TallSnow

Wailuku

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

City, seat of Maui county, northern Maui Island, Hawaii, U.S. It is situated on an isthmus at the mouth of the valley of Iao and the base of the western mountains. With Kahului (east) it forms a contiguous area that is the most densely populated and busiest on the island. Iao Stream flows through the western part of the city. Wailuku (Hawaiian: “Water of Destruction”) recalls the

Allobroges

2005-04-04T04:55:00.000-07:00

Ancient Celtic tribe living in the northeast of Gallia Narbonensis (i.e., Narbonne Gaul, in the part of southeastern France bounded by the Rhône and Isère rivers) and in the area around Geneva. The Allobroges were first mentioned in history when Hannibal passed through their territory in 218 BC. Later, they were attacked by the Romans and finally conquered (121 BC) at the junction

Trachea

2005-04-03T04:53:00.000-07:00

In vertebrates and invertebrates, a tube or system of tubes that carries air. In insects, a few land arachnids, and myriapods, the trachea is an elaborate system of small, branching tubes that carry oxygen to individual body cells; in most land vertebrates, the trachea is the windpipe, which conveys air from the larynx to the two main

Rhynchophthirinan

2005-04-02T19:26:00.000-08:00

The elephant louse (H. elephantis) is found on African and Indian elephants, and H.

Amberjack

2005-04-01T08:49:00.000-08:00

Any of several popular sport fishes. See jack.

Condottiere

2005-04-01T05:20:00.000-08:00

The first mercenary armies in Italy (often called free companies) were made up of foreigners. The earliest (1303) was composed

Sidqi, Isma'il

2005-03-31T07:18:00.000-08:00

Sidqi earned his diploma at the Collège des Frères and won honours at the Khedivial Law school. He joined the public prosecutor's office but in 1899 became administrative secretary of the Alexandria municipal commission. In 1914 he was appointed minister of agriculture and then

Vienna Circle

2005-03-30T16:31:00.000-08:00

German Wiener Kreis, a group of philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians formed in the 1920s that met regularly in Vienna to investigate scientific language and scientific methodology. The philosophical movement associated with the Circle has been called variously logical positivism, logical empiricism, scientific empiricism, neopositivism, and the unity of science movement.

Qatar, Industry

2005-03-30T10:05:00.000-08:00

Qatar has sought to diversify its economy through industrialization. Most of the industrial sector comprises large firms of mixed state and foreign private ownership. For example, the Qatar Steel Company is co-owned by the Qatari government and two Japanese companies, which constructed the plant and took responsibility for production, marketing, and exporting.

Ear Disease, Exposure to noise

2005-03-29T21:49:00.000-08:00

The effects of noise exposure on hearing depend on the intensity and duration of the noise. The effects may be temporary or permanent. A single exposure to an extremely intense sound, such as an explosion, may produce a severe and permanent loss of hearing. Repeated exposures to sounds in excess of 80 to 90 decibels may cause gradual deterioration of hearing by destroying

Bioethics

2005-03-29T06:39:00.000-08:00

The discipline dealing with the ethical implications of both biological research and the applications of that research, especially in medicine. The first bioethics study institute, the Hastings Center, was established in June 1969 and is now located in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., U.S. In 1971 Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., established The Joseph and Rose Kennedy Institute

Literature

2005-03-28T18:19:00.000-08:00

During 1999 the list assembled by Yazhou Zhoukan (Asia Weekly) of the 100 best Chinese fictional works of the 20th century was released in Hong Kong. The first-place winner was Lu Xun for his Nahan (“Call to Arms”); it was followed in order by Shen Congwen for Bian cheng (“Remote Town”), Lao She for Luotuo xiangzi (“The Camel”), Zhang Ailing for Chuanqi (“Legend”), Qian Zhongshu for Wei cheng (“Enclosed

Cumberland

2005-03-27T05:04:00.000-08:00

Cumberland lies along the northwest coast of England, facing the Solway

Iamblichus

2005-03-26T09:12:00.000-08:00

Though only his minor philosophical works have survived, the basic elements of Iamblichus' system can be understood from the references to his teachings in the writings of the 5th-century philosopher Proclus.

