TightPen

Estate Agent Finchley

2006-07-26T07:25:00.000-07:00

Lets Go has been an established Estate Agent Finchley since 1994 specializing in Lettings, Management and Sales.Our offices are in the heart of North Finchley enabling us to focus on our main areas where we have unrivalled local knowledge and specialise in property for sale Finchley,North, East, West and Central Finchley, property for sale North Hendon, property for sale North Whetstone, property for sale Golders Green and property for sale Woodford Park. We also cover property for sale Barnet

James Hull Cosmetic cosmetic dentistry

2006-07-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

Having recently moved to Birmingham and being completely passionate about my James Hull Cosmetic dental hygiene I was very pleased to find when searching online that there is a James Hull Dentists in Birmingham
. After booking my appointment my Dental Consultant offer me a range of treatments from Braces, Dental Veneers, cosmetic dentistry to Teeth Whitening. I overlooked the cosmetic dentistry but had the teeth whitening treatment which was has a new laser teeth whitening technology which is apparently the first in Birmingham. James Hull Dentists in Birmingham are centrally located and are without a doubt the best Cosmetic Dentists in Birmingham has to offer.

Yiddish Language

2005-10-16T17:55:00.000-07:00

The earliest

Music, African

2005-08-08T22:45:00.000-07:00

It is widely acknowledged that African music has undergone frequent and decisive changes throughout the centuries. What is termed traditional music today is probably very different from African music in former times. Nor has African music in the past been rigidly linked to specific ethnic groups. The individual musician, his style and creativity, have always

Argentina, The Gran Chaco

2005-07-27T20:35:00.000-07:00

The western sector of the North region, the Gran Chaco, extends beyond the international border at the Pilcomayo River into Paraguay, where it is called the Chaco Boreal (“Northern Chaco”) by Argentines. The Argentine sector between the Pilcomayo River and the Bermejo River is known as the Chaco Central. Argentines have named the area southward to latitude 30° S, where the

Olt Defile

2005-07-26T02:05:00.000-07:00

Defile in south-central Romania. The defile was cut into the Transylvanian Alps (Southern Carpathians) by the Olt River. It was particularly important during the Roman occupation (1st century BC to the 2nd century AD), when the Romans built a road and a line of fortifications along the Olt, north of its junction with the Danube River. The line of fortifications, known as the Limes

Pol Pot

2005-07-23T14:40:00.000-07:00

Original name Saloth Sar Khmer political leader whose totalitarian regime (1975–79) imposed severe hardships on the Cambodian people. His radical communist government forced the mass evacuations of cities, killed or displaced millions of people, and left a legacy of brutality and

Duchesne, André

2005-07-08T00:05:00.000-07:00

Duchesne was educated at Loudun and Paris and devoted his early years to studies in history and geography. His first work, Egregiarum seu Selectarum Lectionum et Antiquitatum

Uíge

2005-07-06T16:30:00.000-07:00

Formerly Carmona, town, northwestern Angola. Uíge grew from a small market centre in 1945 to become Angola's major centre for coffee production in the 1950s. The Portuguese designated Uíge a city in 1956. Its prosperity was short-lived, however, as recurrent fighting between the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), one of three preindependence guerrilla movements, and Portuguese forces

Kyd, Thomas

2005-06-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

English dramatist who, with his The Spanish Tragedie (sometimes called Hieronimo, or Jeronimo, after its protagonist), initiated the revenge tragedy of his day. Kyd anticipated the structure of many later plays, including the development of middle and final climaxes. In addition, he revealed an instinctive sense of tragic situation,

Porcupine

2005-06-16T09:50:00.000-07:00

Any of 25 species of large, herbivorous, quill-bearing rodents active from early evening to dawn. All have short, stocky legs, but their tails range from short to long, with some being prehensile. The quills, or spines, take various forms depending on the species, but all are modified hairs embedded in skin musculature. Old World porcupines (Hystricidae)

Dungarpur

2005-06-13T04:45:00.000-07:00

Town, administrative headquarters of Dungarpur district, Rajasthan state, northwestern India. An agricultural market centre, it is linked by road with Udaipur, as well as with Vadodara, Ahmadabad, and Indore via Godhra (Gujarat). Dungarpur, former capital of the Dungarpur princely state, was founded in the 14th century and was named after Dungaria, an independent chieftain

