Related papers: Heterogeneous Force Chains in Cellularized Biopoly…
A remarkable feature of static granular matter is the distribution of force along intricate networks. Even regular inter-particle contact networks produce wildly inhomogeneous force networks where certain "chains" of particles carry forces…
A polymer network fractures by breaking covalent bonds, but the experimentally measured strength of the polymer network is orders of magnitude lower than the strength of covalent bonds. We investigate the effect of statistical variation of…
The behaviour and fate of tissue cells is controlled by the rigidity and geometry of their adhesive environment, possibly through forces localized to sites of adhesion. We introduce a mechanical model that predicts cellular force…
Using a minimal model of cells or cohesive cell layers as continuum active elastic media, we examine the effect of substrate thickness and stiffness on traction forces exerted by strongly adhering cells. We obtain a simple expression for…
Cell migration in fibreous extracellular matrix (ECM) is crucial to many physiological and pathological processes such as tissue regeneration, immune response and cancer progression. During migration, individual cells can generate active…
Network interactions that are nonlinear in the state of more than two nodes - also known as higher-order interactions - can have a profound impact on the collective network dynamics. Here we develop a coupled cell hypernetwork formalism to…
Through mechanical forces, biological cells remodel the surrounding collagen network, generating striking deformation patterns. Tethers-tracts of high densification and fiber alignment-form between cells, thinner bands emanate from cell…
A fundamental property of any material is its response to a localized stress applied at a boundary. For granular materials consisting of hard, cohesionless particles, not even the general form of the stress response is known. Directed force…
Migratory and tissue resident cells exhibit highly branched morphologies to perform their function and to adapt to the microenvironment. Immune cells, for example, display transient branched shapes while exploring the surrounding tissues.…
Investigations of molecular bonds between single molecules and molecular complexes by the dynamic force spectroscopy are subject to large fluctuations at nanoscale and possible other aspecific binding, which mask the experimental output.…
The macroscopic response of short fiber reinforced composites is dependent on an extensive range of microstructural parameters. Thus, micromechanical modeling of these materials is challenging and in some cases, computationally expensive.…
Cells receive signaling molecules by receptors and relay information via sensory networks so that they can respond properly depending on the type of signal. Recent studies have shown that cells can extract multi-dimensional information from…
Contraction assay based on surface measurement have been widely used to evaluate cell contractility in 3D models. This method is straightforward and requires no specific equipment, but it does not provide quantitative data about contraction…
A reduced model, which can fold both helix and sheet structures, is proposed to study the problem of protein folding. The goal of this model is to find an unbiased effective potential that has included the effects of water and at the same…
The study of the interactions of living adherent cells with mechanically stable (visco)elastic materials enables understanding and exploiting physiological phenomena mediated by cell-extracellular communication. However, insight on the…
Complex dynamical systems are often modeled as networks, with nodes representing dynamical units which interact through the network's links. Gene regulatory networks, responsible for the production of proteins inside a cell, are an example…
A detailed understanding of the interface between living cells and substrate materials is of rising importance in many fields of medicine, biology and biotechnology. Cells at interfaces often form epithelia. The physical barrier that they…
The asymmetric Hopfield model is used to simulate signaling dynamics in gene/transcription factor networks. The model allows for a direct mapping of a gene expression pattern into attractor states. We analyze different control strategies…
Entangled networks of stiff biopolymers exhibit complex dynamic response, emerging from the topological constraints that neighboring filaments impose upon each other. We propose a class of reference models for entanglement dynamics of stiff…
Random spatial models are attractive for modeling heterogeneous cellular networks (HCNs) due to their realism, tractability, and scalability. A major limitation of such models to date in the context of HCNs is the neglect of network traffic…