We have induced large elastic strains in ropes of single-wall carbon nanotubes, using an atomic force microscope in lateral force mode. Freely suspended ropes were observed to deform as elastic strings with tension proportional to elongation. Ropes were elastically deformed over >10 cycles without showing signs of plastic deformation. The maximum strain observed, 5.8±0.9%, gives a lower bound of 45±7 GPa for the tensile strength (specifically, yield stress) of single-wall nanotube ropes.

Elastic strain of freely suspended single-wall carbon nanotube ropes

This study stresses the role of specific bacterial outer structures (such as glycocalix and parietal polymers) on calcium carbonate crystallization in terrestrial environments. The aim is to compare calcium carbonate crystals obtained in bacterial cultures with those obtained during abiotically mediated synthesis to show implications of exopolysaccharides and amino acids in the mineralogy and morphology of calcium carbonate crystals produced by living bacteria. This is done using various amounts of purified exopolysaccharide (xanthan EPS) and L-amino acids with a range of acidities. Amino acids and increasing xanthan content enhance sphere formation in calcite and vaterite. Regarding calcite, the morphology of crystals evolves from rhombohedral to needle shape. This evolution is characterized by stretching along the c axis as the amino acid changes from glutamine to aspartic acid and as the medium is progressively enriched in EPS. Regarding vaterite, the spherulitic habit is preserved throughout the morphological sequence and starts with spheres formed by the agglomeration of short needles, which are produced in a xanthan-free medium with glutamine. Monocrystals forming spheres increase in size as xanthan is added and the acidity of amino acids (glutamic and aspartic acids) is increased. At high xanthan concentrations, amino acids, and mainly aspartic and glutamic acids, induce vaterite precipitation. The role of the carboxyl group is also probably critical because bacterial outer structures associated with peptidoglycan commonly contain carboxyl groups. This role, combined with the results presented here, clearly demonstrate the influence of bacterial outer structure composition on the morphology and mineralogy of bacterially induced calcium carbonate. This point should not be neglected in the interpretation of calcite cements and carbonate accumulations in terrestrial environments.

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Bacterially Induced Mineralization of Calcium Carbonate in Terrestrial Environments: The Role of Exopolysaccharides and Amino Acids

Three different drying methods, critical-point drying (CPD), Peldri II, and hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS), were compared using representative animal (rat kidney, trachea, duodenum, lung, and red blood cells) and plant (leaves from ten species of monocotyledons and dicotyledons) specimens. All three drying methods produced identical results with animal specimens. Plant specimens showed signs of shrinkage regardless of which drying method was employed. The order of preservation quality from best to worst for leaves was CPD > Peldri II > HMDS, with the CPD method providing substantially better results in all but one case. Postfixation of leaves with osmium tetroxide resulted in poorer preservation in all instances. Peldri II caused complete extraction of leaf cuticular wax, while both both CPD and HMDS showed minimal extraction compared with samples air dried directly from acetone. These results indicate that HMDS provides a time-saving and inexpensive alternative to CPD for animal specimens. Plant specimens, particularly those containing cells with large central vacuoles, are adequately preserved only with the CPD method. In addition, postfixation with osmium should be avoided when processing plant specimens for scanning electron microscopy.

Comparison of hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS), Peldri II, and critical-point drying methods for scanning electron microscopy of biological specimens.

Chemokine stimulation of human peripheral blood T lymphocytes induces rapid dephosphorylation of ERM proteins, which facilitates loss of microvilli and polarization

Sample preparation for scanning electron microscopy of plant surfaces--horses for courses.

SUMMARY
A new rapid air-drying technique which gives results comparable to critical point-drying is described for scanning electron microscopy, using a trematode parasite, Homalogaster paloniae, as a test specimen.

T. S. Basu Baul

Papers

A new rapid method of air‐drying for scanning electron microscopy using tetramethylsilane