Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Microscopy Shows (microscopy + shows)
Kinds of Microscopy Shows Selected AbstractsLong-life torsion fatigue with normal mean stressesFATIGUE & FRACTURE OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES, Issue 4 2000Marquis Relatively simple fatigue tests have been performed on two common engineering materials, cast ductile iron and low-carbon steel, using two stress states, cyclic torsion and cyclic torsion with static axial and hoop stresses. Tests were designed to discriminate between normal stress and hydrostatic stress as the most suitable mean stress correction term for high cycle fatigue analysis. Microscopy shows that cracks in low-carbon steel nucleate and grow on maximum shear planes, while for cast iron pre-existing flaws grow on maximum normal stress planes. The data illustrate that tensile normal stress acting on a shear plane significantly reduced fatigue life and is an appropriate input for fatigue analysis of ductile materials. Static normal stresses did not significantly affect the fatigue life for the cast iron because the net mean stress on the maximum normal stress plane was zero. Mean torsion significantly reduced the fatigue strength of the cast iron. A critical plane long-life parameter for nodular iron which accounts for both stress state and mean stress is proposed, and is found to accurately correlate experimental data. [source] Imidazolium based ionic liquid crystals: structure, photophysical and thermal behaviour of [Cnmim]Br·xH2O (n = 12, 14; x=0, 1)CRYSTAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 11 2008A. Getsis Abstract The long chain imidazolium halides [Cnmim]Br·xH2O (n = 10, 12; x = 0, 1) have been synthesized and their structural and thermal behaviour together with their photophysical properties characterized. X-ray structure analyses of the monohydrates ([C12mim]Br·H2O: triclinic, P1, no. 2, Z = 2, Pearson code aP112, a = 550.0(5) pm, b = 779.4(5) pm, c = 2296.1(5) pm, , = 81.89(5)°, , = 83.76(5)°, , = 78.102(5)°, 3523 unique reflections with Io > 2,(Io), R1 = 0.0263, wR2 = 0.0652, GooF = 1.037, T = 263(2) K; [C14mim]Br,H2O: triclinic, P1, no. 2, Z = 12, Pearson code aP11, a = 549.86(8) pm, 782.09(13) pm, c = 2511.3(4) pm, , = 94.86(2)°, , = 94.39(2)°, , = 101.83(2)°, 2063 unique reflections with Io > 2,(Io), R1 = 0.0429, wR2 = 0.0690, GooF = 0.770, T = 293(2) K) show for both compounds similar bilayered structures. Sheets composed of hydrophilic structure regions constituted by positively charged imidazolium head groups, bromide anions and hydrogen bonded water alternate with hydrophobic areas formed by interdigitated long alkyl chains belonging to imidazolium cations with different orientation. Combined differential scanning calorimetry and polarizing optical microscopy shows that the monohydrates as well as the anhydrous imidazolium salts are thermotropic liquid crystals which adopt smectic mesophases. The mesophase region is larger in case of the monohydrates when compared to the anhydrous compounds indicating that water obviously stabilizes the mesophase. All compounds show an intense whitish photoluminescence with short lived (1,,1,*) and long lived (1,,3,*) transitions. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Effect of environmental variables on eukaryotic microbial community structure of land-fast Arctic sea iceENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2010Brian Eddie Summary Sea ice microbial community structure affects carbon and nutrient cycling in polar seas, but its susceptibility to changing environmental conditions is not well understood. We studied the eukaryotic microbial community in sea ice cores recovered near Point Barrow, AK in May 2006 by documenting the composition of the community in relation to vertical depth within the cores, as well as light availability (mainly as variable snow cover) and nutrient concentrations. We applied a combination of epifluorescence microscopy, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and clone libraries of a section of the 18S rRNA gene in order to compare the community structure of the major eukaryotic microbial phylotypes in the ice. We find that the community composition of the sea ice is more affected by the depth horizon in the ice than by light availability, although there are significant differences in the abundance of some groups between light regimes. Epifluorescence microscopy shows a shift from predominantly heterotrophic life styles in the upper ice to autotrophy prevailing in the bottom ice. This is supported by the statistical analysis of the similarity between the samples based on the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis banding patterns, which shows a clear difference between upper and lower ice sections with respect to phylotypes and their proportional abundance. Clone libraries constructed using diatom-specific primers confirm the high diversity of diatoms in the sea ice, and support the microscopic counts. Evidence of protistan grazing upon diatoms was also found in lower sections of the core, with implications for carbon and nutrient recycling in the ice. [source] Growth and Transfer of Monolithic Horizontal ZnO Nanowire Superstructures onto Flexible SubstratesADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 9 2010Sheng Xu A method of fabricating horizontally aligned ZnO nanowire (NW) arrays with full control over the width and length is demonstrated. A cross-sectional view of the NWs by transmission electron microscopy shows a "mushroom-like" structure. Novel monolithic multisegment superstructures