PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M F Butler

Publications and source records attributed to M F Butler.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Acid soap and phase behavior of stearic acid and triethanolamine stearate.

Crystals of partially neutralized stearic acid with triethanolamine (TEA) were prepared by mixing these two materials above 80 degrees C and then cooling. The crystalline composition and the structure and melting behavior of the resultant products were characterized with small-angle and wide-angle X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis, microscopy, and infrared spectroscopy. It was discovered that an acid-soap complex of 2:1 fixed stoichiometric ratio exists between stearic acid and TEA stearate. A binary phase diagram of stearic acid and TEA soap is built based on the experimental results; this is the first published record of a binary phase diagram for amine-based soap. Its behavior is significantly different from that of binary systems of fatty acid and alkali soap.

Acids↗

Phase separation in gelatin/maltodextrin and gelatin/maltodextrin/gum arabic mixtures studied using small-angle light scattering, turbidity, and microscopy.

The kinetics of phase separation were observed in the gelatin/maltodextrin and gelatin/maltodextrin/gum arabic systems, where gum arabic was added as a minority component, using small-angle light scattering, turbidity measurement, and confocal scanning laser microscopy. Phase separation occurred by spinodal decomposition for quenches both above and below the temperature at which gelatin gelled. Coarsening of the phase-separated microstructure was hindered by gelation, and a hydrodynamic mechanism, observed when the gelatin remained in the liquid state, was suppressed. Gum arabic, containing both polysaccharide and polypeptide components, was hypothesized to be potentially interfacially active in the gelatin/maltodextrin system, in analogy with synthetic block copolymer compatibilizers in demixed synthetic polymer systems. The hypothesis was experimentally refuted under the chosen experimental conditions, as no evidence was found to suggest that it altered the phase separation behavior.

Biopolymers↗

First branchial cleft anomaly.

A 15-year-old girl presented with a cystic swelling since birth behind the ramus of the right mandible and diagnosed clinically as a dermoid cyst. Surgical exploration, however, showed that it was closely related to the external auditory canal, with an extension running medially behind the parotid gland and ending in the bony middle ear. The facial nerve was closely related to the deep part of the cyst. Such an anatomical position indicates that this was a first branchial cleft anomaly. Surgical excision of the cyst was performed.

Adolescent↗

An investigation of the bacteriostatic properties of pure metals.

The effect of 16 pure metals on the in vitro growth of a form of dental caries producing Streptococcus mutans was studied under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Cobalt and copper were consistently observed to be inhibitory. With less consistency nickel, titanium, iron, and vanadium also exhibited ability to inhibit growth of the organism. Bacteriostasis apparently is contingent upon the presence of a corrosion process. The bacteriostatic agent is of uncertain identity and could be a corrosion product or a process secondary to the occurrence of corrosion. Concentrations of metals after 6 days of electrochemical dissolution in the growth medium were measured via electron microprobe analysis and compared with the amount of inhibition which resulted. Threshold concentrations above which growth did not occur were identified. As measured by threshold concentrations, wide variability between metals exists in the ability to inhibit the growth, with cobalt being particularly effective at small concentrations. This implies a sensitivity on the part of the organism that is different for different metals. The threshold concentration varied between aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Streptococcus mutans appeared more resistant to the effects of the metals under anaerobic conditions even though little difference in the amount of corrosion was detected.

Bacteria↗