“Pipe-organ structures” in the Lee Formation (Pennsylvanian) of the central Appalachian Basin: animal or plant?

1992 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald R. Chesnut ◽  
James C. Cobb ◽  
Stephen F. Greb

A sequence of unusual vertical tubes, arranged in multiple groups, and each tube several meters high occurs in the Middlesboro Member of the Lee Formation (Lower Pennsylvanian). These structures are controversial with various interpretations suggesting either plant or animal origin. Observations supporting a plant origin include: 1) numerous C- and D-shaped, and multichambered tube cross sections are similar to fern and seed fern structures, 2) numerous membrane relicts loosely enclosing the tubes are similar to fern and seed fern tissues, 3) microscopic bundles are observed in cross-sectional thin sections, 4) presence of carbonaceous material and reported fecal pellets over a vertical distance in excess of 5 m are consistent with deteriorating plant material, not escape structures, 5) tubes are composed of casts and molds, but lack spreite or other features typical of escape structures, 6) tubes occur in clusters about one meter in diameter and are associated with coaly material at their base, which suggests that the clusters represent trees, 7) other trace fossils are absent in the enclosing sandstone, 8) tubes branch upward, which is a common structure in plants but unlikely in escape structures, 9) a coalified root structure was found at the base of the sandstone, and 10) all the tubes extend from the bottom of the sandstone to the top. The probability of burrowing animals escaping through as much as 8 m of sand with 100 percent survivorship is low.The structures may represent a stand of pteridosperms with each “tree” approximately 1–1.5 m in diameter. The individual pipe-organ structures represent aerial stems, shoots, and adventitious roots; each cluster of pipe-organ structures represents a single tree.Based upon sedimentologic features such as presence of 1) channel form, 2) scoured base, and 3) fining-upward sequence, we interpret the sandstone containing the pipe-organ structures to have been deposited in a sandy fluvial or tidal channel. The unidirectional cross-bed dips, poor sorting, occurrence only of very restrictive fauna and terrestrial flora, position of the sandstone above a possible floodplain facies, and lack of characteristic tidal structures suggest that the sandstone is more probably a sandy fluvial channel that may have minor tidal influence.

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Passano ◽  
Shahriar Abtahi ◽  
Torfinn Ottesen

Ocean currents may cause vortex induced vibrations (VIV) of deep-water umbilicals. The VIV response may give significant contributions to the total fatigue damage. Good estimations of the VIV response and damage are therefore important for the design of deep-water umbilicals. As VIV response is very sensitive to the structural damping, good response and fatigue estimates will be dependent on good estimates of the damping and that they are included in the VIV response analysis in a consistent way. A complex cross section such as an umbilical or a flexible riser will have two sources of structural damping; damping due to the strain variation in the individual materials that make up the cross sections, and damping due to the different layers slipping against one another. The first may be denoted material damping and is present at all response levels, and will be particularly important at low response levels. The second may be denoted slip damping and will contribute when the curvature exceeds the initial slip curvature. Ideally, accurate data for both the material and the slip damping are available. Unfortunately, this is not always the case and the damping parameters must then be estimated. The material damping may be estimated from the material properties of the various layers in the cross section, taking operating conditions such as temperature into account. The slip damping may be estimated from detailed cross-sectional analyses. As the slip damping is dependent on the curvature, iterations are needed to ensure that the applied damping and the calculated response are consistent with each other. A procedure to include these iterations within a VIV response calculation is proposed. A case study is presented demonstrating the use of the proposed procedure for a deep-water umbilical in a lazy wave configuration. For the case studied, the maximum curvatures caused by VIV are significantly reduced.


2002 ◽  
Vol 15 (04) ◽  
pp. 195-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Nunamaker

SummaryThe effects of two different training regimens, two different racetrack surfaces (dirt and woodchip), as well as no training (control) were studied to determine their relationships to bone modeling/remodeling and cross-sectional inertial properties in the third metacarpal bone (Mclll) of the young Thoroughbred racehorse. Eight two-year old Thoroughbred racehorses were divided into four groups and subjected to different training regimens over a period of five months. At the end of the training period 100 micron cross sections of Mclll were examined using microradiography and the cross-sectional inertial properties of MCI 11 were determined. The results showed striking differences in the appearance of the bone cross sections with most of the bone modeling occurring on the dorso- medial surface of the ‘classically’ exercised animals and bone deposition on the dorsal surface in the ‘Modified-Classical’ training groups. Inertial properties were different between the groups with the ‘Classically’ trained animals having Imin values similar to the control group while the ‘Modified-Classically’ trained group had large increases in Imin at the mid diaphysis similar to reported measurements of older racehorses. These areal measurements of the cross sections, indicating resistance to bending in the dorsal palmar direction, showed the effects of training on the individual groups.


