Topic Review
Silver and Silver Nanoparticles for Treatment of COVID-19
COVID-19 is an epizootic and life-threatening outbreak affecting millions of people globally. Coronavirus variants have emerged in different locations since their origin. Silver and its compounds, including silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), have been used in the medical field for a long period, especially in surgical treatments. The anti-microbial and anti-viral properties of silver are well documented. These properties depend on the size of the particles, concentration, precursor, method of preparation, and the presence of other benefiting compounds. Several experiments were conducted by researchers worldwide to prove the anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties of silver (Ag) and AgNPs, emphasizing that silver can be introduced to multiple organs in the human body and exhibit the expected antiviral characteristics.
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  • 17 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Acetylation (or in IUPAC nomenclature ethanoylation)
Acetylation (or in IUPAC nomenclature ethanoylation) describes a reaction that introduces an acetyl functional group into a chemical compound. Deacetylation is the removal of an acetyl group. Acetylation refers to the process of introducing an acetyl group (resulting in an acetoxy group) into a compound, namely the substitution of an acetyl group for an active hydrogen atom. A reaction involving the replacement of the hydrogen atom of a hydroxyl group with an acetyl group (CH3CO) yields a specific ester, the acetate. Acetic anhydride is commonly used as an acetylating agent reacting with free hydroxyl groups. For example, it is used in the synthesis of aspirin, heroin, and THC-O-acetate.
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  • 17 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Electrochemical Bromofunctionalization of Alkenes
The electrochemical generation of highly reactive and hazardous bromine under controlled conditions as well as the reduction of surplus oxidizers and reagent waste has placed electrochemical synthesis in a highlighted position. In particular, the electrochemical dibromination and bromofunctionalization of alkenes and alkynes have received significant attention, as the forming of synthetically important derivatives can be generated from bench-stable and safe bromide sources under “green” conditions.
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  • 17 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Benzodiazepine Overdose
Benzodiazepine overdose describes the ingestion of one of the drugs in the benzodiazepine class in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced. The most common symptoms of overdose include central nervous system (CNS) depression, impaired balance, ataxia, and slurred speech. Severe symptoms include coma and respiratory depression. Supportive care is the mainstay of treatment of benzodiazepine overdose. There is an antidote, flumazenil, but its use is controversial. Deaths from single-drug benzodiazepine overdoses occur infrequently, particularly after the point of hospital admission. However, combinations of high doses of benzodiazepines with alcohol, barbiturates, opioids or tricyclic antidepressants are particularly dangerous, and may lead to severe complications such as coma or death. In 2013, benzodiazepines were involved in 31% of the estimated 22,767 deaths from prescription drug overdose in the United States. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has subsequently issued a black box warning regarding concurrent use of benzodiazepines and opioids. Benzodiazepines are one of the most highly prescribed classes of drugs, and they are commonly used in self-poisoning. Over 10 years in the United Kingdom, 1512 fatal poisonings have been attributed to benzodiazepines with or without alcohol. Temazepam was shown to be more toxic than the majority of benzodiazepines. An Australian (1995) study found oxazepam less toxic and less sedative, and temazepam more toxic and more sedative, than most benzodiazepines in overdose.
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  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Beta-Carotene
β-Carotene is an organic, strongly coloured red-orange pigment abundant in fungi, plants, and fruits. It is a member of the carotenes, which are terpenoids (isoprenoids), synthesized biochemically from eight isoprene units and thus having 40 carbons. Among the carotenes, β-carotene is distinguished by having beta-rings at both ends of the molecule. β-Carotene is biosynthesized from geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate. In some Mucoralean fungi, β-Carotene is a precursor to the synthesis of trisporic acid. β-Carotene is the most common form of carotene in plants. When used as a food coloring, it has the E number E160a.:119 The structure was deduced by Karrer et al. in 1930. In nature, β-carotene is a precursor (inactive form) to vitamin A via the action of beta-carotene 15,15'-monooxygenase. Isolation of β-carotene from fruits abundant in carotenoids is commonly done using column chromatography. It can also be extracted from the beta-carotene rich algae, Dunaliella salina. The separation of β-carotene from the mixture of other carotenoids is based on the polarity of a compound. β-Carotene is a non-polar compound, so it is separated with a non-polar solvent such as hexane. Being highly conjugated, it is deeply colored, and as a hydrocarbon lacking functional groups, it is very lipophilic.
