scholarly journals Selective biodegradation of keratin matrix in feather rachis reveals classic bioengineering

2009 ◽  
Vol 277 (1685) ◽  
pp. 1161-1168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theagarten Lingham-Soliar ◽  
Richard H. C. Bonser ◽  
James Wesley-Smith

Flight necessitates that the feather rachis is extremely tough and light. Yet, the crucial filamentous hierarchy of the rachis is unknown—study hindered by the tight chemical bonding between the filaments and matrix. We used novel microbial biodegradation to delineate the fibres of the rachidial cortex in situ . It revealed the thickest keratin filaments known to date (factor >10), approximately 6 µm thick, extending predominantly axially but with a small outer circumferential component. Near-periodic thickened nodes of the fibres are staggered with those in adjacent fibres in two- and three-dimensional planes, creating a fibre–matrix texture with high attributes for crack stopping and resistance to transverse cutting. Close association of the fibre layer with the underlying ‘spongy’ medulloid pith indicates the potential for higher buckling loads and greater elastic recoil. Strikingly, the fibres are similar in dimensions and form to the free filaments of the feather vane and plumulaceous and embryonic down, the syncitial barbules, but, identified for the first time in 140+ years of study in a new location—as a major structural component of the rachis. Early in feather evolution, syncitial barbules were consolidated in a robust central rachis, definitively characterizing the avian lineage of keratin.

Blood ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 633-643 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Mohandas ◽  
M Prenant

Abstract Three-dimensional scale models of bone marrow from a hypertransfused and a normal rat were constructed. The model of marrow from the hypertransfused rat demonstrated the existence of distinct erythroblastic islands in situ in which the erythroblasts underwent sychronous maturation. Macrophages were found in close association with the developing erythroblasts. The immature erythroblasts were tightly grouped, but as they matured they began to move apart. Erythroblasts in individual clusters were found to be at the same stage of morphologic maturation. In contrast, the model of marrow from the normal rat showed a majority of clusters containing erythroblasts at various stages of maturation. Erythropoiesis was not spatially restricted to the area proximal to the sinuses but was found to occur over the entire marrow space. Thrombopoiesis, however, was found to take place exclusively in the immediate vicinity of the marrow sinuses.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Tueni ◽  
Jérémy Vizet ◽  
Martin Genet ◽  
Angelo Pierangelo ◽  
Jean-Marc Allain

AbstractDespite recent advances, the myocardial microstructure remains imperfectly understood. In particular, bundles of cardiomyocytes have been observed but their three-dimensional organisation remains debated and the associated mechanical consequences unknown. One of the major challenges remains to perform multiscale observations of the mechanical response of the heart wall. For this purpose, in this study, a full-field Mueller polarimetric imager (MPI) was combined, for the first time, with an in-situ traction device. The full-field MPI enables to obtain a macroscopic image of the explored tissue, while providing detailed information about its structure on a microscopic scale. Specifically it exploits the polarization of the light to determine various biophysical quantities related to the tissue scattering or anisotropy properties. Combined with a mechanical traction device, the full-field MPI allows to measure the evolution of such biophysical quantities during tissue stretch. We observe separation lines on the tissue, which are associated with a fast variation of the fiber orientation, and have the size of cardiomyocyte bundles. Thus, we hypothesize that these lines are the perimysium, the collagen layer surrounding these bundles. During the mechanical traction, we observe two mechanisms simultaneously. On one hand, the azimuth shows an affine behavior, meaning the orientation changes according to the tissue deformation, and showing coherence in the tissue. On the other hand, the separation lines appear to be resistant in shear and compression but weak against traction, with a forming of gaps in the tissue.


