| adaptation, ocular | The adjustment of the eye to variations in the intensity of light. Light adaptation is the adjustment of the eye when the light threshold is increased; dark adaptation when the light is greatly reduced. (12 Dec 1998) |
|---|---|
| adaptation, psychological | Favourable changes experienced by an individual, either as regards himself or his relationship with his environment, which lead to adjustment - also a rearrangement in mental attitude. (12 Dec 1998) |
| adapter | 1. One who adapts. 2. <chemistry> A connecting tube; an adopter. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| adaptive behaviour | Any behaviour that enables an organism to adjust to a particular situation or environment. (05 Mar 2000) |
| adaptive behaviour scales | A behavioural assessment device to quantify the levels of skills of mentally retarded and developmentally delayed individuals in interacting with the environment; consists of three developmentally related factors: 1) personal self-sufficiency, e.g., eating, dressing; 2) community self-sufficiency, e.g., shopping, communicating; 3) personal and social responsibility, e.g., use of leisure time, job performance. See: intelligence. (05 Mar 2000) |
| adaptive enzyme | Inducible enzyme, an enzyme that can be detected in a growing culture of a microorganism, after the addition of a particular substance (inducer) to the culture medium, but was not detectable prior to the addition and can act on the inducer. A prototype is the beta-galactosidase of Escherichia coli, synthesised upon the addition of various galactosides, whether or not these are good substrates. Compare: constitutive enzyme. Synonym: adaptive enzyme. (05 Mar 2000) |
| adaptive hypertrophy | Thickening of the walls of a hollow organ, like the urinary bladder, when there is obstruction to outflow. (05 Mar 2000) |
| adaptive management | A continuing process of action-based planning, monitoring, researching, evaluating, and adjusting with the objective of improving implementation and achieving the goals of the selected alternative. (05 Dec 1998) |
| adaptive management area | Landscape units designated for development and testing of technical and social approaches to achieving desired ecological, economic, and other social objectives. (05 Dec 1998) |
| adaptive radiation | <chemistry> The evolution of new speciesor sub-species to fill unoccupied ecological niches. (06 May 1997) |
| adaptometer | A device for determining the course of retinal dark adaptation and for measuring the minimum light threshold. Compare: biophotometer. (05 Mar 2000) |
| adaptor | <molecular biology> Short synthetic oligonucleotide strands that have one stickyend and oneblunt end, the blunt ends join to the blunt end of a DNA fragment, forming a new fragment with two sticky ends that can be more easily spliced into a vector. (13 Oct 1997) |
| adaptor hypothesis | A hypothesis, proposed by F.H.C. Crick, that an adaptor molecule must be present between the information-containing DNA and the protein being synthesised. (05 Mar 2000) |
| adarce | A saltish concretion on reeds and grass in marshy grounds in Galatia. It is soft and porous, and was formerly used for cleansing the skin from freckles and tetters, and also in leprosy. Origin: L. Adarce, adarca, Gr. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| adaxial | <biology, plant biology> Facing towards the axis. Compare: abaxial. (09 Oct 1997) |