Ning Wang^1,*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.16, Suppl.2, pp. 21-21, 2019, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.07550

Abstract Decades ago YC Fung proposed that mechanical stress could have substantial impacts on remodeling and growth of living tissues. Fung also proposed the concept of residual stress in blood vessels and quantified residual stress in excised arteries [1]. However, how stress influences cell and tissue functions remains elusive. At the cellular level, we have quantified myosin II mediated pre-existing tensile stress (prestress) in living cells and demonstrated that the prestress (the endogenous cytoskeletal tension) regulates cell stiffness, gene expression, and long-distance stress propagation in the cytoplasm to activate enzymes [2]. The prestress even impacts on… More >

Syed Muhammad Saqlain Shah^1,*, Tahir Afzal Malik², Robina khatoon¹, Syed Saqlain Hassan³, Faiz Ali Shah⁴

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.61, No.2, pp. 535-553, 2019, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2019.07948

Abstract Classification of human actions under video surveillance is gaining a lot of attention from computer vision researchers. In this paper, we have presented methodology to recognize human behavior in thin crowd which may be very helpful in surveillance. Research have mostly focused the problem of human detection in thin crowd, overall behavior of the crowd and actions of individuals in video sequences. Vision based Human behavior modeling is a complex task as it involves human detection, tracking, classifying normal and abnormal behavior. The proposed methodology takes input video and applies Gaussian based segmentation technique followed More >

Wenyu Qu¹, Zhiyang Li^2,*, Junfeng Wu², Yinan Wu³, Zhaobin Liu²

Computer Systems Science and Engineering, Vol.33, No.2, pp. 115-123, 2018, DOI:10.32604/csse.2018.33.115

Abstract Conventional image skeletonization techniques implicitly assume the pixel level connectivity. However, noise inside the object regions destroys the connectivity and exhibits sparseness in the image. We present a skeletonization algorithm designed for these kinds of sparse shapes. The skeletons are produced quickly by using three operations. First, initial skeleton nodes are selected by farthest point sampling with circles containing the maximum effective information. A skeleton graph of these nodes is imposed via inheriting the neighborhood of their associated pixels, followed by an edge collapse operation. Then a skeleton tting process based on feature-preserving Laplacian smoothing More >

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.15, No.1, pp. 21-36, 2018, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2018.015.021

Abstract Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent professional antigen presenting cells as now known, which play critical roles in the initiation, programming and regulation of the immune response. Transforming growth factor-β₁ (TGF-β₁), one of the major suppressive cytokines in tumor microenvironment, can deteriorate the biomechanical characteristics and motility of mature dendritic cells (mDCs)，but the underlying molecular mechanisms are not well defined. In this study, the effects of TGF-β₁ on the motilities and T cell priming capabilities of mDCs as well as the molecular regulatory mechanisms were investigated. The results showed that the cytoskeleton (F-actin) organizations of mDCs More >

Mingzhi Luo^1,2, Peili Yu¹, Yang Jin³, Zhili Qian¹, Yue Wang¹, Jingjing Li¹, Peng Shang^2*, Linhong Deng^1*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.13, No.2, pp. 137-157, 2016, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2016.013.155

Abstract Random positioning machine (RPM) and diamagnetic levitation are two essential ground-based methods used to stimulate the effect of microgravity in space life science research. However, the force fields generated by these two methods are fundamentally different, as RPM generates a dynamic force field acting on the surface in contact with supporting substrate, whereas diamagnetic levitation generates a static force field acting on the whole body volume of the object (e.g. cell). Surprisingly, it is hardly studied whether these two fundamentally different force fields would cause different responses in mammalian cells. Thus we exposed cultured MC3T3-E1… More >

Tong Li^∗, Prasad KDV Yarlagadda^∗, Adekunle Oloyede^∗, Namal Thibbotuwawa^∗, YuanTong Gu^∗,†

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.12, No.1, pp. 17-35, 2015, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2015.012.017

Abstract Living cells are the functional unit of organs that controls reactions to their exterior. However, the mechanics of living cells can be difficult to characterize due to the crypticity of their microscale structures and associated dynamic cellular processes. Fortunately, multiscale modelling provides a powerful simulation tool that can be used to study the mechanical properties of these soft hierarchical, biological systems. This paper reviews recent developments in hierarchical multiscale modeling technique that aimed at understanding cytoskeleton mechanics. Discussions are expanded with respects to cytoskeletal components including: intermediate filaments, microtubules and microfilament networks. The mechanical performance More >

E. P. Yalcintas¹, J. Hu¹, Y. Liu^1,2, A. Voloshin^1,2,3

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.98, No.2, pp. 151-180, 2014, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2014.098.151

Abstract Mechanical behavior of cells plays a crucial role in response to external stimuli and environment. It is very important to elucidate the mechanisms of cellular activities like spreading and alignment as it would shed light on further biological concepts. In this study, a multi-scale computational approach is adopted by modeling the cytoskeleton of cell as a tensegrity structure. The model is based on the complementary force balance between the tension and compression elements, resembling the internal structure of cell cytoskeleton composed of microtubules and actin filaments. The effect of surface topology on strain energy of… More >

Yi ZOU^1*, Timothy C COX²

BIOCELL, Vol.37, No.3, pp. 55-61, 2013, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2013.37.055

Abstract PH (pleckstrin homology) domains are well known to bind membrane phosphoinositides with different specificities and direct PH domain-containing proteins to discrete subcellular compartments with assistances of alternative binding partners. PH domain-containing proteins have been found to be involved in a wide range of cellular events, including signalling, cytoskeleton rearrangement and vesicular trafficking. Here we showed that a novel PH domain-containing protein, PEPP2 (also known as PLEKHA5), displays moderate phosphoinositide binding specificity. Full length PEPP2 was observed to variably associate with both the plasma membrane and microtubules. The membrane-associated PEPP2 nucleated at cell-cell contacts and the More >

Syed A Jamal^*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.10, No.4, pp. 267-273, 2013, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2013.010.267

Abstract Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells (hUCMSCs) were subjected to in vitro osteogenic differentiation using a novel combination of signaling molecules including BMP-2 and purmorphamine. Differentiation outcomes were assessed by calcein staining and by microscopic examination of the cytoskeleton. Calcein staining showed appreciable degree of calcium mineralization in cell culture, and changes in the morphological attributes of differentiating cells were observed vis-a-vis the actin cytoskeleton. Finally, positive calcein staining, altered cytoskeletal profile, and stress fiber formation in treated cells demonstrated, for the first time, a potentially synergistic interplay between BMP-2 and the hedgehog agonist, purmorphamine. More >

YI ZOU AND WENPING ZHONG

BIOCELL, Vol.36, No.3, pp. 127-132, 2012, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2012.36.127

Abstract The published article titled “A likely role for a novel PH-domain containing protein, PEPP2, in connecting membrane and cytoskeleton” has been retracted from the BIOCELL, Vol. 36, Issue 3, 2012. Title: A likely role for a novel PH-domain containing protein, PEPP2, in connecting membrane and cytoskeleton Authors: Yi Zou and Wenping Zhong URL: http://150.109.118.215/uploads/attached/file/20190102/20190102065508_87612.pdf The article “A likely role for a novel PH-domain containing protein, PEPP2, in connecting membrane and cytoskeleton” (Biocell 36, 127-132, 2012) has been retracted after publication by decision of the Editor-in-Chief, after he received compelling evidence indicating that the article’s content… More >