| aleuronate | Protein from the aleuron layer (endosperm) of cereal grains; used to make bread for diabetics. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| aleurone | <botany> An albuminoid substance which occurs in minute grains ("protein granules") in maturing seeds and tubers; supposed to be a modification of protoplasm. Origin: Gr. Flour. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| aleurone grain | <plant biology> Membrane bounded storage granule within plant cells that usually contains protein. May be an aleuroplast or just a specialised vacuole. (18 Nov 1997) |
| aleuronic | <botany> Having the nature of aleurone. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| aleuronoid | Resembling flour. (05 Mar 2000) |
| aleuroplast | <plant biology> A semi autonomous organelle (plastid) within a plant cell that stores protein. (18 Nov 1997) |
| aleutian mink disease | A slow progressive disease of mink caused by the aleutian mink disease virus. It is characterised by poor reproduction, weight loss, autoimmunity, hypergammaglobulinaemia, increased susceptibility to bacterial infections, and death from renal failure. The disease occurs in all colour types, but mink which are homozygous recessive for the aleutian gene for light coat colour are particularly susceptible. (12 Dec 1998) |
| aleutian mink disease virus | A species of parvovirus that causes a disease in mink, mainly those homozygous for the recessive aleutian gene which determines a desirable coat colour. (12 Dec 1998) |
| alevin | <marine biology> A larval salmonid that has hatched but has not fully absorbed its yolk sac, and generally has not yet emerged from the spawning gravel. Absorption of the yolk sac, the alevin's initial energy source, occurs as the larva develops its mouth, digestive tract and excretory organs and otherwise prepares to feed on natural prey. (09 Oct 1997) |
| alewife | A woman who keeps an alehouse. Origin: This word is properly aloof, the Indian name of a fish. <zoology> A North American fish (Clupea vernalis) of the Herring family. It is called also ellwife, ellwhop, branch herring. The name is locally applied to other related species. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| alex | <radiobiology> A single-cell, minimum-B magnetic mirror system in which the magnetic field was generated by a baseball coil wound on a 60 cm sphere. Formerly operated at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, new York. (09 Oct 1997) |
| alexander disease | <radiology> Dysmyelinating disease, rare, sporadic, usually presents in 1st year, gradual enlargement of head (Differential diagnosis: Canavan disease), retardation, convulsion, spasticity CT findings: decreased density of white matter, frontal lobe predominance, with or without dilated lateral ventricles Diagnosis: brain biopsy (12 Dec 1998) |
| Alexander Fleming | <person> This native of Scotland studied medicine at St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, where he won almost every prize and scholarship prize available. He graduated with honors in 1908 and 20 years later became Professor of Bacteriology at his alma mater. During World War I, he devoted his interest to problems of infection and developed an antiseptic proteolytic substance, lysozyme (muramidase). He managed a vaccine for acne, and developed a miniature technique for the Wassermann (syphilis) reaction. Although the Belgians, Gratin and Path, in 1925 reported a mould, Streptothrix, which inhibited the growth of staphylococcus, Alexander Fleming was the first to prove such in 1928. Fleming found the mould Penicillium notatum, listed the organisms sensitive to it, emphasised that it was not toxic to leukocytes, and used it on surface wounds 12 years before it became commercially available. Fleming's description of his discovery is interesting - "I opened a culture plate of staphylococci and something fell from the air onto the plate. Later I saw lysis of the staphylococci colony. Instead of casting out the contaminated culture with "appropriate language," I made some investigations. My lab was dingy and dim coloured. If this had been an American lab, this could never have been discovered." He shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1945 with Florey and Chain, who extracted penicillin from the mould and commercially produced it. Lived: 1881-1955. (15 Nov 1997) |
| Alexander of Tralles | <person> Alexander was the youngest of five famous brothers and he too was a famous physician in his day and once practiced in Rome, where he has been introduced lately as one of the greatest scholars from the time of Galen to the Renaissance. He is chiefly remembered as the Father of Helminthology (study of parasitic worms). He accurately differentiated the Oxyuria, a species of intestinal worms which he treated with enemas of ethereal oil. He treated lesions of the upper bowel orally, and lesions of the lower bowel by the anus. He also introduced wine of colchicum for the treatment of gout, and this drug has remained as a current treatment. Alexander's pharmacy texts were required reading five centuries later at the University of Paris. His greatest book was 12 Books on Medicine. Lived: 525-605. (15 Nov 1997) |
| Alexander's deafness | High frequency deafness due to membranous cochlear dysplasia. (05 Mar 2000) |