DeepCollar

Korçë

2005-11-18T10:15:00.000-08:00

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

Fibiger, Johannes

2005-10-16T06:50:00.000-07:00

A student of the bacteriologists Robert Koch and Emil von Behring in Berlin, Fibiger became professor of pathological

Arrau, Claudio

2005-07-27T09:50:00.000-07:00

After studying privately in Santiago for two years, Arrau went to Berlin, where he studied with Martin Krause, a pupil of Franz Liszt, from 1912 to 1918. His serious career began with a recital in Berlin in 1914, and during the next decade he toured

Vanir

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

In Norse mythology, race of gods responsible for wealth, fertility, and commerce and subordinate to the warlike Aesir. As reparation for the torture of their goddess Gullveig, the Vanir demanded from the Aesir monetary satisfaction or equal status. Declaring war instead, the Aesir suffered numerous defeats before granting equality. The Vanir sent their gods Nj

China, Provincial government

2005-07-23T03:50:00.000-07:00

At the outset of the Han dynasty very large areas were entrusted as kingdoms to the emperor's kinsmen while the central government administered the interior provinces as commanderies. But by c. 100 BC the Imperial government had deprived the kingdoms of their strength, and most of their lands had been incorporated as commanderies under the central government. Although

Ancus Marcius

2005-07-06T05:45:00.000-07:00

Also called equine plague or perdesiekte viral disease of Equidae (horses, mules, donkeys, and zebras) caused by an orbivirus called AHSV (family Reoviridae) that is transmitted by arthropods, notably biting midges (Culicoides imicola). The disease, which is not usually fatal to indigenous zebra herds, is often fatal in horses. Dogs have also been fatally infected after eating virally contaminated horse

Abbott, Sir John

2005-06-29T05:50:00.000-07:00

Educated at McGill University, Montreal, Abbott became a lawyer in 1847 and was made queen's counsel in 1862. He served as dean of the McGill faculty of law from 1855 to 1880. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the then-united province of Canada in 1857 and

Tal, Mikhail Nekhemyevich

2005-06-15T23:00:00.000-07:00

Tal, who learned to play chess at the age of six, was known for his complex and audacious moves. He became a national master and Latvian

Wellington

2005-06-03T07:50:00.000-07:00

Town (“parish”), Taunton Deane district, administrative and historic county of Somerset, England, just west-southwest of Taunton. The first duke of Wellington (Arthur Wellesley, who took his title from the town), victor of the Battle of Waterloo (1815), is commemorated by a monument (National Trust property) on the highest point of the nearby Blackdown Hill. Wellington School, at

Japanese Beetle

2005-06-01T02:15:00.000-07:00

(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

Agriculture, History Of

2005-05-17T17:25:00.000-07:00

Agriculture was long believed to have begun in a single centre in the Middle East, about 4000 BC. Modern dating techniques have since disproved this hypothesis; they indicate agriculture already in progress about 7000 BC, and archaeologists

Abdülhak Hâmid

2005-05-15T23:05:00.000-07:00

Born into a family of famous scholars, Hâmid was educated in Istanbul and in Paris. Later in Tehran, he studied Arabic and Persian poetry.

Buzuluk

2005-05-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

City, Orenburg oblast (province), in the southern Ural Mountains of west-central Russia. The oblast is situated along the Samara River (a tributary of the Volga), near its confluence with the Buzuluk. Founded in 1736 as a Russian fortress, it was chartered in 1781. Industries include the manufacture of heavy metallurgical and agricultural machinery. The city has four technical

Consonant

2005-03-15T22:07:00.000-08:00

Any speech sound, such as that represented by t, g, f, or z, that is characterized by an articulation with a closure or narrowing of the vocal tract such that a complete or partial blockage of the flow of air is produced. Consonants are usually classified according to place of articulation (the location of the stricture made in the vocal tract, such as dental, bilabial, or

