scholarly journals Fossilization of Precambrian microfossils in the Volyn pegmatite, Ukraine

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Franz ◽  
Peter Lyckberg ◽  
Vladimir Khomenko ◽  
Vsevelod Chernousenko ◽  
Hans-Martin Schulz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Granitic Rocks ◽  
Fiber Types ◽  
Deep Biosphere ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Reflected Light ◽  
Western Ukraine ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Miarolitic Cavities ◽  
North Western ◽  
Microscopic Techniques

Abstract. We report on Precambrian soft-tissue microfossils from igneous rocks of the Volyn pegmatite district, associated with the Paleoproterozoic Korosten Pluton, north-western Ukraine. The fossils were recovered from m-sized miarolitic cavities and show a well-preserved 3D morphology, mostly fibrous, but with a large variety of fiber types, and also in irregular, flaky shapes reminiscent of former biofilms, and rare spherical objects. Based on literature data, own pyrolysis experiments and reflected light microscopy results, the organic matter (OM) is characterized as (oxy)kerite. Further investigations with microscopic techniques, including scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and electron microprobe analysis show that fossilization likely occurred during a hydrothermal, post-pegmatitic event, by silicification dominantly in the outermost 1–2 µm of the microfossils. The hydrothermal fluid, derived from the pegmatitic environment, was enriched in SiF4, Al, Ca, Na, K, Cl, and S. The OM shows O enrichment where N and S content is low, indicating simultaneous N and S loss during anaerobic oxidation. Mineralization with Al-silicates starts at the rim of the microfossils, continues in its outer parts into identifiable encrustations and intergrowths of clay minerals, feldspar, Ca-sulfate, Ca-phosphate, Fe-sulfide, and fluorite. Breccias, formed during collapse of some the miarolitic cavities, contain also decaying OM, which released high concentrations of dissolved NH4+, responsible for the late-stage formation of buddingtonite and tobelite-rich muscovite. The age of the fossils can be restricted to the time between the pegmatite formation, at ~1.760 Ga, and the breccia formation at ~ 1.49 Ga. As geological environment for growth of the microorganisms and fossilization we assume a geyser system, in which the essential biological components C, N, S, and P for growth of the orgabisms n the miarolitic caves were derived from microorganisms at the surface. Fossilization was induced by magmatic SiF4-rich fluids. The Volyn occurrence is a prime example of Precambrian fossils and the results underline the importance of cavities in granitic rocks as a possible habitat for microorganisms of the deep biosphere.

Some early history of replica techniques for electron microscopy

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 1076-1077
Author(s):  
Robert M. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Optical Microscope ◽  
Early History ◽  
Bulk Materials ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Reflected Light ◽  
History Of ◽  
Electron Microscopes

By 1940, a half dozen or so commercial or home-built transmission electron microscopes were in use for studies of the ultrastructure of matter. These operated at 30-60 kV and most pioneering microscopists were preoccupied with their search for electron transparent substrates to support dispersions of particulates or bacteria for TEM examination and did not contemplate studies of bulk materials. Metallurgist H. Mahl and other physical scientists, accustomed to examining etched, deformed or machined specimens by reflected light in the optical microscope, were also highly motivated to capitalize on the superior resolution of the electron microscope. Mahl originated several methods of preparing thin oxide or lacquer impressions of surfaces that were transparent in his 50 kV TEM. The utility of replication was recognized immediately and many variations on the theme, including two-step negative-positive replicas, soon appeared. Intense development of replica techniques slowed after 1955 but important advances still occur. The availability of 100 kV instruments, advent of thin film methods for metals and ceramics and microtoming of thin sections for biological specimens largely eliminated any need to resort to replicas.

