CutTree

organic bed linen

2006-10-29T16:00:00.000-08:00

Livs range of soft luxurious bed linenis sourced ethically from India and using a fair trade policy. Liv also provide duvet cover set and bath towel set.

Khan, Fazlur R.

2005-03-18T15:55:00.000-08:00

After obtaining a bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of Dacca in 1950, Khan worked as assistant engineer for the India Highway Department and taught at the University of Dacca. Qualifying

Jacobite

2005-03-16T18:29:00.000-08:00

In British history, a supporter of the exiled Stuart king James II (Latin Jacobus) and his descendants after the Revolution of 1688. The political importance of the Jacobite movement extended from 1688 to 1745. The Jacobites, especially under William III and Queen Anne, could offer a feasible alternative title to the crown, and the exiled court in France (and later in Italy) was often

Oder River

2005-03-14T06:59:00.000-08:00

Polish and Czech Odra, river of east-central Europe. It is one of the most significant rivers in the catchment basin of the Baltic Sea, second only to the Vistula in discharge and length. For the first 70 miles (112 kilometres) from its source, it passes through the Czech Republic. For a distance of 116 miles in its middle reach, it constitutes the boundary between Poland and Germany before reaching the

Ligurian Language

2005-03-12T06:37:00.000-08:00

Language spoken by the Ligurians in northwestern Italy (and perhaps also in southern France and northeastern Spain) in pre-Roman and early Roman times. It is apparently an Indo-European language. Some scholars have maintained that Ligurian is closely related to the Italic and Celtic languages, holding an intermediate linguistic position between them. The language

Petralona Skull

2005-03-11T09:06:00.000-08:00

The skull has a large brow and a slanting forehead, and, from the structure of the face, the jaw is estimated to have been larger

Augmentations, Court Of

2005-03-09T16:40:00.000-08:00

The Court of Augmentations was instituted in 1535 to handle

Kertész, André

2005-03-06T18:01:00.000-08:00

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

Salandra, Antonio

2005-03-05T18:24:00.000-08:00

Salandra was educated in law and taught public administration at the University of Rome before entering politics. A member of a wealthy family and a conservative, he rose to become minister of agriculture in 1899 and finance minister in 1906 and again

Hay, John (milton)

2005-03-02T04:30:00.000-08:00

Hay studied law in Springfield, Ill., where he met the future president Abraham Lincoln. He served as President Lincoln's private

Ear Disease, Acute middle-ear infection

2005-02-28T05:33:00.000-08:00

Fortunately, acute middle-ear infections, called acute otitis media, are nearly always due to microorganisms that respond quickly to antibiotics. As a result, acute infection of the mastoid air cells resulting in a dangerous mastoid abscess with the possibility of meningitis, brain abscess, septicemia, infection of the labyrinth, or facial nerve paralysis, complicating

Ruiz De Alarcón (y Mendoza), Juan

2005-02-27T09:17:00.000-08:00

Born into a prosperous family in Mexico, Ruiz de Alarcón went to Spain in 1600 to study at the University of Salamanca, from which he graduated in about 1602. After studying further at the University of Mexico,

Kartvelian Languages

2005-02-26T09:12:00.000-08:00

Of the Kartvelian language family, only Georgian, the official language of Georgia, has an ancient literary tradition. Georgian dates to the 5th century AD. The Georgian written form is also used by speakers of the other languages, which are nonliterate.

