Peptide size dependent active transport in the proteasome

We investigate the transport of proteins inside the proteasome and propose an active transport mechanism based on a spatially asymmetric interaction potential of peptide chains. The transport is driven by fluctuations which are always present in such systems. We compute the peptide-size dependent transport rate which is essential for the functioning of the proteasome. In agreement with recent experiments, varying temperature changes the transport mechanism qualitatively.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Molecular dynamics of arbitrarily shaped granular particles}

We propose a new model for the description of complex granular particles and their interaction in molecular dynamics simulations of granular material in two dimensions. The grains are composed of triangles which are connected by deformable beams. Particles are allowed to be convex or concave. We present first results of simulations using this particle model.Comment: uuencoded compressed PostScript, 40 pages, 19 figures (included