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  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Sanguinones
Mycena sanguinolenta, commonly known as the bleeding bonnet, the smaller bleeding Mycena, or the terrestrial bleeding Mycena, is a species of mushroom in the family Mycenaceae. It is a common and widely distributed species, and has been found in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The fungus produces reddish-brown to reddish-purple fruit bodies with conic to bell-shaped caps up to 1.5 cm (0.6 in) wide held by slender stipes up to 6 cm (2.4 in) high. When fresh, the fruit bodies will "bleed" a dark reddish-purple sap. The similar Mycena haematopus is larger, and grows on decaying wood, usually in clumps. M. sanguinolenta contains alkaloid pigments that are unique to the species, may produce an antifungal compound, and is bioluminescent. The edibility of the mushroom has not been determined.
  • 487
  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Chloramine
Chloramines are derivatives of ammonia by substitution of one, two or three hydrogen atoms with chlorine atoms: monochloramine (chloroamine, NH2Cl), dichloramine (NHCl2), and nitrogen trichloride (NCl3). The term chloramine also refers to a family of organic compounds with the formulas R2NCl and RNCl2 (where R is an organic group). Monochloramine (chloramine) is an inorganic compound with the formula NH2Cl. It is an unstable colorless liquid at its melting point of −66 °C (−87 °F), but it is usually handled as a dilute aqueous solution, in which form it is sometimes used as a disinfectant. Chloramine is too unstable to have its boiling point measured. It is listed as a tumorigen and mutagen. The wholesale cost in the developing world is about 13.80 to 18.41 U.S. dollars per 500 grams.
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  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Cotton Production in Pakistan
Cotton production in Pakistan is integral to the economic development of the country. The nation is largely dependent on the cotton industry and its related textile sector, and the crop has been given a principal status in the country. Cotton is grown as an industrial crop in 15% of the nation's land during the monsoon months of May to August, known as the kharif period, and is grown at a smaller scale between February and April. Record production of cotton was reported at 15 million bales of 470 pounds (210 kg) each in the form of phutti (seed cotton) during 2014–15, which was an 11% rise compared to the previous season (2013–14). Production-wise, as of 2012–13, Pakistan occupied the fourth position among the cotton growers of the world, the first three being China, India and the United States, in that order. In respect of exports of raw cotton, Pakistan holds third position, and is the fourth in consumption (about 30 and 40 per cent of its production). It is the largest exporter of cotton yarn.
  • 2.6K
  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
6-Formylindolo(3,2-b)carbazole
6-Formylindolo[3,2-b]carbazole (FICZ) is a chemical compound with the molecular formula C19H12N2O. It is a nitrogen heterocycle, having an extremely high affinity (Kd = 7 x 10−11M) for binding to the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). It was originally identified as a photooxidized derivative of the amino acid tryptophan and suggested to be the endogenous ligand of the AHR. Later, also enzymatic formation of FICZ was shown.
  • 481
  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Chinese Alchemy
Chinese alchemy is an ancient Chinese scientific and technological approach to alchemy, a part of the larger tradition of Taoist body-spirit cultivation developed from the traditional Chinese understanding of medicine and the body. According to original texts such as the Cantong qi, the body is understood as the focus of cosmological processes summarized in the five agents, or wu xing, the observation and cultivation of which leads the practitioner into greater alignment with the operation of the Tao, the great cosmological principle of everything. Therefore, the traditional view in China is that alchemy focuses mainly on the purification of one's spirit and body in the hopes of gaining immortality through the practice of Qigong and/or consumption and use of various concoctions known as alchemical medicines or elixirs, each of which having different purposes. Pao zhi (Pao chi) cites the pharmacological processing (of Chinese materia medica) as used in the practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine, such as honey or wine frying and roasting with toxic metals such as mercury, lead, and arsenic. According to J.C. Cooper's Chinese Alchemy: The Taoist Quest for Immortality, Taoism had two distinct parts, the classical Tao Chia, which was mystical and stemmed primarily from Laozi and Zhuangzi, and the more popular Tao Chiao, which was the popular, magical and alchemical side of Taoism. Cooper states that a common viewpoint is that "classical Taoism [Daoism] was the original but was too austere and rarefied for the general populace ... [but] Tao Chiao fulfilled the day-to-day needs of the people."
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