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Digital image analysis has recently emerged as a powerful tool for the analysis of the ceramic thin sections. By producing quantitative data, it increases the usefulness of ceramic petrography to address archeological questions. Despite several works considering digital image analysis to study archeological ceramic materials, so far, no work has been proposed to evaluate the possibilities of optical microscopy (OM) image analysis for classification and modal analysis, knowing its advantages and drawbacks, as compared to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image processing. In this work, we propose an algorithm to count the mineral inclusions correctly classified by OM image analysis with respect to SEM images. The proposed algorithm is based on a matching mechanism applied to the regions of interest (ROIs) detected in the OM images according to the corresponding ROIs as detected in the SEM images. Moreover, a comparison with point counting on the same OM images is also provided to evaluate the pros and cons of each method. Two Late Acacus (Mesolithic) potsherds (8900–4200 BP) are considered as case study for modal analysis to identify and classify quartz, feldspars, and carbonate aggregates as mineral inclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amara West, built around 1300 BC, was an administrative centre for the pharaonic colony of Upper Nubia. In addition to producing hand- and wheel-made pottery, respectively, in Nubian and Egyptian style, Amara West also imported a wide range of ceramics from Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean. A scientific study of 18 Mycenaean-style ceramics was undertaken to study provenance and aspects of production technology. Neutron activation analysis (NAA) results show that the pots were imported from several workshops in Greece and Cyprus. Thin-section petrography and scanning electron microscopy, used with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), show that different recipes were used to make the fabrics and paints of Mycenaean ceramics, reflecting both technological choices and the range of raw materials used in the different workshops. The petrographic and SEM-EDX results support the NAA provenance attributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of several years of screen-washing activity, a remarkable assemblage of eggshell fragments has been recovered from the Late Cretaceous vertebrate locality of Iharkút, Hungary. Detailed investigation of the assemblage by multiple visualization techniques (scanning electron microscopy, polarizing light microscopy, X-ray micro-computed tomography), quantitative morphometric analyses, and micro X-ray fluorescence spectrometry revealed a diverse composition of five different eggshell morphotypes (MT I-MT V) and three subcategories within the second morphotype (MT II/a, b, c), with MT I being by far the most abundant (83%) in the assemblage. MT I, MT III, and MT V represent theropod dinosaurian eggshells, whereas MT II and MT IV show characteristics of crocodilian and squamate eggshells, respectively. Hence, despite their fragmentary nature, these eggshells represent the first clear evidence that various sauropsid taxa had nesting sites near the ancient fluvial system of Iharkút. Besides the implied taxonomic diversity, two unique features add to the significance of this eggshell assemblage. First, it contains the thinnest rigid crocodilian (MT II/c) and squamate (MT IV) eggshells ever reported. Moreover, one of the identified theropod morphotypes, MT I, is also among the thinnest fossil dinosaurian eggshells, the thinness of which is only rivalled by the eggshells of the smallest Mesozoic avian eggs known to date. Second, the Iharkút eggshell assemblage consists exclusively of thin eggshells (≤300 µm), a condition unknown from any other fossil eggshell assemblages described to date. Combined with the knowledge acquired from skeletal remains, these peculiarities give additional insights into the paleoecology of the terrestrial sauropsid fauna once inhabiting the ancient island of Iharkút. Finally, the presence of well-preserved eggshells recovered from two different sites representing different depositional environments provides further evidence for previous taphonomic and sedimentological conclusions, and also expands our knowledge of the special conditions that allowed the preservation of these delicate eggshell fragments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous electron microscope studies of ultrastructural events during hepatitis A virus replication in experimentally infected cells have used only ultrathin section techniques. Nevertheless, no important differences were observed between infected and uninfected cells. This study was carried out using scanning electron microscopy and negative staining of whole LLC-MK2 cells grown directly on grids covered with support membranes, and then infected with an hepatitis A virus strain. Thin sections of infected and unifected controls