Thrombus formation on artificial surfaces: Correlative microscopy

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 840-841
Author(s):  
Quintin J. Lai ◽  
Stuart L. Cooper ◽  
Ralph M. Albrecht
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Low Voltage ◽  
Thrombus Formation ◽  
Blood Platelets ◽  
Polymer Surfaces ◽  
Flow Conditions ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Adhesion Of Platelets ◽  
Microscopic Techniques

Thrombus formation and embolization are significant problems for blood-contacting biomedical devices. Two major components of thrombi are blood platelets and the plasma protein, fibrinogen. Previous studies have examined interactions of platelets with polymer surfaces, fibrinogen with platelets, and platelets in suspension with spreading platelets attached to surfaces. Correlative microscopic techniques permit light microscopic observations of labeled living platelets, under static or flow conditions, followed by the observation of identical platelets by electron microscopy. Videoenhanced, differential interference contrast (DIC) light microscopy permits high-resolution, real-time imaging of live platelets and their interactions with surfaces. Interference reflection microscopy (IRM) provides information on the focal adhesion of platelets on surfaces. High voltage, transmission electron microscopy (HVEM) allows observation of platelet cytoskeletal structure of whole mount preparations. Low-voltage, high resolution, scanning electron microscopy allows observation of fine surface detail of platelets. Colloidal gold-labeled fibrinogen, used to identify the Gp Ilb/IIIa membrane receptor for fibrinogen, can be detected in all the above microscopies.

Ultrastructural Immunocytochemistry of Five Rat Pituitary Adenomas

1980 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 724-725
Author(s):  
D. J. McComb ◽  
N. Ryan ◽  
E. Horvath ◽  
K. Kovacs ◽  
E. Nagy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pituitary Adenomas ◽  
Pituitary Tumors ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Electron Microscopic Immunocytochemistry ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Rat Pituitary ◽  
Radiation Induced ◽  
Group 5 ◽  
Group 2 ◽  
Microscopic Techniques

Conventional light and electron microscopic techniques failed to clarify the cellular composition and derivation of spontaneous and induced, intrasellar and transplanted pituitary adenomas in rats (1). In the present work, electron microscopic immunocytochemistry was applied to evaluate five adenohypo-physial tumors using a technique described by Moriarty and Garner (2). Spontaneously occurring pituitary adenomas (group 1) were harvested from aging female Long-Evans rats. R-Amsterdam rats were treated with 2 x 1.0 mg estrone acetate (HogivaI) s.c. weekly for 6 months. Pituitary adenomas in excess of 30 mg were removed from these animals to make up the tumors of group 2. Groups 3 and 4 consisted of estrogen-induced autonomous transplan¬ted pituitary tumors MtT.WlO and MtT.F4. Group 5 was a radiation-induced transplanted autonomous pituitary tumor MtT.W5. The tumors of groups 3,4 and 5 were allowed to proliferate in host rats 6-8 weeks prior to removal for processing. Tissue was processed for transmission electron microscopy (glutaraldehyde fixation, OsO4 postfixation and epoxy resin embedding), and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry (3% paraformaldehyde fixation and Araldite embedding).

scholarly journals Gold Nanoparticles Synthesized Using Extracts of Cyclopia intermedia, Commonly Known as Honeybush, Amplify the Cytotoxic Effects of Doxorubicin

Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 132
Author(s):  
Jumoke A. Aboyewa ◽  
Nicole R. S. Sibuyi ◽  
Mervin Meyer ◽  
Oluwafemi O. Oguntibeju
Keyword(s):  
Gold Nanoparticles ◽  
South African ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Mangifera Indica ◽  
Human Colon ◽  
Normal Breast ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Low Cytotoxicity ◽  
High Concentrations

