Czechoslovak history: The growing reform movement: …expelled from the party; and Jan Procházka was dismissed from the party’s Central Committee, of which he was a candidate member. This repression merely strengthened opposition to Novotný, however.

astronomy: Ptolemy: …composed the Procheiroi kanones (Handy Tables), in which the astronomical tables of the Almagest were expanded and accompanied by directions for using them but were stripped of the theoretical discussion.

Wacław Berent: In Próchno (1903; “Rotten Wood”) Berent expressed interest in the decadent lifestyle of artistic bohemians in contemporary urban settings—Berlin, in this case—an interest common to the Young Poland movement. He portrayed domestic problems in his Ozimina (1911; “Winter Crop”), putting a strong emphasis on the diverse…

Island of Procida, island near the northwest entrance to the Bay of Naples, Campania regione, southern Italy. It lies between Ischia Island and Cape Miseno on the mainland, and its highest point reaches 250 feet (76 metres) above sea level. Of volcanic origin, it is made up, with the adjacent

Georg Hackl: …runs and beating silver medalist Markus Prock (Austria) by 0.3 second in the final standings.

executive order: …stands in contrast to the proclamation, which, as a historic means of giving public notice of matters of widespread concern, antedates the presidency and which may or may not produce legal effects. The most famous presidential proclamation in U.S. history is the Emancipation Proclamation, issued by Pres. Abraham Lincoln in…

William Wilberforce: …“reformation of manners” called the Proclamation Society (to suppress the publication of obscenity) and the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade—the latter more commonly called the Anti-Slavery Society. He and his associates—Thomas Clarkson, Granville Sharp, Henry Thornton, Charles Grant, Edward James Eliot, Zachary Macaulay, and James Stephen—were…

Proclus was the last major ancient Greek philosopher. He was influential in helping Neoplatonic ideas to spread throughout the Byzantine, Islamic, and Roman worlds. Proclus was reared at Xanthus in Lycia, and he studied philosophy under Olympiodorus the Elder at Alexandria. He also studied under

patristic literature: The Chalcedonian Fathers: …mention are Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Proclus of Constantinople, and John Cassian. The first was probably responsible for drafting the Formula of Union (433) that became the basis of the Chalcedonian Definition. Proclus was an outstanding pulpit orator, and several of his sermons as well as seven letters concerned with the…

Tereus: …or of Phocis, who married Procne, daughter of Pandion, king of Athens. Pretending that Procne was dead, Tereus later seduced his wife’s sister Philomela and tricked her into a sham marriage. Other versions describe the encounter as a brutal rape. In order to hide his guilt, Tereus cut out Philomela’s…

bellbird: …America and constitute the genus Procnias, although only one, the white bellbird (P. alba), has a call that can actually be described as “bell-like.” Females are drably coloured, but the males are mostly or entirely white. Only the males vocalize, and in three of the four species, the males possess…

bellbird: …Procnias, although only one, the white bellbird (P. alba), has a call that can actually be described as “bell-like.” Females are drably coloured, but the males are mostly or entirely white. Only the males vocalize, and in three of the four species, the males possess fleshy ornamentation on the head.…

bellbird: The mossy-throated, bearded, or black-winged bellbird (P. averano) has many thin wattles hanging from the throat. The three-wattled bellbird (P. tricarunculata), confined to Central America, has three bill wattles. One hangs from each corner of the mouth, and another dangles from the bill’s upper base, each wattle measuring about…

bellbird: The naked-throated bellbird (P. nudicollis) has a green face and throat. These jay-sized, fruit-eating birds produce calls that can be heard for long distances.

bellbird: The three-wattled bellbird (P. tricarunculata), confined to Central America, has three bill wattles. One hangs from each corner of the mouth, and another dangles from the bill’s upper base, each wattle measuring about one-third the length of the entire 30-cm (12-inch) bird. The naked-throated bellbird (P.…

art rock: Giant, the Moody Blues, and Procol Harum or the fusion of progressive rock and English folk music created by such groups as Jethro Tull and the Strawbs. In common, all these bands regularly employ complicated and conceptual approaches to their music. Moreover, there has been a relatively fluid movement of…

colobus: …red colobus (genus Piliocolobus), and olive colobus (genus Procolobus).

