pancreatic cancer Malignant tumour of the pancreas. Risk factors include smoking, a diet high in fat, exposure to certain industrial prod¬ ucts, and diseases such as diabetes and chronic pancreatitis. Pancreatic cancer is more common in men. Symptoms often do not appear until pan¬ creatic cancer is advanced; they include abdominal pain, unexplained weight loss, and difficulty digesting fatty foods. Surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or some combination of these may be used to treat the dis¬ ease.
pancreatitis Vpaq-kre-o-'tl-tosX Inflammation of the pancreas, associated with alcohol, trauma, or pancreatic-duct obstruction. Activated enzymes escaping into pancreatic tissues cause irritation and inflammation. If it does not subside, bleeding, tissue death and scarring, pus formation, and infection may occur. Symptoms include severe pain (worst when lying on the back), low fever, nausea, and hypertension. Acute cases are treated by controlling pain, preventing or relieving shock, inhibiting pancreatic-juice secretion (including eliminating oral intake of food), avoiding infection, and replacing lost fluids and salts. Chronic pancreatitis can destroy enough of the pancreas to cause pancreatic-juice deficiency and diabetes mellitus. Treatment may include a low-fat diet, avoiding overeating and alcohol, pancreatic extracts, and insulin.
panda or giant panda Species (Ailuropoda melanoleuca, family Ursidae) of white-and-black forest¬ dwelling carnivore, found in central China, that subsists almost exclu¬ sively on bamboo. Because they can¬ not digest cellulose, wild pandas (of which there are about 1,600) spend as much as 16 hours a day eating up to 40 lb (18 kg) of bamboo leaves, stems, and shoots to obtain needed nutrients. More than 120 individuals live in captivity, mostly in China.
Large males may attain 6 ft (1.8 m) in length and weigh more than 220 lb (100 kg); females are usually smaller. Giant pandas live alone except when breeding. They have a slow reproductive cycle and are difficult to breed in captivity.
panda, lesser or cat bear or bear cat Long-tailed nocturnal rac¬ coonlike carnivore (Ailurus julgens , family Procyonidae) that inhabits high mountain forests in the Himalayas and adjacent eastern Asia. It is 20-26 in. (50-65 cm) long, excluding the 12-20-in. (30-50-cm) bushy, faintly ringed tail. It weighs 6-10 lbs (3—4.5 kg) and has soft, thick, red¬ dish brown fur. The face is white, with a red-brown stripe from the eyes to the mouth. It eats plants, especially bamboo, and fruits and insects. Though an agile climber, it mostly feeds while on the ground.
Pandora In Greek mythology, the first woman. After Prometheus stole fire from heaven and bestowed it on mortals, Zeus decided to counteract this blessing and commissioned Hephaestus to fashion a woman out of
earth, upon whom the gods bestowed their choicest gifts. After marrying Prometheus’s brother, Pandora opened ajar containing all kinds of mis¬ ery and evil, which escaped and flew out over the earth. In one version, Hope alone remained inside, the lid having been shut before she could escape.
panegyric \,pa-n3-'jir-ik\ Eulogistic oration or laudatory discourse. The panegyric originally was a speech delivered at an ancient Greek general assembly (panegyris ), such as the Olympic and Panathenaic festivals. Speakers frequently advocated Hellenic unity by expounding on the former glories of Greek cities; hence the elaborate and flowery connota¬ tions of the term. Later Roman speakers praised and flattered eminent persons, especially emperors, in panegyrics. The form was also used in the European Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Baroque era.
Pangea \pan-'je-o\ or Pangaea Hypothetical protocontinent pro¬ posed by Alfred Wegener in 1912 as part of his theory of continental drift. Pangea (from Greek: pangaia, “all earth”) supposedly covered about half the Earth and was completely surrounded by a world ocean called Pan- thalassa. Late in the Triassic Period (248-206 million years ago), Pangea began to break apart. Its segments, Laurasia (composed of all the present- day northern continents) and Gondwana (the present-day southern con¬ tinents) gradually receded, resulting in the formation of the Atlantic Ocean.
Pangkor Engagement Vpaq-,k6r\ (1874) Treaty between the British government and Malay chiefs, named for the island where it was signed. In return for British backing in a complicated Perak succession dispute. Raja Abdullah accepted a British resident (adviser) with broad powers at his court, the first step in the establishment of British dominion over the Malay states.
pangolin Vparj-go-lonV or scaly anteater Any of about eight spe¬ cies of armoured placental mammals (genus Manis, order Pholidota) of tropical Asia and Africa. Scales formed of cemented hairs cover the upper body, legs, and tail. Pangolins are 2-6 ft (60-180 cm) long and weigh 10-60 lb (5-27 kg). They have a conical head, no teeth, a long tongue, short legs, and a long prehensile tail. Some are arboreal; terrestrial spe¬ cies live in burrows. Nocturnal animals, pangolins locate prey, mainly termites, by smell and rip open nests with their front claws. When threat¬ ened, the pangolin (Malayan for “rolling over”) curls up or emits an odor¬ iferous secretion. See also anteater; echidna.
panic In economics, a severe financial disturbance, such as widespread bank failures, feverish stock speculation followed by a market crash, or a climate of fear caused by economic crisis or anticipation of such a crisis. The term is applied only to the initial, violent stage of financial upheaval rather than the whole decline in the business cycle (see depression and reces¬ sion). Until the 19th century, economic fluctuations were largely con¬ nected with shortages of goods, market expansion, and speculation (as in the South Sea Bubble). Panics in the industrialized societies of the 19th— 20th centuries have reflected the increasing complexity of advanced economies. The Panic of 1857 in the U.S. had its seeds in the railroads’ defaulting on their bonds and in the decline in the value of railroad secu¬ rities; its effects were complex, including not only the closing of many banks but also severe unem¬ ployment in the U.S. and a money- market panic in Europe. The Panic of 1873, which began with financial cri¬ ses in Vienna and New York, marked the start of a long-term contraction in the world economy. The most infa¬ mous panic began with the U.S. stock-market crash of 1929 (see Great Depression).
Panjabi language See Punjabi
LANGUAGE
Pankhurst, Emmeline orig.
Emmeline Goulden (b. July 14,
1858, Manchester, Eng.—d. June 14,
1928, London) British feminist. In 1879 she married Richard Pankhurst (1834-98), author of Britain’s first
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1442 I Pannini ► pao-chia
women’s-suffrage bill and the Married Women’s Property Acts (1870, 1882). In 1889 she founded the Women’s Franchise League, which in 1894 secured for married women the right to vote in local elections. In 1903, after holding municipal offices in Manchester, she founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). From 1912 she advocated extreme militancy, mainly in the form of arson, and was arrested 12 times in one year. Weeks before her death in 1928, Britain passed a bill to give voting rights to all women. Her daughter Christabel H. Pankhurst (1880- 1958)—later Dame Christabel—organized the militant tactics of the WSPU and directed actions that included hunger strikes and huge out¬ door rallies. She later became a religious evangelist and moved to the U.S.
Pannini \pan-'ne-ne\, Giovanni Paolo or Giovanni Paolo Panini (b. 1691, Piacenza, Duchy of Parma and Piacenza—d. 1765, Rome) Italian painter. After gaining fame for his fresco painting, he spe¬ cialized in Roman topography and became the foremost artist in that field in the 18th century. His real and imaginary views of ancient Roman ruins embody precise observation and tender nostalgia and combine elements of late classical Baroque art with incipient Romanticism. His work was popular both with tourists and his peers: he was admitted to the Academie Fran^aise in 1732 and became its professor of perspective.