SolidAnt

Zakopane

2005-04-05T00:09:00.000-07:00

City, Nowy Sacz województwo (province), south-central Poland. The city is situated in the Carpathian Mountains near the Slovakian border. Its location at the foot of the Alpine-like Tatras Mountains makes it a major winter-sports and health-resort centre. Situated on good rail and highway routes, Zakopane also serves as the cultural centre for the area. The Chalubinski

Gorbachev, Mikhail

2005-04-04T09:03:00.000-07:00

In full Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev Soviet official, the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1985 to 1991 and president of the Soviet Union in 1990–91. His efforts to democratize his country's political system and decentralize its economy led to the downfall of communism and the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. In part because he ended the Soviet

Macapá

2005-04-02T22:15:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Amapá state, northern Brazil, on the northern channel (Canal do Norte) of the Amazon Delta, situated on a small plateau of firm ground 50 feet (15 metres) above sea level, just on the Equator. It was given city status in 1856. Macapá is the commercial, manufacturing, and transportation centre of the state, exporting high-grade manganese (including silicomanganese and

Gnotobiosis

2005-04-02T10:13:00.000-08:00

(from the Greek meaning “known life”), condition of life in which only known kinds of organisms are present. Gnotobiotic organisms are of two major types: germfree, that is, free of all known contaminants; and gnotophoric, bearing a single known contaminant, usually administered as part of an experiment. The term “germfree,” however, is often used loosely to indicate all organisms

Hungary, The Kádár regime

2005-04-01T23:18:00.000-08:00

In the first uncertain weeks of his regime Kádár made many promises. Workers' councils were to be given a large amount of control in the factories and mines. Compulsory deliveries of farm produce were to be abolished, and no compulsion, direct or indirect, was to be put on the peasants to enter the collectives. The five-year plan was to be revised to permit more production

Lurton, Horace H(armon)

2005-03-31T10:48:00.000-08:00

Lurton enlisted in the Confederate army at the outbreak of the war and was twice taken prisoner, but he was paroled by President Abraham Lincoln the second time upon his mother's appeal, pleading illness. After the war he finished his studies and established a successful

Christianity

2005-03-30T03:02:00.000-08:00

Major religion, stemming from the life, teachings, and death of Jesus of Nazareth (the Christ, or the Anointed One of God) in the 1st century AD. It has become the largest of the world's religions. Geographically the most widely diffused of all faiths, it has a constituency of some 2 billion believers. Its largest groups are the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches,

Yugoslavia

2005-03-29T09:01:00.000-08:00

Three federations have borne the name Yugoslavia (“Land of the South Slavs”). The Kingdom of Yugoslavia (Kraljevina Jugoslavija), officially proclaimed in 1929 and lasting

Morristown

2005-03-28T13:38:00.000-08:00

Town, seat (1740) of Morris county, north-central New Jersey, U.S., on the Whippany River, 18 miles (29 km) west of Newark. Founded as West Hanover in 1710, when a forge was established to exploit local iron ore, it was renamed in 1740 for Lewis Morris, then governor of the colony. During the American Revolution the area was the winter quarters of the American army in 1779–80, where more than 10,000 troops camped; the

Albuquerque

2005-03-27T23:36:00.000-08:00

Largest city of New Mexico, U.S., seat (1852) of Bernalillo county, on the Rio Grande opposite a pass between the Sandia and Manzano mountains to the east. It is encircled by Indian pueblos and sections of the Cibola National Forest (of which it is headquarters). Founded in 1706 by Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdés, governor and captain general of New Mexico, it was named for the Duque de Alburquerque,

Koli

2005-03-26T20:52:00.000-08:00

Large caste living in the central and western mountain area of India, numbering about 650,000 in the late 20th century. The largest group of Koli live in Maharashtra and Gujarat states. Although identified as cultivators and labourers, many Koli survive only by gathering firewood and hiring out as labourers, subsisting on berries and mangoes in summer when food is scarce. The