Pozzuoli

2005-03-14T06:52:00.000-08:00

The town was founded about 529 BC by Greek emigrants who called it Dicaearchia (�City of Justice�). Captured by Rome in the Samnite wars, it was vainly besieged by the Carthaginian general

Bloch, Robert Albert

2005-03-11T04:05:00.000-08:00

U.S. writer (b. April 5, 1917, Chicago, Ill.--d. Sept. 23, 1994, Los Angeles, Calif.), crafted dozens of screenplays, mysteries, fantasies, and essays but was best remembered for his spine-tingling psychological tales of horror and suspense, most notably the classic Psycho (1959), a cult favourite that was adapted for Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film of the same title. Bloch, who relied on elements of surprise rather

Qadariyah

2005-03-07T06:41:00.001-08:00

In Islam, adherents of the doctrine of free will (from qadar, �power�). The name was also applied to the Mu'tazilah, the Muslim theological school that believed that man, through his free will, can choose between good and evil. But as the Mu'tazilah also stressed the absolute unity of God (tawhid), they resented the designation because of a saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad,

Qadariyah

2005-03-07T06:41:00.000-08:00

Arya Samaj

2005-03-06T06:23:00.000-08:00

The Arya

Anatidae

2005-03-05T00:21:00.000-08:00

Anserinae - tribes Dendrocygnini (see whistling duck, or tree duck) and

Race, Transforming �race� into �species�

2005-03-04T21:45:00.000-08:00

One of those whose direct experience of African slaves and assessment of them was given great weight was Edward Long (1734 - 1813), a former plantation owner and jurist in Jamaica. In a book entitled The History of Jamaica (1774), Long asserted that �the Negro� was �void of genius� and �incapable� of civilization; indeed, he was so far inferior as to constitute a separate species of mankind. Long's

Vaiont Dam

2005-03-04T00:48:00.000-08:00

Concrete arch dam across the Vaiont River in Italy with a height of 859 feet (262 m) and crest length of 623 feet (190 m). Completed in 1961, it was severely damaged by a massive landslide into the reservoir in 1963 that claimed the lives of more than 2,500 people.

Padri War

2005-03-03T20:27:00.000-08:00

(1821 - 37), armed conflict in Minangkabau (Sumatra) between reformist Muslims, known as Padris, and local chieftains assisted by the Dutch. In the early 19th century the puritan Wahhabiyah sect of Islam spread to Sumatra, brought by pilgrims who entered the island through Pedir, a northern port. The Padris, as these Sumatran converts to Wahhabiyah came to be known, objected to local institutions

Mexico, Gulf Of, Physiography and geology

2005-03-03T03:32:00.000-08:00

The Gulf of Mexico consists of several ecological and geologic provinces, chief of which are the coastal zone, the continental shelf, the continental slope, and the abyssal plain. The coastal zone consists of tidal marshes, sandy beaches, mangrove-covered areas, and many bays, estuaries, and lagoons. The continental shelf forms an almost continuous terrace around

Grundy, Mrs.

2005-03-02T18:20:00.000-08:00

Imaginary English character who typifies the censorship enacted in everyday life by conventional opinion. She first appears (but never onstage) in Thomas Morton's play Speed the Plough (produced 1798), in which one character, Dame Ashfield, continually worries about what her neighbour Mrs. Grundy will say of each development. Since then the term Mrs. Grundy has passed into

Furniture

2005-03-02T11:39:00.000-08:00

Household equipment, usually made of wood, metal, plastics, marble, glass, fabrics, or related materials and having a variety of different purposes. Furniture ranges widely from the simple pine chest or stickback country chair to the most elaborate marquetry work cabinet or gilded console table. The functional and decorative aspects of furniture have been emphasized

Usa

2005-03-01T07:23:00.000-08:00

City, Oita ken (prefecture), northern Kyushu, Japan; it lies 24 miles (39 km) northwest of the prefectural capital Oita. The city developed around the site of the first and most famous of shrines dedicated to the Shinto god Hachiman, Usa Hachiman Shrine, which dates to about 717 - 724. An annual festival is held on March 18, and the Shinkosai festival, with a procession of portable shrines (mikoshi