Wichale, Treaty Of

2005-02-24T22:47:00.000-08:00

Article XVII of the Treaty of Wichale stated that the emperor of Ethiopia “could” have

Bouira

2005-02-24T19:53:00.000-08:00

The surrounding region is encompassed by the ranges and valleys of the Tell Atlas. Although it

Guarneri Family

2005-02-23T02:07:00.000-08:00

Latin Guarnerius, celebrated family of violin makers of Cremona, Italy. The first was Andrea (c. 1626–98), who worked with Stradivari in the workshop of Nicolò Amati (son of Girolamo). His son Giuseppe (1666–c. 1739) at first made instruments like his father's but later made them in a style of his own, with a narrow waist; his son Pietro of Venice (1695–1762) was also a fine maker. Another son of Andrea, Pietro Giovanni (1655–c. 1728), moved from

Gandhara

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

In ancient times Gandhara was a trade crossroads and cultural meeting place between India, Central Asia, and the Middle East. The region was subject to Achaemenian Persia in the 6th and 5th centuries BC and

Metamorphosis

2005-02-21T08:10:00.000-08:00

In biology, striking change of form or structure in an individual after hatching or birth. Hormones called molting and juvenile hormones, which are not species specific, apparently regulate the changes. These physical changes as well as those involving growth and differentiation are accompanied by alterations of the organism's physiology, biochemistry, and

Thompson, Sir J(ohn) Eric S(idney)

2005-02-20T00:49:00.000-08:00

Leading English ethnographer of the Mayan people. Thompson devoted his life to the study of Mayan culture and was able to extensively decipher early Mayan glyphs, determining that, contrary to prevailing belief, they contained historical as well as ritualistic and religious records. He also discovered that present-day

Binary Number System

2005-02-19T02:45:00.000-08:00

In mathematics, positional numeral system employing 2 as the base and requiring only two different symbols, 0 and 1. The importance of the binary system to information theory and computer technology derives mainly from the compact and reliable manner in which data can be represented in electromechanical devices with two states—such as “on-off,” “open-closed,” or “go-no

Allen, William

2005-02-17T00:07:00.000-08:00

Educated at the University of Oxford, Allen became principal of St. Mary's Hall there in 1556. After the accession of Queen Elizabeth

Fredegarius

2005-02-15T17:07:00.000-08:00

The supposed author of a chronicle of Frankish history composed between 658 and 661. All the extant manuscripts of this chronicle are anonymous, and the attribution of it to “Fredegarius” dates from the edition of it by Claude Fauchet in 1579. The author set a fairly detailed history of his own times in the framework of a universal chronicle, drawing, for early Merovingian

Neogene Period

2005-02-14T02:57:00.000-08:00

Latest of the two divisions of the Cenozoic Era (66.4 million years ago to the present). The Neogene includes the Miocene and Pliocene epochs (23,700,000 to 1,600,000 years ago) and is considered by some to encompass the time up to the present. The Neogene, which means “new born,” was designated as such to emphasize that the marine and terrestrial fossils found in the strata of this time were more closely

Spodosol

2005-02-13T04:26:00.000-08:00

One of the 12 soil orders in the U.S. Soil Taxonomy. Spodosols are ashy gray, acidic soils with a strongly leached surface layer. Their suitability for cultivation is limited to acid-tolerant crops and orchards, provided that sufficient lime and fertilizer are applied. Covering about 3.5 percent of the nonpolar continental land area on Earth, they are mainly found bordering

Sea Whip

2005-02-13T01:29:00.000-08:00

Any of several genera of corals of the order Gorgonacea (phylum Cnidaria), characterized by a long, whiplike growth and a variety of bright colours. The “whip” consists of a colony of tiny polyps (cylindrical, stalklike forms with a mouth and eight tentacles at the upper, or free, end) that grow upon one another in a continuous single stem. Spicules, or needlelike

Porsgrunn

2005-02-12T07:27:00.000-08:00

Town, Telemark fylke (county), southern Norway, at the mouth of the Skienselva (river) on Frierfjorden. Established as a customs post in 1652 with the name Porsgrund, it received its town charter in 1842. An export and industrial centre, it contains the huge Norsk Hydro chemical factories, a factory that produces Norway's finest porcelain, shipyards, metalworks, and lumber mills.

