Abstract This paper describes gallium-based chemotherapeutic drugs. Included is a brief discussion of the history and development of these drugs, clinical uses for gallium, and problems with gallium chemotherapy. Also included is a discussion of potential alternate uses for gallium drugs, including using gallium as an antiviral or to combat hypercalcemia.
From the Paper "Gallium is a naturally occurring group IIIa heavy metal. Because of its low melting temperature (303 K), chemists have long used gallium industrially as a component of low-melting alloys. It has only been within the last forty years, however, that scientists have studied gallium in medicine. Following the serendipitous discovery of platinum's antitumor properties in the late 1960s, the U.S. National Cancer Institute started a systematic study of several metallic elements to see if they too might display anticancer effects. While all of the Group IIIa elements (boron, aluminum, gallium, and thallium) displayed significant cytotoxic activity, gallium was the most active and least toxic of these metals when tested against animal tumors.1 Later, in a separate development, researchers noted gallium's ability to localize in bone, leading clinicians to use 67Ga citrate in some diagnostic bone scans. In the 1970s, a physician conducting such a scan observed quite accidentally that gallium accumulated in nonosseous malignant tissue as well.2 Indeed, further tests showed that gallium was the only IIIa metal to display cytotoxic activity when inoculated at a site other than the tumor itself.1 These unique properties spurred a great deal of research interest in developing gallium-based chemotherapeutic agents."
Abstract The writer attempts to prove that while close cooperation among these disciplines may already be well established, such coordination is no less crucial to advancements in the quality and efficacy of cancer research and treatment. The paper gives a history of the disease and its treatments, concluding with the assertion that valuable treatment alternatives have been brought forward through multidisciplinary efforts.
From the Paper "A report demonstrated that approximately 25 percent of apparent squamous tumors have demonstrable mucin production and behave more aggressively than their pure squamous counterparts suggesting that any adenomatous differentiation may confer a negative prognosis. The decreased survival is mainly due to more advanced stage and nodal involvement rather than cell type as an independent variable. Human immunodeficiency virus-infected women have more aggressive and advanced disease and a poorer prognosis. A study of patients with known invasive squamous carcinoma of the cervix found that overexpression of the c-myc oncogene was associated with a poorer prognosis. Number of cells in S phase may also have prognostic significance in early cervical carcinoma (National Cancer Institute 9)."
Abstract This paper examines the metal aluminum, looking at its history, physical and chemical properties, natural occurrence, mining, processing, and uses.
Abstract This paper looks at epilepsy and discusses the different types, symptoms, medication and social impacts as well as its treatment and aftercare. It includes basic understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease process and how drug actions and chemicals in the brain thought to contribute to the disease.
Outline
Disease Classification
Normal? Physiology and the Effects of the Disease
Treatment for the Disease
Patient Care
From the Paper "The symptoms of Epilepsy, in my opinion and using the aforementioned evidence, definitely reflect the effects of the disease on the "normal" physiological functioning of the body. The chaotic, unregulated neuronal discharge in the cortex seems to have, from a simplistic point of view, a direct and visible correlation with the chaotic events, muscular spasm and loss of involuntary functions e.g., Breathing, bladder control or swallowing. The complexities of diagnosis and detection of the areas of brain cortex responsible for the discharge are made somewhat easier by the use of EEG, this also simplifies diagnosis of each individual as well as identifying which strain they may have. Although Monton (1985) does state that EEG has its limitations and therefore requires clinical assessment to be used in conjunction with EEG for effective and accurate investigation and diagnosis."
Abstract This paper looks at how wine making is an ancient but evolving art and science and how only recently have vintners and scientists alike been able to understand and, therefore, control the actions of yeast on the fermentation process. It discusses the whole fermentation process from the different stages of fermentation to the different strains of yeasts and catalysts used.
From the Paper "Fundamentally, fermentation occurs when sugars are transformed into alcohol, carbon dioxide, and some chemical by-products. In the case of wine, the carbon dioxide is released. The entire process involves no fewer than thirty chemical reactions (Peynaud 94). Yeast catalyzes fermentation. During the initial stage of wine fermentation, which lasts up to one week, the winemaker will leave the vessel open to the air. Thus, primary fermentation is aerobic, which allows the yeast to multiply in number instead of getting to work on the conversion of sugars into alcohol. Especially within the first few days of fermentation, yeasts concentrate almost all their energy on reproduction. Biologically, winemaking yeasts reproduce by budding or by the formation of spores. Saccharomyces yeasts reproduce by budding."
