Surface roughness is a critical factor affecting the performance of dental implants. One approach to influence this is through sandblasted, large grit, acid-etched (SLA) modification on pure titanium implant surfaces. In this study, SLA was performed on grade IV pure titanium. Sandblasting was conducted at distances of 2, 4, and 6 cm. Subsequently, the samples were etched with a mixed acid solution of HCl, H2SO4, and H2O for 0, 30, and 60 min. Surface roughness and X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterizations were conducted on the samples. The results revealed that surface roughness increased but was not too significant as the sandblasting distance decreased. Longer etching durations for sandblasted with acid-etched samples led to reduced surface roughness (Sa and Sz). It was found that a 60 min-etched sample resulted in optimal Sa, Sz, and Ssk values, i.e., 1.19 μm, 13.76 μm, and −0.60, respectively. The XRD texture was significantly influenced by sandblasting, with compressive residual stress increasing as the sandblasting distance decreased. Normal stress causes hill formations at shorter sandblasting distances. For etched samples, the residual stress decreased with longer etching durations. Normal stress-decreasing trend aligns with the initial reduction in hill and valley within the samples and subsequent hill enhancement at extended etching duration.

Varieties of kaolin, a rock, may be classified geologically, mineralogically, crystallographically, genetically, texturally, morphologically, by industrial use, and in other ways which are desired. In this paper, the first-order of classification used is geological, i.e., transported and residual, after which other categories are used as subdivisions.

Scan electron micrographs, SEM, of the textures of kaolin show that distinctive textures characterize the several categories of classification. Varieties in texture of kaolin include similarities to those typical of sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks. Because word descriptions of the textures are inadequate in comparison to pictures of them, the reader is referred to the micrographs.

SEM's illustrate differences between kaolins which were transported, formed, or deposited from solution, a colloidal phase, or as orthodox clastic particles. The parent source of kaolin deposited, or “grown,” from solution may be difficult to ascertain. It is suggested that the total role of solution work in kaolin petrology can be more important than has ordinarily been credited.

Scanning, transmission, and analytical electron microscopy studies of shales from the Salton Sea geothermal field revealed that phyllosilicates progress through zones of illite-muscovite (115°−220°C), chlorite (220°−310°C), and biotite (310°C). These phyllosilicates occur principally as discrete, euhedral to subhedral crystals which partly fill pore space. The structural and chemical heterogeneity, which is typical of phyllosilicates in shales subject to diagenesis, is generally absent. Textures and microstructures indicate that the mineral progression involves dissolution of detrital phases, mass transport through interconnecting pore space, and direct crystallization of phyllosilicates from solution.

Phyllosilicate stability relations indicate that either increase in temperature or changing ion concentrations in solutions with depth are capable of explaining the observed mineral zoning. Textural and compositional data suggest that the observed mineral assemblages and the interstitial fluids approach equilibrium relative to the original detrital suites. The alteration process may have occurred in a single, short-lived, episodic hydrothermal event in which the original detrital phases (smectite, etc.) reacted directly to precipitate illite, chlorite, or biotite at different temperatures (depths) without producing intermediate phases.

The Rokle bentonite deposit is part of an accumulation of argillized volcanoclastic rocks in the Tertiary stratovolcanic complex of the Doupovské Mountains east of Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), about 100 km westnorthwest of Prague, Czechoslovakia. The arenite basalt ash was originally composed of hyaloclasts and subordinate biotite. The following types of montmorillonite aggregates were produced during the alteration of the ash in a stagnant, lacustrine environment: (1) extremely fine-grained micro-crystalline aggregates that have honeycomb textures and that replace the original hyaloclasts, and (2) coarse crystalline aggregates that have more open honeycomb textures and that fill pores and cracks in altered hyaloclasts and in pumice vesicles. Both types of aggregates have the same chemical composition according to energy dispersive X-ray analysis.

