Spontaneous formation of chaotic protrusions in a polymerizing active gel layer

The actin cortex is a thin layer of actin filaments and myosin motors beneath the outer membrane of animal cells. It determines the cells' mechanical properties and forms important morphological structures. Physical descriptions of the cortex as a contractile active gel suggest that these structures can result from dynamic instabilities. However, in these analyses the cortex is described as a two-dimensional layer. Here, we show that the dynamics of the cortex is qualitatively different when gel fluxes in the direction perpendicular to the membrane are taken into account. In particular, an isotropic cortex is then stable for arbitrarily large active stresses. If lateral contractility exceeds vertical contractility, the system can either from protrusions with an apparently chaotic dynamics or a periodic static pattern of protrusions.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Min-oscillations in Escherichia coli induced by interactions of membrane-bound proteins

During division it is of primary importance for a cell to correctly determine the site of cleavage. The bacterium Escherichia coli divides in the center, producing two daughter cells of equal size. Selection of the center as the correct division site is in part achieved by the Min-proteins. They oscillate between the two cell poles and thereby prevent division at these locations. Here, a phenomenological description for these oscillations is presented, where lateral interactions between proteins on the cell membrane play a key role. Solutions to the dynamic equations are compared to experimental findings. In particular, the temporal period of the oscillations is measured as a function of the cell length and found to be compatible with the theoretical prediction.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to Physical Biolog

Special studies of AROD system concepts and designs

Signal to noise ratios in airborne range and orbit determination system, and carrier and range loop performance analyse

Self-organization and Mechanical Properties of Active Filament Bundles

A phenomenological description for active bundles of polar filaments is presented. The activity of the bundle results from crosslinks, that induce relative displacements between the aligned filaments. Our generic description is based on momentum conservation within the bundle. By specifying the internal forces, a simple minimal model for the bundle dynamics is obtained, capturing generic dynamic behaviors. In particular, contracted states as well as solitary and oscillatory waves appear through dynamic instabilities. The introduction of filament adhesion leads to self-organized persistent filament transport. Furthermore, calculating the tension, homogeneous bundles are shown to be able to actively contract and to perform work against external forces. Our description is motivated by dynamic phenomena in the cytoskeleton and could apply to stress-fibers and self-organization phenomena during cell-locomotion.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figure