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The paper gives the combined experience of a French and a British firm on the relation between the density and water content of good commercial acetone samples. It is confirmed that, in a relative way, density is a good guide to water content but there remains some doubt concerning the density of dry acetone. A figure has been found 0.0005 lower than was previously accepted but still 0.0005 higher than those given recently by American workers. The lower values quoted by American authors may be due to the presence of isopropyl ether. The direct chemical determination of water in acetone by the Smith & Bryant acetyl chloride–pyridine method appears to be reliable and this is recommended. The Karl Fischer method has not yet been made applicable to acetone–water mixtures.

Many quantitative analysis methods for myocardial perfusion studies require as a central step a comparison with a 'normal' or average density distribution map or reference image. It has been recognized, however, that the normal distribution can be affected by patient attributes, including sex and weight or body habitus, and by acquisition attributes, including the choice of tracer and the position of the patient during imaging. Some authors have proposed separate reference images for the sexes and the tracer. This approach fails if a large number of binary attributes have to be considered, since one would need 2" reference images for each attribute. The problem is compounded when continuous attributes (e.g. age and weight) are included, especially if the approach is to average separate homogeneous groups for each attribute. We propose to create case-specific reference images for the interpretation of myocardial perfusion studies by creating a model based on the influence of each attribute. From a non-homogeneous population of normal cases, or cases presumed to be normal on the basis of the Diamond and Forrester stratification, the effect of patient and study attributes on the density distribution in the stress image and the density differences between rest and stress images were computed. The effects are computed by multi-linear regression, to account for cross-correlation. Significance is assigned on the basis of a partial Fisher test. The data are myocardial perfusion images matched in 3D to a template by an elastic transformation. Even though there was some cross-correlation in the data, we were able to show independent effects of sex, position (prone or supine), age, weight, tracer combination and stress method (exercise, persantine and adenosine). Taken as a whole, the multi-linear regression demonstrated a significant effect in 72% of the pixels within the myocardial volume. In addition, the distribution predicted by the model was equivalent to average images from homogeneous matched groups. In conclusion, our approach makes it possible to produce case-specific reference images without the need for multiple homogeneous large groups to produce averages for each possible patient or study attribute.

International audience; Abstract--Evaluating precisely the temporal variations of lesion volumes is very important for at least three types of practical applications: pharmaceutical trials, decision making for drug treatment or surgery, and patient follow-up. In this paper we present a volumetric analysis technique, combining precise rigid registration of three-dimensional (3-D) (volumetric) medical images, nonrigid deformation computation, and flow-field analysis. Our analysis technique has two outcomes: the detection of evolving lesions and the quantitative measurement of volume variations. The originality of our approach is that no precise segmentation of the lesion is needed but the approximative designation of a region of interest (ROI) which can be automated. We distinguish between tissue transformation (image intensity changes without deformation) and expansion or contraction effects reflecting a change of mass within the tissue. A real lesion is generally the combination of both effects. The method is tested with synthesized volumetric image sequences and applied, in a first attempt to quantify in vivo a mass effect, to the analysis of a real patient case with multiple sclerosis (MS).

RADIOTHERAPY OF ADULT NODAL NON HODGKIN'S LYMPHOMA: The role of radiotherapy in the treatment of nodal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma has been modified by the introduction of efficient chemotherapy and the development of different pathological classifications. INTERMEDIATE GRADE OR HIGH GRADE LYMPHOMA: The recommended treatment of early-stage aggressive lymphomas is primarily a combination chemotherapy. The interest of adjuvant radiotherapy remains unclear and has to be established through large prospective trials. If radiation therapy has to be delivered, the historical results of exclusive radiation therapy showed that involved-fields and a dose of 35-40 Gy (daily fraction of 1.8 Gy, 5 days a week) are the optimal schedule. The interest of radiotherapy in the treatment of advanced-stage aggressive lymphoma is yet to be proven. Further studies had to stratify localized stages according to the factors of the International Prognostic Index. LOW-GRADE LYMPHOMA: For early-stage low-grade lymphoma, radiotherapy remains the standard treatment. However, the appropriate technique to use is controversial. Involved-field irradiation at a dose of 35 Gy seems to be the optimal schedule, providing a 10-year disease-free survival rate of 50% and no major toxicity. There is no standard indication of radiotherapy in the treatment advanced-stage low-grade lymphoma. RARE AND NEW ENTITY: For "new" nodal lymphoma's types, the indication of radiotherapy cannot be established (mantle-zone lymphoma, marginal zone B-cell lymphoma) or must take into account the natural history (Burkitt's lymphoma, peripheral T-cell lymphoma) and the sensibility to others therapeutic methods.

