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Microtomographic scans of Trigonopterus-weevils revealed that their hip joints work as screwand-nut systems. A Trigonopterus oblongus (photograph). B Surface model of the hind leg's hip joint with coxa (green) and trochanter (yellow). Abb. 4: Mikrotomographische Scans von Trigonopterus-Rüsselkäfern ergaben, dass ihre Hüftgelenke wie Paare aus Schraube und Mutter funktionieren. A Trigonopterus oblongus (Foto). B Oberfl ächenmodell eines Hinterhüftgelenks mit Coxa (grün) und Trochanter (gelb).
Source publication
Internal structures of biological samples are often diffi cult to visualize by traditional morphological methods like light and electron microscopy. In insects, a robust cuticle often impedes examination. Three-dimensional visualization of anatomical details based on light microscopy photographs is particularly challenging, because the necessary cr...
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Context 1
... investigated the leg movement of the hyperdiverse (RIEDEL et al. 2009(RIEDEL et al. , 2013RIEDEL 2010) Indo-Pacific weevil genus Trigonopterus. Their body-size range between 1.5 and 5 mm. Due to their extremely robust exoskeleton (VAN DE KAMP & GREVEN 2010), the anatomy of the weevils could not be ex- amined by microscopy. Trigonopterus oblongus (Fig. 4A), one of the largest representatives of the genus with a body length of about 5 mm, was scanned at ANKA to examine the functionality of its hip joints. The sample was fi xed in ethanol and critical-point-dried. A high-resolution setup with a 10x magnify- ing optical microscope and a pco.4000 14 bit CCD digital camera with 4008 x 2672 ...
Context 2
... μm. The hip joints consist of two components, the coxa and the trochanter. After manual label- ling of the joint parts and involved muscles in the tomographic volume, polygon surface models of coxae and trochanters were created to simulate their movement by interactively moving the partners against each other. It became evident that the hip joint (Fig. 4B) of Trigonopterus is highly modifi ed and combines a rotational movement with a single-axis transla- tion. In Trigonopterus, the apical opening of the coxae is wide, circular, and mesally shows a notch marking the start of well-defi ned inner threads which continue internally for 345°. Thus, the coxae closely resemble engineered ...
Citations
... To the best of our knowledge, this has not been applied for pharmaceutical dosage forms, and is typically applied in (pre-)clinical imaging using contrast agents [258,259]. In synchrotrons, despite being able to use a monochromatic beam (typical bandwidths 1 × 10 −2 or 1 × 10 −4 eV), the typical energy range used for X-ray microtomography experiments is between 4 keV to 50 keV (for its ability to use the beam under atmospheric pressure and longer propagation distance) [106,[260][261][262][263][264][265][266][267][268][269][270][271][272]. Therefore, only the absorption edges falling within this energy range can be chemically resolved [273]. ...
Solid dosage forms such as tablets are extensively used in drug administration for their simplicity and large-scale manufacturing capabilities. High-resolution X-ray tomography is one of the most valuable non-destructive techniques to investigate the internal structure of the tablets for drug product development as well as for a cost effective production process. In this work, we review the recent developments in high-resolution X-ray microtomography and its application towards different tablet characterizations. The increased availability of powerful laboratory instrumentation, as well as the advent of high brilliance and coherent 3rd generation synchrotron light sources, combined with advanced data processing techniques, are driving the application of X-ray microtomography forward as an indispensable tool in the pharmaceutical industry.
... As such, when studying the morphology or elemental distribution within a biological specimen, several important factors must be considered prior to beginning sample preparatory work. Where elemental distribution analysis is not required, but bulk XAS (e.g., on a bundle of roots, or a pellet of ground tissues) or μ-CT scanning (e.g., for examining 3D morphology of fossils or predicting locomotion from vertebrate bones) may be of interest, the physical preparation of samples may be relatively simple (Kamp et al., 2013;Keating & Donoghue, 2016). ...
