Search results for " shells"
showing 10 items of 60 documents
The shell matrix and microstructure of the Ram's Horn squid: Molecular and structural characterization.
2020
20 pages; International audience; Molluscs are one of the most diversified phyla among metazoans. Most of them produce an external calcified shell, resulting from the secretory activity of a specialized epithelium of the calcifying mantle. This biomineralization process is controlled by a set of extracellular macromolecules, the organic matrix. In spite of several studies, these components are mainly known for bivalves and gastropods. In the present study, we investigated the physical and biochemical properties of the internal planispiral shell of the Ram's Horn squid Spirula spirula. Scanning Electron Microscope investigations of the shell reveal a complex microstructural organization. The…
Mollusc shellomes: Past, present and future.
2020
13 pages; International audience; In molluscs, the shell fabrication requires a large array of secreted macromolecules including proteins and polysaccharides. Some of them are occluded in the shell during mineralization process and constitute the shell repertoire. The protein moieties, also called shell proteomes or, more simply, 'shellomes', are nowadays analyzed via high-throughput approaches. These latter, applied so far on about thirty genera, have evidenced the huge diversity of shellomes from model to model. They also pinpoint the recurrent presence of functional domains of diverse natures. Shell proteins are not only involved in guiding the mineral deposition, but also in enzymatic a…
Microstructures in shells of the freshwater gastropod Viviparus viviparus: a potential sensor for temperature change?
2013
Abstract Mollusk shells contain a plethora of information on past climate variability. However, only a limited toolkit is currently available to reconstruct such data from the shells. The environmental data of some proxies (e.g. Sr/Ca ratios) is obscured by physiological effects, whereas other proxies, such as δ 18 O, simultaneously provide information on two or more different environmental variables. The present study investigates whether microstructures of the freshwater gastropod Viviparus viviparus provide an alternative means to reconstruct past water temperature. Cold and highly variable temperature regimes resulted in the precipitation of highly unordered first-order lamellae of simp…
Searching for differences in Swift's intermediate GRBs
2010
Gamma-ray bursts are usually classified through their high-energy emission into short-duration and long-duration bursts, which presumably reflect two different types of progenitors. However, it has been shown on statistical grounds that a third, intermediate population is needed in this classification scheme, although an extensive study of the properties of this class has so far not been done. The large amount of follow-up studies generated during the Swift era allows us to have a suficient sample to attempt a study of this third population through the properties of their prompt emission and their afterglows. Our study is focused on a sample of GRBs observed by Swift during its first four y…
Optical determination and identification of organic shells around nanoparticles: application to silver nanoparticles
2013
We present a simple method to prove the presence of an organic shell around silver nanoparticles. This method is based on the comparison between optical extinction measurements of isolated nanoparticles and Mie calculations predicting the expected wavelength of the Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance of the nanoparticles with and without the presence of an organic layer. This method was applied to silver nanoparticles which seemed to be well protected from oxidation. Further experimental characterization via Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) measurements allowed to identify this protective shell as ethylene glycol. Combining LSPR and SERS measurements could thus give proof of both …
Dynamic tuning of the director field in liquid crystal shells using block copolymers
2020
When an orientationally ordered system, like a nematic liquid crystal (LC), is confined on a self-closing spherical shell, topological constraints arise with intriguing consequences that depend critically on how the LC is aligned in the shell. We demonstrate reversible dynamic tuning of the alignment, and thereby the topology, of nematic LC shells stabilized by the nonionic amphiphilic block copolymer Pluronic F127. Deep in the nematic phase, the director (the average molecule orientation) is tangential to the interface, but upon approaching the temperature TNI of the nematic– isotropic transition, the director realigns to normal. We link this to a delicate interplay between an interfacial …
Zastosowanie skorup jaj do usuwania metali ciężkich ze ścieków z instalacji odsiarczania spalin
2018
Przeprowadzono badania skuteczności usuwania kationów Ni, Cu i Cd z roztworów wodnych z zastosowaniem wapienia marglistego, skorup jaj kurzych przeznaczonych do konsumpcji oraz skorup jaj kurzych po wylęgu, których głównym składnikiem jest węglan wapnia. Skorupy jaj kurzych są produktem ubocznym przemysłu spożywczego, który może znaleźć zastosowanie jako zamiennik wapienia marglistego wykorzystywanego do usuwania metali ciężkich z instalacji mokrego odsiarczania spalin. Do badań użyto mieszanych roztworów Ni, Cu i Cd składem zbliżonych do ścieków z instalacji mokrego odsiarczania spalin: Ni (0,526-3,118 mg/dm3 ), Cu (0,483-4,285 mg/dm3 ) i Cd (0,372-0,875 mg/dm3 ). Metale oznaczano metodą a…
Ritz Solution for Transient Analysis of Variable-Stiffness Shell Structures
2020
The dynamic response of thin-walled structures is driven by mass and stiffness distribution. As such, variable-stiffness (VS) composites offer opportunities to tune structural dynamic responses. To this extent, efficient analysis tools become increasingly important for structural analysis and design purposes. In this work, an efficient and versatile Ritz method for free vibrations and linear transient analysis of VS doubly curved shell structures is presented. VS shell structures are modeled as an assembly of shell-like domains. The shell kinematics is based on the first-order shear deformation theory, and no further assumption is made on the shallowness or on the thinness of the structure.…
Raman Investigations to Identify Corallium rubrum in Iron Age Jewelry and Ornaments
2016
International audience; During the Central European Iron Age, more specifically between 600 and 100 BC, red precious corals (Corallium rubrum) became very popular in many regions, often associated with the so-called (early) Celts. Red corals are ideally suited to investigate several key questions of Iron Age research, like trade patterns or social and economic structures. While it is fairly easy to distinguish modern C. rubrum from bone, ivory or shells, archaeologists are confronted with ancient, hence altered, artifacts. Due to ageing processes, archaeological corals lose their intensive red color and shiny surface and can easily be confused with these other light colored materials. We pr…
Multi-scale modelling of heterogeneous shell structures
2011
International audience; This paper reviews multi-scale computational homogenisation frameworks for the non-linear behaviour of heterogeneous thin planar shells. Based on a review of some of the currently available methods, a computational homogenisation scheme for shells is applied on to representative volume elements for plain weave composites. The effect of flexural loading on the potential failure modes of such materials is analysed, focusing on the reinforcement-matrix delamination mechanism. The attention is next shifted toward failure localisation in masonry unit cells. Subsequently, a recently developed computational FE2 solution scheme accounting for damage localisation at structura…