China: The Chinese Communist Party: …Comintern, in 1919 and sent Grigory N. Voytinsky to China the next year. Voytinsky met Li Dazhao in Beijing and Chen Duxiu in Shanghai, and they organized the Socialist Youth League, laid plans for the Communist Party, and started recruiting young intellectuals. By the spring of 1921 there were about…

Spanish literature: The Generation of 1927: Truth of Two and Other Poems), profoundly personal love experiences inspire subtle observations on the solidity of external reality and the fleeting world of subjective perception. Guillén’s lifelong poetic effort, Cántico (Cántico: A Selection), first published in 1928 and repeatedly enlarged in successive editions, constitutes…

Cabo Verde: Media and publishing: …A Semana, Terra Nova, and Voz di Povo—all issued in Portuguese—are published. Freedom of the press, guaranteed by the constitution, is generally honoured. Portuguese and foreign-language books have a small but established market.

Ivanovo: …from two villages, Ivanovo and Voznesensk, in 1871; until 1932 it was known as Ivanovo-Voznesensk. The first linen mills in Russia were founded near Ivanovo by order of Peter I the Great in 1710. A large number of weaving mills and textile-printing factories were subsequently opened there, so that by…

Andrey Andreyevich Voznesensky was a Russian poet who was one of the most prominent of the generation of writers that emerged in the Soviet Union after the Stalinist era. Voznesensky spent his early childhood in the city of Vladimir. In 1941 he moved with his mother and sister to Kurgan, in the

Aral Sea: Environmental consequences: …receded to a level where Vozrozhdenya Island had become a peninsula of the mainland. The increasing accessibility of the island from the mainland was of special concern because Vozrozhdenya had been a secret testing ground for Soviet biological weapons during the Cold War. In addition to experiments done there on…

linguistics: Chomsky’s grammar: …for Noun Phrase, VP for Verb Phrase, Det for Determiner, Aux for Auxiliary (verb), N for Noun, and V for Verb stem.

submachine gun: …extent after the Italian double-barreled Villar Perosa, or VP, a 1915 innovation that fired so fast it emptied its magazine in two seconds. The Germans identified their weapon, the first true submachine gun, as the MP18, or the Bergmann Muskete. This weapon was first issued in 1918, the last year…

advanced ceramics: Film deposition: …physical vapour deposition (PVD) and chemical vapour deposition (CVD). PVD methods include laser ablation, in which a high-energy laser blasts material from a target and through a vapour to a substrate, where the material is deposited. Another PVD approach involves sputtering, in which energetic electrons bombard the surface of a…

virtual reality: Entertainment: The VPL DataGlove was brought to market in 1987, and in October of that year it appeared on the cover of Scientific American (see photograph). VPL also spawned a full-body, motion-tracking system called the DataSuit, a head-mounted display called the EyePhone, and a shared VR system…

VPN, a private computer network deployed over a public telecommunications network, such as the Internet. A VPN typically includes one or more connected corporate intranets, or local area networks (LANs), which users at remote locations can access using a password authentication system. Data

vice president of the United States of America, officer next in rank to the president of the United States, who ascends to the presidency on the event of the president’s death, disability, resignation, or removal. The vice president also serves as the presiding officer of the U.S. Senate, a role

lung ventilation/perfusion scan, in medicine, a test that measures both air flow (ventilation) and blood flow (perfusion) in the lungs. Lung ventilation/perfusion scanning is used most often in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism, the blockage of one of the pulmonary arteries or of a connecting

Novichok: …which includes the potent agent VR, as well as from chemicals in the G series, which includes the nerve agents sarin and soman. Novichok agents are sometimes also referred to as the A series.

