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cycadophyte ... Cygnus Loop

cycadophyte any member of a diverse collection of mostly extinct primitive gymnospermous plants. They probably had their origins among the progymnosperms of the Devonian Period (416 to 359 million years ago), possibly among a primitive, long-extinct group of non-seed-bearing plants, the Aneurophytaceae, in which disposition of fertile structures and patterns of ... Cycas a genus of 105 species of palmlike tropical and subtropical ornamental cycads (family Cycadaceae), among them trees 12 metres (40 feet) or more in height. Their leaves are dark green and circinate (uncoiling as fern leaves do), differing from those of other members of the family in having a midrib ... Cyclades group of about 30 islands that make up the nomos (department) of Cyclades, Greece. They lie off Attica (Modern Greek: Attiki) in the Aegean Sea. Ermoupolis, the capital, is on the island of Syros (Siros). cyclamate odourless white crystalline powder that is used as a nonnutritive sweetener. The name usually denotes either calcium cyclamate or sodium cyclamate, both of which are salts of cyclohexylsulfamic acid (C6H11NHSO3H). These compounds are stable to heat and are readily soluble in water. Cyclamates have a very sweet taste, with about ... Cyclamen genus of more than 20 species of flowering perennial herbs of the myrsine family (Myrsinaceae) that are native to the Middle East and southern and central Europe. The florist's cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum), the best-known species, is notable as an indoor plant cultivated for its attractive white to pink to deep ... Cyclanthaceae the Panama hat palm order of monocotyledonous flowering plants, which has 11 genera of mostly stemless, perennial, palmlike herbs, woody herbaceous shrubs, and climbing vines that are distributed in Central America and tropical South America. cycle in literature, a group of prose or poetic narratives, usually of different authorship, centring on a legendary hero and his associates. The term cyclic poems was first used in late classical times to refer to the independent poems that appeared after Homer to supplement his account of the Trojan War ... cycle ball an amateur cycling game that is derived from association football (soccer). In cycle ball, two opposing teams on bicycles try to trap and drive a ball into their opponents' goal by manipulating the ball with the wheels of their bicycles. The size of the ball is around 18 cm (7 ... cyclic form in music, any compositional form characterized by the repetition, in a later movement or part of the piece, of motives, themes, or whole sections from an earlier movement in order to unify structure. The need for such a device arose during the 19th century, when the traditional classical restraint of ... Cycling: Year in Review 1994 Cycling's most prized record, for distance covered in one hour, was broken twice in seven days in 1993 by riders from Britain. On July 17 Graeme Obree of Scotland covered 51.596 km at the Olympic Hall velodrome in Hamar, Norway, to beat the record of 51.151 km set in 1984 ... Cycling: Year in Review 1995 A season that began on a low note ended in triumph for Miguel Indurain, who confirmed his position as the world's leading professional by winning the Tour de France, the premier event on the international calendar, for the fourth successive year and then capturing the world record for distance covered ... Cycling: Year in Review 1996 Miguel Indurain of Spain again dominated the professional cycling season in 1995, winning the Tour de France, the premier international event, for a record fifth successive year and later taking his first world title. Indurain showed his mastery against the clock by winning the eighth stage of the tour, an ... Cycling: Year in Review 1997 Changes in bicycle design and equipment led to cycling's governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), taking action to restore the emphasis to the performance of the rider. Meeting on the eve of the 1996 world road championships in Lugano, Switz., the management committee of the UCI ruled that from ... Cycling: Year in Review 1998 In 1997 cycling's world governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), introduced random blood testing in an attempt to curtail the use of erythropoietin (EPO), the hormone that stimulates the production of oxygen-rich red blood cells. A safe level of hematocrit (the amount of red cells in the blood) was ... Cycling: Year in Review 1999 The struggle to control doping--in particular the widespread use of the human growth hormone erythropoietin (EPO)--dominated cycling in 1998. The issue came to a head during the Tour de France, the premier event on the cycling calendar, after quantities of EPO, which stimulates the production of oxygen-rich red blood cells, ... Cycling: Year in Review 2000 The question of doping again dominated cycling in 1999 as the struggle to eliminate the use of the human growth hormone erythropoietin (EPO) and steroids continued. The sport's governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale, extended its program of testing hematocrit levels in riders during competition, measuring the functional level of ... Cycling: Year in Review 2001 