Silique

2005-03-25T11:47:00.000-08:00

Any dry fruit that separates at maturity into two or four segments called valves, leaving a persistent partition that bears the seeds. The valves remain connected at the top. A typical silique is an elongated capsule, such as in cabbage. A silicle, or silicula, is a short and broad silique, as in shepherd's purse (Capsella). Both types are characteristic of plants in the mustard

Dragasani, Battle Of

2005-03-25T06:38:00.000-08:00

(June 19, 1821), military engagement in which the Ottoman Turks defeated the forces of the Greek revolutionary society Philikí Etaireía and ended the first insurrection of the Greek War of Independence. Intending to overthrow Ottoman rule in the Balkans and to establish an independent Greek state, Philikí Etaireía sent the Sacred Battalion, under Alexander Ypsilantis,

Anthropology And Archaeology, Western Hemisphere.

2005-03-24T21:27:00.000-08:00

Recent archaeological discoveries continued in 1999 to shed light on the first Americans and pre-Columbian civilizations and also on more recent American history. In regard to the latter, English colonist Mistress Ann Forest, wife of Thomas Forest, arrived at Jamestown, Va., in 1608 with her husband but died within a year. She and her maid were the only two women at Jamestown

Maluku

2005-03-23T09:25:00.000-08:00

English Moluccas propinsi (province) of the Maluccas island group, eastern Indonesia. In 1999 the northern half of Maluku province was made into the separate North Maluku (Maluku Utara) province. The Moluccas group includes about 1,000 islands. The largest of North Maluku province are Halmahera, Morotai, Bacan, Obi, and the main islands of the Sula archipelago; those of Maluku province are Ceram

Owendo

2005-03-22T14:52:00.000-08:00

Deepwater port, northwestern Gabon, on the north shore of the Gabon Estuary; it serves the national capital, Libreville (9 miles [15 km] north-northwest), and was designed to handle ore vessels. It has a seaplane base and road connections with Libreville, Cocobeach, Médouneu, and Kango. In 1978 the first 115-mile (185-kilometre) segment of the Trans-Gabon Railway was opened, linking Owendo

Abel, Niels Henrik

2005-03-22T14:21:00.000-08:00

Abel's father was a poor Lutheran minister who moved his family to the parish of Gjerstad, near the town of Risør in southeast Norway, soon after Niels Henrik was born. In 1815 Niels entered the cathedral school

Atiyah, Sir Michael Francis

2005-03-21T21:27:00.000-08:00

Atiyah's father was Lebanese and his mother Scottish. He attended Victoria College in Egypt and Trinity College,

Aedile

2005-03-21T10:03:00.000-08:00

Latin Aedilis, plural Aediles (from Latin aedes, “temple”), magistrate of ancient Rome who originally had charge of the temple and cult of Ceres. At first the aediles were two officials of the plebeians, created at the same time as the tribunes (494 BC), whose sanctity they shared. These magistrates were elected in the assembly of the plebeians. In 366 two curule (“higher”) aediles were created. These were at first patricians;

Integral Equation

2005-03-20T10:35:00.000-08:00

Domino Theory

2005-03-19T02:44:00.000-08:00

Also called Domino Effect, theory in U.S. foreign policy after World War II stating that the “fall” of a noncommunist state to communism would precipitate the fall of noncommunist governments in neighbouring states. The theory was first proposed by President Harry S. Truman to justify sending military aid to Greece and Turkey in the 1940s, but it became popular in the 1950s when President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Television And Radio

