PresentDrain

organic cotton goods

2006-10-30T07:55:00.000-08:00

Liv organic cotton goods are soft luxurious nad affordable and they have a huge range of organic clothing.

Agrihan

2005-04-03T19:07:00.000-07:00

Formerly Grigan or Agrigan one of the Mariana Islands, part of the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. It lies in the western Pacific Ocean, 350 miles (563 km) north of Guam. An active volcano that last erupted in 1917, it has a total land area of 18 square miles (47 square km) and rises to 3,166 feet (965 metres), the highest point in the commonwealth. Agrihan was the site of the last stand the indigenous Chamorro people

X Ray

2005-04-03T03:09:00.000-07:00

The particle nature of X rays is graphically demonstrated in the photoelectric effect and the Compton effect. In an attempt to explain blackbody radiation (radiation from a theoretically perfectly nonreflecting, or completely absorbing [i.e., “black”], body), Max Planck postulated that energy is radiated in small packets, or quanta, with an energy given by hn, in which n is

Beyer-garratt

2005-04-03T01:03:00.000-08:00

Type of steam locomotive characterized by tremendous hauling capacity and light axle loads. This British-built locomotive had two articulated pivoting chassis, each with its own wheels, cylinders, and water tanks. These chassis supported a girder frame that carried a boiler, cab, and the fuel supply. The Beyer-Garratt was particularly well-suited for rail lines

Hindu Kush, Animal life

2005-04-02T14:52:00.000-08:00

Well-adapted species of wildlife are found throughout the mountains. The Siberian ibex and the markhor (both wild goats) negotiate the high crags, while Marco Polo sheep and urial (another wild sheep) occasionally are found in the high pamir. Black and brown bears still exist in isolated valleys, and the Chitral valley wildlife preserve is a domain of the rare snow leopard.

Gabes, Gulf Of

2005-04-01T21:56:00.000-08:00

Arabic Khalij Qabis, French Golfe De Gabès, Latin Syrtis Minor, inlet, on the east coast of Tunisia, northern Africa. It is 60 miles (100 km) long and 60 miles wide and is bounded by the Qarqannah (Kerkena) Islands on the northeast and by Jarbah (Djerba) Island on the southeast. Except for the Strait of Gibraltar and the Gulf of Venice, it is the only part of the Mediterranean with a substantial tidal range (about 8 feet [2 1/2 m] at spring tides), causing the uncovering

Pendant

2005-04-01T04:34:00.000-08:00

In stone ceilings the use of pendant vaulting was

Sea Kale

2005-03-30T16:57:00.000-08:00

(Crambe maritima), cabbagelike perennial plant of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to seashores and cliffs of Eurasia. Young or blanched leaves are cooked and eaten. The waxy, blue-green, coarsely toothed leaves are 30–90 cm (1–3 feet) long. Honey-fragrant, clustered sprays of white, four-petaled flowers rise from the basal leaves.

Performing Arts, United States.

2005-03-30T13:36:00.000-08:00

As the year 2002 ended, Peter Jackson's virtuoso adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Chris Columbus's interpretation of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets promised to surpass their predecessors, the worldwide box-office winners of Christmas 2001, to take their place among

Dance, African

2005-03-29T11:36:00.000-08:00

Performing art deeply woven into the social fabric of Africa and generally involving aspects of music and theatre as well as rhythmic bodily movement. See also music, African, and mask.

Ta-pa Mountains

2005-03-29T02:17:00.000-08:00

Wade–Giles romanization Ta-pa Shan, Pinyin Daba Shan, mountain range dividing Szechwan province from Shensi province, China. Like the Tsinling Mountains to the north, from which it is separated by the Han River valley and the basin near Han-chung in Shensi, it is an eastward continuation of the Kunlun Mountains. The Ta-pa range is a broad belt of mountains running roughly northwest to southeast, forming the northern rim

Van Buren, Hannah

2005-03-28T20:09:00.000-08:00

Little is known about Hannah, who died of tuberculosis about a month before her 36th birthday. She did not leave writing of her own, and Martin, who never remarried, did not mention even her name in the autobiography he wrote late in life. Their sons were all bachelors when Martin became president in 1837. The following year Abraham married Angelica Singleton, who served as White House hostess until Martin's term ended in 1841.

