Macromolecule-metalloporphyrins having the catalytic activity of molecular oxygen were examined. Particular attention was directed to i) cytchrome c oxidase in vivo, ii) metalloporphyrin complexes in low-molecular systems based on macromolecular systems and iii) macromolecule-metalloporphyrins. Basic study was made of the material systems iii) of oxygen sensors and fuel cells.

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Examination was made of the distribution and compositions of diacyl glyceryl ethers (DAGE) of different tissues of the mature and immature spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias. Regardless of differences in maturity and sex, all liver specimens contained copious amounts of lipids (58.266.8%) each comprised almost entirely of triglycerides (TG : 57.476.2%) and DAGE (20.339.3%). All flesh samples contained substantial amounts of lipids (7.99.7%) with higher TG content (80.180.8%) and considerable DAGE (10.212.7%). Embryo livers showed large amounts of lipids (56.8%) all possessing high levels of TG (73.7%) and DAGE (11.2%). In mature eggs, lipid (19.1%), TG (67.6%) and DAGE (17.7%) levels were much more abundant than in immature ovaries (2.8%; 20.2%; 2.9%, respectively). In tissues, glyceryl ethers originating from DAGE had essentially the same alkyl chains, whose most predominant component was 18 : 1n-9 (38.758.9%) alcohol followed by 16 : 0 (11.825.0%) and 16 : 1n-7 (10.013.8%) alcohols. Fatty acid compositions of DAGE and/or TG classes of different tissue lipids of this species are discussed.

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Conductance of hexadecylpyridinium chloride (HPyCl) + dodecylpyridinium chloride (DDPCl) mixtures over the entire mole fraction range of HPyCl (α_HPyCl) was measured in aqueous binary mixtures of ethylene glycol (EG), diethylene glycol (DEG), triethylene glycol (TEG), and polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG) each containing 10 and 30 wt% of each additive at 30°C. For every conductivity curve, a single break was noted for all mole fractions of HPyCl+DDPCl mixtures. From the break in the conductivity curve, mixed critical micellar concentration (cmc), degree of micelle ionization (δ), and slopes in the pre-micellar (S₁), and post-micellar regions (S₂) were determined. The results are discussed from the standpoint of glycol additive effects on mixed micelle formation for all mole fraction of the binary mixtures. Micellar parameters of HPyCl+DDPCl mixtures were found to undergo extensive structural change in the DDPCl rich region compared to HPyCl rich region.

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The biotransformation of 4-propylcyclohexanone and 4-isopropylcyclohexanone was examined using ten different anthracnose fungi as biocatalysts. 4-Propylcyclohexanone and 4-isopropylcyclohexanone were reduced to the corresponding cis- and trans-alcohols, respectively, and transformed mainly to trans-4-alcohols by all ten fungi enumerated as follows; Colletotrichum lagenarium, C. dematium MAFF410046, C. trifolii MAFF305389, C. fragariae, C. atramentarium MAFF712102, C. lindemuthianum (C-1), C. lindemuthianum (C-3), C. lindemuthianum (C-13), C. graminicola MAFF305460 and Glomerella cingulata. In particular, the ratio of cis- and trans-alcohol products was shown to be 1 : 13 (4-propylcyclohexanol) and 1 : 11 (4-isopropylcyclohexanol) with high stereoselectivity by C. lagenarium after a 7-day incubation period.

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The chemical compositions of phospholipids were comparatively examined for two acetic acid bacteria that produce acetic acid at high (20%) and moderate (12%) concentrations, i.e., Acetobacter polyoxogenes and Acetobacter sp., harvested at the stationary growth phase. Phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), and cardiolipin (CL) were detected as the major phospholipids while CL was hardly present in A. polyoxogenes. PG was present in essentially the same amount in the microorganisms, and the level of PC in A. polyoxogenes was considerably higher (56%) than in A. sp. (37%). PE was significantly lower in A. polyoxogenes (11%) than in A. sp. (22%). High PC level in membranes may thus be considered due to resistance toward high concentrations of acetic acid that have accumulated in the medium. Phospholipid fatty acid compositions were basically the same for the two acetic acid bacteria, with cis-vaccenic acid being predominantly present at more than 80%. The amounts of unsaturated fatty acid components in the neutral phospholipids slightly exceeded those in the acidic phospholipids.

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Bis-quaternary ammonium salts [C_m-Bis (N-C_n)] having two equivalent ammonium groups connected by an alkanediyl chain (m : 812) and substituted with one long-alkyl chain (n : 1016) and two methyl groups, were synthesized from N, N-dimethylalkylamine and 1, ω-dibromoalkane or from 1, ω-Bis (dimethylamino) alkane and alkyl bromide. Surface-active properties such as surface tension (γ_cmc), critical micelle concentration (cmc), aggregation number of micelles, solubilizing power, and foaming capacity were determined and catalytic activity in the phase transfer reaction of halide exchange was assessed.
The Krafft point increased with n, but decreased with m (m : 2→10), with further increase in m, this point appeared to rise. Catalytic activity varied with the number of n and m of C_m-Bis (N-C_n) in phase transfer reaction. The size of the connecting alkanediyl chain may thus be concluded to have significant effect on adsorption at the air-water interface and micelle formation in aqueous media of bis-quaternary ammonium salts.

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Sterols and steroidal 3-ones were detected in the seeds of Echinochloa frumentacea (Roxb.) Link. Twenty sterols were identified by direct GC-MS comparison with authentic samples and the compositions of both free and esterified sterol fractions were determined. Eight steroidal 3-ones were found present in the seeds.

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Interactions between L-α-dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and 2S, 3S, 4R-2-stearoylamide-1, 3, 4-octadecanetriol (Ceramide 3) in mixed monolayers and bilayers were investigated by surface pressure measurements, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).
AFM images for mixed DPPC/Ceramide 3 monolayers (single-layer LB films) deposited at 10mN/m surface pressure on mica indicated elliptical domains. DSC curves indicated the phase transition temperature of DPPC liposomal bilayer membranes to shift upwards with the addition of Ceramide 3 and a sharp DPPC peak to become broad in mixed DPPC/Ceramide 3 systems. A DSC peak was noted to split at higher mole fractions of Ceramide 3.
The phase separation was evident in mixed DPPC/Ceramide 3 monolayers and bilayers, and Ceramide 3 may possibly interact with DPPC in the liquid-expanded phase with consequent phase separation accompanied with domain formation.

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