Gymnostome

2005-06-01T13:25:00.000-07:00

Any ciliated protozoan of the large holotrichous order Gymnostomatida; included are oval to elongated protozoans with simple, uniformly distributed hairlike processes (cilia) and a mouth opening (cytostome) on the body surface rather than in a groove or pit as in other ciliates. Gymnostomes are found in fresh and salt water and in the

Ventidius, Publius

2005-05-18T04:35:00.000-07:00

In his youth, Ventidius was captured by the forces of the Roman general Pompeius Strabo in his native town of Asculum Picenum, which had joined the revolt (90–88) of Rome's Italian

Sea Crayfish

2005-05-16T09:50:00.000-07:00

Any of several lobster species of the family Palinuridae. See lobster.

Mahanadi River

2005-05-14T07:40:00.000-07:00

River in central India, rising in the hills of southeastern Madhya Pradesh state. Its upper course runs north as an insignificant stream, draining the eastern Chhattisgarh Plain. After receiving the Seonath River, below Baloda Bazar, it turns east and enters Orissa state, its flow augmented by the drainage of hills to the north and south. At Sambalpur the Hirakud Dam on the

Crompton, Rookes Evelyn Bell

2005-03-15T19:52:00.000-08:00

After military service in India, where he had introduced steam-driven road transport, Crompton in 1875 became a partner in an engineering firm at Chelmsford, Essex, and soon broadened its activity to the construction of dynamos and arc

Agri

2005-03-14T13:49:00.000-08:00

Agri is named after Mount Ararat (Turkish: Agri Dagi), situated to the east near the frontier with Iran.

Thoburn, Isabella

2005-03-11T20:55:00.000-08:00

Thoburn attended local schools and the Wheeling Female Seminary in Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia). In 1866, after she had taught for several years, Thoburn was invited by her brother

Ayrshire

2005-03-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

The county has a concave western coastline along the Firth of Clyde

Ayrshire

2005-03-03T03:39:00.000-08:00

The county has a concave western coastline along the Firth of Clyde

Hadron

2005-03-02T14:23:00.000-08:00

In physics, any of the subatomic particles that are built from quarks and thus react through the agency of the strong nuclear force. The hadrons embrace mesons (e.g., pions and kaons), baryons (e.g., protons, neutrons, and sigma particles), and their many resonances. All observed subatomic particles except bosons (e.g., photons, W particles, and Z particles) and leptons (e.g., electrons,

Rove Beetle

2005-03-01T16:42:00.000-08:00

Rove beetles are usually found around decaying animal and vegetable matter, preying on carrion-feeding insects. Most of them are slender and small (usually less than 3 mm, or 1/8 inch); the largest species, such as the devil's coachhorse (Staphylinus olens), are usually no

Mauna Loa

2005-02-28T06:04:00.000-08:00

Volcano, south-central Hawaii Island, Hawaii, U.S., and a part of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (established as Hawaii National Park in 1916). One of the largest single mountain masses in the world, Mauna Loa (meaning �long mountain�) rises to 13,678 feet (4,169 m) above sea level. Its dome is 75 miles (120 km) long and 64 miles (103 km) wide, and its lava flows occupy more than 2,000 square miles (5,120 square km) of the island. Mokuaweoweo,

Sanjo, Go-

2005-02-27T14:39:00.000-08:00

One of the few Japanese rulers of the period not born of a Fujiwara mother, Takahito became emperor in 1068, taking the reign name Go-Sanjo

Flogging

2005-02-26T22:14:00.000-08:00

A beating administered with a whip or rod, usually on the person's back. Flogging was once a common method of punishing criminals and of preserving discipline in the home, school, armed forces, and prisons. In the Mosaic code flogging was a punishment for crime. Slaves in the ancient world were frequently flogged to death when they were sufficiently numerous to be of