Ear, Human, Tympanic membrane

2005-03-25T06:46:00.000-08:00

The thin, semitransparent tympanic membrane, or eardrum, which forms the boundary between the outer and middle ear, is stretched obliquely across the end of the external canal. Its diameter is about 9 millimetres (0.35 inch), its shape that of a flattened cone with its apex directed inward. Thus, its outer surface is slightly concave. The edge of the membrane is thickened and

Igneous Rock, Classification of volcanic and hypabyssal rocks

2005-03-23T19:13:00.000-08:00

Owing to the aphanitic texture of volcanic and hypabyssal rocks, their modes cannot be readily determined; consequently, a chemical classification is widely accepted and employed by most petrologists. One popular scheme is based on the use of both chemical components and normative mineralogy. Because most lay people have little access to analytic facilities

Floral Decoration, 18th century

2005-03-23T06:02:00.000-08:00

The floral arrangements of the early 18th century were dominated by French and English taste. In France, cultural and social life centred in the intimate rooms of Parisian town houses rather than in the vast rooms and halls of Louis XIV's Versailles palace. Bouquets, therefore, were comparatively small, to be in scale with their setting. The more delicate colouring and

Javorníky

2005-03-23T02:55:00.000-08:00

Mountains in central Czechoslovakia, on the western fringe of the Carpathian Mountains and forming part of the boundary between Moravia and Slovakia. The ridge of the Javorníky peaks—the highest, at 3,514 feet (1,071 m), is Velký Javorník, overlooking the village of Velké Karlovice—divides the Becva-Oder river systems to the north and west from the Váh River to the east. Climate

Albania

2005-03-21T20:30:00.000-08:00

The government has made a conscious effort to encourage and preserve the nation's rich folk life. There are some 4,300 cultural institutions of various sorts in the country. The National Library, as well as the State Choir and the Opera and Ballet Theatre, are located in Tiranë. Albania's best-known writer is Ismail Kadare, a novelist and poet whose writings have been translated

Price Discrimination

2005-03-21T18:11:00.000-08:00

Practice of selling a commodity at different prices to different buyers, even though sales costs are the same in all of the transactions. Discrimination among buyers may be based on personal characteristics such as income, race, or age or on geographic location. For price discrimination to succeed, other entrepreneurs must be unable to purchase goods at the lower

Baseball

2005-03-21T02:31:00.000-08:00

(ROBERT WILLIAM VERDI)

Lancaster, Edmund, 1st Earl Of

2005-03-20T16:23:00.000-08:00

At the age of 10, Edmund was invested by Pope Innocent IV with the kingdom of Sicily (April 1255), as an expression of his conflict with the Holy Roman Emperor, who held Sicily; but Edmund was never more than an absentee titular

Binary Star

2005-03-19T06:52:00.000-08:00

If the images of the two components of a binary star system can be separated by telescope, it is called

La Orotava

2005-03-19T00:14:00.000-08:00

Town, northern Tenerife island, Santa Cruz de Tenerife provincia, Canary Islands comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”), Spain, just southwest of Santa Cruz de Tenerife city. The town is a health resort with its port, Puerto de la Cruz, on the coast immediately to the northwest. It lies in the Orotava Valley, known for its luxuriant vegetation and called the most beautiful

Gage, Thomas

2005-03-18T15:02:00.000-08:00

Gage's military career in North America began in 1754, when he sailed with his regiment to serve in the last French

Racerunner

2005-03-17T20:42:00.000-08:00

Racerunners may be diversely marked, even within a species, being

John Of The Cross, Saint

2005-03-17T20:41:00.000-08:00

John became a Carmelite monk at Medina del Campo, Spain, in 1563 and was ordained priest in 1567. St. Teresa of Ávila, the celebrated mystic,

Bridalveil Fall

2005-03-16T19:14:00.000-08:00

Cataract on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada in Yosemite National Park, east-central California, U.S. Fed mainly by melting snow, the waterfall has a height of 620 feet (189 m) and forms one of the most scenic features in the park.

