Projection Micro Stereolithography (PµSL) to 3D Print a Micro-Optofluidic Device for Two-Phase Slug Flow Detection: a Comparison with a PDMS-Based Device Manufactured by Resin Casting

In this work, the use of Projection Micro Stereolithography (PmSL) to 3D print a micro-optofluidic device for two-phase slug flow detection is presented. For comparison purposes a PDMS based device obtained by casting was also manufactured. The micro-optofluidic device has a microfluidic T-junction with a micro-optical section that consists of two optical fiber insertions used for two-phase slug flow detection. The working principle in the detection is based on a different light transmission correlated to the fluid interfering with the laser beam in a micro-channel section. The 3D printed material is fully characterized in terms of its surface properties and compared to PDMS used for standard construction using a master-slave casting procedure. The two devices were tested after the setup parameters for the detection were optimized using ANOVA for the 3D printed device. The comparisons of the two devices revealed that 3D printed device can be used for two-phase slug flow detection but future research is still need to obtain a 3D printed resin allowing to outperform PDMS.

Description of a new species, Actus hagiangensis (Mononchida, Mylonchulidae) from Ha Giang province, Vietnam

Actus hagiangensis sp. nov. is described and illustrated from Vietnam. Females of the new species are characterized by medium body size (L = 1.1–1.4 mm), barrel shaped buccal cavity of medium size (26–31 x 13–15 µm) with dorsal tooth apex located 75–81% of buccal cavity length from base and two longitudinal subventral rows, each with four rasp-like denticles; reproductive system didelphic-amphidelphic, vagina short with distinct par refringens vaginae, sclerotized pieces globular in optical section; tail elongate-conoid, slightly ventrally arcuate, with three caudal glands and prominent spinneret. Male with spicules 46 µm in length, and slender, slightly curved gubernaculum, 12 µm long, without accessory piece. This is the first report of a male specimen of the genus Actus. The new species is close to A. salvadoricus but differs by the larger buccal cavity, more anterior position of the dorsal tooth apex and more rounded vaginal sclerotized pieces.

Increase in Subcellular GSK-3 Clusters in Insulin- and Adrenaline-treated Differentiated Rat Skeletal Muscle Fibres

Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) plays an important role in metabolic regulation in skeletal muscles, and both insulin and adrenaline stimulate GKS-3 phosphorylation. The aim of the present study was to study the effect of insulin and adrenaline on GSK-3 localisation in skeletal muscles.We characterized subcellular localization of (GSK-3) signal protein in fully differentiated muscle fibre by immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy. We stimulated muscle fibres with insulin and/or adrenaline. Images were analysed by segmentation of single central optical section of the muscle.We found GSK-3 to be localised in clusters. The number of GSK-3 clusters and their average size were increased after stimulation with insulin and/or adrenaline. Average GSK-3 particle size is linearly related to their quantity.We conclude that subcellular GSK-3 in isolated skeletal muscle fibres is localized in clusters and clustering increased after stimulation with insulin and/or adrenaline.

Pollen morphology of Nothofagus (Nothofagaceae, Fagales) and its phylogenetic significance

Nothofagaceae (southern beeches) are a relatively small flowering plant family of trees confined to the Southern Hemisphere. The fossil record of the family is abundant and it has been widely used as a test case for the classic hypothesis that Antarctica, Patagonia, Australia and New Zealand were once joined together. Although the phylogenetic relationships in Nothofagus appear to be well supported, the evolution of some pollen morphological traits remains elusive, largely because of the lack of ultrastructural analyses. Here we describe the pollen morphology of all extant South American species of Nothofagus, using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and light microscopy (LM), and reconstruct ancestral character states using a well-supported phylogenetic tree of the family. Our results indicate that the main differences between pollen of subgenera Fuscospora (pollen type fusca a) and Nothofagus (pollen type fusca b) are related to the size of microspines (distinguishable or not in optical section), and the thickening of colpi margins (thickened inwards, or thickened both inwards and outwards). In particular, Nothofagus alessandrii, the only extant South American species of subgenus Fuscospora, presents distinctive pollen features that have not been observed in any other species of the genus (i.e. a large granular infratectum and spongy apertural endexine). Species of subgenus Lophozonia are characterized by having the largest pollen grains, with polygonal outline in polar view, microspines distinguishable in optical section, long and non-thickened colpi, and a thin endexine. The reconstruction of character states for the node corresponding to the common ancestor to genus Nothofagus leads us to conclude that the ancestral form of Nothofagaceae should have had: equatorial diameter < 40 μm, circular outline in polar view, microspines distinguishable in optical section, short colpi thickened inwards, and a thin endexine. These features are fully consistent with those present in Nothofagidites senectus Dettmann & Playford, the oldest fossil species of Nothofagaceae recorded in Campanian-Maastrichtian sediments of Gondwana.

Nonlinear light-sheet fluorescence microscopy by photobleaching imprinting

We present a nonlinear light-sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) scheme based on photobleaching imprinting. By measuring photobleaching-induced fluorescence decay, our method simultaneously achieves a large imaging field of view and a thin optical section. Furthermore, the scattered-light-induced background is significantly reduced, considerably improving image contrast. Our method is expected to expand the application field of LSFM into the optical quasi-ballistic regime, enabling studies on non-transparent biological samples.