27 research outputs found
Cellular decision making at the nanoscale
No full textThe well-established dependence of cell traction forces on the compliance of supporting matrices has been attributed to levels of force exerted on components in focal contacts. Here, use of novel, force-limited nanoscale tension gauges revealed that both force and substrate deformations govern cell decision-making during initial attachment to compliant substrates. We propose a mechanical model consistent with observed behavior. Upon formation of stable cell contacts, bond tension and tether rupture govern cell attachment, spreading, and focal adhesion maturation at force levels on individual receptors predicted by prior studies.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2019-08-01The student, Zainab Rahil, accepted the attached license on 2016-04-27 at 06:49.The student, Zainab Rahil, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2016-04-27 at 06:55.This Thesis was approved for publication on 2016-04-29 at 14:30.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #9538 on 2017-09-29 at 11:12:58Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-29T17:52:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
RAHIL-THESIS-2017.pdf: 792019 bytes, checksum: 6dac7f28d4957688dc2e637aadd83256 (MD5)
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Previous issue date: 2016-04-29Embargo set by: Colleen Fallaw for item 103531
Lift date: 2019-09-29T17:52:45Z
Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemLimited Restriction Lifted for Item 103531 on 2019-09-30T09:15:23Z
Cells and force transduction
No full textThis thesis studies mechanism involved in propagating force generated at cadherin complexes. The first part of this thesis demonstrates that mechanotransduction at classical cadherin complexes is not only ligand-dependent but also dependent on the respective receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) binding partner of cadherin. This involvement of RTKs at cadherin complexes is important in propagating force transduction globally, implying that force transduction at cadherin complexes is not restricted to cell-cell junctions but is also propagated globally via the mediation of its respective RTK binding partner. These results suggest that homophilic ligation in trans- and cadherin association with cognate receptor tyrosine kinase in cis comprises a combinatorial, mechano-chemical switch. That is, specific combinations of cadherin, ligand, and RTK is required for force-activated RTK-dependent signaling, activation of cell contractility, and cytoskeletal remodeling at perturbed cadherin adhesions. These findings confirm that cadherins form both homophilic and heterophilic bonds, but homophilic cadherin ligation selectively triggers cadherin-associated RTK signals that mechanically reinforce homophilic, but not heterophilic cadherin adhesions, thereby stabilizing homophilic adhesions and amplifying binding differences. This study demonstrates that this mechano-chemical switch is not governed by cadherin adhesion differences, but requires a specific combination of cadherin ligand in trans- and RTK expression in cis to actuate force transduction signaling on rigid surfaces to propagate force transduction at a global level.
For the second part of this study used novel, force-limited nanoscale tension gauges to investigate how force and substrate stiffness guide cellular decision-making during initial cell attachment and spreading on deformable substrates. The well-established dependence of cell traction and spreading on substrate stiffness has been attributed to levels of force exerted on molecular components in focal contacts. The molecular tension gauges used in this study enabled direct estimates of the threshold, pico Newton forces that instructed decision-making at different stages of cell attachment, spreading, and adhesion maturation. These results further confirm that the force thresholds controlling adhesion and spreading transitions depend on substrate stiffness. Reported findings agree semi-quantitatively with a proposed model that attributes rigidity-dependent differences in cell spreading to stiffness-dependent rates of competing biochemical processesSubmission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2020-12-01The student, Zainab Rahil, accepted the attached license on 2018-11-08 at 12:34.The student, Zainab Rahil, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2018-11-08 at 12:48.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2018-11-13 at 10:27.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #13072 on 2019-02-08 at 11:38:31Made available in DSpace on 2019-02-08T18:39:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
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Previous issue date: 2018-11-13Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 109931
Lift date: 2021-02-08T18:40:00Z
Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemEmbargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 109931
Lift date: 2021-02-08T18:42:23Z
Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemEmbargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 109931
Lift date: 2021-02-08T18:43:54Z
Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemEmbargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 109931
Lift date: 2021-02-08T18:44:50Z
Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemLimited Restriction Lifted for Item 109931 on 2021-02-09T10:15:38Z
Hypergraphs Do Jump
No full textWe say that α ∈ [0, 1) is a jump for an integer r ≥ 2 if there exists c(α) > 0 such that for all ϵ > 0 and all t ≥ 1, any r-graph with n ≥ n0(α, ϵ, t) vertices and density at least α + ϵ contains a subgraph on t vertices of density at least α + c.The Erdős–Stone–Simonovits theorem [4, 5] implies that for r = 2, every α ∈ [0, 1) is a jump. Erdős [3] showed that for all r ≥ 3, every α ∈ [0, r!/rr) is a jump. Moreover he made his famous ‘jumping constant conjecture’, that for all r ≥ 3, every α ∈ [0, 1) is a jump. Frankl and Rödl [7] disproved this conjecture by giving a sequence of values of non-jumps for all r ≥ 3.We use Razborov's flag algebra method [9] to show that jumps exist for r = 3 in the interval [2/9, 1). These are the first examples of jumps for any r ≥ 3 in the interval [r!/rr, 1). To be precise, we show that for r = 3 every α ∈ [0.2299, 0.2316) is a jump.We also give an improved upper bound for the Turán density of K4− = {123, 124, 134}: π(K4−) ≤ 0.2871. This in turn implies that for r = 3 every α ∈ [0.2871, 8/27) is a jump.</jats:p
Graph Guessing Games and Non-Shannon Information Inequalities
No full textGuessing games for directed graphs were introduced by Riis [12] for studying multiple unicast network coding problems. In a guessing game, the players toss generalised dice and can see some of the other outcomes depending on the structure of an underlying digraph. They later guess simultaneously the outcome of their own die. Their objective is to find a strategy which maximises the probability that they all guess correctly. The performance of the optimal strategy for a graph is measured by the guessing number of the digraph.
