Netherlands Antilles \an-'ti-lez\ formerly Curacao \,kur-9-'so, ,kyur-9-'sau\ Nonmetropolitan island territory of The Netherlands (pop., 2005 est.: 183,000), in the Caribbean Sea. Area: 308 sq mi (800 sq km). It consists of two widely separated groups of islands: Sint Eustatius, the southern section of St. Martin, and Saba making up the northern group, at the northern end of the Leeward Islands; and Curacao and Bonaire (and also Aruba until 1986) constituting the southern group, about 500 mi (800 km) to the southwest, off the coast of Venezuela. The capital, on Curasao, is Willemstad. Originally inhabited by Arawak and Carib Indians, the islands were encountered in the late 15th century and claimed for Spain. In the 17th century the Dutch gained control, and in 1845 the islands became the Netherlands Antilles. In 1954 they became an integral part of The Netherlands, with full autonomy in domestic affairs. Aruba seceded from the federation in 1986.
Neto Vna-tu\, (Antonio) Agostinho (b. Sept. 17, 1922, Icolo e Bengo, Angola—4. Sept. 10, 1979, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) Poet, phy¬ sician, and first president of Angola. In 1948 Neto joined a movement aimed at rediscovering indigenous Angolan culture. He studied medicine in Lisbon and returned to Angola in 1959 as a doctor. In 1960 he was arrested in the presence of his patients by colonial authorities, who opened fire when the patients protested. He was imprisoned in Portugal for two years before escaping to join the Marxist Movimento Popular de Liber- ta^ao de Angola (MPLA), whose president he became in 1962. When Angola became independent in 1975, he was proclaimed president, though he never controlled all the country’s territory (see Jonas M. Savimbi). His poems were widely recognized in the Portuguese-speaking world.
nettle family Family Urticaceae, composed of about 45 genera of her¬ baceous plants, shrubs, small trees, and a few vines, found mostly in tropical regions. Many species, especially the nettles ( Urtica ) and Aus¬ tralian nettle trees ( Laportea ), have on their stems and leaves stinging hairs that break the skin and release a fluid that irritates it for hours. Orna¬ mental species include artillery plant ( Pilea microphylla) and baby tears (Helxine soleiroli), both creeping plants. The trumpet tree ( Cecropia peltata ), a species of the New World tropics, has hollow stems that are inhabited by biting ants. Ramie, or China grass ( Boehmeria nivea), pro¬ duces a valuable fibre. Some nettles can be cooked and eaten.
network In broadcasting, a radio or television company that produces programs for broadcast to member stations. See ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, PBS.
network, computer Two or more computers and peripheral equip¬ ment (e.g., printers) that are connected with one another for the purpose of exchanging data electronically. Two basic network types are local area networks (LANs) and wide-area networks. Wide-area networks connect computers and smaller networks to larger networks over greater geo¬ graphical areas, including different continents. Communications may occur over cables, fibre optics, or satellites, but most computer users access the network with a modem, using telephone lines. The largest wide- area network is the Internet. In the 1990s the World Wide Web was intro¬ duced and became the most popular way to access other Internet sites.
network, neural See neural network
Netzahualcoyotl \na- l tsa-wal- , ko-,yo-t 3 l\ City (pop., 2000: 1,225,083), central Mexico. It is a suburb of Mexico City and is one of Mexico’s largest municipalities. Settlement began just after 1900, when Lake Texcoco was reduced in size and large areas of land were uncovered along the southern shore. To the north is Xochiaca Dam (built 1946), which protects the city from floods.
Neubrandenburg Vnoi-.bran-dsn-.burkN City (pop., 2002 est.: 71,723), northeastern Germany, near the northern end of Tollense Lake.
It was founded in 1248 as a fortified outpost, became part of Mecklen¬ burg in about 1300, and prospered from its weaving industry and as a market centre. In the 17th—19th centuries it was plundered during the Thirty Years' War, devastated by fire, and battered by the Napoleonic Wars. Its medieval fortifications are well preserved, but most of its buildings were destroyed by bombing in World War II. Much rebuilt after 1952, it has engineering, food-processing, and chemical industries.
