MaleHospital

Mckenna, Joseph

2005-11-18T22:50:00.000-08:00

McKenna grew up in California and was admitted to the state bar in 1865. A Republican, he served as Solano county district attorney (1866–70) and in the California state legislature (1875–76). Despite the prevailing anti-Roman Catholic sentiments that contributed to two defeats at the polls, McKenna was elected in

Dyckia

2005-07-27T22:20:00.000-07:00

Genus of usually stemless plants of the pineapple family (Bromeliaceae), consisting of about 80 South American species. These plants' long, stiff leaves, which grow in dense rosettes, are spiny-edged, sharp-tipped, and often fleshy. The small flowers usually are yellow or orange. Two species, D. rariflora and D. sulphurea (D. brevifolia), are commonly cultivated indoors as decorative

Annan, Kofi Atta

2005-07-23T16:25:00.000-07:00

The affable and intelligent Annan, the first person from sub-Saharan

Commercial Fishing, Shellfish

2005-07-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

The crustaceans include lobsters, crabs, crayfish, and both shrimp and the closely related but larger prawns. The shells consist mainly of a hard, inedible substance called chitin. Crustaceans molt frequently

Silao

2005-07-06T18:15:00.000-07:00

City, west-central Guanajuato estado (“state”), north-central Mexico. Founded in 1537, Silao lies along the Silao River at 5,830 feet (1,777 m) above sea level. By virtue of its location in the Bajío region, known as the granary of Mexico, Silao is an important agricultural centre. A wide variety of crops, including corn (maize), beans, wheat, chick-peas, avocados, peaches, and strawberries, thrive

Alaya-vijñana

2005-06-30T20:05:00.000-07:00

(Sanskrit: “store of consciousness”), key concept of the Vijñanavada (“Consciousness-affirming”) school of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition. Since that school maintains that no external reality exists, while retaining the position that knowledge, and therefore a knowable, exists, it assumes that knowledge itself is the object of consciousness. It therefore postulates a

Hindu, The

2005-06-23T02:25:00.000-07:00

Established in 1878 as a weekly, The Hindu became a daily in 1889. While India was under British rule, the paper spoke out for independence—but in a moderate vein. After 1947, when India achieved independence, The Hindu built a network of foreign bureaus, while extending

Aleksandriya

2005-06-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Aleksandrija or Aleksandriia city, Kirovograd oblast, Ukraine, on the Ingulets River. Founded as Usovka in 1754, it was incorporated and renamed in the same year. The city is now the centre of a lignite (brown coal) field that has been utilized since the 1950s to power local rayon fibre engineering and other plants. Pop. (1998 est.) 101,000.

David Ii

2005-06-16T11:35:00.000-07:00

On July 17, 1328, in accordance with the Anglo-Scottish peace treaty of Northampton,

Tabari, At-

2005-06-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

The young at-Tabari demonstrated a precocious intellect and journeyed from his native town to study in the major centres of learning in Iraq, Syria, and Egypt. Over the course of many years he collected oral and written material from numerous scholars and libraries for his later work. At-Tabari enjoyed sufficient financial independence to enable him to devote the latter

Dream Allegory

2005-06-01T15:55:00.000-07:00

Also called Dream Vision, allegorical tale presented in the narrative framework of a dream. Especially popular in the Middle Ages, the device made more acceptable the fantastic and sometimes bizarre world of personifications and symbolic objects characteristic of medieval allegory. Well-known examples of the dream allegory include the first part of Roman de la rose (13th century); Chaucer's

Arrabal, Fernando

2005-05-18T06:20:00.000-07:00

Arrabal worked as a clerk in a paper company, then studied law at the University of Madrid. He turned to writing in the early 1950s, and in 1955 he went to study drama in Paris, where he remained.

Earth, Folding

2005-05-16T11:40:00.000-07:00

Folds along subduction zones

X Ray

2005-05-14T09:25:00.000-07:00

Any electromagnetic radiation of an extremely short wavelength produced by the deceleration of charged particles or the transitions of electrons in atoms. As can be seen in the Figure, the wavelengths of X rays range from about 10-8 metres to 12-12 metres, with corresponding frequencies of 1016 to 1021 hertz (Hz). Like other forms of electromagnetic radiation (gamma rays, ultraviolet,

Wolsey, Thomas, Cardinal

2005-03-15T17:31:00.000-08:00

The son of a butcher of Ipswich, Wolsey was educated at the University of Oxford. In 1498 he was ordained

Catanduanes

2005-03-14T18:12:00.000-08:00

Island, east-central Philippines, in the Philippine Sea, separated from southeastern Luzon (Rungus Point) by the shallow Maqueda Channel. The island has an area of 550 square miles (1,425 square km). Farming is diversified (rice, corn [maize], copra, abaca) on the hilly, rolling land. Virac, the chief port, is on the southern coast in a lowland area. The island is known for its stone churches.

