By using a transmission electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer, it was possible to detect the morphological, structural, and chemical characteristics of individual asbestos fibers and clay minerals without any realignment of the equipment. A rapid and convenient procedure for semiquantitative analysis is proposed. Analyses are given for 21 hydrous silicates, asbestos and clay minerals, by both ordinary chemical and energy dispersive methods. The energy dispersive results were comparable to those obtained by chemical analysis. Application of this procedure to asbestos fibers proved this method to be practical and valid for characterization of asbestos in environmental and tissue samples.

The effect of the free-stream turbulence on the flow past a circular cylinder was studied experimentally in the subcritical and critical regimes. Several grids were used to produce approximately homogeneous turbulent fields with longitudinal integral scales ranging from 0·30 to 3·65 cylinder diameters and with the longitudinal intensities ranging from 1·4 to 18·5%.

The critical Reynolds number Rc at which the time-mean drag coefficient obtains the value of 0·8 was found to satisfy the relation Rc1·34T = 1·98 × 105, where T is the Taylor number defined in terms of the longitudinal integral scale. The time-mean drag coefficient, the base-pressure coefficient and the spanwise correlation length of the surface-pressure fluctuations in the vicinity of the separation point were fairly well correlated with the parameter R1·34T, R being the Reynolds number. It was argued that the parameter R1·34T will control some aspects of the flow past a circular cylinder immersed in turbulent streams.

Whole-genome scans have identified Dmo1 as a major quantitative trait locus (QTL) for obesity and dyslipidaemia in the Otsuka Long Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rat. We have produced congenic rats for the Dmo1 locus, using marker-assisted speed congenic protocols, enforced by selective removal of other QTL regions (QTL-marker-assisted counterselection), to efficiently transfer chromosomal segments from non-diabetic Fischer 344 (F344) rats into the OLETF background. In the third generation of congenic animals, we observed a substantial therapeutic effect of the Dmo1 locus on lipid metabolism, obesity control and plasma glucose homeostasis. We conclude that single-allele correction of an impaired genetic pathway can generate a substantial therapeutic effect, despite the complex polygenic nature of type II diabetic syndromes.

The oxidation of ZrC single crystals having (100) faces was performed at a temperature of 600 °C at an oxygen pressure of 2.6 kPa. A polished cross section of oxide scale was observed by backscattered electron imaging (BEI) in a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The oxide scale was observed to consist of two subscales, zones 1 and 2; zone 1 is adjacent to the ZrC. The thickness of zone 1 was kept constant (about 2 μm), independent of oxidation time. The interfacial microstructure between ZrC and cubic ZrO2 (c-ZrO2) phase in zone 1 was observed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy, by using an extremely thin foil of an oxidized crystal. The c-ZrO2 crystallites of 2 to 10 nm in size showing the (111), (200), and (220) lattice fringes were aggregated and distributed in an area about 10 to 20 nm away from the interface, with an amorphous layer observed adjacent to the ZrC. Electron dispersive x-ray analysis (EDX) indicated that carbon is concentrated at the interface; a decreasing oxygen concentration gradient in the oxide phase and away from the interface in the ZrC suggests the formation of oxygen-deficient ZrO2–x and oxycarbide on the respective sides of the interface. A black coating layer appeared, resulting from detachment or dissolution of zone 2, when a crystal oxidized for 1 h was treated in a HF solution. The layer was shown by the Raman spectrum to be amorphous carbon.