Welcome to the Amira-Avizo Software Use Case Gallery

3D loess microstructure of loess, including skeleton particles as well as inter-particle bonding structures, was characterized through a correlative approach using μXCT and FIB-SEM

Loess, a Quaternary wind-blown deposit, is a problem soil that gives rise to frequent geohazards such as landslides and water-induced subsidence. The behavior of loess is controlled by its microstructure, consisting of silt sized
skeleton particles and complex bonding structures formed by clay-sized p... Read more

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) extends throughout a cell and plays a critical role in maintaining cellular homeostasis.
Changes in ER shape could provide a clue to explore the mechanisms that underlie the fate determination of neurons after
axon injury because the ER drastically changes its morphology under neuronal stress to maintain cellular homeostasis and
recover from damage. Because of their tiny structures and richness in the soma, the detailed morphology of the ER and... Read more

In this study, the researchers investigated the compressive failure mechanisms in flax fiber composites, a promising eco-friendly alternative to synthetic composite materials, through both numerical simulations and experimental analysis. They examined the reasons behind the low compressive strength in comparison to tensile strength, focusing on the compressive-to-tensile strength ratio. A novel thermodynamically consistent continuum damage micromechanics model was introduced to capture the ev... Read more

This study provides a comprehensive review of tortuosity and its impact on the transport properties of porous media. It discusses the classical theories and equations related to tortuosity for flow, conduction, and diffusion. The study also highlights the evolution of these theories and their connection to methodologies such as tomography and 3D image analysis. In order to clarify the topic, a new classification scheme and nomenclature for different types of tortuosity are proposed. The study... Read more

Focused-ion beam-scanning electron microscopic (FIB-SEM) tomography enables easier acquisition of a series of ultrastructural, sectional images directly from resin-embedded biological samples. In this study, to clarify the three-dimensional (3D) architecture of glomerular endothelial cells (GEnCs) in adult rats, we manually extracted GEnCs from serial FIB-SEM images and reconstructed them on an Amira reconstruction software. The luminal and basal surface structures were clearly visualized in ... Read more

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is a powerful and versatile technique for materials characterization and present in many laboratories. The integration of an X-ray target holder and detector allows expanding the modalities of SEM by X-ray imaging. These little hardware adaptations enable radiography ... Read more

Ebola viruses (EBOVs) assemble into filamentous virions, whose shape and stability are determined by the matrix viral protein 40 (VP40). Virus entry into host cells occurs via membrane fusion in late endosomes; however, the mechanism of how the remarkably long virions undergo uncoating, including virion disassembly and nucleocapsid release into the cytosol, remains unknown. Here, we investigate the structural architecture of EBOVs entering host cells and discover that the VP40 matrix disassem... Read more

In recent years new methodologies and workflow pipelines for acquiring correlated fluorescence microscopy and volume electron microscopy datasets have been extensively described and made accessible to users of different levels. Post-acquisition image processing, and particularly correlation of the optical and electron data in a single integrated three-dimensional framework can be key for extracting valuable information, especially when imaging large sample volumes such as whole cells or tissu... Read more

The usefulness of desktop Micro-CT scanners for the study of archaeological artefacts is demonstrated in a non-destructive study of manufacturing methods of Roman and Early Medieval monochrome and polychrome glass beads. Differences in glass colours show up in these scans as differences in attenuation. The presence and distribution of bubbles and various inclusions (metal, opacifier) are also well visible. Shaft shapes and patterns of bubbles inside the glass make it possible in most cases to... Read more

Advanced nanotomographic analysis is still far from routine, and a number of challenges remain in data acquisition and post-processing. In this work, we present a number of techniques to improve the quality of the acquired data, together with easy-to-implement methods to obtain “advanced” microstructural quantifications. The techniques are applied to a solid oxide fuel cell cathode of interest to the electrochemistry community, but the methodologies are easily adaptable to a wide range of... Read more

The hot pressing process for fabricating membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) has been widely adopted, yet little is known of its effects on the microstructural properties of the different components of the MEA. In particular, the interaction of the electrolyte, electrode and gas diffusion layer (GDL) due to lamination is difficult to probe as conventional imaging techniques cannot access the internal structure of the MEA. Here, a novel approach is used, which combines characterisation of hot... Read more

Unlike white and brown adipose tissues, the bone marrow adipocyte (BMA) exists in a microenvironment containing unique populations of hematopoietic and skeletal cells.

