Search results for "Protein filament"
showing 10 items of 46 documents
Traveling Waves Emerging in a Diffusive Moving Filament System
2014
Starting from a minimal model for the actin cytoskeleton of motile cells we derive a spatially one dimensional model describing populations of right and left moving filaments with intrinsic velocity, diffusion and mutual alignment. For this model we derive traveling wave solutions whose speed and shape depend on the model parameters and the type of alignment. We discuss possible wave profiles obtained from analytical investigations as well as waves emerging in numerical simulations. In particular, we will explicitly comment on the observed wave speeds and how they are related to the model parameters. Moreover, some particularly interesting patterns being composed of several wave profiles ar…
Dynamic fluctuations of dipolar semiflexible filaments
2005
On the basis of the model of a flexible magnetic filament, the characteristics of their thermal fluctuations are considered. The crossover of the time dependence of the mean quadratic displacement from t(3/4) to t(1/2) at the magnetic field increase is found. Two characteristic mechanisms of the magnetization relaxation time distribution--straightening of the thermal undulations and excitation of the bending modes of the free ends under the action of an ac magnetic field--are described. In both cases, the characteristic scaling law omega(-3/4) of the magnetic susceptibility in a high-frequency range is found.
Nonlinear dynamics of semiflexible magnetic filaments in an ac magnetic field
2006
Flexible spontaneously magnetized filaments exist in the living world (magnetotactic bacteria) and arise in magnetic colloids with large magnetodipolar interaction parameter. We demonstrate that these filaments possess variety of novel nonlinear phenomena in an ac magnetic field: orientation of the filament in the direction perpendicular to the field and the development of the oscillating U-like shapes, which presumably can lead to the formation of rings of magnetic filaments. It is found that these phenomena are determined by the development of the localized boundary modes of the filament deformation. We have illustrated by qualitative estimates that the phenomena found may be useful for i…
FLEXIBLE FERROMAGNETIC FILAMENTS AS ARTIFICIAL CILIA
2011
The model of an artificial cilia as a flexible ferromagnetic filament in a rotating magnetic field is proposed. Numerical algorithm for the simulation of its behavior is developed and the characteristic shapes of the filament with one fixed end under the action of a rotating field are found. It is concluded that ferromagnetic filaments may be used as mixers in microfluidics.
Morphology of Sponge Spicules: Silicatein a Structural Protein for Bio-Silica Formation
2010
Most forms of multicellular life have developed a calcium-based skeleton, while only a few specialized organisms complement their body plan with silica, such as sponges (phylum Porifera). However, the way in which sponges synthesize their silica is exceptional. They use an enzyme, silicatein, for the polymerization/polycondensation of silica, and thereby form their highly resistant and stabile massive siliceous skeletal elements (spicules). During this biomineralization process (i.e., biosilicification), hydrated amorphous silica is deposited within highly specialized sponge cells, ultimately resulting in structures that range in size from micrometers to meters. This peculiar phenomenon has…
Flow and mass transfer in spacer-filled channels for reverse electrodialysis: a CFD parametrical study
2016
Abstract In reverse electrodialysis (RED) concentration polarization phenomena and pressure drop affect strongly the power output obtainable; therefore the channel geometry has a crucial impact on the system optimization. Both overlapped and woven spacers are commonly commercialised and adopted for RED experiments; the latter exhibit some potential advantages, such as better mixing and lower shadow effect, but they have been poorly investigated in the literature so far. In this work, computational fluid dynamics was used to predict fluid flow and mass transfer in spacer-filled channels for RED applications. A parametric analysis for different spacer geometries was carried out: woven (w) and…
Flexible magnetic filaments in a shear flow
2006
By flexible magnetic filament model its behavior under the simultaneous action of the shear flow and the magnetic field is investigated. It is found that for magnetoelastic numbers larger as the critical value, which depends on the shear rate, the periodic regime is established. For the values of the magnetoelastic number close to the critical the periodical regime is characterized by a rather slow development of the buckling instability due to the action of magnetic torques with the subsequent stage of the fast straightening of the filament. For the magnetoelastic numbers below the critical slightly bent shape of the filament orientated along the flow is established. The application of the…
An experimental study for the characterization of fluid dynamics and heat transport within the spacer-filled channels of membrane distillation modules
2018
Abstract The thermo-fluid dynamic behavior of spacer-filled channels for membrane distillation was investigated experimentally. Several different geometry were investigated thanks to customized reference spacers manufactured using a 3D printer. In particular, two sets of experiments were conducted: in the first set, cylindrical filaments were orthogonally arranged and the flow attack angle was made to vary from 0o to 90o; in the second set, the flow attack angle was kept symmetrical and the filament angle was made to vary from 30° to 150°. Each spacer was tested for Reynolds numbers between 200 and 900 in the hot channel, while maintaining a constant temperature difference of 13 °C between …
An Extended Filament Based Lamellipodium Model Produces Various Moving Cell Shapes in the Presence of Chemotactic Signals
2015
The Filament Based Lamellipodium Model (FBLM) is a two-phase two-dimensional continuum model, describing the dynamcis of two interacting families of locally parallel actin filaments (C.Schmeiser and D.Oelz, How do cells move? Mathematical modeling of cytoskeleton dynamics and cell migration. Cell mechanics: from single scale-based models to multiscale modeling. Chapman and Hall, 2010). It contains accounts of the filaments' bending stiffness, of adhesion to the substrate, and of cross-links connecting the two families. An extension of the model is presented with contributions from nucleation of filaments by branching, from capping, from contraction by actin-myosin interaction, and from a pr…
Filament sets and homogeneous continua
2007
Abstract New tools are introduced for the study of homogeneous continua. The subcontinua of a given continuum are classified into three types: filament , non-filament , and ample , with ample being a subcategory of non-filament. The richness of the collection of ample subcontinua of a homogeneous continuum reflects where the space lies in the gradation from being locally connected at one extreme to indecomposable at another. Applications are given to the general theory of homogeneous continua and their hyperspaces.