ExpertGlossary terms starting with A

3,515 terms

  1. anchor gene A gene that has been positioned on both the physical map and the linkage map of a chromosome, and thereby allows their mutual alignment.
  2. Anchor Ice Submerged Frazil ice attached or anchored to the river bottom, irrespective of its formation.
  3. Anchor Ice Dam An accumulation of anchor ice which acts as a dam and raises the water level.
  4. Anchor text An Anchor text is the textual components of web hyperlinks (text links or ‘alt' text associated with image hyperlinks).
  5. anchovy or anchovies A species of 4- to 8-inch baitfish found in the ocean that is also a popular bait used for striped bass at places like Lake Powell, Lake Mead, Lake Mohave…
  6. Ancillary A proceeding which is auxiliary or subordinate to another proceeding.
  7. Ancillary services Those services necessary to support the transmission of electric power from seller to purchaser, given the obligations of control areas and transmitting…
  8. Andesite Volcanic rock (or lava), characteristically medium dark in color and containing 54 to 62 percent silica and moderate amounts of iron and magnesium…
  9. androblastoma (AN-droh-blas-TOH-muh) A rare type of ovarian tumor in which the tumor cells secrete a male sex hormone.
  10. androgen (AN-droh-jen) A type of hormone that promotes the development and maintenance of male sex characteristics.
  11. androgen ablation (AN-droh-jen a-BLAY-shun) Treatment to suppress or block the production or action of male hormones.
  12. androgen deprivation (AN-droh-jen DEH-prih-VAY-shun) Treatment to suppress or block the production or action of male hormones.
  13. androgen suppression (AN-droh-jen suh-PREH-shun) Treatment to suppress or block the production or action of male hormones.
  14. androgen-independent (AN-droh-jen...) Describes the ability of tumor cells to grow in the absence of androgens (hormones that promote the development and maintenance of male…
  15. androgenesis Male parthenogenesis, i.e. the development of a haploid embryo from a male nucleus.
  16. androstanolone (AN-droh-STAN-uh-lone) A hormone made from testosterone in the prostate gland, testes, and some other tissues.
  17. anecdotal report An incomplete description of the medical and treatment history of one or more patients.
  18. Anemia (a-NEE-mee-a) A condition in which the number of red blood cells is below normal.
  19. Anemometer An instrument for measuring the force or velocity of wind; a wind gauge.
  20. Anemorumbograph Anemorumbograph Russian anemograph (recording anemometer) which is equipped with a device to record the wind direction in addition to wind speed.
  21. Anemorumbometer Anemorumbometer Russian anemometer combined with a vane to determine the wind direction.
  22. Aneroid Barometer An instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure in which a needle, attached to the top of an evacuated box, is deflected as changes in atmospheric…
  23. Anesthesia A loss of feeling or awareness caused by drugs or other substances. Anesthesia keeps patients from feeling pain during surgery or other procedures.
  24. anesthesiologist (a-nes-THEE-zee-AH-loh-jist) A doctor who specializes in giving drugs or other agents to prevent or relieve pain during surgery or other procedures being…
  25. anesthetic (a-nes-THEH-tik) A substance that causes loss of feeling or awareness. Local anesthetics cause loss of feeling in a part of the body.
  26. anetholtrithione A substance that is being studied in the treatment of cancer.
  27. Aneuploid (an you ployd') describes an abnormal (not normal) amount of DNA in cells.
  28. angelica root (an-JEH-lih-kuh root) The root of any of a group of herbs called Angelica. It has been used in some cultures to treat certain medical problems, including…
  29. Angels Radar echoes caused by birds, insects, and localized refractive index discontinuities.
  30. Angina Chest pain or severe spasmatic and painful suffocation in the chest casued by reduced blood flow to the heart muscle.
  31. Angiocept (AN-jee-oh-sept) A substance being studied in the treatment of cancer. Angiocept prevents the growth of new blood vessels needed for tumors to grow and…
  32. angiogenesis (AN-jee-oh-JEN-eh-sis) Blood vessel formation. Tumor angiogenesis is the growth of new blood vessels needed for tumors to grow.
