WaitingHammer

serviced offices

2006-11-01T13:55:00.000-08:00

Office planet have a huge database of serviced offices throughout the UK. serviced offices provide an affordable and hassle free office solution

Jacksonville

2005-04-03T23:22:00.000-07:00

City, Morgan county, west-central Illinois, U.S. Laid out in 1825 as the county seat and named in honour of Andrew Jackson, it soon acquired a distinctive educational, institutional, and religious character, which it largely retains. Illinois College (founded there in 1829 and affiliated with the United Church of Christ) was the first in the state to graduate a college class. Other

Abaiang Atoll

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

Also spelled Apaiang, also called Apia, formerly Charlotte Island, coral atoll of the Gilbert Islands, part of Kiribati, in the west-central Pacific Ocean. Comprising six islets in the northern Gilberts with a total land area of 6 square miles (16 square km), the atoll has a lagoon (16 by 5 miles [26 by 8 km]) that provides sheltered anchorage. Captain Thomas Gilbert, its European discoverer (1788), named it Matthew's Island, after the owner of his ship, the Charlotte.

Zile

2005-04-03T08:59:00.000-07:00

The town is an important local commercial

Calcutta

2005-04-02T20:31:00.000-08:00

Bengali Kalikata city, capital of West Bengal state, and former capital (1772–1912) of British India. It is India's largest city and one of its major ports. The city is located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, once the main channel of the Ganges River, about 96 miles (154 kilometres) upstream from the head of the Bay of Bengal; there the port city developed as a point of transshipment from water to land and

Spectroscopy, X-ray tubes

2005-04-02T14:43:00.000-08:00

The traditional method of producing X rays is based on the bombardment of high-energy electrons on a metal target in a vacuum tube. A typical X-ray tube consists of a cathode (a source of electrons, usually a heated filament) and an anode, which are mounted within an evacuated chamber or envelope. A potential difference of 10–100 kilovolts is maintained between cathode (the

Masculine Rhyme

2005-04-01T03:34:00.000-08:00

In verse, a monosyllabic rhyme or a rhyme that occurs only in stressed final syllables (such as claims, flames or rare, despair). Compare feminine rhyme. Emily Dickinson used the masculine rhyme to great effect in the last stanza of “After great pain, a formal feeling comes—”: This is the Hour of Lead—Remembered, if outlived,As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow—First—Chill

Cermak, Anton J.

2005-03-30T23:14:00.000-08:00

Cermak was born about 50 miles (80 km) from Prague but celebrated his first birthday on Ellis Island in New York harbour. His parents settled in Braidwood, Ill., where,

Moravian Church

2005-03-30T16:15:00.000-08:00

Protestant church founded in the 18th century but tracing its origin to the Unitas Fratrum (“Unity of Brethren”) of the 15th-century Hussite movement in Bohemia and Moravia.

Bezborodko, Aleksandr Andreyevich, Knyaz

2005-03-30T10:44:00.000-08:00

Recommended to Catherine by Count P.A. Rumyantsev, with whom he had

Powers, Delegation Of

2005-03-29T22:17:00.000-08:00

In law, the transfer of authority by one person or group to another person or group. For example, the U.S. Congress may create government agencies to which it delegates authority to promulgate and enforce regulations pursuant to law. More specifically, in U.S. constitutional law, delegation of powers refers to the different powers granted respectively to each of three

Cole, Nat King

2005-03-28T09:20:00.000-08:00

Cole grew up in Chicago where, by age 12, he sang and played organ in the church

Bahrain, Settlement patterns

2005-03-28T05:04:00.000-08:00

The majority of the population now dwells in towns, but in the north and northwest of the main island, where irrigation has long been carried out using artesian water, there are numerous small villages and isolated dwellings where horticulture is the way of life. This area has an aspect of great fertility, which contrasts starkly with the bare desert appearance of

Matruh

2005-03-27T14:42:00.000-08:00

Desert muhafazah (governorate) of Egypt that includes all of Egypt west of al-Jizah governorate and north of latitude 26°20¢ N. Only one percent of its area is inhabited. It is mostly a plateau area of sedimentary rock such as limestone, averaging 700–800 feet (215–245 m) in elevation and nowhere surpassing 1,500 feet (460 m). Surface dissection results from wind erosion on the stone-covered wastes and sandy

