Schenectady
City, seat (1809) of Schenectady county, east-central New York, U.S., on the Mohawk River and New York State Canal System. With Albany and Troy, it forms an urban-industrial complex. Founded as a Dutch settlement in 1662, it took its name from the nearby Mohawk village of Schaunactada, probably meaning �over,� or �across the pine plains.� In 1690 the village was virtually destroyed in the Schenectady
Ju�zeiro Do Norte
Ju�zeiro do Norte was given city status in 1914. Its economy depends primarily on sugar milling and cotton processing. Cereal grains
Indes Orientales, Compagnie Fran�aise Des
(French: �French Company of the East Indies�), one of the companies known as the French East India Company (q.v.).
Nadelman, Elie
Lincoln Kirstin, The Sculpture of Elie Nadelman (1948), and Elie Nadelman (1973); John I.H. Baur, The Sculpture and Drawings of Elie Nadelman (1975).
Acari
Also called �Acarida, �or �Acarina, � subclass of the arthropod class Arachnida that includes the mites and ticks. The acarids may be separated into three orders, Opilioacariformes, Parasitiformes, and Acariformes, consisting of six suborders and about 428 families.
Coast Mountains
Segment of the Pacific mountain system (q.v.) of western North America. The range extends southeastward through western British Columbia, Can., for about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from just north of the border with Yukon Territory, Can., along the border of the panhandle of Alaska, U.S., to the Fraser River. Many peaks exceed 11,000 feet (3,400 m), including Monarch Mountain and Mounts Munday, Tiedemann, and
Gaiseric
Gaiseric succeeded his brother Gunderic at a time when the Vandals were settled in Baetica (modern Andalusia, Spain). In May 428 Gaiseric transported all his people, purported by him to number 80,000, to Africa. Evidently he was invited to Africa by the governor,
Toomer, Jean
After attending the University of Wisconsin and the City College of New York, Toomer taught briefly in the Sparta, Ga., public schools and then turned to lecturing and writing. Cane (1923; reprinted 1967) is an experimental novel which celebrates the Negro through the symbol of the title. It is considered his best work. Toomer
Celesta
Also spelled �celeste, � orchestral percussion instrument resembling a small upright piano, patented by a Parisian, Auguste Mustel, in 1886. It consists of a series of small metal bars (and hence is a metallophone) with a keyboard and a simplified piano action in which small felt hammers strike the bars. Each bar is resonated by a wooden box or similar chamber tuned to reinforce the fundamental
Radical-socialist Party
The first French �radical� party was
Bushbuck
Also called �Harnessed Antelope� (Tragelaphus scriptus), African antelope of the family Bovidae (order Artiodactyla), found in sub-Saharan forests and brush. It is nocturnal, shy, and usually solitary. The bushbuck stands about 1 m (39 inches) at the shoulder and ranges in colour from reddish brown to almost black, depending on the subspecies. Its markings vary but include white patches
Oscan Language
One of the Italic languages closely related to Umbrian and Volscian and more distantly related to Latin and Faliscan. Spoken in southern and central Italy, it was probably the native tongue of the Samnite people of the central mountainous region of southern Italy. Oscan was gradually displaced by Latin and apparently became completely extinct by the end of the
Sogn Fjord
Fjord, Sogn og Fjordane fylke (county), western Norway. It is the longest and deepest fjord in Norway, and its mouth is located 45 miles (72 km) north of Bergen. Its length, from Solund on the offshore island of Sula in the North Sea to Skjolden, at the head of its longest branch, Lustra Fjord, is 127 miles (204 km). The fjord's maximum depth is 4,291 feet (1,308 m), and its main axis is east-west. Its narrow, deep tributary
Cabaret
Restaurant that serves liquor and offers a variety of musical entertainment. The cabaret probably originated in France in the 1880s as a small club in which the audience was grouped around a platform. The entertainment at first consisted of a series of amateur acts linked together by a master of ceremonies; its coarse humour was usually directed against the conventions
Cabaret
Restaurant that serves liquor and offers a variety of musical entertainment. The cabaret probably originated in France in the 1880s as a small club in which the audience was grouped around a platform. The entertainment at first consisted of a series of amateur acts linked together by a master of ceremonies; its coarse humour was usually directed against the conventions
Ear, Human, Nerves
The seventh cranial nerve, called the facial nerve, passes by a somewhat circuitous route through the facial canal in the petrous portion of the temporal bone on its way from the brain stem to the muscles of expression of the face. A small but important branch, the chorda tympani nerve, emerges from the canal into the middle ear cavity and runs forward along the inner
Melitopol
Also spelled �Melitopol� ', city, Zaporozhye oblast (province), Ukraine, on the Molochnaya River. The settlement of Novo-Aleksandrovka grew up in the late 18th century, and in 1841 it became the city of Melitopol. The centre of a fruit-growing area, modern Melitopol has engineering plants and light industries. Pop. (1993 est.) 178,000.