reptile: Annotated classification: †Order Procolophonia (procolophonians) Upper Permian to Upper Triassic. Three or 4 families, about 30 genera. Small (typically less than 0.5 metres [1.6 feet]) terrestrial lizardlike reptiles. Pineal eye foramen near frontoparietal suture on top of skull. Order Testudines (turtles)

Below is a sampling of institutions that have cited ProCon and its many

ProCon debates are hot topics, constantly in the news, as the following stories make

proconodontid, a small toothlike structure found in marine rocks formed over a long span of geologic time, that is among the most primitive of the conodonts. It lived during the Late Cambrian Period (the Cambrian Period began about 542 million years ago and ended about 488 million years ago). In

proconsul, in the ancient Roman Republic, a consul whose powers had been extended for a definite period after his regular term of one year. From the mid-4th century bc the Romans recognized the necessity, during lengthy wars, of extending the terms of certain magistrates; such extension was termed

ape: …to the modern apes are Proconsul, Afropithecus, Dryopithecus, and Sivapithecus, the latter being a possible ancestor of the orangutan.

Louis Leakey: …Kenya, of the remains of Proconsul africanus, a common ancestor of both humans and apes that lived about 25 million years ago. At Fort Ternan (east of Lake Victoria) in 1962, Leakey’s team discovered the remains of Kenyapithecus, another link between apes and early man that lived about 14 million…

primate: Miocene: …it in a separate family, Proconsulidae. Since the 1980s a number of other genera (Limnopithecus, Dendropithecus, Afropithecus, Kamoypithecus, and others) have been added to the family. The location of the actual ancestors of living hominoids remained mysterious until previously known specimens from the Moroto District, in eastern Uganda, were

Procopius was a Byzantine historian whose works are an indispensable source for his period and contain much geographical information. From 527 to 531 he was adviser (consilarius) to the military commander Belisarius on his first Persian campaign. In 533 and 534 he took part in an expedition against

ancient Rome: The reign of Valentinian and Valens: …by the attempted usurpation of Procopius (365–366), a pagan relative of Julian’s who failed and was killed by the army, which remained faithful to Valens. Modestus instituted harsh persecutions in Antioch of the educated pagan elite. Valens was a fanatic Arian, who exiled even moderate Nicaean bishops and granted to…

Anthemius was a Western Roman emperor who reigned from April 12, 467, to July 11, 472. The son-in-law of the Eastern emperor Marcian, Anthemius was appointed to his office by Marcian’s successor, Leo I, who wanted help in attacking the Vandals in North Africa. The powerful patrician Ricimer,

Prokop The Bald was a Bohemian warrior-priest who was the foremost leader of the Hussite Reformation forces in the later period of the Hussite wars. Initially Prokop was a conservative (Utraquist) priest, but then he joined the heretical religious movement that had sprung from the teachings of the

Procrustes, in Greek legend, a robber dwelling somewhere in Attica—in some versions, in the neighbourhood of Eleusis. His father was said to be Poseidon. Procrustes had an iron bed (or, according to some accounts, two beds) on which he compelled his victims to lie. Here, if a victim was shorter

Cephalus: …of Phocis, and husband of Procris, daughter of King Erechtheus of Athens. In this version of the story, Cephalus’s devotion to hunting aroused in Procris suspicions that she had a rival, and so she followed him. Emerging suddenly from a thicket, she was fatally struck by Cephalus, who mistook her…

forester moth, (genus Procris or Ino), any of a group of moths in the family Zygaenidae (order Lepidoptera) that are closely related to the burnet moths. The adult forester moth has shining green forewings with a span of about 3 cm (1.2 inches), translucent, dark hind wings, and an iridescent body.