Essex, Walter Devereux, 1st Earl Of, Viscount Hereford, Lord Ferrers, Lord Bourchier

2005-03-01T02:13:00.000-08:00

He was the eldest son of Sir Richard Devereux and the grandson of Walter Devereux, Viscount Hereford, to whose

P�ez, Jos� Antonio

2005-02-28T18:03:00.000-08:00

P�ez was a part-Indian llanero, one of the horsemen of the plains. Beginning as a ranch hand, he quickly

Maha Sarakham

2005-02-28T03:39:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Mahasarakhan, or Mahasarakham, � town, northeastern Thailand. Maha Sarakham is located at a road junction on a bend of the Chi River. Rice is widely grown in the surrounding region, particularly in shallow river valleys, and freshwater fishing is also important. Pop. (1993 est.) 41,812.

Great Hall

2005-02-27T15:17:00.000-08:00

Main apartment in a medieval manor house, monastery, or college, in which meals were taken. In large manor houses it also served other purposes: justice was administered there, entertainments given, and often at night the floor was strewn with rushes so that many of the servants could sleep there.

Chandler, Raymond

2005-02-27T09:46:00.000-08:00

From 1896 to 1912 Chandler lived in England with his mother, a British subject of Irish birth. Although he was an American

Abbe, Cleveland

2005-02-26T20:23:00.000-08:00

Trained as an astronomer, he was appointed director of the Cincinnati (Ohio) Observatory in 1868. His interest gradually turned to meteorology, however, and he inaugurated a public weather service that served

Biblical Literature, Major themes and characteristics

2005-02-26T11:00:00.000-08:00

The great biblical themes are about God, his revealed works of creation, provision, judgment, deliverance,

Adwick Le Street

2005-02-25T08:41:00.000-08:00

Town, Doncaster metropolitan borough, metropolitan county of South Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, England. The town derives its name from the great north British Roman routeway, Ermine Street. The earliest references to the town are found in Domesday Book (1086), and the parish church of St. Lawrence dates from the 12th century. The Washington family - from which George

Philodemus

2005-02-25T03:53:00.000-08:00

After studying under the Epicurean Zeno of Sidon at Athens, he moved to Rome c. 75 BC and became the mentor of the Roman aristocrat Lucius Calpurnius Piso, who invited Philodemus to live in his villa at Herculaneum, near Naples. In the ruins of that villa

Gravity, Centre Of

2005-02-24T23:56:00.000-08:00

In physics, imaginary point in a body of matter where, for convenience in certain calculations, the total weight of the body may be thought to be concentrated. The concept is sometimes useful in designing static structures (e.g., buildings and bridges) and in predicting the behaviour of a body when it is acted on by external accelerating forces. Although the term centre

Sharqiyah, Ash-

2005-02-24T01:27:00.000-08:00

English �Eastern� region, eastern Saudi Arabia. The region includes most of the desert Rub' al-Khali (the Empty Quarter) and extends southward from a neutral zone jointly administered with Kuwait to indefinite borders with Yemen and Oman. It is bounded by Kuwait on the north, the Persian Gulf on the east, and the Ar-Riyad region on the west. Ash-Sharqiyah consists mainly of an undulating plain

Tucholsky, Kurt

2005-02-23T15:44:00.000-08:00

After studying law and serving in World War I, Tucholsky left Germany in 1924 and lived first in Paris and after 1929 in Sweden. He contributed to Rote Signale (1931; �Red Signals�), a collection of

Noble Gas, Argon

2005-02-23T03:01:00.000-08:00

The first of the noble gases to be discovered, argon was named from the Greek word argos, �lazy,� because of its chemical inertness. In cosmic abundance, argon ranks approximately 12th among the 100-odd chemical elements; although the stable isotopes argon-36 and argon-38 make up all but a trace of this element in the universe, the third stable isotope, argon-40, comprises 99.60 percent of the