Author(s):  
Bridget Carragher ◽  
David A. Bluemke ◽  
Cathy E. Frantz ◽  
Michael J. Potel

We have succeeded in performing two-dimensional cross sectional image reconstructions of sickle cell hemoglobin (HbS) macrofibers. Macrofibers are long helical structures which are intermediates in the crystallization of deoxygenated sickle cell hemoglobin at low pH. Earlier work has established that macrofibers are aggregates of Wishner-Love double strands which consist of 2 half-staggered HbS molecules repeating every 64 A in the axial direction. Thin sections of embedded aggregating macrofiber cross sections reveal a dumbbell like pattern of double strands (Figure 2a,b) that is similar to the a-axis projection of the crystal structure. Approximately 5 rows with 10 double strands per row were identified in the cross section, but structural features in the thin sections were obscured by an approximately 15 degree rotational blur due to the finite thickness (400 A) of the helical section, the ill defined boundaries of the section due to uneven staining, and apparent particle damage. These structural features have now been resolved in reconstructed cross sections obtained using a real space filtered back projection algorithm.


1969 ◽  
Vol 8 (53) ◽  
pp. 241-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony J. Gow

The size of firn crystals as a function of age has been investigated in thin sections to a depth of 49 m at the South Pole. Grain cross-sections increased in size from 0.24 mm2 at 0.1 m depth to 0.63 mm2 at 10 m. Crystals, as distinct from grains, increased in size from 0.18 to 0.43 mm2 over the same interval, implying that grains are generally composed of just one or two crystals rather than several as is frequently contended. The mean crystal cross-section increased linearly with the age of the firn at a rate of 0.0006 mm2 year−1; in 388 year old firn at 49 m the crystal size measured 0.63 mm2. Analysis of crystal-growth data from other locations in Antarctica and Greenland also revealed a strong linear relationship between the mean cross-sectional arcas (D2) of crystals (in mm2) and their ages in years (t), i.e. . The fact that the temperature dependence of the crystal growth rate K can be expressed very satisfactorily in an equation of the form K = K0 exp (E/RT) confirms predictions that crystal growth in firn is essentially analogous to grain growth in metallic and ceramic sinters. An extrapolation of available data indicates that crystal growth rates in dry firn could be expected to vary by two orders of magnitude (0.0003 to 0.03 mm2 year−1) over the temperature range −60° to −15°C. A method of utilizing crystal growth-mean annual temperature data to determine accumulation rates in snow is demonstrated.


1969 ◽  
Vol 8 (53) ◽  
pp. 241-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony J. Gow

The size of firn crystals as a function of age has been investigated in thin sections to a depth of 49 m at the South Pole. Grain cross-sections increased in size from 0.24 mm2at 0.1 m depth to 0.63 mm2at 10 m. Crystals, as distinct from grains, increased in size from 0.18 to 0.43 mm2over the same interval, implying that grains are generally composed of just one or two crystals rather than several as is frequently contended. The mean crystal cross-section increased linearly with the age of the firn at a rate of 0.0006 mm2year−1; in 388 year old firn at 49 m the crystal size measured 0.63 mm2. Analysis of crystal-growth data from other locations in Antarctica and Greenland also revealed a strong linear relationship between the mean cross-sectional arcas (D2) of crystals (in mm2) and their ages in years (t), i.e.. The fact that the temperature dependence of the crystal growth rateKcan be expressed very satisfactorily in an equation of the formK=K0exp (E/RT) confirms predictions that crystal growth in firn is essentially analogous to grain growth in metallic and ceramic sinters. An extrapolation of available data indicates that crystal growth rates in dry firn could be expected to vary by two orders of magnitude (0.0003 to 0.03 mm2year−1) over the temperature range −60° to −15°C. A method of utilizing crystal growth-mean annual temperature data to determine accumulation rates in snow is demonstrated.


