United States Investigation

At about the same time that imipramine was being studied in the United States, investigators in England noted that some patients with hysteria responded positively to MAOIs. Subsequently, researchers in England and Canada showed MAOIs to be superior to placebo in hysteria with phobic symptoms, a subcategorization that may be similar to that described by Klein. 

News of these discoveries and an awareness of their potential use in explosive devices spread rapidly within the scientific community. Several scientists finally persuaded Albert Einstein, the most famous physicist of the time, to write a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt explaining the implications of these discoveries. Einstein s letter, written in August 1939, outlined the possible military applications of nuclear fission and emphasized the danger that weapons based on fission would pose if they were developed by the Nazis. Roosevelt judged it imperative that the United States investigate the possibility of such weapons. Late in 1941, the decision was made to build a bomb based... 

What agency in the United States investigates serious chemical incidents ... 

Incapacitating agents are designed to induce physical disability or mental disorientation. LSD (a form of lysergic acid) and BZ (3-quinuclidinyl benzilate) are two examples. The United States investigated potential military uses of LSD. It also weaponized BZ, which can cause constipation, headaches, hallucinations, and slowing of mental thought processes (the US s BZ stockpile, located at Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas, was incinerated in May 1988-Sep. 1989). 

Roosevelt judged it imperative that the United States investigate the possibility of such weapons. Late in 1941 the decision was made to build a bomb based on the fission reaction. An enormous research project, known as the "Manhattan Project," began. 

Hydrazine sulfate [10034-93-2] N2H4 H2SO4, originally advanced by the Syracuse Cancer Research Institute for treatment of cancerous cachexia and tumor inhibition (221), now has Investigational New Dmg (IND) status in the United States. Clinical evaluations are under way at various institutions such as Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (222) and the Mayo Clinic. After extensive trials, hydrazine sulfate has been approved as an anticancer dmg in Russia (223). Chemical stmctures for estabUshed dmgs in the United States may be found in Reference 224. 

Metformin. Metformin [657-24-9] (1,1-dimethylbiguanide), mol wt 129.17, forms crystals from propanol, mp 218—220°C, and is soluble in water and 95% ethanol, but practically insoluble in ether and chloroform. Metformin, an investigational dmg in the United States, does not increase basal or meal-stimulated insulin secretion. It lowers blood glucose levels in hyperglycemic patients with Type II diabetes but has no effect on blood glucose levels in normal subjects. It does not cause hypoglycemia. Successful metformin therapy usually is associated with no or some weight loss. 

The nature of potential exposure ha2ards of low level microwave energy continues to be investigated (116—118). In the United States, leakage emission from microwave ovens is regulated to the stringent limit of 5 mW/cm at 5 cm (119). There is no federal limit on emission from industrial systems but the IMPI has set a voluntary standard which specifies 10 mW/cm at 5 cm (120). Emission values are equivalent to personnel exposures at several meters, well below limits that had previously prevailed in eastern Europe. This conclusion, derived for microwave ovens, should be vaUd for all microwave systems (121). 

Nearly half of the U.S. domestic food consumption of peanuts in 1993 was as peanut butter salted peanuts, at 27.3%, and peanut candy, at 23.9% made up the other half (137). Although the per capita domestic peanut consumption in the United States has increased steadily, the consumption in recent years has not kept pace with production. Domestic food use of peanuts has been confined almost entirely to roasted peanuts. A number of investigations and developmental efforts are being made to extend the use of nonroasted peanut products such as flour and meal flakes. As of the mid-1990s, market outlets for these latter products are neither sizable nor firmly established. The food-use patterns emphasize the uniqueness and demand for products having a distinct roasted-peanut flavor. The development of the desired flavor as well as the storage stability of such flavor in peanut-food products are therefore important. 

Work had gone on in both the United States and Europe, notably at Du Pont and ICI Ltd. in the United Kingdom, on exploring the whole series of alkylene terephthalate polymers in connection with new synthetic fibers. Poly(l,4-butylene terephthalate) (PBT) was investigated in detail, as it had very... 

The FDA is headed by the Commissioner of Food and Dmgs. This position is not a Cabiaet-level office but falls within the PubHc Health Service (PHS), a division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The post of FDA Commissioner is subject to HHS pohtical clearance and Senate confirmation, and the Commissioner is ultimately accountable to HHS, Congress, and the President of the United States. The Commissioner has a staff to assist ia poHcy making and several deputy commissioners to oversee operation of ah. the subordinate units. FDA has six regional offices within the country, each responsible for a section of the country, and 21 district offices. Persons with technical background typicahy work ia one of FDA s chemistry laboratories or as investigators or consumer safety officers. 

In the United States, other experimental wave-energy systems have been investigated in California and Hawaii, including a 30-MWe heaving-buoy... 

Butadiene. Although butadiene was produced in the United States in the eady 1920s, it was not until the start of Wodd War 11 that significant quantities were produced to meet the war effort. A number of processes were investigated as part of the American Synthetic Rubber Program. Catalytic dehydrogenation of / -butenes and / -butanes (Houdry process) and thermal cracking of petroleum hydrocarbons were chosen (12). 

Nonformaldehyde Finishing. The concern for formaldehyde release prompted interest in the development of cross-linking systems that did not contain formaldehyde. A number of systems were investigated but generally these systems seemed to fall short in performance (106,107). For example, l,3-dimethyl-4,5-dihydroxyethyleneurea (DMeDHEU) (5) has been used in Japan since 1974. This same agent has been marketed in the United States and elsewhere, but generally the level of smooth-dry performance is substantially lower than the level achievable with DMDHEU. The cost of dimethylurea also raises the overall cost of DMeDHEU above that of DMDHEU. 

Bismuth subsahcylate [14882-18-9] Pepto-Bismol, is a basic salt of varying composition, corresponding approximately to i9-H0CgH4C02(Bi0). Like a number of other insoluble bismuth preparations, it is not currentiy approved in the United States for the treatment of peptic ulcer disease but is under active investigation for this purpose (180). It does appear to be effective for the rehef of mild diarrhea and for the prevention of travelers diarrhea (181). The ready availabiUty of this dmg, however, may lead to its ovemse and result in toxic effects caused by both the saUcylate and bismuth components. It has been suggested that bismuth subsahcylate is somewhat effective in the symptomatic treatment of isosporiasis, a disease caused by the intracellular parasite Isospora belli (182). 

Fibric Acid Derivatives. Fibtic acid derivatives have been used since the 1960s for control of blood Upid levels. The four most well-known compounds in this class ate fenofibrate, gemfibrozil, clofibrate, and bezafibrate, shown in Table 5. Fenofibrate has been the most popular fibtic acid derivative in Europe, and has mote tecentiy been investigated extensively in clinical trials in the United States (153). Bezafibrate is stmcturaHy related to clofibrate, and has tecentiy been reviewed by Western European and AustraUan clinical trials (154). 

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