The Use of Sonic Frequencies as a Cleaning Agent of Specimens to be Observed by Scanning Electron Microscopy

The presence of mucus and/or cellular debris can obscure the fine morphology of the gastrointestinal or respiratory luminal surface, when observed by scanning electron microscopy. With the intent of obtaining a good cleaning of the mucosal surface without altering the ultrafine morphology of epithelial cells, a new model of sonicator/ultrasonicator is presented. The instrument is supplied with a control system for wave frequency, amplitude and form, and permits a precise regulation of the wave energy. With this instrument it is possible to produce a cleaning effect by using any kind of frequency (either sonic or ultrasonic) and/or amplitude and/or waveform and/or liquid. We report the application of sonic frequencies through water as a fluid for immersion to obtain a gentle and slow removing of mucus and in order to explore the possibility to clean hydrated tissues. With the employment of sonic frequencies (from 5 to 15 kHz modulated by 200 Hz) and water as the immersion fluid, we were able to generate a gentle wave energy which effected an optimal removal of the mucus, with the consequent exposure of a well preserved epithelial surface of rat trachea and small intestine

Under the Skin of a Lion: Unique Evidence of Upper Paleolithic Exploitation and Use of Cave Lion (Panthera spelaea) from the Lower Gallery of La Garma (Spain)

ABSTRACT: Pleistocene skinning and exploitation of carnivore furs have been previously inferred from archaeological evidence. Nevertheless, the evidence of skinning and fur processing tends to be weak and the interpretations are not strongly sustained by the archaeological record. In the present paper, we analyze unique evidence of patterned anthropic modification and skeletal representation of fossil remains of cave lion (Panthera spelaea) from the Lower Gallery of La Garma (Cantabria, Spain). This site is one of the few that provides Pleistocene examples of lion exploitation by humans. Our archaeozoological study suggests that lion-specialized pelt exploitation and use might have been related to ritual activities during the Middle Magdalenian period (ca. 14800 cal BC). Moreover, the specimens also represent the southernmost European and the latest evidence of cave lion exploitation in Iberia. Therefore, the study seeks to provide alternative explanations for lion extinction in Eurasia and argues for a role of hunting as a factor to take into account

Cryptic Disc Structures Resembling Ediacaran Discoidal Fossils from the Lower Silurian Hellefjord Schist, Arctic Norway

The Hellefjord Schist, a volcaniclastic psammite-pelite formation in the Caledonides of Arctic Norway contains discoidal impressions and apparent tube casts that share morphological and taphonomic similarities to Neoproterozoic stem-holdfast forms. U-Pb zircon geochronology on the host metasediment indicates it was deposited between 437 ± 2 and 439 ± 3 Ma, but also indicates that an inferred basal conglomerate to this formation must be part of an older stratigraphic element, as it is cross-cut by a 546 ± 4 Ma pegmatite. These results confirm that the Hellefjord Schist is separated from underlying older Proterozoic rocks by a thrust. It has previously been argued that the Cambrian Substrate Revolution destroyed the ecological niches that the Neoproterozoic frond-holdfasts organisms occupied. However, the discovery of these fossils in Silurian rocks demonstrates that the environment and substrate must have been similar enough to Neoproterozoic settings that frond-holdfast bodyplans were still ecologically viable some hundred million years later

Aspetti medico-legali nei pazienti portatori di stoma addominale

Il problema dei colostomizzati, già più volte esaurientemente affron­tato sotto il profilo chirurgico, psicologico e riabilitativo, non è però mai stato esaminato dal punto di vista medico-legale. Ambito questo che viene esaminato dagli Autori attraverso i vari aspetti previdenziali, assistenziali, civilistici e penalistici.The problem of colostomy has often been exhaustively discussed in terms of surgical, psychological and rehabilitation, is not never been examined from the standpoint of legal medicine. This area which is examined by the authors through the various aspects of security, welfare, civil and criminal law