TightCushion

organic cotton goods

2006-10-30T09:10:00.000-08:00

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

Mitchell, William

2005-03-19T19:29:00.000-08:00

Byname Billy Mitchell U.S. Army officer who early advocated a separate U.S. air force and greater preparedness in military aviation. He was court-martialed for his outspoken views and did not live to see the fulfillment during World War II of many of his prophecies: strategic bombing, mass airborne operations, and the eclipse of the battleship by the bomb-carrying

Ahimsa

2005-03-16T19:07:00.000-08:00

In Jainism, ahimsa is the standard

Ubayyid, Al-

2005-03-13T23:35:00.000-08:00

Also spelled el-Obeid town, central Sudan. It lies on a sandy, scrub-covered plateau at an elevation of 1,869 feet (570 m). Founded by the Egyptians in 1821, the town was captured and largely destroyed by the Mahdist forces in 1882, but it was rebuilt after Kurdufan was federated with the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1899. Al-Ubayyid is encircled by a forest reserve that tends to alleviate dust storms. Located on a spur of the

Wandjina Style

2005-03-10T14:06:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Wondjina, type of depiction in Australian cave paintings of figures that represent mythological beings associated with the creation of the world. Called wandjina figures, the images are believed by modern Aborigines to have been painted by the Wondjinas, prehistoric inhabitants of the Kimberley region in northwest Australia, the only area where cave paintings in the

Wright, Laura Maria Sheldon

2005-03-09T23:25:00.000-08:00

Laura Sheldon played as a child with local Native American children, among whom she began holding prayer meetings at age 10. After

Frederick Louis, Prince Of Wales

2005-03-08T20:34:00.000-08:00

After his grandfather became king of Great Britain as George I in 1714, Frederick was betrothed to Wilhelmina Sophia Dorothea,

Marrakech

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

Marrakech gave its name to the kingdom of which it was long the capital. It was founded in the mid-11th century by

Biblical Literature, Developments in the 16th century

2005-03-07T07:12:00.000-08:00

With the advent of printing and differences between Roman Catholics and Protestants, the canon and its relationship to tradition finally became fixed. During the Counter-Reformation Council of Trent (1545–63), the canon of the entire Bible was set in 1546 as the Vulgate, based on Jerome's Latin version. For Luther, the criterion of what was canonical was both apostolicity, or what

åland Islands

2005-03-05T19:28:00.000-08:00

Swedish Åland Skärgård, Finnish Ahvenanmaa, archipelago comprising Ahvenanmaan autonomous kunta (commune), southwestern Finland. The islands lie at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia, 25 miles (40 km) east of the Swedish coast, at the eastern edge of the Åland Sea. The archipelago has a land area of 590 square miles (1,527 square km) and consists of about 35 inhabited islands, 6,500 uninhabited islands, and many rocky reefs. The bedrock

Insurance, Problems

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

Private health insurance contracts are in general quite restricted in coverage, to the point that many consider them to be inadequate for modern conditions. They also lend themselves to abuses such as overutilization of coverage, multiple policies, and insuring for more than 100 percent of the expected loss. Health insurance, by its very existence, helps to escalate

Cambridge, Richard Owen

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

Educated at Eton College and at St. John's College, Oxford, the young Cambridge went into residence at Lincoln's Inn in 1737. Four years later he married and went to live at his country seat of Whitminster, Gloucestershire. In 1751 he moved to Twickenham, where he

Responsa

2005-03-02T20:50:00.000-08:00

Hebrew She'elot U-teshubot (“questions and answers”), replies made by rabbinic scholars in answer to submitted questions about Jewish law. These replies began to be written in the 6th century after final redaction of the Talmud and are still being formulated. Estimates of the total number of published responsa, which range in length from a few words to lengthy monographs and compendia, vary from