Vitalism

2005-02-22T07:21:00.000-08:00

School of scientific thought - the germ of which dates from Aristotle - that attempts (in opposition to mechanism and organicism) to explain the nature of life as resulting from a vital force peculiar to living organisms and different from all other forces found outside living things. This force is held to control form and development and to direct the activities

Puerto Ayacucho

2005-02-22T06:51:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Amazonas estado (state), southern Venezuela, situated on the Orinoco River just below the Atures Rapids, which block navigation on the river. Puerto Ayacucho is the trading centre for the large but sparsely populated state, which produces mainly rubber and balata. From the city a road leads 55 miles (90 km) south-southwestward to the river port of Samariapo,

Permafrost, Polygonal ground

2005-02-21T21:18:00.000-08:00

One of the most widespread geomorphic features associated with permafrost is the microrelief pattern on the surface of the ground generally called polygonal ground, or tundra polygons. This pattern, which covers thousands of square miles of the Arctic and less in the subarctic, is caused by an intersecting network of shallow troughs delineating polygons 3 to

Arabia, The Rub' al-Khali

2005-02-21T14:53:00.000-08:00

The largest uninterrupted sand desert in the world, the Rub' al-Khali covers an area estimated at about 250,000 square miles. The name Rub' al-Khali is not commonly used by the few nomadic Bedouin who live there; they call it simply Ar-Ramlah (�The Sand�). Shrub vegetation is widely spaced over the porous, sandy surfaces and is almost nonexistent on the occasional rock and salt surfaces.

Ascanian Dynasties

2005-02-20T05:43:00.000-08:00

Albert the Bear (see Albert I under Albert [Brandenburg]) was the first to raise the family's rank from that of

Egypt, Ancient, The 9th dynasty (c. 2130 - 2080 BC)

2005-02-20T00:24:00.000-08:00

After the end of the 8th dynasty the throne passed to kings from Heracleopolis, who made their native city the capital, although Memphis continued to be important. They were acknowledged throughout the country, but inscriptions of nomarchs (chief officials of nomes) in the south show that the kings' rule was nominal. At Dara, north of Asyut, for example, a local ruler called

Abelard, Peter

2005-02-19T18:44:00.000-08:00

The outline of Abelard's career is well known, largely because he described so much of it in his famous Historia calamitatum (�History of My Troubles�). He was born the son of a knight in Brittany south of the Loire River. He sacrificed his inheritance and the prospect of a military career in order to study philosophy, particularly logic, in France. He provoked bitter quarrels

Dysmenorrhea

2005-02-19T15:09:00.000-08:00

Primary

Nabisco

2005-02-18T23:24:00.000-08:00

In full �National Biscuit Company� former U.S. snack food and bakery product company. The National Biscuit Company was formed in 1898 when the American Biscuit Company merged with the New York Biscuit Company. Better known as Nabisco, it went on to introduce a number of popular consumer brands such as Oreo cookies (1912) and Ritz crackers (1934). After being acquired by R.J. Reynolds in 1985 and becoming part of RJR Nabisco, Nabisco

Biblical Literature, Micah

2005-02-18T09:07:00.000-08:00

The Book of Micah, the sixth book of the Twelve (Minor) Prophets, was written by the prophet Micah in the 8th century BCE. Composed of seven chapters, the book is similar in many ways to the Book of Amos. Micah attacked the corruption of those in high places and social injustice, and the book is divided into two sections: (1) judgments against Judah and Jerusalem (chapters 1 - 3); and (2) promises

'abd Al-mu'min

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

Information about 'Abd al-Mu'min and his work may be found in the general histories by Henri Terrasse, Histoire du Maroc, vol. 2, pp. 261 - 316 (1950); and Ambrosio Huici Miranda, Historia pol�tica del Imperio Almohade, 2 vol. (1956 - 57), both with numerous bibliographic references.

