The overall aim of this study was to provide new and updated information about subterranean termite morphology and digestive physiology. Scanning electron microscopy was used to obtain high resolution images of morphological features of the termite cuticle not discernable by light microscopy. In addition, digital scanning electron micrographs clearly show the appearance of wood particles recovered from the termite digestive tract at different stages of digestion. The ability of termites to obtain and conserve nitrogen in their diet was demonstrated by establishing whether the insect can digest chitin, as well as from determination of levels of soluble proteins and uric acid in the feces. Finally, a technique for determining the efficiency of cellulosic food digestion was tested. Scanning electron microscope images of alate abdomens showed similar appearance of cuticular structures between two subterranean termite species. In addition, the high magnification of electron microscopy allowed for identification of a pair of cuticular structures in the vicinity of the female genitalia that had not been reported from previous light microscope studies. Scanning electron microscopy also revealed the appearance of wood undergoing degradation as it traverses worker termite digestive tract, showing detail not possible from light microscope images. Adult workers of a native termite species were found to produce the enzymes needed to digest chitin, a nitrogen containing polysaccharide ingested by termites. Specific activity of chitinase was subsequently determined to establish the efficiency of chitin digestion for the termite species tested. As termites are coprophagous, significant levels of proteins measured from the feces demonstrated an additional potential dietary nitrogen source. Uric acid was generally found to be absent from termite feces, however. Digestive efficiency of wood cellulose could not be determined for Formosan termites due to the inability to obtain sufficient feces for quantification of undigested food contained in it. Previous studies of Formosan termite digestive efficiency did not address difficulty in obtaining feces for assay. Therefore, interpretation of data from earlier studies of Formosan termite digestive efficiency should be viewed with caution.

α,α′-Bis[3-(N,N-diethylcarbamoyl)piperidino]-p-xylene enhances human blood platelet membrane integrity by exerting a stabilizing action at the level of the dense tubular system in surface membrane complexes known to sequester platelet calcium.

Light and electron microscopic degeneration studies were used to examine the telencephalotectal pathway in goldfish. Both techniques showed that each telencephalic lobe sent bilateral projections to several tectal laminae. Degenerating synaptic terminals and fibers were observed in the major retinal projection lamina as well as in other tectal laminae. The terminals contained round to oval synaptic vesicles, asymmetric synapses and contacted relatively small postsynaptic profiles.

No description available.

No description available.

Rechargeable lithium ion batteries are common materials in everyday applications. The most frequently used cathode material, LiCoO2, provides high energy density and stable charge/discharge performance. However, LiCoO2 is toxic and relatively expensive, therefore, other alternatives are being sought after in the development of battery materials, such as LiMn0.33Ni0.33Co0.33O2 (identified commonly as 333 compound). The 333 compound is now popular due to its comparable performance with LiCoO2, lower price, enhanced stability, and more environmentally friendly characteristics. In addition, Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 (HENMC) is still on the stage of testing and it attracts wide attention due to its higher rechargeable capacity and thermal stability. However, there are still challenges confronted: cycle stability and low rate capability. In order to verify all the roles played by different elements shown in NMC materials and explore the corresponding performance with different formula units, compositional analysis is needed. ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) can provide bulk compositional information and has been used in recent work, giving a general idea of the composition of NMC materials. However, compositional inhomogeneity analysis has usually been neglected in these studies. Therefore, the objective of this work was to explore this variation in composition locally with higher spatial resolution, at the NMC particle level. This work was carried out through the use of scanning electron microscopy – energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Furthermore, nano-scale quantitative analysis was done with transmission electron microscopy – energy dispersive spectroscopy (TEM-EDS). Moreover, an optimal approach and procedure of compositional analysis by using EDS and AES was explored with proper standards and operation conditions to provide consistent and stable results. The optimal quantification method was applied to investigate the compositions of 333 compound before and after ball milling and HENMC specimen before and after cycling. The results support the structural changes and in turn the electrochemical performance of the battery material. In the 333 compound, the electrochemical performance of the battery was deteriorated due to ball milling, during which Zr was introduced and particles were more compact. In HENMC, during cycling, the Mn distribution was homogeneous at the beginning, then inhomogeneous and homogeneous again, supporting the hypothesis of the transformation of phases: formation of spinel phase and potential SEI layer. In-depth structural analysis of different NMC materials has been reported previously by other groups. However, the structural effects due to cycling, within particles still needs investigation. Therefore, X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to investigate the bulk material crystalline structure. Local nano-scale level structural variations amongst different isolated primary particles were investigated by the electron diffraction pattern based on TEM. The 333 compound and HENMC cycling was examined before and after cycling. After cycling, in the 333 compound, the O1 phase domains with P-3m1 space group appear inside the O3 phase with R-3m lattice. With more cycling, more domains appear. For HENMC, the original pristine samples exhibit the rhombohedral and monoclinic phases. After cycling, more and more spinel phase appear. Finally, after 100 cycles, we observe evidence of the potential solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation. In all, all the results above support the phase changes of 333 compound and HENMC. More investigations are needed to understand the degradation process of both compounds. / Thesis / Master of Materials Science and Engineering (MMatSE)