Medicine, Britain

2005-03-27T08:21:00.000-08:00

Public health services in Britain are organized locally under the National Health Service. The medical officer of health is employed by the local council and is the adviser in health matters. The larger councils employ a number of mostly full-time medical officers; in some rural areas, a general practitioner may be employed part-time as medical officer of

Cole, Nat King

2005-03-26T19:43:00.000-08:00

Rodent native to Eurasia but introduced worldwide through association with humans. Highly adaptive, the house mouse has both behavioral and physiological traits—such as the ability to survive in buildings and aboard ships, a tendency to move into agricultural fields and leave when the habitat changes, and a rapid rate of reproduction—that allow

Gagern, Maximilian (joseph Ludwig) Freiherr Von (baron Of)

2005-03-25T19:42:00.000-08:00

Gagern, like his two prominent brothers, a nationalist

Avon, River

2005-03-25T00:57:00.000-08:00

Also called East Avon or Hampshire Avon river that rises 3 miles (5 km) east of Devizes, Wiltshire, England, on the north side of the Vale of Pewsey and flows generally southward for 48 miles (77 km) to the English Channel. The river shares the name Avon (derived from a Celtic word meaning “river”) with several other rivers in Great Britain, including the Avon of Bristol (or Lower Avon) and the Avon of Warwickshire (or Upper

Ungava-quebec Crater

2005-03-24T08:49:00.000-08:00

Formerly Chubb Crater, the largest crater on the Earth's surface that is definitely known to be of meteoritic origin. It is located in the northwestern part of the Ungava Peninsula, northern Quebec province, Canada. First studied in 1950, the crater is 2.1 miles (3.3 km) in diameter and 1,203 feet (367 m) deep, with a rim standing 333 feet (101 m) above ground level. Filled by a lake, it is surrounded by many smaller circular lakes.

The Una

2005-03-23T10:29:00.000-08:00

American publication, founded by Paulina W. Davis in 1853, that was widely recognized as the first periodical of the women's rights movement. Though several similar journals appeared the previous year, The Una was the first to be owned, edited, and published by a woman. The inaugural issue was released in February 1853 with a masthead reading “A Paper Devoted to the Elevation of

Afonso V

2005-03-22T05:39:00.000-08:00

The son of King Edward (Duarte) and Queen Leonor, daughter of King Ferdinand I of Aragon, Afonso succeeded to the throne at the age of six. In 1440 his mother was deprived of the regency by his uncle Pedro, Duke de Coimbra, whose daughter Isabella Afonso married. The regent was in turn

Earth Sciences, Knowledge of Earth composition and structure

2005-03-22T00:11:00.000-08:00

The oldest known treatise on rocks and minerals is the De lapidibus (“On Stones”) of the Greek philosopher Theophrastus (c. 372–c. 287 BC). Written probably in the early years of the 3rd century, this work remained the best study of mineral substances for almost 2,000 years. Although reference is made to some 70 different materials, the work is more an effort at classification than systematic

Empiricism, Stricter senses

2005-03-21T04:24:00.000-08:00

As a more strictly defined movement, Empiricism reflects certain fundamental distinctions and occurs in varying degrees.

Ternary Form

2005-03-21T00:55:00.000-08:00

Musical form consisting of three sections, the last of which is a repeat of the first. The symmetrical construction of this scheme (aba) provides one of the basic shapes in music and may be found as a guiding principle in music from the Middle Ages (in Gregorian chant, for instance, the arrangement antiphon-verse-antiphon is common) to the 20th century (a well-known example

La Fayette, Gilbert Motier De

2005-03-20T13:03:00.000-08:00

After serving in Italy under Marshal Jean le Meingre Boucicaut in 1409, he became steward of the Bourbonnais. In the wars with England, Jean I, duc de Bourbon, made him lieutenant general in Languedoc and Guyenne. After victories over the English and the Burgundians

Uffizi Gallery

2005-03-19T22:22:00.000-08:00

Italian Galleria Degli Uffizi, art museum in Florence that has the world's finest collection of Italian Renaissance painting, particularly of the Florentine school. It also has antiques, sculpture, and more than 100,000 drawings and prints. In 1559 the grand duke of Tuscany, Cosimo I de' Medici, engaged the painter-architect Giorgio Vasari to plan a building for the offices (uffizi) of the government judiciary.