Iris

2005-03-16T07:51:00.000-08:00

Genus of about 300 species of plants in the family Iridaceae including some of the world's most popular and varied garden flowers, centred in the North Temperate Zones. Some of its most handsome species, however, are native to the Mediterranean and central Asian areas. The iris is the fleur-de-lis of the French royalist standard. It is a popular subject of

Caucasian Languages, Grammatical characteristics

2005-03-15T22:49:00.000-08:00

The grammatical characteristics of the Abkhazo-Adyghian languages include an extremely simple noun system and a relatively complicated system of verb conjugation. There are no grammatical cases in Abkhaz and Abaza, and in the other languages only two principal cases occur: a direct case (nominative) and an oblique case, combining the functions of several

Lignite

2005-03-14T01:06:00.000-08:00

Brown to black coal that has been formed from peat under moderate pressure; it is one of the first products of coalification and is intermediate between peat and subbituminous coal. Dry lignite contains about 60 to 75 percent carbon. It has been estimated that about 45 percent of the world's total coal reserves are lignitic, but these reserves have not been exploited to any

Pole Vault

2005-03-13T16:03:00.000-08:00

Sport in track-and-field athletics in which an athlete jumps over an obstacle with the aid of a pole. Originally a practical means of clearing objects, such as ditches, brooks, and fences, pole-vaulting for height became a competitive sport in the mid-19th century. An Olympic event for men since the first modern Games in 1896, a pole-vault event for women was added for the 2000 Olympics

Social War

2005-03-13T15:12:00.000-08:00

The allies in central and southern Italy had fought side by side with Rome in several wars and had grown restive under Roman autocratic rule, wanting instead Roman citizenship and the privileges it conferred. In 91 BC the Roman tribune Marcus Livius

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus

2005-03-12T11:22:00.000-08:00

In spite of his success as a pianist and composer, Mozart had serious financial worries, and they worsened as the famously fickle Viennese found other idols. One may calculate his likely income during his last five years, 1786–91, as being far larger than that of most musicians though much below that of the section of society with which he wanted to be associated; Leopold's early

Furniture, France

2005-03-12T03:31:00.000-08:00

The transitional phase in French furniture from Baroque to Rococo is called Régence. The heavy, monumental style of the earlier part of Louis's reign was gradually replaced by a lighter and more fluent curvilinear style. The leading exponent of the Régence style was Charles Cressent, ébéniste (“cabinetmaker”) to the regent Philippe II, duc d'Orléans. In his work the ormolu

Sexual Dysfunction

2005-03-12T00:48:00.000-08:00

Also called Psychosexual Dysfunction, the inability of a person to experience sexual arousal or to achieve sexual satisfaction under appropriate circumstances, as a result of either physical disorder or, more commonly, psychological problems. The most common forms of sexual dysfunction have traditionally been classified as impotence (inability of a man to achieve or maintain penile erection) and

Morales, Luis De

2005-03-10T23:45:00.000-08:00

Morales may have studied with the Flemish painter Hernando

Gabon, Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

2005-03-10T15:01:00.000-08:00

Although agriculture (mainly subsistence farming) occupies about two-thirds of the population, it plays but a small part in the economy of the country as a whole. Moreover, its appeal as a way of life has declined. Better educational and employment opportunities in the towns and cities have emptied the countryside of young people. Despite government efforts during

Fischer, Kuno

2005-03-09T11:31:00.000-08:00

With other writings on Gotthold Lessing, Friedrich Schiller, and J.W. von Goethe, Fischer contributed to the philosophy of aesthetics. Eventually he subscribed to Hegelian

Social Protection, Repression in Myanmar.

2005-03-08T21:42:00.000-08:00

Morton Sklar

Abbess

2005-03-07T22:05:00.000-08:00

To be elected, an abbess must be at least 40 years old and a professed nun for at least 10 years. She is solemnly blessed

Dominica Channel

2005-03-07T02:17:00.000-08:00

Marine passage in the Lesser Antilles, West Indies, connecting the Caribbean Sea with the open Atlantic Ocean to the east. It flows between the island of Dominica (north) and the French island and overseas département of Martinique (south) and is about 25 miles (40 km) wide.

