CutFrame

Robbe-grillet, Alain

2005-04-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

Trained as a statistician and agronomist, he claimed to write novels for his time, especially attentive “to the ties that exist between objects, gestures, and situations, avoiding

Tibet, Drainage and soils

2005-04-04T05:45:00.000-07:00

The Plateau of Tibet is a prime source of water for Central Asia. The Indus River, known in Tibet as the Shih-ch'üan Ho (in Tibetan, Sênggê Zangbo: “Out of the Lion's Mouth”), has its source in western Tibet near Mount Kailas, a mountain sacred to Buddhists and Hindus; it then flows westward across Kashmir to Pakistan. Three other rivers also begin in the west. The Hsiang-ch'üan River

Egypt, Arabization

2005-04-04T02:23:00.000-07:00

The Arabization of Egypt continued at a gradual pace. The early Fatimids' reliance on Berber troops was soon balanced by the importation of Turkish, Sudanese, and Arab contingents. The Fatimids are said to have used thousands of nomadic Arabs in the Egyptian cavalry and to have further stimulated Arabization by settling large numbers of Arabian tribesmen in Upper Egypt

Moshoeshoe Ii

2005-04-02T23:33:00.000-08:00

He was educated locally at Roma College, Maseru, and in Great Britain at Ampleforth College and at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. The descendant and namesake of Moshoeshoe

Trabzon

2005-04-02T21:09:00.000-08:00

Also called Trebizond , historically Trapezus city, capital of Trabzon il (province), northeastern Turkey. It lies on a wide bay on the southeastern shore of the Black Sea backed by high ranges of the Pontic Mountains, which separate it from the central Anatolian Plateau. The heart of the city is on a triangle of tableland between two deep ravines, with remains of an ancient Roman-built harbour at its base. At its southern

Italy, Famine, war, and plague (134080)

2005-04-02T19:28:00.000-08:00

Italy's thriving economy was shortly to meet severe challenges. Among these, first, were famines, which affected most of Italy in the years 1339–40, 1346–47, 1352–53, and 1374–75, and to these catastrophes were added a general expansion and intensification of war. The 13th century saw the diffusion of the crossbow, whose bolt far surpassed the arrow of the longbow in its power to penetrate. The crossbow

Jackson

2005-03-31T20:58:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1821) of Madison county, western Tennessee, U.S. It lies about 80 miles (130 km) northeast of Memphis. The area was settled about 1819 as a port on the Forked Deer River and developed as a cotton depot and railroad junction. First called Alexandria, the community was renamed in 1822 to honour General (later President) Andrew Jackson. It was used as a supply point by both Confederate and

Wandering Spider

2005-03-31T09:57:00.000-08:00

Phoneutria fera, which occurs in South America, is poisonous to humans. Zora pumila, common in the eastern United States, is mostly

Central African Republic, The struggle for leadership

2005-03-31T06:05:00.000-08:00

Boganda was a Roman Catholic priest, but he left the priesthood and formed the Social Evolution Movement of Black Africa (Mouvement pour l'Evolution Sociale de l'Afrique Noire; MESAN). In 1957 MESAN gained control of the Territorial Assembly, and Boganda became president of the Grand Council of French Equatorial Africa. Boganda hoped that the former French territories

Mcmaster, John Bach

2005-03-30T15:19:00.000-08:00

The son of a former Mississippi plantation owner, McMaster grew up in New York City and worked his way through the City College of New York. Although he obtained a degree in civil engineering in 1873, he was deeply

Nepenthes

2005-03-29T13:46:00.000-08:00

Nepenthes species are perennial,

Afranius, Lucius

2005-03-29T11:05:00.000-08:00

In 60 BC, chiefly by Pompey's support, Afranius was raised to the consulship, in which office he proved himself incompetent to manage civil affairs. In the following year, while governor of Cisalpine Gaul, he obtained a triumph; and, on the allotment of Spain to Pompey (55 BC), Afranius

Lancaster

2005-03-28T14:28:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Lancaster county, southeastern Pennsylvania, U.S., and the centre of a metropolitan area comprising a number of small towns and boroughs, 71 miles (114 km) west of Philadelphia. The original site on Conestoga Creek, known as Gibson's Pasture, or Hickory Town, was made the county seat in 1729, the year after Lancaster county (named for the English city and shire) was created.

