scholarly journals Entropic forces drive cellular contact guidance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.B.C. Buskermolen ◽  
H. Suresh ◽  
S.S. Shishvan ◽  
A. Vigliotti ◽  
A. DeSimone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Size ◽  
Thermal Fluctuations ◽  
Contact Guidance ◽  
Cell Alignment ◽  
Stress Fibre ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Statistical Framework ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Cellular Contact ◽  
As Stress

AbstractContact guidance—the widely-known phenomenon of cell alignment induced by anisotropic environmental features—is an essential step in the organization of adherent cells, but the mechanisms by which cells achieve this orientational ordering remain unclear. Here we seeded myofibroblasts on substrates micropatterned with stripes of fibronectin and observed that contact guidance emerges at stripe widths much greater than the cell size. To understand the origins of this surprising observation, we combined morphometric analysis of cells and their subcellular components with a novel statistical framework for modelling non-thermal fluctuations of living cells. This modelling framework is shown to predict not only the trends but also the statistical variability of a wide range of biological observables including cell (and nucleus) shapes, sizes and orientations, as well as stress-fibre arrangements within the cells with remarkable fidelity. By comparing observations and theory, we identified two regimes of contact guidance: (i) guidance on stripe widths smaller than the cell size (w ≤ 160 μm), which is accompanied by biochemical changes within the cells, including increasing stress-fibre polarisation and cell elongation, and (ii) entropic guidance on larger stripe widths, which is governed by fluctuations in the cell morphology. Overall, our findings suggest an entropy-mediated mechanism for contact guidance associated with the tendency of cells to maximise their morphological entropy through shape fluctuations.

scholarly journals A Kinetic Theory Model of the Dynamics of Liquidity Profiles on Interbank Networks

Symmetry ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 363
Author(s):  
Marina Dolfin ◽  
Leone Leonida ◽  
Eleonora Muzzupappa
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Theory ◽  
Network Formation ◽  
Transition Probabilities ◽  
Stochastic Game ◽  
Theory Model ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Network Efficiency ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Complex Adaptive

This paper adopts the Kinetic Theory for Active Particles (KTAP) approach to model the dynamics of liquidity profiles on a complex adaptive network system that mimic a stylized financial market. Individual incentives of investors to form or delete a link is driven, in our modelling framework, by stochastic game-type interactions modelling the phenomenology related to policy rules implemented under Basel III, and it is exogeneously and dynamically influenced by a measure of overnight interest rate. The strategic network formation dynamics that emerges from the introduced transition probabilities modelling individual incentives of investors to form or delete links, provides a wide range of measures using which networks might be considered “best” from the point of view of the overall welfare of the system. We use the time evolution of the aggregate degree of connectivity to measure the time evolving network efficiency in two different scenarios, suggesting a first analysis of the stability of the arising and evolving network structures.

scholarly journals Quantitative analysis of tumour spheroid structure

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander P Browning ◽  
Jesse A Sharp ◽  
Ryan J Murphy ◽  
Gency Gunasingh ◽  
Brodie Lawson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Lines ◽  
Tumour Microenvironment ◽  
Culture Conditions ◽  
Experimental Models ◽  
Seeding Density ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Tumour Spheroid ◽  
Tumour Spheroids ◽  
Wide Range

Tumour spheroids are common in vitro experimental models of avascular tumour growth. Compared with traditional two-dimensional culture, tumour spheroids more closely mimic the avascular tumour microenvironment where spatial differences in nutrient availability strongly influence growth. We show that spheroids initiated using significantly different numbers of cells grow to similar limiting sizes, suggesting that avascular tumours have a limiting structure; in agreement with untested predictions of classical mathematical models of tumour spheroids. We develop a novel mathematical and statistical framework to study the structure of tumour spheroids seeded from cells transduced with fluorescent cell cycle indicators, enabling us to discriminate between arrested and cycling cells and identify an arrested region. Our analysis shows that transient spheroid structure is independent of initial spheroid size, and the limiting structure can be independent of seeding density. Standard experimental protocols compare spheroid size as a function of time; however, our analysis suggests that comparing spheroid structure as a function of overall size produces results that are relatively insensitive to variability in spheroid size. Our experimental observations are made using two melanoma cell lines, but our modelling framework applies across a wide range of spheroid culture conditions and cell lines.