Abstract Discusses Lewis's original work in thermodynamics and valence theory, his academic background and career as a faculty member at MIT and UC Berkeley, his scientific research and theories of electrons bonding in pairs.
From the Paper "Scientist Gilbert Newton Lewis' reputation lies in his extensive contributions to the field of chemistry. Lewis was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts on October 23, 1875. He was schooled at home by his parents in his early years, and at age 14, entered the..."
Abstract This paper discusses how napalm, a chemical made by thickening gasoline with the aluminium salt of naphthenic and palmitic acid, was first developed in the United States during World War II and was used in the Korean War and then the Vietnam War. In particular, it examines how its use in the Vietnam War has had the most impact on the 20th century. It looks at how the widespread use of napalm contributed to ideas on the strategies of war and how the impact of napalm in the Vietnam War changed how the public viewed the war, which led to changes in the way the public was viewed in a war situation.
From the Paper "The first impact of Napalm is the effect it has had on the strategies of war. One text titled The American Way of War: A History of United States Military Strategy and Policy, describes America's approach to war as always being an attempt to reach total war (Weigley). This means not just fighting the forces of the opposing country, but fighting the country itself to cause their surrender. In more modern times, the recent war on Iraq can be given as an example, where American forces do not only fight against the soldiers of Iraq but bomb heavily to limit their ability to fight. With this approach, the goal is to maximize damage to the opposing country so they surrender quickly and the damage to American forces is minimized. If this approach is what America was attempting, Napalm became a way of achieving it in the Vietnam War."
Abstract This paper describes lead poisoning, focusing on the chemical processes that take place as lead (II) displaces zinc (II) from ALAD and inhibits hemoglobin synthesis. The technical details of the inorganic and biochemical processes at play are explored and discussed, as well as the mechanisms of various lead poisoning therapeutic strategies. This paper also contains several referenced illustrations and figures.
From the Paper "The protein ALAD, also know as porphobilinogen, is crucial in heme biosynthesis (2). ALAD, a ZnII metalloenzyme, consists of A and B subunits each of which contain a zinc atom when functional. The functionality of the A and B sites has been determined experimentally by displacement of zinc. When magnesium displaces zinc at the A site ALAD is marginally active. Furthermore, when magnesium replaces the zinc in the B site no change in the activity of the enzyme is observed (3). Thus the A site is key to the activity of the enzyme. However, when PbII displaces the active ZnII ion present in the A- site, the enzyme is rendered useless."
Abstract This paper begins by illustrating the process most commonly used to remove hydrogen sulfide from natural gas. The paper then goes on to describe an alternative method used for the removal of hydrogen sulfide and describes the benefits of this method, as well as some of the problems associated with it. Additionally, the paper points out that the water content of natural gas is an important engineering consideration concerning the sweetening process and presents an overview of the properties of pure acid gases and water and hydrogen sulfide. The paper then goes on to outline and explain additional processes and engineering considerations concerning the removal of hydrogen sulfide and includes some cost estimates and comparisons of the processes.
Properties of H2S and CO2
Vapor / Liquid Properties of Pure Compounds
Vapor / Liquid Phase Behavior
Acid Gas Compression and Dehydration
Metallurgy
Acid Gas Dehydration
Acid Gas Injection Facilities
Cost Comparisons with Small Scale Sulfur Recovery Options
Operating Costs
From the Paper "Sour natural gas contains hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which has to be removed to meet specifications for sales gas. Sour natural gas also contains carbon dioxide (CO2). The removal of CO2 and H2S, usually called acid gases, from sour natural gas is generally accomplished by means of a regenerative solvent. There are several amine solvents used for this purpose. Upon regeneration of the solvent, the acid gases are liberated, and are usually sent to a modified Claus plant, where the H2S is converted to elemental sulfur (Canjar & Manning 1967). The acid gas stream to the modified Claus plant consists of H2S, CO2, water vapor and minor amounts of hydrocarbon gas."
Abstract This paper provides a scholarly examination of the elements oxygen, radon, and lead, including who discovered them and when, how they are isolated from the environment, and some of their commercial applications. An analysis of what the impact of the loss of these elements on life and society is also provided.
