

2005-03-13T06:17:00.000-08:00

After studies at Freiburg im Breisgau, Hetzer published Judicium Dei (1523; “The Judgment of God”), in which he condemned the use of images, and Ein Beweis (1524; “One Proof ”), a work on the conversion of the Jews. The first work became a major part of the Reformed effort

Amygdule

2005-03-12T11:53:00.000-08:00

Secondary deposit of minerals found in a rounded, elongated, or almond-shaped cavity in igneous rock. The cavities (vesicles) were created by the expansion of gas bubbles or steam within lava. Some amygdules consist partially of lava, which indicates their formation during solidification of the rock. Since gas bubbles tend to rise through the lava, amygdules are most

Naga

2005-03-11T18:54:00.000-08:00

Group of tribes inhabiting the Naga Hills of Nagaland (q.v.) state in northeastern India. They include more than 20 tribes of mixed origin, varying cultures, and very different physiques and appearances. The numerous Naga languages (sometimes classified as dialects) belong to the Tibeto-Burman group of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Almost every village has its own dialect;

Robecchi-bricchetti, Luigi

2005-03-11T07:19:00.000-08:00

On his first African expedition he reached the oasis of Siwa (in western Egypt) in 1886, where he found a vast necropolis from which he collected skulls for European museums. On his two greatest expeditions, he twice traversed the previously unexplored

Apterygote

2005-03-10T01:22:00.000-08:00

Broadly, any of the primitive wingless insects of the subclass Apterygota (class Insecta), distinct from the subclass Pterygota or winged insects. Used in this sense, the term apterygotes commonly includes four groups of primitive insects: proturans, collembolans, diplurans (see photograph), and thysanurans. The taxonomic status of these groups, however, remains

Dubois, Jean-antoine

2005-03-09T19:45:00.000-08:00

Ordained in 1792, he sailed to India under the Missions Étrangères. Despite his efforts in many parts of South India, his mission failed, and he returned to Paris (1823), convinced that the conversion of the Hindus was impossible. In Paris he became director

Teens

2005-03-09T14:11:00.000-08:00

The years 13 to 19 in the human life span, a period roughly equivalent to adolescence (q.v.).

Taiwan, Imperial Chinese rule

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

In 1683, 20 years after Cheng Ch'eng-kung's death, the island fell to the Ch'ing and became part of Fukien Province. Meanwhile, sizable migrations of refugees, Ming supporters, had increased the population to about 200,000. As migrants streamed in from southeastern China, large areas in the north were settled. T'ai-nan (then called T'ai-wan) was the capital. By 1842 the population was estimated

Wyszynski, Stefan

2005-03-08T17:26:00.000-08:00

After study at Warsaw, Lomza, and Wloclawek, Wyszynski was ordained on his 23rd birthday, Aug. 3, 1924, and was assigned to the basilica at Wloclawek. After gaining a doctorate in sociology and ecclesiastical law at the Catholic University of Lublin, he studied further in France,

Bomu River

2005-03-07T21:13:00.000-08:00

Also called Mbomou, in the Central African Republic, headstream of the Ubangi River. The Bomu River rises 30 miles (50 km) northwest of Doruma, Congo (Kinshasa), and flows 450 miles (725 km) west, forming, together with the Ubangi, the frontier between Congo and the Central African Republic. Its course takes it in a wide curve through savannas, past Bangassou, to join the Uele River at Yakoma, where it forms the

Economic Forecasting

2005-03-07T17:34:00.000-08:00

Formal economic forecasting is usually based on a specific theory as to how the economy works. Some theories are complicated,

Computers, The graphical user interface

2005-03-06T10:35:00.000-08:00

In 1982 Apple introduced its Lisa computer, a much more powerful computer with many innovations. The Lisa used a more advanced microprocessor, the Motorola 68000. It also had a different way of interacting with the user, called a graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI replaced the typed command lines common on previous computers with graphical icons on the screen that invoked

Sicel Language

2005-03-05T14:16:00.000-08:00

After the Greek settlements in Sicily, the Siculi became Hellenized and substituted Greek for their original language. Scholars believe Sicel to have been an Indo-European

