(Macro)molecular crowding and the ability of the ubiquitous cytoskeleton to dynamically polymerize-depolymerize are prevalent cytoplasmic conditions in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Protein interactions, enzymatic or signaling reactions - single, sequential or in complexes - whole metabolic pathways and organelles can be affected by crowding, the type and polymeric status of cytoskeletal pr...

We combine experiment and computer simulation to show how macromolecular crowding dramatically affects the structure, function, and folding landscape of phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK). Fluorescence labeling shows that compact states of yeast PGK are populated as the amount of crowding agents (Ficoll 70) increases. Coarse-grained molecular simulations reveal three compact ensembles: C (crystal st...

A new method for computing strong Nash equilibria in multiplayer games that uses the theoretical framework of generative relations combined with a stochastic search method is presented. Generative relations provide a mean to compare two strategy profiles and to assess their relative quality with respect to an equilibria type. The stochastic method used, called Aumann Crowding Based Differential...

Written Chinese is distinct from alphabetic languages because of its enormous number of characters with a great range of spatial complexities (stroke numbers). In this study we investigated the impact of spatial complexity on legibility of Chinese characters as well as associated crowding in peripheral vision. Our results showed that for isolated characters, threshold sizes of complex character...

In object recognition, features are thought to be processed in a hierarchical fashion from low-level analysis (edges and lines) to complex figural processing (shapes and objects). Here, we show that figural processing determines low-level processing. Vernier offset discrimination strongly deteriorated when we embedded a vernier in a square. This is a classic crowding effect. Surprisingly, crowd...

Uterine crowding in the pig results in intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), and permanently affects fetal muscle fibre development, representing production losses for the commercial pig herd. The present study sought to understand how different levels of uterine crowding in sows affects muscle fibre development in the early embryo at the time of muscle fibre differentiation and proliferation...