This paper describes parts of a patent taken out by the INRIA; This paper describes a totally new way to process Xray data in order to reconstruct the external and internal boudaries of objects, which do not involve Computed Tomography (CT). We show that the segmentation can be performed directrly with the raw data, the sinogram produced with the scanner, and that those segmented shapes can be geomtetrically transformed into reconstructed shapes in the usual space. Thus, if we are interested in only the boundaries of the objects, our method eliminates the computationally expensive step of Computed Tomography. Experimental results are presented for both synthetic and real data, leading to subpixel positioning fo the reconstructed boundaries. Our method gives its best results for sparse, high contrasted objects such as bones or blood vessels in angiograms. It can be adapted to any kind of scanner, including 3D scabbers. At last, we present an extension of our method which allows "on the fly" processing of the data and real time tracking of the objects boudnaries.

This paper reviews the anatomical spread and failure patterns of surgical Stage I endometrial cancer. The controversial aspects of the optimal adjuvant treatment are presented. An attempt is made to identify the most effective management approach based on the pertinent literature data.

We genotyped 19 NF1 families from the French Canadians of the Québec population with six intragenic polymorphic markers including 2 RFLPs (EcoRI and RsaI) and 4 microsatellites (IVS26-2.3, IVS27AC28.4, IVS27AC33.1, and IVS38GT53.0). Genotype analysis indicated families 7610 and 7473 bear deletions. In Family 7610 the deletion removed the entire NF1 gene except exons 1 to 4b. The breakpoint of the deletion is located between exons 4a and 4b. The deletion 7473 was derived from the maternal chromosome and exons 1 to 5 were deleted. The breakpoint of the deletion is located between exons 7 and 13. Their phenotypes are reported. The allele frequencies of microsatellites IVS27AC28.4 and IVS38GT53.0 are compared to previously reported data from Caucasians, including Spanish and Italians. The difference is statistically significant (P0.0036) for marker IVS27AC28.4 between the Québec French Canadian and the Italian population.

Using a protein truncation assay, we have identified a new mutation in the neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) gene that causes a severe defect in NF1 pre-mRNA splicing. The mutation, which consists of a G to A transition at position +1 of the 5' splice site of exon 12a, is associated with the loss of both exons 11 and 12a in the NF1 mRNA. Through the use of in vivo and in vitro splicing assays, we show that the mutation inactivates the 5' splice site of exon 12a, and prevents the definition of exon 12a, a process that is normally required to stimulate the weak 3' splice site of exon 12a. Because the 5' splice site mutation weakens the interaction of splicing factors with the 3' splice site of exon 12a, we propose that exon 11/exon 12a splicing is also compromised, leading to the exclusion of both exons 11 and 12a. Our results provide in vivo support for the importance of the exon definition model during NF1 splicing, and suggest that the NF1 region containing exons 11 and 12a plays an important role in the activity of neurofibromin.

Treatment of advanced colorectal cancer has progressed substantially. However, improvements in response rates have not always translated into significant survival benefits. Doubts have therefore been raised about the usefulness of tumour response as a clinical endpoint.This meta-analysis was done on individual data from 3791 patients enrolled in 25 randomised trials of first-line treatment with standard bolus intravenous fluoropyrimidines versus experimental treatments (fluorouracil plus leucovorin, fluorouracil plus methotrexate, fluorouracil continuous infusion, or hepatic-arterial infusion of floxuridine). Analyses were by intention to treat.Compared with bolus fluoropyrimidines, experimental fluoropyrimidines led to significantly higher tumour response rates (454 responses among 2031 patients vs 209 among 1760; odds ratio 0.48 [95% CI 0.40-0.57], p0.0001) and better survival (1808 deaths among 2031 vs 1580 among 1760; hazard ratio 0.90 [0.84-0.97], p=0.003). The survival benefits could be explained by the higher tumour response rates. However, a treatment that lowered the odds of failure to respond by 50% would be expected to decrease the odds of death by only 6%. In addition, less than half of the variability of the survival benefits in the 25 trials could be explained by the variability of the response benefits in these trials.These analyses confirm that an increase in tumour response rate translates into an increase in overall survival for patients with advanced colorectal cancer. However, in the context of individual trials, knowledge that a treatment has benefits on tumour response does not allow accurate prediction of the ultimate benefit on survival.

