BeautifulHand

organic cotton goods

2006-10-30T14:30:00.000-08:00

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

Macaroni

2005-04-04T18:33:00.000-07:00

In art, Late Paleolithic finger tracings in clay, the oldest form of art known. Innumerable examples appear on the walls and ceilings of limestone caves associated with human habitation in France and Spain, the oldest dating from about 30,000 BC. They range from simple scratchings and jumbled aimless lines to deliberate meanders and arabesques and outline drawings of

Development

2005-04-04T04:41:00.000-07:00

The simplest form of development is a change (usually an increase) in size of an organ system or structure; simple growth, however, seldom occurs without accompanying chemical

Uíge

2005-04-03T00:15:00.000-08:00

Formerly Carmona, town, northwestern Angola. Uíge grew from a small market centre in 1945 to become Angola's major centre for coffee production in the 1950s. The Portuguese designated Uíge a city in 1956. Its prosperity was short-lived, however, as recurrent fighting between the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), one of three preindependence guerrilla movements, and Portuguese forces

Arras Lace

2005-04-02T04:44:00.000-08:00

Bobbin lace made at Arras, Fr., from the 17th century onward and similar to that of Lille. Although Arras was known for its gold lace, its popularity rested on its exceptionally pure-white lace, stronger than Lille but with similar floral patterns. Arras lace was worn at the coronation (1714) of George I of England. In the 19th century Arras produced a light variety of lace called mignonette.

Amulet

2005-04-02T01:46:00.000-08:00

Natural amulets

Candidas

2005-04-01T02:12:00.000-08:00

The popularity of Candidas' songs inspired much imitation, making it difficult to establish firmly the identity of the poet.

Koguryo

2005-03-31T21:11:00.000-08:00

By the reign of King T'aejo (AD 53–146), a royal

Pinski, David

2005-03-30T21:40:00.000-08:00

Reared in Moscow, Vitebsk, and Vienna, Pinski moved as a young man to Warsaw, where he became a friend of the leading Yiddish writer Isaac Peretz. It was also in Warsaw that Pinski began his lifelong associations with the Jewish workers' movement. His first short story, “Der Groyser

Chronology, Peoples of Oaxaca and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec

2005-03-30T11:39:00.000-08:00

Pictorial books of the Mixtec of Oaxaca record events in the lives of ruling families covering seven centuries, but, again, happenings are fixed only by the day on which each occurred and the year in which the day fell. Sequence is usually clear, but at times there is doubt as to which 52-year period is meant when parenthetical material, such as life histories of secondary

Stafford, Sir Edward William

2005-03-28T13:30:00.000-08:00

The son of a landed Irish family, Stafford began farming sheep in New Zealand (1843), was elected superintendent of Nelson province (1853) and representative from Nelson to the General Assembly (1855), and formed his first ministry in 1856. During this five-year term as premier,

Argus Panoptes

2005-03-28T09:17:00.000-08:00

(Greek: “All Seeing”), figure in Greek legend described variously as the son of Inachus, Agenor, or Arestor or as an aboriginal hero (autochthon). His surname derives from the hundred eyes in his head or all over his body. Argus was appointed by the goddess Hera to watch the cow into which Io (Hera's priestess) had been transformed, but he was slain by Hermes. His eyes were transferred

Mignet, François

2005-03-28T04:51:00.000-08:00

Educated at Avignon, Mignet became professor there in 1815; he returned to Aix for his law studies and was called to the bar in 1818. His first work, the Essai sur les institutions de Saint Louis, was acclaimed by the Academy of Inscriptions

Anubis

2005-03-27T13:08:00.000-08:00

His particular concern was with the funerary cult and the care of the dead: hence he was reputed to be the

Huygens, Constantijn

2005-03-27T09:53:00.000-08:00

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

Pigou, Arthur Cecil

2005-03-26T11:25:00.000-08:00

Educated at King's College, Cambridge, Pigou was considered one of Alfred Marshall's best students. When Marshall retired as a professor of political economy in 1908, Pigou was named as Marshall's replacement. Pigou was responsible for disseminating

