Non-destructive metallurgical analysis of astrolabes utilizing synchrotron radiation.

From the experiments performed it is possible to determine a wide range of information about the metallurgy of the astrolabes studied. It was found that different brass alloys were used for components that were cast and those that were mechanically deformed. Chemical composition, forming history, and thickness measurements are all determined non-destructively, illustrating that this technique could be useful for many applications with metal artifact analysis where non-intrusive methods are required

Prostaglandin- and theophylline-induced Cl secretion in rat distal colon is inhibited by microtubule inhibitors

The aim of the present study was to examine the possible role of microtubules in chloride secretion by distal rat colon stimulated by prostaglandin (PGE 2 ) and theophylline. Distal colonic tissue from male rats was mounted in Ussing chambers, and short-circuit current (I sc ) was measured to assess chloride secretion. Three microtubule inhibitors, colchicine, nocodazole, and taxol, all inhibited the stimulated I sc and reduced the 60-min integrated secretory response to PGE 2 and theophylline (▪I sc dt) by 39–52%, whereas the inactive colchicine analog lumicolchicine did not. Atropine and tetrodotoxin had no effect on stimulated chloride secretion. To confirm the source of I sc , unidirectional 22 Na + and 36 Cl − fluxes were measured in tissues exposed to lumicolchicine (control) or colchicine. Control tissues absorbed both chloride [5.0 (1.1–8.6) (median and 95% confidence interval) μeq/cm 2 /hr] and sodium [2.8 (0.9–7.2) μeq/cm 2 /hr], and this net absorption was reduced by 96% and 79%, respectively, by treatment with PGE 2 and theophylline due to an increase in serosal-to-mucosal chloride and sodium movement. Colchicine-treated tissues exhibited similar net basal chloride and sodium absorption that was reduced by 71% and 75%, respectively, by treatment with PGE 2 and theophylline. Thus the PGE 2 - and theophylline-induced increase in chloride secretion was significantly reduced by colchicine ( P <0.05 by Wilcoxon rank-sum test), whereas colchicine had no effect on PGE 2 - and theophylline-induced changes in sodium fluxes. Furthermore, the colchinine-related changes in stimulated chloride secretion were numerically similar to colchicine-related changes in stimulated I sc . These findings indicate that microtubules are required for normal PGE 2 - and theophylline-induced chloride secretion in distal rat colon and suggest that induced chloride secretion may involve vesicular insertion of ion transporters into the plasma membrane or other microtubule-dependent regulatory processes.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44414/1/10620_2005_Article_BF01299864.pd

Pressure sintering and creep deformation: a joint modeling approach

Work related to microchemical and microstructural aspects of the joint modeling of pressure sintering and creep in ceramic oxides is reported. Quantitative techniques for the microchemical analysis of ceramic oxides and for the examination of impurity segregation effects in polycrystalline ceramic materials were developed. This has included fundamental absorption corrections for the oxygen anion species as a function of foil thickness. The evolution in microstructure during the transition from intermediate stage to final stage densification during hot pressing of cobalt oxide and preliminary studies with doped oxides were studied. This work shows promise in using time-integrated microstructural effects to elucidate the role of impurities in the sintering of ceramic materials

Pressure sintering and creep deformation: a joint modeling approach. Progress report, January 1, 1975--December 31, 1975. [CoO; Mg Al/sub 2/O/sub 4/]

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