  33. angiogenesis inhibitor (AN-jee-oh-JEN-eh-sis in-HIH-bih-ter) A substance that may prevent the formation of blood vessels.
  34. angiogenin One of the human angiogenic growth factors. In addition to stimulating (normal) blood vessel formation, angiogenin levels are correlated with placenta…
  35. angiogram (AN-jee-oh-gram) An x-ray of blood vessels. The person receives an injection of dye to outline the vessels on the x-ray.
  36. angiography (an-jee-AH-gruh-fee) A procedure to x-ray blood vessels. The blood vessels can be seen because of an injection of a dye that shows up in the x-ray.
  37. angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma An aggressive (fast-growing) type of T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma marked by enlarged lymph nodes and hypergammaglobulinemia (increased antibodies in the…
  38. angiomyolipoma (AN-jee-oh-MY-oh-lih-POH-muh) A benign (noncancer) tumor of fat and muscle tissue that usually is found in the kidney.
  39. angioplasty (AN-jee-oh-PLAS-tee) A procedure to enlarge the opening in a blood vessel that has become narrowed or blocked by plaque (a buildup of fat and cholesterol…
  40. angiosarcoma (AN-jee-o-sar-KO-ma) A type of cancer that begins in the cells that line blood vessels or lymph vessels.
  41. angiosperm A division of the plant kingdom that includes all flowering plants, i.e. vascular plants in which double fertilization occurs resulting in development of…
  42. angiostatin (AN-jee-oh-STA-tin) A protein normally made by the body. It can also be made in the laboratory, and is being studied in the treatment of cancer.
  43. angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor A drug that is used to lower blood pressure. An angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor is a type of antihypertensive agent. Also called ACE inhibitor.
  44. Angiozyme A substance that is being studied in the treatment of kidney cancer. It may prevent the growth of blood vessels from surrounding tissue to the tumor.
  45. angle modulation Modulation in which the phase or frequency of a sinusoidal carrier is varied. Note: Phase and frequency modulation are particular forms of angle…
  46. angle of deviation In optics, the net angular deflection experienced by a light ray after one or more refractions or reflections.
  47. Angle of external friction (angle of wall friction) Angle between the abscissa and the tangent of the curve representing the relationship of shearing resistance to normal stress acting between soil and…
  48. Angle of Incidence In reference to solar energy systems, the angle at which direct sunlight strikes a surface; the angle between the direction of the sun and the…
  49. Angle of Inclination In reference to solar energy systems, the angle that a solar collector is positioned above horizontal.
  50. Angle of internal friction (angle of shear resistance) The angle between the axis of normal stress and the tangent to the Mohr envelope at a point representing a given failure-stress condition for solid…
  51. Angle of obliquity The angle between the direction of the resultant stress or force acting on a given plane and the normal to that plane.
  52. Angle of Reflection The angle at which a reflected ray of energy leaves a reflecting surface. It is measured between the outgoing ray and a perpendicular to the surface at…
  53. Angle of repose Angle between the horizontal and the maximum slope that a particular soil or geologic material assumes through natural processes.
  54. Angle of view The angle, both vertical and horizontal, between a viewer's line of sight and the landscape being viewed.
  55. Angle of wall friction Angle between the abscissa and the tangent of the curve representing the relationship of shearing resistance to normal stress acting between soil and…
  56. angler Person using a fishing pole or rod and reel to catch fish.
  57. Angler-day The time spent fishing by one person for any part of a day.
  58. angleworm Any live earthworm placed on a fishing hook.
  59. Angling Usually refers to the recreational catching of fish (sport-fishing) by hook and line.
  60. Angstrom A unit of length equal to 10-8 cm.
  61. angstrom (Å) A unit of length equal to 10-10 m. Note 1: The angstrom is not an SI (International System) unit, and it is not accepted for government use (Fed. Std.
