What's the difference between decrease and lessening?
Decrease
Definition:
(n.) To grow less, -- opposed to increase; to be diminished gradually, in size, degree, number, duration, etc., or in strength, quality, or excellence; as, they days decrease in length from June to December.
(v. t.) To cause to grow less; to diminish gradually; as, extravagance decreases one's means.
(v.) A becoming less; gradual diminution; decay; as, a decrease of revenue or of strength.
(v.) The wane of the moon.
Example Sentences:
(1) Furthermore, it had early diagnostic (seven days) as well as prognostic value, as revealed by response to therapy and decrease in COA titer.
(2) Such a decrease significantly biased survival (p = 0.001).
(3) The proportion of motile spermatozoa decreased with time at the same rate when samples were prepared in either HEPES or phosphate buffers.
(4) Clinical signs of disease developed as early as 15 days after transition to the experimental diets and included impaired vision, decreased response to external stimuli, and abnormal gait.
(5) One hour after direct mechanical cardiomassage (DMCM) a moderately pronounced edema of the intercellular spaces in the basal compartment of the seminiferous epithelium, normal content of lactate and succinate dehydrogenases, and a certain decrease in the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenases and NAD- and NADP-diaphorases were noted.
(6) The cross sectional area of the aortic lumen was gradually decreased while the length of the stenotic lesion gradually increased by using strips with different width.
(7) A change in the pattern of care of children with IDDM, led to a pronounced decrease in hospital use by this patient group.
(8) With UVB treatment clinical improvement was achieved, and a less pronounced decrease in epidermal LC was noticed.
(9) Measurement of the intraspinal monoamine level revealed a decrease in the intraspinal norepinephrine level in the treated animals.
(10) All subjects completed the Coping Strategies Questionnaire, which measures the use and perceived effectiveness of a variety of cognitive and behavioral coping strategies in controlling and decreasing pain.
(11) On removal of selective pressure, the His+ phenotype was lost more readily than the Ura+ Trp+ markers, with a corresponding decrease in plasmid copy number.
(12) This clinical improvement was also associated with a decrease of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p less than 0.001), decrease of C-reactive protein (p less than 0.0001) and with improvement of anaemia (p less than 0.05).
(13) These results suggest that the pelvic floor is affected by progressive denervation but descent during straining tends to decrease with advancing age.
(14) On the other hand, after exposure to BrdUrd, neuron specific enolase decreased in NB-1 and SK-N-DZ and increased in GOTO.
(15) In X-irradiated litters, almost invariably, the incidence of anophthalmia was higher in exencephalic than in nonexencephalic embryos and the ratio of these incidences (relative risk) decreased toward 1 with increasing dose.
(16) Blood flow decreased immediately after skin expansion in areas over the tissue expander on days 0 and 1 and returned to baseline levels within 24 hours.
(17) Western blot analysis of these mitochondria using an antibody against carnitine palmitoyltransferase II purified from beef heart demonstrates a 68-kDa protein, which under ischemic conditions apparently is decreased by 2 kDa.
(18) Even with hepatic lipase, phospholipid hydrolysis could not deplete VLDL and IDL of sufficient phospholipid molecules to account for the loss of surface phospholipid that accompanies triacylglycerol hydrolysis and decreasing core volume as LDL is formed (or for conversion of HDL2 to HDL3).
(19) Content of cyclic nucleoside monophosphates was decreased in all the eye tissues in experimental toxico-allergic uveitis as well as penetration of cAMP into the fluid of anterior chamber of the eye.
(20) Type 1 changes (decreased signal intensity on T1-weighted spin-echo images and increased signal intensity on T2-weighted images) were identified in 20 patients (4%) and type 2 (increased signal intensity on T1-weighted images and isointense or slightly increased signal intensity on T2-weighted images) in 77 patients (16%).
Lessening
Definition:
(p. pr. & vb. n.) of Lessen
Example Sentences:
(1) The transmission of alcoholism and its effects are thereby lessened for future generations of children of alcoholics.
(2) Bacteria can stop or lessen antibodies synthesis process.
(3) Behavioral variables, including interreinforcement interval and drug self-administration history, appear to be important determinants of whether or not reinforcement will be demonstrated, particularly among the benzodiazepines; but the range of conditions under which behavioral and pharmacological variables interact to promote or lessen the likelihood of self-administration of these drugs remains to be determined experimentally.
(4) "It is in my power to lessen their sentence – it's not excluded that that will happen."
(5) Diminished pressor responsiveness was considered to be due to concurrent reduction of central sympathetic vasomotor activity, because sympathetic nerve responses to hypothalamic stimulation were appreciably lessened in tripamide-treated SHR.
(6) The introduction of biological valves or of valves with a lessened risk of embolism is highly desirable in such cases.
(7) In this paper, these and related facts were summarized and some precautions were suggested to lessen the increase of resistant strains in this country.
(8) Recent improvements in surgical techniques and selective embolization have lessened the risks of surgical excision, decreased the blood loss, and diminished the time required for resection.
(9) We have previously shown that in the cat, taurine is an osmoprotective molecule that lessens mortality, neurological morbidity, and brain-cell dehydration during chronic hypernatremic dehydration.
(10) Rats given Sendai virus concurrently with the FCA, or any time after FCA was injected, did not have a lessened severity of the arthritic reaction, as compared with that in control animals.
(11) A decrease in relative risks since diagnosis of the first primary cancer was seen that may partly be attributed to a lessening of the intensity of medical surveillance with time.
(12) Incorporation of porosity into the grafts, which is necessary for tissue ingrowth, is expected to lessen this difference.
(13) The data strongly suggest that conferring the sick role on the mentally ill does not lessen rejection, but may, in some instances, increase social rejection.
(14) In contrast, hydroxyurea treatment was associated with a 1.5-fold to sevenfold increase in F cells and a 2.3- to 27-fold increase in the percentage of Hb F. In the three patients whose response reached a plateau, hydroxyurea treatment was associated with lessened hemolysis, decreased serum bilirubin and lactate dehydrogenase levels, and prolonged 51chromium-labeled RBC survival.
(15) O’Malley also called for: The relationship between federal immigration law enforcement and local law enforcement to be significantly lessened.
(16) Utilization of outpatient surgical centers helps reduce the cost of health care, lessens the disruption of patients' personal lives, and promotes their recovery through early ambulation and a lower incidence of postoperative nosocomial complications.
(17) It also lessened the hypertonus of isolated guinea-pig trachea caused by pilocarpine.
(18) The use of tissue allografts lessens patient morbidity and suffering and in many cases spares limbs and lives.
(19) Unlike acute combinations, chronic imipramine lessened the rate reducing effect of methadone.
(20) The results of a bronchial challenge to Aspergillus species, however, remained positive; these positive results suggest that long-term memory immune mechanisms may play an important role in the pathogenesis of hypersensitivity pneumonitis and lessen the importance of precipitins in establishing a diagnosis.