MedicalButton

organic bed linen

2006-10-29T18:20:00.000-08:00

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

Fabales

2005-04-04T02:00:00.000-07:00

The Fabales include trees, herbaceous or woody vines, and perennial or annual herbs. The leaves are usually compound—that is, they are divided into leaflets, and in some the leaflets are secondarily compound. The simple leaves of some are presumably reduced from the compound forms. The most striking of these modified leaf forms are the several hundred species of Australian

Hill, A.v.

2005-04-03T22:31:00.000-07:00

In full Archibald Vivian Hill British physiologist and biophysicist who received (with Otto Meyerhof) the 1922 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discoveries concerning the production of heat in muscles. His research helped establish the origin of muscular force in the breakdown of carbohydrates with formation of lactic acid in the

Hank

2005-04-03T13:04:00.000-07:00

In textile manufacture, unit of measure applied to a length of yarn or to a loose assemblage of fibres forming a single strand, and varying according to the fibre origin. A hank of cotton or of the spun silk made from short lengths of waste silk is 840 yards (770 m) long. A hank of linen is 300 yards (270 m). In worsted yarn, made from combed fibre, there are 560 yards (510 m) to a hank.

Jet Engine, Medium-bypass turbofans, high-bypass turbofans, and ultrahigh-bypass engines

2005-04-02T04:17:00.000-08:00

Moving up in the spectrum of flight speeds to the transonic regime—Mach numbers from 0.75 to 0.9—the most common engine configurations are turbofan engines, such as those shown in Figures 4 and 5. In a turbofan, only a part of the gas horsepower generated by the core is extracted to drive a propulsor, which usually consists of a single low-pressure-ratio, shrouded turbocompression

John

2005-04-01T15:37:00.000-08:00

John succeeded his father, Christian I, king of Denmark and Norway,

Spacecraft

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

Although early conceptions of spaceflight usually depicted streamlined spacecraft, streamlining has no particular advantage in the vacuum of space. Actual vehicles are designed with a variety of shapes depending on the mission. The first spacecraft,

Chiang Rai

2005-03-31T02:55:00.000-08:00

Chiang Rai lies at an elevation of 1,150 feet (350 m) in the basin of the Kok River, near the Khun Tan Range. It has an airport with scheduled flights, and road connections lead south to Lampang and north to Myanmar (Burma) and the Laotian border. It is a trading centre dealing in teak, coffee, and rice. The town was once the walled capital city of an independent principality.

Presidency Of The United States Of America, King Caucus

2005-03-30T21:16:00.000-08:00

While popular voting was transforming the electoral college system, there were also dramatic shifts in the method for nominating presidential candidates. There being no consensus on a successor to Washington upon his retirement after two terms as president, the newly formed political parties quickly asserted control over the process. Beginning in 1796, caucuses of the parties' congressional delegations met informally to nominate their presidential and vice presidential candidates, leaving the general public with no direct input. The subsequent demise in the 1810s of the Federalist Party, which failed even to nominate a presidential candidate in 1820, made nomination by the Democratic-Republican caucus tantamount to election as president. This early nomination system—dubbed “King Caucus” by its critics—evoked widespread resentment, even from some members of the Democratic-Republican caucus. By 1824 it had fallen into such disrepute that only one-fourth of the Democratic-Republican congressional delegation took part in the caucus that nominated Secretary of the Treasury William Crawford instead of more popular figures such as John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson. Jackson, Adams, and Henry Clay eventually joined Crawford in contesting the subsequent presidential election, in which Jackson received the most popular and electoral votes but was denied the presidency by the House of Representatives (which selected Adams) after he failed to win the required majority in the electoral college. Jackson, who was particularly enraged following Adams's appointment of Clay as secretary of state, called unsuccessfully for the abolition of the electoral college, but he would get his revenge by defeating Adams in the presidential election of 1828.

