Related papers: A computational framework for modeling cell-matrix…
Actin flow in the cortical cytoskeleton underneath the cell membrane generates mechanical stresses that shape the cell surface. We study this mechanism using a hydrodynamic model of a compressible active gel polymerizing at the membrane and…
Anchorage-dependent cells collect information on the mechanical properties of the environment through their contractile machineries and use this information to position and orient themselves. Since the probing process is anisotropic,…
We employ a novel computational modeling framework to perform high-fidelity direct numerical simulations of aero-structural interactions in bat-inspired membrane wings. The wing of a bat consists of an elastic membrane supported by a highly…
We develop an automated computational modeling framework for rapid gradient-based design of multistable soft mechanical structures composed of non-identical bistable unit cells with appropriate geometric parameterization. This framework…
Homeostasis is concerned with regulatory mechanisms, present in biological systems, where some specific variable is kept close to a set value as some external disturbance affects the system. Mathematically, the notion of homeostasis can be…
In this work, we present a computational formulation based on continuum mechanics to study the interaction of fluid membranes embedded with semiflexible filaments. This is motivated by systems in membrane biology, such as cytoskeletal…
Cardiac myocytes are the fundamental cells composing the heart muscle. The propagation of electric signals and chemical quantities through them is responsible for their nonlinear contraction and dilatation. In this study, a theoretical…
To accelerate the development of strategies for cartilage tissue engineering, models are necessary to study the interactions between cellular dynamics and scaffold (SC) porosity. In experiments, cells are seeded in a porous SC where over a…
Many morphogenetic processes involve mechanical rearrangement of epithelial tissues that is driven by precisely regulated cytoskeletal forces and cell adhesion. The mechanical state of the cell and intercellular adhesion are not only the…
Soft interfaces formed by lipid membranes are fundamental to living cells, synthetic cells, and membrane-based soft materials. However, a quantitative framework linking molecular organization with nonlinear interfacial mechanics remains…
In a living system composed of interacting components such as molecules, cells, and tissues, each component often adaptively changes its internal states in response to interactions with its surrounding components. For example, individual…
This paper presents the biomechanical finite element models that have been developed in the framework of the computer-assisted maxillofacial surgery. After a brief overview of the continuous elastic modelling method, two models are…
The relaxation of an elastic network, constructed by a contact map of a fractal (crumpled) polymer globule is investigated. We found that: i) the slowest mode of the network is separated from the rest of the spectrum by a wide gap, and ii)…
The capability of cells to form surface extensions to non-locally probe the surrounding environment plays a key role in cell migration. The existing mathematical models for migration of cell populations driven by this non-local form of…
The reaction-diffusion models have been extensively applied to explain the mechanism of pattern formations in early embryogenesis based on geometrically confined microtissues consisting of human pluripotent stem cells. Recently, mechanical…
Living cells adapt and respond actively to the mechanical properties of their environment. In addition to biochemical mechanotransduction, evidence exists for a myosin-dependent, purely mechanical sensitivity to the stiffness of the…
Rheological responses are the most relevant features to describe soft matter. So far, such constitutive relations are still not well understood in terms of small scale properties, although this knowledge would help the design of synthetic…
We consider mechanics of composite materials in which thin inclusions are modeled by lower-dimensional manifolds. By successively applying the dimensional reduction to junctions and intersections within the material, a geometry of…
The lifetime of protein domains and ligand-receptor complexes under force is crucial for mechanosensitive functions, while many aspects of how force affects the lifetime still remain poorly understood. Here, we report a new analytical…
The cells and tissues that make up our body juggle contradictory mechanical demands. It is crucial for their survival to be able to withstand large mechanical loads, but it is equally crucial for them to produce forces and actively change…