Jalisco

2005-03-01T23:23:00.000-08:00

Estado (“state”), west-central Mexico. It is bounded by the states of Nayarit and Aguascalientes and Zacatecas (north), Guanajuato (east), Michoacán and Colima (south), and by the Pacific Ocean (west). Its capital is Guadalajara (q.v.). The Sierra Madre Occidental traverses the state, separating the narrow, heavily forested coastal plain from a high plateau region that is part of

Arts, Central Asian, Tibet

2005-03-01T00:23:00.000-08:00

Tibetan art comprises ancient pre-Buddhist decorative and domestic crafts and the all-pervading religious art that was gradually introduced from the 8th century onward from surrounding Buddhist countries and developed subsequently as recognizably distinct Tibetan imagery, sculpture, and decorative architectural motifs. In all its forms Tibetan art has

Talavera De La Reina

2005-02-27T15:45:00.000-08:00

Town, Toledo provincia, in the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Castile-La Mancha, central Spain, on the northern bank of the Tagus River near its confluence with the Alberche. The town originated as the Roman Caesarobriga and was conquered by King Alfonso VI in 1082. Alfonso XI gave it to his queen, Maria of Portugal, whence its appellation de la Reina (“of the

Biblical Literature, Proverbs

2005-02-26T19:54:00.000-08:00

Proverbs is probably the oldest extant document of the Hebrew wisdom movement, of which King Solomon was the founder and patron. Wisdom literature flourished throughout the ancient Near East, with Egyptian examples dating back to before the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE. It revolved around the professional sages, or wise men, and scribes in the service of the court,

Iasi

2005-02-26T01:44:00.000-08:00

There were recognizable settlements at the site in the 7th century. The town received its German name (perhaps from the Cuman jagers, or bowmen) in the

Bulgarian Language

2005-02-24T14:57:00.000-08:00

Bulgarian Bulgarski ezik South Slavic language written in the Cyrillic alphabet and spoken in Bulgaria and parts of Greece, Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine. Together with Macedonian, to which it is most closely related, Bulgarian contrasts sharply with the other Slavic languages in its almost complete loss of case declension in the noun and in its use of certain grammatical features found

Caucasian Languages, Nakho-Dagestanian languages

2005-02-24T10:56:00.000-08:00

The Nakho-Dagestanian group consists of the Nakh and Dagestanian languages. Some investigators subdivide the Nakho-Dagestanian languages into two independent groups: Central Caucasian languages (Nakh) and East Caucasian languages (Dagestan), although the great proximity of these groups, and their equal remoteness from the Abkhazo-Adyghian languages, may justify

Macadamia

2005-02-23T14:39:00.000-08:00

Macadamias originated in the coastal rain forests and scrubs of what is now Queensland in northeastern Australia. The macadamias grown commercially in Hawaii and Australia are principally

East Dunbartonshire

2005-02-22T11:27:00.000-08:00

Council area, west-central Scotland. East Dunbartonshire's largest towns, Bearsden and Milngavie in the southwest and Kirkintilloch in the southeast, lie within the historic county of Dunbartonshire. The council area also includes a small area in the south around the town of Bishopbriggs in the historic county of Lanarkshire and a more extensive area in the northeast

Performing Arts, Jazz.

2005-02-20T11:55:00.000-08:00

Though no new trends or fads appeared and only one new star emerged, jazz and related musics at last crossed a final frontier in 2002. The jazz idiom, originally created by African Americans, had been played on six continents, but in 2001–02 guitarist Henry Kaiser spent two months in Antarctica, the last continent. Kaiser, with extensive experience playing free improvisations

Mclean, Alice Throckmorton

2005-02-20T10:32:00.000-08:00

McLean traveled widely as a child, mastered several languages, and was educated privately. An early marriage