Hula Valley

2005-03-30T14:58:00.000-08:00

Hebrew 'emeq Hula, valley in upper Galilee, northeastern Israel. The valley occupies most of the course of the Jordan River north of the Sea of Galilee. It is bounded by Dan and the settlement of Ma'yan Barukh (north), the Golan Heights (east), and the Hills of Naphtali (west), and on the south it slopes gradually down to the Sea of Galilee. It is approximately 16 miles (25 km) long, 4 miles (6 km) wide, and covers

Tragedy, Aeschylus: the first great tragedian

2005-03-29T23:56:00.000-08:00

It is this last question that Aeschylus asks most insistently in his two most famous works, the Oresteia (a trilogy comprising Agamemnon, Choephoroi, and Eumenides) and Prometheus Bound (the first part of a trilogy of which the last two parts have been lost): is it right that Orestes, a young man in no way responsible for his situation, should be commanded by a god, in the name

Kuei-yang

2005-03-29T10:42:00.000-08:00

Originally

Tyrrhenian Sea

2005-03-28T23:46:00.000-08:00

Latin Mare Tyrrhenum, Italian Mare Tirreno, arm of the Mediterranean Sea, between the western coast of Italy and the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily. It is connected with the Ligurian Sea (northwest) through the Tuscan Archipelago and with the Ionian Sea (southeast) through the Strait of Messina. Chief inlets of the sea include the Bay of Naples and the gulfs of Gaeta, Salerno, Policastro, and Sant'Eufemia.

Sporophyte

2005-03-27T23:59:00.000-08:00

In certain plants and algae, nonsexual phase (or an individual representing the phase) in the alternation of generations—a phenomenon in which two distinct phases (a haploid and a diploid phase) occur in the life history of a plant, each phase producing the other. (The alternate, sexual phase is the gametophyte.) In the sporophyte phase, a diploid plant body grows and eventually

Romanov Dynasty

2005-03-26T11:01:00.000-08:00

Rulers of Russia from 1613 until the Russian Revolution of February 1917. Descendants of Andrey Ivanovich Kobyla (Kambila), a Muscovite boyar who lived during the reign of the grand prince of Moscow Ivan I Kalita (reigned 1328–41), the Romanovs acquired their name from Roman Yurev (d. 1543), whose daughter Anastasiya Romanovna Zakharina-Yureva was the first wife of Ivan IV the Terrible (reigned

Nicholas Of Clémanges

2005-03-25T20:39:00.000-08:00

Named rector of the University of Paris in 1393 after acquiring repute

Sasolburg

2005-03-24T20:34:00.000-08:00

Town, northern Free State province, South Africa, south of Johannesburg. Established in 1954, it was built by Sasol Ltd. (the former South African Coal, Oil, and Gas Corporation Ltd.) to house employees at the world's first oil-from-coal plant producing commercial quantities of oil. The location was selected for its proximity to large coal deposits, the Vaal River, and the Witwatersrand

Earth Sciences, Understanding of clouds, fog, and dew

2005-03-23T20:01:00.000-08:00

After Guericke's experiments it was

Kazak Rug

2005-03-22T06:24:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kazakh Rug, floor covering handmade by seminomadic people of Turkic stock living in the Gäncä district of the Caucasus in Azerbaijan. These handsome rugs in bold designs and colour contrasts continue the spirit of Dragon rugs. The field patterns differ, however, offering triple-medallion schemes and centralized layouts, such as an octagon surrounded by four star-filled

Hadfield, Sir Robert Abbott, Baronet

2005-03-21T00:54:00.000-08:00

The son of a Sheffield steel manufacturer, Hadfield took an early interest in metallurgy and at the age of 24 became head of the family firm. In 1883 he took out

Annelid, External features

2005-03-20T04:56:00.000-08:00

The body of an annelid is often described as a tube within a tube. The inner tube, or digestive tract, is separated from the outer tube, or body wall, by the coelom. The head region (prostomium) is followed by a series of segments similar to each other in appearance. The body in many species, especially in the sedentary polychaetes, is separated into two or three regions. The