scholarly journals A 15 million-year long record of phenotypic evolution in the heavily calcified coccolithophore <i>Helicosphaera</i> and its biogeochemical implications

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luka Šupraha ◽  
Jorijntje Henderiks
Keyword(s):  
Cell Size ◽  
Resource Limitation ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Adaptive Strategies ◽  
Cellular Level ◽  
Phenotypic Evolution ◽  
Environmental Forcing ◽  
Modern Species ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Mean Size

Abstract. The biogeochemical performance of coccolithophores is defined by their overall abundance in the oceans, but also by a wide range in cell size, degree of calcification and carbon production rates between different species. Species’ sensitivity to environmental forcing has been suggested to relate to their cellular PIC : POC ratio and other physiological constraints. Understanding both the short and longer-term adaptive strategies of different coccolithophore lineages, and how these in turn shape the biogeochemical role of the group, is therefore crucial for modeling the ongoing changes in the global carbon cycle. Here we present data on the phenotypic evolution of a large and heavily-calcified genus Helicosphaera (order Zygodiscales) over the past 15 million years (Ma), at two deep-sea drill sites from the tropical Indian Ocean and temperate South Atlantic. The modern species Helicosphaera carteri, which displays eco-physiological adaptations in modern strains, was used to benchmark the use of its coccolith morphology as a physiological proxy in the fossil record. Our results show that, on the single-genotype level, coccolith morphology has no correlation with physiological traits in H. carteri. However, significant correlations of coccolith morphometric parameters with cell size and physiological rates do emerge once multiple genotypes or closely related lineages are pooled together. Using this insight, we interpret the phenotypic evolution in Helicosphaera as a global, resource limitation-driven selection for smaller cells, which appears to be a common adaptive trait among different coccolithophore lineages, from the warm and high-CO2 world of the middle Miocene to the cooler and low-CO2 conditions of the Pleistocene. However, despite a significant decrease in mean size, Helicosphaera kept relatively stable PIC : POC (as inferred from the coccolith aspect ratio) and thus highly conservative biogeochemical output on the cellular level. We argue that this supports its status as an obligate calcifier, like other large and heavily-calcified genera such as Calcidiscus and Coccolithus, and that other adaptive strategies, beyond size-adaptation, must support the persistent, albeit less abundant, occurrence of these taxa. This is in stark contrast with the ancestral lineage of Emiliania and Gephyrocapsa, which not only decreased in mean size but also displayed much higher phenotypic plasticity in degree of calcification while becoming globally more dominant in plankton communities.

scholarly journals Scaling of cytoskeletal organization with cell size in Drosophila

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 1519-1529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison K. Spencer ◽  
Andrew J. Schaumberg ◽  
Jennifer A. Zallen
Keyword(s):  
Cell Size ◽  
Quantitative Imaging ◽  
Larval Growth ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Ventral Surface ◽  
Tissue Growth ◽  
Cell Length ◽  
Drosophila Embryo ◽  
Microtubule Network ◽  
Wide Range

Spatially organized macromolecular complexes are essential for cell and tissue function, but the mechanisms that organize micron-scale structures within cells are not well understood. Microtubule-based structures such as mitotic spindles scale with cell size, but less is known about the scaling of actin structures within cells. Actin-rich denticle precursors cover the ventral surface of the Drosophila embryo and larva and provide templates for cuticular structures involved in larval locomotion. Using quantitative imaging and statistical modeling, we demonstrate that denticle number and spacing scale with cell length over a wide range of cell sizes in embryos and larvae. Denticle number and spacing are reduced under space-limited conditions, and both features robustly scale over a 10-fold increase in cell length during larval growth. We show that the relationship between cell length and denticle spacing can be recapitulated by specific mathematical equations in embryos and larvae and that accurate denticle spacing requires an intact microtubule network and the microtubule minus end–binding protein, Patronin. These results identify a novel mechanism of micro­tubule-dependent actin scaling that maintains precise patterns of actin organization during tissue growth.

