PoorStar

Ciconiiform, Bill shape

2005-11-18T05:35:00.000-08:00

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

Rhizopod

2005-10-16T01:45:00.000-07:00

Any member of the protozoan superclass Rhizopoda. Three types of pseudopodia (cytoplasmic extensions) used in locomotion and digestion are found in members of this superclass: (1) long, thin reticulopodia, which fuse into a network; (2) nonfusing filopodia, similar to reticulopodia; and (3) blunt and fingerlike lobopodia (the pseudopodia formed by Amoeba). Tests (protective

Waccho

2005-07-28T23:10:00.000-07:00

Waccho assassinated his uncle Tato and usurped the throne about 510, ruling for 30 years. Tato's son and grandson took refuge with the king of a neighbouring people, the Gepidae, making several fruitless attempts to

Kii Peninsula

2005-07-27T05:05:00.000-07:00

Japanese Kii-hanto, peninsula of southern Honshu, Japan, facing the Pacific Ocean (east and south) and the Kii Strait and the Inland Sea (west). The peninsula is composed of the Kii Range, whose mountains end abruptly on the north in a fault scarp that commands the valleys of the Kushida River and the Kino River. In general, the mountains are of strong relief, being broken by deep valleys, sharp

Ibogaine

2005-07-24T17:55:00.000-07:00

Hallucinogenic drug and the principal iboga alkaloid, found in the stems, leaves, and especially in the roots of the African shrub Tabernanthe iboga. Ibogaine was isolated from the plant in 1901 and was synthesized in 1966. In small doses it acts as a stimulant. The peoples of West Africa and the Congo region have used iboga extracts or chewed the root of the plant in order to remain

Karachi

2005-07-07T20:35:00.000-07:00

City and capital of Sindh province, southern Pakistan. It is the country's largest city and principal seaport and is a major commercial and industrial centre. Karachi is located on the coast of the Arabian Sea immediately northwest of the Indus River Delta. The city proper covers an area of 228 square miles (591 square km), while the metropolitan area of Greater Karachi spreads

Water Treader

2005-06-15T18:20:00.000-07:00

Mesoveliids are predaceous and are usually seen on floating vegetation or on the water surface. One species, Phrynovelia papua of New Guinea, lives in leaves on the forest

Mahadeo Hills

2005-06-03T03:00:00.000-07:00

Sandstone hills located in the northern part of the Satpura Range, in southern Madhya Pradesh state, central India. The hills have small plateaus and steep scarps that were formed during the Carboniferous Period (360 to 286 million years ago). The hills have a gentle northern slope but are steep to the south, where they drop abruptly from 3,600 feet (1,100 m) to less than 900 feet (275 m). The general

Arabian Desert

2005-05-31T21:35:00.000-07:00

Great desert region occupying almost the entire Arabian Peninsula. Covering an area of about 900,000 square miles (2,300,000 square km), it is bordered on the north by the Syrian Desert, on the northeast and east by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the southeast and south by the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and on the west by the Red Sea. A large part of the Arabian Desert lies within

Ancaeus

2005-05-17T00:40:00.000-07:00

In Greek mythology, the son of Zeus or Poseidon and king of the Leleges of Samos. In the Argonautic expedition, after the death of Tiphys, the helmsman of the Argo, Ancaeus took his place. According to legend, while planting a vineyard, Ancaeus was told by a seer that he would never drink of its wine. When the grapes were ripe, he squeezed the juice into a cup and, raising it to

2005-05-17T00:35:00.000-07:00

Fielden, John

2005-05-15T18:25:00.000-07:00

On his father's death in 1811, Fielden and his brothers inherited the family cotton-spinning business at Todmorden, which became one of the greatest manufacturing concerns in Great Britain. Unlike most mill

