Potassium, electrolyte/acid-base

Potassium hydroxide is used to make soft soap, in scrubbing and cleaning operations, as a mordant for woods, in dyes and colorants, and for absorbing carbon dioxide. Other principle uses of caustic potash are in the preparation of several potassium salts, acid-base titrations, and in orgainic sytheses. Also, KOH is an electrolyte in certain alkaline storage batteries and fuel cells. 

Potassium Water, electrolyte, acid-base balance intracellular... 

Urea and electrolytes Urea (Creatinine) Sodium Potassium (hydrogen carbonate) (chloride) Serum or plasma mmoll pmol I mmoll mmoll mmoll mmoll Yes Kidney function Kidney function Fluid and electrolyte balance Potassium homeostasis Acid-base status Acid-base status... 

Acid-base and electrolyte balance High therapeutic dose especially when used in rheumatic fever, stimulates respiration and causes respiratory alkalosis. Reduction in bicarbonate and potassium level reduces the buffering capacity of the extracellular and intracellular fluid. Hypokalemia may lead to dehydration and hypernatremia. They also interfere with carbohydrate metabolism resulting in accumulation of pyruvic acid and lactic acid. 

ELECTROLYTE IMBALANCE Improper proportions of acids, bases, salts, and fluids in the body. Electrolytes include the salts sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride chlorine. They can conduct electricity, and therefore are essential in nerve, muscle, and heart function. 

Sodium, potassium and chloride are the primary dietary ions that influence the electrolytic balance and acid-base status, and the proper dietary balance of sodium, potassium and chloride is necessary for growth, bone development, eggshell quality and AA utilization. Potassium is the third most abundant mineral in the body after calcium and phosphorus, and is the most abundant mineral in muscle tissue. It is involved in electrolyte balance and neuromuscular function. The content of potassium in poultry diets is usually adequate. Chloride is present in gastric juice and chlorine is part of the HC1 molecule which assists in the breakdown of feed in the proventriculus. Sodium is essential for nerve membrane stimulation and ionic transport across cell membranes. Signs of sodium, potassium or chloride deficiency include reduced appetite, poor growth, dehydration and increased mortality. 

Conductivity detection is excellent for ionic or dipolar systems. It is optimal only if the ions under study are contained in solution or suspension, since the sensitivity of detection decreases when other electrolytes or acid-base buffers are added (Bernasconi, 1976). However, Strehlow and Wendt (1963) obtained good precision even in systems where 98% of the conductance was ascribable to inert electrolytes. One way to minimize extra conductance is to add salts with ions of low mobility such as tetra-alkylammonium ions, rather than sodium or potassium ions. 

The volume to be infused and rate of delivery are only part of the therapeutic plan for fluid therapy, albeit the most important in acute resuscitation. The electrolyte and acid-base status of the horse should also be considered and fluids chosen to help to correct physiological imbalances. Unfortunately, it is not possible to predict electrolyte and acid-base disturbances accurately based on clinical signs. Seemingly similar clinical presentations may have a quite different pathophysiology (Brownlow Hutchins 1982, Svendsen et al 1979). The recent availability of relatively inexpensive, portable blood gas and electrolyte measuring equipment (Grosenbaugh et al 1998) has made determining the acid-base status possible in ambulatory equine practice and allows the field veterinarian to monitor and treat these disturbances. As stated earlier, in the absence of specific laboratory information, fluid therapy should probably be limited to isotonic polyionic crystalloid fluids, possibly with the addition of 10-20 mEq/1 potassium chloride in the maintenance phase. 

Many types of electrolytes have been used in fuel cells. Water solutions of acids, such as phosphoric, sulfuric, and trifluoroacetic acids (acidic electrolytes), and bases such as sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide (alkaline electrolytes), can be incorporated into efficient cells. Cells using water solutions as electrolytes have complex problems of water management and electrolyte retention under conditions of severe physical motion. These will probably not be suitable for automobile service. For stationary applications described in Chapter 6 the water based electrolytes may offer advantages. 