Baharampur

2005-03-11T00:09:00.000-08:00

The town has major rail and road connections and is an important agricultural trade centre. Silk weaving, rice

China, Foreign policy

2005-03-04T14:17:00.000-08:00

While taking their principal cues in their foreign policies from domestic developments and generally adhering to the initial pro-Soviet line, the Chinese began to act - on the basis of several important lessons gained during the Korean struggle - to reduce Peking's militant and isolationist attitudes in international affairs. Peking had recognized that the great

Learning Theory

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

A common goal in defining any psychological concept is a statement that corresponds to common usage. Acceptance of that aim, however, entails some peril. It implicitly assumes that common language categorizes in scientifically

Pacino, Al

2005-03-02T08:04:00.000-08:00

After growing up in East Harlem and the Bronx, Pacino moved at age 19 to Greenwich Village, where he studied acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio and appeared in many Off-Broadway and out-of-town productions, including Hello, Out There (1963) and Why Is a Crooked Letter (1966). He took further

Ashurnasirpal I

2005-03-01T21:38:00.000-08:00

King of Assyria 1050 - 32 BC, when it was at a low ebb in power and prosperity caused by widespread famine and the pressure of western desert nomads, against whom Ashurnasirpal warred constantly. His father, Shamshi-Adad IV, a son of Tiglath-pileser I, was placed on the throne of Assyria by the Babylonian king Adad-apal-iddina. The few inscriptions of Ashurnasirpal I that

Ram Raiya

2005-02-28T11:23:00.000-08:00

Member of a group of dissenters within Sikhism, a religion of India. The Ram Raiyas are descendants of Ram Rai, the eldest son of Guru Har Rai (1630 - 61), who was sent by his father as an emissary to the Mughal capital at Delhi. There he won the confidence of the emperor Aurangzeb but the displeasure of his own father, who when choosing the next Sikh Guru passed over Ram Rai in favour of his younger brother

Alzira

2005-02-27T04:46:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Alcira, � city, Valencia provincia, in the comunidad aut�noma (�autonomous community�) of Valencia, eastern Spain. It lies in the Ribera district, south of the city of Valencia. It originated as the Iberian settlement of Algezira Sucro (�Island of Sucro�), so named because of its insular position between two branches of the Sucro (J�car) River. It became the Saetabicula of the Romans

Earth, Earth dimensions - diameter, mass, density

2005-02-26T02:05:00.000-08:00

As previously noted, terrestrial arc measurements are capable of yielding a value of the equatorial radius of the Earth, but satellite measurements are greatly superior for determining the flattening. After 10 years of satellite observations the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics adopted the Geodetic Reference System 1967, defining aequatorial, MG, and J2, o. Minor

Tendinitis

2005-02-25T03:14:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �tendonitis� inflammation of the sheaths of the tendons. These sheaths are composed of thin, filmy tissue that permits the sliding motion of tendons within them. The cause of inflammation is irritation of the sheaths by prolonged or abnormal use of the tendons. Less often it may follow invasion of the tendon sheaths by bacteria with subsequent infection. It is in many instances

Holocaust Remembrance Days

2005-02-24T23:06:00.000-08:00

Although Jews were the first group to seek a fitting commemoration

Calabazilla

2005-02-23T06:17:00.000-08:00

Also called �Missouri Gourd, or Wild Pumpkin� (Cucurbita foetidissima), perennial prostrate vine of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), native to southwestern North America. A calabazilla has triangular, long-stalked, finely toothed leaves, yellow flowers about 6.3 to 10.2 cm (2.5 to 4 inches) wide, and inedible, orange-shaped, predominantly green fruits with yellow stripes and markings. Although an unattractive plant with a

France, History Of, The Wars of Religion

2005-02-22T09:47:00.000-08:00

Guise forces occupied Paris and took control of the royal family, while the Huguenots rose in the provinces, and their two commanders, Louis I de Bourbon, Prince de Cond�, and Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, established headquarters at Orl�ans. The deaths of the opposing leaders - the Protestant Antoine de Bourbon, King Consort of Navarre, and the Catholic marshal Jacques

