Britannica Concise 2005

Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Karlm al-Khattabl See Abd el-Krim

Muhammad ibn Tughluq Xmu-'ha-mad-.i-bon-.tog-'bkV (b. c. 1290, Delhi, India—d. March 20, 1351, Sonda) Second sultan (r. 1325-51) of the Tughluq dynasty, who briefly extended the rule of the Delhi sultanate of northern India over most of die subcontinent. He transferred the capi¬ tal from Delhi to Deogir (now Daulatabad) in an attempt to consolidate his hold on southern India; the resultant migration of northerners to the south spread the Urdu language there. He tried to enlist the services of the c ulamd ’ (Muslim clerics) but was rebuffed; his overtures to the Sufis met a similar fate. His agricultural innovations included crop rotation and state farms as well as improvements in irrigation. Though he desired to create a more equitable social order, his harshness undermined his author¬ ity: during his reign he contended with 22 rebellions.

MuhasibI \mu- l ha-se-'be, mu- l ka-se-'be\, al- (b. c. 781, Al-Basrah—d. 857, Baghdad) Sufi theologian. He was reared in Baghdad in a prosper¬ ous family. He evolved a rationalist theology, advancing his ideas in didactic conversations with his pupils and in books written in the form of dialogues. His principal work minimized asceticism and acts of out¬ ward piety in favour of inward self-examination. Near the end of his life, he was persecuted as a heretic, but he was later seen as having anticipated the doctrines of Muslim orthodoxy.

Muhlenberg family Vmui-tan-.berkA English \ , myu-bn- l borg\ Dis¬ tinguished U.S. family associated with the state of Pennsylvania and the Lutheran church. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg (1711-87) emigrated to Pennsylvania from Germany and served as overseer of all the Lutheran churches from New York to Maryland; in 1748 he founded the first Luth¬ eran synod in America. His eldest son, John Peter Gabriel (1746-1807), was a Lutheran minister, a brigadier general in the Continental Army, and a member of Congress. Frederick Augustus Conrad (1750-1801), the sec¬ ond son, was a Lutheran minister who served in the Continental Congress and later became the first Speaker of the House of Representatives. Wil¬ liam Augustus (1796-1877), grandson of Frederick Augustus Conrad, became an Episcopal priest and was the founder of St. Paul’s College on Long Island and St. Luke’s Hospital in New York City. Frederick Augus¬ tus Muhlenberg (1818-1901), nephew of the earlier Frederick Augustus, was a Lutheran clergyman and educator who served as the first president of Muhlenberg College in Allentown.

Muir VmyurV John (b. April 21,

1838, Dunbar, East Lothian,

Scot.—d. Dec. 24, 1914, Los Ange¬ les, Calif., U.S.) U.S. naturalist and conservationist. Muir emigrated from Scotland with his family to Wisconsin in 1849. An 1867 accident caused him to abandon an industrial career and devote himself to nature.

He began his efforts to establish a federal forest conservation policy in

His writings swung public opinion in favour of Pres. Grover Cleve¬ land’s proposal for national forest reservations and influenced Pres. The¬ odore Roosevelt’s conservation program, and he was largely responsible for establishing Sequoia and Yosemite national parks (1890). He was the chief founder and first president of the Sierra Club (1892-1914). In 1908 the U.S. government established the Muir Woods National Monument in Marin Co., California.

Muir Woods National Monument National woodland, northern California, U.S. A virgin stand of coastal redwoods, it covers an area of 554 acres (224 hectares) near the Pacific coast, northwest of San Fran¬ cisco. Some of the trees are more than 300 ft (90 m) high, 15 ft (5 m) in diameter, and 2,000 years old. The park, established in 1908, was named in honour of the naturalist John Muir.