Santa Rosa De Cabal

2005-02-25T02:26:00.000-08:00

City, Risaralda department, west central Colombia, on the western slopes of the Andean Cordillera (mountains) Central. It is a commercial and manufacturing centre for the fertile agricultural and pastoral hinterland. Silkworms are raised in the vicinity, and there are silver, gold, and mercury mines nearby. The city is on a highway and railroad linking Pereira, the

Santa Rosa De Cabal

2005-02-24T16:56:00.000-08:00

Keratitis

2005-02-23T00:16:00.000-08:00

Two types of keratitis result from dryness of the cornea. One of these, keratitis sicca, also

Nicaea, Council Of

2005-02-22T16:50:00.000-08:00

(787), the seventh ecumenical council of the Christian church, meeting in Nicaea (now Iznik, Tur.). It attempted to resolve the Iconoclastic Controversy, initiated in 726 when Emperor Leo III issued a decree against the worship of icons. The council declared that icons deserved reverence and veneration but not adoration. Convoked by the patriarch Tarasius, the council was attended

Black And Tan

2005-02-21T00:49:00.000-08:00

Member of a British auxiliary police force employed in Ireland against the republicans from July 1920 to July 1921. Their popular name derived from the name of a variety of hunting dogs, applied to the police because of their attire of khaki coats, black belts, and dark green trousers and caps. When Irish nationalist agitation intensified after World War I, a large proportion

Novaculite

2005-02-20T04:25:00.000-08:00

Very dense, light-coloured, even-textured sedimentary rock, a bedded chert in which microcrystalline silica (silicon dioxide, SiO2) in the form of quartz predominates over silica in the form of chalcedony. Deposits of novaculite exhibit stratification. The name is applied chiefly to formations in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. See also chert and flint.

Talavera De La Reina

2005-02-19T09:26:00.000-08:00

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

Macdonald, John Sandfield

2005-02-17T05:29:00.000-08:00

Macdonald was called to the bar in 1840, and the next year he was elected to the Canadian Parliament for Glengarry, a seat he held for 16 years. He supported constitutional government and in 1849 - 51 served as solicitor general. He held the posts of speaker

Fracture

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

In mineralogy, appearance of a surface broken in directions other than along cleavage planes. There are several kinds of fractures: conchoidal (curved concavities resembling shells - e.g., flint, quartz, glass); even (rough, approximately plane surfaces); uneven (rough and completely irregular surfaces, the commonest fracture type); hackly (sharp edges and jagged points

Degenerate Art

2005-02-15T05:31:00.000-08:00

With Hitler's rise to power in 1933, the systematic suppression of contemporary art quickly spread throughout Germany. Sanctions were created to forbid the

Essex, Arthur Capel, 1st Earl Of, Viscount Malden, Baron Capel Of Hadham

2005-02-14T13:00:00.000-08:00

The son of Arthur Capel, 1st Baron Capel, who was executed by the Parliamentarians in 1649, he was, after the Restoration of Charles II, created Viscount Malden and earl of Essex (April 1661). Although his antagonism to court life, to Roman Catholicism, and to extension of

Alfred

2005-02-13T23:36:00.000-08:00

When he was born, it must have seemed unlikely that Alfred would become king, since he had four older brothers; he said that he never desired royal power. Perhaps

Montesquieu, Charles-louis De Secondat, Baron De La Br�de Et De

2005-02-12T11:48:00.000-08:00

French political philosopher whose major work, The Spirit of Laws, was a major contribution to political theory.

Sardine

2005-02-11T14:27:00.000-08:00

Any of certain food fishes of the herring (q.v.) family, Clupeidae, especially members of the genera Sardina, Sardinops, and Sardinella; the name sardine can also refer to the common herring (Clupea harengus) and to other small herrings or herringlike fishes when canned in oil. The European sardine (Sardina, or Clupea, pilchardus) - known as pilchard in Britain - occurs in the

La Follette, Robert M(arion)

2005-02-10T00:07:00.000-08:00

U.S. leader of the Progressive Movement, who as governor of Wisconsin (1901 - 06) and U.S. senator (1906 - 25) was noted for his support of reform legislation. He was the unsuccessful presidential candidate of the League for Progressive Political Action (i.e., the Progressive party) in 1924, winning almost 5,000,000 votes, or about one-sixth of the total cast.