Aphrodite

2005-02-21T04:21:00.000-08:00

Ancient Greek goddess of sexual love and beauty, identified by the Romans with Venus (q.v.). Because the Greek word aphros means �foam,� the legend arose that Aphrodite was born from the white foam produced by the severed genitals of Uranus (Heaven), after his son Cronus threw them into the sea. Aphrodite was, in fact, widely worshiped as a goddess of the sea and of seafaring; she

Aphrodite

2005-02-20T18:59:00.000-08:00

Talambo Affair

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

Following the attack at Talambo, the Spanish government sent an investigator, whom it called a viceroy (the title of the

Andalusia

2005-02-18T14:27:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1841) of Covington county, southern Alabama, U.S., near the Conecuh River, about 85 miles (135 km) south of Montgomery. It originated in 1841 as New Site, when the county seat of Montezuma relocated to higher ground because of floods, at a point along the Three Notch Trail (used by Andrew Jackson on his way to New Orleans in 1813). Renamed Andalusia in 1844, probably for the Spanish province, it

Libya, Drainage

2005-02-17T13:51:00.000-08:00

There are no perennial rivers in Libya. The numerous wadis that drain the uplands are filled by flash floods during the rains and quickly dry up or are reduced to a trickle. The largest wadi systems are the Wadi Zamzam and Wadi Bayy al-Kabir, both of which reach the western coast of the Gulf of Sidra. Other large wadis drain the interior basins of Surt, Zaltan, and the Fezzan.

Biblical Literature, Form criticism

2005-02-16T23:01:00.000-08:00

Form criticism has become one of the most valuable tools for the reconstruction of the preliterary tradition. This discipline classifies the literary material according to the principal �forms� - such as legal, poetic, and other forms - represented in its contents, and examines these in order to discover how they were handed down and what their successive life settings

New Hampshire

2005-02-15T22:32:00.000-08:00

Constituent state of the United States of America. One of the 13 original U.S. states, it is located in New England at the extreme northeastern corner of the nation. With an area of 9,279 square miles (24,032 square km), it is bounded on the north by the Canadian province of Quebec, on the east by Maine and a 16-mile (25-km) stretch of the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Massachusetts, and on the west by

Ear Disease

2005-02-14T16:53:00.000-08:00

The labyrinth of the inner ear contains the nerve endings of the vestibular nerve - the nerve of equilibrium - and the auditory nerve, which are branches of the vestibulocochlear, or eighth cranial, nerve. The vestibular nerve ends supply the semicircular canals and the otolithic membranes in the vestibule. The auditory nerve supplies the cochlea. Diseases of the

Anai Peak

2005-02-13T07:10:00.000-08:00

Hindi �Anai Mudi� peak in eastern Kerala state, southwestern India. Located in the Western Ghats range, it rises to 8,842 feet (2,695 m) and is peninsular India's highest peak. From this point radiate three ranges - the Anaimalai to the north, the Palni to the northeast, and the Cardamom Hills to the south. Several rivers, including the Periyar and Amaravati, rise in the surrounding ranges.

Henie, Sonja

2005-02-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

Henie began skating when she was six years old. At age 10 she won the Norwegian national figure-skating championship, and

Amamba� Mountains

2005-02-11T00:03:00.000-08:00

Extending south-southwest initially as the Maracaju Mountains for approximately 200 miles (320 km) from Campo Grande, the capital of Mato Grosso do Sul, they form the western side of the Brazilian Highlands and mark the divide between the tributaries of the Paraguay River and those of the Paran�

Graciosa Island

2005-02-10T23:20:00.000-08:00

Portuguese �Ilha Graciosa, � volcanic island, northernmost of the central Azores, east-central Atlantic Ocean. The 23-square-mile (60-square-kilometre) island reaches a height of 1,338 feet (408 m) at the summit of Enx�fre Caldera, a volcanic crater. Dense vegetation is supported by the volcanic soils, and wine grapes, fruit, cereals, and cattle are raised. They are marketed through the principal settlements, Santa

Dress, Ancient Greece

2005-02-09T22:12:00.000-08:00

The long period of Greek culture is customarily classified into three segments. Up to about 500 BC is described as the Archaic period. This was the time when the several different civilizations of mainland and island Greece, Anatolia, and North Africa coexisted, the arts and costume of each influencing the others. The Dorians had invaded the Minoan kingdoms in Crete and