Mars

2005-03-06T20:40:00.000-08:00

Mars's festivals at Rome occurred in the spring and the

Jesse

2005-03-06T13:07:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Isai, in the Old Testament, the father of King David. Jesse was the son of Ohed, and the grandson of Boaz and Ruth. He was a farmer and sheep breeder in Bethlehem. David was the youngest of Jesse's eight sons. The appellation “son of Jesse” served as a synonym for David both at Saul's court and, subsequently, when David became king. It became a standard poetic metaphor in the Bible. Phrases

Malagasy Languages

2005-03-05T06:39:00.000-08:00

A cluster of languages spoken on Madagascar and adjacent islands and belonging to the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) family of languages. The various Malagasy dialects are all closely related, having diversified only in the last 2,000 years when Madagascar was settled by an Indonesian people. The languages contain some words of Bantu, Swahili, Arab, English, and French

Burbank, Luther

2005-03-04T14:24:00.000-08:00

Reared on a farm, Burbank received little more than a high

Naqshbandiyah

2005-03-04T08:35:00.000-08:00

Orthodox fraternity of Muslim mystics (Sufis) found in India, China, the Central Asian republics, and Malaysia. It claims a lineage extending back to Abu Bakr, the first caliph. Baha' ad-Din (d. 1384), founder of the order at Bukhara, Turkistan, was called an-naqshband, “the painter,” because of the impression of God that the repetition of his prescribed ritual prayer (dhikr) should leave upon

Restell, Madame

2005-03-04T01:16:00.000-08:00

Ann Trow was born into a poor family. In 1831 she moved to New York City with her husband, who died a few years later, and in 1836 she married Charles R. Lohman. Her husband had established himself as a purveyor of various concoctions that purportedly prevented

Tacoma Narrows Bridge

2005-03-03T08:27:00.000-08:00

First suspension bridge across the Narrows of Puget Sound, connecting the Olympic Peninsula with the mainland of Washington state, U.S., and a landmark failure in engineering history. Four months after its opening, on the morning of November 7, 1940, in a wind of about 42 miles (67 km) per hour, the 2,800-foot (840-metre) main span, which had already exhibited a marked flexibility, went into a series

Macau

2005-03-01T22:19:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Macao , Chinese (Pinyin romanization) Aomen or (Wade-Giles romanization) Ao-men special administrative region (Pinyin tebie xingzhengqu; Wade-Giles t'e-pieh hsing-cheng-ch'ü) of China, on the country's southern coast. Macau is located on the western side of the Pearl River (Chu Chiang) estuary (at the head of which is the port of Canton) and stands about 40 miles (64 km) opposite the special administrative region of Hong Kong, which is on the eastern side of the

Maceió

2005-03-01T20:08:00.000-08:00

Capital, Alagoas estado (“state”), northeastern Brazil. It is situated below low bluffs on a level strip of land between the Atlantic Ocean and the Norte (or Mundaú) Lagoon, a shallow body of water extending inward for several miles. Formerly called Macayo, the city dates from 1815, when a small settlement there was made a villa. In 1839 it became capital of Alagoas (then a provincia) and

Yüeh-ch'in

2005-03-01T05:43:00.000-08:00

Also called la ch'in , Pinyin yueqin , or laqin , also called moon guitar Chinese lute, one of a family of flat, round-bodied lutes found in Central and East Asia. It was invented, according to tradition, during the Chin dynasty (AD 265–420). It has two pairs of silk strings, tuned (in relative pitch) to c–g, which run from a fastener on the wooden belly to tuning pegs set in the sides of the pegbox. A metal plate is hung inside the body, vibrating against

Grundschule

2005-03-01T03:02:00.000-08:00

Before the 1920s, upper-class German children attended the Vorschule, a three-year course of preparation for secondary school (which usually began at age 9). Working-class children generally terminated their education at age 14 upon completing Volksschule (primary school).

