Search results for " Soft"

A probabilistic model for crystal growth applied to protein deposition at the microscale

2018

A probabilistic discrete model for 2D protein crystal growth is presented. This model takes into account the available space and can describe growing processes of different nature due to the versatility of its parameters which gives the model great flexibility. The accuracy of the simulation is tested against a real protein (SbpA) crystallization experiment showing high agreement between the proposed model and the actual images of the nucleation process. Finally, it is also discussed how the regularity of the interface (i.e. the curve that separates the crystal from the substrate) affects to the evolution of the simulation.

Cell-sized confinements alter molecular diffusion in concentrated polymer solutions due to length-dependent wetting of polymers

2023

Living cells are characterized by the micrometric confinement of various macromolecules at high concentrations. Using droplets containing binary polymer blends as artificial cells, we previously showed that cell-sized confinement causes phase separation of the binary polymer solutions because of the length-dependent wetting of the polymers. Here we demonstrate that the wetting-induced heterogeneity of polymers also emerges in single-component polymer solutions. The resulting heterogeneity leads to a slower transport of small molecules at the center of cell-sized droplets than that in bulk solutions. This heterogeneous distribution is observed when longer polymers with lower wettability are …

Comprehensive Biomaterials, Chapter 94 “The Mechanics of Native and Engineered Cardiac Soft Tissue”.

2011

Temperature-induced microstructural changes in shells of laboratory-grown Arctica islandica (Bivalvia).

2021

Bivalve shells are increasingly used as archives for high-resolution paleoclimate analyses. However, there is still an urgent need for quantitative temperature proxies that work without knowledge of the water chemistry–as is required for δ18O-based paleothermometry–and can better withstand diagenetic overprint. Recently, microstructural properties have been identified as a potential candidate fulfilling these requirements. So far, only few different microstructure categories (nacreous, prismatic and crossed-lamellar) of some short-lived species have been studied in detail, and in all such studies, the size and/or shape of individual biomineral units was found to increase with water temperat…

Synthesis and characterization of Sn(IV) complexes of lower rim 1,3-diacid derivative of calix[4]arene and their protective effects on tissue oxidati…

2005

The two Sn(IV) complexes synthesized using calix[4]arene-1,3-di-acid derivative were characterized by analytical, 1H, 13C and 119Sn NMR, matrix assisted laser desorption ionization mass, and 119Sn Mossbauer techniques and found that the complexes are tetranuclear possessing structurally two different types of tin centers. These complexes were evaluated for their protective value against blood and tissue oxidative stress in lead exposed male albino rats of Wistar strain. The results suggest that the two tin complexes significantly protect changes in lead induced biochemical variables indicative of heme synthesis pathway and exhibit only moderate effect on tissue oxidative stress. The benefic…

Connectivity percolation in suspensions of hard platelets

2012

We present a study on connectivity percolation in suspensions of hard platelets by means of Monte Carlo simulation. We interpret our results using a contact-volume argument based on an effective single--particle cell model. It is commonly assumed that the percolation threshold of anisotropic objects scales as their inverse aspect ratio. While this rule has been shown to hold for rod-like particles, we find that for hard plate-like particles the percolation threshold is non-monotonic in the aspect ratio. It exhibits a shallow minimum at intermediate aspect ratios and then saturates to a constant value. This effect is caused by the isotropic-nematic transition pre-empting the percolation tran…

Growth of immobilized DNA by polymerase: bridging nanoelectrodes with individual dsDNA molecules.

2011

We present a method for controlled connection of gold electrodes with dsDNA molecules (locally on a chip) by utilizing polymerase to elongate single-stranded DNA primers attached to the electrodes. Thiol-modified oligonucleotides are directed and immobilized to nanoscale electrodes by means of dielectrophoretic trapping, and extended in a procedure mimicking PCR, finally forming a complete dsDNA molecule bridging the gap between the electrodes. The technique opens up opportunities for building from the bottom-up, for detection and sensing applications, and also for molecular electronics.

Evolution of Secondary Software Businesses: Understanding Industry Dynamics

2008

Primary software industry originates from IBM’s decision to unbundle software-related computer system development activities to external partners. This kind of outsourcing from an enterprise internal software development activity is a common means to start a new software business serving a vertical software market. It combines knowledge of the vertical market process with competence in software development. In this research, we present and analyze the key figures of the Finnish secondary software industry, in order to quantify its interaction with the primary software industry during the period of 2000–2003. On the basis of the empirical data, we present a model for evolution of a secondary…

Information Systems Students’ Impressions on Learning Modeling Enterprise Architectures

2020

This Full Research Paper presents enterprise architecture (EA) modeling tools utilized in an educational context. EA is a well-known and a commonly used approach for organizational development aiming to improve the alignment of business operations and information technology. This high level design of information technology (IT) driven business operations lays the foundations on lower level technical activities such as the design and implementation of application programs and features, system boundary interfaces, database distribution and data pipes, and system recovery. Organizations’ architectures are made visible by creating EA artefacts, such as business process diagrams, data models and…

Explicit Bézier control net of a PDE surface

2017

The PDE under study here is a general fourth-order linear elliptic Partial Differential Equation. Having prescribed the boundary control points, we provide the explicit expression of the whole control net of the associated PDE Bézier surface. In other words, we obtain the explicit expressions of the interior control points as linear combinations of free boundary control points. The set of scalar coefficients of these combinations works like a mould for PDE surfaces. Thus, once this mould has been computed for a given degree, real-time manipulation of the resulting surfaces becomes possible by modifying the prescribed information. The work was partially supported by Spanish Ministry of Econo…