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vinyl plastics

(Encyclopedia)vinyl plastics, group of thermoplastics used in molded products, flexible tubing, material for raincoats, and laminated safety glass. Vinyl plastics are polymers and copolymers of vinyl derivatives (i...

typhus

(Encyclopedia)typhus, any of a group of infectious diseases caused by microorganisms classified between bacteria and viruses, known as rickettsias. Typhus diseases are characterized by high fever and an early onset...

Bassas da India

(Encyclopedia)Bassas da India bäˌsäs də ēndyäˈ [key], uninhabited atoll, 0.1 sq mi (0.2 sq km), in the S Mozambique Channel, W Indian Ocean, about midway between Madagascar and Mozambique, part of the Scatte...

Tiwi Islands

(Encyclopedia)Tiwi Islands, island group (2016 pop. 2,453), Northern Territory, Australia, c.50 mi (80 km) N of Darwin, in the Timor Sea. Consisting of Bathurst Island and the much larger Melville Island to the eas...

Senkaku Islands

(Encyclopedia)Senkaku Islands sĕnˈkäko͞o [key], small, uninhabited island group, 8 sq mi (20.7 sq km), Okinawa prefecture, extreme SW Japan, in the East China Sea. Located 90 mi (45 km) NNW of Ishigaki in the R...

Rhaeto-Romanic

(Encyclopedia)Rhaeto-Romanic rēˈtō-rōmănˈĭk [key], generic name for several related dialects of the Romance group of the Italic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Romance languages). The...

Flinders Island

(Encyclopedia)Flinders Island, Australia: see Furneaux Group. ...

Kinmen

(Encyclopedia)Kinmen, island group, Taiwan: see Quemoy. ...

Gotthard Tunnel

(Encyclopedia)Gotthard Tunnel: see Saint Gotthard, mountain group. ...

Jehovah's Witnesses

(Encyclopedia)Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian group originating in the United States at the end of the 19th cent., organized by Charles Taze Russell, whose doctrine centers on the Second Coming of Christ. The Witnes...