• Title/Summary/Keyword: chemistry concept

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Imaging Neuroreceptors in the Living Human Brain

  • Wagner Jr Henry N.;Dannals Robert F.;Frost J. James;Wong Dean F.;Ravert Hayden T.;Wilson Alan A.;Links Jonathan M.;Burns H. Donald;Kuhar Michael J.;Snyder Solomon H.
    • The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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    • v.18 no.2
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    • pp.17-23
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    • 1984
  • For nearly a century it has been known that chemical activity accompanies mental activity, but only recently has it been possible to begin to examine its exact nature. Positron-emitting radioactive tracers have made it possible to study the chemistry of the human mind in health and disease, using chiefly cyclotron-produced radionuclides, carbon-11, fluorine-18 and oxygen-15. It is now well established that measurable increases in regional cerebral blood flow, glucose and oxygen metabolism accompany the mental functions of perception, cognition, emotion and motion. On May 25, 1983 the first imaging of a neuroreceptor in the human brain was accomplished with carbon-11 methyl spiperone, a ligand that binds preferentially to dopamine-2 receptors, 80% of which are located in the caudate nucleus and putamen. Quantitative imaging of serotonin-2, opiate, benzodiazapine and muscarinic cholinergic receptors has subsequently been accomplished. In studies of normal men and women, it has been found that dopamine and serotonin receptor activity decreases dramatically with age, such a decrease being more pronounced in men than in women and greater in the case of dopamine receptors than serotonin-2 receptors. Preliminary studies in patients with neuropsychiatric disorders suggests that dopamine-2 receptor activity is diminished in the caudate nucleus of patients with Huntington's disease. Positron tomography permits quantitative assay of picomolar quantities of neuro-receptors within the living human brain. Studies of patients with Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, acute and chronic pain states and drug addiction are now in progress. The growth of any scientific field is based on a paradigm or set of ideas that the community of scientists accepts. The unifying principle of nuclear medicine is the tracer principle applied to the study of human disease. Nineteen hundred and sixty-three was a landmark year in which technetium-99m and the Anger camera combined to move the field from its latent stage into a second stage characterized by exponential growth within the framework of the paradigm. The third stage, characterized by gradually declining growth, began in 1973. Faced with competing advances, such as computed tomography and ultrasonography, proponents and participants in the field of nuclear medicine began to search for greener pastures or to pursue narrow sub-specialties. Research became characterized by refinements of existing techniques. In 1983 nuclear medicine experienced what could be a profound change. A new paradigm was born when it was demonstrated that, despite their extremely low chemical concentrations, in the picomolar range, it was possible to image and quantify the distribution of receptors in the human body. Thus, nuclear medicine was able to move beyond physiology into biochemistry and pharmacology. Fundamental to the science of pharmacology is the concept that many drugs and endogenous substances, such as neurotransmitters, react with specific macromolecules that mediate their pharmacologic actions. Such receptors are usually identified in the study of excised tissues, cells or cell membranes, or in autoradiographic studies in animals. The first imaging and quantification of a neuroreceptor in a living human being was performed on May 25, 1983 and reported in the September 23, 1983 issue of SCIENCE. The study involved the development and use of carbon-11 N-methyl spiperone (NMSP), a drug with a high affinity for dopamine receptors. Since then, studies of dopamine and serotonin receptors have been carried out in over 100 normal persons or patients with various neuropsychiatric disorders. Exactly one year later, the first imaging of opitate receptors in a living human being was performed [1].

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Biorefinery Based on Weeds and Agricultural Residues (잡초 및 농림부산물을 이용한 Biorefinery 기술개발)

