Complex shapes in biology depend on the ability of cells to shift from isotropic to anisotropic growth during development. In plants, this growth symmetry breaking reflects changes in the extensibility of the cell walls. The textbook view is that the direction of turgor-driven cell expansion depends on the cortical microtubule (CMT)-mediated orientation of cellulose microfibrils. Here, we show ...

We discuss mechanisms for naturally generating GeV-scale hidden sectors in the context of weak-scale supersymmetry. Such low mass scales can arise when hidden sectors are more weakly coupled to supersymmetry breaking than the visible sector, as happens when supersymmetry breaking is communicated to the visible sector by gauge interactions under which the hidden sector is uncharged, or if the hi...

We discuss a novel generic mechanism for controlling the ratchet effect through the breaking of relevant symmetries. We review previous works on ratchets where directed transport is induced by the breaking of standard temporal symmetries f(t)=-f(t+T/2) and f(t)=f(-t) (or f(t)=-f(-t)). We find that in seemingly unrelated systems the average velocity (or the current) of particles (or solitons) ex...

RNA-RNA junctions between hairpin loops are a common feature of RNA retroviruses, accounting for their high mechanical stability. Dimerization of Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus (MMLV) is dependent on H3 stem loop interactions, which are an example of such a junction. H3 in MMLV dimerizes via a two base pair hairpin loop enhanced by two adjacent stacking bases. All atom, explicit solvent molecula...

The effects of the cross-sectional area of food samples on bite force with molar teeth were investigated using raw carrots and surimi gels. We evaluated human bite force for food samples with different sizes between the upper and lower molars using a multiple-point sheet sensor and electromyography (EMG). The bite force curve and EMG clearly showed textural characteristics of the carrot and gel...

We describe studies of the elastic properties and frictional characteristics of graphene samples of varying thickness using an atomic force microscope. For tensile testing, graphene is suspended over micron-sized circular holes and indented by atomic force microscope (AFM) tips. Fitting of the forcedisplacement curves yields the prestress and elastic stiffness, while comparison of the breaking ...

Lameness in breeding-age gilts and sows is a major cause of culling, resulting in increased economic losses and welfare concerns. This study determined if exercise during gestation would affect the musculo-skeletal system, production variables, and behavior. Gilts were blocked by BW and assigned to 1 of 3 treatment groups: control (n = 10; no exercise), low exercise (n = 14; 122 m/d for 5 d/wk)...

Passive mechanical response of skeletal muscles at fast time scales is domineered by long range interactions inducing cooperative behavior without breaking the detailed balance. This leads to such unusual ’material properties’ as negative equilibrium stiffness and drastically different behavior in force and displacement controlled loading conditions. Fitting experimental data strongly suggests ...

The design of crest walls is often based on empirical formulations, physical model tests, numerical models and a fair amount expert judgement. present work validates the prediction wave induced forces front face top composite breakwaters in OpenFOAM. results show that OpenFOAM able to capture shape order magnitude force events caused by non-breaking heavily breaking waves. In addition, calibrat...