Maintenance of fluid volume, osmolarity, electrolyte balance, and acid-base status are aU regulated in large part by the kidney. Homeostasis of sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus is altered due to changes in urinary excretion that occur in patients with impaired kidney function. A comprehensive discussion... 

Potassium in its ionic form, K+, is the most abundant positive ion in human and animal cells. As an electrolytic solution, K+ ions are pumped through the blood to all vital organs. Potassiums importance to the physiological system cannot be overstated It plays a crucial role in electrical pulse transmission along nerve fibers protein synthesis acid-base balance and formation of collagen, elastin, and muscle. 

Chloride is mostly described in relation to hydrogen, sodium, potassium, and calcium, except when deviations are well described specifically for Cl in biological systems as a result of deficiency or excess availability. In addition, dysfunctions of CD transport or CD channels are of clinical relevance and have indeed been the subject of intensive research. One principle of CD-mediated effects is a change in osmotic condition, cell volume, and excitability and in acid-base balance in biological systems. In this way, CD is essentially linked to water distribution and electrolyte turnover. 

The dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) for ruminants and the electrolyte balance (EB) for monogastrics characterise the acidifying or alkalising potential of a feed material or diet It is a simple calculation integrating the ions that have the greatest influence on the acid-base equilibrium potassium and sodium are alkalising , and chlorine and sulphur are acidifying . Sulphur is not taken into account in the calculation of EB. 

The third principle of anesthesia is the maintenance of the internal environment of the body. For example, the regulation of electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium, calcium, etc.), acid-base balance, and a host of supporting functions on which cellular function and organ system communications rest. 

Contents Background and Technical Aspects of the Chemical Industry. - Air Quality and Emission Control. - Water Quality Emission Control. - Natural and Derived Sodium and Potassium Salts. - Industrial Bases by Chemical Routes. - Electrolytic Sodium Hydrocide and Chlorine and Related Commodities. -Sulfur and Sulfuric Add. - Phosphorus and Phosphoric Acid. - Ammonia, Nitric Add and their Derivatives. - Aluminium and Compounds. - Ore Enrichment and Smelting of Copper. - Production of Iron Steel. - Production of Pulp and Paper. - Fermentation Processes. - Petroleum Production and Transport. - Petroleum Refining. - Formulae and Conversion Factors. - Subject Index. 

Sodium, potassium, and chloride, as ions (Na, K, and Gl ), are essential to electrolyte balance in body fluids. Electrolyte balance, in turn, is essential for fluid balance, acid-base balance, and transmission of nerve impulses. Table salt is the principal source of sodium and chloride ions, and dietary deficiencies are unlikely. When there is extreme fluid loss through vomiting, diarrhea, or traumatic injury, electrolytes must be supplied to restore their concentration in body fluids. 

Chapter 4 focuses on fluid volume imbalances (i.e., hypervolemia and hypovolemia) and related symptoms and treatments. Chapters 5 through 9 present the major electrolytes and concepts related to excessive or insufficient blood levels of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphate. Chapter 10 focuses on acid-base imbalances and discusses the procedures needed to determine the underlying source of the imbalance and the appropriate treatments and patient care needed to address the imbalance. Chapters 11 and 12 contain presentations of developmental conditions and disease conditions that involve imbalances in fluids, electrolytes, and acid-base, with the aim of enabling the reader to apply the concepts learned in earlier chapters of the book. 

Symptoms of hypokalemia may indicate the need for a urinalysis and blood tests to determine the amount of potassium being excreted by the kidneys and related electrolyte and acid-base imbalances. 

A hormone produced in the adrenal gland, aldosterone, signals the kidneys to excrete or retain potassium based on the body s needs. If potassium levels are high, aldosterone is secreted, causing an increase in potassium excretion into the urine. Serum levels of potassium also are influenced by the levels of other electrolytes and acid-base balance. In alkalosis, for example, potassium may shift out of the cell as hydrogen ions shift into the cell to buffer the excessive acid, and when serum potassium concentration is low, potassium is retained by excreting sodium and chloride. 

