We study irreversible polymer adsorption from dilute solutions theoretically. Universal features of the resultant non-equilibrium layers are predicted. Two broad cases are considered, distinguished by the magnitude of the local monomer-surface sticking rate Q: chemisorption (very small Q) and physisorption (large Q). Early stages of layer formation entail single-chain adsorption. While single-c...

A 2D free-energy landscape model is presented to describe the (un)folding transition of DNA/RNA hairpins, together with molecular dynamics simulations and experimental findings. The dependence of the (un)folding transition on the stem sequence and the loop length is shown in the enthalpic and entropic contributions to the free energy. Intermediate structures are well defined by the two coordina...

represent as sequences of characters. Experimental investigations of physical processes, for instance, typically produce sequences or time series of data. Other systems, such as DNA and protein sequences or human language, are intrinsically represented as strings of characters. Treating information as sequences of characters helps make this information searchable—a necessary first step in navig...

In this Letter we present a very general method for extracting information from a generic string of characters, e.g., a text, a DNA sequence, or a time series. Based on data-compression techniques, its key point is the computation of a suitable measure of the remoteness of two bodies of knowledge. We present the implementation of the method to linguistic motivated problems, featuring highly acc...

Widespread adoption of soft robotic technologies is held back by the limitations existing actuators. One cause limited performance actuators their uni-polar stroke, which means only part work-cycle powered. In this work, we introduce RoboHeart, a bi-directional compliant smart actuator. RoboHeart consists two spring-steel strips covered with PVC insulation, pre-bent into heart shape and driven ...