Author(s):  
A. K. Rai ◽  
P. P. Pronko

Several techniques have been reported in the past to prepare cross(x)-sectional TEM specimen. These methods are applicable when the sample surface is uniform. Examples of samples having uniform surfaces are ion implanted samples, thin films deposited on substrates and epilayers grown on substrates. Once device structures are fabricated on the surfaces of appropriate materials these surfaces will no longer remain uniform. For samples with uniform surfaces it does not matter which part of the surface region remains in the thin sections of the x-sectional TEM specimen since it is similar everywhere. However, in order to study a specific region of a device employing x-sectional TEM, one has to make sure that the desired region is thinned. In the present work a simple way to obtain thin sections of desired device region is described.


Author(s):  
T.B. Ball ◽  
W.M. Hess

It has been demonstrated that cross sections of bundles of hair can be effectively studied using image analysis. These studies can help to elucidate morphological differences of hair from one region of the body to another. The purpose of the present investigation was to use image analysis to determine whether morphological differences could be demonstrated between male and female human Caucasian terminal scalp hair.Hair samples were taken from the back of the head from 18 caucasoid males and 13 caucasoid females (Figs. 1-2). Bundles of 50 hairs were processed for cross-sectional examination and then analyzed using Prism Image Analysis software on a Macintosh llci computer. Twenty morphological parameters of size and shape were evaluated for each hair cross-section. The size parameters evaluated were area, convex area, perimeter, convex perimeter, length, breadth, fiber length, width, equivalent diameter, and inscribed radius. The shape parameters considered were formfactor, roundness, convexity, solidity, compactness, aspect ratio, elongation, curl, and fractal dimension.


Author(s):  
Richard Mcintosh ◽  
David Mastronarde ◽  
Kent McDonald ◽  
Rubai Ding

Microtubules (MTs) are cytoplasmic polymers whose dynamics have an influence on cell shape and motility. MTs influence cell behavior both through their growth and disassembly and through the binding of enzymes to their surfaces. In either case, the positions of the MTs change over time as cells grow and develop. We are working on methods to determine where MTs are at different times during either the cell cycle or a morphogenetic event, using thin and thick sections for electron microscopy and computer graphics to model MT distributions.One approach is to track MTs through serial thin sections cut transverse to the MT axis. This work uses a video camera to digitize electron micrographs of cross sections through a MT system and create image files in computer memory. These are aligned and corrected for relative distortions by using the positions of 8 - 10 MTs on adjacent sections to define a general linear transformation that will align and warp adjacent images to an optimum fit. Two hundred MT images are then used to calculate an “average MT”, and this is cross-correlated with each micrograph in the serial set to locate points likely to correspond to MT centers. This set of points is refined through a discriminate analysis that explores each cross correlogram in the neighborhood of every point with a high correlation score.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (01) ◽  
Author(s):  
Priyanka Beniwal ◽  
Chandrakala Singh

Aging is a series of processes that begin with life and continue throughout the lifecycle. It represents the closing period in the lifespan, a time when the individual looks back on life, lives on past accomplishments and begins to finish off his life course. It represents the accumulation of changes in person over time. The study aims to investigate the health status of senior citizens. The present study was carried out in Hisar and Sirsa district of Haryana state. A total of 400 elderly equally representing both males and females of age group 65-70 years were selected randomly for the study. Modified inventory developed by Khan and Lal (2011) was used to assess health status of senior citizens. The results of the study elucidated that health status of senior citizens depicted that 54.25 per cent of the total respondents had average health status followed by good (25.25%) and poor health status (20.50%). The most common health problems reported by the senior citizens were joint pains, back pains, blood pressure, and chest pain etc. Gender wise comparison of total sample further pointed out that females were poor in their health against males.


2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 264-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Lorbach ◽  
Ulrich Hirn ◽  
Johannes Kritzinger ◽  
Wolfgang Bauer

Abstract We present a method for 3D measurement of fiber cross sectional morphology from handsheets. An automated procedure is used to acquire 3D datasets of fiber cross sectional images using an automated microtome and light microscopy. The fiber cross section geometry is extracted using digital image analysis. Simple sample preparation and highly automated image acquisition and image analysis are providing an efficient tool to analyze large samples. It is demonstrated that if fibers are tilted towards the image plane the images of fiber cross sections are always larger than the true fiber cross section geometry. In our analysis the tilting angles of the fibers to the image plane are measured. The resulting fiber cross sectional images are distorted to compensate the error due to fiber tilt, restoring the true fiber cross sectional shape. We use an approximated correction, the paper provides error estimates of the approximation. Measurement results for fiber wall thickness, fiber coarseness and fiber collapse are presented for one hardwood and one softwood pulp.


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