Chile

2005-03-25T22:47:00.000-08:00

Language and a common history have promoted cultural homogeneity in the country. Even the Araucanians and certain Aymara minorities in the north share the values of the Chilean identity, while continuing to cherish their own cultural heritage. Chileans have always displayed a high degree of tolerance toward the customs and traditions of minority groups, as

Vignola, Giacomo Da

2005-03-25T16:57:00.000-08:00

After studying in Bologna, Vignola went to Rome in the 1530s and made drawings of the antiquities for a projected edition of Vitruvius' treatise

Indus River

2005-03-24T10:54:00.000-08:00

Great trans-Himalayan river of South Asia and one of the longest rivers in the world, having a length of 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometres). It has a total drainage area of about 450,000 square miles (1,165,500 square kilometres), of which 175,000 square miles lie in the Himalayan mountains and foothills and the rest in the semiarid plains of Pakistan. The river's annual flow is about 272 billion cubic yards (207 billion

April Fools' Day

2005-03-23T09:51:00.000-08:00

Also called All Fools' Day in most countries the first day of April. It received its name from the custom of playing practical jokes on this day—for example, telling friends that their shoelaces are untied or sending them on so-called fools' errands. Although the day has been observed for centuries, there are different explanations for its origin. It resembles festivals such as the Hilaria of

Accordion

2005-03-22T15:09:00.000-08:00

The advent of the accordion is the subject of debate among researchers. Many credit C. Friedrich L. Buschmann, whose Handäoline was patented in Berlin in 1822, as the

Cbs Corporation

2005-03-22T07:34:00.000-08:00

Formerly (1928–74) Columbia Broadcasting System, or (1974–97) CBS Inc., major American broadcasting company and operator of the CBS national radio and television networks. The company was incorporated in 1927 as United Independent Broadcasters, Inc. Its name was changed a year later to Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., and in 1974 it adopted the name CBS Inc. In 1995 CBS Inc. was bought by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, which changed its name

Angola, Resources

2005-03-21T00:43:00.000-08:00

Angola's resources are considerable in comparison to those of most African countries, and they are particularly suited to the development of an industrial economy. There are large reserves of oil and natural gas, concentrated in the maritime zones off the Cabinda exclave and the Congo estuary. Total proven recoverable reserves of crude oil stood at more than 2 billion

Amiternum

2005-03-20T11:26:00.000-08:00

In ancient Italy, a Sabine town 5 miles (8 km) north of present L'Aquila in the Aterno (ancient Aternus) River valley. It was stormed by the Romans in 293 BC, but the fertility of its fields helped it to regain its prosperity under the empire (after 27 BC). The Roman historian Sallust was born there in 86 BC. Amiternum was located at the junction of four roads—the Via Caecilia, the Via Claudia Nova,

Religion

2005-03-20T06:50:00.000-08:00

Ecumenical and interfaith relations suffered some serious blows during 1997, although the year was also marked by a historic agreement between four Protestant denominations. Some churches dealt with dissidents in their ranks through excommunication. Church-state

Amphibole, Igneous rocks

2005-03-19T16:50:00.000-08:00

Calcic amphiboles are characteristically contained in igneous rocks. Igneous amphiboles are intermediate in composition between tremolite, tschermakite, edenite, and pargasite end-members. Typically, these amphiboles of intermediate composition are called hornblende. Hornblende occurs in various plutonic igneous rocks, including diorites, quartz diorites,

Dyula

2005-03-19T02:06:00.000-08:00

The Dyula were active gold traders as long ago as the time of the ancient African kingdom of Ghana. They flourished under the empire of Mali, when they provided a link between the gold-producing forestlands in

Culture Area

2005-03-18T02:52:00.000-08:00

Among the most important writers on the subject of culture areas were Sir Halford Mackinder

