scholarly journals Pore structure 3-D imaging by synchrotron micro-tomography of graupel grains

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 4761-4789
Author(s):  
F. Enzmann ◽  
M. M. Miedaner ◽  
M. Kersten ◽  
N. von Blohn ◽  
S. K. Mitra ◽  
...  

Abstract. Three dimensional air bubble structure including size distribution, concentration and spatial distribution are important clues in identifying the growth regime of graupel and hailstone. For imaging of the bubble structure, a cryo-stage was developed to adapt to the standard setup of the SLS X04SA tomography beamline (actually replaced by the TOMCAT beamline) at the Swiss Light Source synchrotron facility to the requirements of ice particle micro-tomography. The cryo-stage setup provides for the first time 3-D-data on the individual inner pore shape delineation down to μm spatial (voxel) resolution of sub-mm small naturally as well as wind tunnel rimed graupel particles. Special care must be taken for maintaining a cooling chain between sampling and measurement. It must be kept at liquid nitrogen temperature (77 K) until measurement of the original structure at the μm spatial scale. However, even at that temperature there is no chance to preserve any ice bubble structure at sub-μm spatial resolution due to the Kelvin effect. In natural graupel grains, Y-shaped morphology of air-filled pores was found. This morphology transformed into smaller and rounded voids well-known from literature when the ice particle was annealed for as short as half an hour at 265 K and must, therefore, be regarded as artificial rather than representing the in situ pore structure. With the new synchrotron tomography approach, quantitative information on the in situ pore structure statistics within individual samples representative for a known or, thus, deduced growth mode or history can be derived, in particular if combined with airplane sampling in the troposphere at in situ growth conditions.

Solid Earth ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Fusseis ◽  
C. Schrank ◽  
J. Liu ◽  
A. Karrech ◽  
S. Llana-Fúnez ◽  
...  

Abstract. We conducted an in-situ X-ray micro-computed tomography heating experiment at the Advanced Photon Source (USA) to dehydrate an unconfined 2.3 mm diameter cylinder of Volterra Gypsum. We used a purpose-built X-ray transparent furnace to heat the sample to 388 K for a total of 310 min to acquire a three-dimensional time-series tomography dataset comprising nine time steps. The voxel size of 2.2 μm3 proved sufficient to pinpoint reaction initiation and the organization of drainage architecture in space and time. We observed that dehydration commences across a narrow front, which propagates from the margins to the centre of the sample in more than four hours. The advance of this front can be fitted with a square-root function, implying that the initiation of the reaction in the sample can be described as a diffusion process. Novel parallelized computer codes allow quantifying the geometry of the porosity and the drainage architecture from the very large tomographic datasets (20483 voxels) in unprecedented detail. We determined position, volume, shape and orientation of each resolvable pore and tracked these properties over the duration of the experiment. We found that the pore-size distribution follows a power law. Pores tend to be anisotropic but rarely crack-shaped and have a preferred orientation, likely controlled by a pre-existing fabric in the sample. With on-going dehydration, pores coalesce into a single interconnected pore cluster that is connected to the surface of the sample cylinder and provides an effective drainage pathway. Our observations can be summarized in a model in which gypsum is stabilized by thermal expansion stresses and locally increased pore fluid pressures until the dehydration front approaches to within about 100 μm. Then, the internal stresses are released and dehydration happens efficiently, resulting in new pore space. Pressure release, the production of pores and the advance of the front are coupled in a feedback loop.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 240-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Álvarez-Murga ◽  
J. P. Perrillat ◽  
Y. Le Godec ◽  
F. Bergame ◽  
J. Philippe ◽  
...  