2005-03-19T01:57:00.000-08:00

The new rules contained many

Marr, Nikolay Yakovlevich

2005-03-19T00:05:00.000-08:00

A professor at St. Petersburg University from 1900, Marr published numerous collections of old Georgian and Armenian literature and attempted to prove a relationship between

Gonfalonier

2005-03-18T05:41:00.000-08:00

In Florence the gonfaloniers of the companies (gonfalonieri di compagnia) originated during the 1250s as commanders of the people's militia. In the 1280s a new office called the gonfalonier of justice (gonfaloniere di giustizia) was instituted to protect the interests of the people against

Anatolian Languages, Hittite

2005-03-16T19:36:00.000-08:00

The Hittite language is known from the approximately 25,000 tablets or fragments of tablets preserved in the archives of Bogazköy-Hattusa, excavated by German archaeologists beginning in 1905. In Hittite cuneiform texts, the language is referred to as nesili (nasili) “language of Nesa,” or nesumnili “language of the Neshite.” Earlier Hittite linguistic material may be found in

Slavery, Legal relationships between slave owners

2005-03-16T15:48:00.000-08:00

There was more uniformity across systems regarding legal relationships between slave owners. All societies had provisions for the recovery of runaways, and most imposed sanctions on owners who stole others' slaves (a capital offense in some systems) or helped them to flee. There also were relatively uniform laws about passing slaves from one generation to

Kabwe

2005-03-15T17:01:00.000-08:00

Formerly Broken Hill, town, central Zambia. It is an important transportation and mining centre north of Lusaka on the Great North Road, at an elevation of 3,879 feet (1,182 m). The Rhodesian Broken Hill Development Company (formed 1903) was instrumental in opening the region to foreign mining interests. After the mine was sunk for extraction of the high-grade zinc, vanadium, and lead ores, the first railway

Grackle

2005-03-15T08:06:00.000-08:00

Also called Crow-blackbird, any of several species of birds belonging to the family Icteridae (order Passeriformes) that have iridescent black plumage and long tails. Grackles use their stout, pointed bills to snap up insects, dig grubs from the soil, and kill small vertebrates, including fishes and baby birds; they can also crack hard seeds. Most grackles nest in colonies; after breeding, they

Arno, Peter

2005-03-14T05:53:00.000-08:00

While at Yale University (1922–24), Arno was particularly interested in music and organized his own band. He also decorated screens and panels for restaurants.

Women's Equality Day

2005-03-13T19:07:00.000-08:00

Annual event in the United States, observed on August 26 since its inception in 1971, marking women's advancements toward equality with men. August 26, 1970, marked the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, which granted American women full suffrage. On that anniversary the National Organization for Women (NOW) called upon women nationwide to “strike for

Avunculate

2005-03-13T07:51:00.000-08:00

Special relationship between a man and his sister's children, particularly her sons, which prevails in many societies, notably those characterized by matrilineal descent. The term is derived from the Latin avunculus, meaning “uncle.” It typically involves for the uncle a measure of authority over his nephews, coupled with specific responsibilities in their upbringing,

Waiau River

2005-03-12T11:45:00.000-08:00

River in southwestern South Island, New Zealand. It rises in Lake Manapouri and flows south through the Southland district for 135 miles (217 km) to enter Te Waewae Bay of the Tasman Sea. Its drainage basin includes the Mararoa River, extending 20 miles (32 km) farther inland to the Livingstone Mountains, and Lakes Te Anau and Monowai. The town of Tuatapere is the market and lumbering

Buka Island

2005-03-12T01:57:00.000-08:00

One of the northern Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, in the southwestern Pacific. It lies northwest of Bougainville Island, from which it is separated by the deep Buka Passage (5 miles [8 km] wide). A volcanic formation measuring 35 miles by 9 miles (56 km by 14 km), Buka has a total land area of 190 square miles (492 square km). Rising to 1,634 feet (498 metres) in hills on the southwest, the island is densely

