CupTrain

Kashmir, Vale Of

2005-04-05T05:33:00.000-07:00

Scenic intermontane valley between the main Himalayan ranges (northeast) and the Pir Panjal Range (southwest), in northwestern India. The valley is an ancient lake basin 85 mi (140 km) long, 20 mi wide, and 5,300 ft (1,620 m) high. Drained by the upper Jhelum River, the valley is lined by 12,000–16,000-ft-high mountains that help shelter it from the wet southwest monsoon. It is the centre of population for the Kashmir

Voyager

2005-04-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

In aeronautics, American experimental aircraft that in 1986 became the first airplane to fly around the world without stops or refueling. Piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, the craft took off on December 14 from Edwards Air Force Base, 60 miles (100 km) northeast of Los Angeles, and landed at that same base 9 days later after completing a course of 25,012 miles (40,251 km) around the world. The Voyager

Bark Painting

2005-04-01T07:12:00.000-08:00

Also called Tapa, or Bark Cloth, nonwoven fabric decorated with figurative and abstract designs usually applied by scratching or by painting. The basic clothlike material, produced from the inner bark, or bast, of certain trees (see bast fibre), is made by stripping off the bast, soaking it, and beating it to make the fibres interlace and to reduce thickness. The most popular material is the inner bark

Zambezi River, Plant life

2005-03-30T15:41:00.000-08:00

The vegetation along the upper and middle course of the Zambezi is predominantly savanna, with deciduous trees, grass, and open woodland. Mopane woodland (Colophospermum mopane) is predominant on the alluvial flats of the low-lying river valleys and is highly susceptible to fire. Grass, when present, is typically short and sparse. Forestland with species of the genus

Terborch, Gerard

2005-03-28T20:05:00.000-08:00

Terborch's father had been an artist and had visited Rome but from 1621 was employed as a tax collector. Surviving drawings made by the young Terborch

Chase, Salmon P(ortland)

2005-03-25T17:21:00.000-08:00

Chase received part of his education from his uncle Philander Chase, the first Episcopal bishop of Ohio

Norfolk Island Pine

2005-03-23T14:58:00.000-08:00

The wood of large trees is used in construction, furniture,

Cohong

2005-03-21T08:53:00.000-08:00

Wade–Giles romanization kung-hung , also called hong , or cong-hong the guild of Chinese merchants authorized by the central government to trade with Western merchants at Canton prior to the first Opium War (1839–42). Such firms often were called “foreign-trade firms” (yang-hang) and the merchants who directed them “hong merchants” (hang-shang). In existence by the mid-17th century, these merchants theoretically numbered 13 but frequently totalled

Yamato-e

2005-03-19T07:35:00.000-08:00

Yamato-e is a calculated

Metastable State

2005-03-18T11:02:00.000-08:00

In physics and chemistry, particular excited state of an atom, nucleus, or other system that has a longer lifetime than the ordinary excited states and that generally has a shorter lifetime than the lowest, often stable, energy state, called the ground state. A metastable state may thus be considered a kind of temporary energy trap or a somewhat stable intermediate

Claremont

2005-03-17T07:02:00.000-08:00

City, Sullivan county, western New Hampshire, U.S., on the Sugar River near its junction with the Connecticut River. Settled in 1762, Claremont was organized as a town in 1764 and was probably named for the duke of Newcastle's country estate in England. Waterpower for early industry was provided by the Sugar River, and completion of the Concord and Claremont Railroad (1871–72) gave impetus

Ussuriysk

2005-03-16T18:50:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ussurijsk city, Primorsky kray (region), far eastern Russia. It lies about 50 miles (80 km) north of Vladivostok along the Trans-Siberian Railroad at the junction with a line to Harbin in Heilungkiang province, China. Founded as the village of Nikolskoye in 1866, it became a city in 1897 and was renamed Nikolsk-Ussuriysk in 1926, Voroshilov in 1935, and Ussuriysk in 1957. It has food-processing, footwear, clothing,