Dion

2005-02-09T02:49:00.000-08:00

When the younger Dionysius, who was weak and inexperienced, succeeded in 367, Dion assumed control and persuaded Plato, whose friendship he had acquired, to train the new tyrant in the practical application of his philosophical principles. The experiment

Dion

2005-02-08T13:45:00.000-08:00

Shinran

2005-02-07T00:38:00.000-08:00

Original name �Matsuwaka-Maru, �also called �Han'en, Shakku, Zenshin, or Gutoku Shinran, posthumous name Kenshin Daishi � Buddhist philosopher and religious reformer whose concern for the salvation of the masses apart from those endowed with self-enlightenment led him to establish (1224) the Jodo Shinshu (True Pure Land sect), the largest school of Buddhism in modern Japan. His monumental anthology Kyogyoshinsho (1224; �Teaching-Action-Faith-Attainment�) made an original contribution

France, History Of, The Army of the Republic

2005-02-06T00:07:00.000-08:00

The Jacobin dictatorship had been an unstable blend of exalted patriotism, resolute political leadership, ideological fanaticism, and populist initiatives. The rhetoric and symbolism of democracy constituted a new civic pedagogy, matched by bold egalitarian policies. The army was a primary focal point of this democratic impetus. Back in 1790 the National Assembly

San Lucas, Cape

2005-02-05T08:18:00.000-08:00

Spanish �Cabo San Lucas, � extreme southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico. The rocky headland forms the southern extremity of the Sierra de San Lazaro and includes the western shore of San Lucas Bay. The isolated town of San Lucas lies 2 miles (3 km) north of the cape.

Spraying And Dusting

2005-02-04T08:27:00.000-08:00

In agriculture, the standard methods of applying pest-control chemicals and other compounds. In spraying, the chemicals to be applied are dissolved or suspended in water or, less commonly, in an oil-based carrier. The mixture is then applied as a fine mist to plants, animals, soils, or products to be treated. In dusting, as an alternative method, dry, finely powdered chemicals

Waitz, Georg

2005-02-03T13:58:00.000-08:00

German historian who was the founder of a renowned school of medievalists at the University of G�ttingen. As the leading disciple of Leopold von Ranke's critical methods, he is regarded as the ablest of the German constitutional historians; many consider him to be superior to his teacher in exactness of

Waitz, Georg

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

Toradja

2005-01-31T18:38:00.000-08:00

Group of peoples of central Celebes (Sulawesi), Indonesia. They are believed to be descendants of the invading Austronesian-speaking people that overran the island and absorbed or exterminated the aboriginal population. Later they were driven back from the coasts by Muslim Indonesians such as the Buginese. Their warfare and headhunting made it necessary to locate

Hawaii, Flag Of

2005-01-30T16:52:00.000-08:00

In 1793 Captain George Vancouver from Great Britain presented the Union Jack to the conquering king Kamehameha I, who was then uniting the islands into a single state; the Union Jack flew unofficially as the flag of Hawaii until 1816. That year Western advisers to the king recommended the addition of red, white, and blue stripes to the Union Jack, thus creating a distinctive

Ventimiglia

2005-01-29T18:27:00.000-08:00

Town, Imperia provincia, Liguria regione, northwestern Italy. It is situated at the mouth of the Roia River near the French border, just northeast of Nice, France. To the east of the modern town is the ruined Roman town Albium Intemelium, or Albintimilium, with the remains of a theatre. Ventimiglia's town hall houses a collection of Roman antiquities. Ventimiglia was the

Arabia, History Of, The Iran-Iraq War

2005-01-28T20:12:00.000-08:00

A fresh threat to the rich oil states of the gulf arose with the revolution in Iran in 1978 - 79 and with the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War in 1980. Islamic fundamentalism in the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's Iran struck an answering chord with Shi'ites and Iranian workers in the Arabian states, which gave financial support to Iraq. U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his successor in 1981, Ronald

