| RNA life | <biology, molecular biology> A hypothetical life form lacking DNA and protein which may have existed on early earth and in which RNA served both a genetic coding and a catalytic function. (23 Aug 1998) |
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| clinical laboratory information systems | Information systems, usually computer-assisted, designed to store, manipulate, and retrieve information for planning, organizing, directing, and controlling administrative and clinical activities associated with the provision and utilization of clinical laboratory services. (12 Dec 1998) |
| clinical pharmacy information systems | Information systems, usually computer-assisted, designed to store, manipulate, and retrieve information for planning, organizing, directing, and controlling administrative activities associated with the provision and utilization of clinical pharmacy services. (12 Dec 1998) |
| physical half-life | The time required for half the atoms of a radionuclide to undergo disintegration. (05 Mar 2000) |
| computer systems | Systems composed of a computer or computers, peripheral equipment, such as disks, printers, and terminals, and telecommunications capabilities. (12 Dec 1998) |
| multi-institutional systems | Institutional systems consisting of more than one health facility which have cooperative administrative arrangements through merger, affiliation, shared services, or other collective ventures. (12 Dec 1998) |
| wrongful life | In civil law a cause of action which alleges that a defendant has wrongfully caused a child to be born. (12 Dec 1998) |
| point-of-care systems | Laboratory and other services provided to patients at the bedside. These include diagnostic and laboratory testing using automated information entry systems. (12 Dec 1998) |
| postnatal life | That interval of life after birth; in man, usually divided into periods: neonatal, infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. (05 Mar 2000) |
| half-life | 1. <pharmacology> The period over which the concentration of a specified chemical or drug takes to fall to half its original concentration in the specified fluid or blood. 2. <radiobiology> The time required to reduce the amount of a radionuclide to one-half the amount originally present. Physical or radioactive half-life refers to reduction of activity by radioactive decay, biological half-life refers to biological elimination from the body and effective half-life refers to the combined action of radioactive decay and biological elimination. (16 Dec 1997) |
| prenatal life | That interval of life between conception and birth; in humans, usually divided into embryonic and foetal periods. (05 Mar 2000) |
| health systems agencies | Health planning and resources development agencies which function in each health service area of the united states (pl 93-641). (12 Dec 1998) |
| health systems plans | Statements of goals for the delivery of health services pertaining to the health systems agency service area, established under pl 93-641, and consistent with national guidelines for health planning. (12 Dec 1998) |
| hemic and immune systems | The organs involved in the production and functions of the blood and the cellular and molecular components providing defense against foreign organisms or substances. (12 Dec 1998) |
| second messenger systems | Systems in which an intracellular signal is generated in response to an intercellular primary messenger such as a hormone or neurotransmitter. They are intermediate signals in cellular processes such as metabolism, secretion, contraction, phototransduction, and cell growth. Examples of second messenger systems are the adenyl cyclase-cyclic AMP system, the phosphatidylinositol diphosphate-inositol triphosphate system, and the cyclic GMP system. (12 Dec 1998) |