Romance

The Old French word romanz

Cambium

Plural �Cambiums, or Cambia, � in plants, layer of actively dividing cells between xylem (wood) and phloem (bast) tissues that is responsible for the secondary growth of stems and roots (secondary growth occurs after the first season and results in increase in thickness). Theoretically, the cambium is a single layer of cells, called initial cells; practically, it is difficult to distinguish the initials

Mitral Stenosis

Narrowing of the mitral valve, the function of which is to permit blood to flow from the atrium, or upper chamber, to the ventricle, or lower chamber, of the left side of the heart and to prevent its backflow. Narrowing of the mitral valve is usually a result of rheumatic fever; rarely, the narrowed valve is a congenital defect. The condition, most common in women under 45, is diagnosed

Argentina, Dominance of Buenos Aires

By then, military leaders had assumed power in almost every province. Each provincial political regime soon acquired its own character, according to the relative power held by military strongmen (caudillos) and by local political interests. This differentiation was not, however, cause for friction between the provinces; rather, economic and geographic factors

Vulvitis

Inflammation and infection of the vulva - the external genitalia of the female. The external organs of the vulva include the labia majora and minora (folds of skin), the clitoris, and the vestibular glands. The basic symptoms of vulvitis are superficial red, swollen, and moisture-laden lesions on the skin of the vulva. Itching sensations are a particularly prominent

Novokuybyshevsk

Also spelled �Novokujby

Butler, Benjamin F(ranklin)

A prominent attorney at Lowell, Mass., Butler served two terms in the state legislature (1853, 1859), where he distinguished himself by vigorously supporting the cause of labour and of naturalized citizens. Though he

Cabedelo

City, eastern Para�ba estado (�state�), northeastern Brazil. Built on the site of the 17th-century fortress of Santa Rita, Cabedelo lies on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Para�ba River and serves as the port for Jo�o Pessoa, the state capital, approximately 12 miles (20 km) by rail and highway to the southeast. Cotton, agave fibres, sugar, and various minerals are handled at the

Chemical Compound, Aldehydes

There are two general ways of naming aldehydes. One method is based on the IUPAC system. (See Hydrocarbons: Aliphatic hydrocarbons: Alkanes: Nomenclature for a discussion of the origin and basics of the IUPAC system of nomenclature.) In this system, the suffix -al is used to indicate that the compound is an aldehyde, and the carbonyl carbon, which must be at one end of the

Venice Majolica

Majolica also spelled �Maiolica, � tin-glazed earthenware made at Venice that reached its stylistic zenith in the 16th century. The workshops of Maestro Ludovico (fl. 1540 - 45), Domenigo da Venezia (fl. 1550 - 60), and Jacomo da Pesaro (fl. 1543) produced outstanding ware of this type. Venetian potters excelled in painting arrangements of decorative trophies, globes, musical instruments, and other apparatus, executed in a brilliant

Isidore Of Sevilla, Saint

Also spelled �Saint Isidore of Seville�, Latin �Isidorus Hispalensis� theologian, last of the Western Latin Fathers, archbishop, and encyclopaedist, whose Etymologies, an encyclopaedia of human and divine subjects, was one of the chief landmarks in glossography (the compilation of glossaries) and was for many centuries one of the most important reference

Vaigai River

River in Tamil Nadu state, southern India, flowing 150 miles (240 km) generally southeast. Rising in the Varushanad Hills of western Tamil Nadu, it initially flows northeast through the Kambam and Varushanad valleys. In its central reaches the Vaigai flows eastward into the Vaigai reservoir at Narasingapuram. Near Sholavandan it bends to the southeast, passing Madurai town on

Marc, Franz

Marc's early works were done in a self-consciously academic style, but in 1903 his stolid naturalism was lightened by his exposure to French Impressionist painting and later to

Differential Equation

Mathematical statement containing one or more derivatives, that is, terms representing the relationships between the rates of change of continuously varying quantities. Differential equations are very common in science and engineering, other fields of quantitative study. The solution of a differential equation is, in general, an algebraic equation expressing

Radio

Transmission and detection of communication signals consisting of electromagnetic waves that travel through the air in a straight line or by reflection from the ionosphere or from a communications satellite.

Yamoussoukro

Town and capital (de jure; administrative), south-central C�te d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), located about 170 miles (274 km) northwest of the national capital, Abidjan. For more than three decades after C�te d'Ivoire achieved independence in 1960, Yamoussoukro served as the country's �second capital� because it was the birthplace, home, and unofficial headquarters of President F�lix

Switzerland

Seton, Saint Elizabeth Ann

Elizabeth Bayley was the daughter of a distinguished physician. She devoted a good deal of time to working among the poor, and in 1797 she joined Isabella

Chad, Saint

With his brother St. Cedd, he was educated at the great abbey of Lindisfarne on Holy Island (off the coast of Northumbria) under its founder, Abbot St. Aidan, and later apparently studied

Hara Takashi

Hara was the son of a high-ranking samurai family of northern Japan. After graduating from Tokyo University he became a journalist. In 1882 he entered the foreign service, upon which he rose rapidly

Teal

Any of about 15 small ducks of the genus Anas (family Anatidae), found on the six major continents and many islands. Within the divisions of true duck species, the teal belong in the dabbling duck (q.v.) group. Many of the teal are popular as game birds, the best known being the Holarctic green-winged teal (A. crecca), a bird about 33 - 38 centimetres (13 - 15 inches) in length, usually found in dense

Antarctica, Structural framework

Most of the Antarctic geologic record lies hidden beneath the vast regions of snow and ice that make up more than 95 percent of the continent's surface terrain. No one knows what important segments of the record lie concealed in buried ranges such as the Gamburtsev Mountains, the topography of which has been mapped only by seismic reflections through the great East

Diffraction Grating

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

Jibril

Muhammad himself could not at first identify the spirit that possessed him, and the Qur'an mentions him by name only three times. Jibril, however, became Muhammad's constant helper.

Jack The Ripper

All but one of Jack the Ripper's victims were killed while soliciting customers on the street. In each instance the victim's throat was cut, and the body was usually

Abbott, Berenice

Hank O'Neal, Berenice Abbott: American Photographer (1982); Bonnie Yochelson, Berenice Abbott: Changing New York (1997).

Athanasius, Saint

Athanasius' two-part work of apologetics, Against the Heathen and The Incarnation of the Word of God, completed about 335, was the first great classic of developed Greek Orthodox theology. In Athanasius' system, the Son of God, the eternal Word through whom God made the world, entered the world in human form to lead men back to the harmony from which they had fallen away. Athanasius

Fence

Barrier erected to confine or exclude people or animals, to define boundaries, or to decorate. Timber, earth, stone, and metal are widely used for fencing. Fences of living plants have been made in many places, such as the hedges of Great Britain and continental Europe and the cactus fences of Latin America. In well-timbered country, such as colonial and 19th-century North

Tarim River

Wade-Giles romanization �T'a-li-mu Ho, �Pinyin �Tarim He,� chief river of the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, extreme northwestern China. It lies immediately north of the Plateau of Tibet. The river gives its name to the great basin between the Tien Shan and Kunlun mountain systems of Central Asia. It flows for most of its length through the Takla Makan Desert. The word tarim is used to designate the bank of a river that