Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at seventh in total abundance in the Milky Way and the Solar System. At standard temperature and pressure, two atoms of the element bond to form N2, a colorless and odorless diatomic gas. N2 forms about 78% of Earth's atmosphere, making it the most abundant chemical species in air. Because of the volatility of nitrogen compounds, nitrogen is relatively rare in the solid parts of the Earth.
Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, factitious air, among others, is a chemical compound, an oxide of nitrogen with the formula N
2O. At room temperature, it is a colourless non-flammable gas, and has a slightly sweet scent and taste. At elevated temperatures, nitrous oxide is a powerful oxidiser similar to molecular oxygen.
Rooibos, or Aspalathus linearis, is a broom-like member of the plant family Fabaceae that grows in South Africa's fynbos biome.
Nitric oxide is a colorless gas with the formula NO. It is one of the principal oxides of nitrogen. Nitric oxide is a free radical: it has an unpaired electron, which is sometimes denoted by a dot in its chemical formula. Nitric oxide is also a heteronuclear diatomic molecule, a class of molecules whose study spawned early modern theories of chemical bonding.
Nitrous acid is a weak and monoprotic acid known only in solution, in the gas phase, and in the form of nitrite salts. It was discovered by Carl Wilhelm Scheele, who called it "phlogisticated acid of niter". Nitrous acid is used to make diazonium salts from amines. The resulting diazonium salts are reagents in azo coupling reactions to give azo dyes.
An anaesthetic machine or anesthesia machine is a medical device used to generate and mix a fresh gas flow of medical gases and inhalational anaesthetic agents for the purpose of inducing and maintaining anaesthesia.
Nitrous oxide, as medical gas supply, is an inhaled gas used as pain medication, and is typically administered with 50% oxygen mix. It is often used together with other medications for anesthesia. Common uses include during childbirth, following trauma, and as part of end-of-life care. Onset of effect is typically within half a minute, and the effect lasts for about a minute.
Nitric oxide synthases (NOSs) are a family of enzymes catalyzing the production of nitric oxide (NO) from L-arginine. NO is an important cellular signaling molecule. It helps modulate vascular tone, insulin secretion, airway tone, and peristalsis, and is involved in angiogenesis and neural development. It may function as a retrograde neurotransmitter. Nitric oxide is mediated in mammals by the calcium-calmodulin controlled isoenzymes eNOS and nNOS. The inducible isoform, iNOS, involved in immune response, binds calmodulin at physiologically relevant concentrations, and produces NO as an immune defense mechanism, as NO is a free radical with an unpaired electron. It is the proximate cause of septic shock and may function in autoimmune disease.
Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4, THB), also known as sapropterin (INN), is a cofactor of the three aromatic amino acid hydroxylase enzymes, used in the degradation of amino acid phenylalanine and in the biosynthesis of the neurotransmitters serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT), melatonin, dopamine, norepinephrine (noradrenaline), epinephrine (adrenaline), and is a cofactor for the production of nitric oxide (NO) by the nitric oxide synthases. Chemically, its structure is that of a (dihydropteridine reductase) reduced pteridine derivative (quinonoid dihydrobiopterin).
Some philosophers, such as Jeremy Bentham, Baruch Spinoza, and Descartes, have hypothesized that the feelings of pain and pleasure are part of a continuum.
Denitrifying bacteria are a diverse group of bacteria that encompass many different phyla. This group of bacteria, together with denitrifying fungi and archaea, is capable of performing denitrification as part of the nitrogen cycle. Denitrification is performed by a variety of denitrifying bacteria that are widely distributed in soils and sediments and that use oxidized nitrogen compounds such as nitrate and nitrite in the absence of oxygen as a terminal electron acceptor. They metabolize nitrogenous compounds using various enzymes, including nitrate reductase (NAR), nitrite reductase (NIR), nitric oxide reductase (NOR) and nitrous oxide reductase (NOS), turning nitrogen oxides back to nitrogen gas or nitrous oxide.
Selig Percy Amoils, FRCS, born 1933, is a South African ophthalmologist and biomedical engineering inventor. In 1965, Amoils refined the cryoextraction method of cataract surgery by developing a cryoprobe that was cooled through the Joule-Thomson effect of gas expansion. His system is still widely used in the fields of ophthalmology and gynaecology.
Alcohol detoxification is the abrupt cessation of alcohol intake in individuals that have alcohol use disorder. This process is often coupled with substitution of drugs that have effects similar to the effects of alcohol in order to lessen the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. When withdrawal does occur, it results in symptoms of varying severity.
Nitric oxide reductase, an enzyme, catalyzes the reduction of nitric oxide (NO) to nitrous oxide (N2O). The enzyme participates in nitrogen metabolism and in the microbial defense against nitric oxide toxicity. The catalyzed reaction may be dependent on different participating small molecules: Cytochrome c (EC: 1.7.2.5, Nitric oxide reductase (cytochrome c)), NADPH (EC:1.7.1.14), or Menaquinone (EC:1.7.5.2).
In medicine, exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) can be measured in a breath test for asthma and other respiratory conditions characterized by airway inflammation. Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous molecule produced by certain cell types in an inflammatory response. The fraction of exhaled NO (FENO) is a promising biomarker for the diagnosis, follow-up and as a guide to therapy in adults and children with asthma. The breath test has recently become available in many well-equipped hospitals in developed countries, although its exact role remains unclear.
Dinitrogen trioxide is the inorganic compound with the formula N2O3. It is a nitrogen oxide. It forms upon mixing equal parts of nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide and cooling the mixture below −21 °C (−6 °F):
Mulalo Doyoyo was a South African engineer, inventor, and professor.
Gaseous signaling molecules are gaseous molecules that are either synthesized internally (endogenously) in the organism, tissue or cell or are received by the organism, tissue or cell from outside and that are used to transmit chemical signals which induce certain physiological or biochemical changes in the organism, tissue or cell. The term is applied to, for example, oxygen, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, methane, hydrogen, ethylene, etc.
Rooibos wine is a variety of wine in which wood from the rooibos and honeybush plants is used instead of the traditional oak wood during the maturation phase. It has its origin in the Western Cape, South Africa. The wine has a unique flavor component and due to the anti-oxidative effect of the plants can be produced without the use of sulfur dioxide.
Mark A. Gillman is a South African scholar, neuroscientist, medical consultant and author. He is Emeritus CEO of the S.A. Brain Research Institute and an adviser on substance abuse for Governments in South Africa, the USA, China, and Israel.
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