Cellulose

2005-03-28T00:09:00.000-08:00

A complex carbohydrate, or polysaccharide, consisting of 3,000 or more glucose units. The basic structural component of plant cell walls, cellulose comprises about 33 percent of all vegetable matter (90 percent of cotton and 50 percent of wood are cellulose) and is the most abundant of all naturally occurring organic compounds. Nondigestible by man, cellulose is a food for herbivorous

Minatitlán

2005-03-27T08:07:00.000-08:00

City and river port, southeastern Veracruz state, south central Mexico. It is on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec on the Río Coatzacoalcos, 20 mi (32 km) from its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico and 210 ft (64 m) above sea level. When founded in 1822 as Paso de la Fabrica, the settlement's inhabitants included North Americans, French, and Germans. The colony did not prosper until oil was discovered in the

Daniell, John Frederic

2005-03-26T06:22:00.000-08:00

In 1820 Daniell invented a dew-point hygrometer (a device that indicates atmospheric humidity), which came into widespread use. In his Meteorological Essays and Observations (1823), Daniell

Argentina, Press and broadcasting

2005-03-26T02:49:00.000-08:00

The mass media in Argentina are well advanced among Latin American nations. In Buenos Aires the largest newspapers are published, and many have electronic editions on the Internet. The largest daily circulation is claimed by Clarín; two other large-circulation dailies, La nación and La prensa, founded in 1870 and 1869, respectively, have high reputations in the Spanish-speaking

Mineola

2005-03-25T02:02:00.000-08:00

Village, mainly in North Hempstead town (township) with a small section in Hempstead town, and seat (1898) of Nassau county, Long Island, southeastern New York, U.S. It was settled in the 17th century by English and Dutch inhabitants of Connecticut who crossed Long Island Sound; it was known as Hempstead Branch until its present name was adopted in 1858. The name is from an Algonquian

Paderborn

2005-03-24T18:19:00.000-08:00

City, North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state), central Germany, on the Pader River, a small affluent of the Lippe, formed from rain seepage on the slope of the Eggegebirge and emerging from below the cathedral in about 200 springs. Paderborn was the birthplace of the Holy Roman Empire when Charlemagne met Pope Leo III there in 799 to discuss the founding of a German nation. Excavation

Abu Dhabi

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

Arabic Abu Zaby constituent emirate of the United Arab Emirates (formerly Trucial States, or Trucial Oman). Though its international boundaries are disputed, it is unquestionably the largest of the country's seven constituent emirates with more than three-fourths of the area of the entire federation. Its rich oil fields, both onshore and in the Persian Gulf, make it, with neighbouring

Adelard Of Bath

2005-03-23T15:36:00.000-08:00

Adelard translated into Latin an Arabic version of Euclid's Elements, which for centuries served as the chief geometry textbook in the West. He studied and taught in France and traveled in Italy, Cilicia, Syria, Palestine, and perhaps also in Spain (c. 1110–25) before returning

Loranthaceae

2005-03-23T02:15:00.000-08:00

One of the mistletoe families of the sandalwood order (Santalales), having approximately 65 genera and about 850 species of parasitic flowering trees or shrubs. Some authorities also consider the 11 genera and about 450 species of the family Viscaceae, including the commonly known mistletoes of the genera Arceuthobium and Phoradendron in North America and of the genera

Owo

2005-03-22T09:04:00.000-08:00

Town, Ondo state, southwestern Nigeria, at the southern edge of the Yoruba Hills (elevation 1,130 feet [344 m]) and at the intersection of roads from Akure, Kabba, Benin City, and Siluko. A major collecting point for cocoa, it also serves as a market centre (yams, cassava, corn [maize], rice, palm oil and kernels, pumpkins, okra). Cotton and teak are cultivated in the surrounding area, which was

Coral Sea, Battle Of The

2005-03-21T18:40:00.000-08:00

By the end of April 1942 the Japanese were ready to seize control of the Coral Sea (between Australia and New Caledonia) by establishing air bases at Port Moresby in southeastern New Guinea and at Tulagi in the

France, History Of, The Grand Empire

2005-03-21T11:07:00.000-08:00

Napoleon now had a free hand to reorganize Europe and numerous relatives to install on the thrones of his satellite kingdoms. The result was known as the Grand Empire. Having annexed Tuscany, Piedmont, Genoa, and the Rhineland directly into France, Napoleon placed the Kingdom of Holland (which until 1806 was the Batavian Commonwealth) under his brother Louis, the Kingdom

