| quail bronchitis virus | A virus, similiar to an adenovirus, closely related antigenically to CELO virus. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| quaily | <zoology> The upland plover. Origin: Cf. Quail the bird. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| quaker | 1. One who quakes. 2. One of a religious sect founded by George Fox, of Leicestershire, England, about 1650, the members of which call themselves Friends. They were called Quakers, originally, in derision. See Friend. "Fox's teaching was primarily a preaching of repentance . . . The trembling among the listening crowd caused or confirmed the name of Quakers given to the body; men and women sometimes fell down and lay struggling as if for life." (Encyc. Brit) 3. <zoology> The nankeen bird. The sooty albatross. Any grasshopper or locust of the genus (Edipoda; so called from the quaking noise made during flight. Quaker buttons. <botany> A low American biennial plant (Houstonia caerulea), with pretty four-lobed corollas which are pale blue with a yellowish center; also called bluets, and little innocents. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| quakeress | A woman who is a member of the Society of Friends. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| quaketail | <zoology> A wagtail. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| quaking | <botany> From Quake, Quaking aspen One of several grasses of the genus Briza, having slender-stalked and pendulous ovate spikelets, which quake and rattle in the wind. Briza maxima is the large quaking grass; B. Media and B. Minor are the smaller kinds. Rattlesnake grass (Glyceria Canadensis). Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| qualificator | An officer whose business it is to examine and prepare causes for trial in the ecclesiastical courts. Origin: LL. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| qualifying facility | A power production facility that qualifies for special treatment under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act. A qualifying facility must generate its power using cogeneration, biomass, waste, geothermal energy, or renewable resources, such as solar and wind. PURPA prohibits utilities from owning majority interest in qualifying facilities. (05 Dec 1998) |
| qualimeter | <radiobiology> An obsolete device for estimating the degree of hardness of X-rays. Origin: L. Qualis, of what kind, + G. Metron, measure (05 Mar 2000) |
| qualitative alteration | In electric irritability, a change in which the muscle contracts as readily on application of the anode as on that of the cathode. (05 Mar 2000) |
| qualitative analysis | Determination of the nature, as opposed to the quantity, of each of the elements composing a substance. (05 Mar 2000) |
| qualitative trait | <genetics> A feature that can conveniently and effectively be analyzed by sorting into classes either because there is no satisfactory way of measuring it (as with blood groups) or because it falls into natural classes so that the variation among classes far exceeds that within classes (e.g., the phenotypic effects of many enzyme polymorphisms); existence of categories suggests but does not prove the operation of a major, simple, underlying cause. Synonym: qualitative trait. (05 Mar 2000) |
| quality adjusted life year | A year of life adjusted for its quality or its value. A year in perfect health is considered equal to 1.0 qaly. The value of a year in ill health would be discounted. For example, a year bedridden might have a value equal to 0.5 qaly. A measurement index derived from a modification of standard life-table procedures and designed to take account of the quality as well as the duration of survival. This index can be used in assessing the outcome of health care procedures or services. (12 Jul 2000) |
| quality assurance | Programs of regular assessment of medical and nursing activities to evaluate the quality of medical care. (05 Mar 2000) |
| quality assurance, health care | Activities and programs intended to assure or improve the quality of care in either a defined medical setting or a program. The concept includes the assessment or evaluation of the quality of care; identification of problems or shortcomings in the delivery of care; designing activities to overcome these deficiencies; and follow-up monitoring to ensure effectiveness of corrective steps. (12 Dec 1998) |