| flexible | 1. Capable of being flexed or bent; admitting of being turned, bowed, or twisted, without breaking; pliable; yielding to pressure; not stiff or brittle. "When the splitting wind Makes flexible the knees of knotted oaks." (Shak) 2. Willing or ready to yield to the influence of others; not invincibly rigid or obstinate; tractable; manageable; ductile; easy and compliant; wavering. "Phocion was a man of great severity, and no ways flexible to the will of the people." (Bacon) "Women are soft, mild, pitiful, and flexible." (Shak) 3. Capable or being adapted or molded; plastic,; as, a flexible language. "This was a principle more flexible to their purpose." (Rogers) Synonym: Pliant, pliable, supple, tractable, manageable, ductile, obsequious, inconstant, wavering. Flex"ibleness, Flex"ibly. Origin: L. Flexibilis: cf. F. Flexible. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
|---|---|
| flexible collodion | A mixture of camphor, castor oil, and collodion, or a mixture of castor oil, Canada turpentine, and collodion, used for the same purposes as collodion, but its film possesses the advantage, for certain conditions, of not contracting. (05 Mar 2000) |
| active site | <chemistry> A specific region of an enzyme where a substrate binds and catalysis takes place (binding site). (06 May 1997) |
| active | Characterised by action, not passive, not expectant. (18 Nov 1997) |
| active acetate | <enzyme> Condensation product of coenzyme A and acetic acid, symbolised as CoAS~COCH3; intermediate in transfer of two-carbon fragment, notably in its entrance into the tricarboxylic acid cycle and in fatty acid synthesis. This coenzyme plays a huge role in intermediary metabolism, in which cells synthesise, break down or use nutrient molecules for energy production, growth, etc. Acetyl-coenzyme A synthase is found in bacteria and plants and catalyses the reaction in which acetate enters metabolic pathways and forms acetyl-coenzyme A. Synonym: acetyl-coenzyme A, active acetate. (05 Mar 2000) |
| active aldehyde | Any aldehyde derivative of thiamin pyrophosphate. (05 Mar 2000) |
| active anaphylaxis | Reaction following inoculation of antigen in a subject previously sensitised to the specific antigen, in contrast to passive anaphylaxis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| active biomass | <cell biology> The amount of a given culture that is actively growing. (06 May 1997) |
| active carbon dioxide | Activated carbon dioxide, a complex of N-carboxybiotin (biotin + CO2) and an enzyme; the form in which carbon dioxide is added to other molecules in carboxylations; e.g., to methylcrotonyl-CoA to form beta-methylglutaconyl in the catabolism of leucine, and to acetyl-CoA to form malonyl-CoA. See: acetyl-CoA carboxylase. (05 Mar 2000) |
| active caries | Microbial-induced lesions of teeth that are increasing in size. (05 Mar 2000) |
| active centre | The part of a macromolecule at which a substrate or ligand, upon binding, produces biological activity; for an enzyme, this is the catalytic centre, the site on an enzyme that catalyses the reaction. (05 Mar 2000) |
| active congestion | Congestion due to an increased flow of arterial blood to a part. (05 Mar 2000) |
| active electrode | A small electrode whose exciting effect is used to stimulate or record potentials from a localised area. Synonym: exciting electrode, localizing electrode, therapeutic electrode. (05 Mar 2000) |
| active formaldehyde | A hydroxymethyl derivative of tetrahydrofolate or thiamin pyrophosphate, N5,N10-methylenetetrahydrofo late. (05 Mar 2000) |
| active formyl | The formyl group taking part in transformylation reactions with a folic acid derivative in the role of carrier. (05 Mar 2000) |