China, Reorganization of the KMT

2005-03-19T11:18:00.000-08:00

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.

Arecibo

2005-03-19T05:29:00.000-08:00

Town, northern Puerto Rico. It lies on a small inlet near the mouth of the Arecibo River. One of the oldest municipalities in the commonwealth, it was authorized in 1537 by the Spanish crown and settled in 1556. In 1616 it was chartered as a town and in 1778 received the royal title villa. An official U.S. port of entry, the town has Puerto Rico's largest rum distilleries and produces agricultural

Orthodox Judaism

2005-03-17T07:45:00.000-08:00

The religion of those Jews who adhere most strictly to traditional beliefs and practices. Jewish Orthodoxy resolutely refuses to accept the position of Reform Judaism that the Bible and other sacred Jewish writings contain not only eternally valid moral principles but also historically and culturally conditioned adaptations and interpretations of the

Cinerama

2005-03-17T05:11:00.000-08:00

In motion pictures, a process in which three synchronized movie projectors each project one-third of the picture on a wide, curving screen. Many viewers believe that the screen, which thus annexes their entire field of vision, gives a sense of reality unmatched by the flat screen. Invented by the New York City photographer Fred Waller, the first Cinerama movie, This

Proetus

2005-03-16T21:43:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, a king of Argos, grandson of Danaus. He quarreled with his brother Acrisius and divided the kingdom with him, Proetus taking Tiryns, which he fortified. Proetus' daughters were driven mad either because they insulted the goddess Hera or because they would not accept the new rites of Dionysus. They imagined themselves cows, until the seer Melampus

Kabila, Laurent Desire

2005-03-16T00:38:00.000-08:00

After having dropped out of sight for nearly a decade, Zairean opposition leader Laurent Kabila reemerged in October 1996 as leader of the newly formed Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire. Supported by a nation outraged by the dictatorial leadership of Mobutu Sese Seko, Kabila rallied forces consisting mostly of Tutsi from eastern Zaire

Chester, Hugh Of Avranches, 1st Earl Of, Vicomte (viscount) D'avranches

2005-03-15T06:59:00.000-08:00

Also called Hugh The Fat, or Hugh The Wolf, French Hugues Le Gros, French- Latin Hugues Lupus son of Richard, Viscount d'Avranches, and probable companion of William the Conqueror, who made him Earl of Chester in 1071. (He inherited his father's viscountship sometime after 1082.) He had special privileges in his earldom, and he held land in 20 counties. Hugh was called Le Gros because of his great bulk and Lupus because of his ferocity. He regarded Saint Anselm as his friend,

Alvar

2005-03-15T05:24:00.000-08:00

The name Alvar means, in the Tamil language in which they sang, “one who is immersed

Biblical Literature, The translation of Miles Coverdale

2005-03-14T20:04:00.000-08:00

A change in atmosphere in England found expression in a translation that, for all its great significance, turned out to be a retrograde step in the manner of its execution, although it proved to be a vindication of Tyndale's work. On October 4, 1535, the first complete English Bible, the work of Miles Coverdale, came off the press either in Zürich or in Cologne. The edition was soon

Rehan, Ada

2005-03-14T06:32:00.000-08:00

Ada Crehan grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where her family settled shortly after the Civil War. She followed her older sisters onto the stage, making her debut at

Toronto, Theatre's Third City

2005-03-13T17:48:00.000-08:00

By the 1990s Toronto had quietly become the third-largest theatre centre in the English-speaking world, after New York City and London. With a population approaching four million in the metropolitan area, Toronto had come to serve as host to a wide range of theatrical activity, from fringe festivals in the summer to several midsize, not-for-profit theatres, national and

Devils Island

2005-03-13T00:07:00.000-08:00

Part of a penal settlement, the island housed the convicts' leper colony until the Îles du Salut were made a maximum-security area.