Gatineau River

2005-03-16T17:42:00.000-08:00

French Rivière Gatineau, river in Outaouais region, southwestern Quebec province, Canada. The river rises in a chain of lakes north of Baskatong Reservoir and flows generally southward for 240 miles (390 km) to join the Ottawa River at Hull. It was named for Nicolas Gatineau, a fur trader who is reputed to have drowned there about 1683. Having served for centuries as a major artery for the lumber trade, the

Wilder, Douglas

2005-03-15T08:48:00.000-08:00

In full Lawrence Douglas Wilder American politician, the first popularly elected African American governor in the United States. He received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Virginia Union University (1951) and a law degree from Howard University (1959). Wilder pursued a legal and political career in Richmond, Virginia, and served as a director of the Richmond chapter of

Lsd

2005-03-13T09:33:00.000-08:00

Abbreviation of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, also called Lysergide, potent synthetic hallucinogenic drug that can be derived from the ergot alkaloids (as ergotamine and ergonovine, principal constituents of ergot, the grain deformity and toxic infectant of flour caused by the fungus of grasses, Claviceps purpurea). LSD usually is prepared in the laboratory by chemical synthesis. Its basic chemical structure is similar to that

Champmeslé, Marie

2005-03-12T10:45:00.000-08:00

The daughter of an actor, she married the actor Charles Chevillet Champmeslé in 1666, and by 1669 both were members of the Théâtre du Marais in Paris. In 1670 they joined the Hôtel de Bourgogne, where she had her first success as Hermione in Racine's Andromaque. Only with difficulty could

Equatorial Guinea, Linguistic composition

2005-03-11T18:02:00.000-08:00

While each ethnic group speaks its own language, other linguistic influences are at work. The first is Spanish, the official language of the republic, which is taught in schools and used by the press and is the only means of communication common to both Bioko and the mainland. The second influence is pidgin English, which is used extensively in petty commerce and forms

Athelney

2005-03-11T15:04:00.000-08:00

Small eminence, formerly an island, rising above the drained marshes around the confluence of the Rivers Tone and Parrett in the administrative and historic county of Somerset, England. In 878 King Alfred sought refuge from the Danes in the marshes and constructed a stronghold at Athelney, from where he broke out and won a decisive victory at Edington, near Chippenham.

Selberg, Atle

2005-03-09T06:11:00.000-08:00

Selberg

Aeroflot

2005-03-08T17:24:00.000-08:00

The Soviet state airline was founded in 1928 under the name Dobroflot and was reorganized under the name Aeroflot in 1932. Dobroflot, or Dobrovolny Flot, grew out of two former airlines: Dobrolyot, founded in 1923, and Ukvozdukhput, or Ukrainian Airways, founded in 1925. These airlines together connected such

Epistemology, Substance

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

One of the cornerstones of philosophy from Plato to Berkeley was the notion of substance, that which exists in itself and does not depend upon anything else for its existence. Substance is contrasted with accident or modes of being, which exist in substances and depend on them for their existence. A dog is a substance, and its colour, shape, weight, and bark exist in the

Perak, Tun

2005-03-06T11:28:00.000-08:00

A leader in the Malay defeat of a Siamese invasion in 1445–46, Tun Perak was made bendahara by Sultan Muzaffar Shah in 1456, when he again led Malacca's forces in a decisive defeat of the Siamese. He

Kirchhoff's Circuit Rules

2005-03-05T19:49:00.000-08:00

The first rule, the junction theorem, states that the sum of the currents into a specific junction in the circuit equals the sum of the currents out of the

Rocky Mountains, Mineral resources

2005-03-05T18:41:00.000-08:00

Minerals have been of economic significance since the mid-19th century, although worldwide market fluctuations often have caused mine closures. Copper, easily the most valuable of the many metallic resources of the Rocky Mountains, has been extracted from large mines in British Columbia, Montana, Utah, and Arizona. The Rockies are more noted for their many underground

Grafström, Gillis

2005-03-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

Grafström won his first gold medal at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, despite breaking

Animikie Series

2005-03-02T06:52:00.000-08:00

The Animikie Series was named for exposures along the north shore of Lake Superior, in the Thunder Bay area (animiki is the Chippewa word for “thunder