1993 ◽  
Vol 176 (1) ◽  
pp. 223-232
Author(s):  
J. L. Wilkens

Decapod crustacean hearts are suspended by a three-dimensional array of alary ligaments. These ligaments are stretched during systole; diastolic filling via the ostia occurs as the ventricle is stretched by ligamental elastic recoil. There is no direct venous return to the hearts in these animals. In the present study, an isolated heart preparation with intact ligaments, hereafter called in situ, was used to evaluate the effects of artificially induced stretch on heart rate. Strongly beating in situ neurogenic hearts of the crab Carcinus maenas responded to direct perfusion of the ventricle with oxygenated saline and the attendant augmentation of natural stretch with a small increase in heart rate (fh); however, fh was well maintained for up to 15 min after eliminating stretch by cutting the alary ligaments. In contrast to crabs, high rates of artificial perfusion usually depressed fh in crayfish hearts. Crab heart rate falls during hypoxia and this is readily reversed by even low rates of perfusion with oxygenated saline. It is concluded that the gradual decline in fh of totally isolated in vitro hearts arises from the deepening intraventricular hypoxia experienced by the cardiac ganglion.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiajia Zhao ◽  
Dian He ◽  
Hei Ming Lai ◽  
Yingying Xu ◽  
Yunhao Luo ◽  
...  

Abstract Mounting evidence suggests that distinct microbial communities reside in tumors and play important roles in tumor physiology. Recently, Nejman et al. profiled the composition and localization of intratumoral bacteria using 16S DNA sequencing and histological visualization methods across seven tumor types, including human glioblastoma. However, considering potential contamination in their sample origins and processing, the results based on traditional histological methods need to be validated. Here, we propose a three-dimensional (3D) intratumoral microbiota visualization and quantification protocol to observe microbiota in intact tumor tissues on the premise of avoiding possible contamination in the surface of tissues, based on tissue clearing, immunofluorescent labeling, microscopy imaging, and image processing. For the first time, we have achieved 3D quantitative imaging of bacterial LPS fluorescent signals deep in gliomas in a contamination-free manner, which was founded mostly localized near nuclear membranes or in the intercellular space. Through an automated statistical algorithm, reliable signals can be distinguished for further analysis of their sizes, distribution, and fluorescence intensities. Combining two-dimensional images from multiple thin-section histological methods, including immunochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization, we provide a comprehensive histological investigation of the morphology and distribution of these signals on human glioma samples. We expect that this multi-evidence chain will provide supporting proof for the presence of intratumoral bacteria in human glioma and that the integrated pipeline can be applied to investigate the native bacteria within diverse tumors and contribute to the interpretation of their direct roles in the tumor microenvironment.


Blood ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 633-643 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Mohandas ◽  
M Prenant

Three-dimensional scale models of bone marrow from a hypertransfused and a normal rat were constructed. The model of marrow from the hypertransfused rat demonstrated the existence of distinct erythroblastic islands in situ in which the erythroblasts underwent sychronous maturation. Macrophages were found in close association with the developing erythroblasts. The immature erythroblasts were tightly grouped, but as they matured they began to move apart. Erythroblasts in individual clusters were found to be at the same stage of morphologic maturation. In contrast, the model of marrow from the normal rat showed a majority of clusters containing erythroblasts at various stages of maturation. Erythropoiesis was not spatially restricted to the area proximal to the sinuses but was found to occur over the entire marrow space. Thrombopoiesis, however, was found to take place exclusively in the immediate vicinity of the marrow sinuses.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 201380
Author(s):  
E. G. Clark ◽  
J. R. Hutchinson ◽  
D. E. G. Briggs

Living brittle stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) employ a very different locomotion strategy to that of any other metazoan: five or more arms coordinate powerful strides for rapid movement across the ocean floor. This mode of locomotion is reliant on the unique morphology and arrangement of multifaceted skeletal elements and associated muscles and other soft tissues. The skeleton of many Palaeozoic ophiuroids differs markedly from that in living forms, making it difficult to infer their mode of locomotion and, therefore, to resolve the evolutionary history of locomotion in the group. Here, we present three-dimensional digital renderings of specimens of six ophiuroid taxa from the Lower Devonian Hunsrück Slate: four displaying the arm structure typical of Palaeozoic taxa ( Encrinaster roemeri, Euzonosoma tischbeinianum, Loriolaster mirabilis, Cheiropteraster giganteus ) and two ( Furcaster palaeozoicus , Ophiurina lymani ) with morphologies more similar to those in living forms. The use of three-dimensional digital visualization allows the structure of the arms of specimens of these taxa to be visualized in situ in the round, to our knowledge for the first time. The lack of joint interfaces necessary for musculoskeletally-driven locomotion supports the interpretation that taxa with offset ambulacrals would not be able to conduct this form of locomotion, and probably used podial walking. This approach promises new insights into the phylogeny, functional morphology and ecological role of Palaeozoic brittle stars.