Botanical Garden

2005-03-11T07:15:00.000-08:00

Also called Botanic Garden, originally, a collection of living plants designed chiefly to illustrate relationships within plant groups. In modern times, most botanical gardens are concerned primarily with exhibiting ornamental plants, insofar as possible in a scheme that emphasizes natural relationships. Thus, the two functions are blended: eye appeal and taxonomic order. Plants that

Gogunda, Battle Of

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

Also called Battle Of Haldighat, battle fought in Rajasthan, northwestern India, between Pratap Singh of Mewar, the senior Rajput chief, and a Mughal army led by Raja Man Singh of Jaipur. It represented an attempt by the Mughal emperor Akbar to subdue the last of the independent chiefs of Rajasthan. Pratap Singh made a stand at the pass of Haldighat, about 12 miles (19 km) from the fortress of Gogunda, and northwest of

Argead Dynasty

2005-03-10T23:55:00.000-08:00

Ruling house of ancient Macedonia from about 700 to about 311 BC; under their leadership the Macedonian kingdom was created and gradually gained predominance throughout Greece. From about 700 the founder of the dynasty, Perdiccas I, led the people who called themselves Macedonians eastward from their home on the Haliacmon (modern Aliákmon) River. Aegae (Edessa) became the capital,

B-17

2005-03-10T13:37:00.000-08:00

Also called Flying Fortress, U.S. heavy bomber used during World War II. The B-17 was designed by the Boeing Aircraft Company to specifications written in 1934. A prototype flew in 1935, and the craft was in small-scale production in 1937. The seventh substantial variation of the original design, the B-17G, was equipped with superchargers to allow it to cruise at 35,000 feet (10,670 m) at a maximum speed of 287 miles per hour (462 km/h). It was called

Jones, Deacon

2005-03-09T09:15:00.000-08:00

Jones, an accomplished high school athlete in Orlando, Fla., played football at Mississippi Vocational College and South Carolina State College. He was relatively unknown in 1961 when the Los Angeles Rams selected him in the 14th round of the National

Shillong

2005-03-09T00:17:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Meghalaya state, northeastern India. The city is located on the Shillong Plateau at an elevation of 4,990 feet (1,520 m). Shillong first became prominent in 1864, when it succeeded Cherrapunji as the district headquarters; in 1874 it was made the capital of the new province of Assam. An earthquake destroyed the city in 1897, necessitating its complete rebuilding. The North East

Stalinism

2005-03-08T08:39:00.000-08:00

In a party dominated by intellectuals and rhetoricians, Stalin stood for a practical approach to revolution, devoid of ideological sentiment. Once power was in Bolshevik hands, the

Industrial Polymers, Major, Polyimides

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

Polyimides are polymers that usually consist of aromatic rings coupled by imide linkages—that is, linkages in which two carbonyl (CO) groups are attached to the same nitrogen (N) atom. There are two categories of these polymers, condensation and addition. The former are made by step-growth polymerization and are linear in structure; the latter are synthesized by heat-activated

Gage, Thomas

2005-03-07T18:41:00.000-08:00

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

Papini, Giovanni

2005-03-07T15:58:00.000-08:00

Though largely self-educated,

Aksakov, Konstantin Sergeyevich

2005-03-07T01:32:00.000-08:00

The son of the novelist Sergey Timofeyevich Aksakov, he entered Moscow University, where he was influenced by the work of the German philosopher G.W. Hegel. From the mid-1830s Aksakov focused, along with Yury F. Samarin

Uusimaa

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

In full Uudenmaan Lääni , Swedish Nylands Län lääni (province), southern Finland, on the Gulf of Finland. Helsinki, the national capital and also the provincial administrative capital, is located midway along the Uusimaa coast. Other important towns include Porvoo (Borgå), Kerava, Lovisa (Loviisa), Hyvinkää, Hangö (Hanko), and Ekenäs (Tammisaari). In some areas the population is mainly Swedish-speaking. The area is low