Calais

2005-03-17T18:14:00.000-08:00

Industrial seaport on the Strait of Dover, Pas-de-Calais département, Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, northern France, 21 mi (34 km) by sea from Dover (the shortest crossing from England). On an island, now bordered by canals and harbour basins, Calais originated as a fishing village. It was improved by the Count of Flanders in 997 and was fortified by the Count of Boulogne in 1224. After the Battle

Essexite

2005-03-17T15:40:00.000-08:00

Dark gray to black, fine-grained, intrusive igneous rock that occurs in Essex County, Mass.; at Mount Royal, near Montreal; near Oslo, Nor.; at Roztoky, Czech Republic; and at Carclout, Scot. It contains plagioclase as the dominant feldspar, as well as orthoclase feldspar, augite, biotite, hornblende, olivine, and nepheline. As the proportion of nepheline increases, essexite

Triballi

2005-03-17T06:20:00.000-08:00

A Thracian people whose earliest-known home was the “Triballian plain” (probably the Plain of Kosovo), near the junction of the Angrus and Brongus rivers (the western and southern Morava) in the north-central Balkans. Sometime after 424 BC they were overcome by the Autariatae, an Illyrian tribe. In 339 BC the Triballi refused to allow Philip II of Macedon to pass through the Haemus

Argentina, The Northwest

2005-03-16T17:58:00.000-08:00

Vegetation in the Northwest region includes that of the high puna desert, the forested slopes of the Andes, and the subtropical scrub forests of the Pampean Sierras, the latter merging with the deciduous scrub woodlands of the Gran Chaco. Vegetation on the mostly exposed soil of the puna consists of dwarf shrubs and tough grasses, notably bunchgrass; these and other

Ramie

2005-03-15T10:45:00.000-08:00

The ramie plant has been cultivated

Greece, The arts

2005-03-15T06:45:00.000-08:00

Against the background of this extraordinary artistic heritage, Greece enjoys a thriving cultural life. It is in the field of literature that Greece has made its greatest contributions. Constantine Cavafy (1863–1933), who lived most of his life in Alexandria, Egypt, is frequently ranked among the great poets of the early 20th century. His poetry is suffused with an ironic nostalgia

Wage And Salary

2005-03-14T16:04:00.000-08:00

Theories of wage determination and the share of labour in the gross national product have varied from time to time and have changed as the economic environment has changed. The body of thought referred to today as wage theories could not have emerged until the old feudal system had disappeared and the modern economy with its modern institutions had come into existence.

Bel And The Dragon

2005-03-14T09:37:00.000-08:00

In full The History Of The Destruction Of Bel And The Dragon, Greek apocryphal addition to the biblical Book of Daniel. It is a deuterocanonical work in that it is accepted in the Roman canon but not by Jews or Protestants. It tells of the Jewish hero Daniel, who refuses to worship the god Bel and kills the dragon, thus being forced into a den of lions, which he is allowed to leave after seven days because he is unharmed. His enemies,

Masina, Giulietta

2005-03-13T20:55:00.000-08:00

Masina began acting in student theatre productions when she was in her teens. Although she enrolled as a student

Romanticism

2005-03-13T11:32:00.000-08:00

Romanticism proper was preceded by several related developments from the mid-18th century on that can be termed Pre-Romanticism. Among such trends was a new appreciation of the medieval romance, from which the Romantic movement derives its name. The romance was a tale or ballad of chivalric adventure whose emphasis on individual heroism and on the exotic and the

Insurance, Japan

2005-03-13T00:10:00.000-08:00

Insurance in Japan is mainly in the hands of private enterprise, although government insurance agencies write crop, livestock, forest fire, fishery, export credit, accident and health, and installment sales credit insurance as well as social security. Private insurance companies are regulated under various statutes. Major classes of property insurance written

