{"title":"Advancing decontamination technologies by increasing the efficiency of infected fluid treatment using transparent periodic optical structures penetrated by UV-C radiation","authors":"Ion Munteanu","doi":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00627-2","DOIUrl":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00627-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A new UV-C decontamination device has been tested at laboratory scale for its potential to inactivate microorganisms in commercial baker’s yeast solutions used in baking. The device includes a flow chamber in which the liquid follows a helical path generated by a quartz spiral positioned between two concentric quartz tubes, with the space between the spirals filled with periodic optical structures made of quartz periodical optical structures (POS), such as fibers, beads or fragments, and inside this flow system is an 18W UV-C lamp with an irradiance of approximately 18–20 W/m<sup>2</sup> at 254 nm. The combined effect of the helical motion of the fluid and the quartz optical structures increases microbial exposure to UV-C radiation, resulting in a significantly increased inactivation rate of pathogens in infected liquids compared to conventional UV systems. Unlike our previous study on the influence of quartz metamaterial packing geometries on UV-C decontamination efficiency, the present work introduces a controlled helical-flow reactor. The key novelty lies in its practical implementation and in demonstrating the physical mechanisms responsible for significantly enhanced microbial inactivation compared to conventional UV-C systems.</p><h3>Graphical abstract</h3><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div><div><p>Schematic representation of the UV-C fluid decontamination system based on a controlled optical mechanism that enhances UV-C light propagation and distribution within the liquid. The periodic optical configuration promotes repeated light–fluid interactions, increasing UV-C exposure and thereby improving the inactivation of microorganisms compared with conventional UV-C treatment</p></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":790,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal E","volume":"49 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148838054","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ertiza Hossain Shopnil, Jahid Emon, Md Nadeem Azad, A. K. M. Monjur Morshed
{"title":"Scaling laws governing droplet spreading and merging dynamics on solid surfaces: a molecular simulation study","authors":"Ertiza Hossain Shopnil, Jahid Emon, Md Nadeem Azad, A. K. M. Monjur Morshed","doi":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00625-4","DOIUrl":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00625-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study employs molecular dynamics simulations to investigate droplet dynamics when a stationary droplet on a solid surface is struck by another droplet of similar size from above. The focus is on the jumping behavior of the merged droplet and the associated energy conversion. The process is primarily controlled by the amount of energy converted into kinetic energy after dissipation. At high impact velocities, the energy conversion efficiency becomes constant, with only about 1% lost due to surface adhesion—an effect that diminishes with increasing velocity. Factors such as impact velocity, droplet size, surface texture, and wettability significantly influence the jumping velocity. Scaling laws are developed for the maximum spreading time, spreading factor, and restitution coefficient based on the Weber (We) and Reynolds (Re) numbers, which differ from those for single droplet impacts. On superhydrophobic surfaces, the spreading time is approximated as <span>({t}_{sp}approx 3r/{V}_{i})</span>, and its dimensionless form scales linearly with <span>(W{e}^{0.31})</span>. The general scaling law for the spreading factor is <span>({upbeta}_{max}sim W{e}^{0.5upalpha }R{e}^{upalpha })</span>, where <span>(upalpha = 0.1)</span> for velocity-dependent and <span>(upalpha = 0.24)</span> for velocity-independent spreading regimes.</p><h3>Graphical abstract</h3><p>Energy Conversion and Jumping Dynamics of Colliding Nanodroplets on Solid Surfaces.</p><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":790,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal E","volume":"49 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00625-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148823624","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Particle clustering and dispersion in multi-scale Langmuir turbulence and regional flow convergence","authors":"Todd X. Thoman, Tobias Kukulka, Jonathan H. Cohen","doi":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00626-3","DOIUrl":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00626-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Concentrations of pollutants, such as microplastics, can be used to predict exposure and assess risk to organisms. In estuaries, the clustering and dispersion of materials is influenced by flows ranging from small-scale wind, wave, and tidal turbulence to regional-scale circulations. Axial convergence, paired regional-scale roll cells formed via cross-estuary density gradients from tidal jets in channel estuaries, collect surface particles in convergent bands over length scales of O(100 m-10 km). Turbulent roll cells, such as Langmuir cells, instead collect surface and bottom particles over scales of O(10-100 m). Here, the dispersion and clustering of suspended particles along-estuary and cross-estuary in an estuary with multi-scale turbulent-axial convergent flow is examined to diagnose the combined influence on particle concentrations and pollution risks. A turbulence-resolving shallow-water large eddy simulation is modified with cross-estuary varying tidal flow and along-estuary density gradients to drive axial roll cells. Wind stress and Stokes drift drive shear and Langmuir turbulence (LT). In axially converging estuaries, tidal jet shear dominates particle dispersion, acting most efficiently among neutrally buoyant particles; dispersion of buoyantly rising particles is enhanced by vertical mixing from LT. With LT, particle clouds show increased clustering compared to model runs without LT, dividing into more numerous, narrower, yet denser band-like clusters within windrows. Langmuir turbulence during slack tides alters the regional dispersion and clustering of particles by axial convergence.