The effects of washing a collagen sample prior to TEM examination

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is an important analysis technique to visualize (bio)macromolecules and their assemblies, including collagen fibers. Many protocols for TEM sample preparation of collagen involve one or more washing steps to remove excess salts from the dispersion that could hamper analysis when dried on a TEM grid. Such protocols are not standardized and washing times as well as washing solvents vary from procedure to procedure, with each research group typically having their own protocol. Here, we investigate the influence of washing with water, ethanol, but also methanol and 2-propanol, for both mineralized and unmineralized collagen samples via a protocol based on centrifugation. Washing with water maintains the hydrated collagen structure and the characteristic banding pattern can be clearly observed. Conversely, washing with ethanol results in dehydration of the fibrils, often leading to aggregation of the fibers and a less obvious banding pattern, already within 1 min of ethanol exposure. As we show, this process is fully reversible. Similar observations were made for methanol and propanol. Based on these results, a standardized washing protocol for collagenous samples is proposed.     

The structure,vacancy characteristics,and magnetic properties of GdMn1-xCrxO3 ceramics

To investigate the evolution of the structural and enhanced magnetic properties of GdMnO₃ systems induced by the substitution of Mn with Cr, polycrystalline GdMn_1-xCr_xO₃ samples were synthesized via solid-state reactions. XRD characterization shows that all GdMn_1-xCr_xO₃ compounds with single-phase structures crystallize well and that Cr³⁺ ions entering the lattice sites of GdMnO₃ induce structural distortion. SEM results indicate that the grain size of the synthesized samples (a few microns) decreases as the Cr substitution concentration increases. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy reveals that vacancy-type defects occur in GdMn_1-xCr_xO₃ ceramics and that the vacancy size and concentration clearly change with the Cr content. The temperature and field dependence of the magnetization curves show that Cr substitution significantly influences the magnetic ordering of the gadolinium sublattice, improving the weak ferromagnetic transition temperature and magnetization of GdMn_1-xCr_xO₃. The enhanced magnetization of GdMn_1-xCr_xO₃ is closely related to the vacancy defect concentration.     

Interfacial microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti3SiC2 ceramic and TC11 alloy joint diffusion bonded with a Cu interlayer

Reliable joints of Ti₃SiC₂ ceramic and TC11 alloy were diffusion bonded with a 50 μm thick Cu interlayer. The typical interfacial structure of the diffusion boned joint, which was dependent on the interdiffusion and chemical reactions between Al, Si and Ti atoms from the base materials and Cu interlayer, was TC11/α-Ti + β-Ti + Ti₂Cu + TiCu/Ti₅Si₄ + TiSiCu/Cu(s, s)/Ti₃SiC₂. The influence of bonding temperature and time on the interfacial structure and mechanical properties of Ti₃SiC₂/Cu/TC11 joint was analyzed. With the increase of bonding temperature and time, the joint shear strength was gradually increased due to enhanced atomic diffusion. However, the thickness of Ti₅Si₄ and TiSiCu layers with high microhardness increased for a long holding time, resulting in the reduction of bonding strength. The maximum shear strength of 251 ± 6 MPa was obtained for the joint diffusion bonded at 850 °C for 60 min, and fracture primarily occurred at the diffusion layer adjacent to the Ti₃SiC₂ substrate. This work provided an economical and convenient solution for broadening the engineering application of Ti₃SiC₂ ceramic.     

Wall Rock Alteration,Uranium Mineralization,and Potentiality of Uranium and Iron Dissolution from Mineralized Abu Rusheid Gneiss Rock,South Eastern Desert,Egypt

Radiochemistry - Ferrugination, sericitization, desulfitization, chloritization, and kaolinitization of hydrothermal origin are the main wall rock alterations occurring within the NNW shear zones...     

A novel solution of deep learning for endoscopic ultrasound image segmentation: enhanced computer aided diagnosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Gastrointestinal stromal tumor is one of the critical tumors that doctors do not suggest to get frequent endoscopy, so there is a need for a diagnosis system...     

Structure–phase state of the surface layers in rails subjected to differential hardening

A layer-by-layer analysis of the structures, the phase compositions, and the defect substructures of differentially hardened rails has been carried by optical and transmission electron microscopy. It is found that the material volume of the rail head fillet is cooled faster than the volume located along the central axis.     

Sustainable ammonia production through process synthesis and global optimization

Current ammonia production technologies have a significant carbon footprint. In this study, we present a process synthesis and global optimization framework to discover the efficient utilization of renewable resources in ammonia production. Competing technologies are incorporated in a process superstructure where biomass, wind, and solar routes are compared with the natural gas-based reference case. A deterministic global optimization-based branch-and-bound algorithm is used to solve the resulting large-scale nonconvex mixed-integer nonlinear programming problem (MINLP). Case studies for Texas, California, and Iowa are conducted to examine the effects of different feedstock prices and availabilities. Results indicate that profitability of ammonia production is highly sensitive to feedstock and electricity prices, as well as greenhouse gas (GHG) restrictions. Under strict 75% GHG reductions, biomass to ammonia route is found to be competitive with natural gas route, whereas wind and solar to ammonia routes require further improvement to compete with those two routes. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 65: e16498 2019