Carat

2005-02-28T13:46:00.000-08:00

Unit of weight for diamonds and certain other precious gems. Before 1913 the weight of a carat varied in different gem centres. Originally based on the weight of grains or leguminous seeds, which, of course, varied in size from place to place, the carat was equivalent to 0.2053 gram (3.168 troy grains) in London, 0.1972 g in Florence, and 0.2057 g in Amsterdam. The weight of a gemstone was calculated in terms

Lighthouse, Oil lamps

2005-02-28T06:49:00.000-08:00

In 1782 a Swiss scientist, Aimé Argand, invented an oil lamp whose steady smokeless flame revolutionized lighthouse illumination. The basis of his invention was a circular wick with a glass chimney that ensured an adequate current of air up the centre and the outside of the wick for even and proper combustion of the oil. Eventually, Argand lamps with as many as 10 concentric

Samoa

2005-02-27T08:21:00.000-08:00

The assassination of the minister of public works in July 1999 continued to produce legal and political consequences in 2000. The two cabinet ministers who plotted the murder (and the son of one of them who actually committed the deed) were tried and found guilty, but their mandatory death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment. By-elections were held following the

Igneous Rock, Inclusions

2005-02-26T11:12:00.000-08:00

These are rounded to angular masses of solid material enclosed within a rock of recognizably different composition or texture. Those consisting of older material not directly related to that of their host are known as xenoliths, and those representing broken-up and detached older parts of the same igneous body that encloses them are termed cognate xenoliths

Frame Story

2005-02-26T09:58:00.000-08:00

Also called frame tale overall unifying story within which one or more tales are related. In the single story, the opening and closing constitutes a frame. In the cyclical frame story—that is, a story in which several tales are related—some frames are externally imposed and only loosely bind the diversified stories. For example, the Jataka, a treasury of some 550 ancient Indian folktales, is cast

Middleton, Arthur

2005-02-25T13:15:00.000-08:00

After completing his education in England, Middleton returned to South Carolina in 1763 and was elected to the colonial legislature. In 1775–76 he was a member of the Council

Bokassa, Jean-bédel

2005-02-25T04:16:00.000-08:00

African military officer and political leader (b. Feb. 22, 1921, Bobangui, Oubangui-Chari, French Equatorial Africa [now in Central African Republic]--d. Nov. 3, 1996, Bangui, Central African Republic), was president of the Central African Republic (1966-77) and self-styled emperor of the Central African Empire (1977-79). His rule was characterized by brutality and greed. After the assassination of his father,

Yukon Territory, Flag Of

2005-02-24T21:36:00.000-08:00

The flag was adopted by the Territorial Council in 1967. Its unequal vertical stripes are referred to as a “Canadian pale” because they correspond to those in the Canadian national flag. (In heraldry, a pale is a central vertical stripe on a shield, normally covering one-third or less of the area.) The green stripe in the Yukon flag is for the territory's forests, while the blue

Tracer

2005-02-24T07:01:00.000-08:00

Detectable substance added to a chemical, biological, or physical system to follow its process or to study distribution of the substance in the system. Tracer dyes have long been used to follow the flow of underground streams. Incendiary rounds included at intervals in a belt of machine-gun bullets make the paths of the bullets visible. In scientific work, the use

Qasr 'amrah

2005-02-23T19:50:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Qasr Al-'amrah, palace in Jordan, about 50 miles (80 km) east of Amman. Built about AD 712–715, it served as both a hunting lodge and a fortress, and it is one of the best-preserved monuments of Islamic architecture from the Umayyad period. Its main chamber is roofed with three parallel vaults that rest on broad arches. The vaults are covered with frescoes of people and animals in scenes from daily life; a

Medicine, Specialties in medicine

2005-02-23T08:29:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of World War II it was possible to recognize a number of major medical specialties, including internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, pathology, anesthesiology, ophthalmology, surgery, orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery, psychiatry and neurology, radiology, and urology. Hematology was also an important field of study, and microbiology

