ExpertGlossary terms starting with D

2,757 terms

dispersal transfer of duplicate copies of vital records to locations beyond those where the originals are housed See also built-in dispersal and mirror site.
Dispersal habitat See spotted owl habitat.
Dispersing agent An agent used to assist in separating individual fine soil particles and to prevent them from flocculating when in suspension.
Dispersion Distortion of the shape of a seismic-wave train because of variation of velocity with frequency.
dispersion coefficient See material dispersion coefficient.
dispersion-limited operation Operation of a communications link in which signal waveform degradation attributable to the dispersive effects of the communications medium is the…
dispersion-shifted fiber A single-mode optical fiber that has its minimum-dispersion wavelength shifted, by the addition of dopants, toward its minimum-loss wavelength.
dispersion-unmodified fiber Synonym dispersion-unshifted fiber.
dispersion-unshifted fiber A single-mode optical fiber that has a nominal zero-dispersion wavelength in the 1.3-m transmission window.
Displacement Displacement is the replacement of a U.S. worker by an H-1B worker in an essentially equivalent job and occurs within the period beginning 90 days before…
Displacement inquiry Displacement inquiry is an obligation of H-1B dependent employers and/or willful violators when they desire to place an H-1B (excluding H-1B1 or E-3)…
Displacement Power A source of power (electricity) that can displace power from another source so that source's power can be transmitted to more distant loads.
Displacement pump Reciprocating type of pump where a piston draws water into a closed chamber and then expels it under pressure.
display device An output unit that gives a visual representation of data.
display name A descriptive name that is assigned to a directory object when it is created. The display name is predominantly used in user interfaces such as client…
Display Window The large glazed portion of the storefront, and the associated framing, above the bulkhead and below the transom, extending from pier to pier.
Disposable personal income Total after-tax income received by persons; it is the income available to persons for spending or saving.
Disposal A term used in some countries, including the U.S., to mean that an application has been abandoned, denied (rejected) or allowed (granted).
disposal authority The legal authorization for the disposal of records granted by the Department of General Services.
disposal list A document providing one-time authorization for the legal destruction of specified nonrecurring series.
disposal period The length of time, based on an event or a chronological period, during which a series is retained before its authorized disposal.
dispose To carry out disposition instructions to destroy or donate temporary records after their retention period expires or other documentary material without…
disposition The court's final determination of a lawsuit, the outcome of the case.
disposition agreement A general term that includes all types of agreements (records schedules, deeds of gift, deposit agreements) that contain disposition instructions.
disposition instruction The instructions contained in a disposition agreement that mandate what is to be done with documentary material at certain points in their lifecycle.
disposition period The time period scheduled for the cutoff, transfer to a records center, destruction or transfer to the State Archives. See also retention period.
disposition schedule retention schedule.
Dispute resolution Dispute resolution - sometimes called alternative dispute resolution - refers to methods of resolving conflicts between parties or individuals that…
disrupter gene Used to enforce the sterility of seed saved from a genetically engineered crop. See: genetic use restriction technology.
Disruption An unplanned event that causes the general system or major application to be inoperable for an unacceptable length of time (e.g.
dissecting microscope A microscope with a magnifying power of about 50x, used as an aid in the manipulation of small objects, e.g. excision of embryos from young zygotes.
dissection Separation of a tissue by cutting into components, for analysis or observation.
disseminate (dih-SEM-ih-NATE) Scatter or distribute over a large area or range.
Dissent To disagree. An appellate court opinion setting forth the minority view and outlining the disagreement of one or more judges with the decision of the…
dissociation A chemical process by means of which a change in physical condition causes a molecule to split into simple groups of atoms, single atoms, or ions.
Dissolution The termination; process of dissolving or winding up something.
dissolve To enter into a solution.
dissolved oxygen The amount of free (usable) oxygen in water. Usually designated in parts per million.
Dissolved oxygen (DO) Amount of free oxygen found in water; perhaps the most commonly employed measurement of water quality.
DISSP Defense-wide Information Systems Security Program.
distal In medicine, refers to a part of the body that is farther away from the center of the body than another part.
distal pancreatectomy (DIS-tul PAN-kree-uh-TEK-toh-mee) Removal of the body and tail of the pancreas.
Distance Learning Synonym teletraining.
distance measuring equipment (DME) In radio location systems, equipment that ascertains the distance between an interrogator and a transponder. [From Weik '89]
distance training Synonym teletraining.
Distance zones A subdivision of the landscape as viewed from an observer position. The BLM defined zones include foreground, middleground, background, and seldom seen.
distance-decay function In spatial interaction, the mathematical representation of the effect of distance on the accessibility and number of interactions between locations.
distant cancer Refers to cancer that has spread from the original (primary) tumor to distant organs or distant lymph nodes. Also known as distant metastasis.
distant metastasis (...meh-TAS-tuh-sis) Refers to cancer that has spread from the original (primary) tumor to distant organs or distant lymph nodes.
distillate The portion of a liquid that is removed as vapor and condensed during a distillation process.