Varthema, Lodovico De

2005-03-27T20:13:00.000-08:00

De Varthema also spelled Di Barthema, Latin Vartomanus, or Vertomannus, intrepid Italian traveler and adventurer whose account of his Middle Eastern and Asiatic wanderings was widely circulated throughout Europe and earned him high fame in his own lifetime. He made significant discoveries (especially in Arabia) and made many valuable observations of the peoples he visited; his ready wit enabled

Ben Bella, Ahmed

2005-03-26T02:42:00.000-08:00

Ben Bella was the son of a farmer and small businessman in Maghnia in the département of Oran. There, he successfully completed his early studies

Croatia, Industry

2005-03-26T00:33:00.000-08:00

Already more industrialized than most of its neighbours when the communists assumed power over Yugoslavia in 1945, Croatia continued its rapid industrialization under socialist policies of economic and social development. One unfortunate result was the squandering of a great deal of money through inefficiency and the misallocation of resources through the

Englische Komödianten

2005-03-25T16:04:00.000-08:00

One of the earliest English troupes to visit Europe

Abbot, Charles Greeley

2005-03-25T13:16:00.000-08:00

An informal autobiography is provided by Charles Greeley Abbot, Adventures in the World of Science (1958). David H. DeVorkin, “Charles Greeley Abbot,” in Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 73, pp. 3–23 (1998), is a short biography; and David H. DeVorkin, “Defending a Dream: Charles Greeley Abbot's Years at the Smithsonian,” Journal for the History of Astronomy, vol. 21, part 1, no. 63, pp. 121–136 (February 1990), discusses Abbot's influence on the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

Accent

2005-03-23T02:32:00.000-08:00

Also called Stress, in music, momentary emphasis on a particular rhythmic or melodic detail; accent may be implied or specifically indicated, either graphically for example, >, —) or verbally (sforzato, abbreviated sfz). In metrically organized music, accents serve to articulate rhythmic groupings, especially in dances where regular accentuation facilitates the patterning of steps.

Star, Line spectrum

2005-03-22T10:07:00.000-08:00

Spectral lines are produced by transitions of electrons within atoms or ions. As the electrons move closer to or farther from the nucleus of an atom (or of an ion), energy in the form of light (or other radiation) is emitted or absorbed. The yellow “D” lines of sodium or the “H” and “K” lines of ionized calcium are produced by discrete quantum jumps from the lowest energy levels

Qatar

2005-03-22T09:43:00.000-08:00

A monarchy (emirate) on the Arabian Peninsula, Qatar occupies a desert peninsula and the nearby small Hawar Islands (also claimed by Bahrain) on the west coast of the Persian Gulf. Area (including Hawar Islands): 11,427 sq km (4,412 sq mi). Pop. (1996 est.): 590,000. Cap.: Doha. Monetary unit: Qatar riyal, with (Oct. 11, 1996) an official rate of 3.64 riyals to U.S. $1 (5.73 riyals = £1 sterling). Emir and prime minister in 1996, Sheikh Hamad ibn Khalifah

Blood Cell Formation

2005-03-20T21:52:00.000-08:00

Blood cells do not

Okawa, Isao

2005-03-20T10:02:00.000-08:00

Japanese businessman (b. 1926, Osaka, Japan—d. March 16, 2001, Tokyo, Japan), was chairman of the Sega Corp. from 1984 until his death. Okawa was involved with a number of Japanese technology companies. He founded CSK Corp., a computer services company that was Sega's largest shareholder, and served on the boards of several other companies, including the ASCII Corp. and Bellsystem 24, Inc. As chairman

Tunis

2005-03-19T13:38:00.000-08:00

Tunis was founded by the Libyans, who in the 9th century BC surrendered the site of Carthage to

Nivkh Language

2005-03-19T11:02:00.000-08:00

Formerly called Gilyak Language, isolated language with two main dialects spoken by some 400 Nivkh, roughly 10 percent of the ethnic group. The Nivkh live on Sakhalin Island and along the estuary of the Amur River in eastern Siberia. Nivkh is not known to be related to any other language, and it is usually included with the Luorawetlan languages and the Yeniseian languages in the catchall areal category

Uccello, Paolo

2005-03-19T06:34:00.000-08:00

Original name Paolo Di Dono Florentine painter whose work attempted uniquely to reconcile two distinct artistic styles—the essentially decorative late Gothic and the new heroic style of the early Renaissance. Probably his most famous paintings are three panels representing “The Battle of San Romano” (c. 1456). His careful and sophisticated perspective