We report a HincII polymorphism in the 5' end of the neurofibromatosis type 1 gene (NF1) as detected with a probe made of exons 1 to 4a (nucleotides 2 to 401 of the cDNA). This HincII site is most probably in an intron. Evidence presented suggests the probe reveals not one but two similar polymorphisms.

Metastases confined to the liver is a frequent situation in patients with advanced colorectal cancer. For non-operable patients, 5-FU-based chemotherapy is often proposed but the importance of the choice of first line 5-FU regimen remains debatable.In four previously performed meta-analyses, our group had compared bolus intravenous fluoropyrimidines (bolus FU group) with experimental fluoropyrimidines (experimental FU group), consisting of 5-FU plus leucovorin, 5-FU plus methotrexate, continuous infusion 5-FU, or hepaticartery infusion FUDR. We re-analysed this data set to focus on 1458 patients with non-operable colorectal metastases confined to the liver, randomised in 22 trials. All analyses were stratified by trial and used individual patient data.Median survival times were 11.3 months in the bolus FU group (95% CI: 10.5-12.0 months) compared to 12.7 months in the experimental FU group (95% CI: 120-13.1 months). This difference, although clinically small, was statistically significant, with an overall survival hazard ratio of 0.88 (95% CI: 0.79-0.99, P = 0.037). In a multivariate analysis, performance status was the only significant predictor of survival (P10(-4)), whereas the statistical significance of allocated treatment was borderline (P = 0.058).The outcome of patient with non-operable colorectal metastases confined to the liver is poor, and mainly driven by their initial performance status. Experimental chemotherapy schedules yield a small improvement in their overall survival, indicating the importance of the choice of first-line chemotherapy.

The study presented in this paper tests the hypothesis that the combination of a global similarity transformation and local free-form deformations can be used for the accurate segmentation of internal structures in MR images of the brain. To quantitatively evaluate the authors' approach, the entire brain, the cerebellum, and the head of the caudate have been segmented manually by two raters on one of the volumes (the reference volume) and mapped back onto all the other volumes, using the computed transformations. The contours so obtained have been compared to contours drawn manually around the structures of interest in each individual brain. Manual delineation was performed twice by the same two raters to test inter- and intrarater variability. For the brain and the cerebellum, results indicate that for each rater, contours obtained manually and contours obtained automatically by deforming his own atlas are virtually indistinguishable. Furthermore, contours obtained manually by one rater and contours obtained automatically by deforming this rater's own atlas are more similar than contours obtained manually by two raters. For the caudate, manual intra- and interrater similarity indexes remain slightly better than manual versus automatic indexes, mainly because of the spatial resolution of the images used in this study. Qualitative results also suggest that this method can be used for the segmentation of more complex structures, such as the hippocampus.

This paper presents a new technique to perform automatically the 3D registration of two 3D images1, The aim is to compute the rigid geometric transform that exists between two data acquisitions of the same patient, taken into two different positions. Our method is based on crest lines and is fully automatic. The computing time remains low because crest lines are a very compact representation of the geometric information of the 3D image.

Geometric tomography (GT), a technique for processing tomographic projections in order to reconstruct the external and internal boundaries of objects, is presented. GT does not necessitate the reconstruction of an image of the slice of the object. It is shown that the segmentation can be performed directly with the raw data, the sinogram produced with the scanner, and that those segmented shapes can be geometrically transformed into reconstructed shapes in the usual space. If one is interested in only the boundaries of the objects, they do not need to reconstruct an image, and therefore the method needs much less computation than those using traditional computed tomography techniques. Experimental results are presented for both synthesized and real data, leading to subpixel positioning of the reconstructed boundaries. GT gives its best results for sparse, highly contrasted objects such as bones or blood vessels in angiograms, it allows 'on the fly' processing of the data, and real time tracking of the object boundaries. >

