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The development of a high-performance photorefractive polymer composite operating at 1550 nm is reported. We show 40% internal diffraction efficiency with response time of 35 ms and a net gain of 20cm−1 in four-wave mixing and two-beam coupling experiments, respectively. This is more than an order of magnitude improvement in the diffraction efficiency and net two beam coupling gain and two orders of magnitude in the response time than the previously reported photorefractive polymer operating at this technologically important wavelength. The improvement in photorefractive characteristics is accomplished by an enhanced orientation of the nonlinear optical chromophore in the present composite.

The thermal-shock behavior of ZrO2-CaO and ZrO2-MgO pellets was investigated by immersing these pellets into liquid iron without preheating temperature or with preheating temperature. The moduli of rupture before and after the thermal-shock were measured by a three point bending technique. A good thermal-shock resistance was realized for partially stabilized zirconia containing 5 to 7mol% of stabilizer. The relationship between the thermal-shock resistance and the transport rate of gases through the cracks created during thermal-shock is discussed.

Synthetic lipid A part structures corresponding structurally to a biosynthetic lipid A disaccharide precursor have been analyzed for endotoxic activity in several systems in vivo and in vitro. It was found that a synthetic beta-1,6-linked D-glucosamine disaccharide, which carries four molar equivalents of (R)-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl residues in positions 2, 3, 2' and 3' and phosphoryl groups in positions 1 and 4' (preparation 406), exhibited lethal toxicity, B lymphocyte mitogenicity, the capacity to engender prostaglandin formation in macrophages and to induce endotoxic tolerance, as well as serological lipid A antigenicity. On a weight basis, preparation 406 was of comparable activity to lipid A precursor and bacterial free lipid A. Preparation 406, like lipid A precursor, lacked, however, the ability to induce the local Shwartzman phenomenon and both preparations were of moderate pyrogenicity. Two further synthetic analogues which contained only one phosphoryl group (preparation 404 at C-4', preparation 405 at C-1) showed comparable or diminished activity depending on the test system employed, except in the capacity to inactivate complement where they exhibited, in contrast to preparation 406, significant activity. The results show that the endotoxic principle of lipopolysaccharides, as postulated previously is embedded in the lipid A component. Our results also suggest initial conclusions on the structural requirements for the expression of endotoxin activities.

A total synthesis of 2,2′-N; 3,3′-O-tetraquis[(R)-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl]-β(1–6)-D-glucosamine disaccharide 1,4′-diphosphate is described. This is the first confirmation of the fundamental structure of lipid A since the synthetic compound exhibited most of the characteristic biological activities of natural endotoxin.

Lipid A analogues were chemically synthesized based on the model structure recently revised, and biological activities of the analogues were tested. The analogue, (beta-1,6)-linked glucosamine disaccharide carrying ester-bound 3-hydroxytetradecanoic acids at 3 and 3' position of reducing and nonreducing glucosamine in addition to amide-bound 3-hydroxytetradecanoic acids and glycosidic-linked and ester-linked phosphate groups, showed much stronger activities for mediator inducing and immunomodulating as well as endotoxic activities than those exhibited by the previously synthesized analogues based on the old model. Among the activities tested, induction of interferon and tumor necrosis factor as well as mitogenicity, adjuvanticity and pyrogenicity were, however, not expressed so strongly as natural lipid A used as controls. In contrast, the analogue exhibited comparable activities to those of control lipid A in the test of lethal toxicity to mice and gelating activity of Limulus amebocyte lysate. Other synthetic analogues carrying a phosphate group showed comparable, slightly stronger or weaker activities depending on the test, but nonphosphorylated analogue exhibited no apparent or only very weak activities.

Two new phospholipids, 2-N; 3-O-bis (R)-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl-glucosamine 1-phosphate and 2-N-(R) -3-hexadecanoyloxytetradecanoyl-3-O-(R)-3-hydroxytetradecanoylglucosamine 1-phosphate, were synthesized and identified with natural lipid X and lipid Y respectively.

Several synthetic acylated glucosamine monophosphates, with structures corresponding to the nonreducing or reducing moiety of the lipid A of the Escherichia coli or Salmonella minnesota type, and a synthetic compound corresponding to a biosynthetic disaccharide lipid A precursor (designated Ia or IVA) were examined for their endotoxic and related bioactivities in comparison with those of the synthetic and bacterial parent molecules, i.e., acylated beta(1-6)-D-glucosamine disaccharide bisphosphates. Some of the test monosaccharide compounds were definitely active in most of the in vitro assays. Their activities, except for complement activation, however, were weaker than those of the reference compounds, synthetic and bacterial acylated disaccharide bisphosphates. The differences between the test monosaccharide and disaccharide compounds were much more apparent in in vivo assays, in which the test acylated glucosamine monophosphates were scarcely active, though some test compounds exhibited weak lethal toxicity in galactosamine-loaded mice and were weakly active in pyrogenicity, immunoadjuvant activity, and possible tumor necrosis factor and alpha and beta interferon-inducing ability in Mycobacterium bovis BCG- and Propionibacterium acnes-primed mice, respectively. Mixture at an equimolar ratio of acyl glucosamine monophosphates, each of which has the structure of the reducing or nonreducing moiety of the reference disaccharide compound, did not restore the endotoxic or associated bioactivities of the corresponding parent molecules. No essential differences in bioactivity were noted between synthetic and bacterial monosaccharide compounds, i.e., lipid X, whose structure corresponds to the reducing moiety of E. coli-type lipid A.

2,2′-N:3,3′-O-Tetrakis[(R)-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl]-β(1-6)-D-glucosamine disaccharide 1,4′-bis(phosphate) and its dephospho derivatives were synthesized. The bisphosphate prepared was shown to be identical with a natural biosynthetic precursor of lipid A which corresponds to the lipophilic part of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in bacterial cell wall. The synthetic bis- and monophosphates exhibited many of typical endotoxic activities of LPS. Consequently, this work established the chemical structure of the biosynthetic precursor of lipid A and elucidated the fundamental structure required for the expression of these activities.

A comparison is made of microstructures of droplets of Ni-Sn alloys rapidly solidified (a) by gas atomization and (b) in a glass emulsifying medium. Cooling rate of the gas atomized particles ranged from 103 to 106K/s depending on droplet diameter (20-230μm). In the hypoeutectic alloy studied (Ni-25wt%Sn), most particles showed a dendritic structure. These same particles, melted and resolidified in a glass medium using DTA (Differential Thermal Analysis), showed undercoolings up to 280K: the structures were dendritic at low undercoolings and non-dendritic at undercoolings above about 220K. It is concluded that (1) the gas atomized particles exhibited little or no undercooling before nucleation, (2) the solidification time of the undercooled emulsified droplets is substantially less than that of gas atomized droplets, and (3) the undercooling required to achieve non-dendritic structure depends on sample size.

2,2′-N:3,3′-O-Tetrakis[(R)-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl]-β(1-6)-D-glucosamine disaccharide 1,4′-bis(phosphate) and its dephospho derivatives were synthesized. The bisphosphate prepared was shown to be identical with a natural biosynthetic precursor of lipid A which corresponds to the lipophilic part of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in bacterial cell wall. The synthetic bis- and monophosphates exhibited many of typical endotoxic activities of LPS. Consequently, this work established the chemical structure of the biosynthetic precursor of lipid A and elucidated the fundamental structure required for the expression of these activities.