Particle Characterization of Washing Process Effluents by Laser Diffraction Technique

The dominant type of polymer particles in water, sediment, and various organisms partly derives from natural and synthetic fibres released in the washing process. Pollution of aquatic recipients with these particles poses an interdisciplinary problem throughout the world. Wastewater from washing represents a dispersion system with different particle sizes that is also loaded with the source of the particles. Due to this complex system, the qualification and quantification of this type of pollution is difficult. In this paper, the laser diffraction technique was applied to characterize particles in effluents from washing and rinsing materials made of a mixture of cotton and polyester. The results obtained through the analysis prove that the laser diffraction technique is acceptable for the characterization of a composite effluent sample. The advanced statistical technique of multivariate analysis confirmed the interrelationship of the parameters of this complex dispersion system.

Love Waves in a Viscoelastic Stratum: Explicit Expression for Complex Velocity as a Function of Frequency

ABSTRACT Propagation of Love wave is considered in a two-layered stratum of isotropic viscoelastic solids. The complex dispersion equation for this wave is solved through a complex analysis technique. This gets an analytical expression for complex velocity, as a function of real frequency rather than the complex wavenumber. This complex (phase) velocity is used further to calculate the (complex) group velocity. Numerical example is solved to analyze the dispersion in speed and attenuation of the viscoelastic Love waves.

Spatial distribution of lamin A/C determines nuclear stiffness and stress-mediated deformation

While diverse cellular components have been identified as mechanotransduction elements, the deformation of the nucleus itself is a critical mechanosensory mechanism, implying that nuclear stiffness is essential in determining responses to intracellular and extracellular stresses. Though the nuclear membrane protein lamin A/C is known to contribute to nuclear stiffness, bulk moduli of nuclei have not been reported for various levels of lamin A/C. Here we measure the nuclear bulk moduli as a function of lamin A/C expression and applied osmotic stress, revealing a linear dependence within the range of 2-4 MegaPascal (MPa). We also find that the nuclear compression is anisotropic, with the vertical axis of the nucleus being more compliant than the minor and major axes in the substrate plane. We then related the spatial distribution of lamin A/C with sub-micron 3D nuclear envelope deformation, revealing that local areas of the nuclear envelope with higher density of lamin A/C have correspondingly lower local deformations. These findings describe the complex dispersion of nuclear deformations as a function of lamin A/C expression and distribution, implicating a lamin A/C role in mechanotransduction.

The SUN2-nesprin-2 LINC complex and KIF20A function in the Golgi dispersal

The morphology of the Golgi complex is influenced by the cellular context, which strictly correlates with nuclear functions; however, the mechanism underlying this association remains elusive. The inner nuclear membrane SUN proteins, SUN1 and SUN2, have diverse functions together with the outer nuclear membrane nesprin proteins, which comprise the LINC complex. We found that depletion of SUN1 leads to Golgi complex dispersion with maintenance of ministacks and retained function for vesicle transport through the Golgi complex. In addition, SUN2 associates with microtubule plus-end-directed motor KIF20A, possibly via nesprin-2. KIF20A plays a role in the Golgi dispersion in conjunction with the SUN2-nesprin-2 LINC complex in SUN1-depleted cells, suggesting that SUN1 suppresses the function of the SUN2-nesprin-2 LINC complex under a steady-state condition. Further, SUN1-knockout mice, which show impaired cerebellar development and cerebellar ataxia, presented altered Golgi morphology in Purkinje cells. These findings revealed a regulation of the Golgi organization by the LINC complex.

Infrared Optical Conductivity of Bulk Bi2Te2Se

Mid- and near-infrared measurements reveal that the optical conductivity of the three-dimensional topological insulator, Bi2Te2Se, is dominated by bulk carriers and shows a linear-in-frequency increase at 0.5 to 0.8 eV. This linearity might be interpreted as a signature of three-dimensional (bulk) Dirac bands; however, band-structure calculations show that transitions between bands with complex dispersion contribute instead to the inter-band optical conductivity at these frequencies and, hence, the observed linearity is accidental. These results warn against the oversimplified interpretations of optical-conductivity measurements in different Dirac materials.

Impact of losses on Love wave propagation in multilayered composite structures loaded with a Newtonian liquid

In this study, we analyze theoretically and numerically the properties of Love surface waves propagating in lossy multilayered composite waveguides, loaded on the upper surface with a Newtonian liquid. The propagation of Love surface waves was formulated in terms of a direct Sturm–Liouville problem. An analytical form of the complex dispersion equation of the Love surface wave was derived using the Thomson–Haskell transfer matrix method. By separating the complex dispersion equation into its real and imaginary parts, we obtained a set of two nonlinear algebraic equations, which were subsequently solved numerically. The effect of various physical parameters of the lossy viscoelastic waveguide on the velocity and attenuation of the Love surface wave was then analyzed numerically. It was found that because of the presence of losses in the analyzed waveguide, Love surface waves displayed a number of new original phenomena, such as resonant-like maxima in attenuation as a function of thicknesses [Formula: see text] of the first viscoelastic surface layer and thickness [Formula: see text] of the second elastic surface layer. These phenomena are completely absent in lossless waveguides.