Kaduna

2005-02-19T06:21:00.000-08:00

Town, capital of Kaduna state, north-central Nigeria. It lies along the Kaduna River, which is a major tributary of the Niger River. Sir Frederick (later Lord) Lugard, the first British governor of Northern Nigeria, selected the present site along the Lagos-Kano Railway for a town, and building began in 1913. In 1917 Kaduna (a Hausa word for “crocodiles”) replaced Zungeru, 100 miles (160 km) west-southwest,

Hector

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

In Greek legend, the eldest son of the Trojan king Priam and his queen Hecuba. He was the husband of Andromache and the chief warrior of the Trojan army. In Homer's Iliad he is represented as an ideal warrior and the mainstay of Troy. His character is drawn in most favourable colours as a good son, a loving husband and father, and a trusty friend. His leave-taking of Andromache

Galba

2005-02-17T06:46:00.000-08:00

Galba was the son of the consul Gaius Sulpicius Galba and Mummia Achaica, and in addition to great wealth and ancient lineage he enjoyed the favour of the emperors Augustus and Tiberius. He began his senatorial career before

Argus Panoptes

2005-02-16T10:16:00.000-08:00

(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

Europe, Caledonian orogenic belt

2005-02-14T22:37:00.000-08:00

The major factor that controlled the early mid-Paleozoic development of Europe was the opening and closing of the Iapetus Ocean, which gave rise to the Caledonian orogenic belt that extends from Ireland and Wales through northern England and Scotland to western Norway and northward to Finnmark in northern Norway. The belt is confined between the stable blocks

France, History Of, Absolutism of Louis

2005-02-14T19:34:00.000-08:00

Thus, in religious matters (except where Jansenism was concerned), in his dealings with the nobility and the Parlement, in his attitude to the economy, and in his manner of governing the country, Louis revealed a desire to exercise a paternal control of affairs that might suggest a modern dictator rather than a 17th-century king. Though such a comparison has been made, it

Cordeliers, Club Of The

2005-02-12T04:54:00.000-08:00

Formally Society of the Friends of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen , French Club des Cordeliers , or Société des Amis des Droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen one of the popular clubs of the French Revolution, founded in 1790 to prevent the abuse of power and “infractions of the rights of man.” The club's popular name was derived from its original meeting place in Paris, the nationalized monastery of the Cordeliers (Franciscans). It became a political force under the leadership of such men as Jean-Paul Marat and Georges Danton. After

Atlantic Languages

2005-02-11T22:03:00.000-08:00

Formerly West Atlantic languages branch of the Niger-Congo language family spoken primarily in Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. The approximately 45 Atlantic languages are spoken by about 30 million people. One language cluster, Fula (also called Fulani, Peul, Fulfulde, and Toucouleur), accounts for more than half of this number and is the most widely scattered language

Andisol

2005-02-10T04:44:00.000-08:00

One of the 12 soil orders in the U.S. Soil Taxonomy. Andisols are defined by the single property of having volcanic-ash parent material. Although these soils exist in all climatic regions, they account for less than 0.75 percent of all the nonpolar continental land area on Earth. Approximately reproducing the geographic distribution of volcanoes, they are found along the

Alcoa

2005-02-09T02:42:00.000-08:00

City, Blount county, eastern Tennessee, U.S., about 15 miles (25 km) south of Knoxville and adjacent to Maryville. The city is a gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which lies to the southeast. It was founded in 1913 by the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) on a tract of land known as North Maryville. In 1910 the first of a series of power dams was begun on the nearby Little Tennessee

Diémer, Louis-joseph

2005-02-07T11:34:00.000-08:00

He was a student at the Paris Conservatoire from 1855 to 1861, and from 1863 he performed regularly, playing at the Alard, Pasdeloup, Colonne, Lamoureux, and Conservatoire concerts with great success; his repertoire included pieces written for him by Charles-Marie

József, Attila

2005-02-07T10:11:00.000-08:00

József was attracted by Marxist ideology and became a member of the then-illegal Communist Party. In 1932 he launched a short-lived literary periodical, Valóság, and in 1936 became one of the