Talca

2005-03-21T02:46:00.000-08:00

Formerly San Agustín De Talca, capital of Talca provincia and Maule región, central Chile, in the Central Valley near the Maule River. Founded in 1692, it was destroyed by earthquakes in 1742 and 1928; completely rebuilt, it is now a major urban centre midway between Santiago, 160 miles (260 km) to the north-northeast, and Concepción. It lies in the nation's greatest wine-making zone and contains Chile's largest match industry,

Jack Of Diamonds

2005-03-19T13:15:00.000-08:00

Also called Knave Of Diamonds, Russian Bubnovy Valet, group of artists founded in Moscow in 1909, whose members were for the next few years the leading exponents of avant-garde art in Russia. The group's first exhibition, held in December 1910, included works by the French Cubists Albert Gleizes, Henri Le Fauconnier, and André Lhote; other paintings were exhibited by Wassily Kandinsky and Alexey von Jawlensky, both Russian artists

Daehlie, Bjørn

2005-03-19T06:12:00.000-08:00

Involved in many sports growing up, Daehlie was not serious about cross-country

Arab League

2005-03-19T00:21:00.000-08:00

Also called League Of Arab States (LAS) , Arabic Al-Jami'a Al-'Arabiyah, or Al-Jami'a Ad-Duwal Al-'Arabiyah, regional organization of Arab states in the Middle East, formed in Cairo on March 22, 1945. The founding member states were Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Transjordan (now Jordan), Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Other members are Libya (1953); The Sudan (1956); Tunisia and Morocco (1958); Kuwait (1961); Algeria (1962); Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (1971); Mauritania (1973); Somalia (1974); the Palestine Liberation Organization

New Britain

2005-03-18T14:41:00.000-08:00

Largest island of the Bismarck Archipelago, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in Papua New Guinea. It is situated 55 miles (88 km) east of the Huon Peninsula of eastern mainland New Guinea. Measuring 370 miles (600 km) long by 50 miles (80 km) at its widest, the crescent-shaped island has an area of approximately 14,100 square miles (36,500 square km) and a 1,000-mile (1,600-km) coastline bordered by reefs. From narrow coastal

Henri Pittier National Park

2005-03-18T02:56:00.000-08:00

Also called Rancho Grande National Park, park in the Cordillera de la Costa, Aragua state, Venezuela, occupying an area of 350 sq mi (900 sq km) between Lago (lake) de Valencia and the Caribbean. It was established in 1937, largely through the efforts of Henri Pittier, a Venezuelan naturalist, who convinced his government that the destruction of mountain forests would create droughts in the Aragua Valley and hasten the drying

Devequt

2005-03-17T20:26:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Devekut (Hebrew: “attachment”), in Jewish religious thought, an adherence to or communion with God that stops short of mystical union. The notion of devequt apparently derived from the biblical reference to “loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him” (Deuteronomy 11:22). As a fundamental concept of the Jewish mystical system called the Kabbala, devequt was

Mason Ware

2005-03-17T09:55:00.000-08:00

A sturdy English pottery known as Mason's Patent Ironstone China. It was first produced by C.J. Mason & Company in 1813 to provide a cheap substitute for Chinese porcelain, especially the larger vases. The decoration was a kind of chinoiserie, or hybrid Oriental. Mason specialties were vases, some more than 3 feet (1 m) high, with flowers in high relief and handles and knobs shaped

Earth, The ring current

2005-03-16T20:57:00.000-08:00

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

Dent, Edward John

2005-03-15T20:02:00.000-08:00

Dent learned the clockmaker's trade from Richard Rippon and, during the period 1815–29, established a reputation as a builder of accurate chronometers. His reputation for precision eventually brought requests from the Admiralty and the East India Company. Dent confirmed

Cyprian, Saint

2005-03-15T15:45:00.000-08:00

Educated in Greece, Cyprian was appointed by Constantinople to be metropolitan of Kiev and Lithuania in 1375 and then of Moscow in 1381. In 1382 Cyprian was forced into exile by the prince of Moscow, Dmitry, who rejected all appointments made by Constantinople. Eight years later, following the succession of

