Synthesis and characterization of polyestermaleamides

Summary Polyestermaleamides have been synthesized from N,N-bisisomaleimide, p-aminophenol, iso-and tere-phthaloyl chlorides. Through ring-opening addition reaction, a bisphenolamide was first formed; it was then polycondensed with acid chlorides to produce Polyestermaleamides, with an ordered sequence. The polymers were fully characterized by elemental analysis, infrared and electronic spectra, solubility in various solvents as well as inherent viscosity measurements. Thermal behaviour of the polymers were determined by thermogravimetric analysis in nitrogen atmosphere.     

Crystalline character of native and chemically treated Egyptian cottons. I. Computation of crystallinity,disorder parameter,orientation factor,and spiral angle

Computer data processing and electronic monochromatization of x-rays were employed for determining crystallinity, disorder parameter, Hermans' orientation factor, as well as DeLuca and Orr spiral angle of native, mercerized and urea-treated cottons. The results indicate the values for the degree of crystallinity to vary significantly between ecttons. Increase in disorder on mercerization is confirmed. The effect of urea treatment is not so well defined. The differences in Hermans' x-ray orientation factor are significant at the 1% level between cottons and at the 10% level between treatments. Besides, from a critical analysis of the values obtained, it is shown that the spiral angle φt in the method of DeLuca and Orr is probably a direct estimate of the mean inclination of the crystallites to the fiber axis, while Hermans' orientation angle β is a complex function of other parameters as well. The computer programs which could be applied to other polymers are included.     

Low-temperature heat capacity of small Nb3Sn polycrystals by ac calorimetry

It is shown by an ac calorimetry technique that the multiple heat capacity anomalies which occur below the superconducting transition temperature for small polycrystalline Nb₃Sn samples are intrinsic to these samples. The recent suggestions that shear stresses can account for these results are analyzed for their validity. The dependence of the occurrence of these multiple anomalies upon the thermal history of the samples was investigated.Supported in part by U.S. Atomic Energy Commission under the Contract No. USAEC-AT-(04-3)-34 at the Department of APIS, UCSD, La Jolla, California. Present work supported under the auspices of ERDA.Supported by Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Air Force Systems Command USAF, under AFOSR Contract No. AFOSR/F-44620-72-C-0017.     

Molecular organization of the cholesteryl ester droplets in the fatty streaks of human aorta

X-ray diffraction patterns from human arterial specimens containing atherosclerotic fatty streak lesions exhibited a single sharp reflection, corresponding to a structural spacing of about 35 A. Specimens without lesions did not. When specimens with fatty streaks were heated, an order-to-disorder phase transition was revealed by the disappearance of the sharp reflection. The transition was thermally reversible and its temperature varied from aorta to aorta over a range from 28 degrees to 42 degrees C. Since cholesteryl ester droplets are a major component of fatty streaks, comparison studies were made of the diffraction behavior from pure cholesteryl esters. We found that the diffraction patterns of the fatty streak material could be accounted for by the organization of the cholesteryl esters into a liquid-crystalline smectic phase that melts from the smectic to a less ordered phase upon heating. When combined with the conclusions of others from polarized light microscopy, our study shows that a droplet in the smectic phase has well-defined concentric layers of lipid molecules. In each layer, the long axes of the molecules have a net radial orientation with respect to the droplet, but the side-to-side organization is disordered. We suggest that the accessibility of portions of the lipids for specific binding to enzymes or transport proteins may be restricted when they are in the smectic state, and that exchange of lipids with surrounding membranes or other potential binding sites may likewise be inhibited. The restriction in the smectic phase should be greater than in the less ordered phases that exist at higher temperatures.     

Esophageal reconstruction with free jejunal grafts: an experimental study

Replacement of a long segment of esophagus for esophageal atresia or severe stenosis remains a special problem in children. The following studies were designed to test the hypothesis that a section of small bowel without serosa could survive as a free autologous transplant to replace part of the mediastinal esophagus. Laparotomy was performed in 20 adult cats, a loop of small bowel was resected and an end-to-end jejunojejunostomy was completed. The serosa of the resected bowel was removed and the mucosa-muscularis graft was used to replace a segment of the middle esophagus that was resected via a right thoracotomy. The interposed graft was entirely wrapped with adjacent skeletal muscle flaps. Postoperative studies include barium swallow and cine esophagograms, histology and blood vessel casts. Results are presented which show anatomical and functional survival of 16 grafts without blood vessel anastomoses or intrinsic vascular pedicles.     

In vitro transcription by isolated nuclei of Rhynchosciara americana salivary glands. Characteristics of incorporation and inhibition by alpha-amanitin

A method for the isolation of polytene nuclei from salivary glands cells of the Diptera Rhynchosciara americana is described. The stage-specific morphological pattern of the chromosome is maintained during the isolation. The isolated nuclei show two distinct RNA polymerase activities, namely I and II, characterized on the basis of ionic requirements and alpha-amanitin sensitivity. Studies of the product under the incubation conditions show that the system allows the synthesis of high-molecular weight RNA, beside a low molecular weight peak which may comprise pre-4S and 5S RNAs. Autoradiographic studies carried out in the presence or absence of the toxin alpha-amanitin showed that micronucleoli contain products of RNA polymerase type I activity (ribosomal RNA) and that the DNA puffs are engaged in alpha-amanitin sensitive RNA synthesis and thus are sites of polymerase type II activity.     

Dopamine/neuroleptic receptors in basal hypothalamus and pituitary

In order to determine whether the basal hypothalamus or the pituitary (or both) is the likely locus of action of the tuberoinfundibular (TI) dopamine neurons, these regions were examined for dopamine and neuroleptic receptors. High affinity receptors for haloperidol and dopamine were found in the rat pituitary while none were detected in rat basal hypothalamus. The relative ability of two neuroleptics, chlorpromazine and haloperidol, to displace (3H)haloperidol from the receptor in monkey pituitary is similar to that for rat striatum. The lack of receptors capable of binding (3H)haloperidol or (3H)dopamine in the basal hypothalamus strongly suggests that the TI neurons do not produce postsynaptic effects in this region. The pituitary receptors for (3H)haloperidol and (3H)dopamine have the characteristics of a functional system. The presence of neuroleptic/dopamine receptors in the pituitary and lack of such receptors in the basal hypothalamus supports the hypothesis that dopamine may act directly as a prolactin release inhibiting factor (PIF) rather than releasing PIF from adjacent nerve terminals in the median eminence.