Aelia Capitolina

2005-03-12T17:10:00.000-08:00

City founded in AD 135 by the Romans on the ruins of Jerusalem, which their forces, under Titus, had destroyed in AD 70. The name was given, after the Second Jewish Revolt (132–135), in honour of the emperor Hadrian (whose nomen, or clan name, was Aelius) as well as the deities of the Capitoline Triad (Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva). A sanctuary to Jupiter was built on the Temple Mount, and statues of Roman

Aerospace Industry, Maintenance

2005-03-11T17:54:00.000-08:00

The maintenance support provided by aerospace-industry firms is applied primarily to corporate, commercial, and military aircraft. Light-plane maintenance is generally handled by local fixed-base operators, which are not considered part of the aerospace industrial complex. Launch vehicles and unmanned spacecraft, although maintained throughout their prelaunch

La Fontaine, Jean De

2005-03-10T03:35:00.000-08:00

The Fables unquestionably represent the peak of La Fontaine's achievement. The first six books, known as the premier recueil (“first collection”), were published in 1668 and were followed by five more books (the second recueil) in 1678–79 and a twelfth book in 1694. The Fables in the second collection show even greater technical skill than those in the first and are longer, more reflective,

Tyrone, Hugh O'neill, 2nd Earl Of

2005-03-10T01:11:00.000-08:00

Although born into the powerful O'Neill family of Ulster, Hugh grew up in London. In 1568 he returned to Ireland and

Endodontics

2005-03-10T01:10:00.000-08:00

The practice of endodontics is concerned primarily with the removal of diseased dental pulp and its replacement with filling

R.e.m.

2005-03-09T00:45:00.000-08:00

R.E.M., named for a dream-state condition (rapid eye movement), formed in 1980 in Athens, Georgia, a university town about 65 miles

Norge, Géo

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

In the 1920s Norge flirted with the avant-garde, writing some loosely experimental plays (which were criticized by the Surrealists) and joining Raymond Rouleau in an experimental theatre group, Groupe Libre. Norge's good-natured irony

Villoresi, Luigi ("gigi")

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

Italian race-car driver for Maserati, Ferrari, and Lancia teams during the 1930s, '40s, and '50s who was considered the most elegant racer of his time (b. May 16, 1909--d. Aug. 24, 1997).

Ibárruri (gómez), (isidora) Dolores

2005-03-08T07:37:00.000-08:00

Born the eighth of 11 children of a Viscayan miner, Ibárruri was compelled by poverty to quit school at age 15 to work as a seamstress and later as a

Hygieia

2005-03-07T20:29:00.000-08:00

In Greek religion, goddess of health. The oldest traces of her cult are at Titane, west of Corinth, where she was worshipped together with Asclepius, the god of medicine. At first no special relationship existed between her and Asclepius, but gradually she came to be regarded as his daughter; later literature, however, makes her his wife. The cult of Hygieia spread concurrently

Arnold, Matthew

2005-03-07T07:54:00.000-08:00

Matthew was the eldest son of the renowned Thomas Arnold, who was appointed headmaster of Rugby School in 1828. Matthew entered Rugby (1837) and then attended Oxford as a scholar of Balliol College; there he won the Newdigate Prize with his poem Cromwell (1843) and was graduated with second-class honours in 1844. For Oxford Arnold retained an impassioned affection. His Oxford was the Oxford

Hardoi

2005-03-06T09:27:00.000-08:00

The surrounding area is a level plain bordered (south) by the Ganges River and drained by its tributaries.

Ustyurt Plateau

2005-03-05T20:06:00.000-08:00

Kazak Üstirt , Turkmen Üstyurt plateau in Uzbekistan and Kazakstan, lying between the Aral Sea and the Amu Darya (river) delta in the east and the Mangyshlak (Tupqarghan) Plateau and the Kara-Bogaz-Gol (Garabogazköl; an inlet of the Caspian Sea) in the west. It has an area of about 77,000 square miles (about 200,000 square km) and an average elevation of about 500 feet (about 150 m), rising to a maximum of 1,200 feet (365 m) in the southwest. At its

