All articles A–Z

Diffusion Policy

Diffusion Policy is a robot learning method representing a visuomotor policy as a conditional denoising diffusion process, introduced in March 2023 and improving manipulation performance by an average of 46.9%.

Diffusion process (Markov process)

A diffusion process is a continuous-time Markov process with continuous sample paths, described locally by drift and diffusion coefficients; Brownian motion is the canonical example.

Diffusion pump

A diffusion pump is a high-vacuum pump with no moving parts that uses a high-speed jet of oil or mercury vapor to sweep gas molecules toward the exhaust.

Diffusion samplers and solvers

Diffusion samplers and solvers are the numerical integration methods that turn a trained diffusion model's learned denoising directions into generated images or audio, deciding the speed–quality trade-off of every deployment.

Diffusion sampling (machine learning)

Diffusion sampling is the iterative procedure a diffusion model uses to turn random noise into images, audio, or other data, applying a denoising network repeatedly.

Diffusion spectrum imaging

Diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) is a magnetic resonance imaging method that reconstructs water diffusion without a tissue model, resolving crossing fibers that diffusion tensor imaging cannot.

Diffusion tensor imaging

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an MRI technique that estimates water diffusion per voxel, producing anisotropy maps and tract reconstructions used for stroke, brain tumors, and surgical planning.

Diffusion transformer

A diffusion transformer (DiT) is a diffusion model whose denoising network is built from transformer blocks rather than a U-Net, established by William Peebles and Saining Xie in 2022.

Diffusion transformers (DiT)

A diffusion transformer (DiT) is a diffusion model using a Vision Transformer backbone, introduced by Peebles and Xie in 2022 and used in Sora and Stable Diffusion 3.

Diffusion welding

Diffusion welding is a solid-state joining process that bonds similar or dissimilar metals by heat and pressure, with atoms diffusing across the interface without melting.

Diffusion-based motion planning

Diffusion-based motion planning is a robot motion planning approach in which diffusion models denoise random noise into collision-free trajectories, introduced by the Diffuser model at ICML 2022.

Diffusion-limited aggregation

Diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) is a computational growth model, introduced by Witten and Sander in 1981, in which randomly walking particles stick to a growing cluster, forming fractal aggregates.

Diffusion-ordered spectroscopy

Diffusion-ordered spectroscopy (DOSY), also called diffusion NMR, is an NMR method that separates the overlapping signals of molecules in a mixture by their diffusion coefficients.

Diffusional kurtosis imaging

Diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) is a diffusion MRI method that quantifies non-Gaussian water diffusion to probe tissue microstructure, introduced by Jens H. Jensen and colleagues in 2005.

Diffusiophoresis

Diffusiophoresis is the spontaneous migration of colloidal particles along or against a solute concentration gradient, driven not by external forces but by solute–surface interactions, first described by Derjaguin in 1947.

Diffusive gradients in thin films

Diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) is an in-situ passive sampling technique, reported by Davison and Zhang in 1994, that measures labile solutes such as trace metals in waters, soils, and sediments.

Diffusive shock acceleration

Diffusive shock acceleration, also called first-order Fermi acceleration, is the process by which charged particles repeatedly cross shock waves, gaining energy until they form cosmic rays.

DiFi

DiFi (DIFI, CVCL_6895) is a human colorectal cancer cell line from a familial adenomatous polyposis (Gardner syndrome) patient, derived from metastatic ascites; MSS, EGFR-amplified, and exquisitely cetuximab-sensitive, with the DiFi5 resistant subline.

Diflorasone diacetate

Diflorasone diacetate (Florone, Psorcon) is a synthetic 0.05% topical corticosteroid, first approved in 1977, used twice daily for corticosteroid-responsive dermatoses such as psoriasis and eczema; the ointment is rated very potent and the cream can suppress the HPA axis.

Diflubenzuron

Diflubenzuron (Dimilin, TH 6040) is the first benzoylphenyl urea insecticide, a chitin synthesis inhibitor killing insect larvae during molting; low mammalian toxicity but high aquatic invertebrate toxicity, used in agriculture, forestry, mosquito control, and veterinary medicine.

Diflufenican

Diflufenican (DFF), a pyridinecarboxamide Group 12 herbicide inhibiting phytoene desaturase, controls broadleaf weeds in cereals; EU-approved since 2009, US-registered 2026 for corn and soybean, with persistence and TFA metabolite concerns.

Diflufenzopyr

Diflufenzopyr (BAS 654 H) is a Group 19 semicarbazone auxin transport inhibitor herbicide, used only with dicamba in products Distinct, Status, and Overdrive; registered 1999 in US and Canada, not EU-approved.

Diflunisal

Diflunisal, originally marketed as Dolobid, is a long-acting salicylic acid NSAID used for mild to moderate pain and arthritis, first approved in the United States in 1982.

Difluoroalkylation

Difluoroalkylation is a set of organic synthesis methods for attaching a difluoroalkyl group, most often difluoromethyl (CF₂H), onto an organic molecule, valued in drug discovery.

Difluorocarbene chemistry

Difluorocarbene chemistry is the branch of organofluorine chemistry using the difluorocarbene (:CF2) reagent, first reported by Doering in 1954, to install CF2 and CF2H groups into organic molecules.

Difluorocarbene reagents for difluoromethylation

Difluorocarbene reagents for difluoromethylation are precursors that release difluorocarbene (:CF2) to install the difluoromethyl (CF2H) group on O, N, S, P, Se, or carbon nucleophiles.

Difluoromethylation

Difluoromethylation is the chemical introduction of a difluoromethyl group (–CF₂H) into an organic molecule, a group valued in medicinal chemistry as a hydrogen bond donor.

Difluprednate

Difluprednate (Durezol) is a 0.05% ophthalmic corticosteroid emulsion, a difluorinated prednisolone derivative developed in Japan, FDA-approved in 2008 for post-ocular-surgery inflammation and pain and in 2012 for endogenous anterior uveitis.

Diftet

Diftet is a WHO-prequalified diphtheria and tetanus vaccine (adsorbed, DT), product FVP-P-77, made by BB-NCIPD EAD in Sofia, Bulgaria, prequalified 09/05/2006, 30 IU diphtheria and 40 IU tetanus toxoid per dose.