The Accuracy of Al and Cu Film Thickness Determinations and the Implications for Electron Probe Microanalysis

AbstractThe accuracy to which Cu and Al coatings can be determined, and the effect this has on the quantification of the substrate, is investigated. Cu and Al coatings of nominally 5, 10, 15, and 20 nm were sputter coated onto polished Bi using two configurations of coater: One with the film thickness monitor (FTM) sensor colocated with the samples, and one where the sensor is located to one side. The FTM thicknesses are compared against those calculated from measured Cu Lαand Al Kα k-ratios using PENEPMA, GMRFilm, and DTSA-II. Selected samples were also cross-sectioned using focused ion beam. Both systems produced repeatable coatings, the thickest coating being approximately four times the thinnest coating. The side-located FTM sensor indicated thicknesses less than half those of the software modeled results, propagating on to 70% errors in substrate quantification at 5 kV. The colocated FTM sensor produced errors in film thickness and substrate quantification of 10–20%. Over the range of film thicknesses and accelerating voltages modeled both the substrate and coatingk-ratios can be approximated by linear trends as functions of film thickness. The Al films were found to have a reduced density of ~2 g/cm2.</jats:p

Fossilized skin reveals coevolution with feathers and metabolism in feathered dinosaurs and early birds

Feathers are remarkable evolutionary innovations that are associated with complex adaptations of the skin in modern birds. Fossilised feathers in non-avian dinosaurs and basal birds provide insights into feather evolution, but how associated integumentary adaptations evolved is unclear. Here we report the discovery of fossil skin, preserved with remarkable nanoscale fidelity, in three non-avian maniraptoran dinosaurs and a basal bird from the Cretaceous Jehol biota (China). The skin comprises patches of desquamating epidermal corneocytes that preserve a cytoskeletal array of helically coiled α-keratin tonofibrils. This structure confirms that basal birds and non-avian dinosaurs shed small epidermal flakes as in modern mammals and birds, but structural differences imply that these Cretaceous taxa had lower body heat production than modern birds. Feathered epidermis acquired many, but not all, anatomically modern attributes close to the base of the Maniraptora by the Middle Jurassic

The microanalysis of iron and sulphur oxidation states in silicate glass - Understanding the effects of beam damage

Quantifying the oxidation state of multivalent elements in silicate melts (e.g., Fe²⁺ versus Fe³⁺ or S²⁻ versus S⁶⁺) is fundamental for constraining oxygen fugacity. Oxygen fugacity is a key thermodynamic parameter in understanding melt chemical history from the Earth's mantle through the crust to the surface. To make these measurements, analyses are typically performed on small (<100 µm diameter) regions of quenched volcanic melt (now silicate glass) forming the matrix between crystals or as trapped inclusions. Such small volumes require microanalysis, with multiple techniques often applied to the same area of glass to extract the full range of information that will shed light on volcanic and magmatic processes. This can be problematic as silicate glasses are often unstable under the electron and photon beams used for this range of analyses. It is therefore important to understand any compositional and structural changes induced within the silicate glass during analysis, not only to ensure accurate measurements (and interpretations), but also that subsequent analyses are not compromised. Here, we review techniques commonly used for measuring the Fe and S oxidation state in silicate glass and explain how silicate glass of different compositions responds to electron and photon beam irradiation

Reconstructing Carotenoid-Based and Structural Coloration in Fossil Skin

Evidence of original coloration in fossils provides insights into the visual communication strategies used by ancient animals and the functional evolution of coloration over time [1-7]. Hitherto, all reconstructions of the colors of reptile integument and the plumage of fossil birds and feathered dinosaurs have been of melanin-based coloration [1-6]. Extant animals also use other mechanisms for producing color [8], but these have not been identified in fossils. Here we report the first examples of carotenoid-based coloration in the fossil record, and of structural coloration in fossil integument. The fossil skin, from a 10 million-year-old colubrid snake from the Late Miocene Libros Lagerstätte (Teruel, Spain) [9, 10], preserves dermal pigment cells (chromatophores) - xanthophores, iridophores, and melanophores - in calcium phosphate. Comparison with chromatophore abundance and position in extant reptiles [11-15] indicates that the fossil snake was pale-colored in ventral regions; dorsal and lateral regions were green with brown-black and yellow-green transverse blotches. Such coloration most likely functioned in substrate matching and intraspecific signaling. Skin replicated in authigenic minerals is not uncommon in exceptionally preserved fossils [16, 17], and dermal pigment cells generate coloration in numerous reptile, amphibian, and fish taxa today [18]. Our discovery thus represents a new means by which to reconstruct the original coloration of exceptionally preserved fossil vertebrates.This research was funded by Enterprise Ireland Basic Research Grant C/2002/138 awarded to P.J.O. and by an IRCSET-Marie Curie International Mobility Fellowship and Marie Curie Career Integration Grant 618598 awarded to M.E.M.Peer Reviewe