Cell structure and mechanical properties of microcellular PLA foams prepared via autoclave constrained foaming

2020 ◽  
pp. 026248932093032
Author(s):  
Jinwei Chen ◽  
Ling Yang ◽  
Dahua Chen ◽  
Qunshan Mai ◽  
Meigui Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Cell Size ◽  
Cell Structure ◽  
Saturation Pressure ◽  
Tensile Modulus ◽  
Cell Structures ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Constrained Foaming ◽  
The Relationship

Microcellular polylactic acid (PLA) foams with various cell size and cell morphologies were prepared using supercritical carbon dioxide (sc-CO2) solid-state foaming to investigate the relationship between the cell structure and mechanical properties. Constrained foaming was used and a wide range of cell structures with a constant porosity of ∼75% by tuning saturation pressure (8–24 MPa) was developed. Experiments varying the saturation pressure while holding other variables’ constant show that the mean cell size and the mean cell wall thickness decreased, while the cell density and the open porosity increased with increase of pressure. Tensile modulus of PLA foams decreased with increasing the saturation pressure, but the specific tensile modulus of PLA foams was still 15–80% higher than that of solid PLA. Tensile strength and elongation at break first increased with increasing saturation pressure up to 16 MPa and then decreased with further increasing saturation pressure (20 MPa and 24 MPa) at which opened-cell structure produced. Compressive modulus, compressive strength, and compressive yield stress also followed the same variation trend. The results indicated that not only cell size plays an important role in properties of PLA foams but also cell morphology can influence these properties significantly.

scholarly journals Entropic Forces Drive Cellular Contact Guidance

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (10) ◽  
pp. 1994-2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonetta B.C. Buskermolen ◽  
Hamsini Suresh ◽  
Siamak S. Shishvan ◽  
Andrea Vigliotti ◽  
Antonio DeSimone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Contact Guidance ◽  
Cellular Contact

scholarly journals The Effect of the Isomeric Chlorine Substitutions on the Honeycomb-Patterned Films of Poly(x-chlorostyrene)s/Polystyrene Blends and Copolymers via Static Breath Figure Technique

Materials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leire Ruiz-Rubio ◽  
Leyre Pérez-Álvarez ◽  
Julia Sanchez-Bodón ◽  
Valeria Arrighi ◽  
José Luis Vilas-Vilela
Keyword(s):  
Voronoi Tessellation ◽  
Contact Guidance ◽  
Polymeric Thin Films ◽  
Styrene Copolymers ◽  
Breath Figure ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Breath Figure Method ◽  
Patterned Films ◽  
Figure Technique ◽  
Potential Use

Polymeric thin films patterned with honeycomb structures were prepared from poly(x-chlorostyrene) and statistical poly(x-chlorostyrene-co-styrene) copolymers by static breath figure method. Each polymeric sample was synthesized by free radical polymerization and its solution in tetrahydrofuran cast on glass wafers under 90% relative humidity (RH). The effect of the chorine substitution in the topography and conformational entropy was evaluated. The entropy of each sample was calculated by using Voronoi tessellation. The obtained results revealed that these materials could be a suitable toolbox to develop a honeycomb patterns with a wide range of pore sizes for a potential use in contact guidance induced culture.

scholarly journals Backbone—An Adaptable Energy Systems Modelling Framework

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 3388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niina Helistö ◽  
Juha Kiviluoma ◽  
Jussi Ikäheimo ◽  
Topi Rasku ◽  
Erkka Rinne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Unit Commitment ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Mixed Integer ◽  
Investment Planning ◽  
Planning And Scheduling ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Systems Modelling