The molecular theory of Rouse, Zimm, and Bueche correctly accounts for the viscoelastic properties of polymers in very dilute solution and, to a large extent, for those of polymers in bulk or in concentrated solution, as long as their mean molecular weight is below about 20 000. Above this MW limit, relaxation times appear which are longer than those provided for in this theory. The “viscoelastic plateau”, which then appears in the long relaxation time region of the dynamic spectrum, is ascribed to entanglements of molecular chains which behave like temporary crosslinks. An analogous phenomenon occurs in the same way in permanent polymer networks, such as rubber vulcanizates. In this case one finds abnormally slow relaxation or creep rates during the approach to equilibrium, as well as increased low-frequency mechanical energy losses under forced sinusoidal vibration. The presence of colloidal fillers, such as carbon blacks used to reinforce rubbers, also seems to increase this hysteresis within the polymer matrix, independent of thixotropic effects which result from the reversible rupture of filler particle aggregates under large-amplitude cyclic deformations. We propose to analyze here the results (obtained jointly at the Institut Français du Caoutchouc and at the laboratory of Professor J. D. Ferry, University of Wisconsin) of measurements over the entire rubbery spectrum of the dynamic properties and of stress relaxation on vulcanizates of natural rubber, cis-polybutadiene, and styrene-butadiene copolymer (SBR) in the absence of secondary crystallization or aging phenomena. Then we examine the interpretation of the behavior of these materials, both at low frequency and during the approach to equilibrium, by analogy with the theories of the “viscoelastic plateau” of linear polymers.

The stress-strain relations derived from the sliding link model of chain entanglement proposed by Ball et al. (Polymer 1981, 22, 1010) are compared with experimental results. There is good agreement with Ogden's empirical treatment of several results obtained previously from general pure strain tests on rubber vulcanizates. New uniaxial data for random polyisoprene networks at various stages from the gel point indicate that a significant fraction of trapped entanglements does not behave as the sliding links of the model but gives the same contribution to the stress as the chemical cross-links.

Photoacoustic spectroscopy was applied to study the energetics and the kinetics of the slow intermediates of the bacteriorhodopsin photocycle. An analysis of the modulation frequency dependence of the photoacoustic signal allowed us to estimate the enthalpy changes and the kinetic parameters associated with those intermediates. The effects of pH, salt concentration, and protein aggregation were studied. Three photoacoustic transitions were found. The two low frequency transitions were attributed to O660 and M412, respectively. The third transition was interpreted as resulting from a protein conformational change undetected spectrophotometrically. The frequency spectra were simulated between 5 and 180 Hz at pH's 5.1, 7.0, and 8.9 assuming a branching in the bacteriorhodopsin photocycle at the M412 level. The enthalpy changes associated with M412 and O660 were computed and compared with the experimental values.

Resume On analyse les proprietes dynamiques et la relaxation de vulcanisats de caoutchouc naturel, de cis -polybutadiene et d'un copolymere butadiene (76,5)-styrene (23,5) en vue de determiner l'influence de certains parametres structuraux sur la forme et la position le long des echelles de temps des fonctions rheologiques caracterisant leur viscoelasticite. La persistance des pertes d'energie a basses frequences et le haut niveau correspondant de la distribution des temps de relaxation sont d'autant plus marques que ces reseaux polymeriques sont moins retifies ou contiennent davantage de noir de carbone HAF. On propose d'interpreter cette anomalie, sans doute etroitement apparentee au “plateau viscoelastique” des polymeres lineaires, a l'aide d'une extension de la theorie de Rouse, elaboree pour les polymeres en masse ou en solution concentree.

Measurements of the complex shear compliance have been made from 0.1 to 7 cycles/sec and from − 5° to 45° C on several samples of natural rubber cross-linked by dicumyl peroxide in the presence of a diluent oil (volume fraction of rubber, v2=0.63 and 0.76) which was subsequently extracted. The properties of the extracted vulcanizates were compared with those having the oil still present and with those of conventional undiluted vulcanizates. Measurements of the diffusion coefficient of radioactively tagged n-hexadecane in trace amounts through the polymer structure were also made both before and after extraction of the oil. The diffusion coefficient was higher in the presence of the oil by an amount consistent with the Fujita theory for concentration dependence of diffusion rate based on free volume considerations. The low-frequency mechanical losses (reduced to 25° C by the method of reduced variables), as measured by the loss tangent, were shifted to higher frequencies by the presence of oil to a much larger degree than would be expected from the difference in local mobility gauged by the diffusion coefficient. The equilibrium modulus, derived by extrapolation to zero frequency, was diminished by the presence of oil to a greater extent than the factor of v21/3 expected from the simple theory of rubberlike elasticity. The low-frequency losses in the extracted vulcanizates were smaller than those in conventional vulcanizates with comparable degrees of cross-linking; the differences are attributed to differences in network topology.

