Related papers: Modeling generic aspects of ideal fibril formation
An alternative approach to the Standard Model is outlined, being motivated by the increasing theoretical and experimental difficulties encountered by this model, which furthermore fails to be unitary. In particular, the conceptual…
We introduce a theoretical model for the compaction of granular materials by discrete vibrations which is expected to hold when the intensity of vibration is low. The dynamical unit is taken to be clusters of granules that belong to the…
Proteins exist as a dynamic ensemble of multiple conformations, and these motions are often crucial for their functions. However, current structure prediction methods predominantly yield a single conformation, overlooking the conformational…
We present a fiber-distributed model of the reinforcing collagen of the human cornea. The model describes the basic connections between the components of the tissue by defining an elementary block (cell) and upscaling it to the physical…
Thin films, bubbles and membranes are central to numerous natural and engineering processes, i.e., in thin-film solar cells, coatings, biosensors, electrowetting displays, foams, and emulsions. Yet, the characterization and an adequate…
Different models such as diffusion-collision and nucleation-condensation have been used to unravel how secondary and tertiary structures form during protein folding. However, a simple mechanism based on physical principles that provide an…
Natural hard composites like human bone possess a combination of strength and toughness that exceeds that of their constituents and of many engineered composites. This augmentation is attributed to their complex hierarchical structure,…
Understanding how monomeric proteins fold under in vitro conditions is crucial to describing their functions in the cellular context. Significant advances both in theory and experiments have resulted in a conceptual framework for describing…
We study a physical system which, while devoid of the complexity one usually associates with proteins, nevertheless displays a remarkable array of protein-like properties. The constructive hypothesis that this striking resemblance is not…
Atrial fibrillation (AF) increases the risk of stroke by a factor of four to five and is the most common abnormal heart rhythm. The progression of AF with age, from short self-terminating episodes to persistence, varies between individuals…
Long-time series of neuronal recordings are resulting from the activity of connected neuronal networks. Yet how neuronal properties can be extracted remains empirical. We review here the data analysis based on network models to recover…
A linear bubble model of grain growth is introduced to study the conditions under which an isolated grain can grow to a size much larger than the surrounding matrix average (abnormal growth). We first consider the case of bubbles of two…
Collagenolytic degradation is a process fundamental to tissue remodeling. The microarchitecture of collagen fibril networks changes during development, aging, and disease. Such changes to microarchitecture are often accompanied by changes…
The intricate three-dimensional geometries of protein tertiary structures underlie protein function and emerge through a folding process from one-dimensional chains of amino acids. The exact spatial sequence and configuration of amino…
We investigate the qualitative characteristics of a test particle attracted to an irregular elongated body, modeled as a non-homogeneous straight segment with a variable linear density. By deriving the potential function in closed form, we…
Under an applied external load the global load-sharing fiber bundle model, with individual fiber strength thresholds sampled randomly from a probability distribution, will relax to an equilibrium state, or to complete bundle breakdown. The…
It is well known amongst molecular biologists that proteins with a common ancestor and that perform the same function in similar organisms, can have rather different amino-acid sequences. Mutations have altered the amino-acid sequences…
Cellular aggregates play a significant role in the evolution of biological systems such as tumor growth, tissue spreading, wound healing, and biofilm formation. Analysis of such biological systems, in principle, includes examining the…
We show that hydrodynamic turbulent cloud simulations naturally produce large filaments made up of a network of smaller and coherent sub-filaments. Such simulations resemble observations of filaments and fibres in nearby molecular clouds.…
The interplay between cytoskeletal architecture and the nonlinearity of the interactions due to bucklable filaments plays a key role in modulating the cell's mechanical stability and affecting its structural rearrangements. We study a model…