Oath

2005-03-17T22:54:00.000-08:00

Sacred or solemn voluntary promise usually involving the penalty of divine retribution for intentional falsity and often used in legal procedures. It is not certain that the oath was always considered a religious act; such ancient peoples as the Germanic tribes, Greeks, Romans, and Scythians swore by their swords or other weapons. These peoples, however, were actually

Chauk

2005-03-17T20:52:00.000-08:00

Town and port, north-central Myanmar (Burma). Situated in the Irrawaddy River basin, it is a petroleum port for the Singu-Chauk oil fields. Traditionally, people of the Mon group gathered asphalt in the area to weatherproof houses. In 1902 the British discovered the Chauk-Lonywa oil field. Later, crude oil from Chauk was sent by a 350-mile (563-kilometre) pipeline to Syriam for refining.

Mahabaleshwar

2005-03-16T01:56:00.000-08:00

Resort town, southwestern Maharashtra state, western India. It lies about 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Bombay and northwest of the town of Satara at an elevation of 4,718 feet (1,438 m), in the Sahyadri Hills of the Western Ghats. The town commands an excellent view over the coastal Konkan Plain from the steep scarp slope of the hills. Recognized in ancient times as the site of the source of the Krishna

Black Hawk

2005-03-15T04:43:00.000-08:00

Indian name Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak leader of a faction of Sauk and Fox Indians. Supported by part of the two tribes, Black Hawk contested the disposition of 50 million acres (20 million hectares) of territory that had supposedly been granted to the United States by tribal spokesmen in 1804. His decision to defy government orders to vacate

Zanni

2005-03-14T18:27:00.000-08:00

Plural Zanni, or Zannis, stock servant character in the Italian improvisational theatre known as the commedia dell'arte. Zanni were valet buffoons, clowns, and knavish jacks-of-all-trades. All possessed common sense, intelligence, pride, and a love of practical jokes and intrigue; they were, however, often quarrelsome, cowardly, envious, spiteful, vindictive, and treacherous. The term is thought

Nabokov, Vladimir

2005-03-14T09:50:00.000-08:00

In Russian (English translations after 1940 mainly by the author and his son, Dmitri Nabokov): Mashenka (1926; Mary, trans. by Michael Glenny with Nabokov's assistance, 1970); Korol-dama-valet (1928; King, Queen, Knave, 1968); Zashchita luzhina (1930; The Defense, 1964); Podvig (1932; Glory, 1971); Camera obscura (1933; first Eng. trans. 1936, altered by Nabokov for U.S. version and retitled Laughter in the Dark, 1938); Otchayaniye (1934; Despair, 1937, altered and enlarged by Nabokov for U.S. version, 1966); Priglasheniye na kazn (1935; Invitation to a Beheading, 1959); Dar (incomplete 1937–38, complete 1952; The Gift, 1963). In English: The Real Life of Sebastian Knight (1941); Bend Sinister (1947); Lolita (1955); Pnin (1957); Pale Fire, including a long poem (1962); Ada; or, Ardor: A Family Chronicle (1969); Transparent Things (1972).

Wang, An

2005-03-14T02:55:00.000-08:00

The son of a teacher, Wang earned a bachelor's degree in science from Chiao-t'ung University in Shanghai in 1940. He immigrated to the United States in 1945 and earned a Ph.D. in applied physics and engineering from Harvard University in 1948. Having been

Bulganin, Nikolay Aleksandrovich

2005-03-13T07:30:00.000-08:00

Bulganin began his career as a Cheka (Bolshevik secret police) officer in 1918. Later, as manager of Moscow's leading electrical-equipment factory, he earned a reputation as an outstanding administrator. In 1931 he was made chairman

China, Livestock and fishing

2005-03-12T20:51:00.000-08:00

China has a long tradition of ocean and freshwater fishing and of aquaculture.

Sibyl

2005-03-12T20:30:00.000-08:00

Also called Sibylla, prophetess in Greek legend and literature. Tradition represented her as a woman of prodigious old age uttering predictions in ecstatic frenzy, but she was always a figure of the mythical past, and her prophecies, in Greek hexameters, were handed down in writing. In the 5th and early 4th centuries BC, she was always referred to in the singular; Sibylla was treated as her proper

Performing Arts, Classical.