Nicholas Of Cusa

2005-03-05T22:29:00.000-08:00

At the Council of Basel in 1432, he gained recognition for his opposition to the candidate put forward by Pope Eugenius IV for the archbishopric of Trier. To his colleagues

Lupine

2005-03-05T11:16:00.000-08:00

The

Yodo River

2005-03-04T21:32:00.000-08:00

Japanese Yodo-gawa, river, central western Honshu, Japan. The Yodo is the sole outlet of Lake Biwa, the country's largest freshwater lake, from which it issues in a southwesterly direction to Osaka Bay, connecting the Kyoto Basin with the Osaka Plain. It was a major means of transportation and communication during the Tokugawa period (1603–1867). The river is dammed for hydroelectricity and

Wagner, Carl

2005-03-04T09:09:00.000-08:00

Wagner was educated at the universities of Munich and Leipzig

China

2005-03-03T16:51:00.000-08:00

The lower stratum of the Pei-shou-ling culture is represented by finds along the Wei and Ching rivers; bowls, deep-bodied jugs, and three-footed vessels, mainly red in colour, were common. The lower stratum of the related Pan-p'o culture, also in the Wei River drainage area, was characterized by cord-marked red or red-brown ware, especially round and flat-bottomed bowls and

Main Range

2005-03-02T18:23:00.000-08:00

Also called Central Range , or Buffalo Range mountain range in West Malaysia, the most prominent mountain group on the Malay Peninsula. Composed of granite with some patches of altered stratified rocks, the range extends southward for 300 miles (480 km) from the Thai border, with elevations rarely less than 3,000 feet (900 m) and some peaks exceeding 7,000 feet (2,100 m; high point Mount Korbu [Kerbau], or Buffalo Mountain, 7,162 feet [2,183 m]). The heavily forested

Cimarosa, Domenico

2005-03-02T16:37:00.000-08:00

He began his career with the comic opera Le Stravaganze del

Cartier, Jacques

2005-03-02T02:09:00.000-08:00

When King Francis I of France decided in 1534 to send an expedition to explore the northern lands in the hope of discovering gold, spices, and a passage

Beilby, Sir George Thomas

2005-02-28T17:37:00.000-08:00

After graduating from the University of

Cossa, Francesco Del

2005-02-28T09:58:00.000-08:00

In his best-known work, the frescoes in the

Chiastolite

2005-02-28T09:32:00.000-08:00

A variety of the mineral andalusite (q.v.).

Ngugi Wa Thiong'o

2005-02-28T03:45:00.000-08:00

Ngugi received bachelor's degrees from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, in

France, History Of, The formative years (18711905)

2005-02-27T23:55:00.000-08:00

The repression of the Paris Commune left its mark on the emerging republic. The various socialist factions and the newly organized labour movement were left leaderless; the resultant vacuum eventually opened the way to Marxist activists in the 1880s. Much of the working class became more deeply alienated than before, but, to the moderate and conservative elements,

Sardinian Language

2005-02-26T15:54:00.000-08:00

Sardinian Sardo Romance language spoken on the Italian-ruled island of Sardinia; it is most similar to Vulgar Latin of all the modern Romance languages. Major dialects of Sardinian are Logudorian, spoken in central Sardinia; Campidanian, spoken in the south; Sassarian, spoken in the northwest; and Gallurian, spoken in the northeast. There is no standard form of Sardinian except the

Duque De Caxias

2005-02-26T11:17:00.000-08:00

City, Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil, suburb of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Until 1931 it was known as Meriti Station and from 1931 to 1943 as Caxias; it became the seat of the district of Caxias in 1931 and seat of the municipality of Duque de Caxias in 1943. The Duquecaxiense Academy of Letters is located there. The duke for whom the city was named was Luis Alves de Lima e Silva, soldier