virtual reality (VR), the use of computer modeling and simulation that enables a person to interact with an artificial three-dimensional (3-D) visual or other sensory environment. VR applications immerse the user in a computer-generated environment that simulates reality through the use of

wheel and axle: …with the system is the velocity ratio, or the ratio of the velocity (VF) with which the operator pulls the rope at F to the velocity at which the weight W is raised (VW). This ratio is equal to twice the radius of the large drum divided by the difference…

automotive industry: The industry in the United States: Called the Voluntary Restraint Agreement (VRA), it spelled out how many cars each Japanese producer could ship to the United States in a single year. The VRA took effect in 1981 and was renewed annually through the early 1990s. A similar agreement was in effect in Canada…

Vratsa, town, northwestern Bulgaria. It is situated in the northern foothills of the western Balkan Mountains at the point where the Leva River emerges from its picturesque Vratsata gorge. The town was moved to its present position in the early 15th century after the Turks had destroyed a

Zacynthus: …in the 2,480-foot- (756-metre-) high Mount Vrakhiónas. The plain is bounded on the east by a low range of hills. The capital of the island and nomós, Zákynthos town, lies on the east coast on the site of ancient Zacynthus; it is the seat of a metropolitan bishop.

Vrancea, judeƫ (county), east-central Romania, occupying an area of 1,875 square miles (4,857 square km). The Eastern Carpathian and sub-Carpathian mountains rise above settlement areas in the county’s valleys and lowlands. The southward-draining Siret River constitutes most of the county’s eastern

Netherlands: Culture: …such as the Gouda official Vrancken in the days of the foundation of the republic and Grotius in the early 17th century portrayed the republic as essentially unchanged since the early Middle Ages or even since antiquity—a country where sovereignty resided in provincial and town assemblies, which had partly lost…

Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangel was a Russian explorer who completed the mapping of the northeastern coast of Siberia (1820–24). Wrangel Island off the Siberian coast was named in his honour. Graduating from the Russian naval academy in 1815, Wrangel sailed around the world in the sloop Kamchatka under

Wrangel Island, island, in Chukotka autonomous okrug (district), far northeastern Russia, lying in the Arctic Ocean and separating the East Siberian Sea from the Chukchi Sea. The long, narrow island is about 78 miles (125 km) wide and occupies an area of some 2,800 square miles (7,300 square km).

Franz Vranitzky is an Austrian political leader who served as Austria’s chancellor (1986–97) and was chairman of the Socialist Party (from 1991, Social Democratic Party; Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs [SPÖ]; 1988–97). Vranitzky worked for the Austrian National Bank (1961–70) and received a

Jain vrata, in Jainism, a religion of India, any of the vows (vratas) that govern the activities of both monks and laymen. The mahavratas, or five “great vows,” are undertaken for life only by ascetics and include vows of noninjury, abstention from lying and stealing, chastity, and renunciation of

Vratsa, town, northwestern Bulgaria. It is situated in the northern foothills of the western Balkan Mountains at the point where the Leva River emerges from its picturesque Vratsata gorge. The town was moved to its present position in the early 15th century after the Turks had destroyed a

house of Přemysl: The Přemyslid prince Vratislav II (1061–92) obtained from the Holy Roman emperor Henry IV the title of king of Bohemia as a personal (i.e., nonhereditary) privilege, and Prince Vladislav II (1140–73) was awarded the royal crown on the same basis by Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. In 1197 Přemysl…

Vratsa, town, northwestern Bulgaria. It is situated in the northern foothills of the western Balkan Mountains at the point where the Leva River emerges from its picturesque Vratsata gorge. The town was moved to its present position in the early 15th century after the Turks had destroyed a

vratya, wandering ascetic, member of either an ethnic group or a sect, located principally in the Magadha (Bihar) region of ancient India. The vratyas lived outside the fold of the dominant Vedic society and practiced their own forms of austerity and esoteric rites. The Rigveda uses the term vratya

Jean Le Bel: …1327, Le Bel wrote his Vrayes Chroniques (“True Chronicles”), recounting the events of the reign of Edward III, at his request. Later he retired to Liège, where he had held a canonry at the cathedral since the age of about 23. His work was known only in fragments until 1861,…