Fabry's Disease
Also called �Angiokeratoma Corporis Diffusum, � sex-linked hereditary disease in which a deficiency in the enzyme alpha-galactosidase A results in abnormal deposits of a glycosphingolipid (ceramide trihexoside) in the blood vessels. These deposits in turn produce heart and kidney disturbances resulting in a marked reduction in life expectancy. Distinctive clusters of dark red granules in the skin on the
Grand Teton National Park
Spectacular glaciated mountain region in northwestern Wyoming, U.S. It lies just south of Yellowstone National Park (to which it is connected by the John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway) and north of the city of Jackson; the National Elk Refuge adjoins the park's far southeastern boundary. In 1950 most of Jackson Hole National Monument (established 1943) was incorporated
Dammam, Al-
Also spelled �Damman� city, eastern Saudi Arabia. It lies on the Persian Gulf northwest of Bahrain Island and forms a larger metropolitan and industrial complex with Al-Khubar, Al-Qatif, and Al-Zahran. The discovery of immense oil reserves in the locality in 1938 led to the radical transformation of the once small coastal settlement into a boomtown that is now a major seaport, a petroleum and natural
Scandinavian Literature, Emergence of Realism and Poetic Realism
Realism made only slow headway in spite of the example of the Finno-Swedish poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg (see below). Literature of the 1840s and 1850s was mainly an aftermath of Romanticism. A movement known as Scandinavism produced a good deal of verse: Carl Vilhelm August Strandberg (pseudonym �Talis Qualis�), fieriest poet of this type, later made excellent translations from
Gnetophyte
Any member of the division Gnetophyta, a small group of vascular gymnospermous plants that are represented by three genera: Ephedra, Gnetum, and Welwitschia. There are about 35 species in the genus Ephedra, 30 or more in Gnetum, but only one in Welwitschia. The three genera exhibit their great diversity in the immense variety of form and size among the various species.
Shih Wang
The first king receives the dead and determines whether or not they
Ta-hs�eh Mountains
Wade - Giles romanization �Ta-hs�eh Shan, �Pinyin �Daxue Shan, �also called �Szechwanese Alps, or Sino-tibetan Chain, � great mountain range in the west of Szechwan province, China. These enormously high and rugged mountain chains were formed around the eastern flank of the ancient stable block of the Tibetan Plateau; their formation occurred during successive foldings that took place in the final phase of the Jurassic mountain-building process, as well as during the Cretaceous
Spurgeon, C.h.
Reared a Congregationalist, Spurgeon became a Baptist in 1850 and, the same year, at 16, preached his first sermon. In 1852 he became minister at Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire,
Scylla And Charybdis
In Greek mythology, two immortal and irresistible monsters who beset the narrow waters traversed by the hero Odysseus in his wanderings (later localized in the Strait of Messina). Scylla was a supernatural creature, with 12 feet and 6 heads on long, snaky necks, each head having a triple row of sharklike teeth, while her loins were girt with the heads of baying dogs. From her
Joule, James Prescott
Joule studied with the
West Frisian Islands
Dutch �West Friese Eilanden, � part of the chain of Frisian Islands (q.v.), which lie in the North Sea just off the coast of northwestern Europe. They belong to The Netherlands.