Welch, Elisabeth Margaret

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

American-born British musical theatre and cabaret singer (b. Feb. 27, 1904, New York, N.Y.—d. July 15, 2003, Northolt, Middlesex, Eng.), was known for her show-stopping performances in plays by Cole Porter, Ivor Novello, and Noël Coward. Welch began her career in New York City, where she created a sensation in 1931 with her rendition of Porter's “Love for Sale.” She was a cabaret singer in Paris before becoming

Tiberius

2005-02-27T13:05:00.000-08:00

In full Tiberius Caesar Augustus or Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus , original name Tiberius Claudius Nero second Roman emperor (AD 14–37), adopted son of Augustus, whose imperial institutions and imperial boundaries he sought to preserve. In his last years he became a tyrannical recluse, inflicting a reign of terror against the major personages of Rome.

Velázquez, Diego

2005-02-26T20:59:00.000-08:00

According to Palomino, Velázquez's first master was the Sevillian painter Francisco Herrera the Elder (c. 1576–1656). In 1611 he was formally apprenticed to Francisco Pacheco, whose daughter he married in 1618. “After five years of education and training,” Pacheco writes, “I married him to my daughter, moved by his virtue, integrity, and good parts and by the expectations of his disposition

France, History Of, Carolingian literature and arts

2005-02-26T00:18:00.000-08:00

A renaissance movement occurred during the general renovation undertaken by the Carolingian monarchs; they supported the movement as an aid to religious reform and as a means to enhance their own prestige. The origins of the movement lie deep in the 7th and 8th centuries. It received great stimulus, however, when the growth of the empire brought the Franks into contact

Mordvin Language

2005-02-24T21:14:00.000-08:00

Member of the Finno-Ugric group of the Uralic language family, spoken in Mordvinia and neighbouring areas. The third largest Uralic language in number of speakers, ranking after Hungarian and Finnish, it has two major dialects: Erzya, spoken in the eastern portion of Mordvinia and the surrounding territory; and Moksha, spoken in the west. Although both dialects are

Hormuz, Strait Of

2005-02-23T23:34:00.000-08:00

Also called Strait Of Ormuz, channel linking the Persian Gulf (west) with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea (southeast). The strait is 35 to 60 mi (55 to 95 km) wide and separates Iran (north) from the Arabian Peninsula (south). It contains the islands of Qeshm (Qishm), Hormuz, and Hengam (Henjam) and is of great strategic and economic importance, especially as oil tankers collecting from various ports on the Persian Gulf

Ceremonial Object, Protective devices and markers of sacredness

2005-02-23T18:55:00.000-08:00

Other objects, such as fans, flyswatters, parasols, and standards—analogous to the symbols of royalty—often complete the permanent furnishings of sacred places. In addition to their utilitarian role, they are endowed with a sacred character; fans used in Brahmanic and Buddhist cults may be compared to the flabella (“fans”) in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches.

Hojo Masako

2005-02-21T05:54:00.000-08:00

Masako fell in love with Yoritomo when he was exiled from the capital by his family's rivals, the Taira clan, and put under the watch of Masako's father.

Shikoku

2005-02-20T05:49:00.000-08:00

Agriculture is intensive in the

Amb

2005-02-20T05:44:00.000-08:00

Small frontier state, central North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. It became part of Pakistan in 1947 and lies on the west bank of the Indus River, 15 miles (24 km) north of the Tarbela Dam and northwest of Abbottabad. Apart from Amb, the main township, the state now consists of only three villages. The residence of the ruler (nawab), formerly at Amb, is now at Darband. The state is mainly

Afonso I

2005-02-19T09:21:00.000-08:00

Nzinga Mbemba, who became the sixth manikongo (lord of the Kongo) in 1506 or 1507, encouraged the penetration of his country by the Portuguese that had begun under his predecessor, Nzinga Nkuwa. Becoming a Christian and adopting

Ness, Loch

2005-02-17T13:22:00.000-08:00

Lake, lying in the Highland council area, Scotland. With a depth of 788 feet (240 metres) and a length of about 23 miles (36 km), Loch Ness has the largest volume of fresh water in Great Britain. It lies in the Glen Mor—or Great Glen, which bisects the Highlands—and forms part of the system of waterways across Scotland that civil engineer Thomas Telford linked by means of the Caledonian