Swanson, Gloria

2005-02-17T01:41:00.000-08:00

Swanson was the only child of a civilian official of the U.S. Army transport service, whose work during Swanson's childhood took the family to

Avison, Margaret

2005-02-16T14:50:00.000-08:00

The daughter of a Methodist minister, Avison attended the University of Toronto (B.A., 1940; M.A., 1964) and worked as a librarian, editor, lecturer, and social worker at church

Telephone And Telephone System, Digital facsimile

2005-02-16T02:40:00.000-08:00

Although the Group 2 fax machines proved to be successful in business applications where electronic transmission of documents containing nontextual information such as drawings, diagrams, and signatures was required, the slow transmission rate and the cost of the terminals ultimately limited the growth of fax services. In response, the CCITT developed standards

Perciform

2005-02-15T10:20:00.000-08:00

Any member of the order Perciformes, a group of bony fishes with more than 6,000 species placed in about 150 families. The order is the largest group of fishes in the world today. Perciform fishes occur in abundance in both marine and freshwater areas of the world, ranging from shallow freshwater ponds to depths of more than 2,300 metres (7,500 feet) in the oceans. Most perciforms are marine

Wykeham, William Of

2005-02-15T09:56:00.000-08:00

Wykeham evidently came from a very poor family. Wealthy patrons helped him obtain an education, and about 1356 he entered the service of King Edward III. By the mid-1360s he was the king's most trusted assistant. In 1367 he was made chancellor

Arron, Henck

2005-02-14T21:11:00.000-08:00

Arron worked in banks in The Netherlands and Dutch Guiana before entering politics in 1963. He was elected to the Staten (Suriname legislature) that

Powell, Bud

2005-02-14T02:10:00.000-08:00

Powell played with the Cootie Williams band (1943 - 44) and sat in on the jam sessions at Minton's Playhouse in Harlem. Crafting a style from pianists Art Tatum, Billy Kyle, and Thelonious Monk, trumpeter Dizzy

Yungas

2005-02-13T23:36:00.000-08:00

Humid, subtropical region in western Bolivia. It occupies the eastern slopes of the Andean Cordillera Real and extends northeast and north of the cities of La Paz and Cochabamba. This rainy forested belt of rugged terrain (deep valleys and gorges separated by sharp ridges) has its counterparts in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Settlers have been attracted to the area

Alembert, Jean Le Rond D'

2005-02-13T09:02:00.000-08:00

In 1739 he read his first paper to the Academy of Sciences, of which he became a member in 1741. In 1743, at the age of 26, he published his important Trait� de dynamique, a fundamental treatise on dynamics containing the famous �d'Alembert's principle,� which states that Newton's third law of motion (for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction) is true for bodies that are free to

Scarlatti, Alessandro

2005-02-12T11:57:00.000-08:00

Scarlatti was sent to Rome at about the age of 12; there he met Bernardo Pasquini, by whom he was greatly influenced. The first of his 115 operas, Gli equivoci nel sembiante (1679), written

Heinemann, Barbara

2005-02-12T08:08:00.000-08:00

The Community of True Inspiration had been founded in 1714 by Pietistic mystics and was revived later by Michael Krausert and Christian Metz. In 1818 Heinemann was �illuminated� with a sense of religious calling. She subsequently

Atat�rk, Kemal

2005-02-11T16:09:00.000-08:00

Vamik D. Volkan and Norman Itzkowitz, The Immortal Atat�rk (1984, reissued 1986), is a psychobiography. Lord Kinross (Patrick Kinross), Atat�rk: The Rebirth of a Nation (1964, reissued 1998; also published as Atat�rk: A Biography of Mustafa Kemal, Father of Modern Turkey, 1965, reissued 1992), is still worthwhile. Abraham Bodurgil (comp.), Kemal Atat�rk: A Centennial Bibliography (1881 - 1981) (1984), is a comprehensive bibliography. Andrew Mango, Atat�rk: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey (2000), reexamines Turkish sources.