Argentina, The radical regime, 1916 - 30
The Radical front was a coalition of heterogeneous social groups, whose competing interests slowed the passage of reforms, despite urgent calls for economic and social change. Not surprisingly, Irigoyen preferred to concentrate on the political ills he had inherited from the conservative regime. The most urgent measure involved political patronage, which
Alexis
Alexis came from Thurii but apparently lived most of his long life in Athens; he was said to have been Menander's uncle. According to Plutarch, he lived to the age of 106 and died on the stage while being crowned. Alexis is
Jason
In Greek mythology, leader of the Argonauts (see photograph) and son of Aeson, king of Iolcos in Thessaly. His father's half-brother Pelias seized Iolcos, and thus for safety Jason was sent away to the Centaur Chiron. Returning as a young man, Jason was promised his inheritance if he fetched the Golden Fleece for Pelias, a seemingly impossible task. After many adventures
Alexis
Alexis came from Thurii but apparently lived most of his long life in Athens; he was said to have been Menander's uncle. According to Plutarch, he lived to the age of 106 and died on the stage while being crowned. Alexis is
Biblical Literature, Moral interpretation
Moral interpretation is necessitated by the belief that the Bible is the rule not only of faith but also of conduct. The Jewish teachers of the late pre-Christian and early Christian Era, who found �in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth� (Rom. 2:20), were faced with the necessity of adapting the requirements of the Pentateuchal codes to the changed social conditions
Epictetus
Epictetus is most frequently mentioned in connection with a series of medallions on plates in the British Museum in London and the Cabinet des M�dailles in Paris. The medallion paintings
Alliance
City, Stark county, northeastern Ohio, U.S., on the Mahoning River, 21 mi (34 km) northeast of Canton. In 1854 the villages of Williamsport, Freedom, and Liberty were incorporated as the village of Alliance, so named for the junction and crossing there of the former New York Central and Pennsylvania railroads. The village of Mount Union (settled in 1833) became a part of Alliance in 1854. Now highly
Argentina, Press and broadcasting
The mass media in Argentina are well advanced among Latin American nations. In Buenos Aires the largest newspapers are published, and many have electronic editions on the Internet. The largest daily circulation is claimed by Clar�n; two other large-circulation dailies, La naci�n and La prensa, founded in 1870 and 1869, respectively, have high reputations in the Spanish-speaking
Peter Damian, Saint
Educated at Ravenna, Faenza, and Parma, he abandoned his teaching career (1035) to enter the hermitage of Fonte Avellana in the Apennines, where he was chosen prior in 1043. Peter's zeal for reform, particularly his advocacy of
Babylonian Calendar
Chronological system used in ancient Mesopotamia, based on a year of 12 synodic months; i.e., 12 complete cycles of phases of the Moon. This lunar year of about 354 days was more or less reconciled with the solar year, or year of the seasons, by the occasional intercalation of an extra month. From about 380 BC the beginning of the first month of the year, Nisanu, was maintained near the onset
Babylonian Calendar
Spanish� Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo� international organization founded in 1959 by 20 governments in North and South America to finance economic and social development in the Western Hemisphere. The largest charter subscribers were Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, and the United States. Subscribers now include nearly 30 countries in North and South America and more than 15 countries in Europe, as well
Earth Sciences, Cloud physics
Studies of cloud physics have shown that the nuclei around which water condenses vary widely in their degree of concentration and areal distribution, ranging from six per cubic centimetre over the oceans to more than 4,000,000 per cubic centimetre in the polluted air of some cities. The droplets that condense on these foreign particles may be as small as 0.001 centimetre in diameter.