  62. Angstrom Unit A unit of length named for A.J. Angstome, a Swedish spectroscopist, used in measuring electromagnetic radiation equal to 0.000,000,01 centimeters.
  63. angular misalignment loss Power loss caused by the deviation from optimum angular alignment of the axes of source to waveguide, waveguide to waveguide, or waveguide to detector.
  64. Angular resolution The smallest angular size that the instrument can resolve.
  65. Angular Size The size of an object as viewed from the earth. For example, the moon subtends (covers) an angle of 1/2 of a degree.
  66. Anhydrous A compound that does not contain water. For example, fuel ethanol is referred to as "anhydrous ethanol" because most of the water has been removed.
  67. Anhydrous Ethanol One hundred percent alcohol; neat ethanol.
  68. anhydrovinblastine An anticancer drug that belongs to the family of drugs called mitotic inhibitors.
  69. ANI Abbreviation for automatic number identification.
  70. anidulafungin A drug that is used to treat infections caused by fungi. It belongs to the family of drugs called antifungals.
  71. ANIK E1 Canadian telecommunications satellites name.
  72. animal cell immobilization Entrapment of animal cells in some solid material in order to produce some natural product or genetically engineered protein.
  73. animal cloning See: cloning.
  74. animal model An animal with a disease either the same as or like a disease in humans. Animal models are used to study the development and progression of diseases and…
  75. animal study (AN-ih-mul STUH-dee) A laboratory experiment using animals to study the development and progression of diseases.
  76. Animal unit A unit of measure for rangeland livestock equivalent to one mature cow or five sheep or five goats, all over 6 months of age.
  77. Animal Unit (AU) A measurement of herd size used in the dairy industry. One animal unit is equal to 1000 pounds of animals. For example, a 1,200-pound cow equals 1.2 AU.
  78. Animal Unit Month (AUM) A standardized unit of measurement of the amount of forage required by an animal unit for one month.
  79. animal-assisted therapy (A-nih-mul-uh-SIS-ted THAYR-uh-pee) A type of therapy that uses dogs or other pets to improve the physical and mental health of patients with certain…
  80. Animated Ad An ad with movement, often an interactive Java applet or Shockwave or GIF89a file.
  81. Animo With intent.
  82. Animo et facto An intention and fact.
  83. Anion A negatively charged ion in an electrolyte solution, attracted to the anode under the influence of a difference in electrical potential. See cation.
  84. anisochronous Pertaining to transmission in which the time interval separating any two significant instants in sequential signals is not necessarily related to the time…
  85. anisochronous transmission See asynchronous transmission.
  86. anisotropic Pertaining to a material whose electrical or optical properties vary with (a) the direction of propagation of a traveling wave or with (b) different…
  87. Anisotropic mass A mass having different properties in different directions at any given point.
  88. Anisotropy The difference in the property of a system with changes in direction. In this case, anisotropy refers to the difference in the temperature of the cosmic…
  89. ANL Argonne National Laboratory
  90. ANLL A quickly progressing disease in which too many immature white blood cells (not lymphocytes) are found in the blood and bone marrow.
  91. ANMCC Alternate National Military Command Center .
  92. ANMD Army National Missile Defense.
  93. ANN Artificial Neural Networks.
  94. annamycin A substance that is being studied in the treatment of cancer. It belongs to the family of drugs called anthracycline antibiotics.
  95. Anneal The pairing of complementary DNA or RNA sequences, via hydrogen bonding, to form a double-stranded polynucleotide.
  96. Annex (functional) An emergency operations plan element that describes the jurisdiction's plan for functioning in that component area of activity during emergencies.
  97. Annex F written specifications of the application-body document type definition (EFS' filename is application-body.
  98. Annex I Countries/Parties Group of countries included in Annex I (as amended in 1998) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, including all the developed…
  99. Annex I Parties Industrialized countries that, as parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change, have pledged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by the year…
  100. Annexation A change in existing community boundaries resulting from the incorporation of additional land.