Abstract: Stable pharmaceutical compositions suitable for parenteral administration to mammals are prepared which are in a pH range of about 2 to about 4 and comprise a therapeutically effective amount of a recombinant interferon-.beta. protein (IFN-.beta.) dissolved in an inert carrier medium comprising as a stabilizer/solubilizer an effective amount either of glycerol or of polyethylene glycol polymers having an average molecular weight from about 190 to about 1600 daltons. Further disclosed and claimed are methods for extracting IFN-.beta. from a microbial host transformed to produce it and then purifying and formulating said IFN-.beta. and methods for screening for other polyhydric non-detergent stabilizer/solubilizers or combinations thereof as solubilizer/stabilizers for pharmaceutical compositions of IFN-.beta..

Abstract: A process is disclosed for forming a substantially pure layer of an implantable element in a substrate material by (a) selecting an implantable element and a substrate material to be implanted which, at the temperatures to be used, have limited mutual solubility in one another and do not form any intermediate phases with one another; (b) implanting a sufficient amount of the implantable element in the substrate material to permit formation of the desired substantially pure layer of the implantable element in the substrate material; and (c) annealing the implanted substrate material to form the desired layer. The annealing step may not be required if the desired layer was formed during the implantation.

Abstract: Plasma spraying methods of forming exoergic structures and coatings, as well as exoergic structures produced by such methods, are provided. The methods include the plasma spraying of reactive exoergic materials that are capable of sustaining a combustion synthesis reaction onto a flat substrate or into molds of arbitrary shape and igniting said plasma sprayed materials, either under an inert gas pressure or not, to form refractory materials of varying densities and of varying shapes.

Abstract: A one step combustion process for the synthesis of dense aluminum nitride compositions is disclosed. The process comprises igniting pure aluminum powder in a nitrogen atmosphere at a pressure of about 1000 atmospheres or higher. The process enables the production of aluminum nitride bodies to be formed directly in a mold of any desired shape.