Synchrotron radiation (SR) techniques, which use high‐energy photon beams to create high‐resolution images and spectra of a sample, are valuable analytical methods that have long benefited physical, geological, and biochemical research. Recent developments in synchrotron infrastructure have allowed SR techniques to become a more accessible resource for studying ecological and evolutionary phenomena at the micro‐ or nanoscale. Here we provide a synthesis to SR techniques, how they compare with other analytical techniques, how they have been used, and then discuss how this technology has significant potential for future applications within ecology and evolution research. A literature review demonstrates the growing use of SR techniques within environmental and ecological research communities, alongside the variety of organisms and target elements that have been prioritized since 2000. Clear gaps still exist within the imaging of lighter, biologically relevant elements (e.g., C, N, and P) for assessing their cycling within organisms, and also in the study of a wider range of microbial, vertebrate, and invertebrate species. While different organism types and target elements may require different sample preparation strategies, the selection of an appropriate elemental fixation method (chemical or cryogenic), embedding material, sample thickness, and mounting material is particularly important. We demonstrate the opportunities that SR techniques present to those in the fields of environmental biology, ecology, and evolutionary science who may be unfamiliar, while demystifying the caveats and sample preparation considerations that must be addressed to acquire high‐quality data. While these techniques are currently mainly employed within the context of environmental pollution and ecotoxicology studies, we argue that elemental imaging, X‐ray microscopy and spectroscopic analysis have a huge, largely untapped potential within agri‐ecology, paleoclimatology, and comparative and functional morphology studies.
... Also, the temperature of the amber specimen should be monitored when using a black light, since, as mentioned earlier, fossil resins are susceptible to damage by heating. Van de Kamp et al. (2013) suggest testing the effect of synchrotron radiation with a "[barren] piece of the same [amber] type before scanning a valuable sample" (p. 154), which, however, only applies to scans that take 20 to 30 min. ...
Amber, a natural polymer, is fossil tree resin derived from diverse botanical sources with varying chemical compositions. As such, all amber is susceptible to the effects of light, temperature, relative humidity, and oxygen, as well as exposure to certain chemicals, and will deteriorate over time in collections if left unprotected. Here we review approaches for the conservation, preparation, and imaging of amber specimens and their inclusions, and address indications and causes of amber degradation, as well as recommendations for a suitable storage environment. We also provide updated preparation and embedding protocols, discuss several techniques for imaging inclusions, and address digitization efforts. A stable storage environment is essential to mitigate or avoid deterioration of amber, which often manifests as crazing, spalling, breaking and colour changes. Based on previous conservation studies of fossil resins, we generally recommend storage in a climate-monitored environment with a relative humidity of ca. 50%, 18 °C, and stress that light exposure must be kept to a minimum. For stabilization and anoxic sealing, amber specimens should ideally be embedded in an artificial epoxide resin (EpoTek 301-2 or similar is currently recommended). Amber should not be treated with or stored in vegetable or mineral oils (even for a short time for examination or photography), or come into contact with alcohol, disinfecting agents, hydrogen peroxide, or other destructive solvents or mixtures, since any of these materials can irreversibly damage the amber. Most photography of inclusions for research and digitization purposes can be successfully accomplished using light microscopy. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is sometimes used to uncover fine details, but is an invasive method. However, X-ray based methods (utilizing micro computed tomography, or micro-CT) are becoming more frequently used and increasingly indispensable in the examination of minute internal structures of inclusions, and to fully visualize important structures in opaque amber. Micro-CT makes it possible to digitize an inclusion three-dimensionally, and thus enables digital specimen ‘loans.’ Light microscopal images are still widely used in the digitization of amber specimens and are an essential alternative to micro-CT imaging when resources or time are limited. Overall, due to the vulnerability of all fossil resins, we recommend that conservation of amber samples and their inclusions be prioritized.
... I N recent years, X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging allows biologists to study the internal structure of small animals such as insects and other arthropods [1]- [3]. However, noise is inevitable in data produced by CT. ...