are fabricated by making use of the lateral overgrowth. Ultralong horizontal ZnO NWs of an aspect ratio on the order of ten thousand are also demonstrated. These horizontal NWs are lifted off and transferred onto a flexible polymer substrate, which may have many great applications in horizontal ZnO NW-based nanosensor arrays, light-emitting diodes, optical gratings, integrated circuit interconnects, and high-output-power alternating-current nanogenerators. [source] Selective Immobilization of Protein Clusters on Polymeric Nanocraters,ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 9 2006A. Valsesia Abstract A method for fabricating chemically nanopatterned surfaces based on a combination of colloidal lithography and plasma- enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) is presented. This method can be applied for the creation of different nanopatterns, and it is in principle not limited in patterning resolution. Nanocraters of poly(acrylic acid) (carboxylic moieties) surrounded by a matrix of poly(ethylene glycol) are fabricated. Chemical force microscopy demonstrates that the process is able to produce the expected surface chemical contrast. Finally, the carboxylic groups of the craters are activated in order to induce the covalent binding of fluorescent-labeled proteins. Fluorescence investigation using scanning confocal microscopy shows that the proteins are preferentially attached inside the functional craters. [source] Compressive response and energy absorption of foam EPDMJOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE, Issue 6 2007Biqin Wang Abstract Ethylene,propylene,diene terpolymer foam was prepared by two different processing routes. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the foams with wide relative density ranging from 0.11 to 0.62 have been studied via scanning electron microscopy and mechanical testing, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy shows that the foam with lower relative density has a unique bimodal cell size structure, which the larger cells inlay among the smaller cells, while the foam articles with higher relative density have thicker cell walls with few small cells. The compressive stress,strain curves show that the foam articles with lower relative density have three regimes: linear elastic, a wide slightly rising plateau, and densification, while the foam articles with higher relative density have only two regimes: the longer linear elastic and densification. The relative modulus increases with the increase in the relative density. The contribution of the gas trapped in the cell to the modulus could be neglected. The energy absorbed per unit volume is relationship with the permitted stress and the relative density. The efficiency and the ideality parameter were evaluated from the compressive stress,strain plots. The parameters were plotted against stress to obtain maximum efficiency and the maximum ideality region, which can be used for optimizing the choice for practical applications in cushioning and packaging. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007 [source] The involvement of human RECQL4 in DNA double-strand break repairAGING CELL, Issue 3 2010Dharmendra Kumar Singh Summary Rothmund,Thomson syndrome (RTS) is an autosomal recessive hereditary disorder associated with mutation in RECQL4 gene, a member of the human RecQ helicases. The disease is characterized by genomic instability, skeletal abnormalities and predisposition to malignant tumors, especially osteosarcomas. The precise role of RECQL4 in cellular pathways is largely unknown; however, recent evidence suggests its involvement in multiple DNA metabolic pathways. This study investigates the roles of RECQL4 in DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair. The results show that RECQL4-deficient fibroblasts are moderately sensitive to ,-irradiation and accumulate more ,H2AX and 53BP1 foci than control fibroblasts. This is suggestive of defects in efficient repair of DSB's in the RECQL4-deficient fibroblasts. Real time imaging of live cells using laser confocal microscopy shows that RECQL4 is recruited early to laser-induced DSBs and remains for a shorter duration than WRN and BLM, indicating its distinct role in repair of DSBs. Endogenous RECQL4 also colocalizes with ,H2AX at the site of DSBs. The RECQL4 domain responsible for its DNA damage localization has been mapped to the unique N-terminus domain between amino acids 363,492, which shares no homology to recruitment domains of WRN and BLM to the DSBs. Further, the recruitment of RECQL4 to laser-induced DNA damage is independent of functional WRN, BLM or ATM proteins. These results suggest distinct cellular dynamics for RECQL4 protein at the site of laser-induced DSB and that it might play important roles in efficient repair of DSB's. [source] Three-photon microscopy shows that somatic release can be a quantitatively significant component of serotonergic neurotransmission in the mammalian brainJOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 15 2008S.K. Kaushalya Abstract Recent experiments on monoaminergic neurons have shown that neurotransmission can originate from somatic release. However, little is known about the quantity of monoamine available to be released through this extrasynaptic pathway or about the intracellular dynamics that mediate such release. Using three-photon microscopy, we directly imaged serotonin autofluorescence and investigated the total serotonin content, release competence, and release kinetics of somatic serotonergic vesicles in the dorsal raphe neurons of the rat. We found that the