Montmorillonite, separated as the <1-¼m size fraction from olive gray bentonite, has the following crystallochemical formula: (K0.09Na0.02Ca0.29Mg0.10) (Al2.43Fe3+1.05Fe2+0.005Mn2+0.005Mg0.50) (Si7.62Al0.38) O20(OH)4. Biotite was apparently stable during the alteration of the hyaloclasts. Anatase and possible accessory heulandite-clinoptilolite were also formed in small amounts, but were not observed by scanning electron microscopy. Goethite is the youngest oxidation product in some parts of the bentonite. Minute fragments of sodium-rich plagioclase, potassium feldspar, quartz, and muscovite are ubiquitous accessories of the original hyaloclasts. Together with kaolinite, they formed from the underlying fresh or kaolinized orthogneiss.

In order to understand the influence of salt concentration and temperature on the behavior and properties of clays used in drilling muds, we studied montmorillonite supensions (4 g clay/100 g solution) in 0.1, 0.5 and 1 M NaCl and KCl solutions. A fraction of each sample was heated to 200 °C in a closed vessel for 7 d, then cooled at room temperature (RT, 25 °C). Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) spectra were recorded, for all the samples, at RT. The structure of the clay particles was determined by comparing the experimental intensity with the theoretical intensity computed from a model that took into account the number of layers per particle, the hydration state of the layers (0, l, 2, 3 or 4 water layers) and the order in the succession of these states. With this set of parameters, we can compute the mean statistical parameters M¯ (mean number of layers per particle), d¯ (mean interlayer distance) and δ¯2/d¯2 (parameter describing the disorder of the distribution of interlayer distances). The evolution of these parameters shows that:

1. 1) At low concentration (0.1 M NaCl or KCl), the samples do not consist of particles but of isolated layers (M = 1). The suspensions form gel-like structures. The difference between Na and K suspensions, or between heated and nonheated samples, is unnoticeable at the studied scale (5–500 Å).

2. 2) An increase in salt concentration (from 0.1 to 0.5 M) brings the sample in a granular state: we notice the appearance of particles at 0.5 M (M¯ ≥ 25). Differences appear between NaCl and KCl suspensions, and the temperature effect becomes visible. Thus, we noticed that in NaCl suspensions, particles are composed of hydrated layers (1, 2, 3 or 4 water layers) and internal porosity (d > 30 Å), whereas suspensions in KCl are characterized by the presence of interlayer distances of 10 Å, that is, of collapsed layers. Particles in the KCl suspensions are much thicker than in the NaCl corresponding ones, and also less hydrated at the interlayer level as well as at the internal porosity level. Further increase in salt concentration (0.5 to 1 M) amplifies this effect. As far as temperature is concerned, its effect is to promote the clay dispersion by breaking up the particles, dehydrating and disordering them. This effect is more important for low salt concentration, that is, when the system is less stressed.

Microbial reduction of clay mineral structural Fe(III) decreases the swelling of nontronite gels, most importantly at intermediate oxidation states (40 to 80 cmol Fe(II) kg−1 clay). The purpose of this study was to establish whether microbial reduction of structural Fe(III) decreased the swelling of other Fe-bearing smectites and to discern the influence that organic compounds of microbial origin (bacterial cells, cell fragments and/or exudates) may have on clay swelling and texture. Structural Fe(III) was reduced by incubating smectite suspensions with either a combination of Pseudomonas bacteria or a mixture of anaerobic bacteria. The influence of organics on clay swelling was estimated on smectites suspended in either organic or inorganic media in the absence of bacteria. The gravimetric water content of the reduced clay gels equilibrated at various applied pressures was recorded as a function of Fe oxidation state. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was employed to determine the influence of bacteria and type of media on the texture of reduced smectite gels. Reduction of structural Fe(III) by bacteria decreased the swelling pressure of all Fe-bearing smectites. Increased clay swelling, due to the presence of organics (organic medium, exudates or cell fragments), was correlated to the total Fe content, the extent of structural Fe reduction, as well as the initial swelling characteristics of the Fe-bearing smectites. High structural Fe(II) contents (>50 cmol Fe(II) kg−1) resulted in increased attractive forces between clay platelets that decreased clay swelling, even in organic medium suspensions. Microbial reduction resulted in increased face-face association of individual clay layers, forming larger and more distinct crystallite subunits than in nonreduced clay gels. But, perhaps more importantly, microbial reduction of structural Fe(III) resulted in an increased association between crystallite subunits and, thus, an overall larger particle size and pore size distribution, due to the interaction of bacteria ceils, cell fragments and organic exudates.