Bur Oak

2005-03-15T09:58:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Burr Oak, also called Mossy Cup Oak (Quercus macrocarpa), North American timber tree belonging to the white oak group of the genus Quercus in the beech family (Fagaceae), distributed primarily throughout the central United States. Often 25 metres (80 feet) tall, the tree may reach 50 m. Its leaves, about 25 centimetres (10 inches) long, are dark green and shiny above, dull and whitish beneath; the wide upper half of each leaf

Gadwall

2005-03-14T18:03:00.000-08:00

(Anas strepera), small, drably coloured duck of the family Anatidae, a popular game bird. Almost circumpolar in distribution in the Northern Hemisphere, the gadwall breeds above latitude 40° and winters between 20–40°. In North America the densest breeding populations occur in the Dakotas and the prairie provinces of Canada; the coast of Louisiana is a primary wintering area.

Seward

2005-03-13T05:24:00.000-08:00

City, southern Alaska, U.S., on Kenai Peninsula, at the head of Resurrection Bay. Founded in 1903 as a supply base and ocean terminus for a railway to the Yukon Valley (since 1913, the Alaska Railroad), it was named for William H. Seward, the secretary of state who negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia. Its ice-free port provides an important freight dock for interior Alaska. Tourism

Balata

2005-03-12T08:07:00.000-08:00

Also called Gutta Balata, hard rubberlike material made by drying the milky juice produced principally by the bully tree (species Manilkara bidentata) of Guyana and the West Indies. The tree is tapped by cutting zigzag gashes in the bark and collecting the latex in cups, to be coagulated in trays. Like gutta-percha, balata is inelastic, tough, leathery, and water-resistant, and it softens when

Literature

2005-03-11T23:38:00.000-08:00

The Turkish literary field proved fertile in 2001. Many impressive works of fiction with wide-ranging themes and topics appeared, including Ahmet Altan's Isyan günlerinde ask (“Love in Days of Rebellion”), about an early 20th-century fundamentalist uprising; Buket Uzuner's Uzun beyaz bulut—Gelibolu (“Tall White Cloud—Gallipoli”); Ayla Kutlu's Zehir zikkim hikâyeler (“Bitter

Salavat

2005-03-11T18:30:00.000-08:00

City, Bashkortostan, western Russia, on the Belaya (White) River. It was founded in 1948 as a major oil centre of the Volga-Urals oil field, and the city has a large refinery and petrochemical industry. Technical glass and machinery for the petroleum industry are also produced in Salavat. A network of pipelines links Salavat to the petroleum-drilling areas. Pop. (1992 est.) 152,000.

Osinniki

2005-03-11T06:23:00.000-08:00

City, Kemerovo oblast (province), central Russia. It is situated at the confluence of the Kandalep and Kondoma rivers. The city developed in the 1930s as a mining centre in the Kuznetsk Coal Basin; it supplies coal to the Kuznetsk metallurgical complex located in Novokuznetsk. A college of mining technology is located there. Inc. city, 1938. Pop. (1991 est.) 63,200.

New Iberia

2005-03-10T20:10:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1868) of Iberia parish, southern Louisiana, U.S., on Bayou Teche (connected via canal with the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway), 23 miles (37 km) southeast of Lafayette. Founded in the late 18th century by French, Spanish, and Acadian settlers, it was laid out in 1835. It was first called Iberia, the ancient name for Spain, but the name was changed when the parish was created. The city was occupied

Mosher, Eliza Maria

2005-03-09T22:53:00.000-08:00

In 1869, over the objections of friends and family, Mosher entered the New England Hospital for Women and Children as an intern apprentice. After a year she was forced to suspend her education

Keane, Molly

2005-03-09T15:20:00.000-08:00

Born into the Anglo-Irish gentry (the daughter of an estate owner and the poet Moira O'Neill), Keane was educated by a governess. She began to publish novels while in her 20s, under the name M.J. Farrell. She later said, “Young men

Earth, The ancients

2005-03-09T00:13:00.000-08:00

Credit for the idea that the Earth is spherical is usually given to Pythagoras (flourished 6th century BC) and his school, who reasoned that, because the Moon and the Sun are spherical, the Earth is too. Notable among other Greek philosophers, Hipparchus (2nd century BC) and Aristotle (4th century BC) came to the same conclusion. Aristotle devoted a part of his book De caelo (On the