Muisca See Chibcha

mujahideen \mu-ja-hi-'den\ Arabic mujahidun ("those engaged in jihad") In its broadest sense, those Muslims who pro¬ claim themselves warriors for the faith. Its Arabic singular, mujahid, was not an uncommon personal name from the early Islamic period onward. However, the term did not gain popular currency as a collective or plural noun referring to “holy warriors” until the 18th century in India, where it became associated with Muslim revivalism. In the 20th century the term was used most commonly in Iran and Afghanistan. In Iran the Mojahedin-e Khalq (“Mujahideen of the People”), a group combining Islamic and Marxist ideologies, engaged in a long-term guerrilla war against the leadership of the Islamic republic. The name was most closely associated, however, with members of a number of guerrilla groups oper¬ ating in Afghanistan that opposed invading Soviet forces and eventually toppled the Afghan communist government during the Afghan War (1979-92). Rival factions thereafter fell out among themselves precipi¬ tating the rise of one faction, the Taliban. Like the term jihad —to which it is lexicographically connected—the name has been used rather freely, both in the press and by Islamic militants themselves, and often has been used to refer to any Muslim groups engaged in hostilities with non- Muslims or even with secularized Muslim regimes.

Mukden See Shenyang

Mukden Incident Vmuk-dsnX (1931) Seizure of the Manchurian city of Mukden (now Shenyang, China). Responding to Russian pressure from the north and to the increasingly successful unification of China by Chiang Kai-shek, the Japanese garrison in Manchuria used the pretext of an explo¬ sion along its railway to occupy Mukden. With reinforcements from the Japanese colony of Korea, its army had occupied all of Manchuria within three months. The Chinese withdrew and allowed the Japanese to estab¬ lish the state of Manchuguo.

mulberry family Family Moraceae, composed of about 1,000 species of deciduous or evergreen trees in about 40 genera, found mostly in tropi¬ cal and subtropical regions. Plants of the family contain a milky latex and produce multiple fused fruits. Edible fruits grow on the common mul¬ berry (genus Morns), fig (in the largest genus. Ficus), and breadfruit. Silk¬ worms (see silkworm moth) feed almost exclusively on the leaves of the white mulberry (M. alba). Among the ornamentals in the family are the paper mulberry and the Osage orange ( Maclura pomifera). Other species include the India rubber tree, which is often placed in office lobbies, and the wide-spreading banyan tree.

mule Offspring of a male ass and a female horse. The less common cross of a female ass and a male horse is called a hinny. Most mules are ster¬ ile. The mule resembles the horse in height and in shape of neck and croup (rump); it resembles the ass in its long ears, small hooves, and short mane. The coat is usually brown or bay. Mules are 12-17.5 hands (50-70 in., 120-180 cm) high and weigh 600-1,500 lbs (275-700 kg).

They have been used as pack animals for at least 3,000 years because of their ability to withstand hardships.

mule deer Large-eared deer (Odocoileus hemionus) of western

Mule deer buck (Odocoileus hemio¬ nus).

HARRY ENGELS FROM THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY COLLECTION/PHOTO RESEARCHERS

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North America that lives alone or in small groups at high altitudes in summer and lower altitudes in winter. Mule deer stand 3-3.5 ft (90-105 cm) and are yellowish brown in summer, grayish brown in winter. The tail is white with a black tip, except on the black-tailed deer (O. h. colum- bianus ), a Pacific Northwest subspecies. The male’s antlers fork twice above a short tine near the base; a mature male normally has five tines on each antler. It is related to the white-tailed deer.

mullah Vm9-ta\ Muslim title applied to a scholar or religious leader, especially in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. It means “lord” and has also been used in North Africa as an honorific attached to the name of a king, sultan, or member of the nobility. The title is now given to a variety of religious leaders, including teachers in religious schools, scholars of canon law, leaders of prayer in the mosques (imams), and recit¬ ers of the Qur’an (qurra’). The word can also refer to the entire class that upholds the traditional interpretation of Islam.

Muller Vmo-brX, Hermann Joseph (b. Dec. 21, 1890, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. April 5, 1967, Indianapolis, Ind.) U.S. geneticist. He attended Columbia University. The possibility of consciously guiding human evolution provided the initial motivation for his research, leading him to work in the Soviet Union’s Institute of Genetics. He later assisted the Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War before returning to the U.S. in 1940; he thereafter taught principally at Indiana University (1945- 67). In 1926 he first induced genetic mutations through the use of X rays, and he demonstrated that mutations are the result of breakages in chro¬ mosomes and of changes in individual genes. His receipt of the Nobel Prize in 1946 increased his opportunities to publicize the dangers posed by accumulating spontaneous mutations in the human gene pool as a result of industrial processes and radiation, and he devoted much energy to increasing public awareness of the genetic dangers of radiation.

