Electron microscopic and chemical study of degraded Pinus radiata wood from a marine pile

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (12) ◽  
pp. 2762-2771 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. P. Singh ◽  
M. E. Hedley

During an inspection of marine piles, 12 years after installation, severe degradation was noted on one of them in the vicinity of a corroded eyebolt. The wood was dark brown in colour and tended to crumble easily. Wood fragments were examined by light microscopy and scanning and transmission electron microscopy and were also analyzed for carbohydrates and lignin. Light microscopy indicated numerous cracks in tracheid walls resulting in delamination at the middle lamella – S1 and S1–S2 boundaries and also in fractures across the tracheid wall. Chemical analysis showed extensive loss of both hemicellulose and cellulose. Observations with polarized light microscopy supported the data from chemical analysis on cellulose degradation, indicating a loss of crystallinity. Although presence of microbial flora in the lumen of wood cells was revealed by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy showed only occasional soft rot decay zones in the S2 layer. The degradation of Pinus radiata wood from this sample appears to have been caused primarily by brown rot attack and (or) iron corrosion products, soft rot attack playing a minor role. Key words: Pinus radiata wood, marine pile, wood cell wall degradation, electron microscopy.

IAWA Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-42
Author(s):  
Adya P. Singh ◽  
Andrew H.H. Wong ◽  
Yoon Soo Kim ◽  
Seung Gon Wi

Naturally durable heartwoods, where available, continue to be used as support structures in environments considered hazardous, particularly in ground contact. However, durability of heartwoods against wood decay microorganisms varies. Therefore, it is important to evaluate heartwood products for their in-service performance in order to maximise benefits derived from this valuable natural resource of limited supply. In the work presented, wood pieces from a kempas (Koompassia malaccensis) utility pole that had been placed in service in an acidic soil in Malaysia, and in time had softened at the ground-line position, were examined by light and transmission electron microscopy to evaluate the cause of deterioration.Light microscopy (LM) provided evidence of extensive attack on fibre cell walls by cavity-producing soft rot fungi. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed in greater detail the distribution and micromorphologies of cavities as well as their relationships to the fine structure of fibre cell walls, which consisted of a highly electron dense middle lamella, a moderately dense S1 layer and a multilamellar S2 layer with variable densities, reflecting differences in lignin concentration. The resistance of the moderately dense S1 layer to soft rot was a feature of particular interest and is the main focus of the work presented. The resistance appeared to be correlated with high lignification of the outermost region of the S2 wall, interfacing with the S1 layer, an unusual cell wall feature not previously described for normal wood.


IAWA Journal ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.P. Singh ◽  
M.E. Hedley ◽  
D.R. Page ◽  
C.S. Han ◽  
K. Atisongkroh

Transmission electron microscopy of decaying CCA-treated Pinus radiata timbers from an industrial water cooling tower showed the presence of a thick biofilm covering some areas of the wood. The biofilm contained various morphologically distinct forms of microorganisms embedded in a slime. The study provided evidence of the activity of soft rot fungi and tunnelling and erosion bacteria in wood cells covered by the biofilm. The extent of microbial damage to wood cells varied, with combined fungal and bacterial attack having the most damaging impact.


Author(s):  
Nakazo Watari ◽  
Yasuaki Hotta ◽  
Yoshio Mabuchi

It is very useful if we can observe the identical cell elements within the same sections by light microscopy (LM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and/or scanning electron microscopy (SEM) sequentially, because, the cell fine structure can not be indicated by LM, while the color is; on the other hand, the cell fine structure can be very easily observed by EM, although its color properties may not. However, there is one problem in that LM requires thick sections of over 1 μm, while EM needs very thin sections of under 100 nm. Recently, we have developed a new method to observe the same cell elements within the same plastic sections using both light and transmission (conventional or high-voltage) electron microscopes.In this paper, we have developed two new observation methods for the identical cell elements within the same sections, both plastic-embedded and paraffin-embedded, using light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and/or scanning electron microscopy (Fig. 1).