2005-03-12T08:30:00.000-08:00

Although the general atmosphere in the world of classical concerts and especially opera had been increasingly pessimistic in recent years, the approach of the millennium was bringing a sense of anticipation that could be described only as healthy. Although nothing specific had occurred to bring this about, there seemed to be a growing determination to make

Kara-yo

2005-03-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

(Japanese: “Chinese style”), one of the three main Japanese styles of Buddhist temple architecture in the Kamakura period (1192–1333). Kara-yo originally followed Chinese forms that featured strict symmetry on a central axis. The word kara-yo is written with the character that stands for the Chinese T'ang dynasty (618–907), but the style seems to have represented the official building code

Porcellanite

2005-03-11T00:39:00.000-08:00

The porcellanite of some authorities is a silicified tuff, a rock composed of volcanic fragments that has been altered

Gaines, Ernest J.

2005-03-10T17:34:00.000-08:00

When Gaines was 15, his family moved to California. He graduated from San Francisco State College (now San Francisco State University) in 1957 and attended

Piggott, Lester

2005-03-10T06:52:00.000-08:00

Born to parents whose families had long been associated with the turf, Piggott rode in his first race at the age of 12. He won the Derby nine times (1954, 1957, 1960, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1976, 1977, and 1983), the St. Leger eight times, the 2,000 Guineas four times, and the Oaks six times, along with other

Arecidae

2005-03-09T11:29:00.000-08:00

Subclass of flowering plants belonging to the class Liliopsida.

France, History Of, Frankish expansion and the unification of Gaul

2005-03-08T20:42:00.000-08:00

During the years following his accession, Clovis consolidated the position of the Franks in northern Gaul. In 486 he defeated Syagrius, the last Roman ruler in Gaul, and in a series of subsequent campaigns with strong Gallo-Roman support occupied an area situated between the Frankish kingdom of Tournai, the Visigothic and Burgundian kingdoms, and the lands occupied

Corbulo, Gnaeus Domitius

2005-03-08T14:21:00.000-08:00

In AD 47 Corbulo was victorious over the German tribe of the Frisii on the Rhine, thereby restoring them to Roman tributary status. Appointed legate of Galatia and Cappadocia (two provinces to the west of Armenia) by the emperor Nero in 54, Corbulo was ordered to recover Armenia from Tiridates, brother of the Parthian

Ekofisk

2005-03-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

Group of Norwegian offshore natural-gas and oil fields located in the North Sea about 180 miles (290 km) southwest of Norway, halfway between Norway and the United Kingdom. The Ekofisk district includes the Ekofisk field itself (1969; petroleum) and the original, relatively small natural-gas discovery at Cod (1968), as well as petroleum fields at Tor (1970), West Ekofisk (1970), and

Con Son

2005-03-07T01:55:00.000-08:00

The

Malayan Lar

2005-03-06T10:47:00.000-08:00

Species of gibbon (q.v.).

Norfolk, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke Of, Earl Of Surrey, Earl Marshal

2005-03-06T01:06:00.000-08:00

Howard was the brother-in-law of King Henry VII and the son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. In May 1513 he became lord high admiral,

Valdivia

2005-03-05T20:41:00.000-08:00

Capital of Valdivia provincia, Los Lagos región, southern Chile. It lies at the confluence of the Callecalle and Cruces rivers, which there form the Valdivia River, 11 miles (18 km) from the Pacific Ocean. Although it was founded in 1552 and was a strategically significant outpost during the colonial era, Valdivia did not flourish until after the mid-19th century, when a large influx

Earth Sciences

2005-03-04T16:30:00.000-08:00

Howard was the brother-in-law of King Henry VII and the son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. In May 1513 he became lord high admiral,

Gender Identity

2005-03-04T15:12:00.000-08:00

An individual's self-conception as being male or female, as distinguished from actual biological sex. For most persons, gender identity and biological characteristics are the same. There are, however, circumstances in which an individual experiences little or no connection between sex and gender; in transsexualism, for example, biological sexual characteristics

Daud Khan, Mohammad

2005-03-04T11:33:00.000-08:00

Educated in Kabul and France, Daud Khan, a cousin and brother-in-law of Zahir Shah, pursued a career in the military. He rose to command an army corps in 1939 and held the post of minister

Fuseli, Henry

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

Fuseli was reared in an intellectual and artistic milieu and initially studied theology. Obliged to flee Zürich because of political entanglements, he went first to Berlin, and then settled in London in 1764. He was encouraged

