Up from the beach: medical waste disposal rules!

The recent incidents of floating debris, garbage, wood, and medical waste on our nation's beaches have focused public attention on waste management problems. The handling and disposal of solid waste remains a major unresolved national dilemma. Increased use of disposables by all consumers, including the medical profession, and the increasing costs of solid waste disposal options have aggravated the solid waste situation.

Potential long-acting contraceptive agents: esters of testosterone with alkoxy- and halogeno-substituted carboxylic acids.

The chemical synthesis and physical data of several new esters of testosterone (17 beta-hydroxyandrost-4-en-3-one), which contain either a halogeno or an alkoxy substituent in the acid chain, are reported.

Long-acting contraceptive agents: norethisterone esters of arylcarboxylic acids.

The synthesis of esters of norethisterone (17 alpha-ethynyl-17 beta-hydroxy-estr-4-en-3-one) with acids containing a benzene ring is described, two methods of esterification being compared in terms of yield and convenience. The activities of these esters as long-acting contraceptive agents have been evaluated.

Long-acting contraceptive agents: esters of norethisterone with alkoxy- and halogeno-substituted carboxylic acids.

The chemical synthesis and physical data of several new esters of norethisterone (17 alpha-ethynyl-17 beta-hydroxyestr-4-en-3-one) are reported, which contain either a chloro- or an alkoxy-group as a substituent in the acid side-chain.

Long-acting contraceptive agents: norethisterone esters of polyunsaturated acids.

Some new derivatives of norethisterone (17 alpha-ethynyl-17 beta-hydroxyestr-4-en-3-one) are described in which the 17 beta-hydroxyl group of the steroid is esterified with polyunsaturated aliphatic acids. The potential of these compounds as long-acting contraceptive agents has been evaluated.

Long-acting contraceptive agents: norethisterone esters of monoalkenyl and monoalkynyl acids.

The synthesis of nine new esters of norethisterone (17 alpha-ethynyl-17 beta-hydroxyestr-4-en-3-one) is described, with the esterifying acids bearing an acetylenic or olefinic function in a chain of eight or nine carbon atoms, for evaluation as long-acting contraceptive agents.

Long-acting contraceptive agents: levonorgestrel esters of unsaturated acids.

Esters of levonorgestrel (13 beta-ethyl-17 beta-ethynyl-17 beta-hydroxygon-4-en-3-one) with a variety of unsaturated carboxylic acids have been synthesized for evaluation as potential long-acting, injectable contraceptive agents.

Side chain-hydroxylated sterols of the red alga Asparagopsis armata: significant products or artifacts due to autoxidation?

Sterols characterized by an allylic hydroxyl group in the side chain, such as stigmasta-5,28-diene-3 beta, 24 epsilon-diol (1), cholesta-5,23-diene-3 beta,25-diol (2) and cholesta-5,25-diene-3 beta,24 epsilon-diol (3), have been identified several times in various marine algae. Their origin was considered as doubtful: they could have been bona fide constituents of the alga, or be artifacts caused by autoxidation during the isolation process. We have shown that the dihydroxy steroids 2 and 3 can indeed be produced by the autoxidation of cholesta-5,24-dien-3 beta-ol (desmosterol) (5), but that they are nevertheless present in the taxonomic significance.

[Study fo sterols from brown seaweeds of the genus Cytoseira. Identification by gas-liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (author's transl)].

All the samples of brown seaweeds (Cystoseria) that we have studied present the same deltas sterols fucosterol, 22 trans-dehydrocholesterol, brassicasterol, 24-methylene cholesterol as well as cystosterol, a new C27 sterol. This sterol has been submitted to gas-liquid chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis.

Pharmacopsychiatry and iatrogenic Parkinsonism.

Through the study of the pharmacological and clinical actions of chlozapine, a new drug used in psychiatry, we are questioning one of the traditional statements on the therapeutic action of antipsychotics: the affirmation that those must have, concomitantly, antipsychotic action and intense extrapyramidal effects (drug-induced parkinsonism). Combining our own investigations and those of other authors, the generally accepted concepts on the possible biochemical mechanisms involved in the etiology of endogenous psychosis are criticized. Although there is evidence of alterations of the dopaminergic system in schizophrenia and also changes due to the action of neuroleptics, we cannot reject, given the dissociation of effects obtained with chlozapine, the possibility that the repercussion on the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system be only one of the many probably mechanisms of action of psychotropic drugs.