somata of primary cultured neurons contain a large number of serotonin-filled vesicles arranged in a perinuclear fashion. A similar distribution is also observed in fresh tissue slice preparations obtained from the rat dorsal raphe. We estimate that the soma of a cultured neuron on an average contains about 9 fmoles of serotonin in about 450 vesicles (or vesicle clusters) of ,370 nm average diameter. A substantial fraction (>30%) of this serotonin is released with a time scale of several minutes by K+ -induced depolarization or by para-chloroamphetamine treatment. The amount of releasable serotonin stored in the somatic vesicles is comparable to the total serotonin content of all the synaptic vesicles in a raphe neuron, indicating that somatic release can potentially play a major role in serotonergic neurotransmission in the mammalian brain. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Analysis of FimX, a phosphodiesterase that governs twitching motility in Pseudomonas aeruginosaMOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 4 2006Barbara I. Kazmierczak Summary Type IV pili (Tfp) are polar surface structures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa required for twitching motility, biofilm formation and adherence. One protein required for the assembly of tfp is FimX, which possesses both GGDEF and EAL domains characteristic of diguanylate cyclases and phosphodiesterases respectively. In this work we demonstrate that FimX has phosphodiesterase activity towards bis-(3,-5,)-cyclic dimeric guanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP), but does not show diguanylate cyclase activity. Instead, the imperfect GGDEF domain of FimX likely serves to activate phosphodiesterase activity when bound to GTP, as has recently been described for the Caulobacter crescentus composite GGDEF-EAL protein, CC3396. Bacteria expressing FimX in which either the GGDEF or EAL domain is deleted or mutated have phenotypes indistinguishable from a ,fimX strain, demonstrating the importance of both domains to function. Previous work has shown that FimX localizes to the bacterial pole. In this work we show that restriction of FimX to a single pole requires intact GGDEF and EAL domains. Deletion of the amino-terminal REC domain of FimX, which contains a putative polar localization signal, results in a protein that still supports intermediate levels of pilus assembly and function. RFP,FimX,REC, unlike RFP,FimX, is no longer localized to the bacterial pole, while transmission electron microscopy shows that surface pili can originate from non-polar sites in this mutant. Although ,fimX mutants show limited in vitro cytotoxicity, they are as virulent as the wild-type strain in a murine model of acute pneumonia. [source] Rat Spag5 associates in somatic cells with endoplasmic reticulum and microtubules but in spermatozoa with outer dense fibersMOLECULAR REPRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2006Carolyn J. Fitzgerald Abstract The leucine zipper motif has been identified as an important and specific interaction motif used by various sperm tail proteins that localize to the outer dense fibers. We had found that rat Odf1, a major integral ODF protein, utilizes its leucine zipper to associate with Odf2, another major ODF protein, Spag4 which localizes to the interface between ODF and axonemal microtubule doublets, and Spag5. The rat Spag5 sequence indicated a close relationship with human Astrin, a microtubule-binding spindle protein suggesting that Spag5, like Spag4, may associate with the sperm tail axoneme. RT PCR assays indicated expression of Spag5 in various tissues and in somatic cells Spag5 localizes to endoplasmic reticulum and microtubules, as expected for an Astrin orthologue. MT binding was confirmed both in vivo and in in vitro MT-binding assays: somatic cells contain a 58 kDa MT-associated Spag5 protein. Western blotting assays of rat somatic cells and male germ cells at different stages of development using anti-Spag5 antibodies demonstrated that the protein expression pattern changes during spermatogenesis and that sperm tails contain a 58 kDa Spag5 protein. Use of affinity-purified anti-Spag5 antibodies in immuno electron microscopy shows that in rat elongated spermatids and epididymal sperm the Spag5 protein associates with ODF, but not with the axonemal MTs. This observation is in contrast to that for the other Odf1-binding, MT-binding protein Spag4, which is present between ODF and axoneme. Our data demonstrate that Spag5 has different localization in somatic versus male germ cells suggesting the possibility of different function. Mol. Reprod. Dev. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Improvement of photoluminescence efficiency in stacked Ge/Si/Ge quantum dots with a thin Si spacerPHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (B) BASIC SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 15 2004P. S. Chen Abstract In this work, two successive layers of Ge quantum dots separated by a thin Si spacer grown by ultra-high-vacuum chemical vapor deposition were demonstrated. With an optimal thickness of the thin Si spacer, the sandwiched Ge (13.1 ML)/Si (28 ML)/Ge (13.1 ML) quantum dots suppress the coarsening of Ge quantum dots and efficiently increase the uniformity of the quantum dots. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy shows that the Si/Ge underlayers provide preferred nucleation sites for the overlayer Ge deposition. Such a modification avoids the formation of Ge superdomes and prevents the occurrence of threading dislocations even at such a thin Si spacer thickness. A stronger photoluminescence intensity of these sandwich Ge/Si/Ge quantum dots was observed compared with that of 26.2 eq-ML Ge quantum dots without using any intermediate Si layer. Furthermore, the narrower width of the photoluminescence spectra indicates that the Ge/Si/Ge dots are more uniform compared with the 13.1 and 26.1 eq-ML Ge quantum dots. Five-fold bilayers of Ge/Si/Ge/Si(150 ML) have been achieved to enhance the photo-emission efficiency. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Morphology and mechanical properties of impact modified polypropylene blendsPOLYMER ENGINEERING & SCIENCE, Issue 11 2008Nathan Tortorella Isotactic polypropylene (PP) has been reactively blended with various grades of an ethylene,octene copolymer (EOC) in a twin-screw extruder. Free radical polymerization of styrene and a multifunctional acrylate during melt extrusion has resulted in an enhancement of mechanical properties over the binary blend. The reactive blend exhibits a notched Izod impact strength over 12 times that of pure polypropylene and greater than double the performance of the binary blend. Electron microscopy shows that by grafting onto the polymers, elastomer particle size and interparticle distance decrease, while particle shape becomes less spherical. The acrylate is crucial to achieve superior performance, as infrared spectra correlate an increase in graft yield to improvements in stress,strain behavior and impact strength. In addition, melt flow index (MFI) and melt strength data indicate a reduction in unwanted side reactions of polypropylene and the presence of long-chain branching. Dynamic-mechanical analysis reveals that the reaction promotes miscibility between polypropylene and the EOC and reduces molecular mobility at their glass-transition temperatures. Mechanical properties, graft yield, and MFI are shown to be highly dependent upon the elastomer's concentration, density, and molecular weight, initiator and monomer concentration, as well as processing temperature. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers [source] THE TECHNOLOGY OF ,GLAZED' RESERVED SLIP WARE,A FINE CERAMIC OF THE HARAPPAN PERIOD*ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 4 2005K. KRISHNAN ,Glazed' Reserved Slip Ware (RSW) is a high-quality glossy bichrome pottery of the Indus Valley civilization, and dates to the mature Harappan period (c. 2600,1900 bc). Scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis indicates that the surface coat on RSW is composed of a pale grey vitrified clay slip, which overlies a black slip with significantly higher iron oxide. Hence the term ,sintered' Reserved Slip Ware is to be preferred. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that both the pale and black slips contain hercynite, mullite and quartz, but observation by scanning electron microscopy shows that the black slips contain higher amounts of coarser-grained hercynite. The elemental data suggest that different clays were used to make the bodies and the slips. However, key element ratios are very close in associated black and pale slips. The grey slip may have been produced by elutriation of the fine, iron oxide-rich clay that was used to prepare the black slip. The pale grey slip was laid over the black and removed by combing to produce a bichrome effect, which evoked semi-precious materials such as agate. RSW was a specialist product that required significantly higher input skill and resources than the majority of Harappan clay-based ceramics. It is a further example of the range of sophisticated Harappan ceramic wares, which included faience, fired steatite and stoneware. [source] Corneal and conjunctival findings after mitomycin C application in pterygium surgery: an in-vivo confocal microscopy studyACTA OPHTHALMOLOGICA, Issue 2 2009Andrey Zhivov Abstract. Purpose:, To perform a qualitative assessment of the topical side-effects of mitomycin C on cornea after pterygium surgery. Methods:,In-vivo confocal microscopy (Heidelberg Retina Tomograph II in combination with the Rostock Cornea Module) was performed in 10 patients with unilateral primary pterygium. Mitomycin C 0.02% was applied topically to seven eyes for 5 min intraoperatively and twice daily for 5 days postoperatively. Three eyes underwent surgery without application of cytostatic agent. Patient follow-up was 1 month. Results:, After application of mitomycin C, complete epithelialization of the operated zone was found 2 weeks after surgery. In-vivo confocal microscopy revealed signs of superficial punctate keratitis for 2 weeks in the central cornea only after application of mitomycin C. The presence of epithelial and stromal oedema in this group was noted for up to 2 weeks in the central cornea and for up to 4 weeks in the operated zone. In the control group, complete epithelialization was found after 1 week; there were no signs of oedema after 1 week in the central cornea or after 2 weeks in the operated zone. Leucocyte infiltration and increased Langerhans cell density were noted in both groups in the operated and central zones. Analysis of the conjunctiva revealed a decrease in goblet cell density following cytostatic application. Conclusion:, Local application of mitomycin C delays corneal epithelialization, and prolongs postoperative epithelial and stromal oedema in both the centre and periphery. Moreover, signs of punctate keratitis were noted 2 weeks after surgery in central intact cornea. Nevertheless, in-vivo confocal microscopy shows that these changes are reversible 4 weeks after application of mitomycin C 0.02%. [source] | ||||||||||||||||