Collective cell migration: leadership,invasion and segregation

A number of biological processes, such as embryo development, cancer metastasis or wound healing, rely on cells moving in concert. The mechanisms leading to the emergence of coordinated motion remain however largely unexplored. Although biomolecular signalling is known to be involved in most occurrences of collective migration, the role of physical and mechanical interactions has only been recently investigated. In this study, a versatile framework for cell motility is implemented in silico in order to study the minimal requirements for the coordination of a group of epithelial cells. We find that cell motility and cell–cell mechanical interactions are sufficient to generate a broad array of behaviours commonly observed in vitro and in vivo. Cell streaming, sheet migration and susceptibility to leader cells are examples of behaviours spontaneously emerging from these simple assumptions, which might explain why collective effects are so ubiquitous in nature. The size of the population and its confinement appear, in particular, to play an important role in the coordination process. In all cases, the complex response of the population can be predicted from the knowledge of the correlation length of the velocity field measured in the bulk of the epithelial layer. This analysis provides also new insights into cancer metastasis and cell sorting, suggesting, in particular, that collective invasion might result from an emerging coordination in a system where single cells are mechanically unable to invade.     

Characterization of EfOM Fraction Responsible for Short-Term Fouling in Ultrafiltration

Based on our earlier diagnosis that hydrophobic and hydrophilic (HPO/HPI) acids are the primary cause of short-term fouling in the ultrafiltration of secondary effluent, the HPO/HPI acids were extracted and subsequently characterized in comparison with commercial organic materials. HPO/HPI acids isolated from secondary effluent contained significantly fewer complex mixtures than humic substances that have been implicated as the dominant foulants in the filtration of surface water using porous membranes. The physicochemical and spectroscopic characterization demonstrated that the aromaticity and apparent molecular weight of HPO/HPI acids were lower than that observed for other humic materials, while the oxygenated functional groups were relatively higher.     

Inhalation risk of indoor aerosol spray products commercially available in Bangladesh

Today, urbanised people spend most of their time in indoor environments, and the risk of exposure to toxic materials in an indoor environment is of great concern. This paper considers sources for the inhalation risk of aerosol sprays by measuring the particle size distributions of some of the most popular products that are commercially available in Bangladesh, and examines the degree of toxicity and the health risk via the respirability of the products. Results show that thoracic and respirable fractions of the suspended particulate matter are present in the tested samples and hence the spray products may pose a significant health risk.     

含水固形物干燥脱水蒸汽再利用专利技术工艺及设备

在无机盐产品生产过程中,中间产品和副产品通常需要进行干燥,文章对含水固形物干燥脱水蒸汽再利用工艺及设备进行了论述。并就干燥脱水蒸汽再利用专利工艺及设备对节省能源消耗进行了分析。     

分析水对无烟煤挥发分测定产生的影响

根据GB／T212-2008《煤的工业分析方法》中的规定，在测定挥发分时，通过实验对比，无烟煤中水分随着煤的变质程度加深而呈规律性变化。从泥炭、褐煤、烟煤到年轻无烟煤水分逐渐减少，从年轻无烟煤到老年无烟煤的水分又逐渐增加。由于煤中水分过高和煤的氧化增重，导致挥发分测定值产生负值，影响挥发分的测定结果。     

Theoretical Hypothesis of a Double Barrier Regarding the D-D Interaction in a Pd Lattice： A Possible Explanation of Cold Fusion Experiment Failures

During the past 15 years, disputable experimental evidence has built up for LERN （low energy nuclear reaction） phenomena in specialized heavy hydrogen systems. Actually, it can not be said that a new branch of science is beginning. In spite of experimental contributions, the real problem is that the theoretical statements of LERN are unknown. In this work, the authors analyze the deuteron-deuteron reactions within palladium lattice by means of the coherence theory of nuclear and condensed matter and, using this general theoretical framework accepted from ＂cold fusion scientists＂, it will be shown the low occurrence probability of fusion phenomena. In fact, in the coherence approach, the D-D potential exhibits double barrier features and, in this way, the D-D fusion is hampered.     

Comparative characterization of particle emissions from asbestos and non-asbestos cement roof slates

The first aim of this study was to characterise total and size-fractionated particulate matter (PM) aerosol, including fibres, released from the processing operations of cement roofing slates. The second aim was to compare particle emissions from asbestos-cement and non-asbestos cement sheets, with respect to total and size-fractionated particulate matter as well as fibres emissions. Asbestos and cellulose-based cement sheets were compared during slate treatment processes, namely crushing, rubbing, rasping and scrubbing. Generated PM and fibres were classified by a variety of methods (PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ cyclones, aerodynamic particle spectrometer and optical particle counter). A substantial variation in the mass of generated particles has been noticed, both within each PM fraction and between different treatment processes. The PM₁₀/PM_total concentration ratio ranged from 70 to 98% and PM_2.5/PM_total ratio equalled to ∼20%. The new generation non-asbestos sheets produced three times higher PM emissions than asbestos-cement sheets during crushing operation. Particle size distribution of number concentrations was mostly bimodal (two modes at 0.5 and 2.5 μm). With respect to fibres, the release of cellulose fibres from non-asbestos slates was from 1.8 to 13 times lower in comparison with asbestos fibres. At the same time, cellulose fibre length was 1.4–1.6 times lower. Hence, new generation non-asbestos roofing slates were proved to be less hazardous from the point of view of fibre release, but more hazardous with respect to total particle release.     

汽轮机高中压转子弯曲原因及防范措施

湛江电力有限公司4号汽轮机通流改造后首次大修时发现高中压转子弯曲,最大弯曲度为0.10 mm,弯曲点位于高中压缸中间汽封靠中压缸侧,轴向距离转子中低压联轴器3 660 mm。在对汽轮机缸体、转子轴径、动静叶片、围带、转子轴承和汽封等进行全面检查的基础上,对通流改造后首次启动至首次揭缸大修停运期间的16次启、停数据进行了详细的对比分析,分析认为:转子弯曲是在运行中造成的,而快冷投运、轴封温度突变并未对转子弯曲造成影响,应该是异物碰磨导致的。返厂更换螺栓、修复隔板静叶片和清理异物后,机组重新启动,转子轴承振幅达标,机组各项运行参数稳定。同时,提出优化轴封供气,严格执行机组启、停过程操作等措施确保机组正常运行。     

Effect of Vortex Finder Diameter on Flow Field and Collection Efficiency of Cyclone Separators

In this study, aerocyclone separators, with five different vortex finder diameters are simulated using commercially available computational fluid dynamics code Fluent 6.3.26 to analyze flow field pattern and the collection efficiency. It is found that a decrease in vortex finder diameter results in an increase in pressure drop by 47.84% and an increase in the collection efficiency by 9.54%, whereas, the increase in vortex finder diameter leads to a reduction in pressure drop by 23.87% and a decrease in the collection efficiency by 7.70% as compared to the Stairmand high efficiency cyclone. It is also observed that a decrease in vortex finder diameter leads to about 33% increase in axial velocity and about 25% increase in tangential velocity, whereas, an increase in vortex finder diameter results in about 23% decrease in axial velocity and about 12% decrease in tangential velocity as compared to the Stairmand high efficiency cyclone.