Balaguer, Joaquín

2005-03-04T06:10:00.000-08:00

Balaguer earned a law degree from the University of Santo Domingo and a Ph.D. from the University of Paris. Between 1932 and 1957, he held numerous executive

Tabari, At-

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

Obviously, at-Tabari could not sustain his preference for reports originating with the Prophet and the pious scholars of the early community known as as-salaf. His judgment of a report's reliability was now based upon the largely theoretical criterion that it should originate with either an eyewitness or a contemporary informant. This posed a problem for which at-Tabar

Steelyard, Merchants Of The

2005-03-02T22:32:00.000-08:00

In the later Middle Ages, members of the Hanseatic League, an association of north German towns, who resided at its London establishment, known as the Steelyard (probably from Low German stâlgard, a courtyard). German merchants from Cologne had enjoyed privileges in London from Anglo-Saxon times, and by the late 13th century had been joined there by others from east German

Gheyn, Matthias Van Den

2005-03-02T05:43:00.000-08:00

He was born into a celebrated family of Flemish bell founders. He moved with his family to Louvain in 1726 and probably received his first musical education

Breccia

2005-03-01T20:51:00.000-08:00

There are three categories of breccia: sedimentary, pyroclastic or igneous, and cataclastic. The constituent fragments may be of one lithology such as a rock fractured in position, or of many

Culverin

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

The culverin was adapted to field use by the French in the mid-15th century and to naval use by the English in the late 16th century. During the 17th century, cannons were classified according to the weight of projectiles fired, and

New Guinea

2005-02-28T15:54:00.000-08:00

Kazak Rug

2005-02-27T21:39:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kazakh Rug, floor covering handmade by seminomadic people of Turkic stock living in the Gäncä district of the Caucasus in Azerbaijan. These handsome rugs in bold designs and colour contrasts continue the spirit of Dragon rugs. The field patterns differ, however, offering triple-medallion schemes and centralized layouts, such as an octagon surrounded by four star-filled

Lattes, C.m.g.

2005-02-27T19:37:00.000-08:00

Lattes studied at the University of São Paulo with Giuseppe Occhialini in the 1940s and accompanied him in 1946 to the

Biblical Literature, Critical scholarship

2005-02-26T23:20:00.000-08:00

Textual criticism of the Greek New Testament attempts to come as near as possible to the original manuscripts (which did not survive), based on reconstructions from extant manuscripts of various ages and locales. Assessment of the individual manuscripts and their relationships to each other can produce a fairly reliable text from various readings that may have

Roman Law

2005-02-26T22:48:00.000-08:00

The law of ancient Rome from the time of the founding of the city in 753 BC until the fall of the Western Empire in the 5th century AD. It remained in use in the Eastern, or Byzantine, Empire until 1453. As a legal system, Roman law has affected the development of law in most of Western civilization as well as in parts of the East. It forms the basis for the law codes of most countries of continental

Brick And Tile

2005-02-25T04:46:00.000-08:00

The brick, first produced in a sun-dried form at least 6,000 years ago and the forerunner of a wide range of structural clay products used today, is a small building unit in the form of a rectangular block, formed from clay or shale or mixtures and burned (fired) in a kiln, or oven, to produce

Toch, Ernst

2005-02-24T14:30:00.000-08:00

Composer whose works, noted for their perfection of form, fused elements from the classical tradition with modern musical ideas. Although he rarely carried innovation to great lengths, he was considered a leader of the avant-garde composers in pre-Nazi Germany and, like many of them, went into exile when Adolf Hitler came

Yemen

2005-02-24T00:03:00.000-08:00

A republic of the southwestern Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has coastlines on the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea. Area: 555,000 sq km (214,300 sq mi), including the undemarcated area bordered by Saudi Arabia and claimed by Yemen. Pop. (1996 est.): 16.6 million. Cap.: San'a`. Monetary unit: Yemen Rial, with (Oct. 11, 1996) a free rate of YRls 100 to U.S. $1 (YRls 157.53 = £1 sterling). President in 1996, Maj. Gen. Ali Abdallah Salih; prime minister,