Quaternary: Hominin evolution: American paleontologist Elisabeth Vrba and other scientists have suggested that climate changes 2.5 million years ago accelerated the evolution of hominins (members of the human lineage), giving rise to our genus, Homo. The details of this process, and the exact pathways of ancestors and descendants, are highly…

Rudolf Vrba was a Slovak Jewish biochemist, one of five Jewish prisoners to ever escape Auschwitz, the most lethal of the extermination camps in existence during World War II. Vrba’s detailed retelling of events at Auschwitz informed the 1944 Vrba-Wetzler Report, a critical account of the protocol

Rudolf Vrba was a Slovak Jewish biochemist, one of five Jewish prisoners to ever escape Auschwitz, the most lethal of the extermination camps in existence during World War II. Vrba’s detailed retelling of events at Auschwitz informed the 1944 Vrba-Wetzler Report, a critical account of the protocol

Why wasn’t Auschwitz bombed?: The Vrba-Wetzler report provided a clear picture of life and death at Auschwitz. As a result, Jewish leaders in Slovakia, some American Jewish organizations, and the War Refugee Board all urged the Allies to intervene. However, the request was far from unanimous. Jewish leadership was divided.…

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Drainage: boundary with Croatia; the Bosna, Vrbas, and Una, which flow north and empty into the Sava; the Drina, which flows north, forms part of the eastern boundary with Serbia, and is also a tributary of the Sava; and the Neretva, which flows from the southeast but assumes a sharp southwestern…

Czech literature: The 18th and 19th centuries: …of the cosmopolitan tendency was Jaroslav Vrchlický (pseudonym of Emil Frída), who was probably the most prolific of all Czech writers. His lyrics show an amazing mastery of language, while a vast cycle of historical epics contain probably his best work. But his greatest influence was exercised by his many…

Vredefort Dome, the largest known meteorite impact structure on Earth. The Vredefort Dome is an area of raised land near the town of Vredefort in the Free State province of South Africa. The dome is at the centre of a crater formed by the impact of a very large meteorite about 2.023 billion years

Vredefort Dome, the largest known meteorite impact structure on Earth. The Vredefort Dome is an area of raised land near the town of Vredefort in the Free State province of South Africa. The dome is at the centre of a crater formed by the impact of a very large meteorite about 2.023 billion years

Vredefort Dome, the largest known meteorite impact structure on Earth. The Vredefort Dome is an area of raised land near the town of Vredefort in the Free State province of South Africa. The dome is at the centre of a crater formed by the impact of a very large meteorite about 2.023 billion years

Vredefort Dome, the largest known meteorite impact structure on Earth. The Vredefort Dome is an area of raised land near the town of Vredefort in the Free State province of South Africa. The dome is at the centre of a crater formed by the impact of a very large meteorite about 2.023 billion years

Sara Lidman: … (1977; “Your Servant Is Listening”), Vredens barn (1979; “The Children of Wrath”), Nabots sten (1981; Naboth’s Stone), and Järnkronan (1985; “The Iron Crown”)—she recreated a world of preindustrial history, dialects, and biblical imagination, of physical hardship and provincial sentiments depicted with narrative passion and lyrical sensitivity. Set in the far…

Jeppe Aakjær: Vredens børn, et tyendes saga (1904; “Children of Wrath: A Hired Man’s Saga”), which is considered to be his most powerful novel, was a strong plea for the betterment of the farm labourer’s lot. The book initiated much public discussion and helped lead the way…

Carl Theodor Dreyer: …Le Fanu; Vredens dag (1943; Day of Wrath) is a drama of witch-hunting and religious persecution, set in 17th-century Denmark, that won international recognition and substantially contributed to the revival of the Danish cinema; Tvä människor (1945; Two People); and Ordet (1955; The Word), winner of the Grand Prize at…