Reconstructing carotenoid-based and structural coloration in fossil skin

Evidence of original coloration in fossils provides insights into the visual communication strategies used by ancient animals and the functional evolution of coloration over time [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. Hitherto, all reconstructions of the colors of reptile integument and the plumage of fossil birds and feathered dinosaurs have been of melanin-based coloration [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Extant animals also use other mechanisms for producing color [8], but these have not been identified in fossils. Here we report the first examples of carotenoid-based coloration in the fossil record, and of structural coloration in fossil integument. The fossil skin, from a 10 million-year-old colubrid snake from the Late Miocene Libros Lagerstätte (Teruel, Spain) [9, 10], preserves dermal pigment cells (chromatophores)—xanthophores, iridophores, and melanophores—in calcium phosphate. Comparison with chromatophore abundance and position in extant reptiles [11, 12, 13, 14, 15] indicates that the fossil snake was pale-colored in ventral regions; dorsal and lateral regions were green with brown-black and yellow-green transverse blotches. Such coloration most likely functioned in substrate matching and intraspecific signaling. Skin replicated in authigenic minerals is not uncommon in exceptionally preserved fossils [16, 17], and dermal pigment cells generate coloration in numerous reptile, amphibian, and fish taxa today [18]. Our discovery thus represents a new means by which to reconstruct the original coloration of exceptionally preserved fossil vertebrates

Pterosaur integumentary structures with complex feather-like branching

Pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to achieve true flapping flight, but in the absence of living representatives, many questions concerning their biology and lifestyle remain unresolved. Pycnofibres—the integumentary coverings of pterosaurs—are particularly enigmatic: although many reconstructions depict fur-like coverings composed of pycnofibres, their affinities and function are not fully understood. Here, we report the preservation in two anurognathid pterosaur specimens of morphologically diverse pycnofibres that show diagnostic features of feathers, including non-vaned grouped filaments and bilaterally branched filaments, hitherto considered unique to maniraptoran dinosaurs, and preserved melanosomes with diverse geometries. These findings could imply that feathers had deep evolutionary origins in ancestral archosaurs, or that these structures arose independently in pterosaurs. The presence of feather-like structures suggests that anurognathids, and potentially other pterosaurs, possessed a dense filamentous covering that probably functioned in thermoregulation, tactile sensing, signalling and aerodynamics

Author Correction: Cross-ancestry genome-wide association analysis of corneal thickness strengthens link between complex and Mendelian eye diseases.

Emmanuelle Souzeau, who contributed to analysis of data, was inadvertently omitted from the author list in the originally published version of this Article. This has now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article

Atmospheric neutrino induced muons in the MACRO detector

A measurement of the flux of neutrino-induced muons using the MACRO detector is presented. Different event topologies, corresponding to different neutrino parent energies can be detected. The upward throughgoing muon sample is the larger event sample. The observed upward-throughgoing muons are 26% fewer than expected and the zenith angle distribution does not fit with the expected one. Assuming neutrino oscillations, both measurements suggest maximum mixing and Dm2 of a few times 10-3 eV2. The other samples are due to the internally produced events and to upward-going stopping muons. These data show a regular deficit of observed events in each angular bin, as expected assuming neutrino oscillations with maximum mixing, in agreement with the analysis of the upward-throughgoing muon sample.Comment: 7 pages 6 figures to appear in the proceedings of XVIII International Conference on Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics (Neutrino'98), Takayama, Japan 4-9 June, 199

High spatial resolution analysis of the iron oxidation state in silicate glasses using the electron probe

The iron oxidation state in silicate melts is important for understanding their physical properties, although it is most often used to estimate the oxygen fugacity of magmatic systems. Often high spatial resolution analyses are required, yet the available techniques, such as μXANES and μMössbauer, require synchrotron access. The flank method is an electron probe technique with the potential to measure Fe oxidation state at high spatial resolution but requires careful method development to reduce errors related to sample damage, especially for hydrous glasses. The intensity ratios derived from measurements on the flanks of FeLα and FeLβ X-rays (FeLβf/FeLαf) over a time interval (time-dependent ratio flank method) can be extrapolated to their initial values at the onset of analysis. We have developed and calibrated this new method using silicate glasses with a wide range of compositions (43–78 wt% SiO2, 0–10 wt% H2O, and 2–18 wt% FeOT, which is all Fe reported as FeO), including 68 glasses with known Fe oxidation state. The Fe oxidation state (Fe2+/FeT) of hydrous (0–4 wt% H2O) basaltic (43–56 wt% SiO2) and peralkaline (70–76 wt% SiO2) glasses with FeOT > 5 wt% can be quantified with a precision of ±0.03 (10 wt% FeOT and 0.5 Fe2+/FeT) and accuracy of ±0.1. We find basaltic and peralkaline glasses each require a different calibration curve and analysis at different spatial resolutions (∼20 and ∼60 μm diameter regions, respectively). A further 49 synthetic glasses were used to investigate the compositional controls on redox changes during electron beam irradiation, where we found that the direction of redox change is sensitive to glass composition. Anhydrous alkali-poor glasses become reduced during analysis, while hydrous and/or alkali-rich glasses become oxidized by the formation of magnetite nanolites identified using Raman spectroscopy. The rate of reduction is controlled by the initial oxidation state, whereas the rate of oxidation is controlled by SiO2, Fe, and H2O content