Gwynedd

2005-02-23T09:40:00.000-08:00

The county is named for the medieval Welsh princedom of Gwynedd, which, under the Llewellyns, proudly held out against the territorial ambitions of Edward I of England in the

Holborn

2005-02-22T23:29:00.000-08:00

Neighbourhood and former metropolitan borough (until 1965) of London. Now part of the borough of Camden, it lies northwest of the City of London and south of the Islington neighbourhood of Clerkenwell. Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn, two of the four Inns of Court, are central features of the district. The houses of Sir John Soane's Museum overlook Lincoln's Inn Fields from the north,

Swaziland

2005-02-21T09:55:00.000-08:00

The name Swazi is the Anglicized name of an early king and nation builder, Mswati II, who ruled from 1840 to 1868. The administrative

Van Halen

2005-02-21T08:46:00.000-08:00

American heavy metal band, widely popular in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, distinguished by the innovative electric-guitar playing of Eddie Van Halen. The original members were Eddie Van Halen (b. Jan. 26, 1957, Nijmegen, Neth.), Alex Van Halen (b. May 8, 1955, Nijmegen), Michael Anthony (b. June 20, 1955, Chicago, Ill., U.S.), and David Lee Roth (b. Oct. 10, 1955, Bloomington, Ind., U.S.). Later members were Sammy Hagar (b. Oct. 13, 1947, Monterey,

Böhmer, Johann Friedrich

2005-02-19T21:43:00.000-08:00

After studying at the universities of Göttingen and Heidelberg, Böhmer journeyed to Italy, where he became interested in art history. Upon his return to Frankfurt (1822), he became an assistant librarian

Adams, Gerry

2005-02-19T20:57:00.000-08:00

Gerry Adams, Before the Dawn (1996), is an autobiography, and he discusses his goals in Free Ireland: Towards a Lasting Peace, rev. ed. (1995).

Anhwei, Education

2005-02-18T16:39:00.000-08:00

Western learning was introduced in the early decades of the 20th century through the teaching of Christian missions. The National Government after 1928 attempted to expand education throughout the province, but most people remained illiterate. After 1949 the problem of illiteracy was attacked with vigour. The communes established in the late 1950s were then made responsible

Cabochon Cut

2005-02-18T16:37:00.000-08:00

Method of cutting gemstones with a convex, rounded surface that is polished but unfaceted. Opaque, asteriated, iridescent, opalescent, or chatoyant stones are usually cut en cabochon. The back of a normal cabochon-cut stone is flat, but it may be hollowed to lighten the colour. Garnet, jasper, bloodstone, moonstone, cat's-eye, and star ruby and sapphire are among the gemstones

Li Dazhao

2005-02-17T19:34:00.000-08:00

After studying at Tientsin and at Waseda University in Tokyo, Li became an editor for Hsin ch'ing-nien (“New Youth”), the principal journal of the new Western-oriented literary and cultural movements. In 1918 he was appointed chief librarian of Peking University, and

Corbière, Tristan

2005-02-17T05:21:00.000-08:00

Educated at Morlaix and the lycées of Saint-Brieuc and Nantes,

Zollinger, Albin

2005-02-16T06:17:00.000-08:00

Zollinger was a primary school teacher who lived in or near Zürich all his life except for four years (1903–07) in Argentina. Three-quarters of his work was written in the last 10 years of his life, during which he consumed himself in creative activity. Following

Lbk Culture

2005-02-15T15:05:00.000-08:00

Formerly Danubian Culture, Neolithic culture that expanded over large areas of Europe north and west of the Danube River (from Slovakia to the Netherlands) about the 5th millennium BC. Farmers probably practiced a form of shifting cultivation on the loess soil. Emmer wheat and barley were grown, and domestic animals, usually cattle, were kept. The name LBK derives from an abbreviation of the German

Leafhopper

2005-02-15T11:13:00.000-08:00

Any of the small, slender, often beautifully coloured and marked sap-sucking insects of the large family Cicadellidae (Jassidae) of the order Homoptera. They are found on almost all types of plants; however, individual species are host specific. Although a single leafhopper does no damage to a plant, collectively they can be serious economic pests. Their