Floral Decoration

2005-02-26T01:50:00.000-08:00

Since the earliest days of civilization, humans have used floral decorations, composed of living or dried cut-plant materials or artificial facsimiles, to embellish their environment and persons. Flowers have played

Trade Union

2005-02-25T17:17:00.000-08:00

The

Shiraz Rug

2005-02-25T02:27:00.000-08:00

Handwoven floor covering made in the district around the city of Shiraz in southern Iran. The best known are the Qashqa'i rugs, products of nomadic tribesmen. A group of tribes—some Arab, some Turkish, forming the Khamseh Confederation—weaves rugs somewhat similar to the Qashqa'i pieces in a variety of patterns, as do the inhabitants of certain Iranian weaving villages in

Houseman, John

2005-02-24T06:26:00.000-08:00

As a child, Houseman traveled throughout Europe with his British mother and Alsatian father. He was educated in England and immigrated to the United States in 1924. His first major

Uummannaq Fjord

2005-02-24T01:52:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Umánaq, or Umanak, inlet of Baffin Bay and town, western Greenland, north of Nuussuaq Peninsula, separated from Karrat Isfjord by Upernivik and Ubekendt islands. About 100 miles (160 km) long and 15–30 miles (24–48 km) wide, Uummannaq divides into several smaller fjords extending eastward to the inland ice cap, where they are fed by extensive glaciers. Qarajaqs Isfjord is its most southerly arm. The town of

Christensen, Willam

2005-02-23T13:25:00.000-08:00

Christensen studied with the great ballet master and reformer Michel Fokine. He performed in vaudeville with his brothers before joining the San Francisco Opera Ballet as

Bradford

2005-02-23T11:22:00.000-08:00

A fulling mill recorded in 1311 indicates the early importance of the manufacture of wool products. In the late 17th century the fine worsted trade followed. With

Blueberry

2005-02-22T15:09:00.000-08:00

Blueberries grow only in highly acidic and well-drained but moist soils. About 36,000 acres (14,500 hectares) of the high-bush blueberry

Lipid Storage Disease

2005-02-22T09:09:00.000-08:00

Any of a group of relatively rare hereditary disorders of fat metabolism, characterized by the accumulation of distinctive types of lipids, notably cerebrosides, gangliosides, or sphingomyelins, in various body structures. Each type of lipid accumulates as a result of a defect in one of the several organic catalysts or enzymes that normally metabolize it inside

iauliai

2005-02-20T15:18:00.000-08:00

City, north-central Lithuania. The city, dating from at least the 13th century, may be identical with the “Saule” where a major military confrontation took place in 1236 between the Lithuanians and the Brothers of the Sword, an order of Christian knights bent on imposing Christianity on the Baltic states. The order was decisively defeated, and the survivors were forced to merge

Alexander I

2005-02-20T07:55:00.000-08:00

The second son of Peter Karadjordjevic (Karageorgevic, or Karaðorðevici)—king of Serbia 1903–18 and king

Ancón

2005-02-20T04:37:00.000-08:00

City, central Panama, just northeast of Balboa city. It is a residential and medical centre. As Balboa and Panama City have grown, Ancón has become virtually a suburb of the latter. It is noted for the Gorgas Hospital for tropical diseases, named after Colonel William Crawford Gorgas, a U.S. Army surgeon who eradicated yellow fever from the Canal Zone. Ancón is also the site

Actinomycete

2005-02-20T03:06:00.000-08:00

Any member of a heterogeneous group of gram-positive, generally anaerobic bacteria noted for a filamentous and branching growth pattern that results, in most forms, in an extensive colony, or mycelium. The mycelium in some species may break apart to form rod- or coccoid-shaped forms. Many genera also form spores; the sporangia, or spore cases, may be found on aerial hyphae,