  • Hwang, In-Taek;Hwang, Jin-Soo;Lim, Hee-Kyung;Park, No-Joong
    • Korean Journal of Weed Science
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    • v.30 no.4
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    • pp.340-360
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    • 2010
  • The depletion of fossil fuels, ecological problems associated with $CO_2$ emissions climate change, growing world population, and future energy supplies are forcing the development of alternative resources for energy (heat and electricity), transport fuels and chemicals: the replacement of fossil resources with $CO_2$ neutral biomass. Several options exist to cover energy supplies of the future, including solar, wind, and water power; however, chemical carbon source can get from biomass only. When used in combination with environmental friend production and processing technology, the use of biomass can be seen as a sustainable alternative to conventional chemical feedstocks. The biorefinery concept is analogous to today's petroleum refinery, which produce multiple fuels and chemical products from petroleum. A biorefinery is a facility that integrates biomass conversion processes and equipment to produce fuels, power, and value-added chemicals from biomass. Biorefinery is the co-production of a spectrum of bio-based products (food, feed, materials, and chemicals) and energy (fuels, power, and heat) from biomass [definition IEA Bioenergy Task 42]. By producing multiple products, a biorefinery takes advantage of the various components in biomass and their intermediates therefore maximizing the value derived from the biomass feedstocks. A biorefinery could, for example, produce one or several low-volume, but high-value, chemical or nutraceutical products and a low-value, but high-volume liquid transportation fuel such as biodiesel or bioethanol. Future biorefinery may play a major role in producing chemicals and materials as a bridge between agriculture and chemistry that are traditionally produced from petroleum. Industrial biotechnology is expected to significantly complement or replace the current petroleum-based industry and to play an important role.

Bond Orbital Theory of Chemical Reactivity (反應性의 結合 Orbital 理論)

  • Yang, Kang;Ree, Tai-Kyue
    • Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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    • v.8 no.1
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    • pp.20-24
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    • 1964
  • The linear combination of bond orbitals method is used to investigate the reactivity of halomethanes in abstraction reactions by atoms. The activation energy is evaluated on the assumption that, in an activated complex, two electrons in a bond to be broken become completely isolated from the rest of the ${\sigma}$-electron systems. Such a model leads to an intuitively attractive concept that the interactions between the reactive bond and the neighboring bonds govern the reactivity of ${\sigma}$-electron systems. The resulting equation for the activation energy, ${\varepsilon},\;is:\;{\narepsilon}= ${\varepsilon}={\zeta}+$$${\sum}_{i=1}^3$${\eta}c-I,$ c-4 Here, subscript C-4 indicates the bond to be broken, while C-i represents the other three bonds surrounding the reactive bond; ξ is the activation energy of a hypothetical reaction of an isolated C-4 bond and an attacking atom; and ${\eta}$C-i,C-4 stems from the stabilizing interacting of C-4 bond with neighboring C-i bonds. A choie of η′s consistent with bond strength data simplifies the above equation to a form ${\varepsilon}={\zeta}\;+\;N{\eta}c$-H, C-4 where N denotes the number of C-H plus C-F bond in halomethanes. In agreement with this equation, experimental -values increase linearly with increasing N.

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Development of 3D Printed Snack-dish for the Elderly with Dementia (3D 프린팅 기술을 활용한 치매노인 전용 영양(수분)보충 식품섭취용기 개발)

  • Lee, Ji-Yeon;Kim, Cheol-Ho;Kim, Kug-Weon;Lee, Kyong-Ae;Koh, Kwangoh;Kim, Hee-Seon
    • Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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    • v.26 no.5
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    • pp.327-336
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    • 2021
  • Objectives: This study was conducted to create a 3D printable snack dish model for the elderly with low food or fluid intake along with barriers towards eating. Methods: The decision was made by the hybrid-brainstorming method for creating the 3D model. Experts were assigned based on their professional areas such as clinical nutrition, food hygiene and chemical safety for the creation process. After serial feedback processes, the grape shape was suggested as the final model. After various concept sketching and making clay models, 3D-printing technology was applied to produce a prototype. Results: 3D design modeling process was conducted by SolidWorks program. After considering Dietary reference intakes for Koreans (KDRIs) and other survey data, appropriate supplementary water serving volume was decided as 285 mL which meets 30% of Adequate intake. To consider printing output conditions, this model has six grapes in one bunch with a safety lid. The FDM printer and PLA filaments were used for food hygiene and safety. To stimulate cognitive functions and interests of eating, numbers one to six was engraved on the lid of the final 3D model. Conclusions: The newly-developed 3D model was designed to increase intakes of nutrients and water in the elderly with dementia during snack time. Since dementia patients often forget to eat, engraving numbers on the grapes was conducted to stimulate cognitive function related to the swallowing and chewing process. We suggest that investigations on the types of foods or fluids are needed in the developed 3D model snack dish for future studies.