Ejmiadzin

2005-02-08T23:16:00.000-08:00

Originating in the 7th century BC as the town of Vardkesavan, it was renamed Vagarshapat about AD 140, when the Parthian king Vologases III made it his capital. Upon the conversion of Armenia to Christianity

Roba'i

2005-02-07T19:34:00.000-08:00

The most famous example of this genre known in the Western world

Henry I

2005-02-06T10:37:00.000-08:00

Henry was crowned at Westminster, on Aug. 5, 1100, three days after his brother, King William II, William the Conqueror's second son, had been killed in a hunting accident. Duke Robert Curthose, the eldest of the three brothers, who by feudal custom had succeeded to his father's inheritance, Normandy, was returning from the First Crusade and could not assert his own claim to the English

Zanzibar Treaty

2005-02-05T11:21:00.000-08:00

The

China, General works

2005-02-04T11:02:00.000-08:00

Overviews of China's physical and human geography may be found in Keith Buchanan, The Transformation of the Chinese Earth (1970); Ping-chia Kuo, China, 3rd ed. (1970); T.R. Tregear, China: A Geographical Survey (1980); Albert Kolb, East Asia: China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam: Geography of a Cultural Region (1971, reprinted 1977; originally published in German, 1963); Brian Hook (ed.), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of China (1982); Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan (eds.), China, a Country Study, 4th ed. (1988); and Information China, 3 vol. (1989), an encyclopaedic work prepared under the auspices of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and ed. by C.V. James.

Ba'al Shem

2005-02-03T15:13:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Baalshem, or Balshem (Hebrew: �master of the name�), �plural �Ba'ale Shem, Baaleshem, or Baleshem, � in Judaism, title bestowed upon men who reputedly worked wonders and effected cures through secret knowledge of the ineffable names of God. Benjamin ben Zerah (11th century) was one of several Jewish poets to employ the mystical names of God in his works, thereby demonstrating a belief in the efficacy of the holy name long before certain rabbis and Kabbalists (followers

Barakzay Dynasty

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

Ruling family in Afghanistan in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Barakzay brothers seized control of Afghanistan and in 1826 divided the region between them. Dost Mohammad Khan gained preeminence and founded the dynasty about 1837. Thereafter his descendants ruled in direct succession until 1929, when the reigning monarch abdicated and his cousin Mohammad Nader Khan was elected

Strangler Fig

2005-02-01T00:33:00.000-08:00

Of the 150 or so species of New World figs, most are stranglers, including F. obtusifolia and F. nymphaeifolia. Beginning life as a sticky

Furniture, General works

2005-01-31T02:07:00.000-08:00

Ole Hanscher, Mobelkunsten (1966; Eng. trans., The Art of Furniture, 1967), is a chronological survey of the art of furniture (with illustrations). George Nakashima, The Soul of a Tree: A Woodworker's Reflections (1981), is an inspirational commentary of a designer and crafter on the art of furniture making.

Lisa, Manuel

2005-01-30T05:40:00.000-08:00

Of Spanish descent, Lisa automatically gained citizenship when Louisiana was purchased by the United States in 1803. Entering the fur trade out of St. Louis at an early age, he soon became one of the leading traders on the upper Mississippi.

Brown, Ronald Harmon

2005-01-29T22:16:00.000-08:00

U.S. politician (b. Aug. 1, 1941, Washington, D.C.--d. April 3, 1996, near Dubrovnik, Croatia), was regarded as an adroit deal maker and political strategist who helped resuscitate both the Democratic Party as its national chairman (1989-93) and the U.S. Department of Commerce as its secretary (1993-96). A prominent member of Pres. Bill Clinton's Cabinet, he wielded heavy influence in international trade but was

Hinduism, Sacrifice and worship

2005-01-27T10:01:00.000-08:00

Although the Vedic fire rituals were largely replaced in Puranic and modern Hinduism by image worship and other forms of devotionalism, many Hindu rites can still be traced back to Vedism. Certain royal sacrifices - such as the rajasuya, or consecration ritual, and the horse sacrifice (asvamedha) - remained popular with Hindu kings until very recently. Other large-scale

Amyloidosis

2005-01-26T09:04:00.000-08:00

Disease characterized by the deposition of amyloid in the connective tissues, inhibiting normal organ functioning. Amyloid is a fibrous protein-carbohydrate complex that is derived from immunoglobulins, a group of proteins that have antibody activity. The disease may affect the whole system or may be localized in tumourlike masses, particularly in the larynx

