Karen S. Miller

Evaluation of a Fluorescent Lectin-Based Staining Technique for Some Acidophilic Mining Bacteria

ABSTRACT A fluorescence-labeled wheat germ agglutinin staining technique (R. K. Sizemore et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 56:2245–2247, 1990) was modified and found to be effective for staining gram-positive, acidophilic mining bacteria. Bacteria identified by others as being gram positive through 16S rRNA sequence analyses, yet clustering near the divergence of that group, stained weakly. Gram-negative bacteria did not stain. Background staining of environmental samples was negligible, and pyrite and soil particles in the samples did not interfere with the staining procedure.

Observations on Characterization of Defects in Coiled Tubing From Magnetic-Flux-Leakage Data

This paper presents observations on the sizing of automatically detected artificial flaws in coiled tubing samples using magnetic-flux-leakage data. Sixty-six artificial flaws of various shapes and types, ranging from 0.30 mm deep pits to slots with length of 9.5 mm, in 44.45 mm outer diameter pipe were analyzed. The detection algorithm and the information automatically extracted from the data are described. Observations on the capabilities and limitations for determining the size and shape of the flaws are discussed.