PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of 40% nitrous oxide/60% oxygen inhalation with scavenging on the behavioral and physiological parameters during routine pediatric dental procedures. METHODS Twenty-two subjects, aged 60-116 months, were randomized into a double blind, cross-over study design and administered alternately either 40% nitrous oxide/60% oxygen or 10...

Five groups of 12 gravid female rats were exposed, during their entire gestation, intermittently for 6 h a day, 5 days per week, to 0.5% (5000 p.p.m.), 0.1% (1000 p.p.m.), 0.05% (500 p.p.m.) and 0.025% (250 p.p.m.) nitrous oxide-air mixtures (v/v), respectively. After killing the gravid rats on the 19th day of their pregnancies the numbers of corpora lutea of pregnancy were counted. Each uterus...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to compare cardiac sympathetic and parasympathetic balance using heart rate variability (HRV) during induction of anaesthesia between sevoflurane and isoflurane in combination with nitrous oxide. METHODS 40 individuals aged from 30 to 60 years, scheduled for general anaesthesia were equally divided into sevoflurane or isoflurane groups. After 100% oxyg...

BACKGROUND Shift work and nitrous oxide exposure have both been suspected of having adverse influence on the reproductive performance of health workers. Time to pregnancy has been suggested as a sensitive measure of fecundity in occupationally exposed groups. We investigated the effects of shift work and nitrous oxide exposure on the fertility of Swedish midwives. METHODS A questionnaire was ...

The reactions of human hemoglobin with sodium nitrite and ethyl nitrite in deoxygenated media have been examined in kinetic detail. Nitrous acid has been identified from kinetic pH dependence studies as the principal oxidant of hemoglobin in reactions with sodium nitrite. Nitrosylhemoglobin is produced concurrently with methemoglobin as a result of reductive release of nitric oxide from nitrous...

Background: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a common problem and its cause is multifactorial. The relationship between PONV and nitrous oxide is under debate. Aim: To evaluate the relationship between nitrous oxide and PONV in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Methods: We randomly divided 60 female patients, ASA I or II, age 18-60 years and weighing between 50-100 kg...

Previous studies showing graded changes in the early cortical waves Pa and Nb of the auditory evoked response (AER) with increasing concentration of volatile anaesthetic agents demonstrated high amplitudes of these waves in the period immediately following induction of anaesthesia and tracheal intubation, when the patient breathed nitrous oxide alone. These high amplitude waves were not consist...

Salt marshes provide many key ecosystem services that have tremendous ecological and economic value. One critical service is the removal of fixed nitrogen from coastal waters, which limits the negative effects of eutrophication resulting from increased nutrient supply. Nutrient enrichment of salt marsh sediments results in higher rates of nitrogen cycling and, commonly, a concurrent increase in...

The subjective effects of nitrous oxide were examined by administering questionnaires to volunteers (16 men and 16 women) breathing 30% nitrous oxide or 100% oxygen. Nitrous oxide produced a variety of subjective effects, including some that are characteristic of psychedelic drugs, such as happy, euphoric mood changes, changes in body awareness and image, alterations of time perception, and exp...