[en] In a recent letter (Friedrich et al 2012 Phys. Rev. Lett. 109 138102), a minimal model swimmer has been proposed that propels itself at low Reynolds numbers by the revolving motion of a pair of spheres. The motion of the two spheres can synchronize by virtue of a hydrodynamic coupling that depends on the motion of the swimmer, but is rather independent of direct hydrodynamic interactions. This novel synchronization mechanism could account for the synchronization of a pair of flagella, e.g. in the green algae Chlamydomonas. In this paper, we discuss in detail how swimming and synchronization depend on the geometry of the model swimmer and compute the swimmer design for optimal synchronization. Our analysis highlights the role of broken symmetries in swimming and synchronization. (paper)

[en] The application of pulsed high-voltage discharge in liquid has attracted wide attention as an effective water treatment. In this paper, two different liquid high-voltage discharge systems were constructed with plate-hole-plate and needle-plate electrode structures, and the inactivation behaviors of Chlorella were studied in the two reactors. The results show that the killing rates of algae in both reactors all increased significantly with increasing discharge voltage and the killing rates were intensely related to discharge power, instantaneous power and single pulse input energy. Furthermore, the inactivation effect in needle-plate reactor was superior to that in plate-hole-plate reactor under the same experimental conditions.

[en] Chadwick and Rossi models employ the same mathematical formulation and this formulation is well adapted to survival curves. These two models explain the radiation effects on biological cells by two mechanisms: a simple injury leading to a lethal injury and double injuries. The Chadwick model is based on a primary interaction at a molecular level. It is more general than the Rossi model which uses experimental results giving EBR variations as a function of the dose. In view of the results of the application of these two models to survival curves of Chlorelles it is not possible to choose one of them

No abstract available

[en] In this work, we study the regional dependence of transport behavior of microalgae Chlorella vulgaris inside microfluidic channel on applied fluid flow rate. The microalgae are treated as spherical naturally buoyant particles. Deviation from the normal diffusion or Brownian transport is characterized based on the scaling behavior of the mean square displacement (MSD) of the particle trajectories by resolving the displacements in the streamwise (flow) and perpendicular directions. The channel is divided into three different flow regions, namely center region of the channel and two near-wall boundaries and the particle motions are analyzed at different flow rates. We use the scaled Brownian motion to model the transitional characteristics in the scaling behavior of the MSDs. We find that there exist anisotropic anomalous transports in all the three flow regions with mixed sub-diffusive, normal and super-diffusive behavior in both longitudinal and transverse directions. (paper)

No abstract available

[en] The green alga Chlamydomonas swims with synchronized beating of its two flagella, and is experimentally observed to exhibit run-and-tumble behaviour similar to bacteria. Recently, we studied a simple hydrodynamic three-sphere model of Chlamydomonas with a phase-dependent driving force that can produce run-and-tumble behaviour when intrinsic noise is added, due to the nonlinear mechanics of the system. Here, we consider the noiseless case and explore numerically the parameter space in the driving force profiles, which determine whether or not the synchronized state evolves from a given initial condition, as well as the stability of the synchronized state. We find that phase-dependent forcing, or a beat pattern, is necessary for stable synchronization in the geometry we work with. The phase-dependent forcing allows this simple model of Chlamydomonas to produce a rich variety of behaviours. (paper)

[en] Flagella of eukaryotic cells are transient long cylindrical protrusions. The proteins needed to form and maintain flagella are synthesized in the cell body and transported to the distal tips. What ‘rulers’ or ‘timers’ a specific type of cells use to strike a balance between the outward and inward transport of materials so as to maintain a particular length of its flagella in the steady state is one of the open questions in cellular self-organization. Even more curious is how the two flagella of biflagellates, like Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, communicate through their base to coordinate their lengths. In this paper we develop a stochastic model for flagellar length control based on a time-of-flight (ToF) mechanism. This ToF mechanism decides whether or not structural proteins are to be loaded onto an intraflagellar transport (IFT) train just before it begins its motorized journey from the base to the tip of the flagellum. Because of the ongoing turnover, the structural proteins released from the flagellar tip are transported back to the cell body also by IFT trains. We represent the traffic of IFT trains as a totally asymmetric simple exclusion process (TASEP). The ToF mechanism for each flagellum, together with the TASEP-based description of the IFT trains, combined with a scenario of sharing of a common pool of flagellar structural proteins in biflagellates, can account for all key features of experimentally known phenomena. These include ciliogenesis, resorption, deflagellation as well as regeneration after selective amputation of one of the two flagella. We also show that the experimental observations of Ishikawa and Marshall are consistent with the ToF mechanism of length control if the effects of the mutual exclusion of the IFT trains captured by the TASEP are taken into account. Moreover, we make new predictions on the flagellar length fluctuations and the role of the common pool. (paper)

[en] The pharmaceutical diclofenac (DCF) is released in considerably high amounts to the aquatic environment. Photo-transformation of DCF was reported as the main degradation pathway in surface waters and was found to produce metabolites with enhanced toxicity to the green algae Scenedesmus vacuolatus. We identified and subsequently confirmed 2-[2-(chlorophenyl)amino]benzaldehyde (CPAB) as a transformation product with enhanced toxicity using effect-directed analysis. The EC₅₀ of CPAB (4.8 mg/L) was a factor of 10 lower than that for DCF (48.1 mg/L), due to the higher hydrophobicity of CPAB (log K_ow = 3.62) compared with DCF (log D_ow = 2.04) at pH 7.0. - Effect-directed analysis of irradiated diclofenac results in the identification of one photo-transformation product responsible for the enhanced toxicity to Scenedesmus vacuolatus.

[en] The effects of algae (i.e., Chlorella vulgaris), Fe(III), humic substances, and pH on the photoreduction of Hg(II) under the irradiation of metal halide lamps (λ ≥ 365 nm, 250 W) were investigated in this paper. The photoreduction rate of Hg(II) was found to increase with the increasing concentration of algae, Fe(III), and humic substances. The cooperation action of Fe(III) and humic substances accelerated the photoreduction of Hg(II). When the initial concentration of Hg(II) was in the range of 0.0-200.0 μg L^-1 with initial algae concentrations 7.0 x 10⁹ cells L^-1 at pH 7.0, the initial photoreduction rate of Hg(II) could be expressed by the equation: -dC_Hg(II)/dt = 0.65 x [C_Hg(II)]^0.39 with a correlation coefficient of R = 0.9912. The study on the photochemical process in terms of total mercury mass balance revealed that more than 40.86% of Hg(II) from the algal suspension was reduced to volatile metallic mercury. This paper discussed the photoreduction mechanism of Hg(II) in the presence of algae. This research will provide information for predicting the photoreduction of Hg(II) in the real environment. It will be helpful for understanding the photochemical transformation of Hg(II) and the formation of DGM in natural water in the presence of algae complexes. It will also be helpful for providing new methods to deal with heavy metal pollution.