Kamenev, Lev Borisovich

Born to middle-class parents who themselves had been involved in the Russian

Arts, Islamic, Early Islamic literature

With the coming of Islam the attitude of the Arabs toward poetry seems to have changed. The new Muslims, despite their long-standing admiration for powerful language, often shunned poetry as reminiscent of pagan ideals now overthrown. For the Qur'an, in surah 26:225 ff., condemned the poets �who err in every valley, and say what they do not do. Only the perverse follow them!� The Qur'an,

Cap-de-la-madeleine

Named after an abbot of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine-de-Ch�teaudun, France, the city was first settled in the 17th century but developed only after

Maharashtra, Health

There are several medical colleges, the most notable being in Bombay, Nagpur, and Pune. There are dental colleges in Bombay and Nagpur. Traditional medicine is taught at Ayurvedic colleges in Bombay and Nagpur. Most district hospitals maintain nursing schools. Regional blood banks exist in Bombay, Pune, Aurangabad, and Nagpur, and emergency centres are found in all districts.

Visual-field Defect

A blind spot (scotoma) or blind area within the normal bounds of vision. In most cases the blind spots or areas are persistent, but in some instances they may be temporary and shifting, as in the scotomata of migraine headache. Narrowing of the fields of vision may be due to syphilitic inflammation of the optic nerves or to glaucoma. In this type of defect the field of vision

Andaman Sea

Sea, part of the northeastern Indian Ocean, with an area of 308,000 square miles (798,000 square km). Through such ports as Bassein, Moulmein, Tavoy, and Mergui - as well as Yang�n (Rangoon) itself - it forms the most important sea link between Myanmar (Burma) and other nations; it also forms part of a shipping route between India and China, via the Strait of Malacca. The Andaman Sea is bounded to

Jackson, William Henry

As a child in Troy, New York, Jackson painted landscapes on screens and did retouching for a photographic studio. After serving in the Civil War he went west in 1867 and opened a studio in Omaha, Nebraska. During this period

Refractory

Material not deformed or damaged by high temperatures, used to make crucibles, incinerators, insulation, and furnaces, particularly metallurgical furnaces. Refractories are produced in several forms: molded bricks of various shapes (see firebrick); bulk granular materials; plastic mixtures consisting of moistened aggregate that are rammed into place; castables

Fran�aix, Jean

The son of the director of the Le Mans Conservatory, Fran�aix began to compose very early, publishing a piano composition at age nine. He later studied at the Paris Conservatory and became a pupil

Vratsa

Also spelled �Vratca�>, or �Vraca� town, northwestern Bulgaria. It is situated in the northern foothills of the western Balkan Mountains at the point where the Leva River emerges from its picturesque Vratsata gorge. The town was moved to its present position in the early 15th century after the Turks had destroyed a previously standing Bulgarian fortress. Under the Turks, Vratsa was a prosperous trading

Zahn, Ernst

Zahn was at first president of the Diet of the canton of Uri and then manager of a railway

Muris, Jean De

French philosopher and mathematician who was a leading proponent of the new musical style of the 14th century. In his treatise Ars novae musicae (1319; �The Art of the New Music�) he enthusiastically supported the great changes in musical style and notation occurring in the 14th century and associated with the composer and theorist Philippe de Vitry, whose

Tokyo-yokohama Metropolitan Area, Transportation

The emergence of modern Tokyo came at the beginning of the transportation revolution of the late 19th century. The first railroad in Japan was put through from Tokyo to Yokohama in 1872. The city continues to be the most important transportation centre in the country. The busiest rail stations are those accommodating commuters to the western suburbs, but the traveler

Valencia

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

Natchitoches

City, seat (1807) of Natchitoches parish, west-central Louisiana, U.S., on Cane River Lake, 68 miles (109 km) southeast of Shreveport. The oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase territory, it was founded about 1714 as Fort St. Jean Baptiste by the French-Canadian explorer and soldier Louis Juchereau de Saint-Denis to forestall Spanish occupation of the area and to set up a