Río Gallegos

2005-03-19T18:52:00.000-08:00

Founded in 1885, it was named for Blasco Gallegos, one of Ferdinand Magellan's pilots, who is credited with discovering the river. Prehistoric cave paintings

Hebrew Literature, Formative influences

2005-03-18T13:45:00.000-08:00

The first formative influences on 20th-century Hebrew literature belong to the late 19th century. The middle classes of eastern European Jewry that read Hebrew books turned to Jewish nationalism, and Zionist activity, coupled with the movement for speaking Hebrew, widened the circle of Hebrew readers. Hebrew daily papers began to appear in 1886. Writers borrowed extensively

Widener University

2005-03-18T08:12:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S. It comprises the College of Arts and Sciences and schools of Law, Hospitality Management, Human Service Professions, Engineering, Nursing, and Business Administration. More than 50 undergraduate majors are offered. The university also offers more than 20 master's degree programs, doctoral

Gagern, Maximilian (joseph Ludwig) Freiherr Von (baron Of)

2005-03-17T11:39:00.000-08:00

Gagern, like his two prominent brothers, a nationalist

Cretaceous Period, Correlation

2005-03-17T04:19:00.000-08:00

Correlation of Cretaceous rocks is usually accomplished using fossils. Ammonites are the most widely employed fossils in terms of both frequency of use and geographic extent, but no single fossil group is capable of worldwide correlation of all sedimentary rocks. Most ammonites, for example, did not occur in all latitudes because some preferred the warmer waters

Glubb, Sir John Bagot

2005-03-16T17:41:00.000-08:00

The son of a British army officer, Glubb attended the Royal Military Academy and then rose steadily in the British army. He served in Europe in World War I and then volunteered for service

Pisces

2005-03-15T19:57:00.000-08:00

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

Holbein, Hans, The Elder

2005-03-15T17:33:00.000-08:00

Nothing is known of Holbein's early life and training, but he was married and established as a

Reggio Nell'emilia

2005-03-15T16:11:00.000-08:00

Founded in the 2nd century BC on the Roman road Via Aemilia by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus as Regium Lepidi, it was later the seat of a Lombard duchy and then was ruled by its bishops. Under the protection of the

Arrest

2005-03-13T15:37:00.000-08:00

Placing of a person in custody or under restraint, usually for the purpose of compelling obedience to the law. If the arrest occurs in the course of criminal procedure, the purpose of the restraint is to hold the person for answer to a criminal charge or to prevent him from committing an offense. In civil proceedings, the purpose is to hold the person to a demand made against

Avon, River

2005-03-13T15:32:00.000-08:00

Also called East Avon or Hampshire Avon river that rises 3 miles (5 km) east of Devizes, Wiltshire, England, on the north side of the Vale of Pewsey and flows generally southward for 48 miles (77 km) to the English Channel. The river shares the name Avon (derived from a Celtic word meaning “river”) with several other rivers in Great Britain, including the Avon of Bristol (or Lower Avon) and the Avon of Warwickshire (or Upper

Aidan

2005-03-12T06:41:00.000-08:00

Aidan was crowned at Iona by St. Columba. He refused to allow his kingdom to remain dependent on the Irish Dalriada; but, coming into collision with his southern neighbours, he led a large force against Aethelfrith, king of the Northumbrians, and was defeated at Degsanstan, probably in

Eye Disease, The uveal tract

2005-03-11T09:22:00.000-08:00

The uveal tract is a vascular layer of tissue—that is, a layer rich in blood vessels—lying next to the inner surface of the sclera. It is divided into three structures: the choroid, a highly vascular layer that supplies blood to the outer layers of the retina; the ciliary body, largely muscle tissue, which by its contraction and relaxation alters the focussing of the lens;

Bingham, George Caleb

2005-03-11T06:04:00.000-08:00

In 1819 Bingham's family moved to Franklin, Missouri, on the Lewis and Clark trail. After the death of his father, the family relocated to Arrow Rock, Missouri. Between 1827 and 1828, Bingham apprenticed to a