Procrustes, in Greek legend, a robber dwelling somewhere in Attica—in some versions, in the neighbourhood of Eleusis. His father was said to be Poseidon. Procrustes had an iron bed (or, according to some accounts, two beds) on which he compelled his victims to lie. Here, if a victim was shorter

concealing coloration, in animals, the use of biological coloration to mask location, identity, and movement, providing concealment from prey and protection from predators. Background matching is a type of concealment in which an organism avoids recognition by resembling its background in

Procter & Gamble Company, major American manufacturer with a diverse line of branded products. Headquarters are in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company was formed in 1837 when William Procter, a British candlemaker, and James Gamble, an Irish soapmaker, merged their businesses in Cincinnati. The chief

Battle of the Thames: …commander at Detroit, Brigadier General Henry A. Procter, found his position untenable and began a hasty retreat across the Ontario peninsula. He was pursued by about 3,500 U.S. troops under Major General William Henry Harrison, who was supported by the U.S. fleet in command of Lake Erie. The forces met…

road: The master road builders: In 1607 Thomas Procter published the first English-language book on roads. The first highway engineering school in Europe, the School of Bridges and Highways, was founded in Paris in 1747. Late in the 18th century the Scottish political economist Adam Smith, in discussing conditions in England, wrote,

William Cooper Procter was an American manufacturer who established the nation’s first profit-sharing plan for employees. The soapmaking firm of Procter & Gamble was founded in Cincinnati by Procter’s grandfather William Procter, a candlemaker, who joined with James Gamble, an Irish soapmaker, in

proctitis, acute inflammatory infection of the anus and rectum. The most common cause of proctitis is the direct inoculation of pathogenic microorganisms into the rectum during anal intercourse, but it may be caused by sexually transmitted diseases, Crohn disease, or ulcerative colitis. The usual

rectocele, disorder in which the rectum bulges into the back wall of the vagina. It is caused when the muscles and connective tissues supporting the rectum and back wall of the vagina are weakened, usually due to repeated childbirth or to aging, and the rectum sags until it abuts the vagina. A

proctitis: …sigmoid colon, it is termed proctocolitis; this disorder usually involves the additional symptoms of diarrhea, abdominal cramping, and fever.

nutrition: Herbivores: …use of leafy foods through hindgut fermentation. In animal species generally, the main breakdown of foods by enzymes and absorption into the bloodstream occurs in the small intestine. The main function of the large intestine is then to absorb most of the water remaining so as to conserve losses when…

proctor, in English law, formerly a practitioner in ecclesiastical and admiralty courts, who performed duties similar to those of solicitors in ordinary courts. After the Judicature Act of 1873, the title of proctor in this sense became obsolete, the term solicitor being extended to include

sigmoidoscopy: The proctoscope and anoscope, shorter rigid instruments used to visualize the lower rectum and anus, are used to diagnose and treat hemorrhoids and other lesions in the anorectal area.

colorectal cancer: Diagnosis: …narrow, flexible tube called a sigmoidoscope to look at the lining of the rectum and the end of the colon. Colonoscopy uses a similar device to examine the entire colon. A biopsy may also be conducted in which abnormal tissue is removed by using the colonoscope and then examined under…

Hymenoptera: Annotated classification: Superfamily Proctotrupoidea (parasitic hymenopterans) All species parasitic on immature forms of other insects. Family Pelecinidae (pelecinids) Only 1 species in North America, Pelecinus polyturator, the female of which is about 5 cm long or more; parasitic on June-beetle larvae. Family Vanhorniidae

procuracy, in the former Soviet legal system, a government bureau concerned with ensuring administrative legality. The Soviet constitution invested the procurator general (Russian: generalny prokuror) with the responsibility of supervising the observance of the law by all government ministries and

Cortes: …estates: nobles, clergy, and the procuradores (attorneys or town clerks) of the concejos (fortified municipalities), who bore poderes (written instructions) from their electors. The king convened the Cortes’ meetings when and where he pleased. During the 14th century the procuradores dominated the Cortes because only they could authorize the special…

procurator, government financial agent in ancient Rome. From the reign of the emperor Augustus (27 bc–ad 14), procurators were regularly appointed to official posts in the imperial administration of the provinces or in the departments of the imperial government concerning such matters as the grain

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo: Later life of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo: …the superb portrait of the Procurator Giovanni Querini (?), owned by the Galleria Querini-Stampalia of Venice; it represents not only a man but also an undermined aristocracy destined to fall.

