Is Arsenic An Aphrodisiac

Sex, drugs, rocks, gold, murder, war, mass poisonings, the deaths of Napoleon, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, and others are all linked by one element - arsenic! Arsenic has been around since the beginning of time and the word has become a metaphor for poison with associated shock value. The general public are fearful of any possible exposure to it and yet it holds a certain dark and eerie fascination! The average person has only one idea about arsenic - it is poison - and this reputation has a sound base. Some arsenic compounds are very toxic and have been used with criminal intent from the time of the.

For centuries, arsenic's image as a poison has been inextricably tied to images of foul play. In King of Poisons, John Parascandola examines the surprising history of this deadly element. From Gustave Flaubert to Dorothy Sayers, arsenic has long held a place in the literary realm as an instrument of murder and suicide. It was delightfully used as a source of comedy in the famous play Arsenic and Old Lace. But as Parascandola shows, arsenic has had a number of surprising real-world applications. It was frequently found in such common items as wallpaper, paint, cosmetics, and even candy, and its use in medical treatments was widespread. American ambassador Clare Boothe Luce suffered from exposure to arsenical paint in her study, and Napoleon's death has long been speculated to be the result of accidental or intentional poisoning. But arsenic poisoning is still a public menace. In the neighborhood surrounding American University in Washington, D.C., the army has undertaken a massive cleanup of artillery shells and bottles containing chemical warfare agents such as arsenical lewisite after a number of workmen and residents became ill. Arsenic contamination of the water supply in Bangladesh and in West Bengal, India, is a major public health problem today as well. From murder to crime fiction, from industrial toxin to chemical warfare, arsenic remains a powerful force in modern life.

Arsenic is a naturally occurring element and, as such, it is present in the environment and in our food and drink. It can even be involved in supporting life processes. However, due to its toxicity, there is concern about its presence in our diet. This book examines the real risks and impacts of arsenic in our lives. Looking at arsenic and its compounds, this book explores the presence of arsenic in food and water, the need to clarify its toxicity, and current scientific and public misconceptions about arsenic. It also looks at the use of arsenic in medicine, from cancer treatments to alternative therapies such as homeopathy. Following on from "Is Arsenic an Aphrodisiac?: The Sociochemistry of an Element", this book continues the authors work in addressing the issues surrounding arsenic. It is a fascinating read for general readers as it unveils the reality of our exposure to arsenic in our daily lives.

Arsenic, antimony and bismuth, three related elements of group 15, are all found in trace quantities in nature and have interesting biological properties and uses. While arsenic is most well known as a poison - and indeed the contamination of groundwater by arsenic is becoming a major health problem in Asia - it also has uses for the treatment of blood cancer and has long been used in traditional chinese medicine. Antimony and bismuth compounds are used in the clinic for the treatment of parasitic and bacterial infections. Biological Chemistry of Arsenic, Antimony and Bismuth is an essential overview of the biological chemistry of these three elements, with contributions from an international panel of experts. Topics covered include: chemistry of As, Sb and Bi biological chemistry of arsenic biological chemistry of Sb and Bi arsenic and antimony speciation in environmental and biological samples arsenic in traditional chinese medicine arsenic in aquifers biomethylation of As, Sb and Bi uptake of metalloids by cells bismuth complexes of porphyrins and their potential in medical applications Helicobacter pylori and bismuth metabolism of arsenic trioxide in blood of the acute promyelocytic leukemia patients anticancer properties of As, Sb and Bi radio-Bi in cancer therapy genotoxicity of As, Sb and Bi metallomics as a new technique for As, Sb and Bi metalloproteomics for As, Sb and Bi Biological Chemistry of Arsenic, Antimony and Bismuth conveys the essential aspects of the bioinorganic chemistry of these three elements, making this book a valuable complement to more general bioinorganic chemistry texts and more specialized topical reviews. It will find a place on the bookshelves of practitioners, researchers and students working in bioinorganic chemistry and medicinal chemistry.

This book is a compilation of 29 chapters focused on: pesticides and food production, environmental effects of pesticides, and pesticides mobility, transport and fate. The first book section addresses the benefits of the pest control for crop protection and food supply increasing, and the associated risks of food contamination. The second book section is dedicated to the effects of pesticides on the non-target organisms and the environment such as: effects involving pollinators, effects on nutrient cycling in ecosystems, effects on soil erosion, structure and fertility, effects on water quality, and pesticides resistance development. The third book section furnishes numerous data contributing to the better understanding of the pesticides mobility, transport and fate. The addressed in this book issues should attract the public concern to support rational decisions to pesticides use.

Up to 200 million people in 70 countries are at risk from drinking water contaminated with arsenic, which is a major cause of chronic debilitating illnesses and fatal cancers. Until recently little was known about the mobility of arsenic, and how redox transformations determined its movement into or out of water supplies. Although human activities contribute to the release of arsenic from minerals, it is now clear that bacteria are responsible for most of the redox transformation of arsenic in the environment. Bacterial oxidation of arsenite (to the less mobile arsenate) has been known since 1918, but it was not until 2000 that a bacterium was shown to gain energy from this process. Since then a wide range of arsenite-oxidizing bacteria have been isolated, including aerobes and anaerobes; heterotrophs and autotrophs; thermophiles, mesophiles and psychrophiles. This book reviews recent advances in the study of such bacteria. After a section on background—geology and health issues—the main body of the book concerns the cellular machinery of arsenite oxidation. It concludes by examining possible applications. Topics treated are: The geology and cycling of arsenic Arsenic and disease Arsenite oxidation: physiology, enzymes, genes, and gene regulation. Community genomics and functioning, and the evolution of arsenite oxidation Microbial arsenite oxidation in bioremediation Biosensors for arsenic in drinking water and industrial effluents

This book deals with the most emerging aspects of algal research with special reference to microalgae viz; diversity, mutations, genomics and metagenomics study, eco-physiology, culturing, microalgae for food and feed, biofuel production, harvesting of microalgae, separation, and purification of biochemicals, techno-economical assessment, microalgal biotechnology, algal-bacterial systems for wastewater treatment. It describes the complex issues associated with the above-mentioned areas with the intervention of cutting-edge biotechnological tools and techniques like next-generation sequencing methods, metabolomics, and bioreactor design and development. The chapters provide past developments, current information and future prospects of algal technology as an alternate avenue for waste water treatment and its potential for production of biofuel and nutraceuticals.

Handbook of Advanced Approaches towards Pollution Prevention and Control, Volume One: Conventional and Innovative Technology, and Assessment Techniques for Pollution Prevention and Control condenses all relevant information on pollution prevention and control in a single source. This handbook (Volume One of Two) covers the principles of pollution prevention and control technologies, recent advances in pollution prevention, control technologies and their sustainability, modernization in pollution prevention, and control technologies for future and next generation pollution prevention. This book is an indispensable resource for researchers and academic staff in chemical and process engineering, safety engineering, environmental engineering, biotechnology and materials engineering. Provides in-depth information on the principles and advances in pollution prevention and control practices Discusses emerging technologies and processes for advanced pollution prevention and control Presents developments on the use of the assessment models as tools to support the research and applications of different technologies and processes Provides history, fundamentals, state-of-the-art, and future trends Edited by expert team of world-class editors