Relaxation in relatively stable pure gum natural rubber vulcanizates has been studied to determine the effects of viscoelasticity and aging, respectively, using a dark air oven. A quantitative analysis of experimental results shows that, in the case of a dicumyl peroxide vulcanizate and at 100° C, relaxation is caused by aging, except in its initial stages. Stress decreases as a linear function of time, in agreement with theoretical assumptions. Conversely, at 30° C, the influence of aging is negligible. At this temperature the difference between actual stress and stress extrapolated to infinite time, is proportional to a negative power of time. At intermediate temperatures, both phenomena occur simultaneously over a time interval ranging from 3 minutes to 150 hours.

The influence of temperature, elongation, swelling or dilution ratio, crosslink density, nature of the polymers, and crosslinking agents on the dynamic properties, creep and relaxation of polymer networks is surveyed in the terminal region of the spectrum. Whereas the deformation does not change the relaxation kinetics in large ranges of extension, the crosslink density acts as a reduced variable apparently accelerating uniformly the viscoelastic processes beyond the glass transition. The other possible reductions ‘time-temperature’ and ‘time—swelling’ do not necessarily seem related to the variations of free volume. From the viewpoint of the explanation of the relaxation mechanisms in the terminal zone, the fact that the equilibrium of loosely crosslinked elastomers would only virtually be reached after several years at room temperature seem in better agreement with chain entanglement effects, either trapped or not by the permanent network, than with the dissociation of secondary linkages.

Relaxation in relatively stable, gum natural rubber vulcanizates has been studied to determine the effects of viscoelasticity and aging, respectively, using a dark, air-oven. A quantitative analysis of experimental results shows that, in the case of a dicumyl peroxide vulcanizate at 100° C, relaxation is caused by aging, except in its initial stages. Stress decreases as a linear function of time, in agreement with theoretical assumptions. Conversely, at 30° C, the effect of aging is negligible. At this temperature the difference between actual stress and stress extrapolated to infinite time, is proportional to a negative power of time. At intermediate temperatures, both phenomena occur simultaneously over a time interval ranging from. 3 minutes to 150 hours.

To conclude, let us sum up the advantages of direct current or low frequency measurement of the electrical properties of natural rubber compounds, when operating inside the mold in which vulcanization is occurring. In this way, it is possible to follow the changes in properties during heating or vulcanization more closely and accurately than when operating with samples outside the mold. An orientation of the colloidal structure of compounds above 10% by volume of MPC black is thus easily demonstrated. The dielectric properties of the compounds depend, in this case, on the size of the samples, since this orientation is a function of the dimensions, especially of the thickness of the molded compound. On the other hand, from the behavior of vulcanizable and nonvulcanizable compounds, a distinction may be made between the respective effects of both the vulcanization and the special state of agglomeration of the black colloidal particles in the compounds. This ‘structure’ of the black affects apparently both the losses and the dielectric constant through an electronic polarization phenomenon which can, in principle, be analyzed through the Maxwell-Wagner general theory of heterogeneous dielectrics. The effect of ‘structure’ on low-frequency losses depends essentially upon the nature and ratio of the black and varies like direct current conductivity. This ‘structure’ seems to be influenced also—although to a much smaller extent—by vulcanization, since the level of losses during heating is lower than with a nonvulcanizable compound containing the same ratio of black. When this ratio does not exceed 10% by volume, vulcanization governs the dielectric properties more directly, both by a fixation of polar sulfur to molecular chains, and by an ionic dissociation of vulcanizing ingredients. In the range of this study the only effect of molecular polarization is a rather limited increase of the dielectric constant; the losses are not affected. The sudden decrease of losses noted during the vulcanization of a gum compound is explained by a disappearance of the ions formed by the vulcanization reactions. This ionic polarization of the Maxwell-Wagner type plays no marked part in Compounds containing large amounts of black, no doubt because the ions are adsorbed by the black. By extending this study, as it is hoped, into the field of radio frequencies, it should be possible to improve the theory of the evolution of dielectric properties during vulcanization. From the practical point of view, such work would provide useful experimental data for a rational application of radio-vulcanization.