Tigray

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

Tigray contains the core of the ancient Aksumite kingdom and the

Atlantic City

2005-03-02T21:58:00.000-08:00

Resort city, Atlantic county, southeastern New Jersey, U.S., on the Atlantic Ocean. It lies on the low, narrow, sandy, 10-mile- (16-km) long Absecon Island, which is separated from the mainland by a narrow strait and several miles of meadows partly covered with water at high tide. The area was inhabited by Delaware Indians before English settlers arrived in the late 1670s. Development

Hawaiian Honeycreeper

2005-03-02T13:49:00.000-08:00

Any of 23 species of birds found only in the forests of the Hawaiian Islands. They constitute the family Drepanididae, order Passeriformes. Most of the species are called by native names (see amakihi; apapane; iiwi; mamo). Habitat destruction and the introduction of foreign birds and mammals has led to the extinction of at least 8 of the 23 species; most of the survivors are endangered.

X-ray Style

2005-03-01T23:45:00.000-08:00

Manner of depicting animals by drawing or painting the skeletal frame and internal organs, one of the characteristic styles of the art of prehistoric hunting cultures. The origin of the style can be traced to the Mesolithic art of northern Europe, where the earliest examples were found on fragments of bone in southern France dating from the late Magdalenian Period.

Psychomotor Learning, Devices and tasks

2005-03-01T14:48:00.000-08:00

Hundreds of electrical and mechanical instruments have been developed for research in psychomotor learning, but those commonly used number less than two dozen. In operating a device called a complex coordinator, the learner is instructed to make prompt, synchronized adjustments of handstick and foot-bar controls to match different combinations of stimulus

Eckstorm, Fannie Pearson Hardy

2005-03-01T06:43:00.000-08:00

Fannie Hardy was the daughter of a well-known fur trader, outdoorsman, naturalist, and taxidermist, from whom she early absorbed a love and deep

Fyodor Ii

2005-02-28T14:48:00.000-08:00

The son of Boris Godunov (reigned 1598–1605), Fyodor received an excellent education and was well acquainted with state affairs when his father unexpectedly died and he ascended the Russian throne (April 13 [April 23], 1605). His rule was immediately challenged, however, by the first False

Caazapá

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

Town, southern Paraguay. Founded in 1607 by Friar Bolaños, the town is situated on the edge of the westward extension of the Brazilian Highlands, including the Cordillera (mountains) de Ybytyruzú. Caazapá is a lumbering and agricultural centre, and tanneries are also located there. The town has a regional hospital, various educational institutions including an agricultural

Korkino

2005-02-26T14:57:00.000-08:00

City, Chelyabinsk oblast (province), west-central Russia, in the southern Urals. It is a centre of coal mining in the Chelyabinsk lignite (brown coal) basin; mining began in 1934, and the settlement became a city in 1942. Excavator and truck production reflect its mining orientation; other industries are ferroconcrete and building-materials manufacture. Pop. (1991 est.) 44,800.

Pavarotti, Luciano

2005-02-26T02:17:00.000-08:00

Pavarotti graduated from a teaching institute in Modena (1955) and then taught elementary school for two years. He studied opera privately, mostly in Mantua. After winning the Concorso Internationale, a singing competition, he made his professional operatic debut

Judaism, In eastern Europe

2005-02-25T13:07:00.000-08:00

By the mid-18th century Orthodoxy in eastern Europe, having been convulsed by frantic messianism and stifled by the sterility of purely legalistic scholarship, was ripe for revival. The experience of Shabbetaianism (the first messianic movement to excite virtually all of world Jewry) had revealed in the mid-17th century the pervasiveness of Jewish exhaustion with

Fragonard, Jean-honoré

2005-02-25T03:44:00.000-08:00

Fragonard was the son of a haberdasher's assistant. The family moved to Paris about 1738, and in 1747 the boy was apprenticed to a lawyer, who, noticing his appetite for drawing, suggested that he be taught painting. François Boucher was prevailed

Accesi, Compagnia Degli

2005-02-24T23:36:00.000-08:00

Company that performed commedia dell'arte (improvised popular Italian comedy) in the early 1600s. The name means “the stimulated.” Leadership was provided by Tristano Martinelli (famous for his portrayal of Arlecchino, the mischievous servant) and Pier Maria Cecchini (known as the leading interpreter of the character Fritellino, as well as the author of valuable texts