Aichbühl

2005-05-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

Site of a Middle Neolithic settlement (end of the 3rd millennium BC) on the shores of Lake Feder (Federsee) in southeastern Baden-Württemberg Land (state), southwestern Germany. Foundations of 25 rectangular buildings arranged in an irregular row along the shoreline were uncovered in the peat wetland by R. Schmidt in 1930. Approximately 20 of the buildings were two-room houses averaging

Guadalupe Hidalgo, Treaty Of

2005-03-15T02:32:00.000-08:00

(Feb. 2, 1848), treaty between the United States and Mexico that ended the Mexican War. It was signed at Villa de Guadalupe Hidalgo, which is a northern neighbourhood of Mexico City. The treaty drew the boundary between the United States and Mexico at the Rio Grande and the Gila River; for a payment of $15,000,000 the United States received more than 525,000 square miles (1,360,000 square km) of land (now Arizona,

Forel, Auguste-henri

2005-03-14T05:42:00.000-08:00

Forel studied medicine at the University of Z�rich from 1866 to 1871 and then did work in neuroanatomy at the University of Vienna, where he received his medical degree in 1872. In 1879 he was appointed director of the Burgh�lzli Asylum

Lee, Sammy

2005-03-11T11:05:00.000-08:00

In 1942, while a student at Occidental College (Los Angeles), Lee won his first national championship with victories in both the 3-metre springboard and 10-metre platform events. Standing only 5 feet 1 inch, Lee utilized his short stature in his dives, tucking tighter and

Camp, Walter

2005-03-07T10:08:00.000-08:00

As an undergraduate and then as a medical student at Yale (1876 - 81), Camp played halfback,

Mardi Gras

2005-03-06T23:15:00.000-08:00

(French: Fat Tuesday), festive day celebrated in France on the Tuesday (Shrove Tuesday; q.v.) before Ash Wednesday, which marks the close of the pre-Lenten season. In the United States the festival is most elaborately celebrated in New Orleans. See carnival.

Metanephros

2005-03-05T06:42:00.000-08:00

Permanent kidney in reptiles, birds, and mammals, developing by the 10th week in human embryos from the lower part of the Wolffian duct, and replacing the embryonic structure called the mesonephros. It consists of a compact, paired organ containing many nephrons; a ureter separate from the Wolffian duct leads from the metanephros to the bladder.

Colijn, Hendrikus

2005-03-04T01:57:00.000-08:00

A soldier (1895 - 1904) in the colonial army during the Achinese War in northern Sumatra, Colijn later served there as a civil administrator, organizing government services and rubber plantations.

Weissenfels

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

City, Saxony-Anhalt Land (state), eastern Germany. It lies on the right bank of the Saale River, south of Halle. A German town on the site of an old Slav settlement, it was chartered in 1185, when it belonged to the Saxon House of Wettin. It was the residence of the dukes of Saxe-Weissenfels from 1656 to 1746 and passed to Prussia in 1815. The Baroque castle (1660 - 93) is preserved, and the town museum has a notable

Weissenfels

2005-03-02T17:53:00.000-08:00

Byname �Rio Grande � former American railroad chartered in 1870 as the Denver and Rio Grande Railway (D

Cat Snake, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-03-02T02:50:00.000-08:00

Most cat snakes are about 70 cm (28 inches) long. Cat snakes occur in Africa and southwestern Asia; one, T. fallax, ranges to Europe. A number of snakes of other genera have vertical pupils and are sometimes called

Alaska, The people

2005-03-01T13:54:00.000-08:00

Long before Bering's voyages the Tlingit Indians lived in the southern and southeastern coastal area; the Aleuts on the

Catch-as-catch-can Wrestling, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-03-01T01:44:00.000-08:00

basic wrestling style in which nearly all holds and tactics are permitted in both upright and ground wrestling. Rules usually forbid only actions that may injure an opponent, such as strangling, kicking, gouging, and hitting with a closed fist. The object is to force the opponent into a position in which both shoulders touch the ground at the same time. Formerly known

Chrissie, Lake, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-28T02:00:00.000-08:00

The lake lies in the farming region known as New Scotland, which was settled about 1866 by Alexander McCorkindale.