Muller VmiE-brV Johannes Peter (b. July 14, 1801, Koblenz, France—d. April 28, 1858, Berlin, Ger.) German physiologist, compara¬ tive anatomist, and natural philosopher. He studied at the Universities of Bonn and Berlin and later taught at both. His discovery that each sense organ responds to stimuli differently implied that external events are per¬ ceived only by the changes they produce in sensory systems. His investi¬ gations in physiology, evolution, and comparative anatomy contributed to knowledge of reflexes, the secretion and coagulation processes, the com¬ position of blood and lymph, vision, and hearing. His studies of tumour cell structure began to establish pathological histology as a branch of science.

mullet Any of fewer than 100 species (family Mugilidae) of abundant, commercially valuable schooling fishes found in brackish or fresh waters throughout tropical and temperate regions. Mullets frequent shallow, inshore areas, searching the sand or mud for microscopic plants and small animals. They are silvery and 1-3 ft (30-90 cm) long, with large scales, a short snout, a cigar-shaped body, a forked tail, and two distinct dorsal fins, the first containing four stiff spines. The common, or striped, mullet (Mugil cephalus ), cultivated in some areas, is a well-known species found worldwide.

Mulligan, Gerry orig. Gerald Joseph Mulligan (b. April 6, 1927, Queens Village, Long Island, N.Y., U.S.—d. Jan. 20, 1996, Darien, Conn.) U.S. jazz saxophonist, pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He worked as staff arranger for Gene Krupa’s band in 1946, later writing arrangements and playing for the Miles Davis nonet’s Birth of the Cool recordings (1949). Mulligan became one of the best-known exponents of cool jazz (see bebop). In 1952 he formed a pianoless quartet featuring trumpeter Chet Baker.

Mullis, Kary B(anks) (b. Dec. 28, 1944, Lenoir, N.C., U.S.) U.S. bio¬ chemist. He received his doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley. In 1983 he invented the polymerase chain reaction, with which scientists can determine the order of nucleotides in a gene, use genetic fingerprinting to identify individuals by their DNA patterns, study evo¬ lution, and make medical diagnoses. He did his prize winning research at Cetus Corp. and later became a freelance consultant. He shared a 1993 Nobel Prize with Michael Smith (b. 1932). He is known for his free¬ wheeling personal style and his iconoclastic opinions and writings, includ¬ ing Dancing Naked in the Mind Field (1998).

Mulroney \m3l-'ru-ne\, (Martin) Brian (b. March 20, 1939, Baie- Comeau, Que., Can.) Prime minister of Canada (1984-93). The son of an electrician in a paper-and-pulp town, he grew up bilingual in English and French. He began practicing law in Montreal in 1965. In 1974 he served

on a commission to investigate crime in Quebec’s construction industry.

From 1977 to 1983 he was president of the Iron Ore Company. Elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1983, he became prime min¬ ister when the party defeated the Lib¬ erals in the general election in 1984.

Creating a coalition of Quebec nationalists and western conserva¬ tives, he advocated unification while recognizing Quebec as a “distinct society.” He sought U.S. cooperation on acid rain and trade policies and helped negotiate NAFTA. He retired from politics in 1993.

Multan \mul-'tan\ City (pop.,

1998: 1,182,000), central Pakistan, near the Chenab River. An ancient city, it was taken by Alexander the Great in 326 bc. It fell to the Muslims c. ad 712. For three centuries it remained the outpost of Islam in what was then India. It was subject to the Delhi sultanate and the Mughal Empire and was captured by the Afghans (1779) and the Sikhs (1818) before being subjugated by the British (1849-1947). It is a commercial and industrial centre, with textile mills, glass factories, and cottage industries, includ¬ ing pottery and camelskin work. It is the site of many Muslim shrines and an ancient Hindu temple.

