Nitrogen physiological effects

Physiological Effects. The sulfur and nitrogen mustards act first as cell irritants and finally as a cell poison on all tissue surfaces contacted. The first symptoms usually appear in 4—6 h (4). The higher the concentration, the shorter the interval of time between the exposure to the agent and the first symptoms. Local action of the mustards results in conjunctivitis (inflammation of the eyes) erythema (redness of the skin), which may be followed by blistering or ulceration and an inflammatory reaction of the nose, throat, trachea, bronchi, and lung tissue. Injuries produced by mustard heal much more slowly and are much more Fable to infection than bums of similar intensity produced by physical means or by other chemicals. 

M.10 Nicotine, the stimulant in tobacco, causes a very complex set of physiological effects in the body. It is known to have a molar mass of 162 g-mol. When a sample of mass 0.385 g was burned, 1.072 g of carbon dioxide, 0.307 g of water, and 0.068 g of nitrogen were produced. What are the empirical and molecular formulas of nicotine Write the equation for its combustion. 

Asphyxiation and Toxicity Hazards An asphyxiant is a chemical (either a gas or a vapor) that can cause death or unconsciousness by suffocation (BP, Hazards of Nitrogen and Catalyst Handling, 2003). A simple asphyxiant is a chemical, such as N2, He, or Ar, whose effects are caused by the displacement of 02 in air, reducing the 02 concentration below its normal value of approximately 21 vol %. The physiological effects of oxygen concentration reduction by simple asphyxiants are illustrated in Table 23-18 (BP, Hazards of Nitrogen and Catalyst Handling, 2003). 

Note that C02 acts as neither a simple asphyxiant (like N2) nor a chemical asphyxiant (like CO). The normal concentration of C02 in air is approximately 300 ppm (0.03 vol %). Table 23-19 (Air Products, Carbon Dioxide, Safetygram 18, 1998) illustrates that exposure to air diluted by 5 vol % C02 (yielding an oxygen concentration of 21 x 0.95, or approximately 20 vol %) prompts physiological effects that are more severe than those inferred from Table 23-18 for dilution by the same amount of nitrogen. 

A different method of generating a nitrenium ion has been demonstrated the sulfur-nitrogen bond in (55) cleaves and then a novel intramolecular hydride shift to the arylnitrenium ion centre takes place. The nitrenium species (56) undergoes two nucleophilic additions to the double bond to give the product (57). Two studies concerning the physiological effects of nitrenium ions in vivo are reported. Products are formed from both the ion-paired nitrenium ion (59) and the free ion (60)... 

Alkaloid. A large, varied group of complex nitrogen-containing compounds, usually alkaline, that reacts with acids to form soluble salts, many of which have physiological effect on humans, e.g., nicotine and, caffeine, etc. 

Alkaloids are compounds of biosynthetic origin that contain nitrogen, usually in a heterocyclic ring. These compounds are produced by plants in which they are usually present as salts of organic acids. They tend to be basic and to have a variety of physiological effects. One of the more notorious alkaloids is cocaine, and alkaloidal strychnine is a deadly poison. The structural formulas of these compounds and three other alkaloids are given in Figure 15.10. 

Nutritional and Physiological Effects of Alkali-Treated Proteins. The first effect of the alkaline treatment of food proteins is a reduction in the nutritive value of the protein due to the decrease in (a) the availability of the essential amino acids chemically modified (cystine, lysine, isoleucine) and in (b) the digestibility of the protein because of the presence of cross-links (lysinoalanine, lanthionine, and ornithinoalanine) and of unnatural amino acids (ornithine, alloisoleucine, / -aminoalanine, and D-amino acids). The racemization reaction occurring during alkaline treatments has an effect on the nitrogen digestibility and the use of the amino acids involved. 

The physiological effects of nitrogen as well as its physical properties have been studied extensively (B20-B22). That CO2 is the cause of nitrogen narcosis was shown to be highly unlikely by the work of Lanphier and Morin (L5) and Lanphier and Busby (L6). 

Alkaloids are basically nitrogen bases. The amino acids act as building blocks for the biosynthesis of alkaloids. Majorities of the alkaloids contain a pyridine, quinoline, and isoquinoline or tropane nucleus and are responsible for physiological effects in man or in animal. The side chains in alkaloids are derived from terpene or acetate. Alkaloids have basic properties and are alkaline in reaction, turning red litmus paper blue. 

Alkaloids are a class of about 3000 nitrogenous compounds made in plants. They include substances, such as morphine (a narcotic) and colchicine (microtubule assembly inhibitor). Many of these substances have potent physiological effects in animals, but their function in plant metabolism is not well understood. Many alkaloids are derived from the aromatic amino acids tyrosine and phenylalanine. 

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