The synthesis of heterocyclic azo-dyes via conventional heating and microwave (MW) heating was investigated. From a sequence of reactions starting from cyanoacetic acid, 4-arylazo-2H-pyrazol-3-ylamines and 4-arylazo-2-phenyl-2H-pyrazol-3-ylamines were obtained. The structures these compounds were obtained by inspection 766 of spectroscopic and analytical techniques including 1 H and 13 C NMR spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. The fastness properties and UV/Vis absorption spectroscopic data of these disperse dyes in printing polyester fabrics were investigated.

Maize starch was subjected first to oxidation using H 2 O 2 in presence and absence of ferrous sulfate as catalyst and then to cationization using 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride. A thorough investigation of the chemical and rheological characteristics of the oxidized starch and oxidized-cationized starch samples was made. It was found that these modified starches display characteristics, which qualify them to function as excellent sizing agent and to less extent as thickeners for printing polyester fabric with disperse dyes. The differences among the oxidized samples prepared in acidic and alkaline media in presence and absence of ferrous sulfate with respect to carboxyl and carbonyl group content were explained on the basis of the different mechanisms involved in the oxidation reaction of starch. The amenability of the different oxidized starch samples to cationization and variation in the apparent viscosity after cationization of the oxidized starches were also reported.

Persistence of recombinant and wild-type nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPV) was compared in field and laboratory microcosm experiments. Horizontal and vertical distribution of the viruses also was monitored in the field agricultural soil. Mixed populations of the bollworm, Helicoverpa zea, and tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens, in cotton were sprayed five times during a growing season with wild-type H. zea NPV (HzSNPV.WT) or with a genetically modified H. zea NPV expressing an insect-specific neurotoxin (HzSNPV.LqhIT2). HzNPV.WT accumulated 2.3 times as many occlusion bodies (OB) as HzSNPV.LqhIT2 in soil by the end of the growing season in October 1997. Both NPVs were detected at all soil depths down to 26-35 cm. Both NPVs were randomly distributed among 0-2 cm soil samples throughout the plots according to analysis with Taylor's power law. By 4 August 1998, soil concentration of HzSNPV.WT was only 11-13 OB/g at depths from 0 to 14 cm, and the wild-type virus was not detected below 14 cm. HzSNPV.LqhIT2 was detected only in trace amounts at 0-2 cm at this time. Neither NPV was detected in bioassays of cotton leaves nor in insects sampled from the plots in 1998. Viral persistence also was monitored in laboratory soil microcosms. Three viruses-wild-type Autographa californica NPV (AcNPV.WT), A. californica NPV expressing a scorpion toxin (AcNPV.AaIT), and A. californica NPV expressing juvenile hormone esterase (AcNPV.JHE-S201G)-were introduced into soil microcosms by each of two methods, in water suspension or in host cadavers, for a total of six treatments plus controls. After 17 months, the number of viable OB remaining did not differ among the treatments. The results indicate that the only differences in soil populations of wild-type versus recombinant NPVs are due to the greater amounts of the wild-type viruses that accumulate, probably because they have a greater capacity to replicate in the host insect population.

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G ALACTOMANNAN gum was extracted from fenugreek seeds through seed grinding and sifting, washing and filtering and precipitating by ethyl alcohol and drying. Thus obtained products were submitted to innovative oxidation using microwave irradiation and sodium perborate (SPB) oxidant under a variety of conditions. Variable studied include concentration of SPB and duration of oxidation as well as pH and temperature of the oxidation reaction. Thus oxidized gum samples were subjected to chemical and chemical-microscopically analysis for quantitative determination of carboxyl and carbonyl groups and rheological properties along wilts residual SPB. Microstructural changes in the innovatively oxidized gum vis-à-vis those of conventionally oxidized gum were presented. Results indicate that the innovative oxidation using the microwave for heating the oxidation medium containing SPB consumes less time and energy than the conventional oxidation by SPB using conventional heating. Results indicate further that current oxidation using the microwave or conventional heating brings into focus oxidized galactomannan gums, which induce excellent overall color fastness when applied as thickeners in printing pastes of reactive dyes. These gums may be considered as a real substitute for sodium alginate thickener which is universally accepted thickeners for reactive printing on cotton. In addition, oxidized galactomannan gum creates eco-friendly environment during its preparation.