Nadig, Marie-th�r�se

At 17, Nadig had never won a World Cup race and was not considered a threat to the favoured Pr�ll. When Nadig finished the downhill course with a time of 1 min 36.68 sec,

Augustus, Caesar

Augustus was one of the great administrative geniuses of history. The gigantic work of reorganization that he carried out in every field of Roman life and throughout the entire empire not only transformed the decaying republic into a new, monarchic regime with many centuries of life ahead of it but also created a durable Roman peace, based on easy communications

Aide-de-camp

(French: �camp assistant�), an officer on the personal staff of a general, admiral, or other high-ranking commander who acts as his confidential secretary in routine matters. On Napoleon's staff such officers were frequently of high military qualifications and acted both as his �eyes� and as interpreters of his mind to subordinate commanders, even on occasion exercising

Fabritius, Barent

He was the son of a schoolmaster and at first became a carpenter, whence his Latinized name Fabritius (from Latin faber, �carpenter�). His early works, dating from the 1650s, are based on Rembrandt's style of the 1640s, with deepened use of colour and of light and shade. He

Feline Respiratory Disease

A complex of viral contagions of cats (including rhinotracheitis, pneumonitis, and influenza), marked by fever, sneezing, and running eyes and nose. Rhinotracheitis and pneumonitis are the most common and have identical symptoms. Mortality is low, but recovery from severe cases may be difficult and prolonged, with relapses. A vaccine is available against pneumonitis.

Epistemology, Contemporary philosophy

Contemporary philosophy begins in the late 19th and early 20th century. Much of what sets contemporary philosophy off from modern philosophy is its explicit criticism of the modern tradition and sometimes its apparent indifference to it. There are two basic strains of contemporary philosophy: Continental philosophy, which designates the philosophical style

Locust

Species of short-horned grasshopper (orthopteran family Acrididae) that often increases greatly in number and migrates long distances in destructive swarms. In Europe the word locust connotes large size; smaller acridids are called grasshoppers. In North America the names locust and grasshopper are used for any acridid. A cicada (order Homoptera) also may be called

Locust

Originally based in the Shankill Road area of Belfast, the UDA was responsible for political murders of Roman Catholics and prominent Republicans, though it claimed responsibility for most killings

Healing Cult

Religious group or movement that places major, or even exclusive, emphasis on the treatment or prevention by nonmedical means of physical or spiritual ailments, which are often seen as manifestations of evil. Such cults generally fall into one of three types: those centred on certain shrines or holy places, those centred on certain organizations, and those centred

Hyphochytridiomycetes

A class of mostly marine fungi (division Mycota) containing 15 species. The class is distinguished by the asexual production of motile cells (zoospores) with a single, anterior, feathery, whiplike structure (flagellum). Sexual reproduction has not been found among these fungi.

Spandau

District of Berlin, Germany, on the Havel River at the mouth of the Spree. Originally the site of a Sorbian (Wendish) fortress, Spandau became German c. 1230 and was granted civic rights in 1232. It was incorporated into Berlin in 1920. The citadel (1560 - 94, including the 12th-century Julius Tower) is one of the oldest well-preserved Italian-style Renaissance fortifications in northern Germany,

Romans-sur-is�re

Town, Dr�me d�partement, Rh�ne-Alpes region, southeastern France. It lies along the north bank of the Is�re River, northeast of Valence. Founded in the 9th century, Romans-sur-Is�re was the scene of the transfer of Dauphin� to France by the dauphin Humbert II (1349) and of the last meeting of the Estates of Dauphin� (December 1788), on the eve of the French Revolution. Its 12th-century Romanesque

Romans-sur-is�re

Its functions include making multilateral

Cambrian Period

Earliest time division of the Paleozoic Era, extending from about 540 to 505 million years ago. The Cambrian Period is often divided into the Early Cambrian Epoch (540 to 520 million years ago), the Middle Cambrian Epoch (520 to 512 million years ago), and the Late Cambrian Epoch (512 to 505 million years ago). Rocks formed or deposited during this time are assigned to the Cambrian System, which was named