Selection Rule

2005-02-11T11:33:00.000-08:00

In quantum mechanics, any of a set of restrictions governing the likelihood that a physical system will change from one state to another or will be unable to make such a transition. Selection rules, accordingly, may specify �allowed transitions,� those that have a high probability of occurring, or �forbidden transitions,� those that have minimal or no probability of

Jackdaw

2005-02-10T06:58:00.000-08:00

Also called �Daw� (species Corvus monedula), crowlike black bird with gray nape and pearly eyes of the family Corvidae (q.v.; order Passeriformes). Jackdaws, which are 33 cm (13 inches) long, breed in colonies in tree holes, cliffs, and tall buildings: their flocks fly in formation around the site. They lay four to six light, greenish blue eggs that are spotted and blotched. The bird's

Balbinus, Decimus Caelius Calvinus

2005-02-10T00:51:00.000-08:00

A patrician, Balbinus was a Salian priest, twice a consul, and proconsul in Asia. In 238, when the Senate led a rebellion of the Italian cities against Maximinus (emperor 235 - 238), it placed the government in the hands of a board of 20, one of whom was Balbinus, and then chose Balbinus and Pupienus Maximus to be joint emperors. Pupienus, a former city prefect,

Chibcha

2005-02-09T08:51:00.000-08:00

Also called �Muisca, � South American Indians who at the time of the Spanish conquest occupied the high valleys surrounding the modern cities of Bogot� and Tunja in Colombia. With a population of more than 500,000, they were notable for being more centralized politically than any other South American people outside the Inca empire. Numerous small districts, each with its own chief, had been consolidated

Selborne, William Waldegrave Palmer, 2nd Earl Of, Viscount Wolmer Of Blackmoor, Baron Selborne Of Selborne

2005-02-09T01:15:00.000-08:00

A son of the lawyer and statesman Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl

Pyroelectricity

2005-02-08T08:12:00.000-08:00

Development of opposite electrical charges on different parts of a crystal that is subjected to temperature change. First observed (1824) in quartz, pyroelectricity is exhibited only in crystallized nonconducting substances having at least one axis of symmetry that is polar (that is, having no centre of symmetry, the different crystal faces occurring on opposite

Awangarda Krakowska

2005-02-08T00:13:00.000-08:00

Avant-garde literary movement in Poland, launched in Krak�w in 1922 and centring around a local periodical, Zwrotnica (1922 - 27; �Switch�). Tadeusz Peiper, the first poet in Poland to advance a poetics opposed to that of the Skamander group of poets (who had turned toward the classical in their effort to forge a modernist poetry), was Zwrotnica's editor from 1922 to 1923 and again from 1926 to 1927. (Peiper

Aerospace Industry, Propulsion

2005-02-07T19:25:00.000-08:00

There are three basic types of flight vehicle-propulsion systems: piston engines (or reciprocating engines), turbine engines (true-jet, turboprop, and turboshaft engines), and rocket engines (see airplane: Propulsion systems and rocket). At the low end of the performance spectrum are reciprocating engines. Although during World War�II and the early postwar period the industry

Mitral Stenosis

2005-02-07T16:35:00.000-08:00

Narrowing of the mitral valve, the function of which is to permit blood to flow from the atrium, or upper chamber, to the ventricle, or lower chamber, of the left side of the heart and to prevent its backflow. Narrowing of the mitral valve is usually a result of rheumatic fever; rarely, the narrowed valve is a congenital defect. The condition, most common in women under 45, is diagnosed

Trevelyan, G(eorge) M(acaulay)

2005-02-06T13:52:00.000-08:00

The third son of Sir George Otto Trevelyan, he was educated

Scandinavian Literature, The impact of the reformation on Swedish letters

2005-02-06T10:03:00.000-08:00

Two dates mark the beginning of modern Swedish history: 1523 - the breach with Denmark and Gustav I Vasa's accession; and 1527 - the breach with Rome and the establishment of a national Lutheran Church. The political revolution that eventually brought Sweden to the position of a European power had no considerable effect on literature until a century later, but the Reformation