Diana Vreeland was an American editor and fashion expert whose dramatic personality and distinctive tastes marked her successful leadership of major American fashion magazines during the mid-20th century. Diana Dalziel was the daughter of a Scottish father and an American mother in whose home the

Diana Vreeland was an American editor and fashion expert whose dramatic personality and distinctive tastes marked her successful leadership of major American fashion magazines during the mid-20th century. Diana Dalziel was the daughter of a Scottish father and an American mother in whose home the

Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Works of the 1860s: …edited two influential journals, first Vremya (1861–63; “Time”), which was closed by the government on account of an objectionable article, and then Epokha (1864–65; “Epoch”), which collapsed after the death of Mikhail. After first trying to maintain a middle-of-the-road position, Dostoyevsky began to attack the radicals, who virtually defined the…

Valentin Katayev: Katayev’s Vremya, vperyod! (1932; Time, Forward!), concerning workers’ attempts to build a huge steel plant in record time, is considered among the most readable of Soviet five-year-plan novels. Some critics have noted the influence of John Dos Passos in this work. Katayev’s children’s book Syn polka (1945; “Son of…

Abidjan: The Vridi Canal opened the lagoon to the sea in 1950, and the city soon became the major shipping and financial centre of French-speaking West Africa. The first of two bridges linking the mainland to Petit-Bassam Island was built in 1958. Abidjan’s modern deepwater port exports…

Karlovy Vary: …springs, the best-known and hottest, Vřídlo (German: Sprudel), gushes a geyser of hot water (162° F [72° C]) to a height of 37 feet (11 meters).

Izu Islands: Ō Island, the largest of the Seven Islands group, is 35 square miles (91 square km) in area. It was known to Western cartographers as Vries Island, after the Dutch navigator Martin Heritzoon de Vries, who reached it in 1643. The islands were used by…

Adriaen de Vries was a Dutch Mannerist sculptor known for his bronze sculpture groups, many of which were made for the court of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. De Vries left his homeland, where there was little interest in sculpture at the time, and he never returned. In Florence he studied under

Hugo de Vries was a Dutch botanist and geneticist who introduced the experimental study of organic evolution. His rediscovery in 1900 (simultaneously with the botanists Carl Correns and Erich Tschermak von Seysenegg) of Gregor Mendel’s principles of heredity and his theory of biological mutation,

Hugo de Vries was a Dutch botanist and geneticist who introduced the experimental study of organic evolution. His rediscovery in 1900 (simultaneously with the botanists Carl Correns and Erich Tschermak von Seysenegg) of Gregor Mendel’s principles of heredity and his theory of biological mutation,

Peter De Vries was an American editor and novelist widely known as a satirist, linguist, and comic visionary. De Vries was the son of Dutch immigrants to the United States and was reared in a Calvinist environment on Chicago’s South Side. He graduated (1931) from Calvin College in Grand Rapids,

Vriesea, genus of epiphytes (plants that are supported by another plant and have aerial roots exposed to the humid atmosphere) of the pineapple family (Bromeliaceae), containing nearly 200 South American species. Many species are grown indoors as decorative plants. The stiff, sword-shaped, fleshy

monotheism: Religion of Israel and Judaism: …eminent Dutch Hebrew Bible scholar Theodorus C. Vriezen wrote: “It is striking how the whole life of the people is seen as dominated by Yahweh and by Yahweh alone. Even if one cannot speak of a strictly maintained monotheistic way of thinking, it is yet clear that faith in Yahweh…

Het Vrije Volk, former daily evening socialist newspaper, once one of the largest and most influential dailies in the Netherlands. It was established in 1900 as Het Volk (“The People”), the official organ of the Socialist Democratic Labour Party. During the German occupation of the Netherlands in