Removing noise in computer tomography (CT) data for real-time 3D visualization is vital to improve the quality of the final display. However, the CT noise cannot be removed by straight averaging because the noise has a broadband spatial frequency that is overlapping with the interesting signal frequencies. To improve the display of structures and features contained in the data, we present spatially variant filtering that performs averaging of sub-regions around a central region. We compare our filter with five other similar spatially variant filters regarding entropy and processing time. The results demonstrate significant improvement of the visual quality with processing time still within the millisecond range.
... I N recent years, X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging allows biologists to study the internal structure of small animals such as insects and other arthropods [1]- [3]. However, noise is inevitable in data produced by CT. ...
Removing noise in computer tomography (CT) data for real-time 3D visualization is vital to improving the quality of the final display. However, the CT noise cannot be removed by straight averaging because the noise has a broadband spatial frequency that is overlapping with the interesting signal frequencies. To improve the display of structures and features contained in the data, we present spatially variant filtering that performs averaging of sub-regions around a central region. We compare our filter with four other similar spatially variant filters regarding entropy and processing time. The results demonstrate significant improvement of the visual quality with processing time still within the millisecond range.
... In recent years, synchrotron-based X-ray microtomography (SRµCT) has become an invaluable technique for the 3D examination of small animals like insects and other arthropods [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] . Consequently, access to dedicated imaging beamlines at synchrotron radiation facilities is requested by more and more competing research groups. ...
Beamtime and resulting SRμCT data are a valuable resource for researchers of a broad scientific community in life sciences. Most research groups, however, are only interested in a specific organ and use only a fraction of their data. The rest of the data usually remains untapped. By using a new collaborative approach, the NOVA project (Network for Online Visualization and synergistic Analysis of tomographic data) aims to demonstrate, that more efficient use of the valuable beam time is possible by coordinated research on different organ systems. The biological partners in the project cover different scientific aspects and thus serve as model community for the collaborative approach. As proof of principle, different aspects of insect head morphology will be investigated (e.g., biomechanics of the mouthparts, and neurobiology with the topology of sensory areas). This effort is accomplished by development of advanced analysis tools for the ever-increasing quantity of tomographic datasets. In the preceding project ASTOR, we already successfully demonstrated considerable progress in semi-automatic segmentation and classification of internal structures. Further improvement of these methods is essential for an efficient use of beam time and will be refined in the current NOVA project. Significant enhancements are also planned at PETRA III beamline p05 to provide all possible contrast modalities in x-ray imaging optimized to biological samples, on the reconstruction algorithms, and the tools for subsequent analyses and management of the data. All improvements made on key technologies within this project will in the long-term be equally beneficial for all users of tomography instrumentations.
... The latest light microscope used in morphological work is the confocal microscope (Ernst 2011, Popovici et al. 2014b). X-ray microtomography provides a new way to study fossils in amber, and X-ray cine-tomography has been used to study morphological dynamics in millimeter-size insects (Kamp et al. 2013). Traditional techniques are still important to clarify structure and to standardize morphological terms. ...
The most widely recognized hymenopterans – ants, bees, and wasps or hornets – have long been part of art, ritual, and folklore worldwide. Both extant and extinct Hymenoptera were classified into two broad groups, the Symphyta and Apocrita. The Symphyta include the most primitive hymenopterans and comprise almost 5% of the extant Hymenoptera. The Apocrita include about 96% of the Hymenoptera and are subdivided into the Aculeata, which include familiar species such as ants, social wasps, and bees, and the Parasitica, a diverse and abundant group of usually small, inconspicuous species, most of which parasitize insects and spiders. Hymenoptera have diversified into various morphological forms and ways of life and might be the largest order of insects. The important works include a discussion of hymenopteran diversity and importance, overviews of the Symphyta, biology of the Parasitica and solitary Aculeata, and family identification keys and diagnoses for the world.