Hesperorthis

2005-01-25T07:42:00.000-08:00

Extinct genus of brachiopods, or lamp shells, which as fossils are especially characteristic of Ordovician marine rocks (438 to 505 million years old). The plano-convex shell of Hesperorthis consists of two units (or valves), the brachial valve being flat and the pedicle valve convex. The shell has a radiating pattern of ribs and a relatively broad, triangular area at the dorsal

Feltre

2005-01-24T13:08:00.000-08:00

Latin �Feltria, � hill town, Belluno provincia, Veneto regione, northern Italy. Grouped around Alboino Castle, notable buildings include the cathedral, with a 14th-century campanile and a carved Byzantine cross of the 6th century, and the civic museum. In 1509 the heart of the town was destroyed during hostilities between the League of Cambrai and the Venetian Republic; it has been largely

Pontiac

2005-01-23T16:47:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1820) of Oakland county, southeastern Michigan, U.S., on the Clinton River, 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Detroit. Named for the Ottawa Indian chief, it was located on the Saginaw Trail and became an important wagon and carriage production centre in the 1880s. It later turned to the manufacture of automobiles, auto parts, buses, and trucks. The Oakland Pioneer and Historical Society

Arnow, Harriette

2005-01-22T10:04:00.000-08:00

Haeja K. Chung (ed.), Harriette Simpson Arnow: Critical Essays on Her Work (1995); and Wilton Eckley, Harriette Arnow (1974).

Moschops

2005-01-21T10:04:00.000-08:00

Extinct genus of mammallike reptiles found as fossils in rocks of Permian age (286 to 245 million years ago) in southern Africa. Moschops, which is representative of a group of mammallike reptiles (see therapsid) that became adapted to a diet of plant food, was about 2.6 m (8 feet) long. The body was massive; the skull was high and shortened front to back. Numerous chisel-edged teeth suitable

Turkish Literature

2005-01-20T03:50:00.000-08:00

In the 19th century the introduction of Western reforms had its effect on literature. Mainly under French influence, various writers adopted and adapted Western literary forms, such as the novel, the drama, and the essay, while the rigid forms and attitudes of classical poetry gradually went out of fashion in the country. In the 20th century a Turkish nationalist literature

Basf Aktiengesellschaft

2005-01-19T10:57:00.000-08:00

(German: BASF Limited-liability Company), German chemical and plastics manufacturing company originally founded in 1865 and today operating in some 30 countries. The BASF Group produces oil and natural gas, chemicals, fertilizers, plastics, synthetic fibres, dyes and pigments, potash and salt, inks and printing accessories, electronic recording accessories, cosmetic

Qafsah

2005-01-18T02:50:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Gafsa, �Latin �Capsa, � town, west-central Tunisia. The ancient name of the locality is applied to the Mesolithic Capsian industry (here dated about 6250 BC) of the earliest inhabitants. The original Numidian town was destroyed (106 BC) by the Romans; it was rebuilt later by Trajan and was then successively a centre of Byzantine, Arab, Berber, and Ottoman rulers. Qafsah is a noted irrigated fruit-growing oasis

Mon

2005-01-17T18:40:00.000-08:00

Town, northern Nagaland state, northeastern India. The town was occupied by the British in 1889 and designated a subdivisional headquarters; it was the scene of guerrilla activity until the formation of Nagaland state in 1963. The town has many traditional cottage industries and is noted for its weaving. It also trades in bay leaf. A cottage industries training and production

Israel, Israel under Likud

2005-01-16T07:12:00.000-08:00

To general surprise, the Likud Party, led by Menachem Begin, won the May 1977 election, inaugurating the first non-Labour-led government in Israel's history. Begin's campaign benefited immensely from Sephardic resentment over the patronizing attitude of the Labour establishment and its treatment of non-European Jewish immigrants as second-class citizens. The Sephardim

Biblical Literature, Content and problems

2005-01-15T22:32:00.000-08:00

Church offices are more developed in the Pastoral Letters than in Paul's time. There are presbyters and bishops, but these are sometimes used interchangeably and the monarchical episcopate is not yet depicted, although church offices appear to be heading in that direction. Requirements for office are strict and leaders are chosen and ordained by laying on of hands.