Semiconductor Device, The p-n junction

2005-02-14T02:29:00.000-08:00

If an abrupt change in impurity type from acceptors (p-type) to donors (n-type) occurs within a single crystal structure, a p-n junction is formed (see Figure 3B and 3C). On the p side, the holes constitute the dominant carriers and so are called majority carriers. A few thermally generated electrons will also exist in the p side; these are termed minority carriers. On the n

Interior Design, Religious interiors

2005-02-13T21:05:00.000-08:00

Religious architecture is heavily influenced by symbolic concepts as well as by the ritual and traditions of a particular faith. Designers of religious interiors must, therefore, base their approach on a set of rules preceding all other design considerations. The simple and modest Quaker prayerhouses, for instance, express the tenets of that faith as clearly

Pacific Ocean, Surface currents

2005-02-13T01:53:00.000-08:00

Pacific trade winds drive surface waters toward the west to form the North and South Equatorial currents, the axes of which coincide, respectively, with the parallel of 15° N and the equator. Squeezed between the Equatorial currents is a well-defined countercurrent, the axis of which is always north of the equator and which extends from the Philippines to the shores

Earth, Ellipsoidal era

2005-02-12T10:48:00.000-08:00

The period from Eratosthenes to Picard can be called the spherical era of geodesy. A new ellipsoidal era was begun by Newton and the Dutch mathematician and scientist Christiaan Huygens. In Ptolemaic astronomy it had seemed natural to assume that the Earth was an exact sphere with a centre that, in turn, all too easily became regarded as the centre of the entire universe.

Alberta, Relief and drainage

2005-02-11T15:13:00.000-08:00

Along the southwest border, Mount Columbia (12,294 feet [3,747 metres]) is the highest of 26 magnificent peaks reaching above 11,000 feet. Beyond the narrow foothills, soft rocks form an undulating plateau falling from over 3,000 feet to under 1,000 feet in the northeast, where the ancient rocks of the Precambrian shield outcrop. Outliers of higher ground include the Cypress and Swan hills and the Caribou

Optics, Theory

2005-02-11T13:56:00.000-08:00

Holography is a two-step coherent image-forming process in which an intermediate record is made of the complex optical field associated with the object. The invention of the wave-front reconstruction process (now called holography) was first described in 1948 by Dennis Gabor, a Hungarian-born physicist, with a specific application in mind—to attempt to improve the resolution

Silesian Wars

2005-02-11T11:59:00.000-08:00

Resurrecting an old Brandenburg testamentary

Powder River

2005-02-10T07:29:00.000-08:00

Stream of the northwestern United States. It rises in several headstreams in foothills of the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming and flows northward for 486 miles (782 km) to join the Yellowstone River near Terry, Mont. Tributaries include the Little Powder River and Crazy Woman Creek.

Earth, Ellipsoidal era

2005-02-10T00:12:00.000-08:00

In American history, major New Deal program to restore agricultural prosperity by curtailing farm production, reducing export surpluses, and raising prices. The Agricultural Adjustment Act (May 1933) was an omnibus farm-relief bill embodying the schemes of the major national farm organizations. It established the Agricultural Adjustment Administration under

Nervous System Disease, Tumours

2005-02-09T18:01:00.000-08:00

Benign tumours, usually schwannomas on the vestibulocochlear nerve, may compress the cerebellum and lead to dysfunction on one side, but malignant astrocytomas and metastases from cancers are more common. In children, medulloblastomas are fast-growing malignant tumours that destroy the central part of the cerebellum and cause severe gait ataxia. Astrocytomas

China, The Taiping Rebellion

2005-02-09T04:22:00.000-08:00

In the first half of the 19th century the province of Kwangtung, the homeland of the Taiping people, was beset with accelerating social unrest. After the first Opium War, government prestige declined, and officials lost their capacity to reconcile communal feudings. The greatest among such conflicts was that between the native settlers and the so-called guest