In [3], Christofides and Markstrom studied guessing numbers of undirected graphs and defined a strategy which they conjectured to be optimal. One of the main results of this paper is a disproof of this conjecture.
The main tool so far for computing guessing numbers of graphs is information theoretic inequalities. The other main result of the paper is that Shannon's information inequalities, which work particularly well for a wide range of graph classes, are not sufficient for computing the guessing number.
Finally we pose a few more interesting questions some of which we can answer and some which we leave as open problems
Mechanism and performance evaluation of spent-coffee grounds-derived nanocomposite materials for highly efficient photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutant
No full textThe study demonstrates a facile and environmentally friendly method for synthesizing crystalline TiO2 nanoparticles on the surface of hydrochar generated from readily available biomass waste, i.e., spent coffee grounds (SCGs), using a simple sol–gel process. The hydrochar served as a support for TiO2, reducing the rate at which electrons and holes recombine during photocatalysis, thereby facilitating the effective binding of TiO2, enhancing its adsorption capacity, and the convenient separation of the photocatalyst after usage. The materials were tested in the photocatalytic degradation of an organic pollutant, methylene blue (MB) dye. TiO2-hydrochar obtained at 210 ⁰C has the best performance, giving a degradation efficiency of 98.5 % and a mineralization efficiency of 87.1 % in 90 min at neutral pH. Radical trapping experiments showed
being the dominant species, followed by
. Besides, it showed superior stability with an activity loss of ∼ 9.2 % after five runs. The superior performance of the HCT210 was ascribed to the enhanced interfacial charge transfer kinetics between the TiO2 and hydrochar through
bond formation, better light absorption, and the high surface area of the materials. Performance metrics show that synthesized nanocomposites are promising photocatalysts, providing a biomass-assisted method for robust photocatalytic wastewater treatment.Killam TrustsNatural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC
The minimal density of triangles in tripartite graphs
No full textAbstractWe determine the minimal density of triangles in a tripartite graph with prescribed edge densities. This extends a previous result of Bondy, Shen, Thomassé and Thomassen characterizing those edge densities guaranteeing the existence of a triangle in a tripartite graph. To be precise we show that a suitably weighted copy of the graph formed by deleting a certain 9-cycle fromK3,3,3has minimal triangle density among all weighted tripartite graphs with prescribed edge densities.Supplementary materials are available with this article.</jats:p
House of Music : Festivity from city to seat
No full textHouse of Music : Festivity from city to seat.Concert HallArchitecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Interiors Buildings Citie
Reality, Dream and Hallucination in the Literary Works of Muhammad al-Qurmuti
No full textMuhammad al-Qurmuti is one of the most eminent of Omani writers. He was
born in al-Buraymi in 1955. He is the author of a single volume of short stories, entitled
Sa’at ar-rahil al-multahiba, which was published in Muscat in 1988. The unequivocally
innovative and surrealist short stories that are contained in the volume are filled with
the spirit of decadence and catastrophism. And here also the echoes of the philosophy
of Schopenhauer, Bergson and Nietzsche are strong. This collection is an
excellent example of how well western philosophy, thought and art has acclimatized to
the Arab world. Muhammad al-Qurmuti presents the reader with an ‘exciting hour
of travel’ to the land of dreams, desires, illusions, and hallucinations, to a world in which
the possible will within a second cease to exist