X-ray tomography is a non-destructive three-dimensional imaging/microanalysis technique selective to a wide range of properties such as density, chemical composition, chemical states and crystallographic structure with extremely high sensitivity and spatial resolution. Here the development of in situ high-pressure high-temperature micro-tomography using a rotating module for the Paris–Edinburgh cell combined with synchrotron radiation is described. By rotating the sample chamber by 360°, the limited angular aperture of ordinary high-pressure cells is surmounted. Such a non-destructive high-resolution probe provides three-dimensional insight on the morphological and structural evolution of crystalline as well as amorphous phases during high pressure and temperature treatment. To demonstrate the potentials of this new experimental technique the compression behavior of a basalt glass is investigated by X-ray absorption tomography, and diffraction/scattering tomography imaging of the structural changes during the polymerization of C60 molecules under pressure is performed. Small size and weight of the loading frame and rotating module means that this apparatus is portable, and can be readily installed on most synchrotron facilities to take advantage of the diversity of three-dimensional imaging techniques available at beamlines. This experimental breakthrough should open new ways for in situ imaging of materials under extreme pressure–temperature–stress conditions, impacting diverse areas in physics, chemistry, geology or materials sciences.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Majka ◽  
Sylwia Bednarek ◽  
Jonathan M. Chan ◽  
Natalia Jermakow ◽  
Cirong Liu ◽  
...  

AbstractThe rapid adoption of marmosets in neuroscience has created a demand for three dimensional (3D) atlases of the brain of this species to facilitate data integration in a common reference space. We report on a new open access template of the marmoset cortex (the Nencki–Monash, or NM template), representing a morphological average of 20 brains of young adult individuals, obtained by 3D reconstructions generated from Nissl-stained serial sections. The method used to generate the template takes into account morphological features of the individual brains, as well as the borders of clearly defined cytoarchitectural areas. This has resulted in a resource which allows direct estimates of the most likely coordinates of each cortical area, as well as quantification of the margins of error involved in assigning voxels to areas, and preserves quantitative information about the laminar structure of the cortex. We provide spatial transformations between the NM and other available marmoset brain templates, thus enabling integration with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and tracer-based connectivity data. The NM template combines some of the main advantages of histology-based atlases (e.g. information about the cytoarchitectural structure) with features more commonly associated with MRI-based templates (isotropic nature of the dataset, and probabilistic analyses). The underlying workflow may be found useful in the future development of brain atlases that incorporate information about the variability of areas in species for which it may be impractical to ensure homogeneity of the sample in terms of age, sex and genetic background.Graphical abstractHighlightsA 3D template of the marmoset cortex representing the average of 20 individuals.The template is based on Nissl stain and preserves information about cortical layers.Probabilistic mapping of areas, cortical thickness, and layer intensity profiles.Includes spatial transformations to other marmoset brain atlases.AbbreviationsFor a list of areas and their abbreviations see Table S2.


2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (4_suppl) ◽  
pp. 33-33
Author(s):  
Ian Vela ◽  
Dong Gao ◽  
Anuradha Gopalan ◽  
Andrea Sboner ◽  
Eva Undvall ◽  
...  

33 Background: The inability to propagate patient-derived prostate cancer cells in vitro is a major impediment in the mechanistic understanding of tumorigenesis and therapeutic response. In order to generate accurate in vitro models that represent the diversity of in situ prostate cancer, we have developed a three-dimensional “organoid” system to culture metastasis samples and integrated it into our precision medicine workflow of attaining and characterizing pre-treatment biopsies. Methods: Biopsy samples of prostate cancer metastases, both soft tissue and bone, acquired at the time of therapeutic or diagnostic interventions following informed consent and institutional review board approval were obtained from two institutions. Samples were digested in Type II Collagenase (Gibco) and re-suspended in growth factor reduced Matrigel (BD), plated on plastic, and overlaid with prostate culture media (PCM). PCM consists of serum free Advanced DMEM/F12 (Gibco) with multiple growth factors optimized to propagate benign primary prostate cells. Cultures were maintained at 37°C in 5% CO2. Results: In the initial 51 samples, 15 continuous organoid cultures (29%) were established from distinct sites (9 of 32 bone, 6 of 19 soft). Tumor content of the biopsy represents a major determinant of organoid growth. Once established, organoids propagate indefinitely with different kinetics (approximately 48 hours to 1 week doubling time), and can be cryopreserved. Histological analysis shows that the organoids recapitulate the structure of the in situ cancer and genomic analysis using array CGH and whole-exome sequencing (WES) shows the presence of typical copy number alterations including TMPRSS2-ERG interstitial deletion, PTEN loss, CHD1 loss, and AR amplification. WES of two organoid/metastasis pairs shows that the growth conditions do not generate additional mutations. Conclusions: This novel tissue culture technique enables the development of new cell lines derived from metastatic deposits. This advance will facilitate research by availing new and varied cell lines, which will hopefully be more closely aligned to the spectrum of behavior of the clinical disease in comparison to the limited and problematic cell line models currently available.


