Tendency of fluids (e.g., water) to move from the less concentrated to the more concentrated side of a semipermeable membrane.

Any of several processes in which undesirable impurities in water are removed or neutralized; for example, chlorination, filtration, primary treatment, ion exchange, and distillation. It includes treatment of WASTE WATER to provide potable and hygienic water in a controlled or closed environment as well as provision of public drinking water supplies.

Systematic identification, development, organization, or utilization of educational resources and the management of these processes. It is occasionally used also in a more limited sense to describe the use of equipment-oriented techniques or audiovisual aids in educational settings. (Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors, December 1993, p132)

A clear, odorless, tasteless liquid that is essential for most animal and plant life and is an excellent solvent for many substances. The chemical formula is hydrogen oxide (H2O). (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

One of the BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES concerned with the origin, structure, development, growth, function, genetics, and reproduction of animals, plants, and microorganisms.

Property of membranes and other structures to permit passage of light, heat, gases, liquids, metabolites, and mineral ions.

The pressure required to prevent the passage of solvent through a semipermeable membrane that separates a pure solvent from a solution of the solvent and solute or that separates different concentrations of a solution. It is proportional to the osmolality of the solution.

Solutions prepared for exchange across a semipermeable membrane of solutes below a molecular size determined by the cutoff threshold of the membrane material.

A quality of cell membranes which permits the passage of solvents and solutes into and out of cells.

The tendency of a gas or solute to pass from a point of higher pressure or concentration to a point of lower pressure or concentration and to distribute itself throughout the available space. Diffusion, especially FACILITATED DIFFUSION, is a major mechanism of BIOLOGICAL TRANSPORT.

The movement of materials (including biochemical substances and drugs) through a biological system at the cellular level. The transport can be across cell membranes and epithelial layers. It also can occur within intracellular compartments and extracellular compartments.

Theoretical representations that simulate the behavior or activity of biological processes or diseases. For disease models in living animals, DISEASE MODELS, ANIMAL is available. Biological models include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.