Ibiza

2005-02-28T00:12:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Iviza, or Ivica, � island, Balearic Islands provincia and comunidad aut�noma (�autonomous community�), Spain, one of the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean. It lies 50 mi (80 km) southwest of Majorca and has an area of 221 sq mi (572 sq km). A strategic point of great importance in ancient times, the island was inhabited by the Phoenicians and Carthaginians and has some notable archaeological

Pierce, John Robinson

2005-02-27T01:23:00.000-08:00

Pierce began working for Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc., New York City, in 1936. He improved the traveling-wave tube, which is used as a broadband amplifier of microwaves, and designed a new electrostatically focused electron-multiplier

Christchurch Mansion, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-27T00:47:00.000-08:00

in Ipswich, Suffolk, Eng., Tudor mansion built between 1548 and 1550 by Edmund Withipoll and now maintained as an art gallery and museum that is part of the Ipswich Museum of Art. The mansion houses a collection of local antiquities, including paintings and memorials of Edward Fitzgerald and Thomas Wollner. It has fine 16th-century paneling and part of a marble font from

Clarke, T.e.b., The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-26T17:11:00.000-08:00

Clarke worked as a free-lance journalist and novelist before joining Ealing Studios as a writer in 1943. He scripted several dramatic motion pictures, notably The Blue Lamp (1950), but received international fame

Muhammad Ibn Falah

2005-02-26T06:53:00.000-08:00

Muhammad ibn Falah was reputed to be descended from the seventh Shi'ite imam, Musa al-Kazim. He received a traditional Islamic religious education in al-Hillah, a famous centre for Shi'ite studies. As a student he was noted for his extremist religious views, which bordered on heresy, and he

Cloture, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-25T16:16:00.000-08:00

A cloture's

Ramapithecus

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

The first Ramapithecus fossils (fragments of an upper jaw and some teeth) were discovered in 1932 in fossil deposits in the Siwalik hills of northern India. No significance was attached

Coleman, James S(amuel), The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-24T07:21:00.000-08:00

Coleman received his B.S. from Purdue University (1949) and his Ph.D. from Columbia University (1955), where he was a research associate in the Bureau of Applied Social Research (1953 - 55). While there he was influenced by the style

Ricercare

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

Also spelled �Ricercar (Italian: �to seek out�), �plural �Ricercari, � musical composition for instruments in which one or more themes are developed through melodic imitation; it was prominent in the 16th and 17th centuries. The earliest ricercari, which were for the lute, appeared in 1507. Well-suited to the technical capabilities of the lute, they mixed passages in chordal style, running scale passages, and alternation of high and low phrases

Competitive Exclusion, Principle Of, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-23T22:51:00.000-08:00

also called �Gause's Principle, or Grinnell's Axiom� (after G.F. Gause, a Soviet biologist, and J. Grinnell, an American naturalist, who first clearly established it), statement that in competition between species that seek the same ecological niche, one species survives while the other expires under a given set of environmental conditions.

Jackson, Andrew

2005-02-23T18:45:00.000-08:00

When Jackson arrived in Nashville, the community was still a frontier settlement. As prosecuting attorney, Jackson was principally occupied with suits for the collection of debts. He was so successful in these litigations that he soon had a thriving private practice and had gained the friendship of landowners and creditors. For almost 30 years Jackson was allied with this group in Tennessee politics. Jackson boarded in the home of Colonel John Donelson, where he met and married the colonel's daughter, Rachel Robards (Rachel Jackson).