</p>","PeriodicalId":790,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal E","volume":"49 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148817142","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Correction: Perspective on the paper: GDR MiDi. On dense granular flows","authors":"Hans J. Herrmann, Stefan Luding","doi":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00624-5","DOIUrl":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00624-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":790,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal E","volume":"49 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00624-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148783226","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Discrete-time predator–prey dynamics under human shielding: stability and bifurcation analysis","authors":"Lahcen Koujan, Ashraf Adnan Thirthar, Mohamed Ch-Chaoui, Karima Mokni, Muhammad Aqib Abbasi","doi":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00623-6","DOIUrl":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00623-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We propose and analyze a discrete-time predator–prey model incorporating a <i>human-shield</i> effect, whereby prey use human-dominated areas as partial refuges to reduce predation risk. Starting from a Rosenzweig–MacArthur-type framework, we introduce a nonnegative shielding intensity <span>(h)</span> acting through two coupled mechanisms: it increases the effective prey carrying capacity <span>(K(h))</span> and weakens predation through the saturation parameter <span>(gamma (h))</span> in a Holling type II functional response. We determine the equilibrium points, derive feasibility and local stability conditions, and identify the main bifurcation thresholds associated with predator invasion and coexistence dynamics. In particular, the model exhibits a transcritical bifurcation between the predator-free and coexistence equilibria, a period-doubling bifurcation, and a Neimark–Sacker bifurcation leading to oscillatory coexistence. Numerical simulations show that human shielding can promote prey persistence, shift the stability boundaries, and reduce the parameter region supporting predator–prey coexistence, eventually leading to predator exclusion for strong shielding intensity. A pathway-resolved analysis in the effective <span>((K,gamma ))</span>-plane further separates the roles of prey support and predator deterrence. Finally, a state-feedback control strategy is shown to stabilize the coexistence equilibrium in regimes where the uncontrolled system displays large oscillations. Overall, the model provides a theoretical framework for understanding how human presence can reshape trophic regulation, persistence, and long-term population dynamics in anthropogenically modified landscapes.</p>","PeriodicalId":790,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal E","volume":"49 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148782570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"How adaptation to food resources and death rates shape oscillatory dynamics in a microbial population","authors":"Benedetta Ciarmoli, Sophie Marbach","doi":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00616-5","DOIUrl":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00616-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Microbes constantly interact with their environment by depleting and transforming food sources. Theoretical studies have mainly focused on Lotka–Volterra models, which do not account for food source dynamics. In contrast, consumer-resource models, which consider food source dynamics, are less explored. In particular, it is still unclear what physical mechanisms control oscillatory dynamics at a single population level, a phenomenon which can only be captured by a consumer-resource model. We elaborate on the framework of Khatri, F. et al. [34], which uses a minimalistic consumer-resource model of a single microbial population with growth and death dynamics, consuming a continuously replenishing substrate. This study showed that decaying oscillations can occur around steady state if and only if the timescale of microbial adaptation to food supply changes exceeds the death timescale. Here, we show that many more complex microbial growth scenarios can be mapped onto this simple model, and that this interplay of timescales can still be used to rationalize the emergence of oscillatory dynamics. We find that microbial necromass recycling or complementary use of multiple food sources reduces the parameter range for oscillations and increases the decay rate of oscillations. Requiring multiple simultaneous food sources has the opposite effect. Essentially, facilitating growth reduces the likelihood of oscillations around a fixed point. We further demonstrate that such damped oscillatory behavior is correlated with persistent oscillatory behavior in a noisy environment. We hope our work will motivate further investigations of consumer-resource models to improve descriptions of environments where food source distributions vary in space and time.</p><p>Depending on the ratio of timescales between food regulation by and death rates of microorganisms, oscillations in food resources and microbe population can occur in time.</p>","PeriodicalId":790,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal E","volume":"49 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148752236","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Can interfacial relaxation encode three-dimensional membrane remodelling?","authors":"Martín E. Villanueva","doi":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00619-2","DOIUrl":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00619-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Biological membranes are dynamic soft interfaces in which molecular interactions govern their structure and organization across multiple length and time scales. Processes such as structural remodelling, fusion and curvature generation arise from collective molecular rearrangements within these highly complex environments. Despite the widespread use of simplified membrane models, establishing meaningful links between (two-dimensional) interfacial systems and three-dimensional membrane behaviour remains a major challenge. In this perspective, we discuss how studies on Langmuir monolayers may provide access not only to equilibrium membrane thermodynamics, but also to the relaxation phenomena underlying membrane transformations. Focusing on interfacial rheology, with particular attention to mechanical hysteresis, we discuss how dynamic interfacial observables may provide experimentally accessible indicators of how lipid assemblies accumulate, dissipate, and reorganize lateral stresses, and how such responses may become linked to membrane organization and remodelling. Beyond their role as simplified membrane mimics, we discuss recent literature on Langmuir monolayers, and we explore the possibility that dilatational and shear relaxation modes measured in monolayers (2D relaxation) contain information relevant to membrane self-assembly (3D remodelling).