| ACT | achievement through counseling and treatment; actin; actinomycin; activated clotting time; advanced ... |
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| A-LAK | adherent lymphokine-activated killer [cell] |
| APC | acetylsalicylic acid, phenacetin, and caffeine; activated protein C; adenoidal-pharyngeal-conjunctiv... |
| APTT, aPTT | activated partial thromboplastin time |
| ATC | activated thymus cell; around the clock |
| killer cells, lymphokine-activated | Cytolytic lymphocytes with the unique capacity of killing natural killer (nk)-resistant fresh tumour cells. They are interleukin-2-activated nk cells that have no MHC (major histocompatibility complex) restriction or need for antigen stimulation. Lak cells are used for adoptive immunotherapy in cancer patients. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| fluorescence-activated cell sorter | <technique> Flow cytometry is an emerging technique which holds great promise for the separation, classification and quantitation of blood cells and antibodies which affect blood cells. Complex computerised instruments are used to pass a monocellular stream of cells, platelets or other microscopic particulate elements through a beam of laser light. The cells are categorised first by size and then computer analysed to sort the mixture of cellular elements into cell type by size. Cells are labelled with fluorescent dye and then passed, in suspending medium, through a narrow dropping nozzle so that each cell is in a small droplet. A laser based detector system is used to excite fluorescence and droplets with positively fluorescent cells are given an electric charge. Charged and uncharged droplets are separated as they fall between charged plates and so collect in different tubes. The machine can be used either as an analytical tool, counting the number of labelled cells in a population or to separate the cells for subsequent growth of the selected population. Further sophistication can be built into the system by using a second laser system at right angles to the first to look at a second fluorescent label or to gauge cell size on the basis of light scatter. The great strength of the system is that it looks at large numbers of individual cells and makes possible the separation of populations with, for example: particular surface properties. Tabulation of counted data in conjunction with size analysis enables determination of relative percentages of each specific cellular subset for which monoclonal antibody conjugates are utilised, even when the size of the cell is identical to other subset species. Flow cytometry is a slightly imprecise but common term for the use of the Fluorescence-activated Cell Sorter (FACS). (01 Dec 1998) |
| fluorescence-activated cell sorting | <technique> A technique for separating and sorting cells marked with a fluorescent label based on how much they fluoresce at a particular wavelength. (12 Jan 1998) |
| light-activated resin | A resin which uses visible or ultraviolet light to excite a photoinitiator which interacts with an amine to form free radicals and initiate polymerization. Used mainly in restorative dentistry. Synonym: light-activated resin. (05 Mar 2000) |
| adenosine diphosphate glucose | <chemical> Serves as the glycosyl donor for formation of bacterial glycogen, amylose in green algae, and amylopectin in higher plants. Chemical name: Adenosine 5'-(trihydrogen diphosphate), P'-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl ester (12 Dec 1998) |
| Benedict's test for glucose | <biochemistry> A copper-reduction test for glucose in the urine, which involves thiocyanate in addition to copper sulfate for qualitative or quantitative use. (14 Aug 2000) |
| blood glucose | The main sugar that the body makes from the three elements of food--proteins, fats, and carbohydrates--but mostly from carbohydrates. Glucose is the major source of energy for living cells and is carried to each cell through the bloodstream. However, the cells cannot use glucose without the help of insulin. (09 Oct 1997) |
| blood glucose meter | A machine that helps test how much glucose (sugar) is in the blood. A specially coated strip containing a fresh sample of blood is inserted in a machine, when then calculates the correct level of glucose in the blood sample and shows the result in a digital display. Some meters have a memory that can store results from multiple tests. (09 Oct 1997) |
| blood glucose monitoring | A way of testing how much glucose (sugar) is in the blood. A drop of blood, usually taken from the fingertip, is placed on the end of a specially coated strip, called a testing strip. The strip has a chemical on it that makes it change colour according to how much glucose is in the blood. A person can tell if the level of glucose is low, high, or normal in one of two ways. The first is by comparing the colour on the end of the strip to a colour chart that is printed on the side of the test strip container. The second is by inserting the strip into a small machine, called a meter, which reads the strip and shows the level of blood glucose in a digital window display. Blood testing is more accurate than urine testing in monitoring blood glucose levels because it shows what the current level of glucose is, rather than what the level was an hour or so previously. (09 Oct 1997) |
| blood glucose self-monitoring | Self evaluation of whole blood glucose levels outside the clinical laboratory. A digital or battery-operated reflectance meter may be used. It has wide application in controlling unstable insulin-dependent diabetes. (12 Dec 1998) |
| CDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-D-glucose-3-dehydrase | <enzyme> A pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate (pmp) dependent enzyme which catalyses the deoxygenation step in 3,6-dideoxyhexose synthesis, in which the c-3 hydroxyl group of the cdp-4-keto-6-deoxy-d-hexose intermediate is replaced by a hydrogen atom; isolated from yersinia pseudotuberculosis Registry number: EC 4.2.1.- Synonym: ckdg dehydrase, cytidine diphosphate-4-keto-6-deoxy-d-glucose-3-dehydrase, cdp-6-deoxy-l-threo-d-glycero-4-hexulose 3-dehydrase (26 Jun 1999) |
| CDP-glucose oxidoreductase | <enzyme> From yersinia pseudotuberculosis; nad+-dependent; forms cdp-4-keto-6-deoxy-d-glucose Registry number: EC 1.1.1.- (26 Jun 1999) |
| glucose | <biochemistry> D glucose, a monosaccharide (hexose), C6H12O6, found in certain foodstuffs, especially fruits and in the normal blood of all animals. It is the end product of carbohydrate metabolism and is the chief source of energy for living organisms, its utilisation being controlled by insulin. Excess glucose is converted to glycogen and stored in the liver and muscles for use as needed and, beyond that, is converted to fat and stored as adipose tissue. Glucose appears in the urine in diabetes mellitus. Synonym: dextrose. Origin: Gr. Gleukos = sweetness, glykys = sweet (14 Oct 1997) |
| glucose 1,6-bisphosphate synthase | <enzyme> Glycerate-1,3-p(2) + glucose -1-p yields glycerate-p + glucose-1,6-p(2) Chemical name: glucose 1,6-diphosphate synthase Registry number: EC 2.7.1.106 (26 Jun 1999) |
| glucose-1-fructose-2-oxidoreductase | <enzyme> Catalyses intermolecular oxidation-reduction of glucose and fructose to form gluconolactone and sorbitol; contains tightly bound nadp as h+ carrier; does not require added cofactor Registry number: EC 1.1.1.- (26 Jun 1999) |