Chicago

2005-02-16T17:00:00.000-08:00

Until the 1830s a minor trading post at

Aston, Francis William

2005-02-16T15:17:00.000-08:00

British physicist who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1922 for his development of the mass spectrograph, a device that separates atoms or molecular fragments of different mass and measures those masses with remarkable accuracy. Aston used the mass spectograph to discover a large number of nuclides

Bulbocavernosus Muscle

2005-02-14T21:06:00.000-08:00

Also called Bulbospongiosus, a muscle of the perineum, the area between the anus and the genitals. In the male, it surrounds the bulb (the enlarged inner end of the structure that surrounds the urethra) of the penis and can be contracted to expel the last drops of urine or semen. In the female it is divided into halves that extend from just behind the clitoris to the central tendon of the perineum and

Benedict (xiv)

2005-02-14T05:27:00.000-08:00

In 1417 the Council of Constance deposed the antipope Pope Benedict (XIII) and elected Martin V, thus officially terminating the Western Schism between Avignon and Rome. However, Benedict, protected in his castle of Peñíscola in Valencia, resisted until his death in 1423 and even reconstituted his court by creating four new cardinals. The intrigues

Waterford

2005-02-13T03:30:00.000-08:00

Irish Port Láirge city, port, and county borough of County Waterford, and the major town of southeastern Ireland. It is on the south bank of the River Suir, 4 miles (6 km) above the latter's junction with the Barrow at the head of Waterford Harbour. Waterford became a cathedral city in 1096. The 2nd Earl of Pembroke, known as Strongbow, captured the place in 1170; and Henry II landed there in 1171. Waterford received

Raymond Iv

2005-02-12T17:20:00.000-08:00

In the early years of his countship, Raymond was a pious

Messenger

2005-02-10T23:55:00.000-08:00

(foaled 1780), racehorse who, though a Thoroughbred who sired many successful Thoroughbred (flat) racers, was most important as the foundation sire of the Standardbred (harness racehorse) breed. A son of Mambrino and grandson of Matchem, he was foaled in England but was taken to Philadelphia in 1788. His descendants became known for their trotting ability, and his great-grandson

Systemic Circulation

2005-02-10T04:33:00.000-08:00

In physiology, the circuit of vessels supplying oxygenated blood to and returning deoxygenated blood from the tissues of the body, as distinguished from the pulmonary circulation. Blood is pumped from the left ventricle of the heart through the aorta and arterial branches to the arterioles and through capillaries, where it reaches an equilibrium with the tissue

Wage And Salary, Wages-fund theory

2005-02-08T07:38:00.000-08:00

Smith said that the demand for labour could not increase except in proportion to the increase of the funds destined for the payment of wages. Ricardo maintained that an increase in capital would result in an increase in demand for labour. Statements such as these foreshadowed the wages-fund theory, which held that a predetermined fund of wealth existed for the payment

Género Chico

2005-02-08T06:06:00.000-08:00

(Spanish: “little genre”), Spanish literary genre of light dramatic or operatic one-act playlets, as contrasted with the género grande of serious drama or opera. Developed primarily in the theatres of Madrid during the later 19th century, género chico works usually dealt with Madrid's lower classes, whose way of life was regarded with mingled sentimentality and satiric

Sachs, Nelly

2005-02-06T01:28:00.000-08:00

In full Nelly Leonie Sachs German poet and dramatist who was transformed by the Nazi experience from a dilettante into a poignant spokesperson for the grief and yearnings of her fellow Jews. When, with Shmuel Yosef Agnon, she was awarded the 1966 Nobel Prize for Literature, she observed that Agnon represented Israel whereas “I represent the tragedy of the Jewish

Allegory

2005-02-05T13:29:00.000-08:00

Literary allegories typically describe situations and events or express abstract ideas in terms of material objects,

Computer Security

2005-02-04T18:32:00.000-08:00

The protection of computer systems and information from harm, theft, and unauthorized use. Computer hardware is typically protected by the same means used to protect other valuable or sensitive equipment, namely, serial numbers, doors and locks, and alarms. The protection of information and system access, on the other hand, is achieved through other tactics, some