Water Scavenger Beetle

2005-02-22T13:00:00.000-08:00

Any of the approximately 2,000 species of the predominately aquatic insect family Hydrophilidae (order Coleoptera). These beetles are found swimming in marshy freshwater ponds throughout the world, especially in warm regions. Water scavenger beetles have smooth, oval, dark-brown or black bodies and short, hairy, clubbed antennae. They range in length from several to

Cozzi Porcelain, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-22T02:30:00.000-08:00

soft-paste porcelain made in Venice by Geminiano Cozzi from about 1764 to 1812. Cozzi products, often freely adapted versions of Meissen porcelain, consisted mainly of figures, vases, and tablewares with Rococo decoration that was frequently distinguished by an imaginative interpretation wholly Italian in style. Rich colours, including red, bluish purple, and emerald

Croatian Peasant Party, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-21T11:36:00.000-08:00

dominant political party in Croatia during the first half of the 20th century. Founded in 1904 by Stjepan Radic (and his brother Ante Radic), it advocated home rule for a Croatia dominated by peasants on homesteads increased by redistribution of land. The party formed the almost constant opposition to the Serbian-dominated government of Yugoslavia after the foundation

Kunlun Mountains, Drainage and glaciation

2005-02-21T07:33:00.000-08:00

The Kunluns form a part of that region in Central Asia in which there is only internal drainage, associated mainly with the Tarim and Tsaidam basins to the north and the basins of the Plateau of Tibet to the south. Only the most easterly spurs of the mountain system, where the source of the Huang Ho (Yellow River) is located, have drainage systems that empty into the

Nagodba, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-20T10:49:00.000-08:00

(Serbo-Croatian: �Agreement�), English in full� Croatian-hungarian Agreement Of � 1868, pact that governed Croatia's political status as a territory of Hungary until the end of World War I. When the Ausgleich, or Compromise, of 1867 created the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy, Croatia, which was part of the Habsburg empire, was merged with Slavonia and placed under Hungarian jurisdiction. Although many Croats who sought full autonomy for the South Slavs of

Kucha

2005-02-20T01:54:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization �K'u-ch'e, �Pinyin �Kuqa, � oasis city in the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, China. The oasis of Kucha lies at the foot of the southern slope of the Tien Shan (�Celestial Mountains�) on the northern rim of the Tarim Basin. It is watered by the Kucha and Mu-cha-t'i rivers, which during rainy spells flow into the Tarim River but which for most of the year lose themselves in the salt marshes on the northern

X-ray Tube

2005-02-19T07:20:00.000-08:00

Also called �Roentgen Tube, � vacuum tube that produces X rays by accelerating electrons to a high velocity with a high-voltage field and causing them to collide with a target, the anode. Because X rays can penetrate solid substances to varying degrees, they are applied in medicine and dentistry, in the exploration of the structure of crystalline materials, and in research. The tube consists of

Crocidolite, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-19T07:11:00.000-08:00

Crocidolite is often replaced

Cumberland, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-18T23:58:00.000-08:00

county, south-central Pennsylvania, U.S. It consists of a hilly region in the Appalachian Ridge and Valley physiographic province bounded to the north by Blue Mountain, to the east by the Susquehanna River, to the southeast by Yellow Breeches Creek, and to the south by the Blue Ridge Mountains. Conodoguinet Creek and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail cross the

Gray, Dolores

2005-02-18T23:32:00.000-08:00

American singer and actress (b. June 7, 1924, Chicago, Ill. - d. June 26, 2002, New York, N.Y.), had a rich contralto voice that gained her success in motion pictures and, especially, stage musicals. Her first, and perhaps greatest, triumph came in the London production of Annie Get Your Gun, which opened in 1947 and ran for nearly three years, playing to an audience that totaled more than 2.5 million. She followed

Cylinder Machine, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-17T19:03:00.000-08:00

device for producing paper, paperboard, and other fibreboards, invented in 1809 by John Dickinson. It consists of one or more tubes of wire screen partially immersed and rotated in a vat containing a mixture of pulp and water; the screen picks up a film from which the water drains, leaving a wet sheet that is transferred from the cylinder onto a felt in a continuous web. Cylinders

