42 research outputs found
Thermodynamics of Information Processing Based on Enzyme Kinetics: an Exactly Solvable Model of Information Pump
Motivated by the recent proposed models of the information engine [D. Mandal
and C. Jarzynski, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 109, 11641 (2012)] and the information
refrigerator [D. Mandal, H. T. Quan, and C. Jarzynski, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111,
030602 (2013)], we propose a minimal model of the information pump and the
information eraser based on enzyme kinetics. This device can either pump
molecules against the chemical potential gradient by consuming the information
encoded in the bit stream or (partially) erase the information encoded in the
bit stream by consuming the Gibbs free energy. The dynamics of this model is
solved exactly, and the "phase diagram" of the operation regimes is determined.
The efficiency and the power of the information machine is analyzed. The
validity of the second law of thermodynamics within our model is clarified. Our
model offers a simple paradigm for the investigating of the thermodynamics of
information processing involving the chemical potential in small systems
On the total signed domination number of the Cartesian product of paths
Let be a finite connected simple graph with a vertex set and an edge set . A total signed dominating function of is a function , such that for all . The total signed domination number of is the minimum weight of a total signed dominating function on . In this paper, we prove lower and upper bounds on the total signed domination number of the Cartesian product of two paths,
Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data
On the total signed domination number of the Cartesian product of paths
Let be a finite connected simple graph with a vertex set and an edge set . A total signed dominating function of is a function , such that for all . The total signed domination number of is the minimum weight of a total signed dominating function on . In this paper, we prove lower and upper bounds on the total signed domination number of the Cartesian product of two paths,
Recommended from our members
Plasticity of cell migration resulting from mechanochemical coupling.
Eukaryotic cells can migrate using different modes, ranging from amoeboid-like, during which actin filled protrusions come and go, to keratocyte-like, characterized by a stable morphology and persistent motion. How cells can switch between these modes is not well understood but waves of signaling events are thought to play an important role in these transitions. Here we present a simple two-component biochemical reaction-diffusion model based on relaxation oscillators and couple this to a model for the mechanics of cell deformations. Different migration modes, including amoeboid-like and keratocyte-like, naturally emerge through transitions determined by interactions between biochemical traveling waves, cell mechanics and morphology. The model predictions are explicitly verified by systematically reducing the protrusive force of the actin network in experiments using Dictyostelium discoideum cells. Our results indicate the importance of coupling signaling events to cell mechanics and morphology and may be applicable in a wide variety of cell motility systems