Open Stage

2005-03-08T22:36:00.000-08:00

Also called Thrust Stage, or Platform Stage, theatrical stage without a proscenium, projecting into the audience and surrounded on three sides by the audience. The open stage was used in the corrales of Spain's Golden Age of theatre (beginning about 1570) and in the traditional no theatre of Japan. It was also used in the first London playhouses, including the Globe, which were built during Elizabethan times. The open

Clock

2005-03-08T18:38:00.000-08:00

The origin of the all-mechanical escapement clock is unknown; the first such devices may have been invented and used in monasteries to alert the sacristan

Jalisco

2005-03-07T23:44:00.000-08:00

Estado (“state”), west-central Mexico. It is bounded by the states of Nayarit and Aguascalientes and Zacatecas (north), Guanajuato (east), Michoacán and Colima (south), and by the Pacific Ocean (west). Its capital is Guadalajara (q.v.). The Sierra Madre Occidental traverses the state, separating the narrow, heavily forested coastal plain from a high plateau region that is part of

Crusca Academy

2005-03-07T15:05:00.000-08:00

Founded by five members of the

Valdemar I

2005-03-06T16:10:00.000-08:00

The son of Knud Lavard, duke of South Jutland, and a great-grandson of the Danish king Sweyn II, Valdemar gained sole possession of the monarchy, concluding

Cadman, Charles Wakefield

2005-03-06T08:03:00.000-08:00

By age 13 Cadman was studying the piano and organ. At about age 19 he met Nellie Richmond Eberhart, who would write most of his song lyrics and opera librettos. In his early 20s he held various jobs, pursuing music studies as he could.

Racine, Jean

2005-03-05T21:59:00.000-08:00

French classical tragedy pivots around two basic subjects: passion and politics. Since Racine's audience was naturally intrigued by plots that dealt with the succession to a throne, he doubled their pleasure in his first successful play, La Thébaïde, by creating two legitimate pretenders who are also identical twins. The play centres on the twin sons of Oedipus

Garanhuns

2005-03-05T19:41:00.000-08:00

City, eastern Pernambuco estado (“state”), northeastern Brazil. The city lies in the Serra Garanhuns, at 2,841 feet (866 m) above sea level. It was elevated to city status in 1874. Garanhuns is a trade and manufacturing centre serving its coffee- and cotton-producing municipality. It is also a popular resort, known for its cool climate and mineral waters. Roads link Garanhuns to Recife, the

Alaska, Education

2005-03-04T17:26:00.000-08:00

Education is compulsory through the eighth grade or until age 16 and is administered by a state board and a commissioner of education. Correspondence study is available for high school work through the State Department of Education. There are several federal schools on military bases. The University of Alaska, founded as a land-grant institution in 1917, operates campuses

Persian Gulf, Transportation

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

For centuries a considerable sea trade has been carried on by local craft between the Persian Gulf and Africa and India; this has become completely dominated by an incessant traffic of large tankers that carry oil from the large marine terminals at Khark Island (Iran), Kuwait, Dhahran (Az-Zahran, in Saudi Arabia), Bahrain, Das Island (United Arab Emirates), and other locations

Dan

2005-03-03T16:52:00.000-08:00

One of the 12 tribes of Israel that in biblical times comprised the people of Israel who later became the Jewish people. The tribe was named after the first of two sons born to Jacob (also called Israel) and Bilhah, the maidservant of Jacob's second wife, Rachel. Nine of the other 11 tribes were also named after sons of Jacob, while two bear the names of Jacob's grandsons, children

Antarctica, Biological resources

2005-03-03T08:25:00.000-08:00

Resources of the sea first attracted people to Antarctica and provided the only basis for commercial activity in this region for many years. Commercial fur sealing began about 1766 in the Falkland Islands and rapidly spread to all subantarctic islands in the zeal to supply the wealthy markets of Europe and China. Immense profits were made, but the toll was equally immense.