Arad

2005-03-12T17:54:00.000-08:00

Judet (county), western Romania, bounded on the west by Hungary. The Mures and Crisul Alb rivers flow westward through the county, while the Western Carpathians, including the Zarand and Codru-Moma ranges, lie in the eastern portion. Settlements are found in the lowlands and intermontane valleys. Cereal growing, livestock raising, and vineyard and fruit cultivation are

Peninsular

2005-03-12T08:40:00.000-08:00

Spanish peninsular , plural peninsulares , also called gachupín , or chapetón any of the colonial residents of Latin America from the 16th through the early 19th century who had been born in Spain. The name refers to the Iberian Peninsula. Among the American-born in Mexico the peninsulars were contemptuously called gachupines (“those with spurs”) and in South America, chapetones (“tenderfeet”). They enjoyed the special favour of the Spanish crown and

Francis Ferdinand, Archduke Of Austria-este

2005-03-11T15:42:00.000-08:00

Francis Ferdinand was the eldest son of the archduke Charles Louis, who was the brother of the emperor Francis Joseph. The death of the heir apparent, the archduke Rudolf, in 1889, made Francis Ferdinand next in succession to the Austro-Hungarian

She Chi

2005-03-10T23:22:00.000-08:00

Pinyin She Ji (Chinese: “Earth and Millet”), ancient Chinese compound patron deity of the soil and harvests. China's earliest legendary emperors are said to have worshiped She (Earth), for they alone had responsibility for the entire earth and country. This worship was meant to include the five spirits of the earth that resided in mountains and forests, rivers and lakes, tidelands and

Locoweed

2005-03-10T08:43:00.000-08:00

Any of several species of poisonous plants of the genera Astragalus and Oxytropis, in the pea family (Fabaceae), native to the prairies of north central and western North America. Locoweeds pose a danger to livestock, horses, and other grazing animals, because they contain a toxin that affects muscle control, producing frenzied behaviour, impaired vision,

Jablonec Nad Nisou

2005-03-10T08:27:00.000-08:00

German Gablonz An Der Neisse, city, Severoceský kraj (region), Czech Republic. It lies about 1,600 feet (500 m) above sea level in the upper valley of the Nis (Neisse) River, in the Giant Mountains (Krkonoše). It was populated mainly by Germans between World Wars I and II, when it was known as Gablonz an der Neisse. The cradle of the famed Bohemian glass industry, it makes all types of glass products from high-quality wares

Arbeau, Thoinot

2005-03-09T11:32:00.000-08:00

Orchésographie is

Paarl

2005-03-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

Town, Western Cape province, South Africa, east of Cape Town, on the Groot-Berg River between the Paarl Mountain and the Drakenstein Range. Settled in 1688 by Huguenots, who introduced viticulture, it is still known for its vineyards and wine making; it also produces citrus fruits, tobacco, and olives. Manufactures include cigarettes, textiles, and processed foods. Paarl is

Diet

2005-03-08T09:25:00.000-08:00

Under the Meiji Constitution of 1889, the Imperial Diet was established on the basis of two houses with coequal powers. The upper house, the House of Peers (Kizokuin), was almost wholly appointive. Initially, its membership was slightly less than 300, but it was subsequently increased to approximately 400. The peers were intended to represent

Abbot, Charles Greeley

2005-03-07T19:00:00.000-08:00

The youngest of four children of a New Hampshire farming family,

Qatar

2005-03-07T05:38:00.000-08:00

In addition, Qatar's Al-Jazeera television station remained

Mitra

2005-03-07T01:00:00.000-08:00

In the pantheon of Vedic Hinduism, one of the gods in the category of Adityas, or sovereign principles of the universe. He represents friendship, integrity, harmony, and all else that is important in the successful maintenance of order in human existence. He is usually paired with the god Varuna, the guardian of the cosmic order, whose powers he complements as guardian

Nei-chiang

2005-03-06T11:00:00.000-08:00

In medieval times the locality was an important salt-producing area, but in recent times its

