Switzerland, The postwar period

Switzerland's wartime relations with Germany compromised its postwar standing. In a 1946 agreement, the Western Allies, especially the United States, compelled Switzerland to compensate the looted Western central banks. Because Switzerland would have received no special recognition of its neutrality, the Federal Council decided not to join the United

Akund Floss

Also called  Calotropis Floss,   downy seed fibre obtained from Calotropis procera and C. gigantea, plants of the Asclepiadaceae family. The plants are native to southern Asia and Africa and were introduced to South America and the islands of the Caribbean. The yellowish material is made up of thin fibres 2 to 3 cm (0.75 to 1.12 inches) long and 12 to 42 microns (a micron is about 0.00004 inch) in diameter and is harvested by hand.

Kilim

Pileless floor covering handwoven by tapestry techniques in Anatolia, the Balkans, or parts of Iran. In the rest of Iran, the Caucasus, and Turkistan, the name for similar pieces is palas. In most kilims, a slit occurs wherever two colours meet along a vertical line in the pattern, but in a few Karabagh or South Caucasian pieces, interlocking methods are employed in order

Mehsana

Town, administrative headquarters of Mehsana district, Gujarat state, west central India, in the lowlands between the Aravalli Range and the Little Rann of Kutch. Founded in the 12th to the 14th century by the Chavada Rajputs, the old town is believed to have had four gates, of which only one remains. Rajmahal, built by the Maratha ruler of Baroda (now Vadodara), Sayaji Rao III, is an imposing

Paul Karadjordjevic, Prince

When Yugoslavia's king Alexander I was assassinated (Oct. 9, 1934), Paul was appointed regent for his 11-year-old nephew Peter II. Although Paul's sympathies lay with the British-French entente, he was forced to submit to Hitler's demands and align his country

Gironde

The domination of Bordeaux has hindered the development of an active

Io

In Greek mythology, daughter of Inachus, the river god of Argos. Under the name of Callithyia, Io was regarded as the first priestess of Hera, the wife of Zeus. Zeus fell in love with her and, to protect her from the wrath of Hera, changed her into a white heifer. Hera persuaded Zeus to give her the heifer and sent Argus Panoptes (“the All-Seeing”) to watch her. Zeus thereupon sent

Wake Forest University

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S., affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. The university consists of Wake Forest College, the Wayne Calloway School of Business and Accountancy, the School of Law, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, the Graduate School, the Divinity School, and the Babcock

Middlebury College

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Middlebury, Vt., U.S. It is a small liberal arts college at which particular emphasis is given to the study of modern languages. Course work at Middlebury is divided into eight academic categories: literature, the arts, foreign languages, philosophical and religious studies, physical and life sciences, historical

Therapeutics, Peptic ulcer

In the past a bland diet and frequent ingestion of milk and cream were the mainstays of ulcer treatment. Today the only dietary regimen is the avoidance of such irritating foods as spicy and highly seasoned foods and coffee. The newer drug therapies decrease gastric acidity much more than antacids and other dietary measures do. The infection of the stomach by Helicobacter

Jazz

In spite of the wide dissemination and geographic distribution of these diverse musical traditions, New Orleans was where a distinctive, coherent jazz style evolved. Between 1910 and 1915 a systematization of instrumental functions within an essentially collective ensemble took shape, as did a regularization of the repertory. Despite the fact that a limited set of instruments

Coleopteran

Any member of the insect order Coleoptera, which includes the beetles and weevils. It is the largest order of insects, representing about 40 percent of the known insect species. Among the approximately 250,000 species of Coleoptera are many of the largest and most conspicuous insects, some of which also have brilliant metallic colours, showy patterns, or striking form. Beetles

Zonda

The name zonda in Argentina also refers to a hot, humid wind that blows from the north over the plains and precedes a low-pressure centre.

Re

Also spelled  Ra, or Phra,   in ancient Egyptian religion, god of the sun and creator god. He was believed to travel across the sky in his solar bark and, during the night, to make his passage in another bark through the underworld, where, in order to be born again for the new day, he had to vanquish the evil serpent Apopis (Apepi). As the creator, he rose from the ocean of chaos on the primeval hill, creating

Fadiman, Clifton

Fadiman was the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, and he early became an avid and voracious reader. After graduating from Columbia University, New York City, in 1925, he taught school and then became an editor in the publishing

Mon

Also spelled  Mun , Burmese  Talaing  people living in the eastern delta region of Myanmar (Burma) and in west-central Thailand, numbering in the late 20th century more than 1.1 million. The Mon have lived in their present area for the last 1,200 years, and it was they who gave Myanmar its writing (Pali) and its religion (Buddhism). The Mon are believed to have spread from western China over the river lowlands from the Irrawaddy

