Clinical and morphological findings on mustard gas [bis (2-chloroethyl) sulfide] poisoning

n 1984 and 1985, a total of eleven Iranian patients were transferred to hospitals in Munich, Germany, after a reported gas attack in the Iran-Iraq war. The initial symptoms and pretreatment in Teheran, Iran, as well as the admittance examination data, the clinical courses of the patients, and the clinical laboratory data in Germany, are reported. The main injuries were to the skin, the eyes, and the respiratory tract. One patient stopped breathing suddenly on the third day of treatment (eight days after the exposure). A large piece of mucous membrane blocking a bronchus was removed during an immediate bronchoscopy, but attempts at resuscitation failed. The most important autopsy findings in this case were severe pseudomembranous inflammation of the trachea and the bronchial tubes. The histological findings are reported. Chemical proof of the poison (mustard gas) was established. A review of the history of chemical warfare, the physical and chemical properties of mustard gas, and a literature survey of clinical findings (including, especially, experiences from World Wars I and II) contribute to the understanding of the actual cases

Building complex systems based on simple molecular architectures

Over the past twenty years molecules capable of templating their own synthesis, so called self–replicating molecules have gained prominence in the literature. We show herein that mixing the reagents for replicating molecules can produce a network of self–replicators which coexist and that the networks can be instructed by the addition of preformed template upon initiation of the reaction. Whilst self–replicating molecules offer the simplest form of replication, nature has evolved to utilise not minimal self–replication but reciprocal replication where one strand templates the formation of not an identical copy of itself but a reciprocal strand. Efforts thus far at producing a synthetic reciprocal replicating system are discussed and an alternative strategy to address the problems encountered is proposed and successfully implemented. The kinetic behaviour of a self–replicating reaction bears two distinctive time periods. Upon initiation, the reaction proceeds slowly as no template exists to catalyse the reaction. Upon production of the template, the reaction proceeds more rapidly via template direction. During this slow reaction period, the system is prone to mistakes as the reaction is slow and unselective. The creation of an [A•B] binary complex through non–covalent recognition of reagents allows for the reaction to proceed at an accelerated rate upon initiation however products of such a reaction are usually catalytically inert and do not promote further template directed reaction. A strategy to combine the desired behaviour of an [A•B] binary complex with the further template directed autocatalytic self–replicating reaction is described and implemented. Supramolecular polymers consist of repeating monomers which are held together by non–covalent interactions. The strong association of a self–replicating template dimer is comparable to that of supramolecular polymers reported thus far in the literature which are produced by cumbersome standard linear synthetic procedures. Herein the application of self–replication to the field of supramolecular polymer synthesis is discussed. As the autocatalytic reaction to produce the template monomers occurs under the same conditions as required to allow polymerisation to proceed, the polymer is able to spontaneously form in situ by self–replicating supramolecular polymerisation

Building complex systems based on simple molecular architectures

Over the past twenty years molecules capable of templating their own synthesis, so called self–replicating molecules have gained prominence in the literature. We show herein that mixing the reagents for replicating molecules can produce a network of self–replicators which coexist and that the networks can be instructed by the addition of preformed template upon initiation of the reaction. Whilst self–replicating molecules offer the simplest form of replication, nature has evolved to utilise not minimal self–replication but reciprocal replication where one strand templates the formation of not an identical copy of itself but a reciprocal strand. Efforts thus far at producing a synthetic reciprocal replicating system are discussed and an alternative strategy to address the problems encountered is proposed and successfully implemented. The kinetic behaviour of a self–replicating reaction bears two distinctive time periods. Upon initiation, the reaction proceeds slowly as no template exists to catalyse the reaction. Upon production of the template, the reaction proceeds more rapidly via template direction. During this slow reaction period, the system is prone to mistakes as the reaction is slow and unselective. The creation of an [A•B] binary complex through non–covalent recognition of reagents allows for the reaction to proceed at an accelerated rate upon initiation however products of such a reaction are usually catalytically inert and do not promote further template directed reaction. A strategy to combine the desired behaviour of an [A•B] binary complex with the further template directed autocatalytic self–replicating reaction is described and implemented. Supramolecular polymers consist of repeating monomers which are held together by non–covalent interactions. The strong association of a self–replicating template dimer is comparable to that of supramolecular polymers reported thus far in the literature which are produced by cumbersome standard linear synthetic procedures. Herein the application of self–replication to the field of supramolecular polymer synthesis is discussed. As the autocatalytic reaction to produce the template monomers occurs under the same conditions as required to allow polymerisation to proceed, the polymer is able to spontaneously form in situ by self–replicating supramolecular polymerisation.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo