Theoretically, a recognized member of the modern state system possessing formal sovereignty and occupied by a people who see themselves as a single, united nation. Most nations and states aspire to parlance, nation-state is used as a synonym for country or state.
In biology, depolarization is a decrease in the absolute value of a cell's membrane potential. Thus, changes in membrane voltage in which the membrane potential becomes less positive or less negative are both depolarizations.
The latter is a well known observation; salts, sugars, and fats normally mix better in hot than cold water, and hot water is better in removing stains form dishes or cloths. Hyperpolarization A mechanism by which a membrane potential is made more negative inside with respect to the outside of the cell.