To study this microenvironment at the subcellular level, we performed a three-dimensional analysis of the ultrastructure of the BMA niche with focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM). This revealed that BMAs display hallmarks of metabolically active cells including polarized lipid deposits, a dense mitoch... Read more

Recent studies have identified gold nanoparticles in ores in a range of deposit types, but little is known about their formation processes. In this contribution, gold-bearing magnetite from the well-documented, world-class Beiya Au deposit, China, was investigated in terms of microstructure and crystallography at the nanoscale. We present the first three-dimensional (3D) focused ion beam/scanning electron microscopy (FIB/SEM) tomography of the distribution of gold nanoparticles in nanopores i... Read more

Porous materials have attracted great attention for various applications, e.g., catalysis, novel materials, energy related topics, acoustics, microelectronics, actuator, bioengineering and biomimetic. Recently, porous materials have gained interest as interconnect materials for power semiconductor device.

The trend in the semiconductor industry goes towards eco-friendliness and higher energy efficiency. Semiconductor compound materials, such as silicon carbide (SiC) or gallium nitride... Read more

Fossil fruits formerly described as cashews from the Oligocene of Peru are reinvestigated based on the original specimens and newly collected materials. The recovery of an outer spiny layer, preserved in the sedimentary molds surrounding the locule casts, indicates that these disseminules do not represent Anacardium. Imagery from nano-CT scans of the specimens documents a distinctive morphology which does not resemble any fruits or seeds of Anacardiaceae. We describe the morphology in more de... Read more

A combination of 3D tomography techniques provides direct evidence that links the phase assemblage to the bio-corrosion behaviour of a magnesium-zinc-calcium (Mg-Zn-Ca) alloy. The true shape, connectivity and volume fraction of the components have been determined using focused ion beam (FIB) tomography. The mechanism of the effect of the components with different morphologies on biodegradation was studied with the help of FIB. Micro X-ray CT (MicroCT) was used to investigate the degradation o... Read more

Nickel-yttria-stabilized zirconia (Ni-YSZ) cermet is widely used as an anode material in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs); however, Ni re-oxidation causes critical problems due to volume expansion, which causes high thermal stress. We fabricated a Ni-YSZ anode functional layer (AFL), which is an essential component in high-performance SOFCs, and re-oxidized it to investigate the related three-dimensional (3D) microstructural and thermo-mechanical effects. A 3D model of the re-oxidized AFL ... Read more

In this paper a fully three dimensional, multiphase, micro-scale solid oxide fuel cellanode transport phenomena numerical model is proposed and verified. The Butler-Volmer model was combined with empirical relations for conductivity and diffusivity – notably the Fuller-Shetler-Giddings equation, and the Fickian modelfor transport of gas reagents. FIB-SEM tomography of a commercial SOFC stack anode was performed and the resulting images were processed to acquire input data. ... Read more

X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT) across multiple length scales is utilized for the first time to investigate the physical abuse of high C-rate pulsed discharge on cells wired individually and in parallel.. Manufactured lithium iron phosphate cells boasting high rate capability were pulse power tested in both wiring conditions with high discharge currents of 10C for a high number of cycles (up to 1200) until end of life (<80% of initial discharge capacity retained). The parallel ass... Read more

A dendritic porous supported microstructure simultaneously creates small pore size and broad gas diffusion pathways in a solid oxide fuel cell anode membrane. This microstructure also achieves pore sizes that reduce with increasing depth within the membrane without increasing the structure tortuosity. Such a microstructure supplies high triple phase boundary density, fast gas diffusion and low polarization resistance. Here we characterise the performance of a porous anode with such a dendriti... Read more

Growing popularity and rapid development of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) stem for their potential to become a gamechanger in the field of clean power generation technologies.

In this paper, a transient microstructure-oriented numerical simulation of a planar Direct Internal Reforming Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (DIR-SOFC) is delivered. The performance criteria in a direct steam reforming for a fuel starvation scenario are analyzed in order to optimize the underlying process. The proposed t... Read more