multimedia Computer-delivered electronic system that allows the user to control, combine, and manipulate different types of media, such as text, sound, video, computer graphics, and animation. The most common mul¬ timedia machine consists of a personal computer with a sound card, modem, digital speaker unit, and CD-ROM. Interactive multimedia systems under commercial development include cable television services with computer interfaces that enable viewers to interact with TV programs; high-speed interactive audiovisual communications systems, including video game consoles, that rely on digital data from fibre-optic lines or digitized wire¬ less transmission; and virtual reality systems that create small-scale arti¬ ficial sensory environments.

multinational corporation Any corporation registered and operat¬ ing in more than one country at a time, usually with its headquarters in a single country. A firm’s advantages in establishing itself multinationally include both vertical and horizontal economies of scale (reductions in cost that result from an expanded level of output). Critics usually regard the multinational corporation as destructive of local economies abroad and as prone to monopolistic practices. See also conglomerate.

multiple birth Birth of more than one child from one pregnancy. Twins are most common, born in 1 of about every 80 pregnancies. Identical twins develop from a single fertilized egg, which splits into two genetically identical embryos (though physical traits may be modified during their development); they occur randomly but are more likely in older mothers. Incomplete or late division results in conjoined twins. Fraternal twins develop from two eggs fertilized by two sperm and are no more geneti¬ cally alike than are other siblings. Most common among persons of Afri¬ can ancestry and least common among those of Asian ancestry, fraternal twins seem to run in families. Repeated twinning produces triplets, qua¬ druplets, and so on; these multiples may be identical, fraternal, or a com¬ bination. The use of fertility drugs has increased the number of high-order multiple births. Medical and psychological “twin studies” compare fra¬ ternal and identical twins to learn about genetic influences on various characteristics and diseases.

multiple integral In calculus, the integral of a function of more than one variable. As the integral of a function of one variable over an inter¬ val results in an area, the double integral of a function of two variables calculated over a region results in a volume. Functions of three variables have triple integrals, and so on. Like the single integral, such construc¬ tions are useful in calculating the net change in a function that results from changes in its input values.

multiple personality disorder See dissociative identity disorder

multiple sclerosis \skl3-'ro-s9s\ Disease of the brain and spinal cord in which gradual, patchy destruction of the myelin sheath of nerve fibres

Brian Mulroney, 1993.

RICK FRIEDMAN/BLACK STAR

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

multiplexing ► Munch I 1309

causes interruption or disordered transmission of nerve impulses. Its early symptoms may include limb weakness or trembling, visual problems, sensory disturbances, unsteady walking, and defective bladder control, which come and go irregularly. Attacks grow more severe, and some symptoms become permanent, sometimes with eventual complete paraly¬ sis. Average survival from onset is about 25 years, but a rare acute form progresses over months. The cause remains uncertain and treatment unsat¬ isfactory. Corticosteroids may ease symptoms. MS may be due to a delayed immune response that attacks the myelin sheaths; suggested causes include various common viruses. Dietary causes have also been suggested.

multiplexing Process of transmitting multiple (but separate) signals simultaneously over a single channel or line. Because the signals are sent in one complex transmission, the receiving end has to separate the indi¬ vidual signals. The two main types of multiplexing methods are time- division multiplexing (TDM) and frequency-division multiplexing (FDM). In TDM (typically used for digital signals) a device is given a specific time slot during which it can use the channel. In FDM (typically used for analog signals) the channel is subdivided into subchannels, each with a different frequency width that is assigned to a specific signal. Optical-fibre networks can use DWDM (dense wavelength-division mul¬ tiplexing), in which different data signals are sent in different wavelengths of light in the fibre-optic medium.

multiplier In economics, a numerical coefficient showing the effect of a change in one economic variable on another. One macroeconomic mul¬ tiplier, the autonomous expenditures multiplier, relates the impact of a change in total national investment on the nation’s total income; it equals the ratio of the change in total income to the change in investment. If, for example, the total investment in an economy is increased by $1 million, a chain reaction of increases in consumption is set off. Producers of raw materials used in the investment projects and workers employed in the projects gain $1 million in income. If they spend on average three-fifths of that income, $600,000 will be added to the incomes of others. The makers of the goods they buy will in turn spend three-fifths of their new income on consumption. The process continues such that the amount by which total income increases may be computed by an algebraic formula. In this case, the multiplier equals 1/(1 - 3/5), or 2.5. This means that a $1 million increase in investment creates a $2.5 million increase in total income. Other multipliers include the money multiplier, which measures money creation resulting from a change in monetary policy; the govern¬ ment spending multiplier, which measures the change in national income resulting from changes in fiscal policy; and the tax multiplier, which mea¬ sures the changes in national income resulting from a change in taxes. The concept of the multiplier process was popularized in the 1930s by John Maynard Keynes as a means of measuring the effect of government spending.