Argentina, Immigration and ethnicity

2005-02-03T04:36:00.000-08:00

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

La Serena

2005-02-03T02:55:00.000-08:00

Capital of Coquimbo region, northern Chile, lying on a marine terrace overlooking Bahía (bay) de Coquimbo, just south of the Río Elqui and east of Coquimbo city. Founded c. 1543 on the river's northern bank, it was named after the Spanish birthplace of the conquistador Pedro de Valdivia. Razed by Diaguita Indians in 1549 and rebuilt on the present site the following year, La Serena

Mid-indian Ridge

2005-02-02T18:55:00.000-08:00

Submarine ridge of the Indian Ocean that is connected to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; both are segments of the worldwide mid-oceanic ridge system. Entering the Indian Ocean from the South Atlantic, the Mid-Indian Ridge extends north to a point near Rodrigues Island, where it divides into two parts: one segment continues northward toward the Gulf of Aden, where it connects

Pacific Ocean, Physical environment

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

Otis W. Freeman, Geography of the Pacific (1951), surveys the physical features of the ocean; and Alan E.M. Nairn and Francis G. Stehli (eds.), The Ocean Basins and Margins, vol. 7, The Pacific Ocean, 2 vol. (1985–88), is comprehensive and highly detailed. Zvi Ben-Avraham (ed.), The Evolution of the Pacific Ocean Margins (1989); and H.W. Menard, Marine Geology of the Pacific (1964), explore marine geology and geophysics. See also Bruno Wauthy, Physical Ocean Environment in the South Pacific Commission Area (1986), a short but valuable summary of the oceanography of the central and South Pacific, prepared as a regional report under the United Nations Environment Programme.

Békés

2005-01-31T20:57:00.000-08:00

Megye (county), southeastern Hungary, occupying 2,175 square miles (5,632 square km) of agricultural flatland on the Great Hungarian Plain. It has hot summers, severe winters, light rainfall, and a sparse natural vegetation. In the northern part of the megye, broad areas along the Körös and Berettyó rivers are irrigated. In addition to cereals, specialty crops of poppy seeds and sour

Kertész, André

2005-01-29T09:42:00.000-08:00

While working as a clerk on the Budapest Stock Exchange from 1912 to 1914, Kertész began to experiment with photography. During World War I he served in the Hungarian

Progeria

2005-01-29T06:59:00.000-08:00

Human disorder with many characteristics of premature aging. Affected persons have parchment-like skin, become bald or gray-haired early in life, and tend to develop diseases related to aging decades before they occur in normal individuals. Initially, progeria was studied as a model of normal aging, but because not all organs are affected, this is no longer thought

Hoop

2005-01-28T03:54:00.000-08:00

Circular toy adaptable to many games, children's and adults', probably the most ubiquitous of the world's toys, after the ball. The ancient Greeks advocated hoop rolling as a beneficial exercise for those not very strong. It was also used as a toy by both Greek and Roman children, as graphic representations indicate. Most of these ancient hoops were of metal. Most later

Altare Glass

2005-01-26T07:28:00.000-08:00

Type of Italian glassware produced in the town of Altare, near Genoa. The Altare glass industry was established in the 11th century by glassmakers from Normandy and developed independently of the much better known glassworks of Venice. During the 15th century the great demand for Venetian glass and, consequently, its profitability led the Venetians to confine glassmakers

Grace & Co.

2005-01-25T20:24:00.000-08:00

The company grew out of a Peruvian land and resource enterprise formed by William R. Grace in 1854. In 1865 Grace moved the business headquarters to New York City, where the company expanded into shipping. The firm was incorporated

Drachma

2005-01-25T10:30:00.000-08:00

Silver coin of ancient Greece and the former monetary unit of modern Greece. Its name derives from the Greek verb “to grasp,” and its original value was equivalent to that of a handful of arrows. The early drachma had different weights in different regions. From the 5th century BC, Athens gained commercial preeminence, and the Athenian drachma became the foremost currency.

