Systematic measurements and analyses of surface nucleation and growth of l-cordierite on diamond-polished surfaces and on fractured surfaces of cordierite glasses containing 0.3, 1.2, 3.4, 6.2 and 8.1 wt% TiO2 were carried out. All the glasses exhibit surface nucleation, however, the glass having 8.1 wt% TiO2 also exhibits volume nucleation. The maximum surface nucleation rate is located at a t...

Prediction of the nucleation mechanism is one of the most critical factors in the design of a crystallization system. Information about the nucleation mechanism helps to control the size, shape, size distribution, and purity of the produced crystals. When the crystallization method is used for producing nanoparticles, the nucleation mechanism should be predicted. In this study, an empirical cor...

Aligned microtubule arrays spatially organize cell division, trafficking, and determine the direction of cell expansion in plant cells. In response to changes in environmental and developmental signals, cells reorganize their microtubule arrays into new configurations. Here, we tested the role of microtubule nucleation during hormone-induced microtubule array reorientation. We have found that i...

The nucleation of bcc austenite in a single crystal of a mechanically stabilized 2H-martensite of Cu-Al-Ni shape-memory alloy is studied. The nucleation process is induced by localized heating and observed by optical microscopy. It is observed that nucleation occurs after a time delay and that the nucleation points are always located at one of the corners of the sample (a rectangular bar in the...

We study the spontaneous nucleation and growth of sodium chloride crystals induced by controlled evaporation in confined geometries (microcapillaries) spanning several orders of magnitude in volume. In all experiments, the nucleation happens reproducibly at a very high supersaturation S ∼ 1.6 and is independent of the size, shape, and surface properties of the microcapillary. We show from class...

The actin cytoskeleton is continuously remodeled through cycles of actin filament assembly and disassembly. Filaments are born through nucleation and shaped into supramolecular structures with various essential functions. These range from contractile and protrusive assemblies in muscle and non-muscle cells to actin filament comets propelling vesicles or pathogens through the cytosol. Although n...

Acanthamoeba capping protein increased the rate of actin polymerization from monomers with and without calcium. In the absence of calcium, capping protein also increased the critical concentration for polymerization. Various models were evaluated for their ability to predict the effect of capping protein on kinetic curves for actin polymerization under conditions where the critical concentratio...

The study of nucleation mechanism of new grains during severe plastic deformation of magnesium alloys is of great importance to control the characteristics of final microstructures.  To investigate the role of discontinuous recrystallization, a wrought AZ31 magnesium alloy was deformed by accumulative back extrusion process at 330 °C.  The obtained microstructures were studied using optical and...