Publisher Summary This chapter explores that the changes that take place in the protein molecules during denaturation constitute one of the most interesting and complex classes of reactions that can be found either in nature or in the laboratory These reactions are important because of the information they can provide about the more intimate details of protein structure and function They are also significant because they challenge the chemist with a difficult area for the application of chemical principles The chapter reviews that the denaturation is a process in which the spatial arrangement of the polypeptide chains within the molecule is changed from that typical of the native protein to a more disordered arrangement The chapter also discusses the classification of protein structures: primary, secondary, and tertiary structures The primary structure is that expressed by the structural chemical formula and depends entirely on the chemical valence bonds that the classical organic chemist would write down for the protein molecule The secondary structure is the configuration of the polypeptide chain that results from the satisfaction of the hydrogen bonding potential between the peptide N-H and C=O groups The tertiary structure is the pattern according to which the secondary structures are packed together within the native protein molecule The term “denaturation” as used in this chapter is indented to include changes in both the secondary and tertiary structures

Some factors in the interpretation of protein denaturation.

We applied a continuous positive airway pressure to 20 infants (birth weight 930 to 3800 g) severely ill with the idiopathic respiratory-distress syndrome. They breathed spontaneously. Pressure, up to 12 mm of mercury, was delivered through an endotracheal tube to 18 infants and via a pressure chamber around the infant's head to two. Arterial oxygen tension rose in all, permitting us to lower the inspired oxygen an average of 37.5 per cent within 12 hours. Minute ventilation decreased with increased continuous positive airway pressure, but this had little effect on arterial carbon dioxide tension, pH, arterial blood pressure and lung compliance. Sixteen infants survived, including seven of 10 weighing less than 1500 g at birth.

Treatment of the Idiopathic Respiratory-Distress Syndrome with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure

Regulation of Internal Body Temperature

Effective tubal transport of ova, sperm and embryos is a prerequisite for successful spontaneous pregnancy. Although there is much yet to be discovered about the mechanisms involved, it is evident that tubal transit is a far more complicated process than initially thought. Propulsion of gametes and embryos is achieved by complex interaction between muscle contractions, ciliary activity and the flow of tubal secretions. Evidence is accumulating of the important and possibly pre-eminent role of ciliary motion in this process; and this review describes current knowledge about ciliary activity and its physiological regulation. There is also a description of the effects on ciliary function of cigarette smoking and various pathological states, including endometriosis and microbial infection, with consideration given as to how altered ciliary activity may impact upon fertility.

/pdf/the-reproductive-significance-of-human-fallopian-tube-cilia-19x6usnwij.pdf

The reproductive significance of human Fallopian tube cilia

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the preparation of antigenic hapten-carrier conjugates. Substances of molecular weight less than 1000 are not ordinarily antigenic. However, antibodies can be raised to small molecules, by immunization, with conjugates made up of low molecular weight substances (haptens) covalently linked to proteins or synthetic polypeptides. The protein carriers used in various laboratories include: globulin fractions, the serum albumins of various species, hemocyanin, ovalbumin, thyroglobulin, and fibrinogen. Hapten-protein conjugates of serum albumin are, in general, more soluble than conjugates of γ-globulin or of ovalbumin. In this study, it is attempted to incorporate it into a general survey of the methods of preparing immunogenic haptenprotein conjugates, in which the hapten is a pharmacologically interesting compound. The arrangement is governed by the nature of the reactive functional groups of the hapten. In this way, the information can be applied most easily to new compounds being considered for use as determinant groups. Various procedures described are discussed, by specific examples, presenting practical aspects of the experimental methods.

[4] The preparation of antigenic Hapten-Carrier conjugates: A survey

Scanning electron microscopy of the human endometrial surface epithelium

Testosterone, cortisone, deoxycorticosterone, estrone, and progesterone act as haptens when they are conjugated with bovine serum albumin. Antibodies with steroid specificity are formed in rabbits immunized with each of the five steroid hormone-protein conjugates.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/129/3348/564.full.pdf

Antigenicity of steroid-protein conjugates.

Fallopian tubes from women of reproductive and postmenopausal ages were examined by scanning electron microscopy. The surface topography of these Fallopian tubes is described and illustrated.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/175/4023/783.full.pdf

Frederic J. Agate

Papers

Scanning electron microscopy of the human endometrial surface epithelium

Antigenicity of steroid-protein conjugates.

Scanning Electron Microscopy of the Human Fallopian Tube

Variation in cold resistance among small newborn infants.

A sequential trial of the nonthermal effect of atmospheric humidity on survival of newborn infants of low birth weight.