Turkey Vulture

2005-02-17T08:19:00.000-08:00

Also called �Turkey Buzzard� (Cathartes aura), long-winged, long-tailed vulture (family Cathartidae, the New World vultures) that has dark plumage, a whitish beak, white legs, and a bare red head (black in immature birds) that is covered with whitish bumps. Its wingspread is about 1.8 m (6 feet), and its length is about 75 cm (30 inches). The turkey vulture has an elaborate olfactory canal and uses its keen

Cellular Respiration

2005-02-16T23:54:00.000-08:00

One objective of the degradation of foodstuffs is to

Ejaculatory Duct

2005-02-15T22:45:00.000-08:00

Either of two hollow tubes, each formed by union of the ampulla of a ductus deferens (q.v.) and the excretory duct of a seminal vesicle (q.v.). The ducts, which open into the urethra about halfway through the prostate gland (q.v.), function to mix the sperm stored in the ampulla with fluids secreted by the seminal vesicles and to transport these substances to the prostate.

Cylindrical Projection, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-15T17:48:00.000-08:00

in cartography, any of numerous map projections of the terrestrial sphere on the surface of a cylinder that is then unrolled as a plane. Originally, this and other map projections were achieved by a systematic method of drawing the Earth's meridians and latitudes on the flat surface. But this method produces distortion, so a map projection today may be created using

Cyrankiewicz, J

2005-02-14T15:14:00.000-08:00

Cyrankiewicz attended Jagiellonian University in Krak�w, where he became secretary of the local branch of the Polish Socialist Party (PSP) in 1935. During World War II he was captured by German forces (1939), but he escaped and worked

Baghdad

2005-02-14T09:16:00.000-08:00

Among the most important of Baghdad's museums are the Iraqi Museum (1923), containing important archaeological treasures from ancient Mesopotamian history; the National

Taal Lake

2005-02-13T15:05:00.000-08:00

Lake in southwestern Luzon, Philippines, occupying a volcanic crater with a maximum width of 15 miles (24 km), at less than 10 feet (3 m) above sea level. It has an area of 94 square miles (244 square km) and is the country's third largest lake. Within the lake rises Volcano Island (984 feet [300 m]), which itself contains another small crater (Yellow Lake). Volcano Island, called Taal Volcano, has erupted 25 times

Dach

2005-02-13T14:23:00.000-08:00

Dach� left school at the age of 14 and was apprenticed to her aunt, a milliner in Bordeaux, and later to the famous milliner Caroline Reboux of Paris. In 1924 Dach� moved to New York City, where she worked as a salesclerk at Macy's

Performing Arts, Germany.

2005-02-12T15:33:00.000-08:00

Two notable films in a generally undistinguished year were Winfried Bonengel's F�hrer Ex, a dramatic investigation of contemporary neo-Nazism, seen as a legacy of communist oppression in the former East Germany, and Eoin Moore's Pigs Will Fly, a battered-wife story that observed the unhappy relationship through the psychology of the husband, himself a painfully

Daniel, Yuli Markovich, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-12T02:15:00.000-08:00

After being seriously wounded in World War II while serving in the Soviet army

Defence Of India Act, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-11T21:16:00.000-08:00

By 1918 there were about 800 internees

Abrahams, Peter

2005-02-11T10:12:00.000-08:00

Abrahams left South Africa at the age of 20, settling first in Britain and then in Jamaica; nevertheless, most of his novels and short stories are based on his early life

Deng Yingchao, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-10T21:26:00.000-08:00

Deng's involvement in political and social causes began in her youth. She joined the movement to abolish the custom of binding women's feet

Neustadt An Der Weinstrasse

2005-02-10T06:28:00.000-08:00

Formerly �Neustadt An Der Haardt, � city, Rhineland-Palatinate Land (state), southwestern Germany. It lies on the eastern slope of the Haardt Mountains, at the mouth of the Speyer-Bach. Founded in 1220 and chartered in 1275, its historic buildings include the Casimirianum (the seat of Heidelberg University, 1578 - 83, now a convention hall), the town hall (formerly a Jesuit college), and the Stiftskirche (�Collegiate Church�), which

Gadfly Petrel

2005-02-09T19:44:00.000-08:00

Any of several species of petrels distinguished from others by their fluttering type of flight. See petrel.