Tooke, John Horne

2005-03-05T09:07:00.000-08:00

Born John Horne, the son of a poultry dealer, he assumed (1782) the additional surname Tooke to honour his friend

China, Hydroelectric resources

2005-03-05T06:55:00.000-08:00

In view of China's extensive river network and mountainous terrain, there is ample potential for the production of hydroelectric power. Most of the total hydroelectric capacity is in the southwest, where coal supplies are poor but demand for energy is rapidly growing. The potential in the Northeast is fairly small, but it was there that the first hydroelectric stations

Polder

2005-03-05T05:39:00.000-08:00

Tract of lowland reclaimed from a body of water, often the sea, by the construction of dikes roughly parallel to the shoreline, followed by drainage of the area between the dikes and the natural coastline. Where the land surface is above low-tide level, the water may be drained off through tide gates, which discharge water into the sea at low tide and automatically close

Permafrost

2005-03-04T22:32:00.000-08:00

Many distinctive surface manifestations of permafrost exist in the Arctic and subarctic, including such geomorphic features as polygonal ground, thermokarst phenomena, and pingos. In addition to the above, there are many features caused in large part by frost action that are common in but not restricted to permafrost areas, such as solifluction (soil flowage)

France, History Of, Liberation

2005-03-03T16:16:00.000-08:00

When the Allied forces landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944, the armed underground units had grown large enough to play an important role in the battles that followed—harassing the German forces and sabotaging railways and bridges. As the Germans gradually fell back, local Resistance organizations took over town halls and prefectures from Vichy incumbents. De Gaulle's

Norian Stage

2005-03-03T13:09:00.000-08:00

Middle of three divisions in the Upper Triassic Series, representing those rocks deposited worldwide during Norian time (221 million to 210 million years ago) in the Triassic Period. The stage was named after an ancient Roman province south of the Danube River in present-day Austria. The stratotype for the Norian is a formation known as the beds with Cyrtopleurites

Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europeoamericana

2005-03-03T10:59:00.000-08:00

Spanish and Spanish-American biography and gazetteer information are especially strong. Major articles—e.g., on countries—are quite long and include lengthy bibliographies of international scope. Although coverage is considered

Forbush Effect

2005-03-02T18:43:00.000-08:00

In astronomy, an occasional decrease in the intensity of cosmic rays as observed on Earth, attributed to magnetic effects produced by solar flares, which are disturbances on the Sun. The effect was discovered in 1937 by the American physicist Scott E. Forbush. Its cause became clearer in 1960, when, while the unmanned U.S. space probe Pioneer 5 was in flight some 5,000,000 km (3,000,000 miles) from Earth,

Water Hen

2005-03-01T20:18:00.000-08:00

Bird species also called common gallinule. See gallinule.

Paper Wasp

2005-02-28T21:10:00.000-08:00

(Polistes), any of a worldwide genus of insects of the family Vespidae (order Hymenoptera). A striking-looking wasp, about 16 millimetres long, it has orange antennae, wings, and tarsi; the body is jet black with narrow yellow bands and paired segmental spots. The sting is painful but less toxic to humans than that of the more familiar species of wasps and hornets (Vespa,

Sangre De Cristo Mountains

2005-02-28T04:10:00.000-08:00

Segment of the southern Rocky Mountains, extending south-southeastward for about 250 miles (400 km) from Poncha Pass, in south-central Colorado, U.S., to the low divide southwest of Las Vegas, N.M., in north-central New Mexico. Usually considered an extension of the Front Range (q.v.), they are divided into the Culebra and Sangre de Cristo ranges in Colorado. Many of their glaciated summits

Kanye

2005-02-28T02:10:00.000-08:00

Village, southern Botswana. It lies along a main road southwest of Gaborone, the national capital. It is one of the country's largest villages and the traditional headquarters of the Bangwaketse people. Kanye is equipped with a mission hospital, an airfield, banks, and schools. Pop. (1984 est.) 23,000.