Anthony Of Kiev

2005-02-08T06:33:00.000-08:00

Seeking a solitary life, Anthony became a monk about 1028 at the Greek Orthodox monastery of Esphigmenon on Mount Athos, in Greece. According to an account contained in the 12th-century The Russian Primary Chronicle (Povest vremennykh let), Anthony

Wright, Frances

2005-02-07T14:06:00.000-08:00

Wright was the daughter of a well-to-do Scottish merchant and political radical who had circulated the works of Thomas

Paracanthopterygian

2005-02-07T08:38:00.000-08:00

Any member of the superorder Paracanthopterygii, a predatory, primarily marine group that forms one of about six major branches of the Teleostei, or bony fishes, the dominant modern aquatic vertebrates. Approximately 1,160 living species of paracanthopterygian fishes have been described. They range in length from just a few centimetres to roughly two metres (more

Spain, Primo de Rivera

2005-02-06T21:42:00.000-08:00

Primo de Rivera was a political improviser who believed his mission was to save Spain from the old politicians and to hand over government (after an interval of personal rule) to “clean” patriots. He failed to complete the process because his rule became increasingly unpopular, especially among the intellectuals and Catalans. The September 1923 coup by which he had gained

Biblical Literature, The canon

2005-02-06T13:21:00.000-08:00

The term canon, from a Hebrew-Greek word meaning a cane or measuring rod, passed into Christian usage as a norm or a rule of faith. The Church Fathers of the 4th century CE first employed it in reference to the definitive, authoritative nature of the body of sacred Scripture.

Ngaoundéré

2005-02-06T05:40:00.000-08:00

Also spelled N'gaoundéré, or N'gaundéré, town, north-central Cameroon, on the Adamawa Plateau. It is the northern terminus of the Trans-Cameroon Railway to Yaoundé and Douala and lies on the major north-south road from Garoua to Bertoua and Yaoundé; by these routes it exports livestock and peanuts (groundnuts) to southern Cameroon. Local development projects focus on animal husbandry. The town's industries

Clapham Sect

2005-02-05T16:39:00.000-08:00

Group of evangelical Christians, prominent in England from about 1790 to 1830, who campaigned for the abolition of slavery and promoted missionary work at home and abroad. The group centred on the church of John Venn, rector of Clapham in south London. Its members included William Wilberforce, Henry Thornton, James Stephen, Zachary Macaulay, and others. Many were members of

Duan

2005-02-04T22:46:00.000-08:00

A poem or song in Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic literature. The word was used by James Macpherson for major divisions of his Ossianic verse and hence was taken to be the Scottish Gaelic equivalent of canto.

Ch'an

2005-02-03T09:44:00.000-08:00

Form of Mahayana Buddhism that arose in China and reached its culmination in the Zen school of Japan. See Zen.

Camping

2005-02-03T06:28:00.000-08:00

Organized camping of another kind started in the United States in 1861 with a boys' camp, run by Frederick William Gunn and his wife at Milford-on-the-Sound, for students of the Gunnery School for Boys in Washington, Conn. Its success was immediate and was repeated for 18 successive years. Other similar camps began to develop. A private camp was established in 1876 by Joseph Trimble

Cividale Del Friuli

2005-02-03T03:04:00.000-08:00

Town, Udine province, Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, northeastern Italy, on the Natisone River just northeast of Udine city. Founded in Roman times as Forum Julii, perhaps by Julius Caesar, it gave its name to, and was the capital of, Friuli, the first Lombard duchy formed in Italy. From 730 to 1238 it was the residence of the patriarchs of Aquileia. It fell to Venice with the rest of

Dorris, Michael Anthony

2005-02-02T18:17:00.000-08:00

American writer whose best-known book, the 1989 National Book Award-winning The Broken Cord, chronicled the struggle his adopted son faced as a result of fetal alcohol syndrome; suffering from chronic depression, separated from his wife, writer Louise Erdrich, and facing legal difficulties, Dorris took his own life (b. Jan 30, 1945--found dead April 11, 1997).