Tso Chuan

2005-03-10T18:04:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Zuo Zhuan, ancient commentary on the Ch'un-ch'iu, and the first sustained narrative work in Chinese literature. The Ch'un-ch'iu, the first Chinese chronological history, chronicles events during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC) of China's history. The Tso chuan is a detailed commentary on this work and provides extensive narrative accounts and ample background materials concerning

Narcissus

2005-03-09T20:39:00.000-08:00

Narcissus exercised great influence over Claudius and accumulated immense wealth. At first he allied himself with Claudius' third wife, Messalina Valeria, but fear that she and her lover, Gaius Silius, were conspiring

Tin Processing, Bearing alloys

2005-03-09T06:38:00.000-08:00

Alloys of tin with about 7 percent antimony and 3 percent copper have proved to be the best materials for plain bearings running against a steel shaft. Known as tin-based babbitt metals or white metals, they owe their reputation to the ability to deform sufficiently in order to compensate for irregularities in the bearing assembly, to embed foreign particles in order

Brazil, Drainage

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

Brazil is drained by the Amazon River, which is the centrepiece of the most extensive river system in the world, and by other systems that are notable in their own right—the Tocantins-Araguaia in the north, the Paraguay-Paraná-Plata in the south, and the São Francisco in the east and northeast. Numerous smaller rivers and streams drain directly eastward to the Atlantic

Schawlow, Arthur L.

2005-03-07T23:44:00.000-08:00

As a child, Schawlow moved with his family to Canada. He attended the University of Toronto, receiving his

Rabbit

2005-03-07T18:18:00.000-08:00

Rabbits are ground dwellers that live

Military Aircraft, Reconnaissance

2005-03-06T17:32:00.000-08:00

For military staffs contemplating offensive operations, aerial photography became the most important source of detailed information on enemy dispositions. British reconnaissance aircraft were especially capable. Modified versions of the Spitfire and Mosquito, stripped of armament and fitted with extra fuel tanks, proved essentially immune to interception

Henderson, Thomas

2005-03-05T06:20:00.000-08:00

Henderson was elected

Central African Republic, Settlement patterns

2005-03-04T19:27:00.000-08:00

About three-fifths of the population is rural, residing primarily in the southern and western parts of the country. The eastern and northeastern sections of the country are less populated. Of the urban population, a significant proportion lives in Bangui. Other major towns are Berbérati, Bossangoa, and Bouar in the west, Bambari and Bria in the central plains, and Bangassou

Vital Rates

2005-03-04T05:28:00.000-08:00

Principal among vital rates are the crude

Vajrapani

2005-03-03T19:40:00.000-08:00

Vajrapani (Sanskrit: Thunderbolt-Bearer) is believed to be the protector of the nagas (half-man, half-serpent deities) and sometimes assumes the shape of a bird in order to deceive their traditional enemy, the hawklike Garuda. Because of his association

Mountain Mahogany

2005-03-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

It is said that the common name was given to species

China, Major cultures and sites

2005-03-02T10:49:00.000-08:00

There was not one Chinese Neolithic but a mosaic of regional cultures whose scope and significance are still being determined. Their location in the area defined today as China does not necessarily mean that all the Neolithic cultures were Chinese or even proto-Chinese. Their contributions to the Bronze Age civilization of the Shang, which may be taken as unmistakably

Lockhart, John Gibson

2005-03-01T04:51:00.000-08:00

Lockhart, the son of a Presbyterian minister descended from the landed gentry, studied at the universities of Glasgow and Oxford and began the practice

Cumberland

2005-03-01T04:28:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1789) of Allegany county, northwestern Maryland, U.S. It lies in a bowl-shaped valley in the narrow panhandle region between Pennsylvania (north) and West Virginia (south), bounded by the Potomac River to the south. It is situated at the entrance to Cumberland Narrows, a natural gateway carved by Wills Creek through the Allegheny Mountains west to the Ohio River valley.