India, House Of
Also called �House Of Guinea, House Of Guinea And Mina, or House Of Mina, �Portuguese �Casa Da India, Casa Da Guin�, Casa De Guin� E Mina, or Casa Da Mina, � 15th-century Portuguese establishment that managed the trade in products from overseas colonies. It was called House of Guinea because it began by processing products from Guinea. Originally housed in a warehouse at Lagos in southern Portugal, it was reestablished in Lisbon with the death of Prince Henry the Navigator (1460). As trade from S�o Jorge da Mina (now Elmina, Ghana)
Don Juan
Fictitious character who is a symbol of libertinism. Originating in popular legend, he was first given literary personality in the tragic drama El burlador de Sevilla (1630; �The Seducer of Seville,� translated in The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest), attributed to the Spanish dramatist Tirso de Molina. Through Tirso's tragedy, Don Juan became a universal character,
Luther V. Borden
In the spring of 1842, Rhode Island had two governors and two legislatures. One government was committed to retaining the old colonial charter, which severely limited voting rights, as the state's constitution. The other government, led by Thomas W. Dorr and providing for white
Livestock Farming
Probably first domesticated in the East, perhaps during prehistoric times, the goat has long been used as a source of milk, cheese, mohair, and meat. Its skin has been valued as a source for leather. In China, Great Britain, Europe, and North America, the goat is primarily a milk producer. By good management its limited (six months per year) breeding season and the consequent
Router
Portable electric power tool used in carpentry and furniture making that consists of an electric motor, a base, two handle knobs, and bits (cutting tools). The motor has a chuck for holding the bits by their straight shanks on one end of its shaft and fits upright (chuck down) in the base. The motor can be raised or lowered relative to the base to adjust the depth of cut made
Aqhat Epic
Ancient West Semitic legend probably concerned with the cause of the annual summer drought in the eastern Mediterranean. The epic records that Danel, a sage and king of the Haranamites, had no son until the god El, in response to Danel's many prayers and offerings, finally granted him a child, whom Danel named Aqhat. Some time later Danel offered hospitality to the divine
Ghazali, Al-
Al-Ghazali was born at Tus (near Meshed in eastern Iran) and was educated there, then in Jorjan, and finally at Nishapur (Neyshabur), where his teacher was al-Juwayni, who earned the title of imam al-haramayn (the imam
France, History Of, The Enlightenment
The industrial and commercial developments, already significant by themselves, were the cause, and perhaps also the effect, of a wider and still more momentous change preceding the Revolution - the Enlightenment. Today the Enlightenment can be understood as the conscious formulation of a profound cultural transformation. Epistemologically, the French Enlightenment
Joule
Unit of work or energy in the International System of Units (SI); it is equal to the work done by a force of one newton acting through one metre. Named in honour of the English physicist James Prescott Joule, it equals 107 ergs, or approximately 0.7377 foot-pounds. In electrical terms, the joule equals one watt-second - i.e., the energy released in one second by a current of one ampere through
Camaldolese
Member of �Congregation of Monk Hermits of Camaldoli� an independent offshoot of the Benedictine order, founded about 1012 at Camaldoli near Arezzo, Italy, by St. Romuald as part of the monastic-reform movement of the 11th and 12th centuries. The order combined the solitary life of the hermit with an austere form of the common life of the monk. The monastery and the hermitage formed one unit. Beginners resided in the monastery; the
Agrippa
Agrippa's five arguments held that (1) there is a clash of opinions, both in daily life and in the debates of philosophers; (2) nothing is self-evident, because that
Higgs Particle
The Higgs field is different from other fundamental fields, such
Mammal, Food habits
The earliest mammals, like their reptilian forebears, were active predators. From such a basal stock there has been a complex radiation of trophic adaptations. Modern mammals occupy a wide spectrum of feeding niches. In most terrestrial and some aquatic communities, carnivorous mammals are at the top of the food pyramid. There are also herbaceous mammals that serve
Animation
The art of making inanimate objects appear to move. Animation is an artistic impulse that long predates the movies. History's first recorded animator is Pygmalion of Greek and Roman mythology, a sculptor who created a figure of a woman so perfect that he fell in love with her and begged Venus to bring her to life. Some of the same sense of magic, mystery, and transgression
Van Lerberghe, Charles
A fellow student of Maurice Maeterlinck and encouraged by the Belgian Symbolist Georges
Kija
Legendary Korean king of Chinese origin whose arrival in Korea with 5,000 rice- and barley-bearing refugees reputedly introduced Chinese civilization (and these new grains) to the Korean people. The band allegedly had fled China in 1111 BC, refusing to serve the new Chou-dynasty ruler who had overthrown Kija's Shang-dynasty relatives. Historical evidence confirms early Chinese