Together, the three particle size fractions (PSFs) of clay, silt, and sand are the most fundamental soil properties because the relative abundance influences the physical, chemical, and biological activities in soil. Unfortunately, determining PSFs requires a laboratory method which is time-consuming. One way to add value is to use digital soil mapping, which relies on empirical models, such as multiple linear regression (MLR), to couple ancillary data to PSFs. This approach does not account for the special requirements of compositional data. Here, ancillary data were coupled, via MLR modelling, to additive log-ratio (ALR) or isometric log-ratio (ILR) transformations of the PSFs to meet these requirements. These three approaches (MLR vs. ALR-MLR and ILR-MLR) were evaluated along with the use of different ancillary data that included proximally sensed gamma-ray spectrometry, electromagnetic induction, and elevation data. In addition, how the prediction might be improved was examined using ancillary data that was measured on transects and was compared to data interpolated from transects spaced far apart. Although the ALR-MLR approach did not produce significantly better results, it predicted soil PSFs that summed to 100 and had the advantage of interpreting the ancillary data relative to the original coordinates (i.e. clay, silt, and sand). For the prediction of PSFs at various depths, all ancillary data were useful. Elevation and gamma-ray data were slightly better for topsoil and elevation and electromagnetic (EM) data were better for subsoil prediction. In addition, a smaller transect spacing (26 m) and number of samples (9–16) might be adopted for mapping soil PSFs and soil texture across the study field. The ALR-MLR approach can be applied elsewhere to map the spatial distribution of clay minerals.

Under closed geochemical conditions, the weathering of a serpentinite rock composed of serpentine (70–85%) and magnesian chlorite (10–15%) associated with magnetite and chromite leads to the complete replacement of serpentine and chlorite by 2:1 layer silicates and produces new Fe oxides. The serpentine minerals crystallize under different habits issued from the serpentinization processes: mesh and hourglass pseudomorphic textures were formed from olivine, and thin-bladed pseudomorphic textures from pyroxene and amphibole crystals. Serpentine veins crosscut the whole rock with locally non-pseudomorphic interpenetrating and interlocking serpentines.

Specific weathering microsystem habits with specific clay mineral crystallizations originate from these different habits: a poorly aluminous saponite in thin-bladed textures, two Fe-rich montmorillonites in mesh and hourglass (MH) textures, and in veins (V) which differentiate on Al, Mg and Fe contents. Magnesian chlorites, isolated from serpentine by hand-picking under a stereomicroscope, are found to weather to trioctahedral vermiculite. Magnetite and chromite extracted from the bulk samples are replaced by newly formed Fe oxides, maghemite, goethite and hematite, which give way to specific Fe accumulation habits in the regolith zone of the weathering profile.

We investigated four different production methods of Künefe cheese, emphasizing their industrial importance. The four methods used fresh Künefe cheese (FKC), salted Künefe cheese (SKC), Boru type Künefe cheese (BKC) and culture-added processed Künefe cheese (CPKC), all used in the production of Künefe, a syrupy dessert unique to the Middle East. FKC was produced as a result of curd formation from raw milk with rennet and then the fermentation of curd. SKC was manufactured using the salting method in addition to FKC production. BKC was obtained using the dry cooking process with emulsifying salts applied to cheese curd. CPKC was produced by applying heat treatment to raw milk and using starter culture before adding rennet that was different to Boru-type Künefe cheese. The composition, color, meltability, texture and sensory properties of the Künefe cheeses were examined. As a result of statistical analysis, it was determined that the effect of different production methods on the composition, meltability, texture (except springiness and cohesiveness) and sensory properties was significant in all cheeses (P < 0.05). CKPC was the most appropriate cheese in various properties.

