We show how to greatly improve precision when determining bending elasticity of giant unilamellar vesicles. Taking advantage of the well-known quasi-spherical model of liposome flickering, we analyze the full probability distributions of the configurational fluctuations instead of limiting the analysis to the second moment measurements only as usually done in previously published works. This le...

An approximate numerical mthod is presented for analysis and determination of modal characteristics in straight, pretwisted non-unifom helicopter blades. The analysis considers the coupled flapwise bending (out of plane), chordwise bending (in plane), and torsion vibration of both rotating and non-rotating blades. The proposed method is based on the integral expansion of Green functions (struct...

Eukaryotic flagella contain tens of thousands of dynein motor enzymes, arranged in regular arrays along the outer doublet microtubules of the axoneme -the internal cytoskeleton of a flagellum or cilium. These dyneins produce longitudinal sliding between the doublet microtubules. They must interact cooperatively to generate the bending waves that are required for efficient propulsion of spermato...

An approximate numerical mthod is presented for analysis and determination of modal characteristics in straight, pretwisted non-unifom helicopter blades. The analysis considers the coupled flapwise bending (out of plane), chordwise bending (in plane), and torsion vibration of both rotating and non-rotating blades. The proposed method is based on the integral expansion of Green functions (struct...

Geometric effects play an important role in laser forming process; however, few investigations have been reported on the geometric size effect other than sheet thickness. In this paper, the influence of size effect, including sheet width and sheet length, on laser induced deformation is experimentally, numerically and analytically investigated. A size matrix is designed to cover a wide range of...

It has always been assumed that the manubrium is in effect perfectly rigid. In this paper, a more realistic model of the manubrium is incorporated into an existing finite-element model of the cat eardrum. The manubrial thickness is based on a three-dimensional reconstruction from serial histological sections. After a review of the literature, a value of 2 x 10(11) dyn cm-2 is adopted for the Yo...

We investigate the behaviour of a dynamic fluid-structure interaction model of a chorded polyurethane mitral valve prosthesis, focusing on the effects on valve dynamics of including descriptions of the bending stiffnesses of the valve leaflets and artificial chordae tendineae. Each of the chordae is attached at one end to the valve annulus and at the other to one of two chordal attachment point...

The tensile force along a cylindrical lipid bilayer tube is proportional to the membrane's bending modulus and inversely proportional to the tube radius. We show that this relation, which is experimentally exploited to measure bending rigidities, can be applied with even greater ease in computer simulations. Using a coarse-grained bilayer model we efficiently obtain bending rigidities that comp...

The goal of this study was to develop a finite element (FE) lower limb model that can be used for direct and accurate injury prediction. Threedimensional geometry of the lower limb bones and knee ligaments was determined from MRI scans of a human volunteer for an accurate geometry reconstruction. In order to address various loading conditions in car-pedestrian accidents, the dynamic response of...

A stochastic model of hierarchical series system type for the bending strength of spruce beams is defined from the anticipation that the bending failure takes place at a cross-section with a defect cluster formed by knots or grain irregularities. The parameters of the model are estimated from measurements of the strengths of a large number of short test pieces cut from the beams such that judge...