Cyclopia intermedia (C. intermedia) is an indigenous South African shrub used to prepare the popular medicinal honeybush (HB) tea. This plant contains high levels of mangiferin (MGF), a xanthonoid that was reported to have numerous biological activities, including anti-tumor activity. MGF and extracts that contain high concentrations of MGF, such as extracts from Mangifera indica L. or mango have been used to synthesize gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) using green nanotechnology. It has previously been shown that when AuNPs synthesized from M. indica L. extracts are used in combination with doxorubicin (DOX) and Ayurvedic medicine, the anti-tumor effects appear to be augmented. It has also been demonstrated that MGF used in combination with DOX resulted in enhanced anti-tumor effects. In this study, C. intermedia (HB) and MGF were used to synthesize HB-AuNPs and MGF-AuNPs, respectively. The physicochemical properties of the AuNPs were characterized by the UV-Visible Spectroscopy (UV-Vis), dynamic light scattering (DLS), Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). The cytotoxicity of HB-AuNPs and MGF-AuNPs were assessed on human colon (Caco-2), prostate (PC-3) and glioblastoma (U87) cancer cells; as well as normal breast epithelial (MCF-12A) cells using the MTT assay. Both HB-AuNPs and MGF-AuNPs demonstrated relatively low cytotoxicity in these cells. However, when these nanoparticles were used in combination with DOX, the cytotoxicity of DOX was significantly augmented.

Contribution of Microscopy to a Better Knowledge of the Biology ofGiardia lamblia

2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 513-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanderley de Souza ◽  
Adriana Lanfredi-Rangel ◽  
Loraine Campanati
Keyword(s):  
Golgi Complex ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Diarrheal Disease ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Laser Scanning Microscopy ◽  
Confocal Laser ◽  
Enzyme Cytochemistry ◽  
Morphological Studies ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Microscopic Techniques

Giardia lambliais a flagellated protozoan of great medical and biological importance. It is the causative agent of giardiasis, one of the most prevalent diarrheal disease both in developed and third-world countries. Morphological studies have shown thatG. lambliadoes not present structures such as peroxisomes, mitochondria, and a well-elaborated Golgi complex. In this review, special emphasis is given to the contribution made by various microscopic techniques to a better knowledge of the biology of the protozoan. The application of video microscopy, immunofluorescence confocal laser scanning microscopy, and several techniques associated with transmission electron microscopy (thin section, enzyme cytochemistry, freeze-fracture, deep-etching, fracture-flip) to the study of the cell surface, peripheral vesicles, endoplasmic reticulum–Golgi complex system, and of the encystation vesicles found in trophozoites and during the process of trophozoite-cyst transformation are discussed.

scholarly journals Synthesis, Formulation, and Adjuvanticity of Monodesmosidic Saponins with Olenanolic Acid, Hederagenin and Gypsogenin Aglycones, and some C-28 Ester Derivatives

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
BW Greatrex ◽  
Alison Daines ◽  
S Hook ◽  
DH Lenz ◽  
W McBurney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mhc Class Ii ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Vaccine Adjuvant ◽  
Choline Ester ◽  
Activation Markers ◽  
Murine Bone Marrow ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Sugar Stereochemistry

© 2015 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA. In an attempt to discover a new synthetic vaccine adjuvant, the glycosylation of hederagenin, gypsogenin, and oleanolic acid acceptors with di- and trisaccharide donors to generate a range of mimics of natural product QS-21 was carried out. The saponins were formulated with phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol, and the structures analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. 3-O-(Manp(1→3)Glcp)hederagenin was found to produce numerous ring-like micelles when formulated, while C-28 choline ester derivatives preferred self-assembly and did not interact with the liposomes. When alone and in the presence of cholesterol and phospholipid, the choline ester derivatives produced nanocrystalline rods or helical micelles. The effects of modifying sugar stereochemistry and the aglycone on the immunostimulatory effects of the saponins was then evaluated using the activation markers MHC class II and CD86 in murine bone marrow dendritic cells. The most active saponin, 3-O-(Manp(1→3)Glcp)hederagenin, was stimulatory at high concentrations in cell culture, but this did not translate to strong responses in vivo.

scholarly journals Shaping of the Present-Day Deep Biosphere at Chicxulub by the Impact Catastrophe That Ended the Cretaceous

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles S. Cockell ◽  
Bettina Schaefer ◽  
Cornelia Wuchter ◽  
Marco J. L. Coolen ◽  
Kliti Grice ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Amplicon Sequencing ◽  
Granitic Rocks ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Deep Biosphere ◽  
Deep Subsurface ◽  
Cell Biomass ◽  
Colonization Potential ◽  
The Impact

