The Gram-negative bacterial outer membrane (OM) is a complex and highly asymmetric biological barrier but the small size of bacteria has hindered advances in in vivo examination of membrane dynamics. Thus, model OMs, amenable to physical study, are important sources of data. Here, we present data from asymmetric bilayers which emulate the OM and are formed by a simple two-step approach. The bil...

Integrally skinned asymmetric membranes based on nanocompositepolyethersulfone were prepared by the phase separation process using the supercritical CO2 as a nonsolvent for the polymer solution. In present study, the effects of temperature and nanoparticle on selectivity performance and permeability of gases has beeninvestigated. It is shown that the presence of silica nanoparticles not only di...

Numb, an evolutionarily conserved cell fate-determining factor, plays a pivotal role in the development of Drosophila and vertebrate nervous systems. Despite lacking a transmembrane segment, Numb is associated with the cell membrane during the asymmetric cell division of Drosophila neural precursor cells and is selectively partitioned to one of the two progeny cells from a binary cell division....

Life is a succession of cell divisions. For multicelled beings, diversity in the fate of a cell’s progeny is essential for orderly tissue formation and specialized function. Knowledge of how kindred cells diverge in fate is essential for understanding organ formation and function, stem cell and tissue regeneration, immunity, and cancer. At least two distinct mechanisms, representing the cellula...

Drosophila melanogaster neuroblasts (NBs) undergo asymmetric divisions during which cell-fate determinants localize asymmetrically, mitotic spindles orient along the apical-basal axis, and unequal-sized daughter cells appear. We identified here the first Drosophila mutant in the Ggamma1 subunit of heterotrimeric G protein, which produces Ggamma1 lacking its membrane anchor site and exhibits phe...

In this study, flat sheet asymmetric polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) ultrafiltration membranes with enhanced antifouling properties were prepared with a non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) method through compound additives containing a polymeric pore-forming agent, a small molecular non-solvent and a surfactant. The formation processes of the porous asymmetric membranes with different kinds of...

The proton transport along a hydrogen bond chain in an external membrane field is described by means of the Pauli master equation with asymmetric rate constants. The analytic solution describing the proton motion is found and its properties are discussed.

During cytokinesis, the cell undergoes a dramatic shape change as it divides into two daughter cells. Cell shape changes in cytokinesis are driven by a cortical ring rich in actin filaments and nonmuscle myosin II. The ring closes via actomyosin contraction coupled with actin depolymerization. Of interest, ring closure and hence the furrow ingression are nonconcentric (asymmetric) within the di...