Catabolism

Energy is released in three phases. In the first, such large molecules as those of proteins,

Boyne, River

Irish �An Bh�inn� river rising in the Bog of Allen, County Kildare, Ireland, and flowing 70 miles (110 km) northeast to enter the Irish Sea just below Drogheda. Neolithic passage graves at Knowth, Newgrange, and Dowth are of archaeological significance, and nearby in the Boyne valley is Tara, seat of the high kings of Ireland. The river was the scene of the famous Battle of the Boyne (1690).

Mammal, Locomotion

Specialization in habitat preference has been accompanied by locomotor adaptations. Terrestrial mammals have a number of modes of progression. The primitive mammalian stock was doubtless ambulatory and plantigrade, walking with the digits, metacarpals, and metatarsals (bones of the midfoot), and parts of the ankle and wrist in contact with the ground. The limbs

Mammal, Locomotion

Specialization in habitat preference has been accompanied by locomotor adaptations. Terrestrial mammals have a number of modes of progression. The primitive mammalian stock was doubtless ambulatory and plantigrade, walking with the digits, metacarpals, and metatarsals (bones of the midfoot), and parts of the ankle and wrist in contact with the ground. The limbs

Mammal, Locomotion

Specialization in habitat preference has been accompanied by locomotor adaptations. Terrestrial mammals have a number of modes of progression. The primitive mammalian stock was doubtless ambulatory and plantigrade, walking with the digits, metacarpals, and metatarsals (bones of the midfoot), and parts of the ankle and wrist in contact with the ground. The limbs

Radiation Measurement, Pair production

A third gamma-ray interaction process is possible when the incoming photon energy is above 1.02 MeV. In the field of a nucleus of the absorber material, the photon may disappear and be replaced by the formation of an electron-positron pair. The minimum energy required to create this pair of particles is their combined rest-mass energy of 1.02 MeV. Therefore, pair production

Permafrost

Arthur H. Lachenbruch, Mechanics of Thermal Contraction Cracks and Ice-Wedge Polygons in Permafrost (1962), is a classic paper on the quantitative interpretation of the formation of ice-wedge polygons in permafrost. Troy L. P�w�, Richard E. Church, and Marvin J. Andresen, Origin and Paleoclimatic Significance of Large-Scale Patterned Ground in the Donnelly Dome Area, Alaska (1969), discusses the origin of ice-wedge casts and relict permafrost in central Alaska and offers paleoclimatic interpretations. R. Dale Guthrie, Frozen Fauna of the Mammoth Steppe (1990), discusses fossil carcasses of Ice Age mammals preserved in permafrost. Troy L. P�w�, Geologic Hazards of the Fairbanks Area, Alaska (1982), a highly illustrated work, contains an up-to-date presentation of the greatest geologic hazard to life in polar areas: problems posed by seasonally and perennially frozen ground. G.H. Johnston (ed.), Permafrost: Engineering Design and Construction (1981), is a comprehensive book on construction problems in permafrost areas, with examples mainly from northern Canada. Troy L. P�w�, �Permafrost,� in George A. Kiersch et al. (eds.), The Heritage of Engineering Geology: The First Hundred Years (1991), pp. 277 - 298, provides an up-to-date, well-illustrated treatment of the origin, distribution, and ice content of permafrost and of engineering problems in permafrost regions.

Yima

According to one legend, Yima declined God's (Ahura Mazda's) offer to make him the vehicle of the religion and was instead given the task of establishing man's life on earth. He became

Ahmadiyah

A modern Islamic sect and the generic name for various Sufi (Muslim mystic) orders. The sect was founded in Qadian, the Punjab, India, in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (c. 1839 - 1908), who claimed to be the mahdi (a figure expected by some Muslims at the end of the world), the Christian Messiah, an incarnation of the Hindu god Krishna, and a reappearance (buruz) of Muhammad. The sect's doctrine, in some aspects, is unorthodox:

Ahmadiyah

A modern Islamic sect and the generic name for various Sufi (Muslim mystic) orders. The sect was founded in Qadian, the Punjab, India, in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (c. 1839 - 1908), who claimed to be the mahdi (a figure expected by some Muslims at the end of the world), the Christian Messiah, an incarnation of the Hindu god Krishna, and a reappearance (buruz) of Muhammad. The sect's doctrine, in some aspects, is unorthodox:

Obreg�n, �lvaro

Though Obreg�n had little formal education, he learned a great deal about the needs and desires of poor Mexicans from his work as a farmer and labourer. He did not take part in

Penicillin

One of the first and still one of the most widely used antibiotic agents, derived from the Penicillium mold. In 1928 Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming first observed that colonies of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus failed to grow in those areas of a culture that had been accidentally contaminated by the green mold Penicillium notatum. He isolated the

Hope Diamond

Sapphire-blue gemstone from India, one of the largest blue diamonds known. It is thought to have been cut from a 112-carat stone brought to France by the jewel trader Jean-Baptiste Tavernier and purchased by Louis XIV in 1668 as part of the French crown jewels. This stone, later called the French Blue, was recut into a 67-carat heart in 1673 and disappeared after the crown-jewel robbery

Bribie Island

Island off the southeastern coast of Queensland, Australia, at the northern extremity of Moreton Bay. The island is 20 miles (32 km) long and from 1 to 5 miles wide and has an area of 59 square miles (153 square km). Its surface, generally low with some higher sand ridges, is wooded with cypress pine. Matthew Flinders, the English navigator, landed in 1799 at its southern tip, which he named Skirmish

Facet

Flat, polished surface on a cut gemstone, usually with three or four sides. The widest part of a faceted stone is the girdle; the girdle lies on a plane that separates the crown, the stone's upper portion, from the pavilion, the stone's base. The large facet in the crown parallel to the girdle is the table; the very small one in the pavilion also parallel to the girdle is the culet.