La Fayette, Marie-madeleine (pioche De La Vergne), Comtesse De

2005-02-19T10:06:00.000-08:00

In Paris during the civil wars of the Fronde, young Mlle de la Vergne was brought into contact with Madame de Sévigné, now famous for her letters. She also met a leading political agitator, the future Cardinal de Retz. Married in 1655 to François Motier, comte de La Fayette (1616–83), she lived

Cartoon

2005-02-19T00:26:00.000-08:00

Originally, and still, a full-size sketch or drawing used as a pattern for a tapestry, painting, mosaic, or other graphic art form, but also, since the early 1840s, a pictorial parody utilizing caricature, satire, and usually humour. Cartoons are used today primarily for conveying political commentary and editorial opinion in newspapers and for social comedy and visual wit

Nitisol

2005-02-18T02:36:00.000-08:00

One of the 30 soil groups in the classification system of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Occupying 1.6 percent of the total land surface on Earth, Nitisols are found mainly in eastern Africa at higher altitudes, coastal India, Central America, and tropical islands (Cuba, Java, and the Philippines). They are perhaps the most inherently fertile of the tropical soils

Fabius Maximus Cunctator, Quintus

2005-02-17T10:57:00.000-08:00

Fabius was consul in 233 and 228 and censor

Croce, Benedetto

2005-02-16T23:28:00.000-08:00

Historian, humanist, and foremost Italian philosopher of the first half of the 20th century.

Plainview

2005-02-16T07:45:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1888) of Hale county, northwestern Texas, U.S. It lies on the Llano Estacado, a portion of the High Plains between Amarillo and Lubbock (40 miles [65 km] south). The site was surveyed in 1887 by Z.T. Maxwell and E.L. Lowe, who named it Plainview because of the unbroken view to the horizon. The settlement remained a trading post for cattlemen until the railroad arrived in 1907, when it was incorporated

China, Armed forces

2005-02-16T05:24:00.000-08:00

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the unified organization of all Chinese land, sea, and air forces. The history of the PLA is officially traced to the Nan-ch'ang Uprising of Aug. 1, 1927, which is celebrated annually as PLA Day. The PLA is one of the world's largest military forces, with approximately 3,000,000 members. Military service is compulsory for all men who attain the age of 18; women

Kraljevo

2005-02-15T21:00:00.000-08:00

Just 3 miles

Utrecht School

2005-02-15T04:20:00.000-08:00

Principally a group of three Dutch painters—Dirck van Baburen (c. 1590–1624), Gerrit van Honthorst (1590–1656; see photograph), and Hendrik Terbrugghen (1588–1629)—who went to Rome and fell fully under the pervasive influence of Caravaggio's art before returning to Utrecht. Although none of them ever actually met Caravaggio (d. 1610), each had access to his paintings, knew his former patrons, and was influenced

Dzhizak

2005-02-14T18:31:00.000-08:00

City, eastern Uzbekistan. The city is located in a small oasis irrigated by the Sanzar River, northeast of Samarkand. One of the most ancient settlements of Uzbekistan, it was situated on the trade routes to the Mediterranean near Tamerlane's Gates, the only convenient passage through the Nuratau Mountains to the Zeravshan River valley. Today the city processes cotton

Narathiwat

2005-02-14T09:12:00.000-08:00

Town, extreme southern Thailand, on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula. Narathiwat is a minor port inhabited largely by Malay Muslims. Fishing and shipping are the main activities. The surrounding area is heavily planted in coconuts, rice, and rubber. Pop. (1985 est.) 36,956.

Tzetzes, John

2005-02-13T08:17:00.000-08:00

Tzetzes was for a time secretary to a provincial governor, then earned a meagre living by teaching and writing. He has been described as the perfect specimen of the Byzantine pedant.