</p>","PeriodicalId":790,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal E","volume":"49 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148700432","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Interface-dominated sliding compound drops","authors":"Dominik Thy, Jan Diekmann, Uwe Thiele","doi":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00612-9","DOIUrl":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00612-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We investigate compound drops composed of two immiscible nonvolatile partially wetting liquids that slide down an inclined homogeneous smooth solid substrate based on a mesoscopic hydrodynamic two-layer model in full-curvature formulation. First, we briefly investigate the reference case of a liquid drop that stationarily slides on a liquid layer representing an adaptive substrate. Subsequently, we focus on sliding compound drops employing a parameter study to identify qualitative transitions between different drop configurations and time-periodic behavior as well as the underlying bifurcation structure. After analyzing the dependence of drop velocities and dynamic Young and Neumann angles on driving force, also the influence of the ratios of drop volumes and viscosities is briefly considered. An accompanying discussion of the lateral dissipation profile is used to explain the encountered dependence of drop velocity on their configuration. Finally, we consider the time-periodic fusion-overtaking-splitting behavior found outside the existence range of the stationary sliding compound drops.</p>","PeriodicalId":790,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal E","volume":"49 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00612-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148700472","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Confinement-driven states and activity-induced escape of semiflexible polymers in soft traps","authors":"Sandip Roy, Abhishek Chaudhuri, Anil Kumar Dasanna","doi":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00618-3","DOIUrl":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00618-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We investigate the dynamics of an actively driven semiflexible polymer confined by a soft harmonic potential. Our study is inspired by in-vitro motility assays where cytoskeletal filaments are propelled by motor proteins under controlled confinement. Using coarse-grained simulations that couple polymer elasticity with stochastic motor attachment, detachment, and force generation, we obtain distinct dynamical regimes ranging from fully confined to freely escaping states, separated by a region of intermittent coexistence. The transitions between these regimes are governed by the combined effects of activity, filament stiffness, confinement strength, and motor processivity. Moderate confinement stabilizes compact spiral conformations through a balance between active forcing and bending elasticity. Stronger activity promotes escape. The motion of the center-of-mass of the polymer exhibits diffusive–ballistic–localized crossovers and oscillations characteristic of trapped chiral active Brownian particles. Our results establish a minimal physical framework for understanding how activity and geometric confinement interact to regulate the transport and morphology of active filaments.</p><p>A diagram depicting the model setup: a polymer in a harmonic trap embedded on a motor assay, followed by a time series showing three di9erent states of the system. </p>","PeriodicalId":790,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal E","volume":"49 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148696950","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Spectral analysis of protein backbone geometry reveals abrupt helix–coil boundaries","authors":"Yiquan Wang","doi":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00621-8","DOIUrl":"10.1140/epje/s10189-026-00621-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The boundaries of cooperative helix–coil transitions influence protein allostery and conformational dynamics, yet the persistent one-to-two-residue ambiguity in their assignment remains poorly characterized. We apply the discrete Hasimoto map to translate three-dimensional C<span>(_alpha )</span> backbone geometry into a one-dimensional discrete nonlinear Schrödinger effective potential and analyze its spatial-frequency structure. Helical segments appear as near-integrable, low-entropy states whose spectral power concentrates at the zero-frequency mode, whereas coil regions show broadband fluctuations. A pointwise integrability residual and a windowed spectral entropy separate the two phases with ROC AUC values of 0.783 and 0.715, and their combination reaches 0.803, while combining the residual instead with a low-frequency energy ratio reaches 0.815. Across 1986 proteins and 19,148 of 21,107 fitted helix–coil boundaries the transition is abrupt, with a median sigmoid width of 0.145 residues that measures the steepness of a single-step discrete jump rather than a literal sub-residue distance; the transition is directionally asymmetric, with helix exits sharper than entries. Across the full dataset every C<span>(_alpha )</span> geometry-based assignment, including DSSP-calibrated P-SEA and both spectral probes, loses agreement with the DSSP hydrogen-bond reference most acutely at these boundaries, indicating that the assignment ambiguity is a general feature of C<span>(_alpha )</span> geometry rather than any single algorithm. The windowed spectral probe is subject to a Gabor resolution limit and is therefore outperformed by the pointwise probe, which attains the lattice-limited resolution.</p>","PeriodicalId":790,"journal":{"name":"The European Physical Journal E","volume":"49 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148683060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}