Tsinghai

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

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Ch'ing-hai, (Pinyin) Qinghai, sheng (province) of northwestern China. Located in the Tibetan Highlands, it has an average elevation of 13,000 feet (4,000 metres). It is bounded on the north and east by Kansu, on the southeast by Szechwan, on the south and west by the Tibet Autonomous Region, and on the west and north by the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang. Tsinghai has an area of about 284,600 square miles (737,000 square kilometres).

Restell, Madame

2005-02-02T08:23:00.000-08:00

Ann Trow was born into a poor family. In 1831 she moved to New York City with her husband, who died a few years later, and in 1836 she married Charles R. Lohman. Her husband had established himself as a purveyor of various concoctions that purportedly prevented

Ibn Janah

2005-02-01T22:40:00.000-08:00

Trained as a physician, Ibn Janah practiced medicine, but, out of profound religious conviction, he also devoted much time to the

Dominion Arboretum And Botanic Garden, Central Experimental Farm

2005-01-31T18:48:00.000-08:00

Ottawa, part of the Plant Research Institute of Agriculture Canada (formerly Canada Department of Agriculture). Established in 1889, the arboretum is Canada's oldest. It occupies 40 hectares (99 acres) and includes about 10,000 kinds of plants. Its special collections of flowering crabs, lilacs, lilies, and hedge plants are as much for experimental work and study as for display to the

Smith, Amanda

2005-01-30T15:05:00.000-08:00

Born a slave, Berry grew up in York county, Pa., after her father bought his own freedom and that of most of the family. She was educated mainly at home and at an early age began working as a domestic. An unhappy first marriage ended with the disappearance

Karachay-cherkessia

2005-01-30T15:00:00.000-08:00

Also called Karachayevo-cherkessiya, republic, Stavropol kray (region), southwestern Russia. It extends south from the foreland plains across the northern ranges and deep intervening valleys and gorges of the Greater Caucasus range as far as the crestline, which reaches 13,274 feet (4,046 m) in Mount Dombay-Ulgen. Cherkessk is the administrative centre. The republic's scenery is spectacular, with densely forested

Dorris, Michael Anthony

2005-01-30T14:17:00.000-08:00

Alliance of national and district associations, amateur athletic groups, and educational institutions formed in the United States in 1888 for the purpose of certifying athletes as amateurs in various sports. The AAU now serves as the governing body of numerous sports, including basketball, boxing, gymnastics, handball, swimming, diving, water polo, wrestling, weight

Deventer

2005-01-30T09:04:00.000-08:00

Gemeente (commune), Overijssel provincie, east-central Netherlands, on the IJssel River at the west end of the Overijssel Canal. Deventer developed in the 8th century around a chapel established by St. Lebuinus. During the Middle Ages it prospered as a member of the Hanseatic League, had a monopoly of the dried-cod trade, and was noted for its five annual fairs. It became

Morea, Despotate Of

2005-01-28T22:50:00.000-08:00

Autonomous Byzantine principality located on the Greek Peloponnese (Morea). It was established in the mid-14th century by the Byzantine emperor John VI Cantacuzenus (reigned 1347–54) as an appanage for his son Manuel. Manuel Cantacuzenus consolidated his territory against the claims of Latins (western Europeans) and the inroads of Turks, but after his death (1380) the Palaeologians

Ménière Disease

2005-01-28T16:19:00.000-08:00

Recurrent and generally progressive group of symptoms that include loss of hearing, ringing in the ears, dizziness, and a sense of fullness or pressure in the ears. Ménière disease usually only affects one ear. The disease causes episodic attacks that seldom last longer than 24 hours and are accompanied by vertigo, nausea, and vomiting. The apparent immediate cause

Korçë

2005-01-28T07:11:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Korça, Korcha , or Kortcha , Old Slavonic Koritsa , Italian Corizza city, southeastern Albania. It began as a feudal estate in the 13th century, and in 1484 the local lord, Koja Mirahor Ilyas Bey, a Muslim convert active in the Ottoman siege of Constantinople (1453), returned to the site and built the mosque that bears his name. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries Korçë was a centre of commerce and trade. The first school to use the Albanian language opened there