Nuclear divisions during sporulation of 15 predominantly two-spored and 2 predominantly four-spored yeasts were followed by Giemsa staining and light microscopy. The number of nuclei present per ascus was related to the presence or absence of conjugation at the time of germination of the spores. Plating experiments and a modification of the Finder Slide technique were used to determine whether progeny cells that developed from single spores of 2 two-spored and one four-spored strain could sporulate. The ploidy of these yeasts at different stages of their life cycles was estimated by DNA extractions. The spores of the two-spored yeasts were very difficult to separate following removal of their ascus walls, and electron microscopy was employed in an attempt to account for this. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

<p> The fatigue softening behaviour of copper single crystals was investigated as a function of temperature. Copper crystals, prestrained in tension, were softened by "push-pull" cycling at constant plastic strain amplitude, in the low amplitude range, and the cyclic stress-strain curves determined at various temperatures. Transmission electron microscopy was employed to determine the detailed microstructural changes which occured during softening while X-ray and slip line observations were utilized to indicate the overall structural changes on a macroscopic scale. The results were correlated and a rationale, based on dipole production, proposed for the observed softening behaviour. </p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

<p> Polymers and block copolymers have been grafted from hard and soft polymer micro-spheres by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and ring opening polymerization (ROP). The hard and soft micro-spheres were prepared by precipitation polymerization of divinylbenzene-80 (DVB80), and of DVB80/hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA), respectively, in neat acetonitrile.</p> <p> Residual vinyl groups in the hard, poly(DVB80) micro-spheres were hydrochlorinated to form benzyl chloride groups that subsequently served as ATRP initiators for poly(styrene) and poly(styrene-block-4-methylstyrene) grafts. Hydrophilic poly(HEMA) and poly(2-( dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) poly(DMAEMA) were also grafted from hard micro-spheres containing bromopropionates, using ATRP in the presence of CuBr/Me4Cyclam.</p> <p> Hydroxy groups in soft, poly(DVB80-co-HEMA) micro-spheres were used directly as initiators for ring opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone catalyzed by aluminum compounds. In the addition, they were reacted with α-bromopropionyl bromide to form ATRP initiators.</p> <p> Several combinations of ATRP-ATRP and ROP-ATRP with different monomers were carried out using these initiator micro-spheres. In particular, the soft micro-spheres grafted with poly(methacrylic acid), poly(methylmethacrylate), poly(methylmethacrylate-block-dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate), poly(methylmethacrylate-block-trimethylammoniumethylmethacrylate), poly(methylmethacrylate-block-HEMA), poly(methylmethacrylate-block-glycidylmethacrylate), poly(ε-caprolactone-block- methylmethacrylate), poly(ε-caprolactone-block-dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate).</p> <p> The internal morphology of these homo and block copolymer grafted microspheres was studied using electron microscopy and x-ray microspectroscopy.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Supporting videos attached / The nanoscale structure of fully dense human cortical bone is explored using advanced transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. Studies of fully dense cortical bone are rare because of the sample preparation challenges. In this work, cryogenic ion milling is compared favourably with traditional ultramicrotoming methods because of the clearer imaging results and better preservation of biological structures in the ion milled samples. Ion milled samples were prepared parallel, perpendicular and at a 45 degree angle to the long axis of a human femur. The samples are cooled with liquid nitrogen while being milled to prevent heating damage to the bone structure. Bright-field and dark-field imaging show that mineral mainly occurs as 65 nm wide, 5 nm thick mineral structures, external to the collagen fibrils, and with the long axis of the mineral running parallel to the fibrils. In samples cut parallel to the long axis of the bone, the mineral structures have their c-axes aligned with the collagen fibril long axis. In these sections the mineral structures extend up to 200 nm and are grouped into stripe-like bunches, 53 nm apart. Samples cut perpendicular to the long axis of the bone show open areas roughly 45 nm in diameter. These open areas are assumed to be the location of collagen fibrils within the structure and are tangentially surrounded by 65 nm wide, 5 nm thick mineral structures. On average, there are 22 nm of mineral structures between adjoining collagen fibrils. Samples cut at 45 degrees to the long axis of the bone confirm that the open structure seen in the perpendicular section is not an artefact of sample preparation. By tilting the sample, the 45 degree sample shows the structure of both the parallel and perpendicular sections. The parallel structure strongly resembles images of embryonic bone and other mineralized tissues seen in the literature, so the perpendicular open structure is not caused by sample preparation. An examination of ultramicrotoming’s effect on mineral structure size compared with that of ion milling shows that the mineral structures in ion milled samples are twice as long as in ultramicrotomed samples, indicating that bone mineral may be damaged by the forces applied to the complex composite structure existing in fully dense cortical bone. Using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) results and a simplified model of the locations of mineral within the collagen/mineral framework, a calculation of the percentage of external mineral was performed. The result showed that 80+_ 6 % of the mineral in fully dense cortical bone must be external to the collagen fibrils to obtain the EDXS results. Finally, Z-contrast tomography, based on the use of high angle annular darkfield (HAADF) imaging, was used to prepared tomographic reconstructions of the external mineral in fully dense cortical bone. Unlike bright-field tomography, the Z-contrast technique allows examination of crystalline materials as the contrast in HAADF images is mass-thickness dependent instead of diffraction based. These reconstructions again showed the mineral tangentially surrounding 50 nm diameter cylindrical holes, assumed to be the location of collagen fibrils in all directions. This work shows the importance of mineral that is external to the collagen fibrils to the nanoscale structure of fully dense cortical bone. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)