crime: The decision to prosecute: …jurisdictions of the United States, procurator-fiscal in Scotland, and crown attorney in Canada). The prosecutor may be an elected local official (as in many jurisdictions in the United States) or a member of an organization responsible to a minister of the national government.

procurator, government financial agent in ancient Rome. From the reign of the emperor Augustus (27 bc–ad 14), procurators were regularly appointed to official posts in the imperial administration of the provinces or in the departments of the imperial government concerning such matters as the grain

logistics: Purchasing: Closely related to production scheduling is purchasing, because many of the inputs needed for production must be purchased from outside vendors. The logistics staff advises as to the transportation services that must be used to ensure that the purchased materials arrive on schedule. If…

Dirck van Baburen: …from everyday life), such as The Procuress (1622). A certain coarseness in conception, irregular compositional rhythms, and less atmospheric quality distinguish Baburen’s art from that of his greater contemporaries, but his manner of painting can be said to be broad and forceful.

Johannes Vermeer: Artistic training and early influences: …traditions is apparent in Vermeer’s The Procuress (1656; also called “At the Matchmaker”). The subject of this scene of mercenary love is derived from a painting by the Utrecht-school artist Dirck van Baburen in the collection of Vermeer’s mother-in-law, while the deep reds and yellows and the strong chiaroscuro effects…

ministère public: … is represented by agents (procureurs) in most of the courts of France, except police courts.

Cour de Cassation: …and a chief prosecutor (procureur général), who is assisted by several advocates. Petitions for appeal go directly to the relevant chamber, which decides whether it will hear them. Although most cases are brought up on appeal from one of the parties, the procureur général keeps an eye out for…

arthropod: The exoskeleton and molting: …thick, inner, chitin–protein layer, the procuticle. In most terrestrial arthropods, such as insects and spiders, the epicuticle contains waxes that aid in reducing evaporative water loss. The procuticle consists of an outer exocuticle and an inner endocuticle. In the exocuticle there is cross-bonding of the chitin–protein chains (tanning), which provides…

cynodont: The first known cynodont, Procynosuchus, was found in South Africa’s Karoo region in the 1930s and dates to about 254 million years ago; the genus was widespread, with other specimens discovered in Zambia and other parts of Africa and as far away as Germany and Russia. Since then, more…

Procyon, brightest star in the northern constellation Canis Minor (Lesser Dog) and one of the brightest in the entire sky, with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.41. Procyon lies 11.4 light-years from Earth and is a visual binary, a bright yellow-white subgiant with a faint, white dwarf companion

raccoon, (genus Procyon), any of seven species of nocturnal mammals characterized by bushy ringed tails. The most common and well-known is the North American raccoon (Procyon lotor), which ranges from northern Canada and most of the United States southward into South America. It has a conspicuous

raccoon: The crab-eating raccoon (P. cancrivorus) inhabits South America as far south as northern Argentina. It resembles the North American raccoon but has shorter, coarser fur. The other members of genus Procyon are not well known. Most are tropical and probably rare. They are the Barbados raccoon…

raccoon: …common and well-known is the North American raccoon (Procyon lotor), which ranges from northern Canada and most of the United States southward into South America. It has a conspicuous black “mask” across the eyes, and the tail is ringed with 5 to 10 black bands.

procyonid, (family Procyonidae), any of a group of tree-climbing mammals comprising raccoons, coatis, olingos, the New World ringtail, the cacomistle, and the kinkajou. Though the 18 species are classified as carnivores, procyonids are actually omnivorous and are closely related to bears (family

procyonid, (family Procyonidae), any of a group of tree-climbing mammals comprising raccoons, coatis, olingos, the New World ringtail, the cacomistle, and the kinkajou. Though the 18 species are classified as carnivores, procyonids are actually omnivorous and are closely related to bears (family

Mount Everest: Developments in Nepal: …Bulgarian to reach the summit, Christo Prodanov, climbed without supplemental oxygen, was forced to bivouac overnight during the descent, and died—one of four summiteers who climbed without oxygen in the 1980s and failed to return.

Anousheh Ansari: In 2006 she cofounded Prodea Systems, an Internet of Things company, and served as the company’s first chief executive officer. She wrote an autobiography, My Dream of Stars: From Daughter of Iran to Space Pioneer (2010; with Homer Hickham).