Yermak Timofeyevich

2005-02-05T20:52:00.000-08:00

In 1579 the merchant and factory-owning Stroganov family enlisted the assistance of Yermak and a band of Cossacks to defend its possessions against attacks by Siberian tribesmen. Yermak set out with an expeditionary

Accismus

2005-02-05T11:45:00.000-08:00

A form of irony in which a person feigns indifference to or pretends to refuse something he or she desires. The fox's dismissal of the grapes in Aesop's fable of the fox and the grapes is an example of accismus. A classic example is that of Caesar's initial refusal to accept the crown, a circumstance reported by one of the conspirators in William Shakespeare's Julius

Sachs, Curt

2005-02-04T21:52:00.000-08:00

In his youth Sachs took lessons in piano, theory, and composition. Later, at Berlin University—although he included music history in his studies—he took his doctorate in the history of art (1904). After several years as an art critic and historian, during which time

Lilac

2005-02-03T02:51:00.000-08:00

The common lilac

Hypertext

2005-02-02T14:47:00.000-08:00

Also called Hyperlinking, the linking of related pieces of information by electronic connections in order to allow a user easy access between them. Hypertext is a feature of some computer programs that allow the user of electronic media to select a word from text and receive additional information pertaining to that word, such as a definition or related references within the text. In the

Cheka

2005-01-31T19:58:00.000-08:00

Also called Vecheka, early Soviet secret police agency and a forerunner of the KGB (q.v.).

Minhah

2005-01-31T09:42:00.000-08:00

Minhah consists

Anthimus Vii Tsatsos

2005-01-30T14:40:00.000-08:00

Like Anthimus VI, his predecessor of a half-century earlier, Anthimus VII is known for his encyclical letter to the Orthodox world refuting a papal encyclical, Praeclara Gratulationis (“Splendid

North Germanic Languages

2005-01-29T05:13:00.000-08:00

About 125 inscriptions dated from AD 200 to 600, carved in the older runic alphabet (futhark), are chronologically and linguistically the oldest evidence of any Germanic language. Most are from Scandinavia, but enough have been found in southeastern Europe to suggest that the use of runes was also familiar to other Germanic tribes. Most inscriptions are brief, marking ownership

Earthworm

2005-01-27T21:04:00.000-08:00

Also called angleworm any one of more than 1,800 species of terrestrial worms of the class Oligochaeta (phylum Annelida)—in particular, members of the genus Lumbricus. Seventeen native species and 13 introduced species (from Europe) occur in the eastern United States, L. terrestris being the most common. Earthworms occur in virtually all soils of the world in which the moisture

Alexander Of Tralles

2005-01-26T17:45:00.000-08:00

Latin Alexander Trallianus (c. 525–c. 605), Byzantine physician who practiced and taught in Rome, best known for his treatise on pathology and therapy (in 12 books), which served as a basis for instruction long after his death. It was translated into Arabic and Latin (Libri duodecim de re medica) and was printed in Greek, Latin, and Greco-Latin editions throughout the 16th century.

Ards

2005-01-26T14:26:00.000-08:00

Irish An Aird district, Northern Ireland. Formerly within County Down, in 1973 Ards was established as a district with an area of 139 sq mi (361 sq km). It extends northward from just south of the village of Killinchy along the western shoreline of Strangford Lough (inlet of the sea) to the town of Newtownards and encompasses the peninsula of land east of Strangford Lough. Bordered by North Down

Lentulus Crus, Lucius Cornelius

2005-01-24T11:56:00.000-08:00

In 61 BC Lentulus was the chief accuser of Publius Clodius on a charge of sacrilege at a festival. Lentulus was a praetor in 58. As consul in 49 he advocated the rejection of all peace terms offered by Caesar in his conflict with the Senate. On the outbreak of the Civil War