Backbone represents a highly adaptable energy systems modelling framework, which can be utilised to create models for studying the design and operation of energy systems, both from investment planning and scheduling perspectives. It includes a wide range of features and constraints, such as stochastic parameters, multiple reserve products, energy storage units, controlled and uncontrolled energy transfers, and, most significantly, multiple energy sectors. The formulation is based on mixed-integer programming and takes into account unit commitment decisions for power plants and other energy conversion facilities. Both high-level large-scale systems and fully detailed smaller-scale systems can be appropriately modelled. The framework has been implemented as the open-source Backbone modelling tool using General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS). An application of the framework is demonstrated using a power system example, and Backbone is shown to produce results comparable to a commercial tool. However, the adaptability of Backbone further enables the creation and solution of energy systems models relatively easily for many different purposes and thus it improves on the available methodologies.

scholarly journals HyFlow—A Hybrid Load Flow-Modelling Framework to Evaluate the Effects of Energy Storage and Sector Coupling on the Electrical Load Flows

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 956 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Böckl ◽  
Matthias Greiml ◽  
Lukas Leitner ◽  
Patrick Pichler ◽  
Lukas Kriechbaum ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Load Flow ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Future Scenarios ◽  
Solution Strategies ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Flexibility Options

HyFlow is a grid-based multi-energy system (MES) modelling framework. It aims tomodel the status quo of current energy systems, future scenarios with a high share of fluctuatingenergy sources or additional consumers like electric vehicles, and to compare solution strategies ifcertain parts of the infrastructure are congested. In order to evaluate the congestion limits and thefeasibility and suitability of solution strategies (e.g., energy storage, sector coupling technologies,demand response (DR)), load flow calculations of all three main grid-bound energy carriers areimplemented in one single modelling framework. In addition to the implemented load flow models,it allows the interaction of these grids with the use of hybrid elements. This measure enables aproper assessment of future scenarios, not only for the infrastructure of one energy carrier, but forthe overall energy system. The calculation workflow of HyFlow, including the implemented loadflow calculations, as well as the implementation of the flexibility options, is described in detail inthe methodology section. To demonstrate the wide range of applicability of HyFlow with differentspatial ranges, two case studies referring to current research problems are presented: a city and aregion surrounding the mentioned city. The calculations for the mentioned case studies areperformed for three levels. A “status quo” level, a “high-stress” level with added fluctuatingenergy sources and consumers, and an “improvement” level, where flexibility options areintroduced to the system. The effect of the flexibility options on future energy grids is, therefore,analyzed and evaluated. A wide variety of evaluation criteria can be selected. For example, themaximum load of certain power lines, the self-sufficiency of the overall system, the total transportlosses or the total energy consumption.

Simulation of Dripping Using Dissipative Particle Dynamics

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sorush Khajepor ◽  
Meysam Joulaian ◽  
Ahmadreza Pishevar ◽  
Yaser Afshar
Keyword(s):  
Dissipative Particle Dynamics ◽  
Thermal Fluctuations ◽  
Particle Dynamics ◽  
Fluid Density ◽  
Mesoscopic Simulation ◽  
Wall Boundary Condition ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Breakup Time ◽  
Dpd Simulation ◽  
Good Agreement

Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) is a mesoscopic simulation approach used in wide range of applications and length scales. In this paper, a DPD simulation is carried out to study dripping flow from a nozzle. The results of this study are used to answer this question that whether DPD is capable of simulating the free surface fluid on all different scales. A novel wall boundary condition is developed for the nozzle surface that controls its penetrability, near wall fluid density oscillations and the fluid slip close to the wall. We also utilize a new method to capture the real-time instantaneous geometry of the drop. The obtained results are in good agreement with the macroscopic experiment except near the breakup time, when the fluid thread that connects the primitive drop to the nozzle, becomes tenuous. At this point, the DPD simulation can be justified by thermal length of DPD fluid and the finest accuracy of the simulation that is the radius of a particle. We finally conclude that in spite of the fact that DPD can be used potentially for simulating flow on different scales, it is restricted to the nanoscale problems, due to the surface thermal fluctuations.

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