American Evangelical Lutheran Church

2005-02-10T21:27:00.000-08:00

Church established by Danish immigrants who in 1874 took the name Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and formally organized as a synod in Neenah, Wis., in 1878. A constitution was accepted in 1879, and the present name was adopted in 1954. In 1962 the American Evangelical Lutheran Church (with about 24,000 members), the United Lutheran Church in America, the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran

Teresópolis

2005-02-10T14:18:00.000-08:00

City, central Rio de Janeiro estado (“state”), Brazil. It lies in the Serra dos Órgãos at 2,959 feet (902 m) above sea level. Named after the Brazilian empress Teresa Cristina in 1890 and originally spelled Therezópolis, it was given city status in 1893. A cool climate and picturesque setting amid mountain peaks such as the Dedo de Deus (“Finger of God”) make the city a popular summer resort. Flowers

Béla Iii

2005-02-09T18:03:00.000-08:00

Béla was educated at the Byzantine court and placed on the throne by force of arms by the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus in 1173. He made the Hungarian monarchy hereditary by naming his infant son, Imre, his successor. He also made his court among the most brilliant in Europe. Béla adopted

Madhubuti, Haki R.

2005-02-07T05:00:00.000-08:00

Lee attended several colleges in Chicago and graduate school at the University of Iowa (M.F.A., 1984); he also served in the U.S. Army (1960–63). He taught at various colleges and universities, in 1984 becoming a faculty member at Chicago State University. His poetry, which began to appear in the 1960s, was written in black dialect

Itapetininga

2005-02-04T08:32:00.000-08:00

City, in the highlands of east-central São Paulo estado (“state”), Brazil. It lies at 2,200 feet (670 m) above sea level, near the Itapetininga River. Formerly called Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres de Itapetininga, it was given town status in 1770 and was made the seat of a municipality in 1771. Agriculture and industry both contribute to Itapetininga's economy. The principal crops in the region are

National Bank

2005-02-03T19:22:00.000-08:00

The first Bank of the United States (1791–1811) and the second Bank of the United States (1816–36) had functioned as agents of the U.S. Treasury and competed with the state, or private, banks, thereby ensuring that the private banks redeemed their banknotes

Anorexia Nervosa

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

Body weight may drop to half of normal. Associated

Nature, Philosophy Of, The range of topics

2005-02-02T04:14:00.000-08:00

An investigation of recent writings in biophilosophy reveals a continued preoccupation with unanswered—some say unanswerable—questions about evolutionary theory and a growing concern for a critical reappraisal of the question of whether biology is an autonomous discipline unamenable to reduction to mere physical and chemical underpinnings. Until the

Earthnut

2005-01-31T14:42:00.000-08:00

Also called Pignut, or Hognut (Conopodium majus), European plant of the carrot family (Apiaceae), so called because of its edible tubers. It grows in woods and fields in the British Isles and from Norway, France, Spain, and Portugal to Italy and Corsica. The slender, smooth perennial, growing 750 mm to 1 m (30 to 39 inches) high, has much-divided leaves and small, white flowers in compound umbels. The tubers, reaching 25 mm

Adams, Charles Francis

2005-01-30T18:04:00.000-08:00

Charles Francis Adams, Jr., Charles Francis Adams (1900, reprinted 1980), is a biography by his son. A more recent work is Martin B. Duberman, Charles Francis Adams, 1807–1886 (1960).

Spock, Benjamin

2005-01-29T19:48:00.000-08:00

Spock received his medical degree in 1929 from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons and trained for six years at the New York

Ear Disease, Acoustic neuroma

2005-01-29T09:17:00.000-08:00

An acoustic neuroma is a benign tumour that grows on the auditory nerve near the point where it enters the labyrinth of the inner ear. The tumour causes gradual and progressive loss of auditory and vestibular nerve function on one side. Eventually the tumour grows out into the brain cavity, causing headaches and paralysis. If it is not removed, blindness and death

Amambaí Mountains

2005-01-28T06:18:00.000-08:00

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 Paraná

Zeus

2005-01-27T07:00:00.000-08:00

According to a Cretan myth that was later adopted by

Pisces

2005-01-26T19:30:00.000-08:00

(Latin: Fishes), in astronomy, zodiacal constellation lying between Aries and Aquarius, at about 1 hour right ascension (the coordinate on the celestial sphere analogous to longitude on the Earth) and 15° north declination (angular distance north of the celestial equator). The vernal equinox, the point where the Sun's annual apparent path takes it north of the celestial

Locomotion

2005-01-25T17:46:00.000-08:00

In ethology, any of a variety of movements among animals that results in progression from one place to another.