The aim in this research paper was to investigate the effect of using calcium monophosphate (MCP) and MCP mixed with commercial phosphates salts, in total or partial replacement of calcium chloride (CaCl2) in the manufacture of Minas Frescal cheese. Initially, model cheeses were made to perform the rheological analysis during the coagulation process. Of these, the five best treatments were chosen to carry out the production of Minas Frescal cheese, used only CaCl2 and MCP, and partial replacements of MCP + polyphosphate, MCP + potassium monophosphate (MKP) and MCP. The cheeses showed no significant difference in physicochemical composition, yield and syneresis, however, the cheese with partial replacement of CaCl2 by MCP + polyphosphate and MCP + MKP showed the highest hardness values, like the control. This demonstrates that it is possible to replace calcium chloride without significant changes in the physicochemical characteristics and yield of Minas Frescal cheese, and it is still possible to modulate the hardness of the cheese produced according to the type of calcium/phosphate source used. This allows the industry to replace the source of calcium in the manufacture of Minas Frescal cheese according to the desired hardness.

This research paper assessed textural, microstructural, sensory and colour properties of set-yoghurts produced using milk from two indigenous cattle types, Thamankaduwa White (TW) and Lankan cattle (LC) compared to two generic cattle breeds, Friesian and Jersey. Instrumental texture profile (firmness, adhesiveness, cohesiveness and springiness), colour space (L* a* b*) and scanning electron micrographs of set-yoghurts during 21 d of storage (4 ± 1°C) were evaluated. Sensory quality attributes were evaluated with 40 untrained panellists using a five-point hedonic scale. Set-yoghurts prepared using indigenous cow milk showed higher (P < 0.05) firmness, cohesiveness and apparent viscosity values compared to those prepared using generic cow milk. As revealed by micrographs, set-yoghurts made from TW milk had lesser and smaller void spaces and a dense protein gel network than gels made from LC and the two generic breeds. The gel network made from Friesian milk showed a comparatively larger porous gel structure and thinner protein strands resulting in a weaker gel than other milk gels. The highest lightness (L*) and yellowness (b*) were observed from set-yoghurt produced from Friesian and LC milk, respectively. Set-yoghurts from TW milk had the highest (P < 0.05) sensory scores for all sensory attributes. The lowest sensory acceptance was recorded in set-yoghurt made from Friesian milk. Thus, milk from TW and LC is likely to be suitable in producing set-yoghurts with superior textural, microstructural and sensory properties, compared to milk from Jersey and Friesian. Our results suggest the merits of using indigenous cow milk in producing set-yoghurts and, thereby, prioritizing the preservation of the genetic pool of these indigenous breeds.

Gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) analysis is a contemporary and innovative computational method for the assessment of textural patterns, applicable in almost any area of microscopy. The aim of our research was to perform the GLCM analysis of cell nuclei in Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast cells after the induction of sublethal cell damage with ethyl alcohol, and to evaluate the performance of various machine learning (ML) models regarding their ability to separate damaged from intact cells. For each cell nucleus, five GLCM parameters were calculated: angular second moment, inverse difference moment, GLCM contrast, GLCM correlation, and textural variance. Based on the obtained GLCM data, we applied three ML approaches: neural network, random trees, and binomial logistic regression. Statistically significant differences in GLCM features were observed between treated and untreated cells. The multilayer perceptron neural network had the highest classification accuracy. The model also showed a relatively high level of sensitivity and specificity, as well as an excellent discriminatory power in the separation of treated from untreated cells. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that it is possible to create a relatively sensitive GLCM-based ML model for the detection of alcohol-induced damage in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell nuclei.

Methods based on the evaluation of textural patterns in microscopy, such as the “gray-level co-occurrence matrix” (GLCM) analysis are modern and innovative computer and mathematical algorithms that can be used to quantify subtle structural changes in cells and their organelles. Potential application of GLCM method in the fields of psychophysiology and psychiatry to this date has not been systematically investigated. The main objective of our study was to test the existence and strength of the association between chromatin structural organization of peripheral blood neutrophils and levels of self-perceived mental stress. The research was done on a sample of 100 healthy student athletes, and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS-21) were used for the estimation of psychological distress. Chromatin textural homogeneity and uniformity were negatively correlated (p < 0.01) with mental distress and had relatively good discriminatory power in differentiating participants with normal and elevated stress levels. As an addition, we propose the creation of a machine learning model based on binomial logistic regression that uses these and other GLCM features to predict stress elevation. To the best of our knowledge, these results are one of the first to establish the link between neutrophil chromatin structural organization quantified by the GLCM method and indicators of normal psychological functioning.