Earth, Relative measurements

2005-02-27T22:26:00.000-08:00

For studying Earth structures, instruments that will measure the differences in g from points where g is known are required. They have to be rugged enough to be taken into the field and capable of providing a reading in a matter of a few minutes. Instruments suitable for measuring g on ships at sea also are needed. As long ago as 1849, Sir John Herschel of England proposed an instrument

Merchants Staplers

2005-02-27T10:07:00.000-08:00

Formally Company of the Merchants of the Staple company of English merchants who controlled the export of English wool from the late 13th century through the 16th century. English wool exports were concentrated in one town (called the staple) in order to minimize the problems of collecting the export duties. The location of the staple varied, but in the 14th century it was fixed at Calais, then held by England. The crown

Adelaide

2005-02-26T22:17:00.000-08:00

Capital of the state of South Australia. Situated at the base of the Mount Lofty Ranges, 9 miles (14 km) inland from the centre of the eastern shore of the Gulf St. Vincent, it has a Mediterranean climate with hot summers (February mean temperature 74° F [23° C]), mild winters (July mean 54° F [12° C]), and an average annual rainfall of 21 inches (530 mm). The site, chosen in 1836 by William Light (the colony's first surveyor

Hohenlohe-schillingsfürst, Chlodwig Karl Viktor, Fürst Zu (prince Of)

2005-02-26T16:56:00.000-08:00

A Bavarian Roman Catholic, he was a member of a princely house and

Liquidation

2005-02-25T15:25:00.000-08:00

Discharge of a debt or the determination by agreement or litigation of the amount of a previously unliquidated claim. One important legal meaning is the distribution of the assets of an enterprise among its creditors and proprietors. At the dissolution of a solvent corporation or unincorporated association, the assets are usually liquidated (turned into money)

Ecossaise

2005-02-24T21:38:00.000-08:00

Variety of contredanse that was popular in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in France and England. It was danced in quick 2/4 time by a double line of couples, men facing women; the couples progressed to the head of the line as the figures of the dance were executed. The vogue of the ecossaise inspired musical compositions for piano bearing this name by Franz Schubert and

Albany

2005-02-24T15:55:00.000-08:00

City, capital (1797) of the state of New York, U.S., and seat (1683) of Albany county. It lies along the Hudson River, 143 miles (230 km) north of New York City. The heart of a metropolitan area that includes Troy and Schenectady, it is a port city, the northern terminus of the deepwater Hudson River Channel, and a natural transshipment point between oceangoing vessels and the New York State Canal

Colling, Robert; And Colling, Charles

2005-02-24T15:32:00.000-08:00

After visiting Robert Bakewell, the outstanding livestock breeder, at Dishley, Leicestershire, Charles began in 1782 a program of improving the quality of cattle in the Tees River valley. His brother, who occupied another farm in the district,

Latini, Brunetto

2005-02-23T20:04:00.000-08:00

After the defeat of the Guelphs at Montaperti (1260), Latini went into exile in France but returned to Tuscany in 1266, holding public office for

Catamarca

2005-02-23T06:25:00.000-08:00

The region constituted part of

Gene

2005-02-22T18:06:00.000-08:00

Genes are composed of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), except in some viruses, which have genes consisting of a closely related compound called ribonucleic acid (RNA). A DNA molecule is composed of two chains of nucleotides

Diorite

2005-02-22T05:56:00.000-08:00

Medium- to coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock that commonly is composed of about two-thirds plagioclase feldspar and one-third dark-coloured minerals, such as hornblende or biotite. The presence of sodium-rich feldspar, oligoclase or andesine, in contrast to calcium-rich plagioclase, labradorite or bytownite, is the main distinction between diorite and gabbro

France, History Of, Gaul and Germany at the end of the 5th century

2005-02-21T15:53:00.000-08:00

Preceding the arrival of the Franks, other Germans had already entered Gaul. The area south of the Loire was divided between two groups. One, the Visigoths, occupied Aquitaine, Provence, and most of Spain. Their king, Euric (ruled 466–484), was the most powerful monarch in the West. The other group, the Burgundians, ruled much of the Rhône valley. In northern Gaul the Alemanni occupied