Sangihe Islands

2005-01-23T11:49:00.000-08:00

Indonesian Kepulauan Sangihe , also spelled Sangi islands, constituting Sangihe Talaud kabupaten (regency), off the northeastern tip of Celebes, Indonesia. The islands are administered from Manado, the capital of Sulawesi Utara provinsi (“province”). The island group comprises Sangihe, Siau, Tahulandang, Biaro, and a number of islets, with a total area of 408 square miles (1,056 square km). The capital of the regency is Tahuna (Taruna),

Kabul River

2005-01-23T07:48:00.000-08:00

Ancient Greek Cophes, river in eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan, 435 miles (700 km) long, of which 350 miles are in Afghanistan. Rising in the Sanglakh Range 45 miles west of Kabul city, it flows east past Kabul and Jalalabad, north of the Khyber Pass into Pakistan, and past Peshawar; it joins the Indus River northwest of Islamabad. The river has four major tributaries, the Lowgar, the Panjsher, the Konar

Thomas, Dylan

2005-01-22T05:52:00.000-08:00

Thomas spent his childhood in southwestern Wales. His father taught English

David

2005-01-21T02:40:00.000-08:00

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

Chabazite

2005-01-20T07:58:00.000-08:00

Common hydrated sodium and calcium aluminosilicate mineral, (Ca,Na2)Al2Si4O12×6H2O, in the zeolite family. Its brittle, glassy, white or flesh-red, rhombohedral crystals often are found in cavities in basalt or andesite, as in Trentino, Italy; Northern Ireland; Melbourne, Australia; and the area near the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia. Within the crystals, the atoms of silicon, aluminum,

Albert, Heinrich

2005-01-18T06:35:00.000-08:00

Albert studied composition with his cousin Heinrich Schütz at Dresden. While he attended the University of Leipzig his musical activities were encouraged

Châtellerault

2005-01-17T19:44:00.000-08:00

Town, Vienne département, Poitou-Charentes région, west-central France. It lies north-northeast of Poitiers, on the main road from Paris to Bordeaux. Situated on the Vienne River, it derives its name from a 10th-century castle built by the 2nd Viscount Airaud of the district. The Henri IV bridge over the Vienne River was built between 1575 and 1611. The 16th-century Maison des Sybilles,

Ear, Human, Outer ear

2005-01-17T19:10:00.000-08:00

The most striking differences between the human ear and the ears of other mammals are in the structure of the outermost part, the auricle (Figure 1). In humans the auricle is an almost rudimentary, usually immobile shell that lies close to the side of the head. It consists of a thin plate of yellow fibrocartilage covered by closely adherent skin. The cartilage is molded

God Defend New Zealand

2005-01-15T03:16:00.000-08:00

Maori Aotearoa one of the two national anthems of New Zealand (the other being God Save the Queen, national anthem of the United Kingdom). The words to the anthem were written in the early 1870s by Thomas Bracken, who offered a prize of £10 for the best musical setting of it. The winning music was composed by John J. Woods, and the resulting hymn was first publicly performed in 1876. In 1940 the government declared

Earth Sciences

2005-01-14T06:09:00.000-08:00

Piezoelectricity

2005-01-14T05:30:00.000-08:00

Pressure on certain

Zanj Rebellion

2005-01-13T09:12:00.000-08:00

(AD 869–883), a black-slave revolt against the 'Abbasid caliphal empire. A number of Basran landowners had brought several thousand East African blacks (Zanj) into southern Iraq to drain the salt marshes east of Basra. The landowners subjected the Zanj, who generally spoke no Arabic, to heavy slave labour and provided them with only minimal subsistence. In September 869, 'Ali ibn Muhammad,

Aerospace Industry, Helicopters

2005-01-12T16:28:00.000-08:00

Helicopters occupy important niches in both military and civil aviation. Military models are of two kinds—combat and transport. Combat helicopters are designed by manufacturers specifically for that military purpose, whereas helicopters for transportation frequently exist in both civil and military variants. Short-distance personnel transportation,

