Mechanical and conformational properties of type 1 fimbriae were evaluated on live bacterial cells by Single Molecule Force Spectroscopy (SMFS) and Dynamic Force Spectroscopy (DFS) in buffered solutions whose pH varied from 3 to 9. We evidenced that both fimbrial extension and fimbrial binding force to mannosylated-surface are modulated with changing the externally applied shear force and the s...

In single-access surgery, instruments enter the abdominal cavity through only 1 incision, the position of the instruments relative to each other is different compared with that in conventional laparoscopy. Changes in instrument configuration may increase task complexity and therefore affect tissue handling skills. The aim of this study is to determine if a relation exists between instrument con...

One of the fundamental goals bioinspired synthetic systems is to achieve enhanced and controlled transport. Here, we demonstrate transport a colloidal cargo with an active filamentous engine. We explore efficiency directional by attaching it either at front (pushing) or back (pulling) filament. The filament chemo-mechanically acquires activity chemically beads that provide local tangential forc...

Current methods to reconstruct muscle contributions to joint torque usually combine electromyograms (EMGs) with cadaver-based estimates of biomechanics, but both are imperfect representations of reality. Here, we describe a new method that enables online force reconstruction in which we optimize a "virtual" representation of muscle biomechanics. We first obtain tuning curves for the five major ...

Substantial experimental evidence indicates that the mechanical force applied to pull apart non-covalent molecular bonds (such as receptor-ligand pairs) can significantly decrease the bond lifetime. This evidence is often generated in single-molecule experiments that are designed to specifically test effects of pulling forces. However, the effect of compressive forces on the lifetime of recepto...

1. Pulling forces of Chrysolina polita (L.) on glass, perspex and cloth have been recorded and are plotted against body weight. The additional weight of eggs in many of the females is probably the main reason that, in females, pulling forces do. not increase significantly with body weight, whereas those of males do. 2. Pulling forces on glass and perspex are significantly correlated but, in gen...

Using Langevin dynamics simulations, we investigate the translocation dynamics of an externally driven polymer chain through a nanopore, where a pulling force F is exerted on the first monomer whilst there is an opposing force F(E) < F within the pore. Such a double-force arrangement has been proposed recently to allow better dynamical control of the translocation process in order to sequence b...

The goal of this study was to use a pressure sensor to measure the force distribution and contact area of the hand when gripping, pushing, and pulling a cylinder. Data was collected from 10 subjects with no hand impairments and from 1 subject with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Subjects grasped an aluminum cylinder wrapped with a Tekscan pressure sensor and performed each trial at 25%, 50%, and 100...