We report on the effect of the end-Cretaceous impact event on the present-day deep microbial biosphere at the impact site. IODP-ICDP Expedition 364 drilled into the peak ring of the Chicxulub crater, México, allowing us to investigate the microbial communities within this structure. Increased cell biomass was found in the impact suevite, which was deposited within the first few hours of the Cenozoic, demonstrating that the impact produced a new lithological horizon that caused a long-term improvement in deep subsurface colonization potential. In the biologically impoverished granitic rocks, we observed increased cell abundances at impact-induced geological interfaces, that can be attributed to the nutritionally diverse substrates and/or elevated fluid flow. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed taxonomically distinct microbial communities in each crater lithology. These observations show that the impact caused geological deformation that continues to shape the deep subsurface biosphere at Chicxulub in the present day.

Abundance of halloysite neoformation in soils developed from crystalline rocks. Contribution of transmission electron microscopy

Clay Minerals ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Romero ◽  
M. Robert ◽  
F. Elsass ◽  
C. Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Analyses ◽  
Crystalline Rocks ◽  
Metamorphic Rocks ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Nw Spain ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Bioclimatic Conditions ◽  
Mineralogical Phases

AbstractThe soils developed from crystalline and metamorphic rocks in Galicia (NW Spain), are characterized by high concentrations of 1 : 1 phyllosilicates and gels. Thermal analyses, X-ray diffraction after formamide treatment, and IR spectroscopy in the OH vibration range have been performed on the clay fractions, but do not discriminate clearly between the different associated mineralogical phases. HRTEM studies linked with microdiffraction and microanalyses have led to the identification of several types of gel which transform into goethite, gibbsite, clay precursors, and/ or halloysite according to their composition (Fe, Al or Si-Al). Halloysite-like minerals are the main constituents and they have a great variety of morphologies: lamellar, spheroidal, tubular, platy or poikilitic. In general, halloysite and gel formation on crystalline rocks is related to the bioclimatic conditions, involving high hydrolysis in the presence of organic matter. This halloysite seems to be a metastable mineral which would evolve into kaolinite with increasing weathering time.

Limits to the Development of Fast Neuromuscular Transmission in Zebrafish

2001 ◽  
Vol 86 (6) ◽  
pp. 2951-2956 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Drapeau ◽  
Robert R. Buss ◽  
Declan W. Ali ◽  
Pascal Legendre ◽  
Richard L. Rotundo
Keyword(s):  
Time Course ◽  
Neuromuscular Junctions ◽  
Synaptic Cleft ◽  
Muscle Membrane ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Limited Region ◽  
Neuromuscular Synapses ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
High Concentrations

Zebrafish embryos have small and slow miniature end-plate currents (mEPCs), whereas only a few days later larval mEPCs are an order of magnitude larger and faster, being among the fastest of all neuromuscular synapses. To identify the bases for these changes we compared, in embryos and larvae, the properties and distributions of acetylcholine (ACh) receptors (AChRs) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) as well as the ultrastructure of the developing neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). To mimic synaptic release, patches of muscle membrane were exposed briefly (for 1 ms) to a saturating concentration (10 mM) of ACh. The AChR deactivation kinetics were twice as slow in embryos compared with larvae. In both embryos and larvae, AChRs demonstrated open channel block by millimolar ACh, and this was detected during mEPCs, indicating that a high concentration of ACh is released at immature and mature NMJs. AChR and AChE distributions were compared using the selective fluorescently conjugated labels α-bungarotoxin and fasciculin 2, respectively. In larvae, punctate AChR clusters were detected whereas junctional AChE staining was less intense than that found at adult NMJs. Transmission electron microscopy revealed immature nerve endings in embryos that were closely juxtaposed to the surrounding muscle cells, whereas mature larval NMJs had a wider synaptic cleft with a conspicuous basal lamina over a limited region of synaptic contact. Our results indicate that ACh is released at high concentrations at immature NMJs, but its clearance is prolonged and the AChRs are dispersed, resulting in a slow mEPC time course until a mature cleft appears with densely packed faster AChRs and abundant AChE.

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