Lance

2005-02-05T22:05:00.000-08:00

The combination of lance and stirrup gave the armoured knights of the European

Qatar, Education

2005-02-05T15:22:00.000-08:00

Qatar spends generously on education, having one of the highest per-pupil expenditures in the world. Its system has expanded

Adaptation

2005-02-04T13:28:00.000-08:00

In biology, process by which an animal or plant becomes fitted to its environment; it is the result of natural selection acting upon heritable variation. Even the simpler organisms must be adapted in a great variety of ways: in their structure, physiology, and genetics; in their locomotion or dispersal; in their means of defense and attack; in their reproduction and

Ch'i-chia Culture

2005-02-04T02:37:00.000-08:00

Evidence of the culture was first unearthed in the small village of Ch'i-chia-p'ing, in the northwestern Chinese

Tafilalt

2005-02-03T11:43:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Tafilet, or Tafilalet, � largest Saharan oasis of Morocco, in the southeastern part of the country. The oasis comprises the fortified villages of Erfoud, Arab Sebbah du Ziz, Rissani, Seffalat, Aoufous, and Jorf, together with palm groves stretching 30 miles (50 km) along the Wadi Ziz. Its old capital was the Berber stronghold of Sijilmassa, founded in AD 757 on the Saharan caravan route from the Niger River

Latin Language

2005-02-03T10:17:00.000-08:00

Originally spoken by small groups of people living along the lower Tiber River, Latin spread with the increase of Roman political power, first throughout Italy and then throughout most of western and southern Europe and the central and western Mediterranean

Japanese Philosophy

2005-02-02T16:58:00.000-08:00

The conceptual expression of Japanese �culture since the turn of the 6th century Ad� . The term philosophy has been considered somewhat misleading in reference to Japanese thought, since Japanese premodern thinking tended to be directed more toward the realm of existence than toward that of essence. Japanese philosophy is not generally indigenous; Japanese thinkers have always freely appropriated foreign philosophical systems and insights

Licchavi

2005-02-02T08:49:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Lichchhavi, � a people who settled (6th - 5th century BC) on the north bank of the Ganges River in modern Bihar state, India, with its capital city at Vaisali. The Licchavis were renowned for their republican government, having a general assembly of the heads of the leading Kshatriya-caste families. They were, for a time, of considerable importance and rivaled the rising power of Magadha, forming

Zane, Betty

2005-02-01T23:11:00.000-08:00

Zane lived in her native Virginia (now part of West Virginia) in the town of Wheeling, which was founded in 1769 by her older brothers Ebenezer,

Medicine, Periodic medical examination

2005-02-01T10:51:00.000-08:00

Physicians in industry carry out medical examinations, especially on new employees and on those returning to work after sickness or injury. In addition, those liable to health hazards may be examined regularly in the hope of detecting evidence of incipient damage. In some organizations every employee may be offered a regular medical examination.

Medicine, Periodic medical examination

2005-01-31T13:49:00.000-08:00

Biblical Literature, The Ascension of Isaiah

2005-01-31T10:49:00.000-08:00

According to the Lives of the Prophets, Jeremiah was stoned to death and Isaiah was sawn asunder. These two legends are reflected in two originally Jewish works. The Ascension of Isaiah, in which the martyrdom of Isaiah is narrated, is as a whole extant only in Ethiopic, translated from a Greek original, which itself is also known from fragments. The book contains important

Kama-loka

2005-01-30T16:45:00.000-08:00

In Buddhism, the world of feeling. See arupa-loka.