Mordant Dye

2005-02-22T15:34:00.000-08:00

Colorant that can be bound to a material for which it otherwise has little or no affinity by the addition of a mordant, a chemical that combines with the dye and the fibre. As the principal modern mordants are dichromates and chromium complexes, mordant dye usually means chrome dye. Most mordant dyes yield different colours with different mordants. Mordant dyes can

Catalog Verse

2005-02-22T05:05:00.000-08:00

Verse that presents a list of people, objects, or abstract qualities. Such verse exists in almost all literatures and is of ancient origin. The genealogical lists in the Bible and the lists of heroes in epics such as Homer's Iliad are types of catalog verse, as are more modern poems such as Gerard Manley Hopkins's “Pied Beauty,” which begins: Glory be to God for dappled

Pre-columbian Civilizations, Deities

2005-02-21T10:31:00.000-08:00

The ancient tribes of central Mexico had worshiped fertility gods for many centuries when the Aztec invaded the valley. The cult of these gods remained extremely important in Aztec religion. Tlaloc, the giver of rain but also the wrathful deity of lightning, was the leader of a group of rain gods, the Tlaloques, who dwelt on mountaintops. Chalchiuhtlicue (“One Who Wears

Alewife

2005-02-21T10:08:00.000-08:00

Also called Sawbelly, Grayback, Gaspereau, or Branch Herring (Pomolobus, or Alosa, pseudoharengus), important North American food fish of the herring family, Clupeidae. Deeper-bodied than the true herring, the alewife has a pronounced saw-edge on the underside; it grows to about 30 cm (1 foot). Except for members of a few lake populations, it spends several years along the Atlantic coast of North America before

Floire Et Blancheflor

2005-02-20T08:03:00.000-08:00

French metrical romance known in two versions from the 12th and 13th centuries and thought to be of Greco-Byzantine or Moorish origin. Its theme of separation and reunion of young lovers is the same as that treated in Aucassin et Nicolette, though the roles and religion of the two main characters are reversed. Floire is the son of a Saracen king; Blancheflor, his beloved,

Broad Church

2005-02-20T00:32:00.000-08:00

Moderate movement that emerged as one of the three parties in the Church of England during the mid-19th century. The Broad Church represented “broad” views and eschewed narrow expressions of doctrine as practiced by Anglo-Catholics (or High Churchmen) on one hand and anti-Roman Evangelicals (or Low Churchmen) on the other. Broad Churchmen in the 19th century—including such

J. Walter Thompson Co.

2005-02-19T23:54:00.000-08:00

The company grew out of one of the first advertising agencies, Carlton & Smith, established in 1864. Four years later William J. Carlton hired James Walter Thompson, age 20, as a bookkeeper. Thompson later became

'ayn

2005-02-19T23:01:00.000-08:00

Many a'yan during the 17th century acquired lifelong leases on tax farms and prospered financially. During

Abyssal Plain

2005-02-18T15:36:00.000-08:00

Flat seafloor area at an abyssal depth (3,000 to 6,000 m [10,000 to 20,000 feet]), generally adjacent to a continent. These submarine surfaces vary in depth only from 10 to 100 cm per kilometre of horizontal distance. Irregular in outline but generally elongate along continental margins, the larger plains are hundreds of kilometres wide and thousands of kilometres long. In the North Atlantic the Sohm

Beard Lichen

2005-02-18T02:59:00.000-08:00

Any member of the genus Usnea, a yellow or greenish fruticose (bushy, branched) lichen with long stems and disk-shaped holdfasts, which resembles a tangled mass of threads. It occurs in both the Arctic and the tropics, where it is eaten by wild animals or collected as fodder. In the past it was used as a remedy for whooping cough, catarrh, epilepsy, and dropsy. It has been used

David

2005-02-17T23:49:00.000-08:00

Second of the Israelite kings (after Saul), reigning c. 1000 to c. 962 BC, who established a united kingdom over all Israel, with Jerusalem as its capital. In Jewish tradition he became the ideal king, the founder of an enduring dynasty, around whose figure and reign clustered messianic expectations of the people of Israel. Since he was a symbol of fulfillment