Valencia

2005-02-27T07:14:00.000-08:00

Provincia, in the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Valencia, eastern Spain. It is situated along the Mediterranean Sea and has an area of 4,156 square miles (10,763 square km). The province centres on the coastal plain of the Gulf of Valencia; it is limited to the south by the mountains of northern Alicante and less clearly to the north by the watershed of the Río Turia. Interior

Osler, Sir William, Baronet

2005-02-26T14:46:00.000-08:00

Canadian physician and professor of medicine who practiced and taught in Canada, the United States, and Great Britain and whose book The Principles and Practice of Medicine (1892) was a leading textbook. Osler played a key role in transforming the organization and curriculum of medical education, emphasizing

Bulgakov, Mikhail Afanasyevich

2005-02-26T09:22:00.000-08:00

Beginning his adult life as a doctor, Bulgakov gave up medicine for writing. His first major work was the novel Belaya gvardiya (The White Guard), serialized in 1925 but never published in book form. A realistic and

Franche-comté

2005-02-25T16:44:00.000-08:00

Région compassing the eastern French départements of Jura, Doubs, Haute-Saône, and the Territoire de Belfort. The capital is Besançon. The region has an area of 6,256 square miles (16,202 square km) and is bounded by the départements of Ain to the south, Saône-et-Loire, Côte-d'Or, and Haute-Marne to the west, and Vosges and Haut-Rhin to the north. Switzerland lies to the east. Franche-Comté

Sahara, Climate

2005-02-24T21:32:00.000-08:00

The Sahara was established as a climatic desert approximately five million years ago, during the Early Pliocene Epoch. Since the Pliocene, the Sahara has been subject to short- to medium-term oscillations of drier and more humid conditions. Human activity seems to have contributed to the stability of the desert by increasing surface reflectivity and by reducing

Wright Military Flyer Of 1909

2005-02-24T10:49:00.000-08:00

The

Yüeh Fei

2005-02-23T16:07:00.000-08:00

In 1126 North China was overrun by the nomadic Juchen and the Sung capital at K'ai-feng taken. The former emperor Hui-tsung, who had abdicated in 1125/26, together with his son, the emperor Ch'in-tsung (reigned 1125/26–27), was carried into captivity. Another son of Hui-tsung, later known as Kao-tsung (reigned

Brown, Trisha

2005-02-22T23:58:00.000-08:00

Brown studied modern dance at Mills College in Oakland, California (B.A., 1958). Her style began developing after she met choreographer Yvonne

Caudata, Bones and cartilage

2005-02-22T22:30:00.000-08:00

The rather weak skull of adults is composed of various paired and unpaired bones. These bones may fuse or be lost in different groups, and their presence and arrangement are important in classification. Much of the fusion and loss of skull bones is associated with a trend toward tongue feeding. Small, double-cusped teeth line the margins of the jaw and spread over parts

Godfree, Kitty

2005-02-21T18:08:00.000-08:00

Godfree lost the 1923 All-England final to Suzanne Lenglen of France, but

Dagan

2005-02-20T03:16:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Dagon West Semitic god of crop fertility, worshiped extensively throughout the ancient Middle East. Dagan was the Hebrew and Ugaritic common noun for “grain,” and the god Dagan was the legendary inventor of the plow. His cult is attested as early as about 2500 BC, and, according to texts found at Ras Shamra (ancient Ugarit), he was the father of the god Baal. Dagan had an important temple

Ch'i-lin

2005-02-20T00:22:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Qilin, in Chinese mythology, the unicorn whose rare appearance often coincides with the imminent birth or death of a sage or illustrious ruler. (The name is a combination of the two characters ch'i, “male,” and lin, “female.”) A ch'i-lin has a single horn on its forehead, a yellow belly, a multicoloured back, the hooves of a horse, the body of a deer, and the tail of an ox. Gentle of disposition,

Arales

2005-02-19T03:34:00.000-08:00

The Arales may share common evolutionary ancestors with the palm order (Arecales) and the Panama hat palm order (Cyclanthales) from the immediate ancestors