Samuel

2005-01-24T01:05:00.000-08:00

Samuel, the son of Elkanah

Mammal, Reproduction

2005-01-23T23:41:00.000-08:00

In reproductively mature female mammals an interaction of hormones from the pituitary gland and the ovaries produces a phenomenon known as the estrous cycle. Estrus, or “heat,” typically coincides with ovulation, and during this time the female is receptive to the male. Estrus is preceded by proestrus, during which ovarian follicles mature under the influence of

Stability

2005-01-22T16:46:00.000-08:00

In mathematics, condition in which a slight disturbance in a system does not produce too disrupting an effect on that system. In terms of the solution of a differential equation, a function f(x) is said to be stable if any other solution of the equation that starts out sufficiently close to it when x = 0 remains close to it for succeeding values of x. If the difference between the

Haber-bosch Process

2005-01-20T14:52:00.000-08:00

Also called Haber ammonia process, or synthetic ammonia process, method of directly synthesizing ammonia from hydrogen and nitrogen, developed by the German physical chemist Fritz Haber. He received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1918 for this method, which made the manufacture of ammonia economically feasible. The method was translated into a large-scale process using a catalyst and high-pressure methods by Carl Bosch, an industrial

Szell, George

2005-01-19T18:47:00.000-08:00

A child prodigy on the piano, Szell was educated in Vienna. His conducting debut came at the age of 16 with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

Clisson, Olivier De

2005-01-18T00:54:00.000-08:00

Brought up in England, Clisson fought on the English side for the Breton duke John IV (or V; John of Montfort) against the French-supported Charles of Blois

Sør-trøndelag

2005-01-17T21:51:00.000-08:00

Fylke (county), central Norway. It extends from the Swedish border (east) to the coast of the Norwegian Sea (west). The mouth of the deeply indented Trondheim Fjord lies in the northern part of the fylke; parts of the Dovre Mountains are in the south. Adjacent to the Norwegian Sea coast are the large islands of Hitra and Frøya. The fylke's economy is based on fishing and agriculture

Cabral, Pedro álvares

2005-01-16T05:53:00.000-08:00

The son of Fernão Cabral, a nobleman, and of Isabel de Gouveia, Pedro Cabral was heir to a long tradition of service to the throne. He himself enjoyed the esteem of King Manuel I of Portugal, from whom he received various privileges in 1497; these included a personal

Andalusia

2005-01-15T16:24:00.000-08:00

Spanish Andalucía comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) and historical region of Spain, encompassing the provincias of Huelva, Cádiz, Seville, Málaga, Córdoba, Jaén, Granada, and Almería. The comunidad autónoma was established by the statute of autonomy of 1981. The southernmost region of Spain, Andalusia is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the southeast, the Atlantic Ocean on the

Great Falls

2005-01-15T02:10:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1887) of Cascade county, west-central Montana, U.S. It lies along the Missouri River, near the falls (96 feet [29 metres] high) for which it was named. In 1805 the explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark observed the falls and nearby Giant Springs, one of the world's largest freshwater springs. First settled in 1883, the community was sustained with the arrival in 1887 of the Manitoba

Audiencia

2005-01-13T08:32:00.000-08:00

In the kingdoms of late medieval Spain, a court established to administer royal justice; also, one of the most important governmental institutions of Spanish colonial America. In Spain the ordinary judges of audiencias in civil cases were called oidores and, for criminal cases, alcaldes de crimen. The presiding officer of the audiencia was called gobernador, or