Distillate fuel oil Products of refinery distillation sometimes referred to as middle distillates; kerosene, diesel fuel, and home heating oil. No.
Distillate oil Any distilled product of crude oil. A light petroleum product used for home heating and most machinery.
distillation The process of heating a mixture to separate the more volatile from the less volatile parts, and then condensing fractions of the resulting vapour so as…
distillers dried grains (DDG) The dried grain byproduct of the grain fermentation process, which may be used as a high-protein animal feed.
Distillers´ dried grains (DDG) The dried byproduct of the grain fermentation process. Typically used as a high-protein animal feed.
distinctive alerting Special ringing or call-waiting tone patterns sent by the network to convey information to a customer installation (CI) about the called number, the…
distinguished folder A folder in a mailbox that can be referenced by Web services requests to identify a folder by name.
distinguished name A name that uniquely identifies an object by using the relative distinguished name for the object, plus the names of container objects and domains that…
Distinguished Name Tag (DNT) An integer column that is maintained by the Extensible Storage Engine (ESE). Domain controllers use DNTs when they create objects, either locally or…
Distinguishing Identifier Information which unambiguously distinguishes an entity in the authentication process.
distortion In a system or device, any departure of the output signal waveform from that which should result from the input signal waveform's being operated on by the…
distortion-limited operation The condition prevailing when distortion of a received signal, rather than its attenuated amplitude (or power), limits performance under stated…
distraction In medicine, a pain relief method that takes the patient's attention away from the pain.
distress (dih-STRESS) Extreme mental or physical pain or suffering.
distributed Running in more than one address space.
distributed application An application made up of distinct components running in separate runtime environments, usually on different platforms connected via a network.
Distributed Authoring and Versioning (DAV) An extension to the HTTP protocol, DAV enables a client to perform file-system type operations on a remote server, opening the door for creating Web-based…
Distributed Authoring Search and Location (DASL) Defines the SEARCH operation implemented in DAV. The body of the SEARCH method contains the request or criteria for the search.
distributed cache A Hadoop feature that allow you to transfer files from a distributed file system to the local file system.
distributed computing environment See DCE.
distributed control Control of a network from multiple points. Note: Each point controls a portion of the network, using local information or information transmitted over the…
Distributed Data Data that resides on portable media and non-local devices such as laptop computers, home computers, CD-ROMs, floppy disks, zip drives, wireless…
distributed database 1. A database that is not entirely stored at a single physical location, but rather is dispersed over a network of interconnected computers. 2.
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) A Denial of Service technique that uses numerous hosts to perform the attack.
distributed directory architecture Directory architecture in a Domino domain in which all servers use a local primary Domino Directory.
Distributed File System (DFS) A Windows file management system that allows data scattered across multiple servers to be treated as a single group.
distributed frame-alignment signal A frame-alignment signal in which the signal elements occupy digit positions that are not consecutive.
Distributed Generation A term used by the power industry to describe localized or on-site power generation.
distributed network A network structure in which the network resources, such as switching equipment and processors, are distributed throughout the geographical area being…
distributed processing Data processing in which an integrated set of functions is performed within multiple, physically separated devices.
distributed switching Switching in which many processor-controlled switching units are distributed, usually close to concentrations of users, and operated in conjunction with a…
distributed-queue dual-bus (DQDB) [network] A distributed multi-access network that (a) supports integrated communications using a dual bus and distributed queuing, (b) provides access to local or…
Distribution The sale of securities. Also refers to a sum payable to shareholders representing their share of profits.
Distribution (Hydro)Graph A unit hydrograph of direct runoff modified to show the proportions of the volume of runoff that occur during successive equal units of time.
distribution amplifier An active linear device that accepts, at its input port, one signal source (e.g.
Distribution efficiency Measure of the uniformity of irrigation water distribution over a field.
Distribution Feeder (See Feeder)
distribution frame In communications, a structure with terminations for connecting the permanent wiring of a facility in such a manner that interconnection by…
distribution group A group of recipients created to expedite mass mailing of messages and other information.
Distribution Line One or more circuits of a distribution system on the same line or poles or supporting structures' usually operating at a lower voltage relative to the…
distribution list A group of recipients addressed as a single recipient. Administrators can create distribution lists that are available in the Address Book.
distribution list server Synonym list server.
distribution service In ISDN applications, a telecommunications service that allows one-way flow of information from one point in the network to other points in the network…
Distribution System That portion of an electricity supply system used to deliver electricity from points on the transmission system to consumers.
distribution voltage drop The voltage drop between any two defined points of interest in a power distribution system.
distribution-quality television Television conforming to the NTSC standard, the SECAM standard, the PAL standard, or the PAL-M standard.
distributor In data transmission, a device that accepts a data stream from one line and places a sequence of signals, one or more at a time, on several lines, thus…
District An entity that has a contract with the Bureau of Reclamation for the delivery of irrigation water.
District Energy A district energy system consists of a central plant that produces steam, hot water, or chilled water, to provide space heating, domestic hot water…
District Heating A heating system in which steam or hot water for space heating or hot water is piped from a central boiler plant or electric power/heating plant to a…