Durand-ruel, Paul

2005-02-24T15:59:00.000-08:00

Durand-Ruel began his career in his father's art gallery, which he inherited in 1865. At the outset he concentrated on buying the work of Barbizon artists—particularly Camille Corot, Charles-François Daubigny, and Jules Dupré—and for

Dog, Jackals

2005-02-23T23:47:00.000-08:00

There has been some disagreement over the years about whether the jackal is a true canid, but the four known varieties are now thought to be part of the same genus. Jackals are native from southeastern Europe into southern Asia, India, and Africa. The best-known variety is the golden jackal, which is a shimmery rust-gold in colour. Jackals are fleet-footed

Diethylcarbamazine

2005-02-23T01:24:00.000-08:00

Synthetic anthelmintic drug effective against certain parasitic filarial worms, which are endemic throughout most of the subtropical and tropical regions of the world. These parasites infect the blood and lymph channels in humans, causing the debilitating disease filariasis. Diethylcarbamazine is effective in treating filariasis caused by Wuchereria

Argentina, Immigration and ethnicity

2005-02-22T08:27:00.000-08:00

Heavy immigration, particularly from Spain and Italy, has produced in Argentina a people who are almost all of European ancestry. In the colonial period, though, the Spanish explorers and settlers encountered a number of native peoples. Among these were the Diaguita tribes of the Andean Northwest, a town-dwelling, agricultural people who were forced into labour

Astor Family

2005-02-22T07:29:00.000-08:00

John Jacob Astor (1763–1848), the founder of the family fortune, is covered in a separate article: see Astor, John Jacob. His son, William Backhouse Astor (1792–1875), who inherited the major portion of the estate, continued his father's program of investing in Manhattan

Jackson, Jesse

2005-02-20T17:49:00.000-08:00

Jesse adopted the name of his stepfather, Charles Jackson,

Oak Ridge

2005-02-20T08:50:00.000-08:00

City, Anderson and Roane counties, eastern Tennessee, U.S. It lies in a valley between the Cumberland and Great Smoky mountains, about 20 miles (30 km) west of Knoxville, and is a part of that city's metropolitan area. A tract of land covering about 94 square miles (243 square km) was selected in 1942 as a major site of the U.S. wartime atomic energy program known as the Manhattan Project. Originally

Sacco-vanzetti Case

2005-02-20T03:02:00.000-08:00

The trial resulted from the murders in South Braintree, Mass., on April 15, 1920, of F.A. Parmenter, paymaster of a shoe factory, and Alessandro Berardelli, the guard accompanying him, in order to secure the payroll

Balabac

2005-02-19T19:20:00.000-08:00

Island, extreme southwestern Philippines. It is located about 19 miles (30 km) southwest of the southern tip of Palawan island, and hardly twice that north of Borneo. Balabac rises to an elevation of about 1,890 feet (576 metres) and has swamps on its northwestern coast. There are coral reefs off its western coast, and the island is particularly noted for its rare glory-of-the-seas cone

Neorealism

2005-02-18T09:32:00.000-08:00

The movement was rooted in the 1920s and, though suppressed for nearly two decades by Fascist control, emerged in great strength after the Fascist regime fell at the end of World War II. Neorealismo is similar in general aims to the earlier Italian movement verismo (Realism), from which it originated, but differs in that its upsurge was brought about by the intense feelings,

Orant

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

In Christian art, a figure in a posture of prayer, usually standing upright with raised arms. The motif of the orant, which seems to reflect the standard attitude of prayer adopted by the first Christians, is particularly important in Early Christian art (c. 2nd–6th century) and especially in the frescoes and graffiti that decorated Roman catacombs from the 2nd century

Judaism, In eastern Europe

2005-02-17T16:13:00.000-08:00

Ashi

2005-02-16T16:11:00.000-08:00

Ashi was head of the Jewish Academy at Sura, Babylonia, and was one of two chief editors who fixed the canon of the Babylonian Talmud. Under Ashi's leadership the Academy, which had been closed since 309, was revived,

Nordmeyer, Sir Arnold Henry

2005-02-16T13:15:00.000-08:00

Nordmeyer graduated from the University of Otago and served as a Presbyterian minister from 1925 until he entered the New Zealand Parliament in 1935. He helped draft the Social Security Act of 1938, which formed the basis for the nation's welfare system,