... In vivo X-ray cineradiography. The scans were performed at the TOPO-TOMO beamline 25,26 of the ANKA Synchrotron Radiation Facility, using a filtered parallel polychromatic X-ray beam at a spectrum peak of about 15 keV. An indirect detector system composed of a 12 μ m LSO: Tb scintillator 27 , diffraction limited optical microscope (Optique Peter 28 ) and 12 bit pco. ...
Male genital organs are among the fastest evolving morphological structures. However, large parts of
the male’s genitalia are often hidden inside the female during mating. In several bushcricket species,
males bear a pair of sclerotized genital appendices called titillators. By employing synchrotron-based
in vivo X-ray cineradiography on mating couples, we were able to visualize titillator movement and
spermatophore attachment inside the female. Titillators are inserted and retracted rhythmically. During
insertion the titillator processes tap the soft and sensillae-covered dorsal side of the female’s flap-like
genital fold, which covers the opening of the female’s genitalia, without tissue penetration. Titillators
thus appear to be initially used for stimulation; later they may apply pressure that forces the female’s
genital fold to stay open, thereby aiding mechanically in spermatophore transfer.
... In addition to the fossils, we performed tomographic scans of the extant O. striatus for a direct comparison. Scans were done at the TOPO-TOMO beamline (RACK et al. 2009) of the ANKA Synchrotron Radiation Facility (VAN DE KAMP et al. 2013) at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. One specimen strikingly differs from all other specimens of the collection by the presence of a stony matrix covering the ventral part of the beetle; its dorsal part and head are exposed (Fig. 6A, B). ...
At the end of the 19 th century, numerous mineralized insects from the Paleogene were discovered during phosphorite mining in the former province of Quercy in France. Despite their unusual three-dimensional preservation, the Quercy insects received only minor attention from the scientifi c community. During the time of mining, the only detailed study on the subject was provided in 1890 by KARL FLACH, who described two carrion beetle species. More than fi ve decades later, the Swiss entomologist EDUARD HANDSCHIN published the fi rst and hitherto only comprehensive study on the Quercy insects. Unfortunately, his detailed work did not draw the attention of paleoentomologists to these fascinating fossils. More than 70 years after HANDSCHIN's study, recent examinations provided fascinating new insights into this almost forgotten fossil type. While the descriptions by the early researchers were largely restricted to the external shape of the specimens, X-ray microtomography now permits detailed non-destructive examination of their internal composition. The latest study revealed extraordinarily well-preserved anatomical characters in a fossil hister beetle (Histeridae: Onthophilus intermedius Handschin, 1944), which was largely hidden inside a stony matrix. This fi nding suggests that the Quercy specimens constitute a rich but yet largely unexploited source for anatomical data of fossil insects.
... Significances: *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001. or individual body parts (e.g., compared to X-ray microtomography; van de Kamp et al., 2013). However, our relatively simple, inexpensive method represents a substantial progress over geometric assumptions (Lighton & Feener, 1989) or simple isometric models (Johnson & Gibbs, 2004) that assume an invariable shape across species or individuals of different size. ...
Body mass, volume and surface area are important for many aspects of the physiology and performance of species. Whereas body mass scaling received a lot of attention in the literature, surface areas of animals have not been measured explicitly in this context. We quantified surface area - volume (SA/V) ratios for the first time using 3D surface models based on a structured light scanning method for 126 species of pollinating insects from four orders (Diptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera and Coleoptera). Water loss of 67 species was measured gravimetrically at very dry conditions for two hours at 15° and 30°C to demonstrate the applicability of the new 3D surface measurements and relevance for predicting the performance of insects. Quantified SA/V ratios significantly explained the variation in water loss across species, both directly or after accounting for isometric scaling (residuals of the SA/V ∼ mass(2/3) relationship). Small insects with a proportionally larger surface area had the highest water loss rates. Surface scans of insects to quantify allometric SA/V ratios thus provide a promising method to predict physiological responses, improving the potential of body mass isometry alone that assume geometric similarity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