Vrijji, confederacy of the Licchavis and neighboring peoples in Bihar, India, that existed from the 6th century bce to the 4th century ce. Its capital was at Vaishali (in modern Besarh). It was governed as an aristocratic republic. Gautama Buddha is said to have modeled the organizational structure

François Mansart: Early years and works.: In the same period, Phélypeaux de La Vrillière, an officer of the crown, commissioned Mansart to build a town house in Paris (rebuilt after Mansart’s death). The building, known from engravings, was a fine example of Mansart’s ability to arrive at subtle, ingenious, and dignified solutions to the problems…

Vrindavan, town in western Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It is situated on the west bank of the Yamuna River, just north of Mathura. The town is the sacred center of the Hindu deity Krishna and those who worship him. It is especially important to the Gaudiya sect of Vaishnavism and is a

Mysuru: …the dam are the terraced Brindavan Gardens with their cascades and fountains, which are floodlit at night. Somnathpur, to the east, has a temple built (1268) under the Hoysala dynasty. Bandipur Sanctuary, part of the Venugopal Wildlife Park (1941), is usually approached from Mysuru. It is noted for herds of…

Indra: …enemies, most famously the dragon Vritra, a leader of the dasas and a demon of drought. Vritra is accused as a dragon of hoarding the waters and the rains, as a dasa of stealing cows, and as an anti-god of hiding the Sun. Indra is strengthened for those feats by…

Dharma-shastra: … verses from various quarters) and vrittis (commentaries upon individual continuous smritis). The nibandhas and vrittis, juridical works intended for legal advisers, exhibit considerable skill in harmonizing divergent sutras and smritis.

Croatian literature: …literature included experimental autobiographies by Irena Vrkljan (Marina ili o biografiji [1985; Marina; or, About Biography]), playing with the boundaries between autobiography and biography; spirited stories and novels by Dubravka Ugrešić; essays and novels by feminist journalist and writer Slavenka Drakulić (The Balkan Express, 1993); genre novels by the popular…

rock: Types of remanent magnetization: VRM (viscous remanent magnetization) results from thermal agitation. It is acquired slowly over time at low temperatures and in the Earth’s magnetic field. The effect is weak and unstable but is present in most rocks.

computer graphics: Processors and programs: VRML (virtual reality modeling language) is a graphics description language for World Wide Web applications. Several commercial and free packages provide extensive three-dimensional modeling capabilities for realistic graphics. More modest tools, offering only elementary two-dimensional graphics, are the “paint” programs commonly installed on home computers.

Vrindavan, town in western Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It is situated on the west bank of the Yamuna River, just north of Mathura. The town is the sacred center of the Hindu deity Krishna and those who worship him. It is especially important to the Gaudiya sect of Vaishnavism and is a

Ukraine: Theatre and motion pictures: Taras Tomenko, Ihor Strembytsky, and Maryna Vroda. The Ukrainian motion picture industry is centred in Kyiv and Odessa.

Count Aleksey Vronsky, fictional character, a handsome young army officer who seduces the title character of Leo Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina

MRSA: Treatment: aureus (VRSA), against which few agents are effective. In addition, the use of teicoplanin, an antibiotic derived from vancomycin, has given rise to teicoplanin-resistant MRSA strains. There are other agents available to treat MRSA infection, though many have limited therapeutic benefit, primarily because of severe side…

South Asian arts: Period of the Tamil Cōḷa Empire (10th–13th century): His Vṛṣādhipa Śatakam consists of verses in Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Sanskrit, and Telugu. This work was probably the first of the genre of śatakas (“centuries” of verses) literature, particularly popular in Telugu but also written in the other three languages as well as in Sanskrit (see…

ancient Iranian religion: Vrthraghna: The mighty deity of war Vrthraghna had martial traits in common with Mithra and with the Vedic war god Indra. In post-Achaemenian times he was syncretistically equated with Hercules and was a favourite deity of monarchs, some of whom took his name. The name…

Mikhail Aleksandrovich Vrubel was a Russian painter, sculptor, and draftsman who was a pioneer of Modernism with an original vision. An innovator by nature, Vrubel rejected tradition, but he was out of step with his times. He was misunderstood by his contemporaries, and his life ended tragically.

