| chaos | 1. State of such total disorganization that it has no constructive predicates. 2. A state in which no causal relationships are operating. Origin: G., primeval formless void (05 Mar 2000) |
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| chaos theory | A branch of mathematics dealing with events and processes that cannot be predicted precisely on the basis of conventional mathematical theories or laws; some biological processes, e.g., spread of malignant disease, appear to conform to chaos theory, at least sometimes. (05 Mar 2000) |
| chaotic heart | Apparently totally uncoordinated cardiac action or rhythm. (05 Mar 2000) |
| chaotropic | Pertaining to chaotropism. (05 Mar 2000) |
| chaotropism | The property of certain substances, usually ions (e.g., SCN-, ClO4-, guanidinium), to disrupt the structure of water and thereby promote the solubility of nonpolar substances in polar solvents (e.g., water), the unfolding of proteins, the elution from or movement through a chromatographic medium of an otherwise tightly bound substance, etc. Origin: G. Chaos, disorder, confusion, + trope, a turning (05 Mar 2000) |
| CHAP | Acronym for cyclophosphamide, hexamethylmelamine, doxorubicin (Adriamycin), and cisplatin, a chemotherapy regimen used in the treatment of ovarian cancer. (05 Mar 2000) |
| chaparral | A plant community of drought-adapted shrubs, usually found in rocky and rapidly drained shallow soils. (09 Oct 1997) |
| chaperone | <cell biology> Cytoplasmic proteins of both prokaryotes and eukaryotes that bind to nascent or unfolded polypeptides and ensure correct folding or transport. Chaperone proteins do not covalently bind to their targets and do not form part of the finished product. Heat-shock proteins are an important sub set of chaperones. Three major families are recognised, the chaperonins (groEL and hsp60), the hsp70 family and the hsp90 family. Outside these major families are other proteins with similar functions including nucleoplasmin, secB and T-cell receptor associated protein. (18 Nov 1997) |
| chaperonin | <cell biology> Subset of chaperone proteins found in prokaryotes, mitochondria and plastids major example is prokaryotic GroEL (the eukaryotic equivalent of which is hsp60). (18 Nov 1997) |
| chaperonin 10 | Members of the chaperonin heat-shock protein family. Chaperonin 10 purified from bacteria, plastids, or mitochondria occurs as an oligomer of seven identical subunits arranged in a single ring. (12 Dec 1998) |
| chaperonin 60 | Members of the chaperonin heat-shock protein family. Chaperonin 60 purified from bacteria, plastids, or mitochondria is an oligomeric protein with a distinctive structure of fourteen subunits, arranged in two rings of seven subunits each. (12 Dec 1998) |
| chaperonins | A class of sequence-related molecular chaperones found in bacteria, mitochondria, and plastids. Chaperonins are abundant constitutive proteins that increase in amount after stresses such as heat shock, bacterial infection of macrophages, and an increase in the cellular content of unfolded proteins. Bacterial chaperonins are major immunogens in human bacterial infections because of their accumulation during the stress of infection. Two members of this class of chaperones are chaperonin 10 and chaperonin 60. (12 Dec 1998) |
| chaplaincy service, hospital | Hospital department which administers religious activities within the hospital, e.g., pastoral care, religious services. (12 Dec 1998) |
| chappa | A disease marked by subcutaneous nodules, the size of a pigeon's egg, which break down, release a fatty looking material, and form ulcers; the eruption is preceded by severe muscular and articular pains. Origin: W. Af. (05 Mar 2000) |
| chapped | Having or pertaining to skin, especially of the hands, that is dry, scaly, and fissured, owing to the action of cold or to the excess rate of evaporation of moisture from the skin surface. Origin: M.E. Chap, to chop, split (05 Mar 2000) |