Alphabet, The Aramaic alphabet

2005-02-19T00:39:00.000-08:00

The adaptation of the North Semitic alphabet to the Aramaic language took place at some time in the 10th century BC, when Aramaic was spoken in several petty kingdoms in northern Mesopotamia and Syria, the most important of them being Dammeshek (Damascus). The process of the reestablishment of the Assyrian Empire and its hegemony over a good part of the Middle East began

Flood, Curt

2005-02-17T20:09:00.000-08:00

Flood began playing baseball as a youth and was signed in 1956 by the National League Cincinnati Reds. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1958 and played

p-n Junction

2005-02-17T07:21:00.000-08:00

In electronics, the interface within diodes, transistors, and other semiconductor devices between two different types of materials called p-type and n-type semiconductors. These materials are formed by the deliberate addition of impurities to pure semiconductor materials, such as silicon. Semiconductors of p-type contain holes, mobile vacancies in the electronic

West Flanders

2005-02-16T15:49:00.000-08:00

Drained

Florence, University Of

2005-02-15T01:43:00.000-08:00

Italian Università Degli Studi Di Firenze, university that originated in Florence in 1321 and became later in the century, through the activities of the writer Giovanni Boccaccio, an early centre of Renaissance Humanism. Boccaccio secured a post there for Leonzio Pilato, whose rough Latin translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey introduced Homer to Italian scholars. In 1396 the first university chair in Greek

Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel

2005-02-14T16:00:00.000-08:00

A precocious musician who remained successful, C.P.E. Bach was his father's true successor and an important figure in his own right. In his autobiography he writes: “For composition and keyboard-playing, I have never had

Slave Dynasty

2005-02-14T03:16:00.000-08:00

The Slave dynasty was founded by Qutb-ud-Din Aybak, a favourite slave of the Muslim general and later sultan Muhammad of Ghur. Qutb-ud-Din had been among Muhammad's most trusted Turkish officers and had overseen his master's Indian conquests. When Muhammad was assassinated in 1206, Qutb took power

Biblical Literature, Printed editions

2005-02-12T18:25:00.000-08:00

The first edition of the entire Hebrew Bible was printed at Soncino (in Italy) in 1488 with punctuation and accents, but without any commentary. The second complete

Breitenfeld, Battle Of

2005-02-12T05:55:00.000-08:00

(Sept. 17, 1631), the first major Protestant victory of the Thirty Years' War, in which the army of the Roman Catholic Habsburg emperor Ferdinand II and the Catholic League, under Johan Isaclaes, Graf von Tilly, was destroyed by the Swedish-Saxon army under King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden. The battle marked the emergence of Sweden as a great power and the triumph of the new Swedish

Religion, Study Of, Other sociological studies

2005-02-12T00:38:00.000-08:00

An extensive literature on religious sects and similar groups has also developed. To some extent this has been influenced by the German theologian Ernst Troeltsch in his distinction between church and sect (see below Theological studies). Notable among modern investigators of sectarianism is the British scholar Bryan Wilson. Church organizations also have

Economist, The

2005-02-10T20:09:00.000-08:00

Weekly magazine of news and opinion published in London and generally regarded as one of the world's preeminent journals of its kind. It provides wide-ranging coverage of general news and particularly of international and political developments and prospects bearing on the world's economy. It was founded in 1843 by Scotsman James Wilson as a voice against grain import

Lens Dislocation

2005-02-10T10:43:00.000-08:00

Abnormal position of the crystalline lens of the eye. The dislocation, which may be congenital or acquired, has as its immediate cause weakness or loss of a portion of the ligaments that anchor the lens to the ciliary muscle.