Aesthetics

2005-01-14T15:02:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �esthetics, � the philosophical study of beauty and taste. To define its subject matter more precisely is, however, immensely difficult. Indeed, it could be said that self-definition has been the major task of modern aesthetics. We are acquainted with an interesting and puzzling realm of experience: the realm of the beautiful, the ugly, the sublime, and the elegant; of taste, criticism,

Radin, Paul

2005-01-13T04:16:00.000-08:00

U.S. anthropologist who was influential in advancing a historical model of primitive society based on a synthesis of economic and social structure, religion, philosophy, and psychology. He pioneered in such important fields of anthropology as culture-personality studies and the use of autobiographical documents. An accomplished

Spanish Literature, The novel

2005-01-12T02:38:00.000-08:00

In Ram�n P�rez de Ayala, the novel was at once a polished art form and a forum for philosophical discussion. Belarmino y Apolonio (1921; Belarmino and Apolonio), a projection of the old debate between faith and reason, made its characters almost symbolic, as did Tigre Juan (1926; Tiger Juan), on the traditional theme of honour. Gabriel Mir�'s perfect descriptive prose retarded the

Hassan Ii

2005-01-11T18:05:00.000-08:00

Hassan, after taking a law degree at Bordeaux, France, was appointed commander of the Royal Armed Forces (1955) and deputy premier (1960) and succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, Muhammad V (1961). As

Gambia, The

2005-01-10T22:48:00.000-08:00

Officially �Republic of The Gambia, � country of western Africa, with an area of 4,127 square miles (10,689 square kilometres). Essentially, The Gambia is a strip of land 15 to 30 miles (25 to 50 kilometres) wide and 295 miles long on either bank of the Gambia River; except for a short coastline, it is surrounded by Senegal. Its unusual shape and size are attributable to territorial compromises arising from 19th-century Anglo-French rivalry

R�sselsheim

2005-01-09T02:09:00.000-08:00

City, Hesse Land (state), in west-central Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Main River between Mainz and Frankfurt am Main. Founded by the Frankish prince Ruzilo as Rusilesheim (�Ruzilo's home�), it belonged to the counts of Katzenelnbogen from 1300, was chartered in 1437, passed to the landgraves of Hesse in 1479, and fell to the Hesse-Darmstadt line in 1567. The town hall dates from

Pietrasanta

2005-01-07T02:38:00.000-08:00

Town, centre of a district known as Versilia, Lucca provincia, Toscana (Tuscany) regione, central Italy, at the foot of the Alpi Apuane (mountains) just southeast of Carrara. Its piazza is surrounded by fine buildings including the Cathedral of San Martino and the Church of San Agostino (a baptistery with a medieval font), both dating from the 14th century, and the remains of

Middletown

2005-01-06T03:48:00.000-08:00

Borough (town), Dauphin county, central Pennsylvania, U.S., just southeast of Harrisburg, at the confluence of Swatara Creek and the Susquehanna River. George Fisher settled the site in 1752 and in 1755 laid out the town, which he named Middletown for its location midway between Lancaster and Carlisle. In 1809 Fisher's son, George, laid out another town (Harborton) at the juncture of the

Amin, Hafizullah

2005-01-05T09:06:00.000-08:00

Amin was born into a Ghilzay Pashtun family. After graduating from Kabul University, he traveled to the United States for graduate study at Columbia University in New York. Upon returning to Afghanistan, he became a teacher and later the principal

Thenardite

2005-01-04T03:47:00.000-08:00

Any of a type of sodium sulfate mineral (Na2SO4) that has been deposited as an evaporation product near salt lakes and playas, as in the arid regions of northern Africa, Siberia, Canada, and the western United States. It is widespread as an efflorescence on arid soil and as a crust in volcanic fumarole deposits. For detailed physical properties, see sulfate mineral (table).

Kohat

2005-01-03T14:42:00.000-08:00

Town, south-central North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. The town lies just north of the Kohat Toi River at the entrance to the Kohat Pass, through which a military road was opened in 1901. The new town lies at some distance from the original 14th-century town, traditionally said to have been founded by the Buddhist raja Kohat. It is connected by rail with Thal and the main rail

Block Book

2005-01-02T03:11:00.000-08:00

Book printed from wooden blocks on which the text and illustration for each page had to be painstakingly cut by hand. Such books were distinct from printed books after the invention of movable type, in which words were made up of individual letters each of which could be reused as often as necessary and in which only illustrations and special devices,