Potassium imbalances can lead to acid-base and other electrolyte imbalances, and if not corrected quickly, potassium imbalance can be fatal because imbalances can lead to nerve and cardiac dysfunction. 

From the point of view of potassium balance, there is increased renal excretion of potassium, loss of potassium in the vomitus and no potassium being delivered for absorption in the alimentary tract. All these factors contribute to a severe depletion of the body s total potassium content. Yet another factor contributes to potassium loss. A drop in volume of the circulating blood leads to aldosterone secretion via the renin-angiotensin mechanism which, in turn, promotes sodium reabsorption in the renal tubule this contributes further to excessive renal loss of potassium and hydrogen ions. The acidity of the urine is inappropriate as a response to metabolic alkalosis, but the preservation of electrolyte and fluid volume takes precedence over the acid-base disturbance. These various efiects all combine to yield a positive feedback system driving the metabolic alkalosis which, if not treated, reaches lethal levels in a few days. 

Sodium ar chloride comprise the bulk of the electrolytes in plasma and interstitial fluid. Sodium constitutes 90 % of the total base of the plasma, the normal concentration being 140 meq. per liter. The normal concentration of chloride is 104 meq. per liter. The sodium ion plays an important role in the maintenance of acid-base equilibrium and in the maintenance of osmotic pressure, which depends largely on total base. Cations in blood, other than sodium, are calcium, potassium, and magnesium anions, other than chloride, are bicarbonate, protein, and small amounts of organic acid. The pH is usually regulated by the relative amounts of chloride and bicarbonate. Acidosis and alkalosis are encountered in many diseases of man, but these problems belong in the fleld of clinical medicine rather than nutrition and will not be discussed here. 

For alkaline electrolytes, the oxidizer reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics are more efficient than acid-based electrolytes (e.g., PEFC, PAFC). Many space appUcations utiUze pure oxygen and hydrogen for chemical propulsion, so the AFC was well suited as an APU. However, the alkaline electrolyte suffers an intolerance to even small fractions of carbon dioxide (CO2) found in air which react to form potassium carbonate (K2CO3) in the electrolyte, gravely reducing performance over time. For terrestrial applications, CO2 poisoning has limited lifetime of AFC systems to well below that required for commercial application, and filtration of CO2 has proven too expensive for practical use. Due to this limitation, relatively little commercial development of the AFC beyond space applications has been realized. Some recent development of alkaline-based solid polymer electrolytes is underway, however. The AFC is discussed in greater detail in Chapter 7. 

The kidneys are two fist-sized organs whose primary function is to generate urine for excretion of water and metabolic waste products. The kidneys not only remove accumulated nitrogen products (urea, creatinine, uric acid, and others) but also maintain homeostasis of water and electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, phosphate, magnesium) and regulate acid-base balance. In addition, human kidneys perform a few endocrine and metabolic functions, such as production of the hormone erythropoietin (a hormone that stimulates blood cell production) and conversion of vitamin D to its active form. Because of the tremendous overcapacity of normal kidney function, a person can live with only a fraction of normal kidney capacity, and the 0.1% of the population who are bom with a single kidney often are not even aware of the missing kidney. 

Aqueous solutions of many salts, of the common strong acids (hydrochloric, nitric and sulphuric), and of bases such as sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide are good conductors of electricity, whereas pure water shows only a very poor conducting capability. The above solutes are therefore termed electrolytes. On the other hand, certain solutes, for example ethane-1,2-diol (ethylene glycol) which is used as antifreeze , produce solutions which show a conducting capability only little different from that of water such solutes are referred to as non-electrolytes. Most reactions of analytical importance occurring in aqueous solution involve electrolytes, and it is necessary to consider the nature of such solutions. 

B—A (nitrous acid) and D (acetic acid) are weak acids, and E (ammonia) is a weak base. Weak acids and bases are weak electrolytes. C (ethanol) is a nonelectrolyte. Potassium nitrate (B) is a water-soluble ionic compound. 

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