were also analyzed. An intricate web of projections forming a net between cell interfaces was observed only in infected cells. Some of these projections were more than 700 nm long and had ballooning tips. Nevertheless, HAV particles were not visualized in the infected cellsLos estudios previos sobre los eventos ultraestructurales en la replicación del virus de la hepatitis Aen cultivos de células infectadas experimentalmente, se han realizado exclusivamente mediante cortes ultrafinos. No obstante, no se han observado diferencias importantes entre células infectadas y no infectadas. Este estudio fue realizado empleando microscopia electrónica de rastreo, tinción negativa de células (LLC-MK2) cultivadas directamente sobre rejillas para microscopia electrónica de transmisión e infectadas con el virus de la hepatitis A. Adicionalmente se analizaron cortes ultrafinos de células infectadas y no infectadas. Se observó una intrincada red de proyecciones entre las superficies de las células, que apareció solo en las células infectadas. Algunas de esas proyecciones medían más de 700 nm de largo y terminaban en extremos abultados. Sin embargo, no se observaron viriones en las células infectadas

Abstract: Stone anchors have been recovered along the Indian coast as a part of the maritime archaeological studies at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa. Study of stone anchors provides clues to understand the ancient maritime trade contacts of India with other countries. These anchors resemble those found in the Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf and Red Sea Coast. Underwater explorations at Bet Dwarka, Dwarka, Goa, Visawada and Somnath have yielded stone anchors of widely varying shapes, sizes and weights ranging between 16 and 410 kg. Sixteen (10 Indo-Arabian, 4 Ringstone and 2 Single hole type) of the total of 269 stone anchors have been studied to determine provenance of rock through petrographic analysis using thin section studies, X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), and Scanning Electron Microscope – Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (SEM-EDS). Our results suggest that these anchors were made from various rock types, such as granodiorite, dolerite, varieties of basalt, schist, calcareous sandstone, limestone and sandstone. The coastal tract of western India has exposures of all these rock types of igneous and sedimentary rock suites while ultramafic rocks occur inland along the Gujarat and Rajasthan border. It is inferred that these stone anchors have been sourced from rock formations from Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra regions for use in maritime trading activities of the ancient and medieval periods. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Limestone and marble, still frequently used as building materials are especially vulnerable to the destructive effects of efflorescence. The effect of interaction between five different calcareous stones and corrosive atmospheres has been investigated. A novel technique of stone degradation analysis has been used where thin sections of fresh stone materials were exposed in a corrosion chamber under controlled conditions (temperature, relative humidity (RH), SO2 and NO2 concentration). Following 1-week’s exposure; observations of the initial crystallisation were studied by light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results obtained from the surface analysis clearly showed sulphation of the samples and formation of gypsum. Observations of the initial corrosion indicated differences in the location of efflorescence and its shape among and within the samples. The mineralogy, grain shape and size, mineral defects and existence of cracks and pores, all influenced the substrate’s reactivity. The most vulnerable areas and the places where the corrosion started on the calcitic stones were the triple grain junctions followed by grain boundaries, and on the dolomitic marble cracks and pores. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The ultrastructure of mitochondria in monkey myocardial cells was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, thin sections and freeze-fracturing. Mitochondria with well-developed cristae were distributed around the nucleus, between the myofibrils and beneath the sarcolemma. Those clustered near the the poles of the nucleus were generally spherical in shape. Interfibrillar mitochondia were arranged in longitudinal rows between the myofibrils, were elongated and usually about the same length as a sarcomere. Subsarcolemmal mitochondria varied in size and shape, being rod-like, spherical, polygonal or horseshoe-like. There were usually two profiles of subsarcolemmal mitochondria in each section of sarcomere, although sometimes one or three occurred, and they were typically oriented perpendicularly to the myofibrils. These morphological differences among mitochondria could reflect functional and/or mechanical properties in the various cellular locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]