Novichoks, also known as A-series agents, are nerve agents developed in the Soviet Union during Cold War. Once obscure chemicals, they garnered a great deal of attention after their employment attempted assassinations Sergei and Yulia Skripal 2018 Alexei Navalny 2020. Novichok were not originally featured schedules Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which intended to support treaty’s verificati...

Seven patients with optic nerve hypoplasia, born of epileptic mothers, are presented. All the mothers took anticonvulsants during pregnancy. The possibility that maternal anticonvulsant therapy may play a role in the genesis of optic nerve hypoplasia is discussed in the light of what is known about the teratogenicity of these agents.

An improved whole-cell technology for detoxifying organophosphate nerve agents was recently developed based on genetically engineered Escherichia coli with organophosphorus hydrolase anchored on the surface. This article reports the immobilization of these novel biocatalysts on nonwoven polypropylene fabric and their applications in detoxifying contaminated wastewaters. The best cell loading (2...

We have compared the delay in onset of 1% mepivacaine and 0.33% bupivacaine in different nerve fibre types in 10 volunteers undergoing median nerve blocks, in a randomized, double-blind, crossover study. Hot, cold, pinprick and light touch sensations, compound motor action potentials (CMAP), sensory nerve action potentials (SNAP) and skin temperature were recorded at 2-min intervals. Hot, cold,...

The present review reports the research carried out during last 9 years on biosensors based on cholinesterase inhibition for nerve agents, organophosphorus and carbammic insecticides, and aflatoxin B1 detection. Relative applications in environmental and food areas are also reported. Special attention is paid to the optimization of parameters such as enzyme immobilization, substrate concentrati...

In this work, the ability of four newly synthesized oximes--K005 (1,3-bis(2-hydroxyiminomethylpyridinium) propane dibromide), K027 (1-(4-hydroxyiminomethylpyridinium)-3-(4-carbamoylpyridinium) propane dibromide), K033 (1,4-bis(2-hydroxyiminomethylpyridinium) butane dibromide) and K048 (1-(4-hydroxyiminomethylpyridinium)-4-(4-carbamoylpyridinium) butane dibromide) to reactivate acetylcholinester...

Phosphotriesterase (PTE) from soil bacteria is known for its ability to catalyze the detoxification of organophosphate pesticides and chemical warfare agents. Most of the organophosphate chemical warfare agents are a mixture of two stereoisomers at the phosphorus center, and the S(P)-enantiomers are significantly more toxic than the R(P)-enantiomers. In previous investigations, PTE variants wer...

[Purpose] Physiotherapeutic heating agents are classified into two groups: superficial-heating agents and deep-heating agents. Therapeutic ultrasound is a deep-heating agent used to treat various musculosketal disorders. Numerous studies have attempted to determine the impact of ultrasound on healthy nerve conduction parameters. However, the instantaneous effects of deep heating via ultrasound ...

The mechanism of arterial hypotension induced by non-depolarizing neuromuscular blocking agents may be multifactorial and differ between drugs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of high-dose atracurium and equivalent doses of other non-depolarizing neuromuscular blocking agents on haemodynamic state and sympathetic nervous activity. In studies on 24 mongrel dogs anaesthetized...