Deorai, Battle Of, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-09T06:52:00.000-08:00

Dara challenged Aurangzeb, relying on the promised support of Jaswant Singh of Marwar, but Jaswant then deserted him, and Dara was left to face Aurangzeb's superior army alone.

Pollentia

2005-02-08T07:52:00.000-08:00

Decimus Brutus checked Mark Antony's retreat at Pollentia in 43 BC. The Roman general Stilicho

Devequt, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-08T04:32:00.000-08:00

also spelled �Devekut� (Hebrew: �attachment�), in Jewish religious thought, an adherence to or communion with God that stops short of mystical union. The notion of devequt apparently derived from the biblical reference to �loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him� (Deuteronomy 11:22). As a fundamental concept of the Jewish mystical system called the Kabbala, devequt was

Drake, Alfred, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-07T22:36:00.000-08:00

While a junior at Brooklyn College, Drake joined a summer company performing Gilbert and

Socialism, Other early socialists

2005-02-07T03:18:00.000-08:00

The 1840s saw the rise of a number of other socialist doctrines, particularly in France. Louis-Auguste Blanqui evolved a radical socialist - or, as he called it, communist - doctrine based on a democratic populism and on the belief that capitalism as an inherently unstable order would soon be replaced by cooperative associations. Impatient with theorizing, given to a strong

Duarte, Jos

2005-02-06T23:15:00.000-08:00

Duarte studied civil engineering at Notre Dame University in the United States (B.S., 1948). In 1960 he was a founder of the centre-right Christian Democratic Party. While he was mayor of San Salvador (1964 - 70) his administration

Morecambe Bay

2005-02-06T11:56:00.000-08:00

Bay of the Irish Sea deeply indenting the northwest coast of England between the port of Barrow-in-Furness to the north and the seaside resorts of Morecambe and Heysham to the south. The bay separates the Furness region of the historic county of Lancashire (now in the administrative county of Cumbria) from the remainder of Lancashire. Much of the Lake District massif,

Cat Shark

2005-02-05T20:43:00.000-08:00

(family Scyliorhinidae), any of more than 80 species of small, mottled sharks (order Lamniformes). Although many bottom-dwelling species are rare and poorly known ecologically, representatives have been found in all major marine environments of the tropical and temperate regions. Most cat sharks are small (less than 90 cm [3 feet]), and many have bold body markings. They have

Dumuzi-abzu, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-05T17:18:00.000-08:00

in Mesopotamian religion, Sumerian deity, city goddess of Kinirsha near Lagash in the southeastern marshland region. She represented the power of fertility and new life in the marshes. Dumuzi-Abzu corresponded to the Sumerian god Dumuzi of the central steppe area, and thus around Eridu she was viewed as male and as son of Enki (Akkadian: Ea, also called the Lord of

Dyer, Mary Barrett

2005-02-04T13:24:00.000-08:00

Married in 1633 in London to William Dyer, Mary Dyer went with him to America (c. 1635) and settled in Boston. She began to accept the antinomian

Dur-kurigalzu, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-04T08:33:00.000-08:00

modern �'Aqarquf� fortified city and royal residence of the later Kassite kings, located near Babylon in southern Mesopotamia (now in Iraq). This city was founded either by Kurigalzu I (c. 1400 - c. 1375 BC) or by Kurigalzu II (c. 1332 - 08). Between AD 1943 and 1945, Iraqi excavations unearthed a monumental ziggurat, three temples, and a palace with painted wall decorations and an ambulatory with square pillars. The temples, dedicated

Hipparchus

2005-02-03T17:15:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Hipparchos� Greek astronomer and mathematician who made fundamental contributions to the advancement of astronomy as a mathematical science and to the foundations of trigonometry. Although he is commonly ranked among the greatest scientists of antiquity, very little is known about his life, and only one of his many writings