Salad

2005-03-05T09:56:00.000-08:00

The restorative powers of green salad have been

César

2005-03-05T00:29:00.000-08:00

The son of Italian immigrants, César quit school at age 12 in order to work,

Aichi

2005-03-04T15:16:00.000-08:00

Ken (prefecture), central Honshu, Japan, on the Pacific coast. More than half of its area lies within the Nobi Plain and two smaller plains to the east. The northwestern border with Gifu prefecture is formed by the Kiso River, sometimes known as the Nihon (Japan) Rhine. The irregular coast is marked by the peninsulas of Chita (west) and Atsumi (east), which enclose Mikawa Bay and

Korea Warm Current, East

2005-03-03T22:38:00.000-08:00

Surface oceanic current, the northward-flowing branch of the Tsushima Current in the Sea of Japan. After flowing along the coast of Korea, the East Korea Warm Current turns eastward and divides into the Tsugaru Warm Current and the Soya Warm Current. The Tsugaru Warm Current enters the Pacific Ocean through the Tsugaru Strait, and the Soya Current enters the Sea of Okhotsk

Fact, Theatre Of

2005-03-03T17:05:00.000-08:00

Also called Documentary Theatre German dramatic movement that arose during the early 1960s, associated primarily with Rolf Hochhuth, Peter Weiss, and Heinar Kipphardt. Their political plays examined recent historical events, often through official documents and court records. Their concern that the West, and especially Germany, was forgetting the political horrors of the Nazi era led them to explore

Solar Cell

2005-03-03T07:33:00.000-08:00

Any device that directly converts the energy in light into electrical energy through the process of photovoltaics.

Paglia, Camille

2005-03-02T00:20:00.000-08:00

The controversial academic, aesthete, and self-described feminist Camille Paglia enunciated her unorthodox views on sexuality and the development of culture and art in Western civilization in two books, Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson (1990) and Sex, Art, and American Culture: Essays (1992). Her public persona and iconoclastic views enraged

Mah-jongg

2005-03-01T22:59:00.000-08:00

A game of Chinese origin, played with tiles, or p'ais, similar in physical description to those used in dominoes but engraved with Chinese symbols and characters and divided into suits and honours. A fad in England, the United States, and Australia in the mid-1920s, the game was revived in the United States after 1935 but never regained its initial popularity. In the United States,

Gobi, Climate

2005-03-01T07:06:00.000-08:00

The climate is acutely continental and dry: winter is severe, spring is dry and cold, and summer is warm. The annual temperature range is considerable, with average lows in January reaching -40° F (-40° C) and average highs in July climbing to 113° F (45° C); daily temperature ranges also can be quite large. The annual total precipitation varies from less than three inches in the west to more

Huitain

2005-02-28T14:03:00.000-08:00

French verse form consisting of an eight-line stanza with 8 or 10 syllables in each line. The form was written on three rhymes, one of which appeared four times. Typical rhyme schemes were ababbcbc and abbaacac. The huitain was popular in France in the 15th and early 16th centuries with such poets as François Villon and Clément Marot.

Asafetida

2005-02-28T06:07:00.000-08:00

Gum resin prized as a condiment in India and Iran, where it is used to flavour curries, meatballs, and pickles. It has been used in Europe and the United States in perfumes and for flavouring. Acrid in taste, it emits a strong onionlike odour because of its organic sulfur compounds. It is obtained chiefly from the plant Ferula foetida of the family Apiaceae (Umbelliferae).

Audubon, John James

2005-02-27T23:14:00.000-08:00

The illegitimate son of a French merchant, planter, and slave trader and a Creole woman of Saint-Domingue, Audubon and his illegitimate half-sister (who was also born

France, History Of, Geographic-historical scope

2005-02-27T15:08:00.000-08:00

Gaul, in this context, signifies only what the Romans, from their perspective, termed Transalpine Gaul (Gallia Transalpina), or “Gaul across the Alps.” Broadly, it comprised all lands from the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean coast of modern France to the English Channel and from the Atlantic to the Rhine and the western Alps. The Romans knew a second Gaul, Cisalpine

Akwamu

2005-02-26T19:27:00.000-08:00

Its founders, an Akan people who are traditionally said to have come from Twifu Heman, northwest of Cape Coast, moved during the late 16th or early

Loren, Sophia

2005-02-26T08:50:00.000-08:00

Before working in the cinema, Sofia Scicolone changed her name to Sofia Lazzaro for work in the foto-romanzo, popular pulp magazines that used still photographs

W.h., Mr.

