Atomic force microscopes have become indispensable tools for mechanical characterization of nanoscale and submicron structures. However, materials with complex geometries, such as electrospun fiber networks used for tissue scaffolds, still pose challenges due to the influence of tension and bending modulus on the response of the suspended structures. Here we report mechanical measurements on el...

The objective of this work can be divided into two parts. The first one is to propose an extension of the force density method (FDM)[2], a form-finding method for prestressed cable-net structures. The second one is to present a review of various formfinding methods for tension structures, in the relation with the extended FDM. In the first part, it is pointed out that the original FDM become us...

In liquids realm, surface tension and capillarity are the key forces driving the formation of the shapes pervading the nature. The steady dew drops appearing on plant leaves and spider webs result from the minimization of the overall surface energy [Zheng Y, et al. (2010) Nature 463:640-643]. Thanks to the surface tension, the interfaces of such spontaneous structures exhibit extremely good sph...

DNA spools, structures in which DNA is wrapped and helically coiled onto itself or onto a protein core, are ubiquitous in nature. We develop a general theory describing the nonequilibrium behavior of DNA spools under linear tension. Two puzzling and seemingly unrelated recent experimental findings, the sudden quantized unwrapping of nucleosomes and that of DNA toroidal condensates under tension...

Cables have always been under consideration as a structural element because of important features such as large strength to weight ratios and long spans. Their equilibrium analysis is an important issue in this regard. But this analysis involves highly nonlinear equations arising from large deformations and material nonlinearity. Different methods have been under use for numerical analysis of s...

Cell aggregates are a tool for in vitro studies of morphogenesis, cancer invasion, and tissue engineering. They respond to mechanical forces as a complex rather than simple liquid. To change an aggregate's shape, cells have to overcome energy barriers. If cell shape fluctuations are active enough, the aggregate spontaneously relaxes stresses ("fluctuation-induced flow"). If not, changing the ag...

Dam spillways are the structures that lead rightly and safely the outflow downstream, so that the dam integrity can be guaranteed. Many accidents with dams have been caused by an inadequate spillway design or insufficient capacity. To accurately respond the hydraulic spillways, designers use physical modeling for designing this kind of structures. The scale effect in the spillway modeling, as a...

The effectiveness of the mechanism of surface tension to analyze the host-guest interaction was demonstrated by measuring the unbinding force of the beta-Cyclodextrin (CyD)--adamantane molecules in a liquid environment at the single-molecule level. The contribution of the solvophobic effect was quantitatively distinguished from the intrinsic van der Waals force, and the effective length that pr...

Integrin-dependent adhesions are mechanosensitive structures in which talin mediates a linkage to actin filaments either directly or indirectly by recruiting vinculin. Here, we report the development and validation of a talin tension sensor. We find that talin in focal adhesions is under tension, which is higher in peripheral than central adhesions. Tension on talin is increased by vinculin and...

We have used sedimentation analysis as well as agarose gel electrophoresis to characterize the topological state of the DNA of the Simian Virus 40 (SV40) transcription complex. We found that the complex DNA contained constrained topological tension, presumably resulting from nucleosome-like structures, but no detectable unconstrained (i.e., relaxable) topological tension. These results contradi...