Abstract: A device for strapping cables, pipes and similar items together or to a support comprises a strap (1) constituted by a strip of bendable material, preferably metal, attached at one end to a buckle plate (2), conveniently of sheet metal, by passing one end of the strap (1) through a slot (5) and bending it back to underlie a portion of the strap which is wrapped around the cables (6) or the like to be strapped. The buckle plate has a raised bridge portion (3) and an aligned pair of fixed ears (3a',3a") with a gap therebetween. The other end of the strap (1) is threaded beneath the ears and passed beneath the bridge portion (3). After pulling the stripping tight, its free end is bent back over the bridge portion (3) and secured by tilting it slightly about its axis and sliding it through the gap between the ears 3a' and 3a". In other embodiments the strip (1) is integral with the buckle plate (2).

Abstract: Novel surface-active compositions are prepared by reacting a diketene prepared from a fatty acid or fatty acid chloride with 8-22 carbon atoms with a substance having a hydrophlic moiety and a hydroxyl or amino group containing one or more active hydrogens. The active hydrogen-containing group is acylated by the diketene and the resulting product contains the hydrophillic moiety and also branched 2-alkyl-3-ketoacyl chains.