When third-stage larvae of Pseudoterranova decipiens maintained at 5 degrees C are placed in either 40% artificial sea water (ASW, iso-osmotic) or 15% ASW (hypo-osmotic) and weighed once at 0 h and again at 24 h, they neither lose nor gain weight, and the osmotic pressure (OP) of their pseudocoelomic fluid (PCF) remains unchanged. In contrast, when worms are weighed six additional times during ...

This study was conducted to understand how osmotic potentials in Lentinula edodes tissues are related to water contents and how they change while a mushroom matures. Water content and osmotic potential of L. edodes mushroom tissues from log cultivation and sawdust cultivation were measured and the relationships were analyzed. Osmotic potentials in the tissues were exponentially proportional to ...

Water scarcity and salinity are important limitations for saffron (Crocus sativus L.) production in arid and semi-arid regions. The purpose of this research was to study the interaction effects of water salinity and deficit irrigation on the macroscopic water extraction model for saffron. The effect of salinity and water stress on root-water uptake coefficient was determined by additive and mul...

A study of the time course of penetration of 3H2O into whole worms suggests that worms immersed in a hypo-osmotic environment (15% artificial sea water) reach full exchange equilibrium more slowly than worms in an iso-osmotic environment (40% artificial sea water). The apparent water content, determined by dry mass, matches that determined by 3H2O exchange when worms are immersed for 24 h in 40...

Reynolds number fluids would have a big technological impact in many fields. Few known mechanisms are able to propel such devices. Here we demonstrate that helical nanobelts can swim in liquid when actuated by an electric field generated by electro-osmotic force. Moreover, we show these devices achieve speeds at or slightly above those demonstrated by natural bacteria. The helical nanobelts wer...

This review examines the available data on the use of osmotic agents in patients with head injury and ischemic stroke, summarizes the physiological effects of osmotic agents, and presents the leading hypotheses regarding the mechanism by which they reduce ICP. Finally, it addresses the validity of the following commonly held beliefs: mannitol accumulates in injured brain; mannitol shrinks only ...

Sperm cells involved in fertilisation must tolerate hypo-osmotic and hyper-osmotic environments. Euryhaline tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) can acclimatise to and reproduce in freshwater and seawater because its sperm are able to adapt to these differing osmotic environments. In this study, we found that the dephosphorylation of sperm proteins in O. mossambicus correlated with the activation ...