Arnstadt

2005-01-01T13:24:00.000-08:00

City, Thuringia Land (state), central Germany. It lies along the Gera River, at the northern edge of the Thuringian Forest, just southwest of Erfurt city. First mentioned in 704 and chartered in 1266, Arnstadt was bought in 1306 from the abbey of Hersfeld by the counts of Schwarzburg, who lived there until 1716. Their palace, Monplaisir (1703 - 07), survives, and the 12th - 14th-century Church of Our Lady (Liebfrauenkirche)

Arzner, Dorothy

2004-12-31T22:50:00.000-08:00

Arzner was reared in Los Angeles, where her family owned a Hollywood

Industrial Diamond

2004-12-30T11:19:00.000-08:00

Any diamond that is designated for industrial use, principally as a cutting tool or abrasive. In general, industrial diamonds are too badly flawed, irregularly shaped, poorly coloured, or small to be of value as gems, but they are of vital importance in the modern metalworking and mining industries. Their utility stems from the fact that diamond is the hardest natural

Pacific Ocean, Central Pacific region

2004-12-29T04:37:00.000-08:00

The central Pacific region lies between the boundaries of the eastern and western regions. The largest and the most geologically stable of the structural provinces of the Earth's crust, it is characterized by expansive areas of low relief, lying at a general depth of about 15,000 feet below the surface.

Pacific Ocean, Central Pacific region

2004-12-28T09:51:00.000-08:00

Zirid Dynasty,

2004-12-27T00:34:00.000-08:00

Also called �Banu Ziri� Muslim dynasty of Sanhajah Berbers whose various branches ruled in Ifriqiyah (Tunisia and eastern Algeria) and Granada (972 - 1152). Rising to prominence in the mountains of Kabylie, Algeria, where they established their first capital, Ashir, the Zirids became allies of the Fatimids of al-Qayrawan. Their loyal support prompted the Fatimid caliph al-Mu'izz, when moving to his new capital of

Zirid Dynasty,

2004-12-26T07:01:00.000-08:00

Seth

2004-12-24T08:41:00.000-08:00

The worship of Seth originally centred at Nubt (Greek Ombos), near modern Tukh, on the western bank of the Nile River. Nubt, with its vast cemetery at nearby Naqadah, was the principal predynastic centre in Upper Egypt. The town lost its preeminent position with the unification of Egypt about 3050 BC, which was carried

Pencil Fish

2004-12-23T08:53:00.000-08:00

Any of several slender South American fishes belonging to three groups of characins, treated by some authorities as three separate families and by others as a single family, Characidae. Pencil fish pick animal food from the bottom or from plant surfaces. Most species inhabit slow-moving water and all live in fresh water. Some habitually swim at an angle, tail down,

Sato Haruo

2004-12-22T06:50:00.000-08:00

Sato came from a family of physicians with scholarly and literary interests. He entered Keio University in Tokyo to study with the novelist Nagai Kafu in 1910, but he had already joined the Myojo group of poets revolving

Azay-le-rideau

2004-12-21T23:44:00.000-08:00

Town and ch�teau, Indre-et-Loire d�partement, Centre r�gion, central France. The town lies along the Indre River a few miles upstream from its confluence with the Loire River, about 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Tours. Originally the site of a Roman villa, the town was known in the 12th century as Azayum. When the French dauphin (later Charles VII) was insulted by the Burgundian guard

Priesthood

2004-12-20T08:44:00.000-08:00

The Vedic, Brahmanic, and Upanishadic conceptions of priesthood and the predominance of the Brahman caste in Hinduism are discussed in Arthur Berriedale Keith, The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads, 2 vol. (1925, reprinted 1989); S. Radhakrishnan, The Hindu View of Life (1927, reissued 1980), and Eastern Religions and Western Thought, 2nd ed. (1940, reissued 1991); J.H. Hutton, Caste in India, 2nd ed. (1951); and R.C. Zaehner, Hinduism (1962, reissued 1977), with a full bibliography. C.J. Fuller, Servants of the Goddess: The Priests of a South Indian Temple (1984), analyzes the complex interrelationships between the priests of the Minaksi Temple in Madurai and the economic, political, and social structure of contemporary India. V. Bouillier and G. Toffin (eds.), Priesthood, Power, and Authority in the Himalayas (1989), in English and French, is a collection of ethnographic papers concerning the role of the priesthood in Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and two tribal religions, the Tharu of Dang and the cult of Kham Magar. The sublimation of priesthood in Buddhism in India, China, and Japan is treated in Paul Dahlke, Buddhism and Its Place in the Mental Life of Mankind (1927); and Edward Conze, Buddhism: Its Essence and Development (1951, reissued 1975). D. Howard Smith, Chinese Religions (1968), introduces religious thought and sacerdotal practice in China. Religious Studies in Japan (1959), a collection of papers from the ninth International Congress for the History of Religions, is a very informative composite volume in English by a group of Japanese scholars. Texts concerning the Zen sect include Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, Manual of Zen Buddhism, 2nd ed. (1950, reissued 1983); and Alan Watts, The Way of Zen (1957, reprinted 1989); while reference is made to it in R.C. Zaehner, Mysticism, Sacred and Profane (1957, reissued 1980). The priesthood in Shinto is discussed in D.C. Holtom, The National Faith of Japan (1938, reissued 1965).

