Aggregation of metal oxide nanoparticles in aqueous media complicates interpretation of in vitro studies of nanoparticle-cell interactions. We used dynamic light scattering to investigate the aggregation dynamics of iron oxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles. Our results show that iron oxide particles aggregate more readily than zinc oxide particles. Pretreatment with serum stabilises iron oxide a...

The depth of sampling is an important factor for evaluating soil stability. The objective of this study was to test soil aggregate particle-size fractions and soil organic carbon (SOC) in water-stable aggregate by vegetation restoration through 0–60 cm soil profile. We collected soil samples in 30 years old Robinia psendoacacia (Rr); Platycladus orientalis (Po); Pinus tabulaeformis (Pt); abando...

Characteristics of produced concrete become changedthrough changingthe characteristics of materials constituting the concrete. These changes include: The quality of cement, the real ration of water to cement: with neglecting the further water within the aggregates or lack of that, the consideredratio fluctuates and the characteristics of the aggregate which are related to the following dimensio...

In response to adverse conditions, myxobacteria form aggregates that develop into fruiting bodies. We model myxobacteria aggregation with a lattice cell model based entirely on short-range (nonchemotactic) cell-cell interactions. Local rules result in a two-stage process of aggregation mediated by transient streams. Aggregates resemble those observed in experiment and are stable against even ve...

The exquisite selectivity and unique transport properties of membrane proteins can be harnessed for a variety of engineering and biomedical applications if suitable membranes can be produced. Amphiphilic block copolymers (BCPs), developed as stable lipid analogs, form membranes that functionally incorporate membrane proteins and are ideal for such applications. While high protein density and pl...

When colloidal particles are suspended in a liquid, the particle suspension can be stable or unstable. Particles in a stable suspension are dispersed individually. In an unstable suspension, particles aggregate. This means that particles stick to each other, first they form doublets, and later larger aggregates. When there are only small aggregates, one refers to early stages of the aggregation...

soil erosion by water is the main factor of land degradation, particularly in semi-arid regions where soil productivity is usually low and lowering soil quality can severely decrease crops yields. this study was done in an area of 900 km2 in the semi-arid agricultural region of hashtroud in northwestern iran to determine the relationship between soil productivity and soil erodibility. wheat gra...

Soil aggregates include sand/silt/clay, water, ion and organic matter contents combined with natural dry/wet (D/W) cycling alters both the formation and function of intra-aggregate pore continuity, connectivity, dead-end storage volumes, and tortuosity. Surface aggregates in the 0-5 cm depths of most soils experience from 34 to 57 D/W cycles that exceed differences in water contents >10%. Both ...

The behavior of a rod-like, water-soluble, polyelectrolyte-surfactant aggregate system (pC16TVB) in aqueous solution is characterized to determine the partitioning of surfactant in these systems and the impact on aggregate structure. These aggregates are generated by in situ polymerization of a cationic surfactant-hydrotrope wormlike micelle system. This system differs from most other polyelect...

Grazing exclusion (GE) has been deemed as an important approach to enhance the soil carbon storage of semiarid grasslands in China; however, it remains unclear how different organic carbon (OC) components in soils vary with the duration of GE. Here, we observed the changing trends of different OC components in soils with increased GE duration in five grassland succession series plots, ranging f...