Dyer-bennet, Richard, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

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

Though born in England, Dyer-Bennet grew up in Canada and California and attended the University of California at

Dysphagia, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-02T16:50:00.000-08:00

difficulty or pain in swallowing, caused by lesions or stricture of the upper digestive tract, obstruction of the upper digestive tract by tumours or foreign bodies, or disturbances in the nervous or muscular control of swallowing. Obstruction of the esophagus is the most common cause of dysphagia. People with dysphagia may experience a sensation that food or

Graham, Jorie

2005-02-02T10:55:00.000-08:00

Graham grew up in France and Italy. After attending the Sorbonne, she continued her education at New York University (B.F.A., 1973) and at the University of Iowa (M.F.A., 1978). She taught in Kentucky, California, and New York City before returning

Dziady, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-02-01T08:57:00.000-08:00

in Slavic religion, all the dead ancestors of a family, the rites that are performed in their memory, and the day on which those rites are performed. Dziady take place three or four times a year; though the dates vary in different localities, dziady are generally celebrated in the winter before the beginning of Advent and in the spring on the Sunday of Doubting Thomas.

Hawea Lake

2005-02-01T06:54:00.000-08:00

Lake in west-central South Island, New Zealand. The lake lies at the heart of a resort area 182 miles (293 km) northwest of Dunedin by road. It occupies 54 square miles (141 square km) of a valley dammed by a terminal moraine (glacial debris). The lake, 1,142 feet (348 m) above sea level, is 19 miles (31 km) long, 5 miles (8 km) wide, and 1,286 feet (392 m) deep. It drains an area of 536 square miles (1,388 square km). Its main affluent, the Hunter River,

Indian National Congress

2005-01-31T14:11:00.000-08:00

Byname �Congress Party� broadly based political party of India. Formed in 1885, the Indian National Congress dominated the Indian movement for independence from Great Britain and formed most of India's governments from the time of independence through the mid-1990s.

Dzungar, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-01-31T01:14:00.000-08:00

also spelled �Jungar, J��ngar, Dzhungar, or Dsongar, � people of Central Asia, so called because they formed the left wing (dson, �left�; gar, �hand�) of the Mongol army. A western Mongol people whose home was the Ili River valley and Chinese Turkistan, they adopted Buddhism in the 17th century. They are for all practical purposes identical with the Oyrat (q.v.).

Elk, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-01-30T19:29:00.000-08:00

Elk county was created in 1843. The principal communities are St. Marys, Johnsonburg, and Ridgway, which is the county seat.

Skamander

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

Group of young Polish poets who were united in their desire to forge a new poetic language that would accurately reflect the experience of modern life. Founded in Warsaw about 1918, the Skamander group took its name, and the name of its monthly publication, from a river of ancient Troy. The group was founded by Julian Tuwim and other poets. Tuwim, a lyrical poet of emotional

Epipolae, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-01-29T07:50:00.000-08:00

ancient fortified plateau west of Syracuse, Sicily, which was enclosed with walls some 12 miles (19 km) long by the tyrant Dionysius I the Elder (c. 430 - 367 BC). The southern wall, of which considerable remains exist, was probably often restored. Epipolae narrows to a ridge about 180 feet (55 m) wide at one point, and there stand the ruins of the most imposing fortress to survive from the Greek period.

Asparagus

2005-01-29T01:14:00.000-08:00

Asparagus may be erect or climbing, and most of the species are more

Mihrab

2005-01-28T02:43:00.000-08:00

Arabic �mihrab � prayer niche in the qiblah wall (that facing Mecca) of a mosque; mihrabs vary in size but are usually ornately decorated. The mihrab originated in the reign of the Umayyad prince al-Walid I (705 - 715), during which time the famous mosques at Medina, Jerusalem, and Damascus were built. The structure was adapted from the prayer niches common to the oratories of Coptic Christian monks.