World War Ii, The encirclement of Rabaul

2005-01-13T01:29:00.000-08:00

Allied moves to isolate the large Japanese garrison on Rabaul proceeded by land and air. The encirclement of Rabaul by land began during October and November 1943 with the capture by New Zealand troops of the Treasury Islands in the Solomons and was accompanied on November 1 by a U.S. landing at Empress Augusta Bay on the west of Bougainville. U.S. reinforcements subsequently

Ha'apai Group

2005-01-11T20:59:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Haabai Group, central island cluster of Tonga, in the South Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles (3,000 km) northeast of Sydney. Comprising 36 coral and volcanic islands, the group has a total land area of 43 square miles (110 square km), dispersed over about 5,000 square miles (13,000 square km). The administrative headquarters and principal port in the group is Pangai, which is situated on the west coast of Lifuka, a crescent-shaped

Fairchild, David Grandison

2005-01-11T04:55:00.000-08:00

In 1888 Fairchild graduated from Kansas State University of Agriculture, Manhattan, and, after some graduate work at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, and at Rutgers College (now the State University

World War I, Greek affairs

2005-01-10T01:25:00.000-08:00

Greece's attitude toward the war was long uncertain: whereas King Constantine I and the general staff stood for neutrality, Eleuthérios Venizélos, leader of the Liberal Party, favoured the Allied cause. As prime minister from 1910, Venizélos wanted Greece to participate in the Allies' Dardanelles enterprise against Turkey in 1915, but his arguments were overruled by the

Multinational And Regional Organizations

2005-01-08T16:36:00.000-08:00

On May 31, 1997, the foreign ministers of the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and announced that they would embrace Myanmar (Burma), Laos, and Cambodia as full members at the group's 30th anniversary meeting in July. The announcement was controversial because, in the words of Nobel Peace Prize winner Daw Aung San Suu

Anne Of Cleves

2005-01-07T19:12:00.000-08:00

Fourth wife of King Henry VIII of England. Henry married Anne because he believed that he needed to form a political alliance with her brother William, duke of Cleves, who was a leader of the Protestants of western Germany. He thought the alliance was necessary because in 1539 it appeared that the two major Roman Catholic powers, France and the Holy Roman

Gradient Wind

2005-01-07T18:59:00.000-08:00

Hypothetical wind that accounts for air flow along a curved trajectory. It is an extension of the concept of geostrophic wind—i.e., the wind assumed to move along straight and parallel isobars (lines of equal pressure). The gradient wind represents the actual wind better than does the geostrophic wind, especially when the wind speed and trajectory curvature are large,

Caxias

2005-01-05T13:24:00.000-08:00

City, east central Maranhão state, northeastern Brazil, on the Rio Itapicuru, at 207 ft (63 m) above sea level. Formerly known as São José das Aldeias Altas, it was renamed to honour Luis Alves de Lima e Silva, duque de Caxias, governor and military commander in Maranhão (1837). The city is the commercial centre of eastern Maranhão and processes rice, cotton, carnauba and babassu palms

Furniture, England

2005-01-04T13:54:00.000-08:00

After the Restoration, from 1660 onward, there was almost revolutionary progress in English cabinetmaking, as it came to be called at about this time. On its return, the exiled court introduced French and Dutch fashions, and the English craftsmen were considerably helped in supplying the tastes of the nobility by a large influx of foreign workmen. Furniture became lighter,

Durfort Family

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

The family, which can be traced back to the 11th century, claims as a member Guy Aldonce I de Durfort (1605–65), Marquis de Duras, who raised three famous sons: Jacques Henri I (1625–1704), marshal of France (1675) and Duke de Duras (1689); Guy Aldonce II (1630–1702), marshal of France (1676) and Duke de Quintin (1691); and Louis (1638–1709), who went to England and became 2nd Earl of Feversham

Berazategui

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

Partido (county) at the southeastern limits of Gran (Greater) Buenos Aires, Argentina, in Buenos Aires provincia. It lies along the Río de la Plata estuary. The subdivision was created in October 1960 out of the existing partido of Quilmes. Berazategui was originally the property of the Barragán family when it was sold in 1860 to José Clemente Berazategui and Juan Etcheverry.