Romano Prodi is an Italian politician who was twice prime minister of Italy (1996–98; 2006–08) and who served as president of the European Commission (1999–2004). Prodi graduated from Catholic University in Milan in 1961 and did postdoctoral work at the London School of Economics. After serving as

history of logic: Precursors of ancient logic: Gorgias, Hippias, Prodicus, and Protagoras (all 5th century bce)—cultivated the art of defending or attacking a thesis by means of argument. This concern for the techniques of argument on occasion merely led to verbal displays of debating skills, what Plato called “eristic.” But it is also true…

António Aurélio Gonçalves: Pródiga (1956; “The Prodigal Daughter”) examines the life of a wayward daughter who leaves home, has an affair, and returns to the fold. O Enterro de Nhá Candinha Sena (1957; “The Burial of Mrs. Candinha Sena”) delves into the narrator’s childhood relationship with a childless…

David Storey: Later novels include A Prodigal Child (1982), Present Times (1984), A Serious Man (1998), As It Happened (2002), and Thin-Ice Skater (2004).

Constantin Brancusi: Maturity of Constantin Brancusi: His first sculpture in wood, The Prodigal Son, in 1914, is roughly carved in oak with the features of a human being abstracted. Brancusi went on to create a whole series of wood sculptures that are among his most unusual works. He attached great importance to the wooden base of…

George Balanchine: The European years: …and Le Fils prodigue (The Prodigal Son, 1929).

Barbara Kingsolver: In Prodigal Summer (2001) the intertwined lives of several characters living in Appalachia illuminate the relationship between humans and the natural world. Her next novel, The Lacuna (2009), combines history and fiction as it traces the life of a Mexican American novelist who befriends Frida Kahlo…

Derek Walcott: ) The book-length poem The Prodigal (2004), its setting shifting between Europe and North America, explores the nature of identity and exile. Selected Poems, a collection of poetry from across Walcott’s career, appeared in 2007. Aging is a central theme in White Egrets (2010), a volume of new poems.

The Bourgeois Gentleman, comedy in five acts by Molière, gently satirizing the pretensions of the social climber whose affectations are absurd to everyone but himself. It was first performed as Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme in 1670, with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully, and was published in 1671. It has

prodigy, a child who, by about age 10, performs at the level of a highly trained adult in a particular sphere of activity or knowledge. In this sense, neither high intelligence nor eccentric skills by themselves qualify a child as a prodigy. Rather, it is the capacity to perform in a recognized

the Chemical Brothers: Along with the Prodigy, the Chemical Brothers were trailblazers for “electronica,” a media and music industry buzzword for a disparate bunch of British posttechno acts belatedly impacting the American mainstream. The triumph was sweet but brief. By 1999 the electronica–big beat sound had been codified by copyists…

virus: Infectious patterns: …this stage is called the prodromal period of the illness. During the next few days, the virus enters the draining lymph nodes and then the bloodstream, where it is spread throughout the tissues of the body, resulting in fever and rash (in the case of measles and chickenpox) and inflammation…

community ecology: The study of coevolution: …between moths of the family Prodoxidae and their host plants illustrates the interplay of phylogeny and ecology. Prodoxid moths include some species that have become major pollinators of plants. These pollinators include yucca moths (of the genera Tegeticula and Parategeticula) and Greya moths (see above Commensalism and other types of…

yucca moth, (genus Tegeticula), any of four species of insects of the Prodoxidae family of moths (order Lepidoptera). The adults are small, diurnal, and have tiny spines covering their wings. Each of the four species is adapted to a particular species of yucca. The moths emerge when the yucca

yucca moth: Larvae of the related bogus yucca moth (Prodoxus) feed in the stems and seed capsules of the yucca plant and also attack the century plant.