China, Internal solidarity during the decline of the Nan Sung

2005-02-10T06:47:00.000-08:00

Honouring the Chu Hsi school did not reinvigorate the Nan Sung administration, but the military, despite some weaknesses, maintained an effective defense against the Mongols for four decades—the longest stand against Mongol invasions anywhere. The final Sung defeat came in part because the Mongol forces, frustrated for many years in their attempts to break the

Abakanowicz, Magdalena

2005-02-09T11:19:00.000-08:00

A descendant of Polish nobility, Abakanowicz studied at the School of Fine Arts in Sopot, Poland (1949), and graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (1955). She began working as an independent artist in 1956 and initially earned success for large, three-dimensional

Cabrini, Saint Frances Xavier

2005-02-08T15:19:00.000-08:00

Maria Cabrini was determined from her childhood to make religious work her life's vocation. After teaching in Italy in Vidardo (1872–74), she was appointed supervisor

Brace, Charles Loring

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

The descendant of a Hartford family long prominent in religious and political life, Brace was educated at Yale University and at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Asked

Rocky Mountain Trench

2005-02-07T22:18:00.000-08:00

Geological depression extending north-northwest for about 900 miles (1,400 km) from western Montana, U.S., south of Flathead Lake, through British Columbia, Can., to the headwaters of the Yukon River. The trench parallels the steep western face of the Rockies, separating them from the older western ranges. Its rugged floor, which is 2–10 miles (3–16 km) wide and 2,000–3,000 feet (600–900 m) above sea level, forms a natural

Juan José De Austria

2005-02-06T20:15:00.000-08:00

Juan José was the son of King Philip IV of Spain and María Calderón, a celebrated actress. He received a princely education and a large

Rhys, Jean

2005-02-05T08:47:00.000-08:00

The daughter of a Welsh doctor and a Creole mother, Rhys lived and was educated

Aerobatics

2005-02-04T16:48:00.000-08:00

Essential to aerobatic technique is the ability to fly an aircraft inverted (upside down), which was first demonstrated on September 1, 1913, by the Frenchman Adolphe Pégoud, test pilot for aviator Louis Blériot. Pégoud also flew other advanced maneuvers as part of a research program. Other aerobatic innovators include the Russian military pilot Petr Nesterov, who was

Ibis

2005-02-04T00:58:00.000-08:00

Any of about 20 species of medium-sized wading birds constituting the subfamily Threskiornithinae of the family Threskiornithidae (order Ciconiiformes), which also includes the spoonbills. Ibises occur in all warm regions except on South Pacific islands. They wade in shallow lagoons, lakes, bays, and marshes, using their slender, down-curved bills to feed on small

Jaca

2005-02-03T21:18:00.000-08:00

City, Huesca provincia, in the communidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Aragon, northeastern Spain, on the plateau on the southern bank of the Aragón River, just south of the French border. Of ancient origin, the city was captured by the Romans in 194 BC and surrounded by walls, which, with medieval additions, still partly stand. In 716 it was taken by the Moors and, under the name

Owl, Fossil history

2005-02-03T15:39:00.000-08:00

The earliest recognizable fossil strigiform is Protostrix from the Eocene of Wyoming. A number of genera from the later Tertiary have been assigned to Recent strigiform families. Some early owls reached far greater size than their modern descendents. A giant barn owl, about twice the size of the modern Tyto alba, inhabited Puerto Rico in the Pleistocene. Another

Ch'i-lien Mountains

2005-02-03T09:13:00.000-08:00

Wade–Giles romanization Ch'i-lien Shan, Pinyin Qilian Shan, rugged mountain range on the border of Tsinghai and Kansu provinces, west central China. It forms part of the Nan Shan, the eastern outlier of the Kunlun Mountains. Heavily glaciated in many places, the mountains rise to 18,194 ft (5,547 m), and most peaks exceed 13,000 ft. Snow covers the mountain tops; herds graze in the well-watered valleys. Impassable throughout, the range forms the southern

Mckay, Donald

2005-01-31T16:37:00.000-08:00

After emigrating to New York City in 1827, he worked as an apprentice to the ship carpenter Isaac Webb. In 1845 he established a shipyard at East Boston, Mass.; there he designed and built his great clipper ships. His first, the Stag Hound, launched in 1850, was

