Note on differentiation of myofibrillar proteins

The detection of qualitative differences between the myofibrillar proteins of muscles, which superficial examination would classify as similar on the basis of their ‘redness’ or ‘whiteness’, emphasises the need for more subtle criteria for understanding meat quality.     

Optical anisotropy of polyisobutene

The distribution of chemical bonds in polyisobutene results in a theoretically zero optical and electrical anisotropy of the polymer according to bond polarizability additivity principles as conventionally applied, irrespective of polymer chain conformation. Non-zero values of the segmental anisotropy (～4.4 × 10^?40 C²m²/J) derived from strain-optical birefringence on the polymer in the rubbery state have been recently reported by Liberman et al. who suggest qualitatively that severe crowding of the chemical groups in the polymer affects the anisotropies of the group polarizabilities and gives the observed non-zero segmental anisotropy. We have measured optical, electrical and magnetic anisotropies for the pure liquid polymer using techniques of flow birefringence, depolarized light scattering, electro-optic birefringence and magneto-optic birefringence. Segmental optical anisotropies so derived agree with those measured by Liberman et al. and results of the above measurements taken as a whole lead to an origin for the observed anisotropy which requires locality dependent values of optical and electrical bond polarizability anisotropies to be used in the calculation of the polyisobutene polarizability anisotropy. Our explanation of the polarizability locality dependence differs from the steric overlap suggestion of Liberman et al. and depends upon the electric field interaction between dipoles induced in polarizable bonds.