Shad

2005-01-01T03:55:00.000-08:00

Any of several saltwater food fishes of the herring family (Clupeidae) that swim up rivers to spawn. Shad of the genus Alosa are rather deep bodied and have a notch in the upper jaw into which the tip of the lower fits. Young shad have small teeth, but the adults are toothless. The flesh of these fishes is considered very good to eat, though bony; the eggs,

Spa

2004-12-31T23:31:00.000-08:00

The practice of “taking the waters” for therapeutic purposes reached its heyday in the 19th century, but springs have been considered places of healing at many

Puglia

2004-12-30T10:06:00.000-08:00

Also called Apulia, regione, southeastern Italy. It extends from the Fortore River in the northwest to Cape Santa Maria di Leuca at the tip of the Salentine Peninsula (the “heel” of Italy) and comprises the provincie of Foggia, Bari, Taranto, Brindisi, and Lecce. The northern third of the region is centred on the Puglia Tableland, which is flanked on the north by the limestone massif of Gargano

Rawlings, Jerry J.

2004-12-29T02:33:00.000-08:00

Rawlings was the son of a Scottish father and a Ghanaian mother. He was educated at Achimoto College and the military academy at Teshie. He was commissioned

Mierkat

2004-12-28T17:40:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Meerkat, common name for certain carnivores of the civet family (Viverridae): the suricate (q.v.) and various mongoose (q.v.) species.

Argentina, The Videla regime and the Dirty War

2004-12-27T19:33:00.000-08:00

Five days after the coup a three-man military junta filled the presidency with Lieutenant General Jorge Rafaél Videla. The junta closed Congress, imposed censorship, banned trade unions, and brought state and municipal government under military control. Meanwhile Videla initiated the infamous Process of National Reorganization, known subsequently as the

Anthony, Katharine (susan)

2004-12-26T22:12:00.000-08:00

A college teacher of geometry, Anthony was deeply interested in psychiatry. Eventually this interest came to shape her approach to biography,

Grijalva River

2004-12-25T16:13:00.000-08:00

Spanish Río Grijalva, river in southeastern Mexico. Its headstreams, the largest of which is the Cuilco, rise in the Sierra Madre of Guatemala and the Sierra de Soconusco of Mexico. The Grijalva flows generally northwestward through Chiapas state, where it is known locally as the Río Grande de Chiapa, or the Río Chiapa. After leaving a lake created by the Malpaso Dam, it turns northward and

Wu Changshuo

2004-12-23T13:49:00.000-08:00

Wu was born into a scholarly family and began writing poems and carving seals by age 10. As a young man, Wu passed the civil service examinations and started a family, while still pursuing art and poetry during his free

Saffarid Dynasty

2004-12-22T19:46:00.000-08:00

Iranian dynasty of lower class origins that ruled a large area in eastern Iran. The dynasty's founder, Ya'qub ebn Leys as-Saffar (“the coppersmith”), took control of his native province, Seistan, around 866. By 869 he had extended his control into northeastern India, adding the Kabul Valley, Sind, Tocharistan, Makran (Baluchistan), Kerman, and Fars to his possessions; with the overthrow

Gyoda

2004-12-21T18:55:00.000-08:00

City, Saitama ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, lying on the alluvial plain between the Tone and the Ara rivers. The site was settled in ancient times, and Oshi Castle was constructed there in 1490. During the Tokugawa period (1603–1867) the manufacture of tabi (socks) was introduced into Gyoda. This industry grew steadily until the end of World War II, when it was gradually replaced by clothing

Mason, George

2004-12-21T00:05:00.000-08:00

As a landowner and near neighbour of George Washington,

Tarn

2004-12-20T08:07:00.000-08:00

A small mountain lake, especially one set in a glaciated steep-walled amphitheatre known as a cirque (q.v.).