In the case of vulcanizates containing carbon black the variation curves of dielectric loss angle as a function of temperature enable the Debye type absorption occurring in the rubber matrix to be distinguished from a supplementary absorption little influenced by variations in temperature and frequency which is characteristic of blacks possessing a structure. The experimental results obtained indicate no difference in physical or chemical state between the matrix occupying the space between the particles of black in a loaded mix and the vulcanizate of the corresponding pure rubber mix. The supplementary losses on the other hand seem to be closely related to the effects of structure in loaded mixes imagined by Mullins to explain the mechanical behavior of these mixes: they decrease very rapidly by elongation or swelling and give rise to various phenomena of hysteresis. It would seem that dielectric absorption could advantageously be applied as a nondestructive test revealing the colloidal structure of rubber mixes based on carbon black. Moreover the dielectric constant would enable information to be obtained on the form factor and the orientation of the particles or agglomerates of particles of black in mixes on the basis of a theory assimilating these particles (or agglomerates) to condenser armatures.

Any vulcanization test of crude rubber which is based on a measurement of the strain modulus for only one time of vulcanization is insufficient as a source of information to the investigator of the rate of vulcanization and at the same time of the order of magnitude of the maximum modulus. It is proposed to complete this test by a second vulcanization for a different length of time and to correlate the complete vulcanization curves with the exponential functions of time. In this way it seems possible to derive two experimental values of the modulus: (1) A limiting modulus which characterizes the ultimate stiffness of the vulcanizate. (2) A vulcanization time constant which serves as an index of the rate of vulcanization of a rubber mixture. The more rapid the rate of vulcanization, the smaller is this constant. Application of this method to nine different lots of crude rubber proved that by this means it is possible to show well defined differences between various individual lots of crude rubber. Much more extensive studies will be necessary before it is known whether the method is applicable to the great majority of crude rubbers and whether it is adaptable in its present form to the formulation of a general specification for testing crude rubber. There is reason to believe that the use of the modulus value at 100 per cent elongation, already proposed by Gee, and his coworkers instead of 600 per cent elongation, would from this viewpoint offer numerous advantages.

Most mutations rendering E. coli K12 resistant to phage λ, map in two genetic regions mal A and mal B.—The malB region contains a gene lamB specifically involved in the λ receptor synthesis. Twenty-one independent lamB mutations studied by complementation belonged to a single cistron. This makes it very likely that lamB is monocistronic. Among the lamB mutants some are still sensitive to a host range mutant of phage λ. Mutations mapping in a proximal gene essential for maltose metabolism inactivate gene lamB by polarity confirming that both genes are part of the same operon. Because cases of intracistronic complementation have been found, the active lamB product may be an oligomeric protein.—Previously all λ resistant mutations in the malA region have been shown to map in the malT cistron. malT is believed to be a positive regulatory gene necessary for the induction of the "maltose operons" in the malA region and in the malB region of the E. coli K12 genetic map. No trans dominant malT mutation have been found. Therefore if they exist, they occur at a frequency of less than 10–8, or strongly reduce the growth rate of the mutants.

The electrical resistivity of testpieces under different elongations, both parallel and at right-angles to the axis of elongation, was measured for two vulcanizates, i.e. one of natural rubber and the other of SBR, compounded with 20 volume per cent of ISAF black (Vulcan 6). Within the range of validity of Ohm's law, the main results of this study are as follows: a) the resistivities of both vulcanizates increase considerably with elongation, in both directions. b) on the whole, both vulcanizates are electrically anisotropic, since current flows more easily longitudinally than it does transversely. The anisotropy increases at the start with elongation, then becomes practically constant. However, the latter level is much higher with natural rubber, for which it corresponds to an anisotropy of about 1,000 and an elongation of around 150%. For SBR this level is only 20 to 30 and is reached at only 50% elongation. Owing to the complexity of the problem, no interpretation can yet be given for these differences. It will first be necessary to examine other elastomers and carbon blacks. For the time being, it may merely be stated that the electrical anisotropy of natural rubber and SBR reinforced vulcanizates differs as much as their mechanical properties, especially their tearing behavior.

