Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Water of hydration
Water within the crystalline structure of an ionic compound that can be removed by heating or other means, leaving a pure salt.
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Heavy water
An isotopic variety of water, especially deuterium oxide, in which hydrogen has been displaced by its isotope, deuterium. Its properties differ from ordinary water in that heavy water has a higher freezing and boiling point and is incapable of supporting life.
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Emergency preparation of safe drinking water
The purification of water when only unclean water is available or when the available drinking water is believed to be contaminated. One of the following methods may be used: 1. Water is strained through a filter and boiled vigorously for 30 min. 2. Three drops of alcoholic solution of iodine are added to each quart…
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Water diffusion
The movement of water into and out of cells (e.g., cells of the central nervous system after a stroke). Decreases in water diffusion are found when brain cells have been deprived of blood and oxygen.
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Deionized water
Water that has been passed through a substance that removes cations and anions present as contaminants. Water that has had impurities, such as calcium and magnesium and other metal ions that would make a product unstable, removed.
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Watchful waiting
A strategy that includes frequent observation of a patient’s condition rather than immediate intervention with drugs or surgery. Closely monitoring a patient’s condition but withholding treatment until symptoms appear or change.
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Waste products
Metabolic byproducts that would be harmful if allowed to accumulate, which are removed from the body by elimination. Carbon dioxide is exhaled from the lungs; undigested food and bile pigments are eliminated by the colon. The kidneys form urine and excrete nitrogenous wastes (e.g., urea and creatinine) and excess amounts of minerals (e.g., sodium chloride).…
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Wasp
Term sometimes applied to all insects belonging to the suborder Apocrita, order Hymenoptera (except the Formicidae or ants), but more generally restricted to the superfamilies Scolioidea, Vespoidea, and Specoidea. Members have the base of the abdomen constricted, and females have a piercing ovipositor, which in many species is modified into a sting. Many are social,…
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Nitrogen washout
The removal of nitrogen from the body by breathing either 100% oxygen or a combination of oxygen and helium. Used to measure total lung capacity.
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Wash
The act of cleaning, especially a part or all of the body.
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