Nicaea, Council Of

2005-02-21T09:07:00.000-08:00

(325), the first ecumenical council of the Christian church, meeting in ancient Nicaea (now Iznik, Tur.). It was called by the emperor Constantine I, an unbaptized catechumen, or neophyte, who presided over the opening session and took part in the discussions. He hoped a general council of the church would solve the problem created in the Eastern church by Arianism, a heresy first

Mammal, Food habits

2005-02-20T18:41:00.000-08:00

The earliest mammals, like their reptilian forebears, were active predators. From such a basal stock there has been a complex radiation of trophic adaptations. Modern mammals occupy a wide spectrum of feeding niches. In most terrestrial and some aquatic communities, carnivorous mammals are at the top of the food pyramid. There are also herbaceous mammals that serve

Pendant

2005-02-20T11:38:00.000-08:00

The pharaohs of ancient Egypt wore pendants that were sometimes of huge dimensions,

Aesthetics, Form

2005-02-19T20:27:00.000-08:00

Expression and representation form part of the content of a work of art. Nonetheless, it is not only content that is understood (or misunderstood) by the attentive recipient. There is also form, by which term we may denote all those features of a work of art that compose its unity and individuality as an object of sensory experience. Consider music. In most cases when a

World War I, The German invasion

2005-02-19T13:54:00.000-08:00

For the smooth working of their plan for the invasion of France, the Germans had preliminarily to reduce the ring fortress of Liège, which commanded the route prescribed for their 1st and 2nd armies and which was the foremost stronghold of the Belgian defenses. German troops crossed the frontier into Belgium on the morning of August 4. Thanks to the resolution of a middle-aged

Kan River

2005-02-18T21:20:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Kan Chiang, or (Pinyin) Gan Jiang, river, chiefly in Kiangsi sheng (province), China. The Kan River is one of the principal southern tributaries of the Yangtze River. Its headwaters rise in Kwangtung province, where the Ta-yü Mountains divide southwestern Kiangsi from Kwangtung. This upper stream is called the Chang River. Another stream, the Kung River, rises in the Chiu-lien Mountains in the far south

Bone

2005-02-18T15:43:00.000-08:00

The functions of bone include (1) structural support for the mechanical action of soft tissues, such as contraction of

Tigris-euphrates River System, Agriculture and irrigation

2005-02-17T21:52:00.000-08:00

The rivers are high at the wrong time of year for most crops (except rice), so that cultivation by direct inundation generally cannot be practiced. The initiation of massive irrigation projects in Turkey heralds unprecedented change for the piedmont area of southeastern Anatolia. Historically, the agriculture of this zone, as well as of northern Iraq and Syria, has

Guétary, Georges (lambros Worloou)

2005-02-17T19:46:00.000-08:00

Egyptian-born French singer whose career of over 50 years on the musical theatre stage, in cabarets, on recordings, on television, and in films included a notable role as the man who lost Leslie Caron to Gene Kelly in An American in Paris (b. Feb. 8, 1915--d. Sept. 13, 1997).

Hirah, Al-

2005-02-16T13:04:00.000-08:00

(from Syriac hirta, “camp”), English Hira, ancient city located south of al-Kufah in south-central Iraq; it was prominent in pre-Islamic Arab history. The town was originally a military encampment, but in the 5th and 6th centuries AD it was the capital of the Lakhmids, who were Arab vassals of Sasanian Persia (Iran). As such it was a centre of diplomatic, political, and military activities

Sarcoidosis

2005-02-16T03:34:00.000-08:00

Systemic disease of unknown cause that is characterized by the formation of granulation (scarlike) tissue. Sarcoidosis often disappears spontaneously within two or three years but may progress to involve more than one organ. It is observed in the lungs, lymph nodes, eyes, salivary glands, muscles, liver, spleen, and the connective tissues of the nervous system. Skin

Hohhot

2005-02-15T11:28:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Hu-ho-hao-t'e, Pinyin Hohhot, city and (since 1952) provincial capital of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region (tzu-chih-ch'ü), China. The city is a prefecture-level municipality (shih) and the command headquarters of the Inner Mongolian Military Region. It is situated in the upper valley of the Ta-hei Ho (westward-flowing tributary of the Huang Ho [Yellow River], which it joins on the northern side of that