In agreement with the results of dynamic experiments of Stratton and Ferry, this study of relaxation of rubber vulcanizates entirely confirms the existence of peculiar, slow, viscoelastic processes in high polymer networks. Characteristic differences with the rheological behavior of unvulcanized polymers are best reflected by the shape of the end of the distribution functions of relaxation times. The box distribution found for free chains is replaced, for crosslinked polymers, by a long incline extending during several decades of time. The slope of this linear part of the spectrum is only slightly dependent on nature of the polymer and type of vulcanizate. On the other hand, the position of the incline along the time scale is very sensitive to the mean molecular weight Mc of the vulcanizates, by far the most important factor controlling the phenomenon. The downward deviations observed at the end of the incline also occur later for larger values of Mc. A useful step towards theoretical understanding of this behavior should be a quantitative knowledge of the effect of molecular weight in a broader range of Mc than studied here. If the chain entanglements are of primary importance, as considered probable by Ferry it seems that some singularity should occur for a critical molecular weight fitting the corresponding value for the viscosity of free chains. The role of crosslink mobility might be tested by comparing the relaxation of ordinary random vulcanizates with that of eventually more regular polybutadiene networks prepared by end group crosslinking of carboxy-terminated and mono-disperse chains. In fact, the displacement of a crosslink away from its affine position requires, apart from the Brownian fluctuations, an unbalance between the forces exerted by the four radiating chains. This implies that the lengths of the strands present large differences and that the shortest chains are approaching their limit of extensibility. As the latter condition can hardly be fullfilled at small deformations, it seems doubtful that this mechanism may be predominant either for dynamic properties or the relaxation experiments reported here. Another cause sometimes invoked is the presence of free chains attached to the networks and we are presently studying their effect on viscoelastic relaxation. At this stage, it is already apparent that they do not have a large effect, as might be expected on theoretical grounds. In our opinion, special attention should be paid to the reason why the experimentally found relaxation times are so large, in spite of the relatively short average length of the network strands. If the usual notion of entanglements developed for free chains, as an extension of the Rouse theory, should fail in this respect, it would be necessary to reconsider the non-equilibrium statistics of single chains with fixed ends, taking into account the proper inter- and intramolecular forces hindering their motion. This more direct approach to the problem, already outlined by Kirkwood, ought to express mathematically the fact that the presence of crosslinks tends to prevent longitudinal slippage of large parts of the chains. The slow changes of configuration should occur therefore rather through lateral motions to which the neighboring medium opposes a much greater resistance.

What conclusions can be drawn from all these experiments? Attempts to find a possible relation between the adhesion characteristics and other mechanical properties of rubber have been unsuccessful. Nevertheless, from a purely qualitative point of view alone, the coefficients of adhesion become progressively less sensitive to pressure as the rubber approaches more and more to the solid state. This seems to be a general rule to which there is no exception. The theoretical interpretation of this peculiar property of rubber cannot be discussed within the scope of the present paper; in fact it offers a complicated problem, for scientific data on the behavior of rigid solids in contact are extremely scarce. Theories advanced to explain the external friction of solids are numerous, but none gives a truly complete explanation of the phenomenon. However, it seems probable at least that the peculiar behavior is attributable to the characteristic state of materials with rubberlike properties, i.e., a state intermediate between that of liquids and of solids. There are numerous applications where advantage is taken of the high resistance to sliding of rubber on the surfaces of dry solid bodies. There would be no point in calculating a priori their coefficients of adhesion under service conditions from the results obtained in the present work, for conditions in service are generally of a very complex nature and, also are extremely variable. Pneumatic tires on automobiles are a very good example of such conditions. On the other hand, in applications such as transmission belts and autorail pneumatic tires, which operate under much more uniform conditions, there is reason for believing that systematic tests of this kind might be of some use.

Within a particular range of temperatures and a particular concentration of rubber, the flocculation of diluted latex by a water-soluble zinc salt is characterized by a critical amount of zinc, termed the salt index, which is necessary and sufficient to destroy abruptly the colloidal equilibrium of the dispersion. In the course of an investigation of a preliminary nature, measurements were made of the changes of the salt index as a function of the concentration and of the initial pH value of different field latexes and of two samples of latex preserved with ammonia. The influence of centrifugation and of buffering agents was likewise investigated. On a theoretical basis, the phenomenon appears to be governed to a major degree by chemical reactions of the zinc with certain substances which are either in solution in the serum or are adsorbed on the rubber particles. From the practical point of view, a systematic investigation is underway to determine whether the salt index as thus defined can be accepted as a new test of the stability of Fresh latex and preserved latex.

A clone of about 14 kb containing the metallothionein MT-I gene and three repetitive sequences, was isolated from a genomic library of mouse LMTK DNA. The MT-I gene was functional. Transfected cells became cadmium resistant. Two of the three repetitive sequences were moderately repetitive while the other was closely related to the R family.