BACKGROUND Filamentous Zygnematophyceae are typical components of algal mats in the polar hydro-terrestrial environment. Under field conditions, they form senescent vegetative cells, designated as pre-akinetes, which are tolerant to desiccation and osmotic stress. KEY FINDINGS Pre-akinete formation and desiccation tolerance was investigated experimentally under monitored laboratory conditions...

Freckle defects usually appear on the surface of castings and industrial ingots during the directional solidification process and most of them are located near the interface between the shell mold and superalloys. Ceramic cores create more interfaces in the directionally solidified (DS) and single crystal (SX) hollow turbine blades. In order to investigate the location of freckle occurrence in ...

A new method to directly print out a solidified electronic circuit through low-melting-point metal ink is proposed. A functional pen with heating capability was fabricated. Several typical thermal properties of the alloy ink Bi35In48.6Sn16Zn0.4 were measured and evaluated. Owing to the specifically selected melting point of the ink, which is slightly higher than room temperature, various electr...

The conventional K-Ar dating method was applied to the 1986 dacite flow from the new lava dome at Mount St. Helens, Washington. Porphyritic dacite which solidified on the surface of the lava dome in 1986 gives a whole rock K-Ar “age” of 0.35±0.05 million years (Ma). Mineral concentrates from the dacite which formed ins 1986 give K-Ar “ages” from 0.34±0.06 Ma (feldspar-glass concentrate) to 2.8±...

OBJECTIVE To determine trends in urolith composition in cats. DESIGN Retrospective case series. SAMPLE POPULATION 5,230 uroliths. PROCEDURES The laboratory database for the Gerald V. Ling Urinary Stone Analysis Laboratory was searched for all urolith submissions from cats from 1985 through 2004. Submission forms were reviewed, and each cat's age, sex, breed, and stone location were record...

In both continuous casting of steel slabs and direct chill (DC) casting of aluminum alloy ingots, water is used to cool the mold in the initial stages of solidification, and then below the mold, where it is in direct contact with the newly solidified surface of the metal. Water cooling affects the product quality by (1) controlling the heat removal rate that creates and cools the solid shell an...

The changes in microstructure and microhardness of Sn-0.5%Ag, Sn-1.0%Ag, and Sn-0.7%Cu Pb-free solders were investigated during high temperature aging at 200°C for 2 h. As-solidified microstructures, revealed by cross-polarized light microscopy, consist of relatively large grains of β-Sn phase with twinned microstructure in both Sn-Ag and Sn-Cu solders. The bright-field light microscopy display...