Aethelberht

King of the West Saxons, or Wessex, who succeeded to the subkingdom of Kent during the lifetime of his father Aethelwulf and retained it until the death of his elder brother Aethelbald in 860, when he became sole king of Wessex and Kent, the younger brothers Aethelred and Alfred renouncing their claim. He ruled these kingdoms for five years. His reign was marked by two serious

Wurtzite

A zinc sulfide mineral that occurs typically in Potosí, Bolivia; Butte, Mont.; and Goldfield, Nev. It is a rare and unstable (at temperatures below 1,020° C, [1,870° F]) hexagonally symmetrical modification of sphalerite, to which it inverts crystallographically; it may be made artificially from sphalerite by rapid cooling from 1,020° C. For detailed physical properties, see sulfide

Quinoline

Any of a class of organic compounds of the aromatic heterocyclic series characterized by a double-ring structure composed of a benzene and a pyridine ring fused at two adjacent carbon atoms. The benzene ring contains six carbon atoms, while the pyridine ring contains five carbon atoms and a nitrogen atom. The simplest member of the quinoline family is quinoline

Mexico City, The colonial city

Cortés razed Tenochtitlán in 1521 and constructed a Spanish city on its ruins. The conquerors divided the central area among themselves and relegated the defeated to the periphery. The city was chartered and its cabildo, or town council, recognized in 1522; it was given leadership over other cabildos of New Spain in 1535. It soon became the most important city of the Americas, with

Cabbage

Vegetable and fodder plant the various forms of which are said to have been developed by long cultivation from the wild, or sea, cabbage (Brassica oleracea) found near the seacoast in various parts of England and continental Europe. The common horticultural forms of Brassica oleracea may be classified according to the plant parts used for food and the structure

Saladin

Saladin was born into a prominent Kurdish

Gylippus

Spartan general who in 414–413, during the Peloponnesian War, broke the Athenian siege of Syracuse, Sicily. Urged by the Athenian exile Alcibiades to send a general to take charge of the defense of Syracuse, the Spartans appointed Gylippus, and his arrival in 414 kept Syracuse from surrendering. Gylippus broke the Athenian blockade by land, organized resistance from

Alva

City, seat (1907) of Woods county, northwestern Oklahoma, U.S., on Salt Fork of the Arkansas River near the Kansas border. Established as a land office in 1893 at a Santa Fe Railway stop, it was named for Alva Adams, a railroad attorney and governor of Colorado (1887–89). It is a marketing and processing centre for a wheat and livestock area. Manufactures include tractors and furniture; petroleum

Iran, Ancient, Xerxes I

Xerxes (reigned 486–465 BC), Darius's eldest son by Queen Atossa, was born after his father had come to the throne; he had been designated official heir perhaps as early as 498, and while crown prince he had ruled as the king's governor in Babylon. The new king quickly suppressed the revolt in Egypt in a single campaign in 484. Xerxes then broke with the policy followed by Cyrus and Darius of

Ogunde, Hubert

Nigerian playwright, actor, theatre manager, and musician who was a pioneer in the field of Nigerian folk opera (drama in which music and dancing play a significant role). He was the founder of the Ogunde Concert Party (1945), the first professional theatrical company in Nigeria. Often regarded as the father of Nigerian theatre, Ogunde sought to

Mandalay

Mandalay was built mainly in 1857–59 by King Mindon to replace Amarapura as his capital. It was the last capital of the Myanmar kingdom and

San Cristóbal

Also called  Makira , formerly  Cristoval  island in the Solomon Islands, southwestern Pacific Ocean, 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Guadalcanal. The island is about 80 miles (130 km) long, has a maximum width of 25 miles (40 km), and has an area of 1,231 square miles (3,188 square km). It is fairly rugged, with a central mountain rising to 4,100 feet (1,250 metres). Islets off the northern coast are Uki Ni Masi Island and the Olu Malau Islands (Three Sisters Islands);

Barcelona, Climate

Although Barcelona is sometimes windy, its protective semicircle of mountains shields it from the harsh, cold winds that blow out of the north and west. The average annual temperature is 61 °F (16 °C); January is the coldest month, averaging 49 °F (9 °C), and August is the hottest, at 76 °F (24 °C). Precipitation amounts to about 23 inches (600 mm) per year.

Henrician Articles

Polish  Artykuly Henrykowskie  (1573) statement of the rights and privileges of the Polish gentry (szlachta) that all elected kings of Poland, beginning with Henry of Valois (elected May 11, 1573), were obliged to confirm and that severely limited the authority of the Polish monarchy. After King Sigismund II Augustus died (July 1572), Henry of Valois, duc d'Anjou and the future Henry III of France, emerged as the favourite