Cytoskeletal polymers play a fundamental role in the responses of cells to both external and internal stresses. Quantitative knowledge of the mechanical properties of those polymers is essential for developing predictive models of cell mechanics and mechano-sensing. Linear cytoskeletal polymers, such as actin filaments and microtubules, can grow to cellular length scales at which they behave as...

the spline finite strip method (s.f.s.m.) for buckling analysis of plates and plate assemblies subjected to longitudinal compression and bending, transverse compression as well as shear is described. the method allows for the boundary conditions. local buckling coefficients of plates with different boundary conditions under compression, bending and shear are calculated. convergence studies with...

BACKGROUND Red blood cells (RBCs) deform significantly and repeatedly when passing through narrow capillaries and delivering dioxygen throughout the body. Deformability of RBCs is a key characteristic, largely governed by the mechanical properties of the cell membrane. This study investigated RBC mechanical properties using atomic force microscopy (AFM) with the aim to develop a coarse-grained ...

Fish fast-starts are rapid events caused by the simultaneous onset of muscle activity along one side of the body. Spine curvature and the strain and electromyographic activity in white muscle were measured for fast-starts in the common carp Cyprinus carpio. The first bend of the fast-start was powered by muscle on the concave side: muscle fibres on this side were activated and began shortening ...

The spline finite strip method (S.F.S.M.) for buckling analysis of plates and plate assemblies subjected to longitudinal compression and bending, transverse compression as well as shear is described. The method allows for the boundary conditions. Local buckling coefficients of plates with different boundary conditions under compression, bending and shear are calculated. Convergence studies with...

Many microorganisms swim in a highly heterogeneous environment with obstacles such as fibers or polymers. To better understand how this environment affects microorganism swimming, we study propulsion of a cylinder or filament in a fluid with a sparse, stationary network of obstructions modeled by the Brinkman equation. The mathematical analysis of swimming speeds is investigated by studying an ...

BACKGROUND Bone staples are an accepted method of fixation in foot surgery. They reduce operating time and trauma in surgical procedures. A variety of memory staples are available but their properties compared to standard staples are not known. We carried out a study comparing two popular types of memory staples and a standard stainless steel staple. METHODS Standardized bone models of metata...

In the present paper, the different techniques used for the determination of changes of surface stress of solid electrodes, as well as the kind and quality of information that can be achieved using these methods are discussed. The most important methods are briefly reviewed and advantages/drawbacks highlighted. Special attention is paid to issues related to the use of the “bending beam” (“bendi...

We present a spectrophotometric study of circumnuclear star forming regions (CNSFR) in the early type spiral galaxies: NGC 2903, NGC 3351 and NGC 3504, all of them of over solar metallicity according to standard empirical calibrations. A detailed determination of their abundances is made after careful subtraction of the very prominent underlying stellar absorption. It is found that most regions...