Temperature Stress

2005-01-31T11:03:00.000-08:00

Physiological stress induced by excessive heat or cold that can impair functioning and cause injury or death. Exposure to intense heat increases body temperature and pulse rate. If body temperature is sufficiently high, sweating may cease, the skin may become dry, and deeper and faster breathing may follow. Headaches, nausea, disorientation, fainting, and unconsciousness

Kilimanjaro

2005-01-31T08:20:00.000-08:00

Aeolus

2005-01-30T22:13:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, mythical king of Magnesia in Thessaly, the son of Hellen (the eponymous ancestor of the true Greeks, or Hellenes) and father of Sisyphus (the “most crafty of men”). Aeolus' daughter Canace and son Macareus committed incest and then took their own lives. Their story provided the subject of Euripides' lost Aeolus. Aeolus gave his name to Aeolis, a territory

Dancourt, Florent Carton

2005-01-30T13:13:00.000-08:00

Born into an established bourgeois family, Dancourt was educated in Paris by Jesuits and studied law. In 1680 he married an actress, Thérèse de La Thorillière. They debuted with

Fainting

2005-01-29T18:05:00.000-08:00

In physiology, loss of consciousness owing to a temporary decrease in the blood supply to the brain. See syncope.

Nordhorn

2005-01-28T17:10:00.000-08:00

Town, Lower Saxony Land (state), northwestern Germany, on the Vechte River at the junction of the Almelo-Nordhorn, Ems-Vechte, and Süd-Nord canals, 4 miles (6 km) from the Dutch border. First mentioned about 1000 and chartered in 1379, the city suffered heavily from plague, fire, and war in the 15th and 16th centuries. Part of the Augustinian Frenswegen Abbey (founded 1394) and the 15th-century Protestant

Yangtze Plain

2005-01-28T15:52:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Ch'ang Chiang P'ing-yüan, Pinyin Chang Jiang Pingyuan, series of alluvial plains of uneven width along the Yangtze River and its major tributaries, beginning east of I-ch'ang (Hupeh province), China. The Middle Yangtze Plain comprises parts of northeastern Hunan, southeastern Hupeh, and north-central Kiangsi provinces, including Tung-t'ing, P'o-yang, and Hung lakes. The Lower Yangtze Plain includes the Yangtze River delta

Charles

2005-01-27T08:32:00.000-08:00

Charles's claim to Brittany through his marriage to Joan the Lame of Penthièvre, niece of Duke John III of Brittany, led to a conflict with the other claimants, John of Montfort and later his son Duke John IV of Brittany, in the 20-year War of the Breton Succession, which also involved the

Zingarelli, Nicola Antonio

2005-01-25T15:14:00.000-08:00

Zingarelli studied at the conservatory at Loreto and earned his living in his youth as a violinist. His first opera, Montesuma, was successfully produced at the San Carlo Theatre in Naples in 1781. Alsinda, given at La Scala, Milan, in 1785, was the

Aretaeus Of Cappadocia

2005-01-25T04:19:00.000-08:00

Greek physician from Cappadocia who practiced in Rome and Alexandria, led a revival of Hippocrates' teachings, and is thought to have ranked second only to the father of medicine himself in the application of keen observation and ethics to the art. In principle he adhered to the pneumatic school of medicine, which believed that health was maintained by

Pemba Island

2005-01-25T02:03:00.000-08:00

Arabic Jazirat Al-khudrah, island in the Indian Ocean, lying 35 miles (56 km) off the coast of East Africa, opposite the port of Tanga, Tanzania. The island embraces 380 square miles (984 square km) and is 42 miles (67 km) long and 14 miles (22 km) wide. As the Arabic name, which means “Green Island,” suggests, it is more fertile than its sister island, Zanzibar, which lies 30 miles (48 km) to the southwest. Pemba is the world's leading producer

Bruce, Michael

2005-01-23T10:16:00.000-08:00

Bruce's parents gave him a good education, and he attended four winter sessions at the University of Edinburgh. In 1766 he wrote his last and finest poem, “Elegy Written in Spring.” His reputation