2005-02-24T13:59:00.000-08:00

The mystery of his identity has tantalized generations of biographers and critics,

Io

2005-02-24T08:22:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, daughter of Inachus, the river god of Argos. Under the name of Callithyia, Io was regarded as the first priestess of Hera, the wife of Zeus. Zeus fell in love with her and, to protect her from the wrath of Hera, changed her into a white heifer. Hera persuaded Zeus to give her the heifer and sent Argus Panoptes (“the All-Seeing”) to watch her. Zeus thereupon sent

'abd Ar-rahman Ii

2005-02-24T06:56:00.000-08:00

'Abd ar-Rahman II was the grandson of his namesake, founder of the Umayyad dynasty in Spain. His reign was an administrative watershed. As the influence of the 'Abba sid Caliphate, then at the peak of its splendour, grew,

Seattle

2005-02-24T00:24:00.000-08:00

Chief city of Washington, U.S., on a neck of land between Elliott Bay (Puget Sound) and Lake Washington (a 24-mile [39-kilometre] stretch of freshwater), seat (1853) of King county and the largest metropolis of the Pacific Northwest. A port of entry and gateway to the Orient and Alaska, it is surrounded by areas of great natural beauty; to the west, the Olympic Mountains provide protection

Biblical Literature, Scandinavian versions

2005-02-23T20:47:00.000-08:00

In pre-Reformation times, only partial translations were made, all on the basis of the Latin Vulgate and all somewhat free. The earliest and most celebrated is that of Genesis–Kings in the so-called Stjórn (“Guidance”; i.e., of God) manuscript in the Old Norwegian language, probably to be dated about 1300. Swedish versions of the Pentateuch and of Acts have survived from the 14th century

Adair, John

2005-02-23T19:40:00.000-08:00

Scottish surveyor and cartographer whose maps established a standard of excellence for his time and probably inspired the early 18th-century surveys of Scotland. Between 1680 and 1686 he completed maps of the counties adjoining the River Forth as well as charts of the Firth of Forth, the River Clyde, and the west of Scotland. Manuscripts of these are in the National

Levalloisian Stone-flaking Technique

2005-02-23T10:35:00.000-08:00

Toolmaking technique of prehistoric Europe and Africa, characterized by the production of large flakes from a tortoise core (prepared core shaped much like an inverted tortoise shell). Such flakes, seldom further trimmed, were flat on one side, had sharp cutting edges, and are believed to have been used as skinning knives. Sometimes the butts of Levalloisian flakes

Iliocostalis Muscle

2005-02-23T06:10:00.000-08:00

Any of the deep muscles of the back that, as part of the erector spinae (sacrospinalis) muscle group, aid in extension (bending backward), lateral flexion (bending to the side), and rotation of the spinal column. The iliocostalis group consists of a lower part (iliocostalis lumborum) that extends from the ilium (upper part of the hipbone) to the lower ribs, a middle part (iliocostalis

China, Nationalist deterioration

2005-02-21T05:48:00.000-08:00

The military weakness in 1944 was symptomatic of a gradual deterioration that had taken place in most aspects of Nationalist Chinese public life. Inflation began to mount alarmingly as the government pumped in large amounts of paper currency to make up its fiscal deficits. Salaries of government employees, army officers, teachers, and all those on wages fell far behind