Chicago And North Western Transportation Company

2005-01-27T03:37:00.000-08:00

The railroad was incorporated in 1859 as a successor to the foreclosed Columbus, Hocking Valley and Toledo Railway. Its first president was William Butler Ogden, the first mayor of Chicago. A constituent company that was acquired

Carlini, Armando

2005-01-26T10:13:00.000-08:00

Educated at

Novomoskovsk

2005-01-25T19:20:00.000-08:00

Formerly (until 1934) �Bobriki�, or (1934 - 61) �Stalinogorsk� city, Tula oblast (province), western Russia, situated on the upper Don River. Founded in 1930 as Bobriki, the town developed as a major chemical centre, making fertilizers and plastics and mining lignite (brown coal). Pop. (1993 est.) 145,000.

Aerosmith

2005-01-24T04:25:00.000-08:00

American heavy metal band. One of the biggest arena-rock attractions of the late 1970s, Aerosmith became even more popular with its career revival in the mid-1980s. Principal members were Steven Tyler (byname of Steven Tallarico; b. March 26, 1948, New York, New York, U.S.), Joe Perry (b. September 10, 1950, Boston, Massachusetts), Brad Whitford (b. February 23, 1952, Winchester, Massachusetts), Tom Hamilton (b. December

Abbot

2005-01-23T10:10:00.000-08:00

Late Latin and Greek� Abbas,� the superior of a monastic community that follows the Benedictine Rule (Benedictines, Cistercians, Camaldolese, Trappists) and of certain other orders (Premonstratensians, canons regular of the Lateran). The word derives from the Aramaic ab (�father�), or aba (�my father�), which in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) and in New Testament Greek was written

Essy, Amara

2005-01-22T21:27:00.000-08:00

On July 9, 2002, Amara Essy of C�te d' Ivoire became secretary-general of the newly established 53-country African Union (AU), which replaced the 39-year-old Organization of African Unity (OAU). Essy, a career diplomat, was charged with leading the new body, a difficult task given the continent's ethnic, religious, economic, and political differences and the fact that the AU was granted

Essy, Amara

2005-01-21T13:15:00.000-08:00

Ibn Durayd

2005-01-20T18:31:00.000-08:00

Ibn Durayd traced his descent to an Arab tribe of Oman, and in 871, to avoid the Zanj (black African) slave rebellion, during which Basra was sacked, he moved to Oman. He stayed there more than a decade. After

Hardwicke, Philip Yorke, 1st Earl Of, Viscount Royston

2005-01-18T13:28:00.000-08:00

Called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1715, Hardwicke afterward joined Lincoln's Inn, of which he

Topelius, Zacharias

2005-01-17T02:12:00.000-08:00

Topelius joined the faculty of the University of Helsinki as professor of Finnish history in 1864; he served as university president, 1875 - 78. Though he published five collections of lyrics, he is best known for F

Kunlun Mountains

2005-01-16T21:10:00.000-08:00

Information on the Kunlun Mountains is found in writings on China and Tibet, especially Sven Hedin, Scientific Results of a Journey in Central Asia, 1899 - 1902, 6 vol. and atlas (1904 - 07), a record of the work of Central Asia's renowned explorer and his collaborators; Matthias Kuhle, �The Cold Deserts of High Asia: Tibet and Contiguous Mountains,� GeoJournal, 20(3):319 - 323 (1990); Proceedings of Symposium on Qinghai-Xisang (Tibet) Plateau (1980), surveying the geology and natural history of the high-altitude regions; David H.S. Chang, �The Tibetan Plateau in Relation to the Vegetation of China,� Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 70(3):564 - 570 (1983); Maurizio Gaetani, Guido Gosso, and Ugo Pognante, �A Geological Transect from Kun Lun to Karakorum (Sinkiang, China): The Western Termination of the Tibetan Plateau,� Terra Nova, 2(1):23 - 30 (1990); and Melvyn C. Goldstein and Cynthia M. Beall, Nomads of Western Tibet (1990).

