Actin filaments are semiflexible polymers that display large-scale conformational twisting and bending motions. Modulation of filament bending and twisting dynamics has been linked to regulatory actin-binding protein function, filament assembly and fragmentation, and overall cell motility. The relationship between actin filament bending and twisting dynamics has not been evaluated. The numerica...

Measuring small normal pressures is essential to accurately evaluate external stimuli in curvilinear and dynamic surfaces such as natural tissues. Usually, sensitive and spatially accurate pressure sensors are achieved through conformal contact with the surface; however, this also makes them sensitive to mechanical deformation (bending). Indeed, when a soft object is pressed by another soft obj...

In the present research, data extracted from the stress analysis of 46 finite element models, verified using test results obtained from an experimental investigation, were used to study the effect of geometrical parameters on the chord-side stress concentration factors (SCFs) of central and outer braces in uniplanar tubular KT-joints of offshore structures subjected to four different types of i...

Two rapid exercise pad tests, the vitamin B test, and the methylene blue test, are introduced for the diagnosis of urinary stress incontinence. The vitamin B test is entirely non-invasive, takes only a few minutes to perform, and is especially useful as an office test. The methylene blue test has fewer variables, and fits easily into a urodynamic routine. With the methylene blue test, a direct ...

Automobile internal combustion engine connecting rod is a high volume production component subjected to complex loading. Proper optimization of this component, which is critical to the engine fuel efficiency and more vigorously pursued by the automotive industry in recent years, necessitates a detailed understanding of the applied loads and resulting stresses under in-service conditions. In thi...

Ultra-thin chips of less than 20 lm become flexible, allowing integration of silicon IC technology with highly flexible electronics such as food packaging sensor systems or healthcare and sport monitoring tags as wearable patches or even directly in clothing textile. The ultra-thin chips in these products will be bent to a very high curvature, which puts a large strain on the chips during use. ...

This paper describes a new approach which can be used to interpret the experimental creep deformation data obtained from miniaturized thin plate bending specimen test to the corresponding uniaxial data based on an inversed application of the reference stress method. The geometry of the thin plate is fully defined by the span of the support, l, the width, b, and the thickness, d. Firstly, analyt...

Seventy-two 4-week-old pigs were randomly assigned by sex (gilts, barrows, boars) to two dietary treatments and four age periods for determinations of the effects of age, sex and Ca and P levels on the mechanical properties of various bones in swine. Pigs were individually fed diets containing either. months after the initiation of the trial. The femur (Fem), humerus (Hum), third and fourth met...

BACKGROUND The biomechanical characteristics of midshaft clavicular fractures treated with titanium elastic nail (TEN) is unclear. This study aimed to present a biomechanical finite element analysis of biomechanical characteristics involved in TEN fixation and reconstruction plate fixation for midshaft clavicular fractures. METHODS Finite element models of the intact clavicle and of midshaft ...

The limitations of the current clinical options for valve replacements have inspired the development of enabling technologies to create a tissue engineered heart valve (TEHV). Poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogel scaffolds permit greater biological and biomechanical customization than do non-woven mesh scaffold technologies. However, the material characterization of PEGDA hydrogels...