migraine: Causes and symptoms: …cluster of symptoms, or “prodrome,” hours before the onset of the migraine headache. The prodrome can consist of yawning, fluid retention, pallor, nausea, light sensitivity, or mood changes, including sadness or irritability. Attempts to treat the prodrome and avoid the ensuing migraine have met with limited success; only a…

astronomy: Kepler: Kepler’s first book, Mysterium cosmographicum (“Cosmographic Mystery,” 1596), was based on this idea. As a result of this book, Kepler received an invitation to work with Tycho Brahe, but nothing happened until 1600, when Tycho left his native Denmark and relocated to Prague under the patronage of the…

Robert Brown: …partially published in 1810 in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen, a classic of systematic botany and his major work. Though the publication laid the foundations for Australian botany while refining the prevailing systems of plant classification, Brown was disappointed by its small sale and published only one…

Nicolaus Steno: …Naturaliter Contento Dissertationis Prodromus (The Prodromus of Nicolaus Steno’s Dissertation Concerning a Solid Body Enclosed by Process of Nature Within a Solid). In this work, a milestone in the literature of geology, he laid the foundations of the science of crystallography. He reported that, although quartz crystals differ greatly…

Theodore Prodromus was a Byzantine writer, well known for his prose and poetry, some of which is in the vernacular. He wrote many occasional pieces for a widespread circle of patrons at the imperial court. Some of the work attributed to him is unpublished and some of it may be wrongly attributed to

carbon cycle: …and terrestrial green plants (producers) are the chief agents of carbon dioxide fixation through the process of photosynthesis, through which carbon dioxide and water are converted into simple carbohydrates. These compounds are used by the producers to carry on metabolism, the excess being stored as fats and polysaccharides. The…

hip-hop: American hip-hop in the 21st century: …which hip-hop had become a producers’ medium. In the 21st century the music—born from the sonic creations of the deejay—saw some of its greatest innovations in the work of such studio wizards as Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, and the Neptunes. The focus on producers as both a creative and a commercial…

régisseur: …the American theatre and the producer in that of England. In ballet a régisseur coordinates the activities of the producer, stage technicians, and orchestra; handles the finances of the company; and makes all the arrangements for tours. In the cinema a régisseur’s duties—much like those of the assistant director in…

producer gas, mixture of flammable gases (principally carbon monoxide and hydrogen) and nonflammable gases (mainly nitrogen and carbon dioxide) made by the partial combustion of carbonaceous substances, usually coal, in an atmosphere of air and steam. Producer gas has lower heating value than other

producer goods, in economics, goods manufactured and used in further manufacturing, processing, or resale. Producer goods either become part of the final product or lose their distinct identity in the manufacturing stream. The prices of producer goods are not included in the summation of a

marketing: Limited-service wholesalers: Producers’ cooperatives—owned by their members, who are farmers—assemble farm produce to be sold in local markets and share profits at the end of the year.

statistics: Acceptance sampling: …this error is called the producer’s risk. On the other hand, the error of accepting a poor-quality lot creates a problem for the purchaser or consumer; the probability of this error is called the consumer’s risk.

B-film: …studios were collectively known as Poverty Row, Gower Gulch, or the B-Hive.

The Producers, American screwball comedy–musical film, released in 1968, that is Mel Brooks’s first feature and his most acclaimed work. Zero Mostel played a failed theatrical producer, and Gene Wilder was cast as his timid accountant. Together they hatch a bizarre plot to make a fortune from

Susan Stroman: …directed a film version of The Producers in 2005. Stroman repeated her dual role as director and choreographer in Thou Shalt Not (2001–02), a musical version of Émile Zola’s Thérèse Raquin, as well as in The Frogs (2004), a musical adaptation of the play by Aristophanes; Young Frankenstein (2007), which…

The Producers: …and helped inspire the hit Broadway musical version of the movie, which debuted in 2001 starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, both of whom starred in the film version of the stage musical in 2005.

régisseur: …the American theatre and the producer in that of England. In ballet a régisseur coordinates the activities of the producer, stage technicians, and orchestra; handles the finances of the company; and makes all the arrangements for tours. In the cinema a régisseur’s duties—much like those of the assistant director in…

hip-hop: American hip-hop in the 21st century: …which hip-hop had become a producers’ medium. In the 21st century the music—born from the sonic creations of the deejay—saw some of its greatest innovations in the work of such studio wizards as Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, and the Neptunes. The focus on producers as both a creative and a commercial…