Dieppe

2005-01-15T20:36:00.000-08:00

In the old town many houses date back to the early 18th century. The castle, built in 1435, was damaged in 1944 but has been restored and now

Hull, Isaac

2005-01-14T11:40:00.000-08:00

Already having been master of a ship at age 19, Hull was commissioned a lieutenant aboard

Rayy

2005-01-13T03:45:00.000-08:00

A settlement at the site dates from the 3rd millennium BC. Rayy is featured in the Avesta (the original document of Zoroastrianism, an Iranian religion) as a sacred place, and it is

Asela

2005-01-12T08:31:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Asella, or Assela, � town, south-central Ethiopia. It lies west of Mount Chilalo on a high plateau overlooking Lake Ziway in the Great Rift Valley. The town is an important trading centre for the surrounding livestock and lumbering region. An all-weather road connects it with Nazret to the north. Pop. (1989 est.) 40,175.

Trailing Arbutus

2005-01-11T06:32:00.000-08:00

Also called �Ground Laurel, Winter Pink, or Mayflower� (species Epigaea repens), trailing plant of the heath family (Ericaceae), native to sandy or boggy, acid woodlands of eastern North America. It has oblong, hairy evergreen leaves 2 - 6 cm (0.75 - 2.5 inches) long. The highly fragrant white, pink, or rosy flowers have a five-lobed corolla (the petals, collectively) and grow in dense clusters. Trailing arbutus grows in shady wildflower

Jhalawar

2005-01-10T03:58:00.000-08:00

Town, administrative headquarters of Jhalawar district, Rajasthan state, northwestern India. The town - sometimes called Jhalrapatan, Jhalrapatan Chhaoni (cantonment), or Brijnagar - is a major road junction and agricultural market centre. The old town of Jhalrapatan (Patan) was founded in 1796. The new town, including the palace and cantonment, lies just to the north. Jhalawar, the capital

Raff, Joachim

2005-01-09T20:55:00.000-08:00

Raff became a schoolteacher in 1840 and taught himself the piano, violin, and composition. After early compositional efforts influenced by Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann, he joined ranks with the

Alvensleben-erxleben, Gustav, Graf Von (count Of)

2005-01-08T08:14:00.000-08:00

As a member of the Prussian general staff (1847 - 58), Alvensleben participated in the suppression of the revolution of 1849 in Baden and was named chief of staff for the troops that remained in occupation. In 1854 he

Nizhnekamsk

2005-01-07T05:10:00.000-08:00

City, Tatarstan, western Russia. It lies along the left bank of the Kama River, just southwest of Naberezhnye Chelny. It is an important petrochemical centre. Its synthetic-rubber plant, intended to become one of the world's largest, began operation in 1970. It also has a large tire plant and produces plastics. An oil refinery began operation there in 1979. Pop. (1995 est.) 209,500.

La Grande River

2005-01-06T14:45:00.000-08:00

Formerly �Fort George River, � river in Nord-du-Qu�bec region, north-central Quebec province, Canada. Rising from Nichicun Lake in the Otish Mountains of central Quebec, it descends 1,737 feet (529 m) in its westward journey to James Bay, which forms part of Hudson Bay. For most of the river's course of 555 miles (893 km), its valley is almost uninhabited.

Buysse, Cyriel

2005-01-05T19:13:00.000-08:00

Although Buysse, like the sons of most wealthy Flemings, received a French education, he early devoted himself to writing primarily in Flemish. In 1893 he cofounded and coedited Van nu en straks (1893 - 1901; �Of Now and Later�), an innovative and influential

Muir, Edwin

2005-01-04T19:27:00.000-08:00

His stature as a poet

Belaya River

2005-01-03T03:47:00.000-08:00

River in Bashkortostan republic, west-central Russia. The Belaya is the largest tributary of the Kama River, which is itself an important tributary of the Volga. The Belaya rises in the southern Urals at the foot of Mount Iremel, and after flowing southwestward through a narrow mountain valley, the river turns sharply north and its valley becomes broad and terraced.

Roberts, Isaac

2005-01-02T10:57:00.000-08:00

In 1883 Roberts began experimenting with astronomical photography, taking pictures of stars, the Orion and Andromeda nebulae, and the Pleiades cluster. Although the photographs proved difficult to interpret, they were revealing.