Neuchatel, Lake \,nce-sha-'tel\ Lake, western Switzerland. With an area of 84 sq mi (218 sq km), it is the largest lake entirely within Swit¬ zerland. It is a survivor of a former glacial lake in the lower Aare valley, at the base of the Jura Mountains. On the northern shore is La Tene, a pre¬ historic site, which dates to the late Iron Age culture.
Neue Sachlichkeit \ 1 noi-3-'zak-lik- 1 kIt\ German "New Objectiv¬ ity" Movement in German painting of the 1920s and early 1930s reflect¬ ing the cynicism and resignation of the post-World War I period. The term was coined in 1925 by Gustav Hartlaub, director of the Mannheim Kunst- halle, for an exhibition including works by George Grosz, Otto Dix, and Max Beckmann, the movement’s leading exponents. They worked in a realistic style, as opposed to the prevailing styles of abstraction and Expres¬ sionism, using meticulous detail to portray evil in smooth, cold, and static images derived from Italian Metaphysical painting for the purpose of vio¬ lent social satire. The movement ended in the 1930s with the rise of Nazism.
Neue Ziircher Zeitung Vnoi-o-'tsIBr-kor-'tsI-tuqN German "New Zurich Newspaper" Daily newspaper published in Zurich, Switz., generally considered one of the world’s great newspapers. Founded as the weekly Ziircher Zeitung in 1780, it took its present name in 1821. In 1868 it became a joint-stock company, with shares held by Zurich citizens. Two daily editions were published by 1869, and three by 1894. From its found¬ ing it has appealed to readers interested in deep coverage of international news. Austere in demeanour, it is characterized by careful, nonsensational reporting, highly informed and extremely thorough analysis, and back¬ ground information supplied as context for every major story.
Neuilly \nce-'ye\, Treaty of (November 27, 1919) Peace treaty between Bulgaria and the Allied Powers after World War I, signed at Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Bulgaria was forced to reduce its army to 20,000 men, cede lands to Yugoslavia and Greece that involved the trans¬ fer of 300,000 people, and pay reparations to the Allies.
Neumann Vnoi-.manV, (Johann) Balthasar (b. 1687, Eger, Bohe¬ mia, Austrian Habsburg domain—d. Aug. 19, 1753, Wurzburg) German architect. Bom in Bohemia, Neumann moved to Wurzburg in 1711. In 1719 he began work on a new palace for the prince-bishop, Johann Phil¬ ipp Franz von Schonbom, that was especially noted for its grand stair¬ case. Friedrich Karl von Schonborn, who was elected prince-bishop of Wurzburg in 1729, went on to became Neumann’s greatest patron, put¬ ting Neumann in charge of all major building projects in Wurzburg and Bamberg, including palaces, public buildings, bridges, a water system, and many churches. One of Neumann’s best works was the pilgrimage church at Vierzehnheiligen (1743-53). A master of the late Baroque style, he made ingenious use of domes and barrel vaults to create sequences of round and oval spaces possessing an airy elegance lit by huge windows; the lively interplay of these elements was accented by lavish use of deco¬ rative plasterwork, gilding, statuary, and murals.
Neumann, John von See John von Neumann
neural network Type of parallel computation in which computing elements are modeled on the network of neurons that constitute animal nervous systems. This model, intended to simulate the way the brain pro¬ cesses information, enables the computer to “learn” to a certain degree. A neural network typically consists of a number of interconnected pro¬ cessors, or nodes. Each handles a designated sphere of knowledge, and has several inputs and one output to the network. Based on the inputs it gets, a node can “learn” about the relationships between sets of data, sometimes using the principles of fuzzy logic. For example, a backgam¬ mon program can store and grade results from moves in a game; in the next game, it can play a move based on its stored result and can regrade the stored result if the move is unsuccessful. Neural networks have been used in pattern recognition, speech analysis, oil exploration, weather pre¬ diction, and the modeling of thinking and consciousness.