Osmolality and Osmolarity: Narrowing the Terminology Gap

Narrowing the gap.

Since 1981 AIDS has illuminated, like a roving searchlight, a series of ethical questions, which extend far beyond the apparently narrow limits of one disease. It has revealed, one by one, human attitudes and behaviours that were previously unquestioned, or unobserved based on unidentified but shaky pre-suppositions. This commentary oVers two contrasting perspectives on the problems facing deve...

Narrowing the Nutrition Gap:

Conversion Between Osmolality and Osmolarity of Infusion Solutions

In order to be applied into the body, intravenous fluids should be formulated to have an osmotic pressure similar to that of biological fluids. Physiologic acceptability of large-volume parenteral formulations in clinical practice is largely determined due to the osmotic effect of the dissolved solutes. Therefore, it is generally recommended that the labelling should list osmolarity. However, t...

Narrowing the Explanatory Gap with Bridge Metaphors

A central problem in philosophy of mind concerns the relationship between subjective experiences and the physical processes that subserve them. There seems to be an unbridgeable “explanatory gap” between the two. Whereas other scientific explanations (e.g. the explanation of temperature in terms of kinetic energy) involve determinate relationships between two kinds of phenomena, correlations be...

Narrowing the US energy efficiency gap.

T he energy-efficiency gap has puzzled researchers and policy makers for decades (1). Changes in behavior and the use of efficient technologies could substantially reduce energy consumption, yielding strong financial returns. However, householders, business managers, and government officials fail to take advantage of the opportunity. Attari et al. (2) reveal important features of the gap by an ...