Paperboard as a substrate for biocompatible slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces

Slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces or SLIPS were first introduced in 2011 by Wong et al. who reported a bioinspired self-repairing surface with remarkable slippery properties. Generally, production of these surfaces includes fossil-based or expensive materials and processes that are available mainly in laboratory scale. In this study, slippery surfaces with sliding angles of less than 10° are obtained using fibre-based material – paperboard – that is commercially available in large-scale and also cheap compared to substrates generally used in this field. The hierarchical nanostructure that is a necessary condition for appropriate droplet mobility was obtained by the liquid flame spray method. This method is fast, scalable, has a variety of optimization parameters and can be utilized in roll-to-roll technology that is traditional in paper industry. In this work, paperboard serves not only as a substrate, but also as a reservoir for the lubricant, thus it is important to evaluate the affinity of the material for the oils and estimate the capillary movement. Therefore, Cobb and Klemm methods were used when choosing a paperboard material. In addition to synthetic oils, rapeseed oil was also utilized as a lubricant, which potentially leads to eco-friendly and recyclable slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces.

Capillary bacterial migration on non-nutritive solid surfaces

Here we describe an additional type of bacterial migration in which bacterial cells migrate vertically across a non-nutritive solid surface carried by capillary forces. Unlike standard motility experiments, these were run on a glass slide inserted into a Falcon tube, partly immersed in a nutrient medium and partly exposed to air. Observations revealed that capillary forces initiated upward cell migration when biofilm was formed at the border between liquid and air. The movement was facilitated by the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). This motility differs from earlier described swarming, twitching, gliding, sliding, or surfing, although these types of movements are not excluded. We therefore propose to call it “capillary movement of biofilm”. This phenomenon may be an ecologically important mode of bacterial motility on solid surfaces.

IMPROVEMENT OF CALCULATION METHOD OF ROAD PAVEMENT EMBANKMENT ON THE APPROACHES TO ROAD BRIDGES

The laws of unsaturated and capillary movement of water in soils are analyzed, which are complex and insufficiently studied, but significantly affect the condition of the ground. Experience in the design and construction of the subsoil has shown that during the excavation works can significantly change the conditions of soils and their water-thermal regime. Therefore, the characteristics of soils used in stability calculations should be determined taking into account the subsequent condition of the soil in the conditions of occurrence, as well as the possible change of these conditions during construction and maintenance. One of the urgent tasks is to improve the methods of regulating the water-thermal regime of roads. By changing the conditions of its course or the type of water-thermal regime itself, significant successes can be achieved in improving the maintenance of roads, engineering and transport facilities. Dangerous effect of these factors on the embankment of the ground is manifested in the formation of wetting, wetting of the soil and layers of pavement, resulting in reduced density, strength of soils, subsidence, swelling and loss of continuity due to cracking. As a result, the strength of the road structure, the flatness of the carriageway, the durability of the pavement and the adhesion of the wheels to the roadway are reduced. The most dangerous for roads are moisture accumulation, freezing, thawing of the ground, intensive heating and intensive cooling of the layers of pavement. The analysis of regularities of formation of a water-thermal regime of a ground and its regulation at the expense of the device of optimum capillary-interrupting layers is carried out. The laws of soil moisture when raising capillary water showed that when the layer of the embankment with a high coefficient of impregnation is dehydrated over the layer with a lower coefficient, the speed of moving capillary water into the upper soil layers drops sharply. This fall occurs as a result of changes in the relationship between the driving forces of the menisci and the forces of resistance of capillary water in the soil. The process of unsaturated movement of water in the soil is determined by the combination of many factors that characterize the capillary system of the soil. The calculation uses complex indicators of soil water movement conditions, which are established experimentally for each variety and soil density at optimal humidity, as well as water filtration coefficients in the soil. To establish the relationship between these experimental data and the required values that determine the capillary system of the soil, the filtration of water in the soil was considered. Determining the optimal capillary system of the soil and establishing the unstable distribution of own capillary water in the structures of high embankments will ensure the strength of approaches to road bridges. The method of calculating the determination of the optimal composition of the road layers taking into account the processes of water-thermal regime and capillary movement of water has been improved. The algorithm of calculation in the program Microsoft Excel for selection of optimum structure of a ground cloth of a high embankment on approaches to automobile bridges is offered.

Solonetzic soils of Canada: Genesis, distribution, and classification

Miller, J. J. and Brierley, J. A. 2011. Solonetzic soils of Canada: Genesis, distribution, and classification. Can. J. Soil Sci. 91: 889–902. Soils of the Solonetzic order are defined as having a Solonetzic B horizon designated as a Bn or Bnt horizon. The Solonetzic Order includes four great groups: Solonetz, Solodized Solonetz, Solod, and Vertic Solonetz. Solonetzic soils are thought to develop via the stepwise pedogenic processes of salinization, solonization (desalinzation and alkalization), and solodization. Soluble salts are brought into the soil pedon of Solonetzic soils by capillary movement and evaporation from spring to fall, and upward water flow from the water table to the freezing zone in the winter deposits salts upon freezing. Solonization proceeds when desalinization lowers the total salt content and alkalization is initiated by high exchangeable Na. Solodization occurs when anisotropic flow conditions or a change in vertical hydraulic gradients prevent capillary rise and replenishment of soluble Na in the Bn horizon. Two common Solonetzic catenas are found in the prairies. In the first sequence, Gleyed Solonetz or Solonetz occur in the depressional areas of the landscape, and soils then grade through Solodized Solonetz, Solods, and in some cases, Chernozems or normal zonal soils at higher elevations. In the second sequence, Solods are found in the lowest topographic position, while Solodized Solonetz, Solonetz and Chernozems are found at progressively higher slope positions. Solonetzic soils have unique properties that adversely affect their use for agriculture and other land uses (e.g., construction, septic systems). Further interdisciplinary research is required to better understand the genesis of these soils at the “meter scale” or local landscape level because of the extreme spatial variability of these soils.

Chlorine Concentration and the Inoculation of Tomato Fruit in Packinghouse Dump Tanks

Chlorine concentrations (pH 6 to 7 and 22 to 27°C) that killed arthrospores (spores) of Geotrichum candidum or sporangioles (spores) of Rhizopus stolonifer, causal agents of sour rot and Rhizopus rot, respectively, in moving water within 30 to 45 s did not prevent these pathogens from inoculating wounded tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum) in a water flume containing chlorine and spores. Free chlorine concentrations of 20 or 25 mg/liter were lethal to spores of G. candidum within 30 s in most in vitro tests, whereas spores of R. stolonifer were slightly less sensitive. Wounded tomatoes placed in a flume with free chlorine at 30 mg/liter and then exposed to spores for 1 min developed about 50% less decay incidence during storage at 24°C for 6 days than did fruit exposed to spores and water alone. In the absence of chlorine, incidence averaged 57% (range, 15 to 95%) for R. stolonifer and 38% (range, 17 to 58%) for G. candidum. Sporadic sour rot lesions were observed among fruit that had been treated with free chlorine at 75 mg/liter, whereas chlorine at up to 180 mg/liter failed to completely protect fruit from Rhizopus rot. A water-soluble dye rapidly penetrated wounds on tomato fruit. The dye framed the outlines of cells at the wound surface and appeared to penetrate into a few intercel-lular spaces. Application of 1% sodium hypochlorite decolorized the dye on the wound surface, whereas deposits located below the wound surface remained blue. Thus, spores suspended in moving water can escape the action of chlorine if carried into intercellular spaces by diffusion or by capillary movement of cell sap and water.