multiprocessing Mode of computer operation in which two or more processors (see CPU) are connected and are active at the same time. In such a system, each processor is executing a different program or set of instructions, thus increasing computation speed over a system that has only one processor (which means only one program can be executed at a time). Because the processors must sometimes access the same resource (as when two processors must write to the same disk), a system program called the task manager has to coordinate the processors’ activities.

multitasking Mode of computer operation in which the computer works on multiple tasks at the same time. A task is a computer program (or part of a program) that can be run as a separate entity. On a single-processor system, the CPU can perform preemptive (also called time slicing or time sharing) multitasking, where it executes part of one program, then switches to another program, and then returns to the first one. On multi¬ processing systems, each processor can handle a separate task.

Mumbai Vmom-.bl \ formerly Bombay City (pop., 2001 prelim.: city, 11,914,398; metro, area, 16,368,084), capital of Maharashtra state, west¬ ern India. Located partly on Mumbai Island, it is flanked by Mumbai Har¬ bour and the Arabian Sea. It is India’s principal port on that sea and one of the largest and most densely populated cities in the world. The town was acquired by the Portuguese in 1534. It was ceded to the English as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza, who married Charles II in 1661. Granted to the British East India Company in 1668, it became the compa¬ ny’s headquarters in 1672, and in 1708 it was made the centre of British authority in India. After the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, Mumbai

grew to be the largest distributing entrepot in India. It remains India’s economic hub and the heart of financial and commercial activity, its cul¬ tural and education centre, and headquarters of its film industry.

Mumford, Lewis (b. Oct. 19, 1895, Flushing, N.Y., U.S.—d. Jan. 26, 1990, Amenia, N.Y.) U.S. architectural critic, urban planner, and cultural historian. After studying at the City College of New York and at the New School for Social Research, he taught at various universities and wrote for The New Yorker, The Dial, and other magazines. In works such as Technics and Civilization (1934), The City in History (1961), and The Myth of the Machine (3 vol., 1967-70), Mumford analyzed the effects of technology and urbanization on human societies, criticizing the dehuman¬ izing tendencies of modern technological society and urging that it be brought into harmony with humanistic goals and aspirations. See also URBAN PLANNING.

mumming play or mummers' play Traditional dramatic enter¬ tainment. Mumming plays, which feature the death of a champion who is restored to life by a doctor, are still performed in a few villages of England and Northern Ireland. Originally mummers were bands of masked persons who during winter festivals in Europe paraded through the streets and entered houses to dance or play dice in silence. Thus the name has been connected with words such as mumble and mute and non-English words meaning “mask.” Mumming plays probably have links with primitive cer¬ emonies marking important stages in the agricultural year.

mummy Body embalmed or preserved for burial in the manner of the ancient Egyptians. The process varied from age to age in Egypt, but it always involved removing the internal organs, treating the body with resin, and wrapping it in linen bandages. (In later Egyptian times, the organs were replaced after treatment.) Among the many other peoples who practiced mummification were those of the Torres Strait, near Papua New Guinea, and the Incas.

mumps or epidemic parotitis \,par-9-'tIt-9s\ Acute contagious viral disease with inflammatory swelling of the salivary glands. Epidemics often occur, mostly among 5- to 15-year-olds. Cold symptoms with low fever are followed by swelling and stiffening in front of the ear, often on both sides. This rapidly spreads toward the neck and under the jaw. Pain is seldom severe, with little redness, but chewing and swallowing are dif¬ ficult. During recovery in patients past puberty, other glands may be affected, but usually not seriously. The testes may atrophy, but sterility is very rare. While inflammation of the brain and meninges is fairly com¬ mon, chances of recovery are good. Mumps needs no special treatment, and patients usually develop immunity. Vaccination can prevent it.