Simplified Procedure for Hand Fracturing, Identifying, and Curating Small Macrocharcoal Remains

IAWA Journal ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey R. Boutain ◽  
Adam R. Brown ◽  
David T. Webb ◽  
Bryson H. Toyofuku

Charred plant remains are common and significant components of many archeological assemblages, and the proper identification of these remains is essential for an excavation team to gather the maximum amount of information. Identification of charred plant remains, especially of small pieces, can be difficult due to the brittle characteristics of charcoal and changes in anatomical structure due to charring. Charcoal must be snapped, which is difficult for small specimens, or sectioned with time consuming resin embedding procedures. This study presents an alternative procedure in which small (0.7 mm thick) charcoal specimens are produced, attached to specimen mounting stubs used in scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and then hand snapped. This procedure consistently produced flat viewing surfaces. It also reduced the air evacuation time in SEM and facilitated the production of replicas.

Rodriguésia ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 927-936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Makeli Garibotti Lusa ◽  
Maria Regina Torres Boeger ◽  
Maria Cecília de Chiara Moço ◽  
Cleusa Bona

Abstract Aquatic macrophytes show great phenotypic plasticity and are able to occupy environments with different physicochemical conditions. The present study aimed to characterize morphology and anatomical structure of the pondweed, Potamogeton polygonus Cham. & Schltdl., and to identify adaptive modifications of the plant in lotic and lentic environments. Sampling was carried out in Palmas and General Carneiro, Paraná state, southern Brazil. Ten individuals from each locality were collected. Morpho-anatomical characteristics of the roots, stems and leaves were measured. The anatomical structure was analyzed with light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Significant morphological and anatomical adaptive differences were observed between plants of the two environments.


2014 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 1217-1226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Slavica Grujic ◽  
Sonja Duletic-Lausevic ◽  
Ana Dzamic ◽  
P.D. Marin

The anatomy and micromorphology of the vegetative organs and calyx of Stachys scardica (Griseb.) Hayek were investigated using light (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The analysis of the anatomical structure of stem, leaf and leaf petiole showed the presence of an additional adaxial phloem in the vascular bundle of the petiole that was recorded exclusively in species belonging to the subgenus Betonica. On the surface of studied plant parts, three types of trichomes were found: simple nonglandular uniseriate multicellular, nonglandular branched elongated and glandular peltate trichomes. The present study shows that certain micromorphological and anatomical features of Stachys taxa are valuable taxonomic characters.


1996 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 421-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicente Marcano ◽  
Sari Mohali ◽  
Ernesto Palacios-Prü ◽  
Antonio Morales Méndez

AbstractThe new genus Bulbothricella (Lichenized Ascomycotina,Parmeliaceae with the single species B. amazonensis (Marcano, Galiz & Morales) Marcano, Galiz, Morales & Mohali is segregated from Bulbothrix. This conclusion is based on an investigation of morphological, anatomical and chemical characters using scanning electron microscopy and thin-layer chromatography. The new genus is characterized by a pored epicortex, 12—14 spores per ascus, obovate and acrogenous conidia, and an anatomical structure and cortical chemistry resembling that of Bulbothrix..


Turczaninowia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 23-46
Author(s):  
Elena V. Novozhilova ◽  
Elvira V. Boyko

This paper is a continuation of a series of our investigation of the morphological and anatomical structure of the cypselas of the family Asteraceae. The article presents the results of an investigation of the morphological and anatomical structure of the cypselas of 6 species of the genus Olgaea Iljin of the tribe Cardueae Cass. (O. baldschuanica (C. Winkl.) Iljin, O. leucophylla (Turcz.) Iljin, O. lomonossowii (Trautv.) Iljin, O. nidulans (Rupr.) Iljin, O. pectinata Iljin, O. tangutica Iljin) by light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The carpological examination of the cypselas revealed specific features of the species of the genus Olgaea: the shape of the cypsela, the sculpture of the surface of the pericarp, the absence (or presence) crowns and carpopodium, the ratio of the thickness of the pericarp and exotesta, the number of rows and the nature of thickening of the walls of mesocarp cells, the presence or absence of endocarp, the shape and size of exotesta cells, the coefficient of their palisade (the ratio of the length of the radial walls to the length of the tangent). Cypsela of Olgaea species have significant differences, which indicates the heterogeneity of the genus and the need for its revision. Based on the data obtained and the previously published results of the study (Novozhilova, Boyko, 2019), a comparative analysis of the morphological and anatomical features of the cypsela of representatives of the genera Olgaea and Alfredia Cass. was carried out, which revealed the main differences in the structure of the cypsela of these two genera. It was found that the cypsela Olgaea and Alfredia have different structures, and therefore it is inappropriate to combine them into one genus.


Author(s):  
P.S. Porter ◽  
T. Aoyagi ◽  
R. Matta

Using standard techniques of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), over 1000 human hair defects have been studied. In several of the defects, the pathogenesis of the abnormality has been clarified using these techniques. It is the purpose of this paper to present several distinct morphologic abnormalities of hair and to discuss their pathogenesis as elucidated through techniques of scanning electron microscopy.


Author(s):  
P.J. Dailey

The structure of insect salivary glands has been extensively investigated during the past decade; however, none have attempted scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in ultrastructural examinations of these secretory organs. This study correlates fine structure by means of SEM cryofractography with that of thin-sectioned epoxy embedded material observed by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM).Salivary glands of Gromphadorhina portentosa were excised and immediately submerged in cold (4°C) paraformaldehyde-glutaraldehyde fixative1 for 2 hr, washed and post-fixed in 1 per cent 0s04 in phosphosphate buffer (4°C for 2 hr). After ethanolic dehydration half of the samples were embedded in Epon 812 for TEM and half cryofractured and subsequently critical point dried for SEM. Dried specimens were mounted on aluminum stubs and coated with approximately 150 Å of gold in a cold sputtering apparatus.Figure 1 shows a cryofractured plane through a salivary acinus revealing topographical relief of secretory vesicles.


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):  
Ronald H. Bradley ◽  
R. S. Berk ◽  
L. D. Hazlett

The nude mouse is a hairless mutant (homozygous for the mutation nude, nu/nu), which is born lacking a thymus and possesses a severe defect in cellular immunity. Spontaneous unilateral cataractous lesions were noted (during ocular examination using a stereomicroscope at 40X) in 14 of a series of 60 animals (20%). This transmission and scanning microscopic study characterizes the morphology of this cataract and contrasts these data with normal nude mouse lens.All animals were sacrificed by an ether overdose. Eyes were enucleated and immersed in a mixed fixative (1% osmium tetroxide and 6% glutaraldehyde in Sorenson's phosphate buffer pH 7.4 at 0-4°C) for 3 hours, dehydrated in graded ethanols and embedded in Epon-Araldite for transmission microscopy. Specimens for scanning electron microscopy were fixed similarly, dehydrated in graded ethanols, then to graded changes of Freon 113 and ethanol to 100% Freon 113 and critically point dried in a Bomar critical point dryer using Freon 13 as the transition fluid.


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