Ado-ekiti

2005-02-21T01:31:00.000-08:00

Town, Ondo state, southwestern Nigeria. It lies in the Yoruba Hills, at the intersection of roads from Akure, Ilawe, Ilesha, Ila (Illa), and Ikare, and is situated 92 miles (148 km) east-northeast of Ibadan. An urban and industrial centre of the region, it was founded by the Ekiti people, a Yoruba subgroup whose members belonged to the Ekiti-Parapo, a late 19th-century confederation of Yoruba

Venette, Jean De

2005-02-20T18:40:00.000-08:00

Of peasant origin, Jean joined the Carmelite order and was elected prior of the Carmelite convent at Paris in 1339. In 1342 he was appointed provincial of France for the Carmelite order. He also apparently served as a master of theology at the University of Paris.

Córdoba

2005-02-18T14:07:00.000-08:00

Departamento, northwestern Colombia. It occupies the Caribbean lowlands north of the Andean Cordillera (mountains) Occidental. During most of the colonial period the area was sparsely settled, the original densely settled Indian population having disappeared by the time of the first major Spanish penetration in 1534. Created in 1951, the territory, 9,660 square miles (25,020 square

France, History Of, Opportunist control

2005-02-18T11:28:00.000-08:00

Between 1879 and 1899 the Opportunists, with only brief interruptions, controlled the machinery of government. Gambetta, their most dynamic leader, had begun his career as an outspoken Radical, but in time his political instincts had prevailed. The other Opportunist leaders—men such as President Grévy and Jules Ferry—disliked Gambetta's flamboyance, however, and feared

Biblical Literature, The significance of Elijah

2005-02-18T04:30:00.000-08:00

With the dynasty of Omri (c. 876–842), the prophetic movement begins to assume a position of tremendous importance in Israel and Judah. Omri (reigned c. 876–869) reestablished Israel's economic and military significance among the Syrian and Palestinian minor kingdoms, so much so that years after his death the Assyrians referred to the northern kingdom as “the land of Omri.” He is mentioned

Animal Magnetism

2005-02-17T11:55:00.000-08:00

A presumed intangible or mysterious force that is said to influence human beings. The term was applied by the German physician Franz Anton Mesmer to the hypnotism that he used in the treatment of patients. He believed that it was an occult force or invisible fluid emanating from his body and that, more generally, the force permeated the universe, deriving especially

Lager Beer

2005-02-16T09:16:00.000-08:00

Light-coloured, highly carbonated type of beer (q.v.).

Tendinitis

2005-02-16T07:44:00.000-08:00

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

Asthenia

2005-02-16T02:31:00.000-08:00

A condition in which the body lacks or has lost strength either as a whole or in any of its parts. General asthenia occurs in many chronic wasting diseases, such as anemia and cancer, and is probably most marked in diseases of the adrenal gland. Asthenia may be limited to certain organs or systems of organs, as in asthenopia, characterized by ready fatigability of vision,

Mainit, Lake

2005-02-15T01:48:00.000-08:00

Lake on the border of Surigao del Norte and Agusan del Sur provinces, northeastern Mindanao, Philippines. It is the country's fourth largest lake and has an area of 58 sq mi (150 sq km). Its outlet is the Tubay River, which flows southward before entering Butuan Bay of the Mindanao Sea. Lake Mainit is skirted on the east by the Philippine–Japan Friendship Highway, connecting Surigao

Cabanilles, Juan Bautista José

2005-02-14T19:56:00.000-08:00

His surviving works include many pieces for organ and the other keyboard

Arnow, Harriette

2005-02-14T08:36:00.000-08:00

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

Andaman And Nicobar Islands, The land

2005-02-14T07:20:00.000-08:00

Some islands have flat coral-covered surfaces, while the others, such as Great Nicobar, are hilly. Great Nicobar, rising to 2,106 feet (642 metres) and containing numerous fast-flowing streams, is the only island with sufficient fresh surface water. Lying between latitudes 6°45¢ and 9°15¢ N, the Nicobars experience temperatures between 64° and 92° F (18° and 33° C). The southwest monsoon (May through September)