Boufflers, Louis-françois, Duc De (duke Of)

2005-03-02T16:41:00.000-08:00

Born into an ancient Picard family, he entered the French army in 1662 and distinguished himself as a commander of the royal dragoons during the Dutch War (1672–78). Boufflers became a marshal of France in 1693 during the War of the Grand Alliance (1689–97) between France and other major European

Photosynthesis, Evidence of two light reactions

2005-03-02T16:36:00.000-08:00

Many lines of evidence support the concept of electron flow via two light reactions. An early study by the U.S. biochemist Robert Emerson employed the algae Chlorella, which was illuminated with red light alone, with blue light alone, and with red and blue light at the same time. Oxygen evolution was measured in each case. It was substantial with blue light alone but not

Mauritania, Independence

2005-03-01T16:05:00.000-08:00

Mauritania's small political elite was divided over whether the country should be oriented more toward Senegal and French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa or toward Arab-Muslim Morocco—whose leaders sought to absorb Mauritania. The winning faction, under Sidi el-Moktar N'Diaye and his political successor, Ould Daddah, chose independence—which the country declared

Pacific Mountain System, Plant life

2005-03-01T07:46:00.000-08:00

Climate is the major influence on vegetation type. Conifers predominate and can grow to enormous size, especially on the moister, western slopes. The Sitka spruce is dominant along the coast from southern British Columbia to northern California. The largest standing mid-latitude rain forest in the United States is on the west side of the Olympic Mountains. Inland

Topeka Constitution

2005-02-28T03:29:00.000-08:00

The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 had opened the two territories to settlement under the “popular sovereignty” doctrine—that is, the settlers themselves were supposed to decide the slavery question within their borders

Ramakrishna

2005-02-27T22:48:00.000-08:00

From a poor Brahmin (the highest-ranking caste) family, Ramakrishna had little formal schooling. He spoke Bengali and knew neither English nor Sanskrit. His father

Metatheory

2005-02-27T19:21:00.000-08:00

The most notable example of a metatheory was provided by David Hilbert, a German mathematician, who in 1905 set out to construct an elementary proof of the consistency of mathematics. For this purpose he needed a theory that studies

Mine

2005-02-27T09:39:00.000-08:00

In military and naval operations, a usually stationary explosive device that is designed to destroy personnel, ships, or vehicles when the latter come in contact with it. Submarine mines have been in use since the mid-19th century; land mines did not become a significant factor in warfare until a hundred years later.

Indriya

2005-02-26T18:08:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit: “faculty”), according to Indian philosophy, the instruments of a person's direct perception of the outside world. They are of two kinds, motoric and sensory. The motoric faculties are those of speaking, grasping, walking, ejaculating, and evacuating. The sensory faculties, or senses, are hearing, touching, seeing, tasting, and smelling. Both sets of faculties are

Plant, Principal pathways and cycles

2005-02-25T19:44:00.000-08:00

The 6-carbon sugar glucose, a product of photosynthesis, may be translocated in the form of sucrose (a 12-carbon sugar) to nourish nonphotosynthesizing parts of the plant, or it may be polymerized into starch for storage. (Trehalose, another 12-carbon sugar, replaces sucrose in some nonvascular plants.) When required, sucrose and starch are hydrolyzed to glucose and then enter

Ibn Ishaq

2005-02-25T18:24:00.000-08:00

Ibn Ishaq was the grandson of an Arab prisoner captured by Muslim troops in Iraq and brought to Medina, where he was freed after accepting Islam. Ibn Ishaq's father and two uncles

Zion National Park

2005-02-25T10:04:00.000-08:00

The park's principal feature is Zion Canyon, which received its name from the Mormons who discovered it (1858) and settled there in the early 1860s. A portion of the area was first set aside as the Mukuntuweap National Monument in 1909. The monument was enlarged and

Kobe

2005-02-24T22:13:00.000-08:00

Kobe is situated at the eastern end of the Inland Sea on Osaka Bay, about 20 miles (32 km) west of Osaka. The city is confined to a narrow shelf of land

Ambrosian Chant

2005-02-24T03:40:00.000-08:00

The Ambrosian Ordinary (chants of the

Aerospace Industry, Design methods

2005-02-23T19:41:00.000-08:00

The design cycle of a new flight vehicle has changed radically since the 1980s because of new methods, tools, and guidelines. Traditionally, the cycle begins with a conceptual design of the overall product followed by the preliminary design, in which most or all subsystems take shape. In most, if not all, cases, several iterations must be made before a final design is achieved.