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Renaissance

2005-02-17T22:43:00.000-08:00

Romance and romantic forms provide the main vehicle for the entrance of allegory into the literature of the Renaissance period. The old Arthurian legends carry a new sophistication and polish in the epics of the Italians Boiardo, Ariosto, and Tasso and in the work of Edmund Spenser. By interlacing several simultaneous stories in one larger narrative, the literary

Fair

2005-02-16T22:10:00.000-08:00

Temporary market where buyers and sellers gather to transact business. A fair is held at regular intervals, generally at the same location and time of year, and it usually lasts for several days or even weeks. Its primary function is the promotion of trade. Historically, fairs displayed many different kinds of products in specific commodity or industrial groupings.

Apuleius, Lucius

2005-02-16T20:55:00.000-08:00

Apuleius, who was educated at Carthage and Athens,

Jesus Christ, Early heresies

2005-02-15T09:39:00.000-08:00

These misinterpretations

Argentina, Tourism

2005-02-15T07:01:00.000-08:00

International visitors contribute billions of dollars to the Argentine economy. The number of foreign tourist arrivals reached more than four million per year in the late 1990s; one-fourth of visitors were from Uruguay, followed by hundreds of thousands each from Chile, Brazil, the United States, and Paraguay. Major tourist sites include Iguazú Falls and the former

Interdict

2005-02-14T23:44:00.000-08:00

An exhibitory interdict, which usually involves rights over things, is an order requiring that a person or thing be produced. A restorative

Paeoniaceae

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

The peony family of the order Dilleniales, consisting of the genus Paeonia with about 33 species distributed in Europe, Asia, and western North America. They are perennial herbs or sometimes shrubby plants up to about 2 m (6 feet) tall that grow from stout rootstocks. The leaves are alternately produced along the stems and are divided into three lobes, each lobe being further

Forbes' Disease

2005-02-14T08:50:00.000-08:00

Also called Cori's disease , or glycogenosis type III rare hereditary disease in which the the metabolic breakdown of glycogen to the simple sugar glucose is incomplete, allowing intermediate compounds to accumulate in the cells of the liver. Affected persons lack the enzyme amylo-1,6-glucosidase, one of several enzymes involved in glycogen breakdown. Children with the disease have enlarged livers (which usually

Lizard, Annotated classification

2005-02-14T05:16:00.000-08:00

Reptiles with a single temporal opening lying above the bar formed by postorbital and squamosal

Pyroxenite

2005-02-12T14:44:00.000-08:00

Dark-coloured, intrusive igneous rock that consists chiefly of pyroxene. Pyroxenites are not abundant; they occur in discrete inclusions, in layered sills (tabular bodies inserted between other rocks) and lopoliths (laccoliths with basin-shaped bases), in branching veins, in narrow dikes (tabular bodies injected in fissures), and at the edges of silica-poor plutons

Claremont Colleges

2005-02-12T04:34:00.000-08:00

A consortium of private colleges in Claremont, Calif., U.S. The consortium comprises Pomona College, Claremont McKenna College, Scripps College, Harvey Mudd College, Pitzer College, and the Claremont Graduate School. The campuses are adjacent to one another and many facilities are shared, including the 1,800,000-volume Honnold Library. The concept of a “cluster” of colleges was

López Portillo, José

2005-02-11T15:40:00.000-08:00

López Portillo attended the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the University of Chile. He then practiced law and later was professor of law, political science, and public administration at the National University of Mexico before

Vanadic Anhydride

2005-02-10T19:10:00.000-08:00

Vanadium pentoxide, a compound of vanadium and oxygen widely used as an oxidation catalyst, as in the oxidation of unburned hydrocarbons in automobile exhaust (see vanadium).