Marsh Fly

2005-01-01T06:42:00.000-08:00

Any of several hundred insect species of the family Sciomyzidae (order Diptera), notable because the larval phase preys parasitically on slugs, snails, and other mollusks. These medium-sized flies occur worldwide; about 500 species are known, each associated with certain types of host, usually found in marshy habitats. Eggs are commonly laid on the host animal. After the

Marquand, J(ohn) P(hillips)

2004-12-31T20:51:00.000-08:00

Marquand grew up in New York City and suburban Rye in comfortable circumstances until his father's business failure, when he was sent to live with relatives in Newburyport. This experience of reduced status and

'abd Ar-rahman I

2004-12-30T21:09:00.000-08:00

When the 'Abbasids overthrew the Umayyad caliphate in 750 and sought to kill as many members of the Umayyad family as possible, 'Abd ar-Rahman fled, eventually reaching Spain. The Iberian Peninsula had for some time been occupied by Muslim Arab forces, and he recognized political opportunity

Abenaki

2004-12-29T14:57:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Abnaki �or �Wabanaki� a confederacy of Algonkian-speaking Indian tribes in northeastern North America, which was organized to furnish resistance and protection against the Iroquois Confederacy, especially the Mohawk, of what is now northern New York state. In its earliest known organization it consisted of tribes east and northeast of present New York: Malecite in present New Brunswick;

Switzerland, Economic expansion

2004-12-28T18:53:00.000-08:00

The unification of the Swiss economy both promoted and was promoted by the rail network that rapidly expanded as soon as the new constitution had been adopted. In 1847 the first railroad had opened between Z�rich and Baden. The railways were built not according to central planning but through competition among private entrepreneurs. The result was an extensive network

Tu Fu

2004-12-27T09:34:00.000-08:00

Born into a scholarly family, Tu Fu received a traditional Confucian education but failed in the imperial examinations of 736. As a result, he spent much of his youth traveling, during which he won renown as a poet and met the other poets of the period,

Tu Fu

2004-12-26T21:33:00.000-08:00

Blood Transfusion

2004-12-25T16:40:00.000-08:00

The transfer of blood into the vein of a human or animal recipient. The blood is either taken directly from a donor or is obtained from a blood bank. Blood transfusions are a therapeutic measure used to restore blood or plasma volume after extensive hemorrhage, burns, or trauma; to increase the number and concentration of red blood cells in persons with anemia in order

San Bernardino

2004-12-24T14:49:00.000-08:00

Central city of the San Bernardino - Riverside - Ontario metropolitan complex, seat (1853) of San Bernardino County, southern California, U.S., at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains. The site, which was named by Spanish missionaries for St. Bernardino of Siena, was sold to Mormons who laid out a town in 1852. It developed as a trade centre chiefly for the surrounding citrus groves

Eurypterid

2004-12-23T15:16:00.000-08:00

Frequently referred to as giant scorpions, most eurypterids were small animals, although Pterygotus

Earth, The magnetotail current

2004-12-21T16:31:00.000-08:00

Radially outward near local midnight rather than at local noon, there is an entirely different current system. Beginning at approximately 10 Re and extending well beyond 200 Re is the tail current system. This current is from dawn to dusk in the same direction as the ring current on the nightside of the Earth. In fact, it is produced by the same mechanism except that, in this

Vacuum Technology

2004-12-20T07:02:00.000-08:00

Capacities >are available from 1/2 to 1,000 cubic feet per minute, operating from atmospheric pressure down to as low as 2 � 10-2 torr for single-stage pumps and less than 5 � 10-3 torr for two-stage pumps. The pumps develop their full speed from atmosphere to about one torr, the speed then decreasing to zero at their ultimate pressures. One device of this type, useful for pumping both liquids