Art And Architecture, Egyptian, Cult temples

2005-01-10T21:20:00.000-08:00

It is generally thought that the Egyptian temple of the Dynastic Period owed most to the cult of the sun god Re at Heliopolis. The temple of Re, however, was probably open in plan and lacked a shrine. Sun temples were unique among cult temples; worship was centred on a cult object, the benben, which was a squat obelisk placed in full sunlight. Among the few temples surviving

Ahmet Pasa Bursali

2005-01-10T08:49:00.000-08:00

Born into a prominent family, Ahmet Pasa received a classical Islamic education and was appointed as a teacher in the madrasah (religious college) in the city of Bursa. In 1451 he became judge of the city of Edirne. With the accession of Sultan Mehmet II (1451–81), he became qadi 'asker (“military

Lord Chancellor

2005-01-09T14:30:00.000-08:00

The office dates back to Edward the Confessor (1042–66), who followed the model

Heinrich Von Melk

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

A Benedictine lay brother of the Austrian monastery of Melk, he composed a vivid poem Von des Tôdes gehügede (c. 1150–60; “Remembrance of Death” or “Memento Mori”). The monkish theme is traditional, but the poem's satiric edge and unflattering description of the contemporary emerging feudal and courtly culture

Chafee, Zechariah, Jr.

2005-01-07T01:48:00.000-08:00

From 1916 until he retired 40 years later, Chafee was a professor

Aakjær, Jeppe

2005-01-05T19:32:00.000-08:00

Aakjær grew up in the Jutland farming area and so was well aware of the harsh conditions endured by farm labourers in his country. His early novels deal primarily with this theme. As a young man he went to study in Copenhagen,

Orthodox Judaism

2005-01-05T04:50:00.000-08:00

The religion of those Jews who adhere most strictly to traditional beliefs and practices. Jewish Orthodoxy resolutely refuses to accept the position of Reform Judaism that the Bible and other sacred Jewish writings contain not only eternally valid moral principles but also historically and culturally conditioned adaptations and interpretations of the

Switzerland, Dynastic Switzerland

2005-01-03T01:33:00.000-08:00

The Swiss area became united again in the 11th century under a German-dominated Holy Roman Empire; however, the gradual decline of the empire gave rise to a loose confederation of quasi-independent states, enabling feudal dynasties of the Zähringen, Savoy, Kyburg, and Habsburg families to emerge as territorial powers by the beginning of the 13th century. During the 11th

Hadley, George

2005-01-02T11:40:00.000-08:00

Though educated in law, Hadley preferred physics to legal work. A pamphlet describing the quadrant and a Latin translation of this

Arabia, History Of, Mamluk and Ottoman influence

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

Although the Yemeni Rasulids sometimes disputed with the Mamluks the overlordship of the Holy Cities, the Mamluks generally prevailed. Egyptians and Meccans attacked al-Mujahid the Rasulid on a pilgrimage in 1350, and he was held prisoner in Egypt though released later.

Feline Respiratory Disease

2004-12-31T21:56:00.000-08:00

A complex of viral contagions of cats (including rhinotracheitis, pneumonitis, and influenza), marked by fever, sneezing, and running eyes and nose. Rhinotracheitis and pneumonitis are the most common and have identical symptoms. Mortality is low, but recovery from severe cases may be difficult and prolonged, with relapses. A vaccine is available against pneumonitis.

