Sulfogalactosylglycerolipid (SGG, aka seminolipid) is selectively synthesized in high amounts in mammalian testicular germ cells (TGCs). SGG is an ordered lipid and directly involved in cell adhesion. SGG is indispensable for spermatogenesis, a process that greatly depends on interaction between Sertoli cells and TGCs. Spermatogenesis is disrupted in mice null for Cgt and Cst, encoding two enzymes essential for SGG biosynthesis. Sperm surface SGG also plays roles in fertilization. All of these results indicate the significance of SGG in male reproduction. SGG homeostasis is also important in male fertility. Approximately 50% of TGCs become apoptotic and phagocytosed by Sertoli cells. SGG in apoptotic remnants needs to be degraded by Sertoli lysosomal enzymes to the lipid backbone. Failure in this event leads to a lysosomal storage disorder and sub-functionality of Sertoli cells, including their support for TGC development, and consequently subfertility. Significantly, both biosynthesis and degradation pathways of the galactosylsulfate head group of SGG are the same as those of sulfogalactosylceramide (SGC), a structurally related sulfoglycolipid important for brain functions. If subfertility in males with gene mutations in SGG/SGC metabolism pathways manifests prior to neurological disorder, sperm SGG levels might be used as a reporting/predicting index of the neurological status.

The solid handling ability and flow patterns of a baffleless oscillatory flow coil reactor are investigated and characterized. Previous works in oscillatory flow have been generally conducted in straight channels with various baffled geometries. Solid handling capabilities of the reactor are examined through two reactions, namely, a precipitation reaction and a phase transfer catalysis reaction. In the first reaction, the reactor geometry proved capable of continuously handling liquid–solid suspensions of 5.8 wt % for 5 h and up to 7.9 wt % for 2 h. No signs of clogging were observed during these tests, and the maximum run time of the reactor is currently unknown. However, when gas was formed in the second reaction, rapid system clogging is observed due to a 10-fold decrease in the energy dissipation rate as a result of the pulsation dampening effect by the gas. A broadening of residence time distributions with oscillation intensity is observed and, accordingly, is accompanied by a broadening of solid product particle size distributions. Lower pulsation amplitude and frequencies were capable of keeping solids suspended in the precipitation reaction and may therefore be employed to achieve a tighter residence time and particle size distributions.

The initial value problem associated with the development of small amplitude disturbances in Rayleigh–Taylor unstable, viscous, incompressible fluids is studied. Solutions to the linearized equations of motion which satisfy general initial conditions are obtained in terms of Fourier–Laplace transforms of the hydrodynamic variables, without restriction on the density or viscosity of either fluid. When the two fluids have equal kinematic viscosities, these transforms can be inverted explicitly to express the fluid variables as integrals of Green’s functions multiplied by initial data. In addition to normal modes, a set of continuum modes, not treated explicitly in the literature, makes an important contribution to the development of the fluid motion.