On the recommendation of its management committee, which introduced design restrictions on bicycles in 1996, the Union Cycliste Internationale decided as of Oct. 1, 2000, to return the world one-hour record to Belgian rider Eddy Merckx, who had covered 49.431 km (1 km = 0.62 mi) in Mexico in 1972 ... Cycling: Year in Review 2002 In 2001 American rider Lance Armstrong sealed his place in cycling history when he became the fifth man to win the Tour de France, the sport's premier event, in at least three successive years, joining Louison Bobet (1953-55), Jacques Anquetil (1961-64), Eddy Merckx (1969-72), and Miguel Indurain (1991-95). The Texan ... Cycling: Year in Review 2003 In 2002 cycling's premier road event, the Tour de France, was won by American Lance Armstrong, who became the fourth rider to win the race in four successive years since it was first held in 1903. Armstrong joined Jacques Anquetil (1961-64), Eddy Merckx (1969-72), and Miguel Indurain (1991-95) when he ... Cycling: Year in Review 2004 Cycling's premier road event, the Tour de France, celebrated its centenary in 2003 and was won for a record-equaling fifth time by American Lance Armstrong, who also joined Miguel Indurain to become one of only two persons to have won in five consecutive years. Armstrong matched the five victories of ... Cycling: Year in Review 2005 In 2004 American Lance Armstrong became the first person to have won cycling's premier road event, the Tour de France, six times with his victory in the three-week race, which began in Liege, Belg., on July 3 and finished on July 25 on the Champs-Elysees in Paris. Armstrong, who achieved ... Cycling: Year in Review 2006 American Lance Armstrong extended his record sequence of wins in the Tour de France, cycling's premier road event, to seven with his triumph in the 2005 race, which began on July 2 in Fromentine, on the Atlantic coast, and finished on July 24 on the Champs-Elysees in Paris. Armstrong, who ... Cycling: Year in Review 2007 Doping in 2006 continued to cast a huge shadow over cycling, notably in the sport's premier road event, the Tour de France. Details of an investigation (code named Operacion Puerto) by Spanish police into doping practices at the Madrid laboratory of Eufemiano Fuentes were released on the eve of the ... Cycling: Year in Review 2008 Cycling endured another difficult year in 2007, with the Tour de France, the premier road event, shrouded in controversy as the struggle to eliminate drugs and doping from the sport continued. Overall victory in the three-week, 3,569.9-km (about 2,218-mi) race, which began in London on July 7 and finished in ... Cycling: Year in Review 2009 The drive to eliminate drugs from cycling continued to gain momentum in 2008, with encouraging success. The premier event on the road-race calendar, the Tour de France, produced seven positive tests, including six for continuous erythropoiesis receptor activator (CERA), a slow-release blood-boosting drug developed to help people with kidney problems ... Cycling: Year in Review 2010 The return to competition of American cyclist Lance Armstrong after an absence of more than three years and his rivalry with Spanish teammate Alberto Contador in the sport's premier road event, the Tour de France, dominated the cycling headlines in 2009. Armstrong, who retired in 2005 after having won the ... Cycling: Year in Review 2011 The subject of doping continued to dominate competitive cycling in 2010, especially with the news that Alberto Contador, the winner of the sport's premier event, the Tour de France, had tested positive for the banned steroid clenbuterol during the three-week 20-stage, 3,642-km (about 2,263-mi) race. The Spanish rider, who had ... cycling use of a bicycle for sport, recreation, or transportation. The sport of cycling consists of professional and amateur races, which are held mostly in continental Europe, the United States, and Asia. The recreational use of the bicycle is widespread in Europe and the United States. Use of the bicycle as ... cyclo-cross cross-country bicycle racing in open and usually quite rough country with riders often forced to dismount and carry their bicycles. cyclogenesis in meteorology, the process of extratropical cyclone development and intensification. Cyclogenesis is initiated by a disturbance occurring along a stationary or very slow-moving front between cold and warm air. This disturbance distorts the front into the wavelike configuration. As the atmospheric pressure within the disturbance continues to decrease, it assumes ... cycloid the curve generated by a point on the circumference of a circle that rolls along a straight line. If r is the radius of the circle and theta (theta) is the angular displacement of the circle, then the polar equations of the curve are x = r(theta - sin theta) ... cyclolysis in meteorology, the process by which a cyclone weakens and deteriorates. The decay of an extratropical cyclone results when the cold air, from the north in the Northern Hemisphere or from the south in the Southern Hemisphere, on the western side of such a cyclone sweeps under all of the ... cyclone any large system of winds that circulates about a centre of low atmospheric pressure in a counterclockwise direction north of the Equator and in a clockwise