disordered networks
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2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renu Maan ◽  
Louis Reese ◽  
Vladimir A. Volkov ◽  
Matthew R. King ◽  
Eli van der Sluis ◽  
...  

Growing microtubule ends provide platforms for the accumulation of plus-end tracking proteins that organize into comets of mixed protein composition. Using a reconstituted fission yeast system consisting of end-binding protein Mal3, kinesin Tea2 and cargo Tip1, we found that these proteins can be driven into liquid phase droplets both in solution and at microtubule ends under crowding conditions. In the absence of crowding agents, cryo-electron tomography revealed that motor-dependent comets consist of disordered networks where multivalent interactions appear to facilitate the non-stoichiometric accumulation of cargo Tip1. We dissected the contribution of two disordered protein regions in Mal3 and found that both are required for the ability to form droplets and Tip1 accumulation, while autonomous Mal3 comet formation only requires one of them. Using theoretical modeling, we explore possible mechanisms by which motor activity and multivalent interactions may lead to the observed enrichment of Tip1 at microtubule ends.


2021 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Klatt ◽  
Paul J. Steinhardt ◽  
Salvatore Torquato

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (14) ◽  
pp. 4723
Author(s):  
Ada Fort ◽  
Marco Mugnaini ◽  
Enza Panzardi ◽  
Anna Lo Grasso ◽  
Ammar Al Hamry ◽  
...  

This work proposes a model describing the dynamic behavior of sensing films based on functionalized MWCNT networks in terms of conductivity when exposed to time-variable concentrations of NO2 and operating with variable working temperatures. To test the proposed model, disordered networks of MWCNTs functionalized with COOH and Au nanoparticles were exploited. The model is derived from theoretical descriptions of the electronic transport in the nanotube network, of the NO2 chemisorption reaction and of the interaction of these two phenomena. The model is numerically implemented and then identified by estimating all the chemical/physical quantities involved and acting as parameters, through a model fitting procedure. Satisfactory results were obtained in the fitting process, and the identified model was used to further the analysis of the MWCNT sensing in dynamical conditions.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander K. Y. Tam ◽  
Alex Mogilner ◽  
Dietmar B. Oelz

AbstractWe use mathematical modelling and computation to investigate how protein friction facilitates contraction of disordered actomyosin networks. We simulate two-dimensional networks using an agent-based model, consisting of a system of force-balance equations for myosin motor proteins and semi-flexible actin filaments. A major advantage of our approach is that it enables direct calculation of the network stress tensor, which provides a quantitative measure of contractility. Exploiting this, we use repeated simulations of disordered networks to confirm that both protein friction and actin filament bending are required for contraction. We then use simulations of elementary two-filament assemblies to show that filament bending flexibility can generate contraction on the microscopic scale. Finally, we show that actin filament turnover is necessary to sustain contraction and prevent pattern formation. Simulations with and without turnover also exhibit contractile pulses. However, these pulses are aperiodic, suggesting that periodic pulsation can only be achieved by additional regulatory mechanisms.


2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (13) ◽  
pp. 1631-1634
Author(s):  
Marko Pavlovic ◽  
Markus Antonietti ◽  
Lukas Zeininger

A network of aqueous emulsion droplets that exhibits programmed and directional chemical inter-droplet communication is described.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Punit Boolchand ◽  
Matthieu Micoulaut
Keyword(s):  

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Estelle Berthier ◽  
Jonathan E. Kollmer ◽  
Silke E. Henkes ◽  
Kuang Liu ◽  
J. M. Schwarz ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. eaav6326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Erlich ◽  
Philip Pearce ◽  
Romina Plitman Mayo ◽  
Oliver E. Jensen ◽  
Igor L. Chernyavsky

Across mammalian species, solute exchange takes place in complex microvascular networks. In the human placenta, the primary exchange units are terminal villi that contain disordered networks of fetal capillaries and are surrounded externally by maternal blood. We show how the irregular internal structure of a terminal villus determines its exchange capacity for diverse solutes. Distilling geometric features into three parameters, obtained from image analysis and computational fluid dynamics, we capture archetypal features of the structure-function relationship of terminal villi using a simple algebraic approximation, revealing transitions between flow- and diffusion-limited transport at vessel and network levels. Our theory accommodates countercurrent effects, incorporates nonlinear blood rheology, and offers an efficient method for testing network robustness. Our results show how physical estimates of solute transport, based on carefully defined geometrical statistics, provide a viable method for linking placental structure and function and offer a framework for assessing transport in other microvascular systems.


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