2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 857-900 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Fusseis ◽  
C. Schrank ◽  
J. Liu ◽  
A. Karrech ◽  
S. Llana-Fúnez ◽  
...  

Abstract. We conducted an in-situ X-ray micro-computed tomography heating experiment at the Advanced Photon Source (USA) to dehydrate an unconfined 2.3 mm diameter cylinder of Volterra Gypsum. We used a purpose-built X-ray transparent furnace to heat the sample to 388 K for a total of 310 min to acquire a three-dimensional time-series tomography dataset comprising nine time steps. The voxel size of 2.2 μm3 proved sufficient to pinpoint reaction initiation and the organization of drainage architecture in space and time. We observed that dehydration commences across a narrow front, which propagates from the margins to the centre of the sample in more than four hours. The advance of this front can be fitted with a square-root function, implying that the initiation of the reaction in the sample can be described as a diffusion process. Novel parallelized computer codes allow quantifying the geometry of the porosity and the drainage architecture from the very large tomographic datasets (6.4 × 109 voxel each) in unprecedented detail. We determined position, volume, shape and orientation of each resolvable pore and tracked these properties over the duration of the experiment. We found that the pore-size distribution follows a power law. Pores tend to be anisotropic but rarely crack-shaped and have a preferred orientation, likely controlled by a pre-existing fabric in the sample. With on-going dehydration, pores coalesce into a single interconnected pore cluster that is connected to the surface of the sample cylinder and provides an effective drainage pathway. Our observations can be summarized in a model in which gypsum is stabilized by thermal expansion stresses and locally increased pore fluid pressures until the dehydration front approaches to within about 100 μm. Then, the internal stresses are released and dehydration happens efficiently, resulting in new pore space. Pressure release, the production of pores and the advance of the front are coupled in a feedback loop. We discuss our findings in the context of previous studies.


Author(s):  
Anush Konayakanahalli Chandrappa ◽  
Krishna Prapoorna Biligiri

Several countries have begun using pervious concrete (PC) pavements to reduce the adverse effects of impermeable surfaces resulting from high-impact development. Pore parameters and their relationship to other PC properties are not yet fully understood; however, this information is essential for rational designs of PC pavements. This study investigated the strength, functional, and permeability properties of 18 PC mixtures and used X-ray computed microtomography methods to determine the three-dimensional pore parameters and their relationships, which were thought to affect PC properties. The major findings of this study included the observation that the failure mode in compression was of the shear brittle type, in which the failure plane was inclined at 45° to the ground, and impact abrasion resistance was higher for larger-sized aggregates and was chiefly attributable to the individual aggregate particles debonding. Permeability was more sensitive at low hydrostatic pressure than at higher pressures. The sphericity and compactness of pores had positive correlations with each other, unlike the relationship between surface area and sphericity. The tortuosity calculated for six of the PC mixtures was less than one; this finding was attributed mainly to the single-sized pore structure. Tortuosity increased with an increase in porosity and permeability and decreased with increasing surface area and pore radius. This research should move the current understanding of PC pore structure one step forward and, therefore, will be helpful in modeling PC in a rational manner.


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):  
Jerrold L. Abraham

Inorganic particulate material of diverse types is present in the ambient and occupational environment, and exposure to such materials is a well recognized cause of some lung disease. To investigate the interaction of inhaled inorganic particulates with the lung it is necessary to obtain quantitative information on the particulate burden of lung tissue in a wide variety of situations. The vast majority of diagnostic and experimental tissue samples (biopsies and autopsies) are fixed with formaldehyde solutions, dehydrated with organic solvents and embedded in paraffin wax. Over the past 16 years, I have attempted to obtain maximal analytical use of such tissue with minimal preparative steps. Unique diagnostic and research data result from both qualitative and quantitative analyses of sections. Most of the data has been related to inhaled inorganic particulates in lungs, but the basic methods are applicable to any tissues. The preparations are primarily designed for SEM use, but they are stable for storage and transport to other laboratories and several other instruments (e.g., for SIMS techniques).


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.


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