Author(s):  
Bruce Mackay

The broadest application of transmission electron microscopy (EM) in diagnostic medicine is the identification of tumors that cannot be classified by routine light microscopy. EM is useful in the evaluation of approximately 10% of human neoplasms, but the extent of its contribution varies considerably. It may provide a specific diagnosis that can not be reached by other means, but in contrast, the information obtained from ultrastructural study of some 10% of tumors does not significantly add to that available from light microscopy. Most cases fall somewhere between these two extremes: EM may correct a light microscopic diagnosis, or serve to narrow a differential diagnosis by excluding some of the possibilities considered by light microscopy. It is particularly important to correlate the EM findings with data from light microscopy, clinical examination, and other diagnostic procedures.


Author(s):  
George Guthrie ◽  
David Veblen

The nature of a geologic fluid can often be inferred from fluid-filled cavities (generally <100 μm in size) that are trapped during the growth of a mineral. A variety of techniques enables the fluids and daughter crystals (any solid precipitated from the trapped fluid) to be identified from cavities greater than a few micrometers. Many minerals, however, contain fluid inclusions smaller than a micrometer. Though inclusions this small are difficult or impossible to study by conventional techniques, they are ideally suited for study by analytical/ transmission electron microscopy (A/TEM) and electron diffraction. We have used this technique to study fluid inclusions and daughter crystals in diamond and feldspar.Inclusion-rich samples of diamond and feldspar were ion-thinned to electron transparency and examined with a Philips 420T electron microscope (120 keV) equipped with an EDAX beryllium-windowed energy dispersive spectrometer. Thin edges of the sample were perforated in areas that appeared in light microscopy to be populated densely with inclusions. In a few cases, the perforations were bound polygonal sides to which crystals (structurally and compositionally different from the host mineral) were attached (Figure 1).


2021 ◽  
Vol 123 (6) ◽  
pp. 151761
Author(s):  
Tasuku Hiroshige ◽  
Kei-Ichiro Uemura ◽  
Shingo Hirashima ◽  
Kiyosato Hino ◽  
Akinobu Togo ◽  
...  

Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4521 (1) ◽  
pp. 145
Author(s):  
URFA BIN TAHIR ◽  
DENG QIONG ◽  
WANG ZHE ◽  
LI SEN ◽  
LIU YANG ◽  
...  

Tokophrya species are either free-living or facultative ectosymbiotic suctorians associated with copepods, isopods, mysids, decapods and amphipods. Tokophrya huangmeiensis in particular is found to be epizoic with the redclaw crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus Von Martens, 1868, which has been observed as part of an ongoing investigation of freshwater ciliates biodiversity in Huanggang, Hubei, China (Tahir et al. 2017). This first study on T. huangmeiensis based on morphological features using light microscopy and small subunit ribosomal DNA sequence (Tahir et al. 2017), suggested that more detailed descriptions on the physiological and structural changes of this species should be done. Thus, in this study, we looked at the ultrastructures of T. huangmeiensis using electron microscopy, including both scanning (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). 


Phytotaxa ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 207 (1) ◽  
pp. 135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Raul Bogota ◽  
Carina Hoorn ◽  
Wim Star ◽  
Rob Langelaan ◽  
Hannah Banks ◽  
...  

Sabinaria magnifica is so far the only known species in the recently discovered tropical palm genus Sabinaria (Arecaceae). Here we present a complete description of the pollen morphology of this palm species based on light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). We also made SEM-based comparisons of Sabinaria with other genera within the tribe Cryosophileae. Pollen grains of Sabinaria magnifica resemble the other genera in the heteropolar, slightly asymmetric monads, and the monosulcate and tectate exine with perforate surface. Nevertheless, there are some clear differences with Thrinax, Chelyocarpus and Cryosophila in terms of aperture and exine. S. magnifica differs from its closest relative, Itaya amicorum, in the exine structure. This study shows that a combination of microscope techniques is essential for the identification of different genera within the Cryosophileae and may also be a necessary when working with other palynologically less distinct palm genera. 


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document