Hippogriff

2005-01-23T11:20:00.000-08:00

A legendary animal that has the foreparts of a winged griffin and the body and hindquarters of a horse. The creature was invented by Ludovico Ariosto in his Orlando furioso and was based on a proverbial phrase about crossing a griffin with a horse that was used to signify an impossibility or incongruity.

Sprint

2005-01-23T05:14:00.000-08:00

Racers compete in groups of two (sometimes called a match sprint) or three, and they frequently spend the early laps of the race moving relatively slowly and trying to manoeuvre their opponents into the lead, while at the same time following close

Laos, Drainage

2005-01-22T23:45:00.000-08:00

The general slope of the land in Laos is downhill from east to west, and all the major rivers—the Tha, Beng, Ou, Ngum, Kading, Bangfai, Banghiang, and Kong—are tributaries of the Mekong (Lao: Mènam Khong). The Mekong flows generally southeast and south along and through western Laos and forms its boundary with Myanmar and most of the border with Thailand. The course of the river

Norfolk

2005-01-21T06:57:00.000-08:00

Administrative and historic county of eastern England, bounded by Suffolk (south), Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire (west), and the North Sea (north and east). The administrative county comprises seven districts: Breckland, Broadland, North Norfolk, and South Norfolk; the boroughs of Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn and West Norfolk; and the city of Norwich. The historic

Cambyses I

2005-01-19T05:36:00.000-08:00

Ruler of Anshan c. 600–559 BC. Cambyses was the son of Cyrus I and succeeded his father in Anshan (northwest of Susa in Elam) as a vassal of King Astyages of Media. According to the 5th-century-BC Greek historian Herodotus, Cambyses married a daughter of Astyages, by whom he became the father of Cyrus II the Great.

'abd Al-malik

2005-01-18T08:59:00.000-08:00

In general, Umayyad rule was greatly strengthened by 'Abd al-Malik, who enjoyed good relations with the Medinese religious circles, an element with considerable moral influence in the Islamic world. 'Abd al-Malik was more pious than any of his Umayyad predecessors. His long sojourn in Medina had enabled him to know the sentiments of Medinese religious scholars. As caliph,

Alcor

2005-01-17T20:14:00.000-08:00

Also called 80 Ursae Majoris star with apparent magnitude of 4.03. The ability to see the dim star Alcor with the unaided eye may have been regarded by the Arabs (and others) as a test of good vision. Alcor makes a visual double with the brighter star Mizar in the middle of the handle of the Big Dipper (Ursa Major); the pair have also been called the Horse and Rider.

Computers, The Altair

2005-01-16T07:21:00.000-08:00

In September 1973 Radio Electronics published an article describing a “TV Typewriter,” which was a computer terminal that could connect a hobbyist with a mainframe computer. It was written by Don Lancaster, an aerospace engineer and fire spotter in Arizona who was also a prolific author of do-it-yourself articles for electronics hobbyists. The TV Typewriter provided

Tsimshian

2005-01-15T10:29:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Chimmesyan, Indians of the North Pacific Coast of North America, inhabiting the mainland and islands around the Skeena and Nass rivers and Milbanke Sound in what is now British Columbia and Alaska. They speak any of three Tsimshian dialects: Niska, spoken along the Nass River; coastal Tsimshian, along the lower Skeena and the coast; and Kitksan (or Gitksan), along the upper Skeena.

Capital Punishment

2005-01-15T03:28:00.000-08:00

Also called death penalty execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law of a criminal offense. Capital punishment should be distinguished from extrajudicial executions carried out without due process of law. The term death penalty is sometimes used interchangeably with capital punishment, though imposition of the penalty is not always followed by execution

Abacha, Sani

2005-01-14T19:40:00.000-08:00

Nigerian military leader (b. Sept. 20, 1943, Kano, Nigeria--d. June 8, 1998, Abuja, Nigeria), participated in the overthrow of three successive military governments before gaining control of the country himself in 1993. Having entered the army at age 18, Abacha was educated at military schools in Nigeria, England, and the United States and rose to brigadier by 1980. He participated in the ouster of Pres.