Peninsular

2005-02-16T10:07:00.000-08:00

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

Medicine

2005-02-15T23:28:00.000-08:00

The remarkable developments in medicine that have been brought about in the 20th century, especially since World War II, have been based on research either in the basic sciences related to medicine or in the clinical field. Advances in the use of radiation, nuclear energy, and space research have played an important part in this progress. Some laypersons often think

Early Netherlandish Art

2005-02-15T22:54:00.000-08:00

In 1363 John II of France

Mysticism, Other definitions and experiences of mysticism

2005-02-15T20:13:00.000-08:00

Such undifferentiated unity or union between the individual and the supreme self is unacceptable to certain traditions and temperaments. The Jewish philosopher Martin Buber emphasized an “I–Thou” relationship: “All real living is meeting,” and one Thou cannot become It. But even his own “unforgettable experience” of union he would explain as “illusory.” With a wider

Hawkesbury River

2005-02-14T19:50:00.000-08:00

River rising in the Great Dividing Range north of Lake George, New South Wales, Australia, and flowing 293 miles (472 km) north and east to the Tasman Sea at Broken Bay. It drains an area of about 8,390 square miles (21,730 square km). Known as the Wollondilly in its rugged upper course and as the Warragamba after receiving the Nattai and, later, the Nepean rivers, it becomes the Hawkesbury after

Bhadrabahu I

2005-02-13T20:07:00.000-08:00

According to Digambara tradition, in 310 BCE, after a 12-year famine, Bhadrabahu and Candra Gupta—the first king of the Mauryan dynasty, who had become a Jain monk—led an exodus from the Jain stronghold in northern India. This migration,

China, Militarism in China

2005-02-13T15:35:00.000-08:00

During the first years of the republic China had been fractured by rival military regimes to the extent that no one authority was able to subordinate all rivals and create a unified and centralized political structure. The South was detached from Peking's control; but even the southern provinces, and indeed districts within them, were run by different military

Dadra And Nagar Haveli

2005-02-13T11:33:00.000-08:00

Works dealing specifically with the west and west-central area prior to its annexation by India are mainly in Portuguese; see Henry Scholberg, Archana Ashok Kakodker, and Carmo Azevedo, Bibliography of Goa and the Portuguese in India (1982). See also M.N. Pearson, Merchants and Rulers in Gujarat: The Response to the Portuguese in the Sixteenth Century (1976); and K.S. Mathew, Portuguese and the Sultanate of Gujarat, 1500–1573 (1986). Ganesh Dass, Socio-economic Profile of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, ed. by K.D. Ballal (1974); and P.S. Lele, Dadra and Nagar Haveli (1987), provide useful overviews. S.S. Desai, Goa, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli (1976), is a study of the three union territories.

France, History Of, The Fourth Republic

2005-02-12T10:31:00.000-08:00

Shortly after his return to Paris, de Gaulle announced that the citizens of France would determine their future governmental system as soon as the absent prisoners and deportees could be repatriated. That process was largely completed by midsummer 1945, soon after Germany's defeat, whereupon de Gaulle scheduled a combined referendum and election for October. Women,

Agnes Of Poitou

2005-02-11T11:20:00.000-08:00

Agnes was a daughter of William V the Great, duke of Aquitaine, and was a descendant of the kings of Burgundy and Italy. She married Henry III on Nov. 1, 1043, forming an alliance designed to cement the empire's relations with its neighbouring states

Steamboat

2005-02-11T03:56:00.000-08:00

Steamboat pioneering began in America in 1787 when John Fitch made a successful trial of such a vessel. Robert Fulton's profitable