Maceió

2005-02-23T11:32:00.000-08:00

Capital, Alagoas estado (“state”), northeastern Brazil. It is situated below low bluffs on a level strip of land between the Atlantic Ocean and the Norte (or Mundaú) Lagoon, a shallow body of water extending inward for several miles. Formerly called Macayo, the city dates from 1815, when a small settlement there was made a villa. In 1839 it became capital of Alagoas (then a provincia) and

Athos, Mount

2005-02-22T16:19:00.000-08:00

Also called Holy Mountain, Modern Greek Áthos Óros, or Áyion Óros, mountain in northern Greece, site of a semiautonomous republic of Greek Orthodox monks inhabiting 20 monasteries and dependencies (skítes), some of which are larger than the parent monasteries. It occupies the easternmost of the three promontories of the Chalcidice (Khalkidhikí) Peninsula, which projects from Macedonia into the Aegean Sea. The Aktí promontory, 30 miles

Switzerland, Crop cultivation at high altitudes

2005-02-22T11:42:00.000-08:00

The Alpine pastures of the Monte Rosa region reach an altitude of 10,800 feet, and until recently the highest Alpine grainfields, which have fallen victim to the decline in Alpine agriculture, lay above Zermatt at an altitude of 6,900 feet. The highest vineyard of central Europe, at an altitude of 3,900 feet, is still located near Visperterminen in the Valais. The largest vineyards are

Beneden, Pierre-joseph Van

2005-02-21T22:41:00.000-08:00

After an apprenticeship with the pharmacist Louis Stoffels, van Beneden studied medicine at the University of Louvain. In 1835 he was appointed professor of zoology at the Catholic University of Louvain, where he remained throughout

Stage Machinery

2005-02-20T20:48:00.000-08:00

Devices designed for the production of theatrical effects, such as rapid scene changes, lighting, sound effects, and illusions of the supernatural or magical. Theatrical machinery has been in use since at least the 5th century BC, when the Greeks developed deus ex machina (q.v.), by which an actor could be lowered to the stage. During the Hellenistic period, the Greeks also

Bioceramics

2005-02-20T18:01:00.000-08:00

Ceramic products or components employed in medical and dental applications, mainly as implants and replacements. This article briefly describes the principal ceramic materials and surveys the uses to which they are put in medical and dental applications. For an explanation of important issues in biomedical uses of all materials (including ceramics), see the

Lodge

2005-02-20T15:21:00.000-08:00

The lodge became a more permanent type of house as the lands around European

Enugu

2005-02-20T09:14:00.000-08:00

State, south-central Nigeria. It was created in 1991 from the eastern two-thirds of Anambra state. Enugu is bounded by the states of Kogi and Benue to the north, Cross River to the east, Abia to the south, and Anambra to the west. It includes most of the Udi-Nsukka Plateau, which rises to more than 1,000 feet (300 m). Enugu state is covered by open grassland, with occasional woodlands and clusters

Bonde, Gustaf, Friherre

2005-02-18T02:57:00.000-08:00

After becoming governor of the province of Södermanland (1648) and a privy councillor (1653), Bonde was chosen lord treasurer and a member of the regency council (1660). He reduced

Intensive Agriculture

2005-02-18T01:37:00.000-08:00

In agricultural economics, system of cultivation using large amounts of labour and capital relative to land area. Large amounts of labour and capital are necessary to the application of fertilizer, insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides to growing crops, and capital is particularly important to the acquisition and maintenance of high-efficiency machinery

Falconiform

2005-02-17T21:40:00.000-08:00

Falconiforms have no obvious evolutionary links with other birds. Currently they are placed between ducks, on the one hand, and game birds on the other; but they bear no clear resemblance to either, while fossil evidence does not indicate intermediate links. The most obvious physical specializations of falconiforms—the cutting, tearing bill and taloned feet—do

Shih Ta-k'ai

2005-02-17T05:25:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Shi Dakai one of the leaders of the Taiping Rebellion, the widespread uprising that gripped South China between 1850 and 1864. The most literate of the Taipings, Shih was an avowed enemy of the alien Ch'ing (Manchu) rulers of China. In the early part of the 20th century, he came to be revered as a hero of the Chinese nationalist

Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints

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

The largest denomination of the Mormon religion. See Mormon.