Arabian Desert

2004-12-19T09:06:00.000-08:00

Descriptive surveys of the Arabian Desert include Wilfred Thesiger, Arabian Sands (1959, reprinted 1991), a modern classic; Colbert C. Held, Middle East Patterns: Places, Peoples, and Politics, 2nd ed. (1994), with a general geography of Southwest Asia; and accounts of important travels in the region, such as Charles M. Doughty, Travels in Arabia Deserta, new and definitive ed., 2 vol. in 1 (1936, reprinted in 2 vol. 1979); T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom (1935, reissued 1991); and H.St.J.B. Philby, The Empty Quarter: Being a Description of the Great South Desert of Arabia Known as Rub' al Khali (1933, reprinted 1986), and Arabian Highlands (1952, reprinted 1976). Two valuable works on the flora and fauna are Betty A. Lipscombe Vincett, Wild Flowers of Central Saudi Arabia (1977); and Abdul Mon'im S. Talhouk et al., The Wildlife of Arabia (1981). A.R. Al-Ansary, Qaryat al-Fau: A Portrait of Pre-Islamic Civilisation in Saudi Arabia (1982), discusses early patterns of settlement in the desert. Norman Anderson et al., The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 9th ed. (1993), contains a number of useful studies. H.R.P. Dickson, The Arab of the Desert, 3rd ed., rev. and abridged, ed. by Robert Wilson and Zahra Freeth (1983), discusses Bedouin culture and custom prior to 1940. The impact of modernization on the peoples of the desert areas is addressed by Donald Powell Cole, Nomads of the Nomads: The Al Murrah Bedouin of the Empty Quarter (1975); Motoko Katakura, Bedouin Village: A Study of a Saudi Arabian People in Transition (1977); and Soraya Altorki and Donald P. Cole, Arabian Oasis City: The Transformation of 'Unayzah (1989). Useful sources on the geological evolution of Arabia include Ian Davison et al., �Geological Evolution of the Southeastern Red Sea Rift Margin, Republic of Yemen,� Geological Society of America Bulletin, 106:1474 - 1493 (November 1994); and Martin J. Whitehouse et al., �Crustal Evolution and Terrane Correlation in the Eastern Arabian Shield, Yemen: Geochronological Constraints,� Journal of the Geological Society, London, 155:281 - 295, (1998).

G�ngora Y Argote, Luis De

2004-12-18T17:05:00.000-08:00

The son of a judge, G�ngora profited from his father's fine library and from relatives

Korngold, Erich Wolfgang

2004-12-17T03:23:00.000-08:00

A child prodigy, at age 11 Korngold composed the ballet Der Schneemann (�The Snowman�), which caused a sensation at its first performance in Vienna (1910). He was still a teenager when his operas Der Ring des Polykrates and

Colour Index

2004-12-16T02:32:00.000-08:00

In astronomy, the difference between two measurements of the magnitude (brightness on a logarithmic scale) of a star made at different wavelengths, the value found at the longer wavelength being subtracted from that found at the shorter. Usually the two wavelengths are the blue, measured from ordinary photographic plates that are most sensitive to blue light, and

Cape Verde

2004-12-15T22:44:00.000-08:00

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund structural-adjustment programs had profound implications for national politics in Cape Verde in 2000. Designed to help attract foreign investment, the government's privatization program - especially the privatization of the state petroleum company Enacol - was strongly criticized by the main opposition party, the

Alapa

2004-12-14T21:17:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit: �conversation�), in the art music of India and Pakistan, improvised melody structured to reveal a raga and occurring principally in the introductory section of a performance. There the alapa is performed without rhythmic accompaniment and is free and rhapsodic in character. With only a drone (sustained-tone) accompaniment, the performer of the alapa gradually

Alapa

2004-12-13T01:42:00.000-08:00

Bhave, Vinoba

2004-12-12T15:53:00.000-08:00

Born of a high-caste Brahman family, he abandoned his high-school studies in 1916 to join Gandhi's ashram (ascetic community). Gandhi's teachings led Bhave to a life of austerity, dedicated

Proconsul

2004-12-11T01:19:00.000-08:00

Latin �Pro Consule, or Proconsul, � in the ancient Roman Republic, a consul whose powers had been extended for a definite period after his regular term of one year. From the mid-4th century BC the Romans recognized the necessity, during lengthy wars, of extending the terms of certain magistrates; such extension was termed prorogatio. Initially prorogation was voted by the people, but soon the Senate assumed

Berceo, Gonzalo De

2004-12-10T23:39:00.000-08:00

Berceo's subjects were religious