David, Jacques-louis

2005-02-10T09:04:00.000-08:00

David won wide acclaim with his huge canvases on classical themes (e.g., “Oath of the Horatii,” 1784 [see photograph]). When the French Revolution began in 1789, he served briefly as its artistic director

Annelid, Digestive system

2005-02-10T06:11:00.000-08:00

The polychaete digestive system is generally a straight tube; a mouth leads into an esophagus, which is followed by the intestine and the anus. Some free-moving forms have a proboscis that can be thrust forward by being turned inside out—that is, the proboscis is eversible. In oligochaetes such as the earthworm, the mouth opens into a muscular pharynx, which opens to

Human Evolution, Examination and analysis of fossils

2005-02-09T10:44:00.000-08:00

Although it appears that at the time of discovery the remains of more than 10 individuals existed at Cro-Magnon, only fragments from some five individuals were preserved and studied, among them the cranium and mandible of a male about 50 years old. Considered representative of the Cro-Magnon type, this specimen is known as the “Old Man of Cro-Magnon.” Also preserved were skull

Neuserre

2005-02-08T00:44:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Nyuserre, sixth king of the 5th dynasty (c. 2465–c. 2325 BC) of Egypt; he is primarily known for his temple to the sun-god Re at Abu Jirab (Abu Gurab) in Lower Egypt. The temple plan, like that built by Userkaf (the first king of the 5th dynasty), consisted of a valley temple, causeway, gate, and temple court, which contained an obelisk (the symbol of Re) and an alabaster altar. The sun-temple reliefs revealed an exceptionally

Newhall, Nancy

2005-02-07T21:19:00.000-08:00

She attended Smith College and was a member of the Art Students League of New York. Her career began in 1943, when she became acting curator of the photography department at the Museum of Modern

Pierced Work

2005-02-07T18:39:00.000-08:00

In metalwork, perforations created for decorative or functional effect or both; the French term for such work is ajouré. Both hand-operated and mechanical tools such as saws, drills, chisels, and punches are used. The principal present-day exponents of this ancient technique are perhaps Asiatic Indian craftsmen. In European metalwork—apart from its functional and

Alalakh

2005-02-07T13:31:00.000-08:00

Excavations also revealed a towered

Biblical Literature, Scandinavian versions

2005-02-06T13:08:00.000-08:00

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

Austin, Alfred

2005-02-06T08:32:00.000-08:00

Before his official appointment, Austin studied law and was called to the bar, tried to enter

Moses, Sir Charles (joseph Alfred)

2005-02-05T22:36:00.000-08:00

Moses graduated from the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, Eng. (1918), and was stationed with the British army in Ireland before immigrating

Cyril And Methodius, Saints

2005-02-05T07:09:00.000-08:00

Brothers who for christianizing the Danubian Slavs and for influencing the religious and cultural development of all Slavic peoples received the title “the apostles of the Slavs.” Both were outstanding scholars, theologians, and

Club

2005-02-04T03:17:00.000-08:00

Primitive weapon, a heavy stick, sometimes with a stone or metal head, used as a hand or throwing weapon and usually shaped or selected with an outer end wider and heavier than its handle. Among primitive groups, special designs often characterize particular tribes. Medieval European bishops denied the use of the sword were allowed to enter battle with a mace, an iron

Janssen, Pierre (-jules-césar)

2005-02-03T10:40:00.000-08:00

Janssen was permanently lamed by an accident in early childhood. He studied at the University of Paris, and in 1865 he became professor

Oasis

2005-02-03T09:49:00.000-08:00

Fertile tract of land that occurs in a desert wherever a perennial supply of fresh water is available. Oases vary in size, ranging from about 1 hectare (2.5 acres) around small springs to vast areas of naturally watered or irrigated land. Underground water sources account for most oases; their springs and wells, some of them artesian, are supplied from sandstone aquifers

Foyle, Lough

2005-02-03T07:39:00.000-08:00

Irish Loch Feabhail inlet on the north coast of Ireland between the Inishowen Peninsula (mainly County Donegal, Ireland) to the west and the district councils of Limavady and Londonderry (until 1973 in County Londonderry), Northern Ireland, to the east and southeast. The lough is about 16 miles (26 km) long and varies in breadth from 1 to 10 miles (1.6 to 16 km). The narrowest points are at the southwestern end, where