Bohemond V

2005-02-16T02:27:00.000-08:00

The son of Bohemond IV by his wife Plaisance, he succeeded his father in 1233 and carried on the struggle with Armenia until 1251, when the marriage of the future Bohemond VI to the sister of the Armenian king finally brought peace. By his first marriage (1225) with Alice, the widow of Hugh I of Cyprus, Bohemond V connected the history

Roxana

2005-02-15T15:51:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Roxane wife of Alexander the Great. The daughter of the Bactrian chief Oxyartes, she was captured and married by Alexander in 327, during his conquest of Asia. After Alexander's death (323) she had his second wife, Stateira (Barsine), killed, and she gave birth at Babylon to a son (Alexander IV), who was accepted by the Macedonian generals as joint king with the idiot Philip

Cilacap

2005-02-15T07:51:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Chilachap or Tjilatjap port and kabupaten (regency), Jawa Tengah provinsi (“province”), Indonesia, on the southern coast of Java. Its harbour is formed by the long, narrow Kambangan Island, which affords protection from the monsoon seas and swells of the Indian Ocean. The harbour was used during the Battle of the Java Sea in 1942. Cilacap has road and rail connections to the rest of Java. Oil refining is

Chang Chih-tung

2005-02-14T20:48:00.000-08:00

Chang was born to a family of scholar–officials in Kweichow Province, but, in accordance with Chinese custom, he was considered native to Nan-p'i, Chihli (modern Hopeh) Province, where his ancestors had settled in the 15th century. He was unusually

Clay Mineral, Kaolin-serpentine group

2005-02-14T14:53:00.000-08:00

Minerals of this groups are 1:1 layer silicates. Their basic unit of structure consists of tetrahedral and octahedral sheets in which the anions at the exposed surface of the octahedral sheet are hydroxyls (see Figure 4). The general structural formula may be expressed by Y2 - 3Z2O5(OH)4, where Y are cations in the octahedral sheet such as Al3+ and Fe3+ for dioctahedral species and Mg2+,

China, Reorganization of the KMT

2005-02-13T09:07:00.000-08:00

The KMT held its First National Congress in Canton on Jan. 20–30, 1924. Borodin, who had reached Canton in October 1923, began to advise Sun in the reorganization of his party. He prepared a constitution and helped draft a party program as a set of basic national policies. Delegates from throughout China and from overseas branches of the party adopted the program and the new constitution.

Middleton, Stanley

2005-02-13T08:58:00.000-08:00

Educated at University College, Nottingham (now University of Nottingham; B.A., 1940; M.Ed, 1952), Middleton served in the British army's Royal Artillery and in the Army Education Corps. He later taught English and became department

Printmaking, Aquatint

2005-02-12T08:19:00.000-08:00

Aquatint is a process used to etch tonal areas on the plate. The first step is to give the plate a porous ground by dusting it with rosin powder and fusing the powder to the plate by means of heat. When the plate is etched, the acid goes through the pores in the ground and bites tiny cavities in the metal. These cavities hold the ink. A variety of tones and textures can be created,

Rotimi, Ola

2005-02-12T02:06:00.000-08:00

Nigerian playwright and director (b. April 13, 1938, Sapele, Nigeria—d. Aug. 18, 2000, Ife-Ife, Nigeria), was trained in the Western theatre tradition but incorporated into his predominately English-language plays traditional Nigerian cultural forms, including ethnic dances and indigenous languages. His works often presented figures or incidents of historical importance in Nigeria

Tapestry, Pre-Columbian Americas

2005-02-11T20:44:00.000-08:00

The most skilled weaving in pre-Columbian America was achieved by the Andean Indian cultures of ancient Peru. The origins of tapestry weaving among these peoples are believed to date as early as the beginnings of the Christian Era. By the 6th and 7th centuries the technique of tapestry weaving was established, and a large number of pieces in this medium have survived,

Later Le Dynasty

2005-02-11T02:14:00.000-08:00

The Later Le was established when its founder, Le Loi, began a resistance movement against the Chinese armies then occupying Vietnam; by 1428 he had liberated the country and was free to begin the process of recovering the southern

Bykovsky, Valery

2005-02-10T16:37:00.000-08:00

On June 16, 1963, after Bykovsky had been in orbit two days, the Soviet

Dryden, John

2005-02-10T11:21:00.000-08:00

The abdication of James II in 1688 destroyed Dryden's political prospects, and he lost his