Paphos

2005-01-12T15:23:00.000-08:00

Old Paphos, which was settled

Human Disease, Diseases of genetic origin

2005-01-10T06:29:00.000-08:00

Certain human diseases result from mutations in the genetic complement (genome) contained in the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of chromosomes. A gene is a discrete linear sequence of nucleotide bases (molecular units) of the DNA that codes for, or directs, the synthesis of a protein, and there may be as many as 100,000 genes in the human genome. Proteins, many of which are enzymes

De Niro, Robert

2005-01-09T02:46:00.000-08:00

The son of two Greenwich Village artists, De Niro dropped out of school at age 16 to study at the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting. After working in a few Off-Off-Broadway plays, he appeared in his first film, Brian De Palma's The Wedding Party (1963, released

China, Formation of a rival southern government

2005-01-09T00:49:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile, in July Sun Yat-sen, supported by part of the Chinese navy and followed by some 100 members of parliament, attempted to organize a rival government in Canton. The initial costs of this undertaking, termed the Movement to Protect the Constitution, probably were supplied by the German consulate in Shanghai. On August 31 the rump parliament in Canton established

Giotto Di Bondone

2005-01-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

In January 1330, King Robert of Naples promoted Giotto to the rank of “familiar” (member of the royal household), which implies that he had been in Naples for some while, possibly since 1329, and he remained there until 1332–33. All the works he executed there have been lost, but traces of his style may be distinguished in the local school. On April 12, 1334, he was appointed capomastro, or surveyor, of

Canberra

2005-01-07T00:43:00.000-08:00

A small squatters' settlement of stockmen called Canberry, or Canbury (a derivation of an Aboriginal

Stone Age, Ax factories and flint mines

2005-01-06T19:25:00.000-08:00

Celts, or axes, were manufactured in factories where specially suitable rock outcrops occurred, and they were traded over great distances. Products of the factories at Graig Lwyd, Penmaenmawr, North Wales, were transported to Wiltshire and Anglesey, those of Tievebulliagh on the Antrim coast to Limerick, Kent, Aberdeen, and the Hebrides. Similarly, large nodules of

Vratsa

2005-01-05T08:17:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Vratca >, or Vraca town, northwestern Bulgaria. It is situated in the northern foothills of the western Balkan Mountains at the point where the Leva River emerges from its picturesque Vratsata gorge. The town was moved to its present position in the early 15th century after the Turks had destroyed a previously standing Bulgarian fortress. Under the Turks, Vratsa was a prosperous trading

John

2005-01-04T00:04:00.000-08:00

A penniless younger son of the French count Erard II of Brienne and Agnes of Montbéliard, John passed most of his life as a minor noble until befriended by King Philip II Augustus of France, who arranged for him to

Vance, Zebulon B.

2005-01-03T23:56:00.000-08:00

Vance studied law at the University of North Carolina and for a time practiced in Asheville. Elected in 1854 as a Whig member of the North Carolina House of Commons, Vance in 1858 won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives,

Biblical Literature, Jewish versions

2005-01-01T10:14:00.000-08:00

Though Jews in English-speaking lands generally utilized the King James Version and the Revised Version, the English versions have presented great difficulties. They contain departures from the traditional Hebrew text; they sometimes embody Christological interpretations; the headings were often doctrinally objectionable and the renderings in the legal

Earth, Faulting

2005-01-01T05:39:00.000-08:00

Extension of the Earth's crust may result in the formation of numerous parallel ridges and valleys

Yellow-dog Contract

2004-12-30T16:46:00.000-08:00

Agreement between an employer and an employee in which the employee agrees, as a condition of employment, not to join a union during the course of his employment. Such contracts, used most widely in the United States in the 1920s, enabled employers to take legal action against union organizers for encouraging workers to break these contracts. A federal law prohibiting

Alkylation

2004-12-30T10:54:00.000-08:00

In petroleum refining, chemical process in which light, gaseous hydrocarbons are combined to produce high-octane components of gasoline. The light hydrocarbons consist of olefins such as propylene and butylene and isoparaffins such as isobutane. These compounds are fed into a reactor, where, under the influence of a sulfuric-acid or hydrofluoric-acid catalyst,

E-mail

2004-12-29T01:01:00.000-08:00

On most networks, data can be simultaneously sent to a universe of users or to a select group or individual. Network users typically have an electronic mailbox