Ovruch, city, western Ukraine. Ovruch was first mentioned in documents in ad 977, when it was known as Vruchyi. The city was incorporated in 1795. Ovruch later became a centre of varied industries, including food processing and flax spinning. Its main architectural monument is St. Basil’s Church,

Pearl Jam: Vs.: …on the band’s second album, Vs. (1993), and canceling a tour in 1994 as a result of a heated battle over ticket prices. Instead, the band scheduled concerts at venues that were much smaller than the stadiums the group usually played and experimented with unorthodox ticket distribution techniques. Within three…

police: Lie detectors: Voice-stress analyzers (VSAs), which became commercially available in the 1970s, rely on the detection of minute variations in the voice of the subject. Advocates of voice-stress analysis contend that inaudible vibrations in the voice, known as microtremors, speed up when a person is lying. During…

telecommunications media: Satellite links: In the very small aperture terminal (VSAT) network, used mainly for commercial data communication, GEO satellites serve as the central relay between a terrestrial hub and a wide-area network of small and inexpensive terrestrial transceivers with dish antennas as small as 40 cm (16 inches) in diameter.…

Bund, Jewish socialist political movement founded in Vilnius in 1897 by a small group of workers and intellectuals from the Jewish Pale of tsarist Russia. The Bund called for the abolition of discrimination against Jews and the reconstitution of Russia along federal lines. At the time of the

chemical bonding: Molecular shapes and VSEPR theory: There is a sharp distinction between ionic and covalent bonds when the geometric arrangements of atoms in compounds are considered. In essence, ionic bonding is nondirectional, whereas covalent bonding is directional. That is, in ionic compounds there is no intrinsically preferred direction

Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), the major political party of Russia and the Soviet Union from the Russian Revolution of October 1917 to 1991. (Read Leon Trotsky’s 1926 Britannica essay on Lenin.) The Communist Party of the Soviet Union arose from the Bolshevik wing of the Russian Social

Pioneers, former Soviet organization for youth aged 9 to 14, closely associated with the Komsomol (q.v.) for youth aged 14 to

Komsomol, in the history of the Soviet Union, organization for young people aged 14 to 28 that was primarily a political organ for spreading Communist teachings and preparing future members of the Communist Party. Closely associated with this organization were the Pioneers (All-Union Lenin Pioneer

Russia: Motion pictures: …world’s first film school, the All-Union Institute of Cinematography in Moscow. Supported by Lenin, who recognized film’s ability to communicate his revolutionary message to illiterate and non-Russian-speaking audiences, the school initially trained filmmakers in the art of agitprop (agitation and propaganda). Like Eisenstein, who incorporated the Marxist dialectic in his…

Suzdal: …and his brother and successor, Vsevolod III (1176–1212), organized a strong monarchical political system and, as rulers of the Grand Principality of Vladimir, became the most powerful of the Russian princes. They encouraged their subordinate princes to develop the principality and to build churches, palaces, and new cities.

Nizhny Novgorod: …major chronicle, in 1221 by Yury Vsevolodovich, prince of Vladimir, as Russian colonization was advancing to the Volga into lands formerly occupied by the Mordvinians. Nizhny Novgorod’s strategic site on the great Volga route from the Baltic to Central Asia—with links via the navigable Oka River to the Vladimir-Moscow region…

history of publishing: Continental Europe: Catherine II used her Vsiakaia Vsiachina (1769–70), also modeled on the Spectator, to attack opponents, among them Nikolay Novikov, whose “Drone” (1769–70) and “Windbag” (1770) were suspended and whose “Painter” (1770–72) escaped only by being dedicated to the Empress.