China, Population

2005-02-13T03:40:00.000-08:00

Ming China's northward orientation in foreign relations was accompanied by a flow of Chinese migrants from the crowded South back into the vast North China Plain, and by a concomitant shift in emphasis from an urban and commercial way of life back to a rural and agrarian pattern. Thus, demographic and economic trends that had characterized China for centuries—the

Arabian Religion

2005-02-12T20:08:00.000-08:00

In the polytheistic religions of Arabia most of the gods were originally associated with heavenly bodies, to which were ascribed powers of fecundity, protection, or revenge against enemies. Aside from a few deities common to various populations, the pantheons show a marked local particularism. But many religious practices were in general use. The study of these

Lower Vascular Plant

2005-02-12T17:19:00.000-08:00

Formerly pteridophyte, also called vascular cryptogam, any of the spore-bearing vascular plants, including the ferns, club mosses, spike mosses, quillworts, horsetails, and whisk ferns. Once considered of the same evolutionary line, these plants were formerly placed in the single group Pteridophyta and were known as the ferns and fern allies. Although modern studies have shown that the plants are not in fact related, these

Chibchan Languages

2005-02-12T16:39:00.000-08:00

A group of South American Indian languages that were spoken before AD 1500 in the area now comprising Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, western Colombia, and Ecuador. A now extinct Chibchan language sometimes known as Muisca was the language of a powerful Indian empire with its centre near Bogotá. Important present-day Chibchan languages include Guaymí and Move in Panama,

Self-fertilization

2005-02-11T20:59:00.000-08:00

Fusion of male and female gametes (sex cells) produced by the same individual. Self-fertilization occurs in bisexual organisms, including most flowering plants, numerous protozoans, and many invertebrates. Autogamy, the production of gametes by the division of a single parent cell, is frequently found in unicellular organisms such as the protozoan Paramecium

Indian Law

2005-02-11T01:39:00.000-08:00

The legal practices and institutions of India. The general history of law in India is a well-documented case of reception as well as of grafting. Foreign laws have been “received” into the Indian subcontinent—for example, in the demand by the Hindus of Goa for Portuguese civil law; and the enactment by independent India of statutes such as the Estate Duty Act (1953), the Copyright

Abkhazo-adyghian Languages

2005-02-11T00:05:00.000-08:00

Also called Northwest Caucasian Languages, group of languages spoken primarily in the northwestern part of the Caucasus Mountains. The languages of this group—Abkhaz, Abaza, Adyghian, Kabardian (Circassian), and the nearly extinct Ubykh—are noted for the great number of distinctive consonants and limited number of distinctive vowels in their sound systems.

Hindu Kush

2005-02-10T17:54:00.000-08:00

The Hindu Kush is one of the great watersheds of Central Asia, forming part of the vast Alpine zone that stretches across Eurasia from east to west. It runs northeast to southwest and divides the valley of the Amu Darya (the ancient Oxus River) to the north from the Indus

Ciconiiform, Bill shape

2005-02-09T09:01:00.000-08:00

The bill shows various adaptations to methods of feeding. In herons it is typically long, straight, and pointed; although spearlike in appearance, it is used for grasping rather than impaling. In the boat-billed heron (Cochlearius cochlearius) the bill is flattened into a broad scoop and is used as such in feeding. In bitterns, both mandibles are finely serrated near

Paul-boncour, Joseph

2005-02-08T22:42:00.000-08:00

After receiving a degree in law from the University of Paris, Paul-Boncour practiced law, organized the legal council of the Bourses du Travail (syndicalist workers'

Industrial Glass, Tableware

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

Tableware tumblers are made by blowing glass at the end of a blowing pipe into a split paste-mold. The paste-mold is made of cast iron and is lined with a wetted cork-type or pasted-sawdust material. The resulting steam cushion gives a smooth finish to the glass, which is rotated in the mold during the blowing step. The formed ware is then gently knocked off the pipe by a light