Trask, Kate Nichols

2004-12-27T10:39:00.000-08:00

Kate Nichols was of a wealthy family and was privately educated. In November 1874 she married Spencer Trask, a banker and financier. Although she had had literary leanings

Huygens, Constantijn

2004-12-26T18:48:00.000-08:00

His diplomatic service took him several times to England, where he met and was greatly influenced by John Donne and Francis Bacon. He translated 19 of Donne's poems and

Kerch

2004-12-25T13:22:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kerc , ancient (Greek) Panticapaion , or (Latin) Panticapaeum city and seaport, Crimea republic, southern Ukraine, on the western shore of the Strait of Kerch at the head of a small bay. Founded in the 6th century BC by Miletan Greeks, it flourished as a trading centre, and in the 5th century it became the capital of the kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus. Abundant archaeological evidence of its wealth occurs in catacombs and burial mounds,

Anatomy

2004-12-24T16:01:00.000-08:00

A field in the biological sciences concerned with the identification and description of the body structures of living things. Gross anatomy involves the study of major body structures by dissection and observation and in its narrowest sense is concerned only with the human body. “Gross anatomy” customarily refers to the study of those body structures large enough

Argentina

2004-12-24T00:30:00.000-08:00

Officially Argentine Republic, Spanish República Argentina country occupying most of the southern portion, or southern cone, of South America. With an area of 1,073,399 square miles (2,780,092 square km)—more extensive than Mexico and the U.S. state of Texas combined—it is the eighth largest country in the world. Argentina is shaped like an inverted triangle with its base at the top; it is some 880 miles (1,420 km) across at its widest from east to west and stretches

Ebullism

2004-12-22T00:56:00.000-08:00

In the atmospheric pressure at sea level (760 mm of mercury), water boils at 212° F (100° C). When the pressure on a liquid

Andrea Del Sarto

2004-12-21T04:04:00.000-08:00

Original name Andrea d'Agnolo Italian painter and draftsman whose works of exquisite composition and craftsmanship were instrumental in the development of the Florentine-Roman school in the first half of the 16th century. His most striking among other well-known works is the series of frescoes on the life of St. John the Baptist about 1511 and

Bruch, Max

2004-12-21T00:27:00.000-08:00

At 14 Bruch wrote a symphony and won a scholarship enabling him to study at Cologne. His first opera, Scherz, List und Rache (Jest, Deceit, and Revenge, text adapted from a work by Goethe), was performed in 1858. He conducted orchestral and choral

Cinématographe

2004-12-19T19:29:00.000-08:00

First motion-picture apparatus, used as both camera and projector. The invention of Louis and Auguste Lumière, manufacturers of photographic materials of Lyon, Fr., it was based in part on the Kinetoscope of Thomas A. Edison in the United States and in part on the Théâtre Optique of Émile Reynaud in Paris. From Edison's invention the Lumières took the idea of a sprocket-wound

Levine, Jack

2004-12-18T17:54:00.000-08:00

Trained first at the Jewish Welfare Center in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and later at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Levine also studied at Harvard University from 1929 to 1931. From 1935 to 1940 he was intermittently part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Pyrex

2004-12-17T23:45:00.000-08:00

(trademark), a type of glass and glassware that is resistant to heat, chemicals, and electricity. It is used to make chemical apparatus, industrial equipment, including piping and thermometers, and ovenware. Chemically, Pyrex contains borosilicate and expands only about one-third as much as common glass (silicate) when heated. As a result, it is less apt to break when subjected

Mauritania

2004-12-16T20:37:00.000-08:00

Officially Islamic Republic of Mauritania , Arabic Muritaniya , or al-Jumhuriyah al-Islamiyah al-Muritaniyah , French Mauritanie , or République Islamique de Mauritanie state in northwestern Africa. With an area of 398,000 square miles (1,030,700 square kilometres), it has the shape of an indented rectangle measuring about 930 miles (1,500 kilometres) from north to south and about 680 miles from east to west. It is bordered to the northwest by the Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara), to the northeast by Algeria, to the east and southeast by Mali, and to the southwest