direction to the south. Cyclonic winds move across nearly all regions of the Earth except the equatorial belt and are generally associated with rain ... Cyclone Nargis Devastates Myanmar's Rice Bowl: Year in Review 2009 On May 2, 2008, Cyclone Nargis, an extraordinarily strong tropical cyclone that had formed in the Bay of Bengal and quickly strengthened to a category 4 storm, made landfall in Myanmar (Burma) and throughout the night churned up the densely populated rice-growing region of the Irrawaddy River delta as far ... Cyclopaedia two-volume, alphabetically arranged encyclopaedia compiled and edited by the English encyclopaedist Ephraim Chambers and first published in 1728. The illustrated work treated the arts and sciences; names of persons or places were not included. Seven editions had been published in London by 1751-52. The materials for seven additional volumes were ... cyclopean masonry wall constructed without mortar, using enormous blocks of stone. This technique was employed in fortifications where use of large stones reduced the number of joints and thus reduced the walls' potential weakness. Such walls are found on Crete and in Italy and Greece. Ancient fable attributed them to a Thracian ... cyclopropane explosive, colourless gas used in medicine since 1934 as a general anesthetic. Cyclopropane is nonirritating to mucous membranes and does not depress respiration. Induction of and emergence from cyclopropane anesthesia are usually rapid and smooth. A mixture of about 5 to 20 percent cyclopropane in oxygen is administered by inhalation. ... Cyclops in Greek legend and literature, any of several one-eyed giants to whom were ascribed a variety of histories and deeds. In Homer the Cyclopes were cannibals, living a rude pastoral life in a distant land (traditionally Sicily), and the Odyssey contains a well-known episode in which Odysseus escapes death by ... cyclorama in theatre, background device employed to cover the back and sometimes the sides of the stage and used with special lighting to create the illusion of sky, open space, or great distance at the rear of the stage setting. cyclosilicate compound with a structure in which silicate tetrahedrons (a central silicon atom surrounded by four oxygen atoms at the corners of a tetrahedron) are arranged in rings. Each tetrahedron shares two of its oxygen atoms with other tetrahedrons; the rings formed may have three (e.g., benitoite), four (e.g., axinite), or ... cyclostome a collective term for the living members of the superclass Agnatha, the lamprey and the hagfish (qq.v.). These fish are characterized by a long slender body without scales and fins, a round jawless mouth with horny teeth, a cartilaginous skull, and a persistent notochord. cyclostrophic wind wind circulation that results from a balance between the local atmospheric pressure gradient and the centripetal force. cyclothem complex, repetitive stratigraphic succession of marine and nonmarine strata that are indicative of cyclic depositional regimes. Ideal cyclothem successions are rare, and reconstructions of generalized sequences result from the study of examples in which typical beds of limestone, clastic sediments, or coal seams may be missing. cyclotron any of a class of devices that accelerates charged atomic or subatomic particles in a constant magnetic field. The first particle accelerator of this type was developed in the early 1930s by the American physicists Ernest O. Lawrence and M. Stanley Livingston. A cyclotron consists of two hollow semicircular electrodes, ... Cydones, Demetrius Byzantine humanist scholar, statesman, and theologian who introduced the study of the Greek language and culture to the Italian Renaissance. Cydones, Prochorus Eastern Orthodox monk, theologian, and linguist who, by his advocacy of Western Aristotelian thought and his translation of Latin Scholastic writings, based his opposition movement against the leading school of Byzantine mystical theology. Cygnaeus, Uno educator known as "the father of the primary school in Finland." Cygnus constellation in the northern sky at about 21 hours right ascension and 40 north in declination. The brightest star in Cygnus is Deneb, the 19th brightest star in the sky. Along with Vega and Altair, Deneb is one of the stars of the prominent asterism, the Summer Triangle. The Milky ... Cygnus unmanned craft developed by the American firm Orbital Sciences Corporation to carry supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). In 2008 Orbital Sciences was contracted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to build Cygnus to resupply the ISS after the end of the space shuttle program, which concluded in ... Cygnus A most powerful cosmic source of radio waves known, lying in the northern constellation Cygnus about 500,000,000 light-years (4.8 1021 km) from Earth. It has the appearance of a double galaxy. For a time it was thought to be two galaxies in collision, but the energy output is too large ... Cygnus Loop group of bright nebulae (Lacework Nebula, Veil Nebula, and the nebulae NGC 6960, 6979, 6992, and 6995) in the constellation Cygnus, thought to be remnants of a supernova-i.e., of the explosion of a star probably 10,000 years ago. The Loop, a strong source of radio waves and X-rays, is still ...