Coster, Charles De

2005-02-12T23:39:00.000-08:00

De Coster lived most of his life in poverty and obscurity and took 10 years to write his masterpiece, La Légende et les aventures héroïques, joyeuses, et glorieuses d'Ulenspiegel

Shibin Al-kawm

2005-02-12T15:36:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Shebin El-Kom capital of Al-Minufiyah muhafazah (governorate), Lower Egypt. It lies 37 miles (60 km) northwest of Cairo in the southern Nile River delta. Its centre, 10 miles (16 km) east of the Rosetta Branch of the Nile, is situated on the west side of the Shibin Canal, which flows north from Al-Khayriyah Dam to irrigate a rich alluvial region growing cotton, flax, and cereals. Shibin Al-Kawm's manufactures include

Romans, Letter Of Paul To The

2005-02-11T19:26:00.000-08:00

The longest and doctrinally most significant of St. Paul the Apostle's New Testament writings, probably composed at Corinth in about AD 57; it was addressed to the Christian Church at Rome, whose congregation Paul hoped to visit for the first time on his way to Spain. The letter has been intensely studied since early Christian times and was the basis of Martin Luther's teaching

China, Trends in the arts

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

In literature the greatest glory of the T'ang period was its poetry. By the 8th century poets had broken away from the artificial diction and matter of the court poetry of the southern dynasties and achieved a new directness and naturalism. The reign of Hsüan-tsung (712–756)—known as Ming-huang, the Brilliant Emperor—was the time of the great figures of Li Po, Wang Wei, and Tu Fu. The

Rzhev

2005-02-10T11:07:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Rzev city, Tver oblast (province), northwestern Russia. It lies along the upper Volga River at the crossing of the Moscow-Riga and St. Petersburg–Bryansk trunk railways. First mentioned in 1216 as an independent princedom, Rzhev has always been a route centre on the western approaches to Moscow. The city has had a stormy history. It was held at various times by the princes of Tver

Georgia

2005-02-08T01:24:00.000-08:00

Constituent state of the United States of America. The largest of the U.S. states east of the Mississippi River and by many years the youngest of the 13 former English colonies, Georgia was founded in 1732, at which time its boundaries were even larger—including much of the present-day states of Alabama and Mississippi. Its area of 58,910 square miles (152,576 square kilometres) presents numerous

Botta, Carlo Giuseppe Guglielmo

2005-02-08T00:21:00.000-08:00

Having graduated in medicine at the University of Turin in 1786, Botta was in his youth inspired by the ideas of the French Revolution. Arrested as a spy for the French in 1794, he left Italy for France the following year and from 1796 to 1798 served as a physician

Algebra, Quaternions and vectors

2005-02-07T14:41:00.000-08:00

Remaining doubts about the legitimacy of complex numbers were finally dispelled when their geometric interpretation became widespread among mathematicians. This interpretation, initially and independently conceived by the Norwegian surveyor Caspar Wessel and the French bookkeeper Jean-Robert Argand (see Argand diagram), was made known to a larger audience

Brac

2005-02-07T11:36:00.000-08:00

Italian Brazza, rugged, mountainous island in the Adriatic Sea that is part of Croatia. With an area of 149 square miles (395 square km), Brac is one of the larger islands in the Adriatic; it lies southeast of the mainland city of Split. Its maximum elevation, 2,559 feet (780 m), is reached at Vidova Mountain, the highest point in the Adriatic islands. The main occupations of the inhabitants are fishing and agriculture;

Fish Owl

2005-02-07T00:53:00.000-08:00

The brown fish owl (K. zeylonensis) ranges from the eastern Mediterranean to Taiwan and Japan. Pel's fishing owl (S.

Mitchell, Joni

2005-02-05T20:57:00.000-08:00

Mitchell studied commercial art in her native Alberta before moving to Toronto in

Diffraction Grating

2005-02-05T08:43:00.000-08:00

Component of optical devices consisting of a surface ruled with close, equidistant, and parallel lines for the purpose of resolving light into spectra. A grating is said to be a transmission or reflection grating according to whether it is transparent or mirrored—that is, whether it is ruled on glass or on a thin metal film deposited on a glass blank. Reflection gratings