Offenburg

2004-12-30T21:41:00.000-08:00

City, Baden-Württemberg Land (state), southwestern Germany, in the Kinzig River Valley, at the western edge of the Black Forest (Schwarzwald). First mentioned in 1101, it was founded by the Zähringen margraves on the site of a Roman settlement and was an imperial free city from 1289 to 1802. In 1846–49 it was a centre of the revolutionary movement in Baden. Gothic and Baroque buildings and remains

Argentina, The presidency of Carlos Menem

2004-12-30T08:57:00.000-08:00

With the economy crumbling around him, Alfonsín resigned five months early, and Menem officially took over in July. Menem's moderate Peronist program called for a free-market economy with lower tariffs, based on a wage-price pact between labour, business, and government. To help carry out his economic scheme, Menem unexpectedly enlisted the aid of former top-level

Kachin Hills

2004-12-29T20:00:00.000-08:00

Heavily forested group of highlands situated in the northeasternmost section of Myanmar (Burma). They range north-south and are bordered on the northwest by Arunachal Pradesh state of India, on the north by the Tibet autonomous region of China, and on the east by Yunnan province of China. The hills blend with the Kumon Range to the west. The Kachin Hills are drained by

Latex

2004-12-28T11:33:00.000-08:00

The plant product is a complex mixture of substances, including various gum resins, fats, or waxes and, in some instances, poisonous

Conduit

2004-12-27T08:15:00.000-08:00

In water-supply systems the term is usually reserved for covered or closed sections of aqueduct, especially those that transport water under pressure. Large conduits may be fabricated of steel sections joined in the field or of reinforced

Arabia, History Of, The Ayyubids and Rasulids

2004-12-26T01:36:00.000-08:00

The Ayyubids of Egypt, when they invaded Yemen in 1173, found it parceled out among several dynasties. Ayyubid objectives were probably part political, to find themselves a haven and destroy the Isma'ilites, and part economic, to control the India trade route. They remained in power until about 1229, generally controlling Aden, Hadhramaut, the Tihamah, and the districts south of San

Mountain, Volcanic structures along subduction zones

2004-12-24T21:16:00.000-08:00

Linear or arcuate belts of volcanoes are commonly associated with subduction zones. Volcanoes typically lie 150 to 200 kilometres landward of deep-sea trenches, such as those that border much of the Pacific Basin. The volcanoes overlie a zone of intense earthquake activity that begins at a shallow depth near such a trench and that dips beneath the volcanoes. They often

Pyramid Lake

2004-12-24T15:27:00.000-08:00

Lake within Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation, western Nevada, U.S., between the Lake Range and the Virginia Mountains. A remnant of ancient Lake Lahontan, Pyramid Lake was formed during the Pleistocene Epoch (which began about 1.6 million years ago). It is the largest natural lake in the state, about 30 miles (48 km) long and 7 to 9 miles (11 to 14 km) wide, and is fed from the south by the Truckee

Submissive Behaviour

2004-12-22T21:11:00.000-08:00

Form of animal behaviour in which one individual attempts through appeasement displays to avoid injury by a dominant member of its own species. Appeasement displays are commonly found in species that are well armed (e.g., carnivores) and social. The displays, even when performed by adult males, commonly incorporate elements of infantile behaviour (e.g., in wolves, rolling

Theaetetus

2004-12-21T16:10:00.000-08:00

Theaetetus was a disciple of Socrates and studied with Theodorus of Cyrene. He taught at some time in Heraclea (located in present-day southern Italy). Plato made Theaetetus the chief subject of two dialogues—Theaetetos (Theaetetus) and Sophistes (Sophist

India Rubber Plant

2004-12-20T07:34:00.000-08:00

Young plants available in the florist's trade are durable

Aerospace Industry, Maintenance

2004-12-19T15:31:00.000-08:00

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

Chat

2004-12-19T04:22:00.000-08:00

Australian chats are chiefly Epthianura species, usually placed in the family

Aigues-mortes

2004-12-17T14:08:00.000-08:00

Town, Gard département, Languedoc-Roussillon région, southeastern France, southwest of Nîmes, on the Canal du Rhône à Sète, with its own 3.5-mile (6-km) canal to the Gulf of Lion. Its name comes from aquae mortuae, the “dead waters” of the surrounding saline delta marshland. Built by Louis IX as the embarkation port for his two Crusades (seventh, 1248; eighth, 1270), the little town is enclosed