From the Paper "Dmitri Mendeleyev's discovery of the Periodic System can be traced to when he first began his scientific work in 1855. At this time, the central axiomatic assumption of chemistry was the notion of a chemical ?element.? Tennebaum says that this notion was associated with the idea that researchers cannot differentiate or divide substance down indefinitely, without encountering some kind of a limit, boundary or, "singularity" (Tennenbaum, 1994, p. 3). In the specific practice of chemistry up to the time of Mendeleyev, the exploration of this area took the form mainly of what are called chemical separation methods as distillation, precipitation, electrolysis, centrifugation, and so forth (Tennenbaum, 1994, p. 4). It was through this type of exploration that chemists that chemists had discovered about 64 elements at the time of Mendeleyev's initial research. The French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, on the other hand, adopted the view that these chemical elements are "singularities" (moments of change, in a search not for ultimate building blocks, but for what he called the ?principles'' of matter."
Abstract This paper is a technical report on a laboratory experiment on surface tension measurements using the capillary rise method. Samples are deionized water and varying concentrations of NaCl and of HOAc. Calculations are included in the appendix.
From the Paper "Increasing concentrations of HOAc solutions tend to lower surface tension of water, while NaCl solutions increase surface tension of water. The former results to a condition called positive surface concentration, where the solute tend to concentrate slightly in the neighborhood of the surface; the latter is due to negative surface concentration, where the solute molecules become less concentrated in the neighborhood of the surface."
Abstract This is a technical report on a laboratory experiment determining heating value of fuels. Test sample is naphthalene, and the calibrating substance is benzoic acid. The oxygen bomb calorimeter used is the Parr type.
From the Paper "The experiment aims to determine the heat of combustion of naphthalene using data obtained from the Parr bomb calorimeter.
Three 1-g portions of naphthalene were weighed using the analytical balance. Benzoic acid is the calibrating substance used for the experiment. The heat capacity Csys of the system is calculated using the theoretical value of benzoic acid and the nickel fuse wire. This Csys is equivalent to the heat capacity Ccal of the calorimeter; this value will be used in determining the heat of combustion of naphthalene.
The heat of combustion of naphthalene is accepted at
?5156.95 KJ/mol. The experimental value ?3787.445097 KJ/mol has an error of 26.56%."
Abstract This paper provides an overview and background of aramids, in general, and Kevlar, in particular, including its physical properties, its advantages and disadvantages, as well as anticipated future developments and trends in its production. A summary of the research is provided in the conclusion.
Introduction
Review and Discussion
Advantages and Disadvantages
Future Developments and Trends
Conclusion
From the Paper "Background and Overview. Kevlar is an industrial textile that is most commonly known in the manufacture of bulletproof vests; however, it is also used in the manufacture of composites, and fiber optic and electromechanical cables (Seewald, 1991). Industrial textiles refer to the manufacture of such fabrics as asbestos, glass fibers, carbon fibers and Kevlar, which are produced for the automotive, aerospace sectors of industry (Martin, Penn & Scattergood, 1991). Following the success of nylons in such applications, aromatic nylons known as aramids were created through the condensation of a diamine and terephthalic acid (this is a carboxylic acid that contains a hexagonal benzene ring in its molecules). The close packing of the aromatic polymer chains resulted in a strong, tough, stiff, high-melting fiber that was suitable for use in radial tires, heat- or flame-resistant fabrics, bulletproof clothing, and fiber-reinforced composite materials. DuPont first began to produce Nomex (its trademark for poly-meta-phenylene isophthalamide) in 1961 and Kevlar (the trademarked name of poly-para-phenylene terephthalamide) in 1971 (Stevens & Kauffman, 2004)."
Abstract This paper discusses the concept of entropy, describing how it governs every physical, chemical, and biological aspect of life. The paper explores two different perspectives to view entropy: that it is essentially dispersive in nature and that it is constructive in nature. The paper provides examples to illustrate entropy.
From the Paper "Entropy effects are seen in almost every instance of life. At an atomic and molecular level, the energy of substances is associated with their motion. A more energetic compound has greater motion. This atomic and molecular motion can be translational, vibrational and/or rotational, in decreasing order of energy. Each of these motions is associated with energy levels that are discrete. Atoms and, in turn, molecules cannot have randomly assigned energies. This means that substances can possess only discrete quanta or packets of energy."