radio telescope: Radio telescope arrays: …(26-foot) dish, known as the VLBI Space Observatory Program (VSOP), in Earth orbit. Working with the VLBA and other ground-based radio telescopes, VSOP gave interferometer baselines up to 33,000 km (21,000 miles). (VSOP was also known as the Highly Advanced Laboratory for Communication and Astronomy [HALCA].) In 2003 the VSOP…

virus: Disease: …infected cell is the negative-strand vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) of the family Rhabdoviridae; viral RNA newly synthesized by infectious VSV rapidly shuts off cellular RNA synthesis and, to a somewhat lesser extent, cellular protein synthesis. In both poliovirus and VSV, the infected cell dies within hours of the inhibition of…

Ebola: Treatment: …including a vaccine known as VSV-EBOV, which was found to be highly effective in preventing the spread of ebolavirus among persons in close contact with infected individuals. VSV-EBOV was a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV)-based vaccine that expressed an EBOV glycoprotein. When VSV-EBOV was injected, the vaccinated individuals generated antibodies…

proximity fuze, an explosive ignition device used in bombs, artillery shells, and mines. The fuze senses when a target is close enough to be damaged or destroyed by the weapon’s explosion. The sensor is typically a small radar set that sends out signals and listens for their reflections from nearby

traffic control: New concepts: …meet the goals of the vessel traffic centre (to manage traffic) and the ship (to move through the area) by integrating space management, position fixing, track monitoring, and collision avoidance. The vessel traffic centre (VTC) coordinates ship passage in an area so as to be orderly and predictable. Position fixing…

VTOL airplane, any of several unconventional aircraft with rotating wing systems, such as the helicopter and autogiro. They may also have rotatable jet systems capable of vertical lift-off and landing in areas that only slightly exceed the overall dimensions of the aircraft. The first operational

Volga-Ural Petroleum and Gas Province, principal petroleum-producing region of Russia. Situated in the southern part of European Russia, it stretches from the west flank of the Ural Mountains to west of the Volga River. The largest fields are in Bashkortostan and Tatarstan and near Samara (Syzran

traffic control: New concepts: …systems are integrated in a vessel traffic system (VTS), which can be defined as an assortment of personnel, procedures, equipment, and regulations assembled for the purpose of traffic management in a given body of water. A VTS includes some means of area surveillance, traffic separation, vessel movement reporting, a traffic…

history of photography: Photojournalism: One was the short-lived Vu, established in Paris in 1928. An issue of Vu devoted entirely to the Spanish Civil War contained memorable photographs by Robert Capa. In 1936 both Life and Look were conceived in the United States, and a formula evolved in which the picture editor, photographer,…

coelacanth: …coelacanth being classified as a vulnerable species.

fingerprint: Juan Vucetich, an employee of the police of the province of Buenos Aires in 1888, devised an original system of fingerprint classification published in book form under the title Dactiloscopía comparada (1904; “Comparative Fingerprinting”). His system is still used in most Spanish-speaking countries.

Serbia: Independent Serbia: The leader of the SNS, Aleksandar Vučić, was a one-time ally of Slobodan Milošević, but his campaign focused on economic reform and anticorruption measures rather than nationalism. He promised to continue to follow a pro-European path by privatizing inefficient state businesses and liberalizing the economy, a goal made all the…

Madi: …under the ritual care of vudupi (“owners of the land”—i.e., descendants of the indigenous or pre-clan population of the area). Vudupi have a ritual relationship with the land that includes the presumed power to control wind and crop-destroying pests. The Madi have about 25 chiefdoms with boundaries that differ from…

Tomás Eloy Martínez: …Alfaguara Prize for his novel El vuelo de la reina. His other novels include Sagrado (1969), La mano del amo (1991), and Purgatorio (2008). He also wrote essays, most notably “Los testigos de afuera” (1978) and “Retrato del artista enmascarado” (1982); a collection of short stories titled Lugar común la…