African Literature, Oral traditions

2005-02-11T00:32:00.000-08:00

The following works cover and analyze some of the best and most representative collections of oral art forms from many parts of Africa: Uchegbulam N. Abalogu, Garba Ashiwaju, and Regina Amadi-Tshiwala, Oral Poetry in Nigeria (1981), containing articles on a number of different oral genres in contemporary Nigeria; B.W. Andrzejewski and I.M. Lewis, Somali Poetry: An Introduction (1964), a detailed and authoritative account of the main genres and their social context by a linguist and a sociologist; Ulli Beier (comp. and ed.), Yoruba Poetry: An Anthology of Traditional Poems (1970), a good introduction to the rich and complex Yoruba oral traditions; James Stuart (comp.), Izibongo: Zulu Praise-Poems (1968), long poems to kings and chiefs, rich in imagery and allusions, with a discussion of their form, function, and social context; A. Coupez and Th. Kamanzi, Littérature de cour au Rwanda (1970), analysis and texts of the royal poetry of the kings of Rwanda and accounts of the poets responsible for them; Pierre Smith (ed.), Le Récit populaire au Rwanda (1975), 30 popular tales from Rwanda that interpret the history of the region in a different way from the royal praises; M. Damane and P.B. Sanders (eds. and trans.), Lithoko: Sotho Praise-Poems (1974), an authoritative anthology of praise poems of Basotho chiefs, covering 200 years; Francis Mading Deng, The Dinka and Their Songs (1973), a careful account of the performed poetry of the Dinka people of The Sudan; Ruth Finnegan (comp. and trans.), Limba Stories and Story-Telling (1967, reprinted 1981), stories from the Limba of Sierra Leone, with attention to the creative role of individual narrators; Veronika Görög-Karady, Noirs et blancs: leur image dans la littérature orale africaine: étude-anthologie (1976), an analysis of a large number of tales exploring the different perceptions of the relations between races that the stories reveal; Olatunde O. Olatunji, Features of Yorùbá Oral Poetry (1984), a full account of the oral genres from the point of view of Yoruba poetics; Denise Paulme, La Mère dévorante: essai sur le morphologie des contes africains (1976), essays that discuss the social role of the tale and analyze eight archetypal African tales; Jeff Opland, Xhosa Oral Poetry: Aspects of a Black South African Tradition (1983), an analysis primarily of Xhosa praise poetry and poets, incorporating discussion of the interplay of print, literacy, and orality; and Harold Scheub, The Xhosa Ntsomi (1975), an important collection of Xhosa and Zulu stories with an emphasis on the creative role of the storyteller.

Frederick William

2005-02-10T06:52:00.000-08:00

Byname The Great Elector, German Der Grosse Kurfürst elector of Brandenburg (1640–88), who restored the Hohenzollern dominions after the devastations of the Thirty Years' War—centralizing the political administration, reorganizing the state finances, rebuilding towns and cities, developing a strong army, and acquiring clear sovereignty over ducal Prussia. All these measures

Physical Sciences, Organic Chemistry.

2005-02-09T15:36:00.000-08:00

Chemists missed the mark when they picked the original name—inert gases—for a family of six elements that compose group 18 of the periodic table. They thought that helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon were inert and never combined with other elements to form chemical compounds. That notion was upset in the 1960s when researchers made the first xenon compounds and

Metaphysical Painting

2005-02-08T23:34:00.000-08:00

Style of painting that flourished mainly between 1911 and 1920 in the works of the Italian artists Giorgio De Chirico, Carlo Carrà, and Giorgio Morandi. These painters' representational but bizarre and incongruous imagery produces strange, disquieting effects on the viewer. Juxtaposing disparate objects set into deep perspectives, these works strongly influenced the

Quintilian

2005-02-08T19:59:00.000-08:00

Quintilian was born in northern Spain, but he was probably educated in Rome, where he afterward received some practical training from the leading orator of the day, Domitius

Kirin, Mining and power resources

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

The major minerals of the province include coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, and gold. Coal is found in the southeast, near the Yalu River border with North Korea. Many smaller local mines also supply provincial needs. The major hydroelectric power installation, the Feng-man station on the Sungari River southeast of Chi-lin, was built by the Japanese during World War II and

Animal Behaviour

2005-02-07T21:38:00.000-08:00

A living animal behaves constantly in order to survive, and all animals must solve the same basic problems. They must, for instance, periodically replace their energy source (consume food), avoid dehydration (drink), avoid becoming another animal's energy source (avoid being eaten), maintain their body surfaces (clean and groom), and reproduce.

Epistemology, Aristotle

2005-02-07T20:55:00.000-08:00

In Posterior Analytics, Aristotle (384–22 BC) analyzes scientific knowledge in terms of necessary propositions that express causal relations. Such knowledge takes the form of categorical syllogisms, in which the middle term causally and necessarily connects the major and minor terms. For example, because all stars are distant and all distant objects twinkle, it follows

Masculine Rhyme

2005-02-06T14:52:00.000-08:00

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

Fraenkel-conrat, Heinz L.

2005-02-06T11:11:00.000-08:00

Fraenkel-Conrat studied medicine at the University of Breslau (M.D., 1933) and then turned to biochemistry at the University of Edinburgh (Ph.D.,