Pacher, Michael

2004-12-19T11:13:00.000-08:00

Little is known of Pacher's early life, but he is thought to have gone to Italy, where he was much impressed by the experiments in perspective of two eminent northern Italian

Estonia, Relief and drainage

2004-12-17T18:14:00.000-08:00

The Estonian landscape is largely the product of glacial activity; the south is covered with moraine hills, and the central part abounds in elongated hills with flat tops. The northern part of Estonia is characterized by long narrow swells consisting of deposits left by glacial rivers that formed during the melting of ice. Extensive sandy areas mark what was once

Beyer, Absalon Pederss�

2004-12-16T19:15:00.000-08:00

Born on a farm, Beyer was adopted by a bishop after the death of his parents and educated at the universities of Copenhagen and Wittenberg, where he studied under the famous Protestant Reformation scholar Philipp Melanchthon. Beyer was a lecturer at the Bergen Cathedral

Ibn Gabirol

2004-12-15T10:26:00.000-08:00

In full� Solomon Ben Yehuda Ibn Gabirol, �Arabic �Abu Ayyub Sulayman Ibn Yahya Ibn Gabirut, �Latin �Avicebron, or Avencebrol� one of the outstanding figures of the Hebrew school of religious and secular poetry during the Jewish Golden Age in Moorish Spain. He was also an important Neoplatonic philosopher.

Saarinen, Eero

2004-12-14T17:26:00.000-08:00

Like many contemporary architects, Saarinen was challenged by furniture design, especially the chair, which presents aesthetical and structural problems that are particularly difficult to solve. In 1941 he and the designer-architect Charles Eames won a national furniture award for a chair design in molded plywood. In 1948 Saarinen created a womblike chair using a glass

Hoover, J. Edgar

2004-12-13T18:25:00.000-08:00

Hoover studied law at night at George Washington University, where he received degrees as bachelor of laws in 1916 and as

Gamma Decay

2004-12-12T13:01:00.000-08:00

Type of radioactivity in which some unstable atomic nuclei dissipate excess energy by a spontaneous electromagnetic process. In the most common form of gamma decay, known as gamma emission, gamma rays (photons, or packets of electromagnetic energy, of extremely short wavelength) are radiated. Gamma decay also includes two other electromagnetic processes, internal

Earhart, Amelia

2004-12-11T06:58:00.000-08:00

Amelia Earhart, Last Flight, arranged by George Palmer Putnam (1937, reissued 1988), contains journal entries and messages sent home, selected and arranged by her husband. Biographies include George Palmer Putnam, Soaring Wings (1939, reissued 1972); Doris L. Rich, Amelia Earhart (1989); Mary S. Lovell, The Sound of Wings (1989); Susan Butler, East to the Dawn (1997); and Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon, Amelia (1997). Randall Brink, Lost Star: The Search for Amelia Earhart (1994), examines her disappearance.

Tsuruga

2004-12-10T01:47:00.000-08:00

City, Fukui ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It faces Tsuruga Bay of the Sea of Japan. A flourishing port since early historic times, it was one of the main centres of communication with the Asian mainland and a major shipment centre for the former national capitals of Nara and Kyoto. Tsuruga's industrial base was developed after World War II with factories producing synthetic

Ovary

2004-12-09T17:25:00.000-08:00

In zoology, female reproductive organ in which sex cells (eggs or ova) are produced. The usually paired ovaries of female vertebrates produce both the sex cells and the hormones necessary for reproduction. In some invertebrate groups such as coelenterates, formation of ovaries is associated with the seasons. Many invertebrates

Metalmark

2004-12-08T02:20:00.000-08:00

Most males possess reduced front legs; females have functional