Author(s):  
Benjamin S. Hulbert ◽  
Scott J. McCormack ◽  
Kuo-Pin Tseng ◽  
Waltraud M. Kriven

Characterization of the thermal expansion in the rare earth di-titanates is important for their use in high-temperature structural and dielectric applications. Powder samples of the rare earth di-titanates R 2Ti2O7 (or R 2O3·2TiO2), where R = La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Dy, Er, Yb, Y, which crystallize in either the monoclinic or cubic phases, were synthesized for the first time by the solution-based steric entrapment method. The three-dimensional thermal expansions of these polycrystalline powder samples were measured by in situ synchrotron powder diffraction from 25°C to 1600°C in air, nearly 600°C higher than other in situ thermal expansion studies. The high temperatures in synchrotron experiments were achieved with a quadrupole lamp furnace. Neutron powder diffraction measured the monoclinic phases from 25°C to 1150°C. The La2Ti2O7 member of the rare earth di-titanates undergoes a monoclinic to orthorhombic displacive transition on heating, as shown by synchrotron diffraction in air at 885°C (864°C–904°C) and neutron diffraction at 874°C (841°C–894°C).


Author(s):  
J. P. Revel

Movement of individual cells or of cell sheets and complex patterns of folding play a prominent role in the early developmental stages of the embryo. Our understanding of these processes is based on three- dimensional reconstructions laboriously prepared from serial sections, and from autoradiographic and other studies. Many concepts have also evolved from extrapolation of investigations of cell movement carried out in vitro. The scanning electron microscope now allows us to examine some of these events in situ. It is possible to prepare dissections of embryos and even of tissues of adult animals which reveal existing relationships between various structures more readily than used to be possible vithout an SEM.


Author(s):  
D. Reis ◽  
B. Vian ◽  
J. C. Roland

Wall morphogenesis in higher plants is a problem still open to controversy. Until now the possibility of a transmembrane control and the involvement of microtubules were mostly envisaged. Self-assembly processes have been observed in the case of walls of Chlamydomonas and bacteria. Spontaneous gelling interactions between xanthan and galactomannan from Ceratonia have been analyzed very recently. The present work provides indications that some processes of spontaneous aggregation could occur in higher plants during the formation and expansion of cell wall.Observations were performed on hypocotyl of mung bean (Phaseolus aureus) for which growth characteristics and wall composition have been previously defined.In situ, the walls of actively growing cells (primary walls) show an ordered three-dimensional organization (fig. 1). The wall is typically polylamellate with multifibrillar layers alternately transverse and longitudinal. Between these layers intermediate strata exist in which the orientation of microfibrils progressively rotates. Thus a progressive change in the morphogenetic activity occurs.


Author(s):  
S. Naka ◽  
R. Penelle ◽  
R. Valle

The in situ experimentation technique in HVEM seems to be particularly suitable to clarify the processes involved in recrystallization. The material under investigation was unidirectionally cold-rolled titanium of commercial purity. The problem was approached in two different ways. The three-dimensional analysis of textures was used to describe the texture evolution during the primary recrystallization. Observations of bulk-annealed specimens or thin foils annealed in the microscope were also made in order to provide information concerning the mechanisms involved in the formation of new grains. In contrast to the already published work on titanium, this investigation takes into consideration different values of the cold-work ratio, the temperature and the annealing time.Two different models are commonly used to explain the recrystallization textures i.e. the selective grain growth model (Beck) or the oriented nucleation model (Burgers). The three-dimensional analysis of both the rolling and recrystallization textures was performed to identify the mechanismsl involved in the recrystallization of titanium.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document