Polar Anticyclone

2004-12-16T20:38:00.000-08:00

Polar anticyclones are created by the cooling

Louis, Victor

2004-12-15T20:04:00.000-08:00

After at least seven unsuccessful attempts, Louis won the Prix de Rome in 1755. While in Rome (1756–59), he offended the director of the Academy there, Charles Joseph Natoire, and this social misstep resulted in his subsequent exclusion from

Earth, Early conceptions

2004-12-15T09:00:00.000-08:00

The definition of the figure of the Earth—i.e., its size and shape—usually does not involve the description of mountains and valleys but, rather, the size and shape of the mean sea-level surface and its continuation under the land. This hypothetical surface, called a geoid, is a reference surface from which topographic heights and ocean depths are measured. Because of

Ramat Gan

2004-12-14T11:15:00.000-08:00

City, west-central Israel, on the Plain of Sharon just east of Tel Aviv–Yafo. Founded in 1921, it is the largest satellite city in the Tel Aviv–Yafo metropolitan area, with fine residential quarters, extensive parks and gardens, including a national park, and the nation's principal athletic stadium, seating 50,000 persons. It is also the home of Bar-Ilan University, a religiously oriented

Hoist

2004-12-12T09:17:00.000-08:00

Mechanical device used primarily for raising and lowering heavy loads but occasionally for moving objects horizontally. It usually consists of a block and tackle—a combination of one or more fixed pulleys, a moving pulley with a hook or other similar means of attaching loads, and a rope (or cable) between them. Motive power for a hoist may be either manual or supplied

Amado, Jorge

2004-12-12T06:14:00.000-08:00

Fred P. Ellison, Brazil's New Novel: Four Northeastern Masters (1954; reprinted 1979); Bobby J. Chamberlain, Jorge Amado (1990).

Amontons, Guillaume

2004-12-10T21:24:00.000-08:00

Amontons is often credited with having discovered the laws of friction (1699), though in fact his work dealt solely with static friction—i.e., the friction of objects at rest. It was only after the English physicist Sir Isaac

Panama

2004-12-10T02:15:00.000-08:00

Electoral campaigning began in preparation for the May 2004 general elections. Three candidates emerged as the leading contenders: Martin Torrijos, who

Béarn

2004-12-08T06:06:00.000-08:00

Béarn's name can be traced to the town of Beneharnum (Lescar). Béarn was conquered by the Vascones (the ancestors of the modern Basques) in the 6th century and in 819 became a viscounty feudally

Hysterectomy

2004-12-07T21:26:00.000-08:00

Surgical removal of the complete uterus (total hysterectomy) or of the complete uterus except for the cervix (subtotal hysterectomy). The cervix is the outermost portion of the uterus, which projects into the vagina. Removal of the uterus is indicated in a number of abnormal situations, including the presence of a cancer or of a benign tumour of the type called myoma,

Cross River

2004-12-07T13:46:00.000-08:00

The Cross River, after which the state is named, rises from the Cameroon Mountains and flows southward, forming much

Yakima River

2004-12-06T05:55:00.000-08:00

River, south-central Washington, U.S., rising in the Cascade Range, near Snoqualmie Pass. It flows southeastward about 200 miles (320 km) past Ellensburg and Yakima to join the Columbia River near Kennewick in Benton county. The Yakima and its tributaries irrigate about 460,000 acres (190,000 hectares) in the river valley. The Keechelus Dam, near the river's source, is a major unit of the U.S. Bureau

Rabat

2004-12-05T16:59:00.000-08:00

Town, west-central Malta, adjoining Mdina, west of Valletta. In Roman times the site of Mdina and Rabat was occupied by Melita, the island's capital. The modern names date from the Arab occupation of Malta, when Mdina was fortified and what remained outside the walls was called rabat (“suburb”). There are many Roman ruins, including a partially restored villa housing a museum.