Calabrian Stage

2004-12-18T16:54:00.000-08:00

All those rocks deposited worldwide during the Calabrian Age (1,600,000–10,000 years ago). The stage's name is derived from the region of Calabria in southern Italy, which has traditionally served as the type district for rocks of this age. The Calabrian Stage encompasses those rocks laid down during the Pleistocene Epoch. As defined in 1985 by the International Commission on Stratigraphy,

Sung-chiang

2004-12-16T03:26:00.000-08:00

It first became an independent county in 751 under the name of Hua-t'ing, and in 1278 its name was changed to Sung-chiang. It was a superior prefecture under the Ming (1368–1644) and Ch'ing (1644–1911) dynasties and grew into

Danish Language

2004-12-15T22:19:00.000-08:00

Danish Dansk the official language of Denmark, spoken there by more than 5 million people. Danish belongs to the East Scandinavian branch of North Germanic languages. It began to separate from the other Scandinavian languages, to which it is closely related, about AD 1000. The oldest Danish records are runic inscriptions (c. AD 250–800) found from Jutland to southern Sweden; the earliest manuscripts

Amplitude

2004-12-15T05:44:00.000-08:00

In physics, the maximum displacement or distance moved by a point on a vibrating body or wave measured from its equilibrium position. It is equal to one-half the length of the vibration path. The amplitude of a pendulum is thus one-half the distance that the bob traverses in moving from one side to the other. Waves are generated by vibrating sources, their amplitude being

Grayling

2004-12-14T02:10:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1879) of Crawford county, north-central Michigan, U.S., on the Middle Branch of the Au Sable River, one of the most celebrated trout streams in the Midwest, 52 miles (84 km) east of Traverse City. Named for the once plentiful grayling, the city developed as a resort for summer and winter sports. Nearby are the Hartwick Pines, North Higgins Lake, and South Higgins Lake state parks

Kieta

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

Town, southeast coast of Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea. It is situated on Arawa Bay (Rawa Harbour) and is a port of call with a long wharf for coastal and Australian shipping. The town trades chiefly in copra, cocoa, and small amounts of gold. Two new settlements, Toniva and Nairovi, located just outside of Kieta, are considered part of that town. They grew after an increase

Ashley, William Henry

2004-12-11T03:59:00.000-08:00

Having arrived in Missouri sometime after 1802, Ashley prospered in mining, gunpowder manufacture, surveying, and land speculation.

Venice, Gulf Of

2004-12-09T16:53:00.000-08:00

Italian Golfo Di Venezia, northern section of the Adriatic Sea (an arm of the Mediterranean Sea), extending eastward for 60 miles (95 km) from the Po River delta, Italy, to the coast of Istria, in Slovenia and Croatia. It receives the Po, Adige, Piave, and Tagliamento rivers. Marshes, lagoons, and sandspits border the gulf's shores as far as Trieste, Italy, where the low plateau of the Istrian Peninsula begins.

Cell, The vacuole

2004-12-09T13:52:00.000-08:00

Most plant cells contain one or more membrane-bound vesicles called vacuoles. Within the vacuole is the cell sap, a water solution of salts and sugars kept at high concentration by the active transport of ions through permeases in the vacuole membrane. This high concentration causes the entry, via osmosis, of water into the vacuole, which in turn expands the vacuole

Race, The institutionalizing of race

2004-12-08T06:24:00.000-08:00

Slavery by nature creates social distance between masters and slaves, and intellectuals are commonly called upon to affirm and justify such distinctions. As learned men began to write a great deal about the “racial” populations of the New World, Indians and Negroes were increasingly projected as alien. In this way did the Enlightenment thinkers help pro-slavery

Ghana

2004-12-07T05:25:00.000-08:00

First of the great medieval trading empires of western Africa (fl. 7th–13th century). It was situated between the Sahara (Desert) and the headwaters of the Sénégal and Niger rivers, in an area that now comprises southeastern Mauritania and part of Mali. Ghana was populated by Soninke clans of Mande-speaking people who acted as intermediaries between the Arab and Berber