Spain, The French wars

2005-01-30T16:43:00.000-08:00

In these circumstances it is not surprising that Spain now became the victim rather than the initiator of aggression. In three successive wars with France (1667 - 68, 1672 - 78, 1689 - 97), Spain lost Franche-Comt� (Treaty of Nijmegen, 1678) and some Belgian frontier towns to France but still managed to hold on to the greater part of the southern Netherlands and the Italian dominions. The reason was less

Padjelanta National Park

2005-01-29T14:11:00.000-08:00

Park in Norrbotten l�n (county), northwestern Sweden, adjoining Norway (west) and Sarek National Park (east). It is the largest of the Swedish national parks and one of the largest parks in Europe, with an area of 776 square miles (2,010 square km). It was established in 1962. Padjelanta National Park contains several lakes, the largest of which are Virihaure, Vastenjaure, and Salojaure, as

Ta'mim, At-

2005-01-29T13:14:00.000-08:00

Muhafazah (governorate), in northeastern Iraq, created from the northern part of Kirkuk muhafazah. It has an area of 3,729 sq mi (9,659 sq km) and encompasses the eastern part of the alluvial plain of the Tigris River and the foothills of the Zagros Mountains. Its economy is based on petroleum and dry-farm agriculture, which produces wheat, barley, and fruits; sheep are grazed. Its capital, Kirk

Eadwig

2005-01-28T11:17:00.000-08:00

Early historical sources are biased against Eadwig. According to one writer, he hated the great monastic reformer Dunstan because he made Eadwig return to his coronation

Tsitsihar

2005-01-28T02:50:00.000-08:00

The site was originally settled by nomadic Tungus and Daghur herdsmen, who called it Pu-k'uei (a Daghur word meaning �frontier�). A settlement was also said to have been established there under the Mongols in 1333, but the town remained small

Atargatis

2005-01-27T08:57:00.000-08:00

Great goddess of northern Syria; her chief sanctuary was at Hierapolis (modern Manbij), northeast of Aleppo, where she was worshiped with her consort, Hadad. Her ancient temple there was rebuilt about 300 BC by Queen Stratonice, wife of Seleucus I, and it was perhaps partly as a result of that Greek patronage that her cult, carried by Greek merchants and mercenaries, spread to

Ectoderm

2005-01-27T07:40:00.000-08:00

The outermost of the three germ layers, or masses of cells, which appears early in the development of an animal embryo. In vertebrates, ectoderm subsequently gives rise to hair, skin, nails or hooves, and the lens of the eye; the epithelia (surface, or lining, tissues) of sense organs, the nasal cavity, the sinuses, the mouth (including tooth enamel), and the anal canal; and nervous

Smith, Jedediah (strong)

2005-01-26T19:54:00.000-08:00

Smith probably made his first trip west while still in his teens. In 1822 he joined a fur-trading expedition to the Rocky Mountains and continued in the Rocky Mountain trade for the remainder of the

Qasr 'amrah

2005-01-26T05:22:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Qasr Al-'amrah, � palace in Jordan, about 50 miles (80 km) east of Amman. Built about AD 712 - 715, it served as both a hunting lodge and a fortress, and it is one of the best-preserved monuments of Islamic architecture from the Umayyad period. Its main chamber is roofed with three parallel vaults that rest on broad arches. The vaults are covered with frescoes of people and animals in scenes from daily life; a

Janmastami

2005-01-25T21:54:00.000-08:00

The occasion is observed with particular

Intelsat

2005-01-25T18:01:00.000-08:00

Abbreviation �of International Telecommunications Satellite Organization, �also called �(1964 - 73) International Telecommunications Satellite Consortium, � organization founded in 1964 by the telecommunication agencies of 18 nations, including the United States, which proposed the organization. Intelsat owns communications satellites and the ground stations from which they are controlled, but the transmitting and receiving apparatus in each country is owned by the Intelsat member from that country. Within several

Intelsat

2005-01-24T10:43:00.000-08:00

Grumbach, Wilhelm Von

2005-01-24T01:22:00.000-08:00

About 1540 Grumbach allied