Epistatic Gene, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-01-28T02:37:00.000-08:00

in genetics, a gene that determines whether or not a trait will be expressed. The system of genes that determines skin colour in man, for example, is independent of the gene responsible for albinism (lack of pigment) or the development of skin colour. This gene is an epistatic gene. When the albino condition occurs, the genes that determine skin colour are present but not

Eureka, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-01-27T10:58:00.000-08:00

Gold and silver mining is the chief economic activity, although there is some agriculture. The county was created in 1873, and its seat is Eureka. Area 4,176 square miles (10,816 square

Maggid

2005-01-26T10:43:00.000-08:00

Plural �Maggidim, � any of the many itinerant Jewish preachers who flourished especially in Poland and Russia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Because rabbis at that time preached only on the Sabbaths preceding Pesah (Passover) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), maggidim were in great demand throughout the year to instruct, encourage, and sometimes admonish their congregation. Through

Europoort, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-01-26T10:36:00.000-08:00

port on the southwestern coast of The Netherlands. It lies opposite the Hoek van Holland, at the entrance of the New Waterway Canal, a distributary of the Rhine. About 17 miles (27 km) upstream on the canal lies the Port of Rotterdam, for which Europoort functions as an outport. Europoort is one of the most modern ports in the world; its construction was begun in 1958. It consists of

Kassala

2005-01-25T17:09:00.000-08:00

Traditional region, east-central Sudan. It is bordered on the east by Ethiopia. The Atbara River, an important tributary of the Nile, flows northwestward through Kassala and causes seasonal floods during torrential summer rains. Rocky deserts dominate the centre of the region, while in the north is the Butana Plain, with sandy clay soils and occasional low hills with

Fayette, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

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

county, southwestern Pennsylvania, U.S., bounded to the north by Jacobs Creek; to the east by Laurel Hill, the Youghiogheny River, and Youghiogheny River Lake; to the south by Maryland and West Virginia; and to the west by the Monongahela River. It consists of a hilly region on the Allegheny Plateau that rises to the Allegheny Mountains in the east (including Chestnut Ridge).

Oamaru

2005-01-24T21:03:00.000-08:00

Town and port, Otago local government region, southeastern South Island, New Zealand. Its name comes from a Maori term meaning �place of sheltered fire.� It was established as a grazing run in 1853. Situated on a small bay, the town began to improve its harbour in 1872. It is a commercial fishing centre and the chief port for the neighbouring coastal plain and the Waitaki River

Fish-finder, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-01-24T07:34:00.000-08:00

also called �Netsonde, � in commercial fishing, high-frequency sonar device for locating schools of fish. It transmits sound waves downward and receives echoes from the bottom of the sea, or from intervening schools of fish, also indicating distance from ship to fish. Two different types are used, one of which is a simple �echo sounder� that points directly downward from the ship and indicates

Fisher, Alan (wainwright), The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-01-23T21:41:00.000-08:00

Fisher left secondary school in 1939 to join the local office of NUPE as a junior clerk, later

, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-01-22T14:42:00.000-08:00

oceanographic study platform developed in the United States. It combines the advantages of extreme stability while floating on site and ease of movement to new areas. In the horizontal position, FLIP, 109 m (357 feet) long, can be towed behind a ship. When FLIP's ballast tanks are flooded, the platform tilts to an upright position with 17 m (55 feet) of its length above water. Above-water

Chemical Compound, Aldehydes and ketones

2005-01-22T13:04:00.000-08:00

Similar to the double bond of alkenes, the carbon-oxygen double bond is made up of a s bond, whose electron pair lies between the bonded

Flocculation, The rise of the major sects: Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism

2005-01-21T22:14:00.000-08:00

in physical chemistry, separation of solid particles from a liquid to form loose aggregations or soft flakes. These flocculates are easily disrupted, being held together only by a force analogous to the surface tension of a liquid. In industrial processes, flocculation may be a desired or an undesirable phenomenon, and various methods may be used to cause or eliminate

Rzhev

2005-01-21T09:27:00.000-08:00

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