All articles starting with P
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Polyglot persistence
Polyglot persistence: use of multiple, specialized database technologies within one application or enterprise, each chosen for its data's needs; introduced via Neal Ford's polyglot programming idea, popularized by Martin Fowler, central to NoSQL and microservices.
Polyglucosan body myopathy type 1
Polyglucosan body myopathy type 1 (PGBM1, OMIM 615895) is an ultrarare autosomal recessive glycogen storage disorder caused by RBCK1 mutations, causing childhood proximal muscle weakness, dilated cardiomyopathy, and sometimes immunodeficiency.
Polyglutamic acid
Polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) is a water-soluble, anionic biopolymer of D- and L-glutamic acid made by Bacillus fermentation, known as natto's sticky mucilage and used as a food thickener, debittering agent, moisturizer, and drug carrier.
Polyglycerol polyricinoleate
Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR, E 476, INS 476) is a synthetic water-in-oil food emulsifier made from polyglycerol and condensed castor oil fatty acids, used mainly to lower the yield stress of molten chocolate; EFSA set an ADI of 25 mg/kg bw per day in 2017.
Polyglycolide
Polyglycolide (PGA), also called polyglycolic acid, is a synthetic, biodegradable polyester of glycolic acid, introduced in the early 1970s as the first commercial synthetic absorbable suture.
Polygnathus
Polygnathus (Hinde, 1879) is an extinct Devonian to Lower Carboniferous conodont genus, type species P. dubius, with nearly 650 named species; its P1 platform elements define Devonian stage boundaries and record rapid evolution.
Polygnotus (Mercurian crater)
Polygnotus is a ~133 km diameter peak-ring impact crater on Mercury, named after the 5th-century B.C. Greek painter, imaged by MESSENGER in 2008 and embayed with smooth plains near the crater Boethius.
Polygon
A polygon, also called an N-gon, is a closed plane figure bounded by straight segments called sides; the interior angles of an n-sided polygon sum to (n-2) × 180 degrees.
Polygon (website)
Polygon (polygon.com), founded 2012 by Vox Media, is a video game and entertainment news site; sold to Canadian publisher Valnet on May 1, 2025 with mass layoffs, distinct from the Polygon blockchain network.
Polygon mesh
A polygon mesh is a collection of vertices, edges, and faces that defines the surface of a 3D object, the standard representation in computer graphics and games.
Polygon triangulation
Polygon triangulation, also known as polygon division, is the decomposition of a simple polygon into triangles with non-intersecting interiors, a basic primitive in computer graphics and computational geometry.
Polygonaceae
Polygonaceae, the buckwheat or knotweed family, is a cosmopolitan family of flowering plants in the order Caryophyllales, with sheathing stipules called ocreae, and includes the food plants buckwheat, rhubarb, and sorrel.
Polygonatum
Polygonatum (Solomon's seal, Huangjing) is a genus of about 78 accepted perennial herbs in Asparagaceae, native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with three sections, Himalaya-Hengduan origin c. 20 Ma, and rhizomes used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Polygonum
Polygonum (knotweed), a Linnaean 1753 genus of Polygonaceae herbs with ocreae and trigonous achenes, cosmopolitan with most species north temperate; formerly included Persicaria, Fallopia, Reynoutria, and Fagopyrum.
Polygonum aviculare
Polygonum aviculare (prostrate knotweed, knotgrass, bian xu) is a prostrate annual knotweed of Polygonaceae, native to temperate Eurasia, a cosmopolitan weed with medicinal, diuretic use and herbicide-resistant populations.
PolyGram
PolyGram was a Dutch-German record and entertainment company formed from Philips and Siemens recording interests, named PolyGram in 1972, expanded via Island, A&M, and Motown, pressed the first commercial CDs, and was sold to Seagram in 1998, becoming Universal Music Group; the name survives as UMG's Polygram Entertainment film arm.
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, or PolyGram Pictures, was a British-Dutch film studio set up by Michael Kuhn in 1991 and dismantled after Seagram's 1998 takeover of PolyGram.
Polygraph
Polygraph (lie detector): instrument recording respiration, heart rate, blood pressure, and skin conductance while examinees answer questions; invented by Larson in 1921, built on Marston's 1915 blood pressure test and Keeler's portable patented device; used for federal screening and investigations but usually inadmissible in court.
Polygraphy (medicine)
Polygraphy is a home sleep test recording airflow, breathing effort, and oxygen saturation without EEG, used chiefly to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea in adults at moderate to high risk.
Polygynandry
Polygynandry is a mating system in which both males and females mate with multiple partners within a social group, unlike random promiscuity; it occurs in chimpanzees, bonobos, and wild boar.
Polygyny
Polygyny is marriage of one man to two or more wives concurrently, the common form of polygamy, contrasted with rare polyandry and monogamy; concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, about 2% of the global population lives in polygamous households.
Polygyny in Islam
Polygyny in Islam (taʿaddud al-zawjāt): a Muslim man may marry up to four wives under Quran 4:3, conditional on justice and financial support; modern states regulate it variously, from Tunisia's prohibition to court-permission systems.
Polyhalite
Polyhalite is a hydrated sulfate mineral containing potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur, first described in 1817 in Austria and now mined in North Yorkshire, England, as a low-chloride fertilizer.
Polyhedrin
Polyhedrin: the ~30 kDa jelly-roll crystal protein forming nucleopolyhedrovirus occlusion bodies; granulin is its granulovirus counterpart; most conserved baculovirus gene and source of the polh promoter used in baculovirus expression vectors.
Polyhedron
A polyhedron (plural: polyhedra) is a three-dimensional solid bounded by flat polygonal faces joined along straight edges, with corners called vertices; examples include the cube, pyramid, and prism.
Polyhexahydrotriazine
Polyhexahydrotriazine (PHT) is a stiff, solvent-resistant crosslinked thermoset polymer, first reported as recyclable by IBM researchers in 2014 and depolymerized back to amine monomers by acid.
Polyhexanide
Polyhexanide, formally polyhexamethylene biguanide hydrochloride and commonly abbreviated PHMB, is a synthetic cationic polymer used as a broad-spectrum antiseptic, disinfectant, and preservative against bacteria, fungi, parasites, and certain viruses.
Polyhydramnios
Polyhydramnios (hydramnios) is excess amniotic fluid in pregnancy, defined by DVP ≥8 cm or AFI ≥24 cm. Causes include maternal diabetes, fetal swallowing anomalies, and idiopathic cases; managed by surveillance, amnioreduction, or delivery planning.
Polyhydramnios-megalencephaly-symptomatic epilepsy syndrome
PMSE syndrome, also called Pretzel syndrome, is an ultra-rare autosomal recessive neurodevelopmental disorder caused by homozygous STRADA (LYK5) loss on 17q23.3, causing polyhydramnios, infantile intractable epilepsy, megalencephaly, and mTOR hyperactivation.
Polyhydric phenols
Polyhydric phenols, also called polyhydroxybenzenes, are phenols carrying two or more hydroxyl groups on the aromatic ring; their di- and trihydric members are commonly known as polyphenols.