Introduction: Treatment ofcleft lip and palate patients requires a multidisciplinary plan. These patients usually have a hypoplastic maxilla due to the prior surgical scars. Orthognathic surgery to advance the maxilla in these patients is not very efficient; therefore, orthopedic interventions during an appropriate age seems to be essential.   Case Report: In this article, two cleft lip and pa...

A novel mechanism of hybrid assembly of molecules on surfaces is proposed stemming from interactions between molecules and on-surface metal atoms which eventually got trapped inside the network pores. Based on state-of-the-art theoretical calculations, we find that the new mechanism relies on formation of molecule-metal atom pairs which, together with molecules themselves, participate in the as...

Cell emergence onto damaged or organized fibrous extracellular matrix (ECM) is a crucial precursor to collective cell migration in wound closure and cancer metastasis, respectively. However, there is a fundamental gap in our quantitative understanding of the role of local ECM size and arrangement in cell emergence-based migration and local gap closure. Here, using ECM-mimicking nanofibers bridg...

We calculate and compare the transition paths from graphite to two types of diamond using the variable cell nudged elastic band method. For the phase transition from graphite to cubic diamond, we analyze in detail how the π bonds transit to the σ bonds in an electronic structure. Meanwhile, a new transition path with a lower energy barrier for the transformation from graphite to hexagonal diamo...

We present a framework for modeling biological pumping organs based on coupled spiral elastic band geometries and active wave-propagating excitation mechanisms. Two pumping mechanisms are considered in detail by way of example: one of a simple tube, which represents a embryonic fish heart and another more complicated structure with the potential to model the adult human heart. Through finite el...

A generalized solid-state nudged elastic band (G-SSNEB) method is presented for determining reaction pathways of solid-solid transformations involving both atomic and unit-cell degrees of freedom. We combine atomic and cell degrees of freedom into a unified description of the crystal structure so that calculated reaction paths are insensitive to the choice of periodic cell. For the rock-salt to...

A widely used way to compare the structures of biomolecules or solid bodies is to translate and rotate one structure with respect to the other to minimize the root-mean-square deviation (RMSD). We present a simple derivation, based on quaternions, for the optimal solid body transformation (rotation-translation) that minimizes the RMSD between two sets of vectors. We prove that the quaternion me...

Slow relaxation occurs in many physical and biological systems. "Creep" is an example from everyday life. When stretching a rubber band, for example, the recovery to its equilibrium length is not, as one might think, exponential: The relaxation is slow, in many cases logarithmic, and can still be observed after many hours. The form of the relaxation also depends on the duration of the stretchin...

A common high school science experiment involves anchoring one end of a rubber band to a desk and then attaching a small weight to the other end. The weight stretches the rubber band, and adding another weight causes the rubber band to dangle even lower. More weights can be added, and each one pulls the rubber band a little further towards the floor. Now, instead imagine attaching the weights t...

Motor equivalence expresses the idea that movement components reorganize in the face of perturbations to preserve the value of important performance variables, such as the hand's position in reaching. A formal method is introduced to evaluate this concept quantitatively: changes in joint configuration due to unpredictable elbow perturbation lead to a smaller change in performance variables than...