Strategic Weapons System

2005-02-14T11:28:00.000-08:00

Any weapons system designed to strike an enemy at the source of his military, economic, or political power. In practice, this means destroying a nation's cities, factories, military bases, transportation and communications infrastructure, and seat of government. Strategic weapons systems use atomic or thermonuclear devices, because only these weapons have sufficient

Turkic Languages

2005-02-14T07:03:00.000-08:00

Turkic literary languages have emerged in different cultural centres. The older ones can be broadly determined as Uighur, Oghuz, and Kipchak or as mixtures of elements from these branches. Beginning in the 15th century, more distinct literary languages developed, in part as points of departure for modern languages (e.g., Ottoman for Modern Turkish or Chagatai for Uzbek

Ernst, Paul

2005-02-13T07:57:00.000-08:00

Ernst studied for the ministry but quickly became disillusioned with theology. He became a militant Marxist and the editor of the Berliner Volkstribüne. He severed his

Janssen, Pierre (-jules-césar)

2005-02-13T01:32:00.000-08:00

Janssen was permanently lamed by an accident in early childhood. He studied at the University of Paris, and in 1865 he became professor

Biblical Literature

2005-02-12T15:16:00.000-08:00

History is a central element of the Old Testament. It is the subject of narration in the specifically historical books and of celebration, commemoration, and remonstration in all of the books. History in the Old Testament is not history in the modern sense; it is the story of events seen as revealing the divine presence and power. Nevertheless, it is the account of an

Belarusian Ridge

2005-02-12T01:35:00.000-08:00

Belarusian also spelled Belorussian, or Byelorussian, Russian Belorusskaya Gryada, or Belorusskaja Gr'ada, upland region in Belarus. From northeastern Poland the ridge runs southeast into western Belarus and then swings northeast. Its total length is 320 miles (520 km). The ridge, covered by marine sands and clays, is in reality a series of separate uplands, of which the highest point is Dzerzhinskaya Mountain, at 1,132 feet (345 m), in the Minsk Upland. To the south of the ridge lie the extensive

Arabia, Najd

2005-02-11T20:52:00.000-08:00

The western part of Najd (Nejd, meaning “Highland”), known as Upper Najd, lies within the Arabian shield with an average elevation of 4,000 feet; the eastern part falls within the sedimentary province with the city of Riyadh (Ar-Riyad), near the eastern edge, having an elevation of about 1,950 feet. The principal drainage of Najd consists of a number of eastward-flowing wadi systems that

Fielding, Henry

2005-02-11T11:37:00.000-08:00

Novelist and playwright, who, with Samuel Richardson, is considered a founder of the English novel. Among his major novels are Joseph Andrews (1742) and Tom Jones (1749).

Felsenmeer

2005-02-11T10:12:00.000-08:00

(German: “sea of rock”), exposed rock surfaces that have been quickly broken up by frost action so that much rock is buried under a cover of angular shattered boulders. These mantles principally occur in Arctic regions and high mountain areas. Their continuity and depth varies with climate, vegetation, and rock type, but they may be as much as 4 metres (12 feet) deep. Felsenmeer

Mosaic

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

In botany, plant disease caused by various strains of several hundred viruses. Symptoms are variable but commonly include irregular leaf mottling (light and dark green or yellow patches or streaks). Leaves are commonly stunted, curled, or puckered; veins may be lighter than normal or banded with dark green or yellow. Plants are often dwarfed, with fruit and flowers

Macbeth, George Mann

2005-02-09T23:50:00.000-08:00

MacBeth published his first collection of poetry, A Form of Words (1954), before he graduated from New

Burgos

2005-02-09T19:33:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Burgos province, in the Castile-León comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”), northern Spain. It is located on the lower slopes of a castle-crowned hill overlooking the Arlanzón River, about 2,600 feet (800 m) above sea level. Founded in 884 as an eastern outpost of the Asturian kingdom by the Castilian count Diego Rodríguez Porcelos, it became the capital of the