Ubv System

System of classifying stars by spectral type, based on photometric measurements of the ultraviolet (U), blue (B), and visual (V [yellow]) magnitudes. It was introduced in the early 1950s by the American astronomers Harold Lester Johnson and William Wilson Morgan and has largely superseded the less accurate system using the north polar sequence.

Acceleration Stress

Physiological changes that occur in the human body in motion as a result of rapid increase of speed. Rapid acceleration and surges in acceleration are felt more critically than are gradual shifts. Pilots are especially subject to the effects of acceleration because of the high speeds at which they travel. Acceleration forces are measured in units of gravitational

Philip Iv

He succeeded his father, Philip III of Spain, in 1621, and, for the first 22 years of his reign, Philip's valido, or chief minister, was the Conde-Duque de Olivares, who took the spread of the Thirty Years' War as an opportunity not only for resuming hostilities against

Setter

The English setter has served as a hunter for more than 400 years and has been bred in its present form since about 1825. Characteristically

Carter, Jimmy

At the conclusion of the president's term, the Carters returned to their hometown. Rosalynn, who had taken an active role as first lady - not only acting as an adviser to the president but also attending cabinet meetings when the subjects under consideration were of interest to her - joined her husband in establishing the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, which included a presidential library and museum. Carter served as a sort of diplomat without portfolio in various conflicts in a number of countries - including Nicaragua (where he successfully promoted the return of the Miskito Indians to their homeland), Panama (where he observed and reported illegal voting procedures), and Ethiopia (where he attempted to mediate a settlement with the Eritrean People's Liberation Force). He was particularly active in this role in 1994, negotiating with North Korea to end nuclear weapons development there, with Haiti to effect a peaceful transfer of power, and with Bosnian Serbs and Muslims to broker a short-lived cease-fire. His efforts on behalf of international peace and his highly visible participation in building homes for the poor through Habitat for Humanity established in the public mind a much more favourable image of Carter than had been the case during his presidency. After leaving office, Carter also became a prolific author, writing on a variety of topics, including his presidency, the Middle East, and his Christian faith. He also wrote a collection of poetry.

Leacock, Stephen (butler)

Leacock immigrated to Canada with his parents at the age of six. He attended Upper Canada College (1882 - 87) and later received a B.A. degree from the University of Toronto (1891). After teaching for eight

Giocondo, Fra Giovanni

A learned Franciscan, Fra Giocondo is said to have received an extensive humanistic education. He made an important collection of classical inscriptions and was noted by

Anthony Melissa

Anthony, whose surname is derived from the title of his chief work, Melissa (Greek: �The Bee�), compiled an anthology based largely on two leading

Han-fei-tzu

Pinyin �Hanfeizi � the greatest of China's Legalist philosophers. His essays on autocratic government so impressed King Cheng of Ch'in that the future emperor adopted their principles after seizing power in 221 BC. The book that goes by Han-fei's name comprises a synthesis of legal theories up to his time.

Cologne, University Of

The University of Cologne was abolished by the French in 1798 after they had occupied Cologne. The university was refounded in 1919 as an autonomous,

Red River

Also called �Red River Of The South, � navigable river rising in the high plains of eastern New Mexico, U.S., and flowing southeast across Texas and Louisiana to a point northwest of Baton Rouge, where it enters the Atchafalaya River (q.v.), which flows south to Atchafalaya Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Until the mid-20th century, the Red River contributed flow to both the Atchafalaya and, via the Old River, the Mississippi.

France, History Of, Restructuring France

From 1789 to 1791 the National Assembly acted as a constituent assembly, drafting a constitution for the new regime while also governing from day to day. The constitution established a limited monarchy, with a clear separation of powers in which the king was to name and dismiss his ministers. But sovereignty effectively resided in the legislative branch, to consist of a single

Van Der Waals Forces

Relatively weak electric forces that attract neutral molecules to one another in gases, in liquefied and solidified gases, and in almost all organic liquids and solids. The forces are named for the Dutch physicist Johannes van der Waals, who in 1873 first postulated these intermolecular forces in developing a theory to account for the properties of real gases. Solids

Rachmaninoff, Sergey

Rachmaninoff's letters have been collected and published in Russian in Pisma, ed. by Z.A. Apetian (1955), which includes all previously published letters and some newly published ones. Rachmaninoff's Recollections, Told to Oskar von Riesemann, trans. from German by Dolly Rutherford (1934, reissued 1979), are reminiscences by the composer about his life and work; the last chapter is Riesemann's analysis of Rachmaninoff's qualities as a composer. Sergei Bertensson, Jay Leyda, and Sophia Satin, Sergei Rachmaninoff: A Lifetime in Music (1956, reissued 1965), is a comprehensive biography whose preparation was assisted by the composer's cousin and sister-in-law; it is especially useful for its description of the composer's years in the United States. Other biographical studies are Patrick Piggott, Rachmaninov (1978), including detailed musical commentary and critique; Barrie Martyn, Rachmaninoff: Composer, Pianist, Conductor (1990), drawing extensively on archival and Russian-language sources, with a discography; and Geoffrey Norris, Rachmaninoff, rev. and updated ed. (1994).

Athis-mons

Town, southern suburb of Paris, in Essonne d�partement, �le-de-France r�gion, northern France. Athis-Mons lies near the confluence of the Orge and Seine rivers and is bisected by the N7 road artery leading to the centre of Paris. It was ancient Attegais, later Athis-sur-Orge, where a treaty of that name was signed in 1305 by the king of France and the count of Flanders. A Romanesque