Monemvasía

2004-12-05T02:21:00.000-08:00

Ancient Minoa town, Laconia nomós (department), southern Greece, on the southeastern coast of the Peloponnese. Monemvasía lies at the foot of a rock that stands just offshore and that is crowned by the ruins of a medieval fortress and a 14th-century Byzantine church. It is joined to the mainland by a causeway, from which it derives its modern name meaning “city of the single approach.” The

Arabia, History Of, World War I

2004-12-04T13:48:00.000-08:00

The Ottoman Empire entered World War I holding all of western Arabia and supported in central northern Arabia by the Rashidis of Ha'il. Earlier Ottoman attempts to extend the empire to eastern Arabia, however, had been countered by the British, who were then paramount in the gulf and in treaty relation with the Arab sheikhdoms there. Sharif Husayn ibn 'Ali of Mecca, with assurance

Yala

2004-12-04T09:19:00.000-08:00

Town, extreme southern Thailand. Yala is a modern commercial centre on the Pattani River, which flows north into the Gulf of Thailand. The town is also located on the Bangkok-Singapore railway and the Pattani–George Town (Penang [Malaysia]) highway. The population includes Thai Muslims, Malay Muslims, and Chinese. The region is heavily planted in rubber. Nearby caves contain

Charles I

2004-12-02T13:21:00.000-08:00

Charles was the second surviving son of James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark. He was a sickly child, and, when his father became king of England in March 1603, he was temporarily

Chelate

2004-12-02T05:47:00.000-08:00

The ethylenediamine ligand has two points of attachment to the cadmium ion, thus forming a ring; it is known as a bidentate ligand. Ligands

Quietism

2004-11-30T08:33:00.000-08:00

A doctrine of Christian spirituality that, in general, holds that perfection consists in passivity (quiet) of the soul, in the suppression of human effort so that divine action may have full play. Quietistic elements have been discerned in several religious movements, both Christian and non-Christian, through the centuries; but the term is usually identified with

Incidental Music

2004-11-29T14:05:00.000-08:00

Music written to accompany or point up the action or mood of a dramatic performance on stage, film, radio, television, or recording; to serve as a transition between parts of the action; or to introduce or close the performance. Because it is written to enhance a nonmusical medium, most incidental music makes little impression on public taste. But some incidental music

Anouilh, Jean(-marie-lucien-pierre)

2004-11-28T20:49:00.000-08:00

Playwright who became one of the strongest personalities of the French theatre and achieved an international reputation. His plays are intensely personal messages; often they express his love of the theatre as well as his grudges against actors, wives, mistresses, critics, academicians, bureaucrats, and others. Anouilh's characteristic

Nordraak, Rikard

2004-11-27T14:37:00.000-08:00

Nordraak began composing music as a child. He was sent at age 15 to Copenhagen, Den., for training in business, but he also studied music while there. In 1859 he gave up the study

Shensi, Industry

2004-11-26T07:20:00.000-08:00

The major industrial area in Shensi is that centred around Sian. Principal industries in this area include cotton and other textiles, electrical equipment, engineering and chemical manufacturing, and iron and steel production. There are minor centres of industry at Pao-chi and at Shih-ch'üan in the Han Valley, near An-k'ang, and Yao-hsien, near T'ung-ch'uan, has a large and

Acrostic

2004-11-26T02:02:00.000-08:00

The word was first applied to the prophecies of the Erythraean Sibyl, which were written on leaves and arranged so that the initial letters of the leaves always formed a word.

China, Central government

2004-11-24T21:18:00.000-08:00

In its early form the Ming central government was dominated by a unitary Secretariat. The senior executive official of the Secretariat served the emperor as a chief counselor, or prime minister. Suspected treason on the part of the chief counselor Hu Wei-yung in 1380 caused the Hung-wu emperor to abolish all executive posts in the Secretariat, thus fragmenting general